Newby here but does anyone ever tip on first day over and above ?

[Mommawo]

We curious as to if anyone upon meeting the room steward tips them as a hello I’m glad to meet you and am thankful you are the one carnival chose to be the steward in our area.  Several have mentioned treating them kind and I absolutely agree this is something I live by daily. When I was young I was a waitress so yeah I tip well and am kind because I have been there and done that.  Do you wait until last day to give an extra tip ? Yes, I realize I have actually already paid a gratuity fee.  We all know 100% of that doesn not go into the hands of the people that have give me great service personally though. I have read a lot that tipping bar tender is a good idea but have not read a lot about room stewards.  

[Cruiser_1977]

Your post will most likely generate a lot of responses. I leave my DSC in place. IF service was spot on and I interact with my steward, I also leave something extra. I make every effort to put into his/her hands directly. If you have one of those sneaky stewards who you would like to tip but you may not "see", ask for an envelope at Guest Services.

[crazy cat mom]

I have been on 2 cruises...so I'm not an expert.  But we tipped our room steward at the beginning, middle and end of each cruise.  We also made sure to tip the bartender when we ordered the first drink of the day.  We also tipped the servers daily especially when we had "my time" dining.  And we NEVER had to wait for anything, even ordering drinks in the dining room.  I understand the cruise lines use tipping to justify their wages, so the assigned tips only take the hard working servers to minimum wage   

[rukkian]

27 minutes ago, Mommawo said:

We curious as to if anyone upon meeting the room steward tips them as a hello I’m glad to meet you and am thankful you are the one carnival chose to be the steward in our area.  Several have mentioned treating them kind and I absolutely agree this is something I live by daily. When I was young I was a waitress so yeah I tip well and am kind because I have been there and done that.  Do you wait until last day to give an extra tip ? Yes, I realize I have actually already paid a gratuity fee.  We all know 100% of that doesn not go into the hands of the people that have give me great service personally though. I have read a lot that tipping bar tender is a good idea but have not read a lot about room stewards.  

You will see some of each, there is not right way.  To me, I leave the dsc in place, and then if I get average service, will drop a 10-20 on the last day,  or up to as much as 50 to the room steward if they go above and beyond.

[sparks1093]

We've done it both ways and noticed no difference in service received so we wait until the end and then provide an extra tip commensurate with the service received.

[Mommawo]

16 minutes ago, crazy cat mom said:

I have been on 2 cruises...so I'm not an expert.  But we tipped our room steward at the beginning, middle and end of each cruise.  We also made sure to tip the bartender when we ordered the first drink of the day.  We also tipped the servers daily especially when we had "my time" dining.  And we NEVER had to wait for anything, even ordering drinks in the dining room.  I understand the cruise lines use tipping to justify their wages, so the assigned tips only take the hard working servers to minimum wage   

Kinda what I was thinking as well

[bsp]

Once when we took my husband's parents we tipped the steward an extra $20 and asked if he'd take care of the parents. Can't say if he didn't anything extra; but, we found tipping good with first drink and you've got yourself a waiter for the cruise. Don't know if it's because we are platinum, but our last Carnival cruise we went to get margaritas at the margarita bar and this young lady remembered us right away. She even told us where to sit when we go to the past cruiser party and said she'd make sure we got plenty of drinks.  She did an excellent job!  We have always had great waiters, room stewards, all employees on Carnival and always have memorable employees. We went on a 12 day cruise on another cruise line and funny, but nobody really stuck out to us (and that was the longest cruise we've ever been on).  Oh well, everybody likes something different.  Happy Cruising 😎

[richard8]

53 minutes ago, Mommawo said:

We curious as to if anyone upon meeting the room steward tips them as a hello I’m glad to meet you and am thankful you are the one carnival chose to be the steward in our area.  Several have mentioned treating them kind and I absolutely agree this is something I live by daily. When I was young I was a waitress so yeah I tip well and am kind because I have been there and done that.  Do you wait until last day to give an extra tip ? Yes, I realize I have actually already paid a gratuity fee.  We all know 100% of that doesn not go into the hands of the people that have give me great service personally though. I have read a lot that tipping bar tender is a good idea but have not read a lot about room stewards.  

Hello, I would consider myself to be a seasoned cruiser. In the beginning when I was asking the same question, I took someone's advice and tipped at introductions . Did not do anything noticable to me. I haven't done early tipping since .

[rukkian]

9 minutes ago, richard8 said:

Hello, I would consider myself to be a seasoned cruiser. In the beginning when I was asking the same question, I took someone's advice and tipped at introductions . Did not do anything noticable to me. I haven't done early tipping since .

To me, if I have to give a tip at the beginning to get good service, that employee is not doing their job.  I go on a ship expecting good service.

[Jerseygirl1416]

I always leave the DSC in place and have tipped both in advance to the room steward as well as at the end and haven’t noticed a difference. Our last cruise on the Breeze I decided to leave $5 each morning with “thank you” written on the note pad note as I’d do at a hotel. We definitely got prompt great service all week but I’m not sure we wouldn’t have without it.

[ricew001]

I give my steward $20 on the first day and say please keep our ice bucket full. Each time I've done that the steward has worked so diligently. This last cruise I tipped him an additional $10 at the end. Hey I'm the fortunate one on vacation. I'm sharing the love. And yes I was a waitress too.

We also began with tipping our bartenders who the remainder of the cruise remembered our names and "broke" some of those Cheers rules to make us happier cruisers. 🙂

[Micahs Grandad]

We have cruised over 25 times and have never thought to bribe our steward for good service and we have always gotten good service.

 

The auto tips give them a nice return on the time they spend in our cabin (we pick up after ourselves and keep cabin neat) and generally see now reason to pay more. 

[serene56]

3 hours ago, crazy cat mom said:

I have been on 2 cruises...so I'm not an expert.  But we tipped our room steward at the beginning, middle and end of each cruise.  We also made sure to tip the bartender when we ordered the first drink of the day.  We also tipped the servers daily especially when we had "my time" dining.  And we NEVER had to wait for anything, even ordering drinks in the dining room.  I understand the cruise lines use tipping to justify their wages, so the assigned tips only take the hard working servers to minimum wage   

what about the people that you do not encounter-- but made your service good-- like the people who work the buffet area.?     We do not tip in the begining-- thats more like a bribe to me.    We leave the auto tip in place and if the crew go over and above what is expected then we tip extra.  last cruise we had no towel animals  (and had kids in the cabin)  so that was no getting extra $$   another cruise we got just the basic.          THe wait staff went above and beyond so we tipped those extra that week

 

[sanmarcosman]

OP, be your smiling friendly self at introductions, state if you have a special request like filling your personal soft sided cooler (you were smart to bring it) and ask them to keep it filled with ice once a day or however you want. Say thank you using their name. If they did as you requested throughout your cruise vacation feel free to leave them an additional tip along with the DSC. Have fun!

[Micahs Grandad]

In the long run they are better off with telling management what a great job the crew did via the comment card.

[sanmarcosman]

1 minute ago, Micah's Grandad said:

In the long run they are better off with telling management what a great job the crew did via the comment card.

Stu,

Has Carnival stopped sending random online post-cruise surveys and gone back to the days when the steward leaves a comment/evaluation form on the beds? 

[Elaine5715]

5 hours ago, Mommawo said:

We curious as to if anyone upon meeting the room steward tips them as a hello I’m glad to meet you and am thankful you are the one carnival chose to be the steward in our area.  Several have mentioned treating them kind and I absolutely agree this is something I live by daily. When I was young I was a waitress so yeah I tip well and am kind because I have been there and done that.  Do you wait until last day to give an extra tip ? Yes, I realize I have actually already paid a gratuity fee.  We all know 100% of that doesn not go into the hands of the people that have give me great service personally though. I have read a lot that tipping bar tender is a good idea but have not read a lot about room stewards.  

100% of the auto grats does go to the intended crew.  There are numerous cruisers who upon meeting the stateroom steward unload a list of demands on how and what they want done, in that case it is a good idea to slip them something.  

[mek]

Occasionally we ask for something special, like the time we requested an extra lounger for our balcony.  We will tip on the spot for something like that, but usually only tip extra at the end of the cruise.  My personal feeling is that a tip at the beginning of the cruise looks like a bribe, so I wouldn't be comfortable doing it.

[coevan]

4 hours ago, ricew001 said:

I give my steward $20 on the first day and say please keep our ice bucket full. Each time I've done that the steward has worked so diligently. This last cruise I tipped him an additional $10 at the end. Hey I'm the fortunate one on vacation. I'm sharing the love. And yes I was a waitress too.

We also began with tipping our bartenders who the remainder of the cruise remembered our names and "broke" some of those Cheers rules to make us happier cruisers. 🙂

 

 

This is what we do. there is no doubt tipping bartenders help. Not only did at least 3 different bars know our name, they knew our folio #. We did a B2B and the bartenders just asked to see our new folio # once. Pretty cool walking up to the bar as the newbees are arriving and the bartenders are addressing you by name. 

[beerman2]

We always make an effort to know our cabin Steward, and give them a little something extra at the beginning and end of cruise.

 

Some say it doesn't make a difference on service with bartenders if you tip, but from my experience it can/does make a difference.

 

Ex: Crowded pool bar , we tipped, and bartender(s) would check us often. Often finishing up an order and we were next. Just took a 👀 and drinks were there.

 

They ( bartenders) know  who gives extra .

 

[Martini Mom]

After reading posts like this, my husband decided to pre-tip (the extra money given in cash) our room steward. Probably one of the most blah weeks of service ever. Of course, maybe that's just how this guy is, with or without the extra tip, but I can tell you something for sure...my husband will no longer give extra tips on hopes of better service.  Tips are now given in response to good service.

[momof3cruisers]

My question to you is, having worked as a waitress, what would you think if someone tipped you at the beginning of a meal? I would have found that weird and awkward so I haven't ever done that. To me, it doesn't feel professional. But they certainly won't turn the money down so do what you want.

[RWolver672]

I agree with the posters that said tipping ahead of time is a bribe.  If we ask for something special and they go out of their way to deliver, we will give them a tip right then.  On the last day of the cruise if a bar waiter has given us great service, I will tip them extra.

[Rudyard]

I don't. If you need to bribe your steward to do a good job, then you need a new steward. I do tip extra at the end of the cruise. 

[airlink diva]

18 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

We've done it both ways and noticed no difference in service received so we wait until the end and then provide an extra tip commensurate with the service received.

Dittom. I tipped $20 on the first day of a cruise with basic requests,mainly ice for my cooler.  Instead had to quest ice and rush clean to semi clean room.  I didn't tip extra nor take off.  Now I just tip extra at the end