Cruising Divina, to tip (extra) or not to tip

[JenandRafcruiselovers]

Please do not flame me here...I am genuinely asking a question because I do not know what is appropriate and would appreciate feedback. (Feedback not criticism!)

 

Is it appropriate to tip extra (above the daily hotel charge) to certain staff for certain things? Ex. We like to order room service sweets to wake us from a nap. On every other cruise we would tip the person who brought it.

 

That being said I am a big rule follower, and MSC website says it does not recommend tipping individual staff. I assume this policy is in place for a reason, even if I don't know what it is. I respect that...because I respect rules! My husband however believes we should be tipping extra like we are accustomed to doing.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

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[AmoMondo]

The policy is because it is not an American line so that's why it says that. Europe does not have the same tipping customs as the US.

 

I personally wouldn't tip extra for the person bringing room service on a MSC ship. In fact I never tip during the cruise. At the end, if I feel someone that I interact with regularly (like my waiter or room steward or barman) I may slip them a tip on the last evening. It is not required however. I've no idea whether staff are in breach of their contracts and guidelines by accepting them but I've never known anyone to tell me they can't accept it.

 

I dare say there will be many US passengers who tip in advance, during and at the end as they normally would.

[Mikesa1721]

Please do not flame me here...I am genuinely asking a question because I do not know what is appropriate and would appreciate feedback. (Feedback not criticism!)

 

Is it appropriate to tip extra (above the daily hotel charge) to certain staff for certain things? Ex. We like to order room service sweets to wake us from a nap. On every other cruise we would tip the person who brought it.

 

That being said I am a big rule follower, and MSC website says it does not recommend tipping individual staff. I assume this policy is in place for a reason, even if I don't know what it is. I respect that...because I respect rules! My husband however believes we should be tipping extra like we are accustomed to doing.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

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Jen,,we stay in the Yacht Club and even though we pay a premium already, we tipped everyone extra, from our butler, to the One Bar bartenders, and even the pool attendant. Everyone we were in contact with went above and beyond our expectations so handing them an extra gratuity expressed our appreciation for their great service.:D

[alli]

Oh, my, I never read the MSC rules....LOL, had I read them I still would have tipped as I have done on other cruises.

 

We get room service every morning on a cruise and always tip the server who brings it.

[Katgoesonholiday]

I'm not American and I'm not planning on tipping on my upcoming cruise.

 

That said, if we get superlative above and beyond service from our butler then we may consider a tip to him/her at the end.

[Alex71]

Usually we are very satisfied with the service and tipfrom our waiters and cabin stewards and tip them a little extra (maybe 10 EUR per waiter and 10 EUR per cabin steward). Neither did I have the feeling that this was expected, nor that it was aunusual.

 

Staff work hard at very little pay, which makes us feel somewhat guilty, so giving them an extra tip makes us feel better.

 

That said, our last waiters were a little chaotic and forgot some of the courses, so we left it at the automatic amounts. Our two cabin stewards were fantastic as usual, so we handed each of them 10 EUR when we said goodbye the last night.

[Kiwiaus]

I was of the impression that employees of MSC are a lot better paid than those on US cruise lines. This is why the tipping policy is in place. When on Royal Caribbean we tipped for service because we knew wages were low. On MSC we would not tip unless we received extraordinary service.

[AmoMondo]

I was of the impression that employees of MSC are a lot better paid than those on US cruise lines. This is why the tipping policy is in place. When on Royal Caribbean we tipped for service because we knew wages were low. On MSC we would not tip unless we received extraordinary service.

 

Yes that is true, or at least it used to be. They get a higher basic wage and are not so reliant on commission from sales. I was preset when a bar manwas trying to explain to one of his waiters who was excited about maybe going to work for RCCL that he'd be under much greater pressure to sell drinks to earn the same and if he didn't sell he'd be worse off. He did concede that they would get more tips if the ship was in the Caribbean.

[cruiseguyinorl]

Is it appropriate to tip extra (above the daily hotel charge) to certain staff for certain things? Ex. We like to order room service sweets to wake us from a nap. On every other cruise we would tip the person who brought it.

 

 

 

If you are talking US sailings, by all means, tip extra if you feel someone is going above and beyond. If they are making your vacation better, why not make their day a bit better? As for room service, I would not even consider ordering it if you weren't going to tip. Not that it has to be much...even a couple of bucks will do. Not tipping room service staff is considered rude on US sailings in spite of MSC's "recommendation".

 

Bret

[American Bear]

Please do not flame me here...I am genuinely asking a question because I do not know what is appropriate and would appreciate feedback. (Feedback not criticism!)

 

Is it appropriate to tip extra (above the daily hotel charge) to certain staff for certain things? Ex. We like to order room service sweets to wake us from a nap. On every other cruise we would tip the person who brought it.

 

That being said I am a big rule follower, and MSC website says it does not recommend tipping individual staff. I assume this policy is in place for a reason, even if I don't know what it is. I respect that...because I respect rules! My husband however believes we should be tipping extra like we are accustomed to doing.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

We tipped every day for our room service breakfast , we tipped our waiter, and his asst. in the MDR., we tipped our room attendent, and we tipped the bar tenders where we drank!

We tipped, and our service was excellent!:D

So maybe those who complain about the Divina's service didn't tip?:eek:

I'd suggest your husband is right on this one!:eek:

Have a great cruise!

[JenandRafcruiselovers]

American Bear, you bring up an interesting catch 22.

 

I should not have to tip IN ORDER TO GET excellent service. I should tip because I GOT excellent service! (My opinion)

 

I might give hubby the win on this one...not because I really think he's right, but I like to let him win sometimes! :) I'm sure that we will have an excellent cruise either way!

 

 

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[mamasue]

Whichever cruise line we're on, we always leave the daily auto-tips on, or pay the tips up-front....

We always tip 2 or 3 bucks for room service.....

Occasionally tip our waiters at the end of the week, if they're great.

[risotoman]

We tip all the Time on all cruiseline

 

Let's face it all vacation venue are possible only because of extremely low wage!!!

 

So we usualy tip 5 to 10 $ day for butler/ass.butler ( did the room 2-3 Time days)

 

15$/days for dining room team ( if i was eating in a restaurant 2-3meal day it Will be more expensive)

 

And for the top sail lounge butler (Jeettoon) who was superb 100$/ week

Edited June 16, 2014 by risotoman

[AmoMondo]

Let's face it all vacation venue are possible only because of extremely low wage!!!

 

 

That's true if your vacation is in the US or using a US cruiseline but not if you're not. Tipping is a US thing and many other parts of the world don't do it, not becUse they are mean but because wages aren't low and legislation enforces reasonable minimum wages.

 

MSC is not a US company but a privately owned European one.

 

That said if you want to tip the way you do at home on MSC ships that is your prerogative. No member of the crew will refuse them!

Edited June 16, 2014 by AmoMondo

[American Bear]

American Bear, you bring up an interesting catch 22.

 

I should not have to tip IN ORDER TO GET excellent service. I should tip because I GOT excellent service! (My opinion)

 

I might give hubby the win on this one...not because I really think he's right, but I like to let him win sometimes! :) I'm sure that we will have an excellent cruise either way!

 

 

We agree with you as we tipped 'after' we got the service!

I think you most likely will tip the same way, 'after' you receive the service you think warrants it!

My summation was an observation made about comments by some here in the forums of less then stellar service on the Divina! Our service was excellent, so we tipped extra, and the excellent service continued for the entire 14 days!

As the old saying goes, 'some see a glass half empty, others see it half full'!:D

[JenandRafcruiselovers]

I agree with you there. I too have read many Divina reviews (yours included) and feel that there is just no pleasing some people! :) Luckily for me (and everyone else around me) I am not one of those people! I know I will have an amazing time because I will not be cooking or cleaning, I will not be awoken at 4:30 every morning by my children, and I will be spending quality time with my favorite person in the world, my husband! :) That's all I really care about on a cruise!

 

 

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[Skipper Tim]

Americans tip just as moths fly to light - it is an incurable part of their psyche. Even when they are told by the cruise line not to, they do.

 

Tipping culture varies hugely over the World. In parts of the far east to offer a tip would be a great personal offence and a matter of integrity not to accept it. There are parts of Europe where you would only ever offer a tip in advance to ensure you got better than average service. I find the happy norm is to tip for service beyond the call of duty - then I am British and I would think that wouldn't I?

 

Certainly, if a cruise line employee receives a tip and does not declare, i.e. share it in the system, it is a sackable offence. Therefore, if you can't help yourself and feel the need to tip on top of the hotel charge, do it discretely!