Tip at the end or pre pay

[mdsgu]

We usually pre-pay, just to avoid a huge bill at the end (also why we pre-purchase Cheers). We make it a point to briefly chat with our steward on Day 1 to let him/her know we want twice daily service, extra towels, and a full ice bucket each day. And we pre-tip him/her $20 cash. In all but one case, we've gotten exactly what we've asked for, and we tipped him/her an additional $20 at the end of the cruise. (That one case where it didn't work out -- there was no extra end-of-cruise tip.)

[Alaskan Joe]

#1) MDR- I pre-pay tips and if they do a great job something at the end:D. Most times MDR staff is great on all cruise lines.

 

#2) Cabin Steward- I pre-pay tips and again extra on the end if deserved, but the last few cruises we have barely seen our cabin steward due to the fact they are over worked so we got nothing special so we did not tip extra.

 

#3) The Bar Staff- below is what I said on another thread,

 

People think my DW and I are "STUPID" for tipping extra if you have pre-paid gratuity. However, this is the exact reason why we do it. For me its just about the priority service when the bars are busy, because I only drink beer for the most part (maybe 3-5 pool side fruity drinks a cruise). Now my DW benefits because she drinks mixed drinks such as; Vodka- Diet Coke/ Jim Beam-Diet Coke ect. In fact, we had a bartender making a round of "Washington Apples Shots" and when he was done pouring he was like oops:eek: I made 1 shot to many. Then he says to my DW, "Miss Lisa, I going to have to pour it down the sink, unless you just want it, it will not go on your SS card". Then he comes around the other side of the bar (our side) and grabs her arm and he twisted it so hard she had to say YES i will drink it....LoL McBoatFace is correct there are perks for tipping extra, early in the cruise.

 

 

My Two Cents;)!

[momonthego17]

We usually pre-pay, just to avoid a huge bill at the end (also why we pre-purchase Cheers). We make it a point to briefly chat with our steward on Day 1 to let him/her know we want twice daily service, extra towels, and a full ice bucket each day. And we pre-tip him/her $20 cash. In all but one case, we've gotten exactly what we've asked for, and we tipped him/her an additional $20 at the end of the cruise. (That one case where it didn't work out -- there was no extra end-of-cruise tip.)

 

 

 

We do the same (except we don’t get Cheers) and we have always had great service. We also tip out extra to our MDR staff.

 

 

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[mdsgu]

We usually pre-pay, just to avoid a huge bill at the end (also why we pre-purchase Cheers). We make it a point to briefly chat with our steward on Day 1 to let him/her know we want twice daily service, extra towels, and a full ice bucket each day. And we pre-tip him/her $20 cash. In all but one case, we've gotten exactly what we've asked for, and we tipped him/her an additional $20 at the end of the cruise. (That one case where it didn't work out -- there was no extra end-of-cruise tip.)

 

I forgot to mention the dining staff. We do early dining so we have the same waitstaff every night. If they are exemplary, and most times they are, we tip them out at the end (except my mother-in-law, who feels the need to leave $5 to $10 each night). We have had, a few times, waiters who seemed to take forever -- no extra tips there.

 

At the bars, we always give $1 per drink. As others have said, it really does help. The roving waiters on Lido, in Ocean Plaza, and even at the Platinum/Diamond parties, who are spread thinner than ever, always make it back around before you finish the last drink, and they've pretty much committed your folio number to memory. If there is a line at a bar, and they see you in the back, they'll get to you faster. Occasionally, if your dining staff is on point, they'll have your favorite dinner drink waiting at the table when you arrive.

[summersigh]

See no reason to tip before we get the service we are tipping for. Leave the auto tips in place and add if service deserves it.

That's what we do and have never had a reason to believe we were slighted in service because we did that. We leave the auto tips in place - we don't prepay them but they go on the credit card bill which we pay when we return home for no interest.

[Out of Iowa]

We choose to prepay tips when we book and pay the cruise in full. I always take cash to reward the cabin steward, waiters, etc. if service is excellent. This past time, the waiters in MDR were so painfully slow and the cabin steward was poor at providing new towels, absent in creating towel animals, not good at getting beds made that I didn't need the extra cash for its intended purpose. I would have removed tips (they certainly were not warranted) --- except I believe that those workers' families need that income.

[stanatbil]

I'm not sure if the room stewards know if you pre-pay or not but the dining staff does. On our last cruise on the Vista in January we had anytime dining and when we would check in they would give us this little piece of paper to give to the hostess. I noticed one night that under my Daughter an Son-in-laws names it said pre-paid gratuities. They were the only ones in our group that had prepaid. Not sure if it matter one way or the other but I found this interesting.

[cmukid87]

Without starting a gratuity war...It's very hard to compensate everyone who has had a hand in your cruising experience. That is why gratuities are automatically charged to your account.

[558]

I always consider tipping a personal matter and will NEVER brag about how much I tip, who I tip, when and where I tip and of all places on a public forum where talk is cheap!

Wouldn't it be interesting if the big tippers tossing wads of cash around on these forums were to actually post some kind of proof of their generosity to substantiate their claim/s?

Like I said, talk is cheap.

[mdin]

We do both. We pre-pay, which is the bare minimum if you ask me, and then we'll tip cash at the end if we feel the attendants have done a great job. I've never been given a reason to not tip at the end.

 

Exactly what we do.

[summersigh]

I may be wrong but I believe that all the staff knows is who pulled their tips - not who's prepaid or who's auto-tips which is added to the credit card bill at the end.

[CJHAN]

We prepay because it's easier to account for long before we even cruise.

 

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[kdawg954]

I just do the tips like normal and use OBC to cover them or settle them when Sign and Sail card is closed out. . . .unless there is an incentive to prepaying them (ensure Anytime dining for example) or they come as a free perk.

 

I have never tipped extra and I feel fine about that. I definitely don’t tip more at the start for better service, I should be getting that no matter what.

[Micahs Grandad]

I may be wrong but I believe that all the staff knows is who pulled their tips - not who's prepaid or who's auto-tips which is added to the credit card bill at the end.

 

John Heald has said numerous times the staff does not know how they are being tipped until after the cruise. Wonder about that but who knows?.

[timc.jb]

I like to pay beforehand so I don't have to worry about it at the end. It is really a personal preference.

[bvhboat]

We do both. We pre-pay, which is the bare minimum if you ask me, and then we'll tip cash at the end if we feel the attendants have done a great job. I've never been given a reason to not tip at the end.

 

Totally agree.

[Thad409]

I always consider tipping a personal matter and will NEVER brag about how much I tip, who I tip, when and where I tip and of all places on a public forum where talk is cheap!

Wouldn't it be interesting if the big tippers tossing wads of cash around on these forums were to actually post some kind of proof of their generosity to substantiate their claim/s?

Like I said, talk is cheap.

 

I don't believe anybody was bragging on how much they tip, I started this topic because I was just curious about what people did as for as pre paying or post paying for the gratuities and the type of service they received by doing so. I know everybody has their own preference and that's fine. I know in the past as I stated in the earlier quote that I had subpar service on the last two days of my cruise on the Fantasy. Again it may of been that the steward was having a bad couple of days, these people are away from their families for long periods of time. Thanks for all the replies.

[Elaine5715]

Just curious what everyone else does, I've done both and was wondering if the quality of service is affected if the staff already knows they have been tipped or if they know at all that you haven't pre payed your gratuities

They do not receive the grats until after the cruise ends.

[Elaine5715]

I may be wrong but I believe that all the staff knows is who pulled their tips - not who's prepaid or who's auto-tips which is added to the credit card bill at the end.

They definitely know. Remember Guest Services staff aren't sworn to secrecy. The crew shares bad guest stories.

[simplelife]

A couple of times we have prepaid. Usually we just have the autotips added on the cruise. We have not noticed a difference in service either way. Usually on the last night we give our steward and waitstaff ( if we have fixed dining) something extra.

[mjktg99]

I've started pre paying my tips for my far out bookings. This way I have less of a bill after the cruise..

 

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[comiso13]

some good comments for and against pre paying or not. I am not an expert on cruising, but in my few experiences, I've not prepaid, but I sure did get outstanding service. My room steward was always friendly, and would greet me even if we just passed each other in the hallway. I did give him an extra tip at the end to show my gratitude for his efforts.

[firemanbobswife]

They likely know. I have seen reports on Cruise Critic saying that the stewards have a list on their carts of who prepaid their gratuities and who hasn't paid yet. I always forget to look when passing the carts.

 

This is true. I have seen this and reported on here. On Conquest the second time my RS even showed me the clipboard. There is a column for Prepay and a “Y” or “Yes” if you did. I’m not going to get into the debate on if you get better service or not, but they do know.

 

I prepay because it’s easier. It’s nonnegotiable for me just like port fees. I pay those whether I get off the ship or not so to me it’s no different. Plus like this last time by adding them it tipped my cruise to just over $1000 so I was able to use 2 of my Amex $100 off deals vs 1 saving me $200 instead of $100. Even when that offer isn’t active I pay with discounted gift cards so it makes no difference to me when Carnival gets my money. It’s already gone to the GC people.

[firemanbobswife]

I may be wrong but I believe that all the staff knows is who pulled their tips - not who's prepaid or who's auto-tips which is added to the credit card bill at the end.

 

They 100% know who had prepaid. They find out after the cruise who stiffed them. Either way they don’t get paid until after.

[Thad409]

Thanks for all the good replies and comments. It's nice to see different perspectives