Awkward Tipper

[ducklite]

it's interesting that many people here seem to give and extra dollar to the bartender when there is already a 15 percent tip included on the receipt for every drink you buy......even soda.

 

 

Why would soda be excluded? It takes as long to pour one of those as it does a beer or glass of wine.

[ducklite]

It has never crossed my mind to tip cash over the 15% for a drink on cruises. And I have never seen anyone do it either. I'm not saying that those who claim to do it are lying, just that it seems that those who do it are a rare exception and not the rule.

 

 

 

Do you make a habit of inspecting everyone's chit slip or handshake? Either you are being quite nosy or you are making assumptions.

[Tapi]

Do you make a habit of inspecting everyone's chit slip or handshake? Either you are being quite nosy or you are making assumptions.

 

 

None of the above. When you're sitting at a bar with someone ordering a drink and signing their slip 2 feet away from you, it takes more effort to look away than to notice what they are doing. It's natural to observe human behavior and it doesn't entail being nosy unless you're going out of your way to see what someone else is doing.

 

You're correct. I could be making assumptions. But after observing human behavior for 35 years on 28 cruises, I'd like to think that my assumptions have a decent foundation. [emoji6]

Edited June 9, 2016 by Tapi

[erinmarie424]

it's interesting that many people here seem to give and extra dollar to the bartender when there is already a 15 percent tip included on the receipt for every drink you buy......even soda.

 

 

 

With Cheers there is only $7.50 in gratuities split among all the bartenders and servers that serve you over the course of the day. I typically give them $1 cash tip per drink as well. Plus I used to tip an extra dollar once in a while before Cheers. It helps you get served faster the next time around too.

[Tortoiselvr]

Does anyone tip extra to the dining room staff on the last night?

I don't see that listed in any of the replies.

[firemanbobswife]

Does anyone tip extra to the dining room staff on the last night?

 

I don't see that listed in any of the replies.

 

 

Yes we normally do. Only once we didn't and that was our last time on the Conquest. Our service was painfully slow and the waiter wasn't that friendly. Not bad, just not warranting above and beyond the prepaid gratuities. We usually give an extra $20 pp to the head waiter and $10 to each assistant.

[Froufie]

You do not need to 'tip' room steward to provide ice refills twice daily....this is done automatically if you ask for this the first day :)

[dmdiver]

We always prepay our gratuities just to get them out of the way. We do have cash for any additional tipping. Usually it's for excursion guides, dining room waiter, sometimes the dining room hostess. It varies from cruise to cruise - just depends on what the personal experience is. We've not ordered room service, but it is expected to tip - seems I read $1 per item, but others can tell you their experiences. We don't typically tip bar waiters extra, since there is a gratuity automatically added. I do know a friend of ours that ordered drinks every night in the dining room tipped the bar waiter at the end of the cruise, as he would always have his drink to him right after we were seated & kept them coming.

[cruizinrican]

Grabbing popcorn

 

So bad! Lmao

[Galatz]

You definitely don't need to tip more unless you order room service or something like that. Don't stress about it and no one will give you dirty looks if you dont.

 

Just from a practical stand point, if you order a lot of drinks, a $1 with each drink you order will greatly reduce turn around time from order until the drink arrives. First night at dinner, give the bartender a dollar with the order and you'll see how fast the drinks start coming.

[pr1vatepiles]

This thread has been a gold mine of information. Just booked my first carnival cruise for my honeymoon and the deal comes with tips included. Being from England, never know how much to give as tips so this has helped lots.

 

Wasn't sure how it would all work with Carnival, weather they did like what I saw on Royal, where you would get vouchers at end of cruise to put in envelopes and pass to appropriate people.

[footballbabe3]

Grabbing popcorn

LMAO now that is funny

 

 

Good point. I forgot room service. $3.00 each delivery (I keep a stack of ones for this as well). And bartenders - $1.00 for each drink, left with the receipt

Edited June 9, 2016 by footballbabe3

[skridge]

And the ones who tell you not tipping is a sin.

 

I guess I am that guy. Not tipping is not a sin. It just makes you a jerk. If you do not prepay and do not tip the recommended amount you are messing with these peoples livelihood. If you can't afford to tip then you should not go on vacation.

[TerReuv]

OP -just remember that everything on this thread is only a suggestion. You can tip any extra or amount that you wish. As you can tell there are many who tip a lot and there are many who tip a buck or two.

 

Some people feel they need to pre-tip the steward to do things for them. We have not found that to be the case. We do tip the steward extra at the end of the cruise if he went above and beyond.

 

Basically, everything is covered by pre-paying gratuities with the exception of room service and the porters at the port who take your luggage. Tip is added to your each drink you purchase. Anything extra that you feel is warrented is up to you and ONLY you.

[seaturtle5]

op, there is not a single thing else you need to pay in tips. even as far as room service and such, there is no requirement to tip a penny more. that being said, do whatever makes you feel happy. if you don't want to tip more and that makes you happy, go for it. if you want to tip over the moon like I did once on a pink jeep tour .... still the best excursion i have ever taken and the driver knew that as well after the 100 dollar tip i gave her .... and that makes you happy, do it. no one on board is going to get mad or upset either way so just do what makes you happy and stress free and have a great cruise.

 

^^^^ Exactly....if you feel that an employee or group of employees on board have gone above and beyond to make your trip extra special, a tip to show appreciation is a nice gesture. But, not required. Do what you feel is right for your family on your vacation. We have 2 little ones (one still in diapers) and have had great experiences with room stewards and wait staff working with us. We typically tip the room steward a little more than we would if our kids were older because he has to deal with dirty diapers (of course, we do bag them in the handy-dandy "biohazard" bags they provide) and the wait staff because they tend to really cater to the kiddos. But, again...it's whatever you feel is right for the experience you had on board. Enjoy your cruise!

[cheermomof2girls]

We have only been on one previous cruise, but besides the automatic gratuities, we tip room service, porter, etc each a couple bucks each time. (We had small room service orders), gave the steward and main dining room waiters extra at the end. We buy cheers, so we tip on each drink unless the bartender was not fast or friendly. We mainly drank at the alchemy bar and tipped an extra 1-3 dollars for each drink. We are curious and asked how the gratuities worked on cheers, and the gratuity is so little that they are getting on the automatic gratuity added to the cheers price, that after learning that, we started tipping with each drink. It added up, of course, but not too bad, and the service was great.

[tlayne]

We prepay gratuities, and for the most part, that is the end of it. That being said, I have a food allergy and have to work with the hostess each day to pre-order my food. Because of this, we typically give her an extra tip of twenty-ish dollars for the time she spends with me to ensure I do not get sick.

 

On a previous cruise with family, the hostess ended up helping the whole table get an extra day of strawberry bisque and shrimp cocktail (I think) at our last dinner, among other extras during the week. I do believe she got extra tips from everyone in the family that cruise. :)

[asalligo]

Especially now that prepaid tips have risen again, there is absolutely no reason to add to this. I tip the porters who take my bags. One dollar per bag and the room service person. Remember, what you have paid in tips is no small amount either. A family of four is tipping like $65 a day now.

 

There is also a tip built into your drink price, do not do like I did on my first cruise and hand each person who delivers a drink an extra dollar when %15 was already built into the price.

[asalligo]

Now, I will start a firestorm here. Try this.

 

Do not prepay gratuities and on day one tip your room steward a $20 and tell him how you like your room taken care of. I like fresh towels twice a day, new sheets every day, both a morning and evening spruce and the kids love the towel animals.

 

Then each day leave him another $20. On the last day of the cruise I remove all gratuities and pay the same amount in cash to the restaurant staff and the rest to the steward, and I give my kids each $10 to give to any employee who made their cruise nice. I am still tipping the full amount, even a little more, but my room steward thinks he is being tipped double until the last day and I get superior service. A little underhanded, but that is how they should already be treating everyone.

 

Now, I have tried it the other way. Thinking maybe I am paying for nothing here, but the one cruise I did prepay, service was dismal compared to the rest, many days I had no towel animal even after mentioning it and had to ask for towels.

 

Yes, I know, some people behind the scenes miss a tip this way. Sorry, that is a problem Carnival must address. When did tipping become salary for people I never see or speak to?

Edited June 9, 2016 by asalligo

[Tapi]

Do not prepay gratuities and on day one tip your room steward a $20 and tell him how you like your room taken care of. I like fresh towels twice a day, new sheets every day, both a morning and evening spruce and the kids love the towel animals.

 

Then each day leave him another $20. On the last day of the cruise I remove all gratuities and pay the same amount in cash to the restaurant staff and the rest to the steward...

 

 

You must've gotten really burned by that cabin steward to have this system in place.

 

....a little underhanded, but that is how they should already be treating everyone.

 

 

The word "demeaning" is what was crossing my mind.

[Computer Nerd]

Why would soda be excluded? It takes as long to pour one of those as it does a beer or glass of wine.

 

beer take a pop of the top, nothing more. even less if it's a screw top. and i prefer to be handed my soda in the can as well. no need to pour anything. 15 percent is a lot to 'pop a top'.

[Computer Nerd]

With Cheers there is only $7.50 in gratuities split among all the bartenders and servers that serve you over the course of the day. I typically give them $1 cash tip per drink as well. Plus I used to tip an extra dollar once in a while before Cheers. It helps you get served faster the next time around too.

 

i have only ever tipped a bar worker once and never a bartender....just the guy who comes out to the tables at the pool once. he was such a comedian the whole trip that i gave him 5 bucks the last day of the cruise. otherwise, the included gratuity is more than enough considering what they normally do for me.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Computer Nerd

[Computer Nerd]

You definitely don't need to tip more unless you order room service or something like that. Don't stress about it and no one will give you dirty looks if you dont.

 

Just from a practical stand point, if you order a lot of drinks, a $1 with each drink you order will greatly reduce turn around time from order until the drink arrives. First night at dinner, give the bartender a dollar with the order and you'll see how fast the drinks start coming.

 

if one is worried about turn around time just order your second drink when you get the first. ;)

[Computer Nerd]

OP -just remember that everything on this thread is only a suggestion. You can tip any extra or amount that you wish. As you can tell there are many who tip a lot and there are many who tip a buck or two, and many that tip only what is required.

 

Some people feel they need to pre-tip the steward to do things for them. We have not found that to be the case. We do tip the steward extra at the end of the cruise if he went above and beyond.

 

Basically, everything is covered by pre-paying gratuities with the exception of room service and the porters at the port who take your luggage. Tip is added to your each drink you purchase. Anything extra that you feel is warrented is up to you and ONLY you.

 

there, fixed it for you. ;)

[elliair]

I tip what is required. On Princess I like the nice bar soap and lotion that they give to us. I tip the room steward an extra $10.00 3 days into the cruise and ask him/her to leave us more soap and lotion. If I get lotion and soap everyday, then I slip him/her another $10.00 3 days later and thank them for the soap and lotion. One time our room steward gave me a bag of goodies that are only given to guests in suites. I bring the soap and lotion home and use it every day. When I start to run low, I book another cruise.:D

 

On our Royal cruise in November we have the free gratuity offer. I'll still leave the room steward the extra $$$ if he leaves me the extra soap and lotion.