Who do you tip, and how much?

[FrankNBrew]

We leave Saturday, sailing Sunday out of Galveston. I'm getting my cash ready for our trip. I don't want to take too much, or not enough. I'm looking for advice on who we are expected to tip, and how much. We have tours at all 3 stops (Cozumel private Jeep tour, Cayman jet ski tour, Jamaica private 5 hour tour) and I would like tipping suggestions from the time we reach the port until we get back to port. 

[LHT28]

tip the ports  that take your bags at the dock

tip the tour guide

leave the aut tip in place if your cruise line  does  that

if you order room service  tip a couple of $ to the delivery person

 the rest is personal choice

[erby2283]

I tip: 

Porters to handle my luggage

Some waiters - if they provide good service or it's a sea day and get multiple drinks for me

Tour operators

 

In addition to the auto-tips, I also tip my waiter, asst waiter and drink waiter for my dinner staff. They always appreciate an extra tip and they work very hard. 

 

Then we also tip our room steward as well.

[Velvetwater]

See what the service is like when you get there and make your choice and sort the money then through getting change. Don't worry about hauling a load of notes on the cruise because of worrying.

 

No-one can tell you what is right/wrong.

[SRF]

Just an FYI, the porters that take your luggage at the port are Longshoremen.  Their average pay is around $100,000.  Close to $200,000 for senior people.  And those doing the cruise ship gig are senior people.

 

I leave auto gratuities in place, tip bartenders that go above and beyond, room service, and room steward if they do a good job.

[GUT2407]

Even those who live in the land of the tip don’t know who they need to tip or how much.

 

surely just leave the auto tips in place and you’re set.

[Schoifmom]

• It's considered the norm to tip anyone who handles your luggage (shuttle drivers, taxi drivers, porters at the airport/cruiseport, even curbside check-in at the airport).  We normally tip $1-2 per bag.
• On my cruise lines, room service waiters are not part of the standard tip pool, please slip them something.  We normally tip $2 for a small order, more if it is a large order of food.
• Anyone who renders an extra service should be tipped.
• It is the norm to tip excursion hosts and drivers.  The longer the excursion, the higher the tip.  We will normally tip $20 and $10 (host and driver) for a 1/2 day excursion.
• Please leave the standard gratuities in place.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Schoifmom

[Turtles06]

And for those staying in a hotel pre- or post-cruise (or any other time), please don’t forget to leave a tip for the house keepers. They have really hard jobs (including cleaning your toilet). 

[GUT2407]

5 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

And for those staying in a hotel pre- or post-cruise (or any other time), please don’t forget to leave a tip for the house keepers. They have really hard jobs (including cleaning your toilet). 

Which is what they’re paid to do, so how is that exceptional service?

[Turtles06]

4 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Which is what they’re paid to do, so how is that exceptional service?

 

If I read your avatar correctly, you are from Australia, so I don't fault you for not understanding American wages and cultural and economic norms.  The women (and they are mostly women) who pull the dirty sheets off hotel beds, make up your room with clean sheets, vacuum, change the towels, clean the toilet, sink and shower, mop the floor, empty the trash, etc., are doing their jobs, but they are paid very little to do them. They are well within the group of people who should be tipped in the United States.  People think nothing of handing a few bucks to the men (and they usually are men) who spend a few minutes rolling their suitcases on a cart into their hotel rooms -- they are getting paid to do those jobs too -- but never give a second thought to the housekeepers, who have far more difficult and menial jobs.  All of these people are paid low wages, with the employers' expectation that these workers will be tipped.  But the house keepers are often forgotten.

[SantaFeFan]

12 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Which is what they’re paid to do, so how is that exceptional service?

 

It's called "compassion" and "generosity". Apparently an increasingly rare commodity these days. 

[SantaFeFan]

Just now, Turtles06 said:

 

If I read your avatar correctly, you are from Australia, so I don't fault you for not understanding American wages and cultural and economic norms.  The women (and they are mostly women) who pull the dirty sheets off hotel beds, make up your room with clean sheets, vacuum, change the towels, clean the toilet, sink and shower, mop the floor, empty the trash, etc., are doing their jobs, but they are paid very little to do them. They are well within the group of people who should be tipped in the United States.  People think nothing of handing a few bucks to the men (and they usually are men) who spend a few minutes rolling their suitcases on a cart into their hotel rooms -- they are getting paid to do those jobs too -- but never give a second thought to the housekeepers, who have far more difficult and menial jobs.  All of these people are paid low wages, with the employers' expectation that these workers will be tipped.  But the house keepers are often forgotten.

 

Turtles06,

 

GUT2407 has been participating in and responding to these gratuity threads for as long as I can remember. He knows full well how the process works, and why it is common in those countries that have a tipping culture.

 

He is just trolling.

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

Turtles06,

 

GUT2407 has been participating in and responding to these gratuity threads for as long as I can remember. He knows full well how the process works, and why it is common in those countries that have a tipping culture.

 

He is just trolling.

 

Ah, thank you very much for that bit of advice.  I now know to ignore him on this.  Much appreciated!

[Krazy Kruizers]

We tip:

 

*taxi cab drivers

*the people who have to wheel chair me through the airports as well as off and on the ship

*hotel people who take our luggage to the room

*the people who clean up our hotel room

*any restaurant where we eat ashore

*the longshoremen who take our luggage

*tour guides

*bus drivers as they have to help me on and off the bus and get my rollator

*we leave the auto tips on the ship in place

*we do tip the servers in the specialty restaurant as the fee we pay on HAL to eat there does not include anything for them and they get only pennies from the auto tip

*cabin stewards get extra (even though we are not messy people)

* and anyone else on the ship who has made our cruise an enjoyable one

 

We don't carry a lot of small bills -- you can always get change at the front desk.

 

[Deck_Diva]

We’re sailing on this Oasis TA 14 nights to Barcelona in Royal Star Class Suite this April.  We need n appreciate any suggestions or feed back from those who had stayed in a Royal Star Class Suites.  ?? How much tip we should give to our Genie for the 14 nights cruise?  There’s 5 adults sharing this 2 bedroom Star Class Suite.

We stayed in a Star Class Suite also last Jan 2017 on the Harmony on same suite & there were 4 adults but for 7 nights only and we gave him $600. It does not specify anywhere that we need to tip our Genie or how much to tip our Genie. Any suggestions we will greatly appreciate. BTW....

  ....we are not rich just retirees on limited income.

 

Thank you & Happy New Lunar 2019!

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by Deck_Diva

[GUT2407]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

If I read your avatar correctly, you are from Australia, so I don't fault you for not understanding American wages and cultural and economic norms.  The women (and they are mostly women) who pull the dirty sheets off hotel beds, make up your room with clean sheets, vacuum, change the towels, clean the toilet, sink and shower, mop the floor, empty the trash, etc., are doing their jobs, but they are paid very little to do them. They are well within the group of people who should be tipped in the United States.  People think nothing of handing a few bucks to the men (and they usually are men) who spend a few minutes rolling their suitcases on a cart into their hotel rooms -- they are getting paid to do those jobs too -- but never give a second thought to the housekeepers, who have far more difficult and menial jobs.  All of these people are paid low wages, with the employers' expectation that these workers will be tipped.  But the house keepers are often forgotten.

But tipping is meant to be for service, not because the boss won’t pay. How could anyone ever justify selling a hotel room that hasn’t been cleaned, including the toilet.

[SantaFeFan]

5 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

But tipping is meant to be for service, not because the boss won’t pay. How could anyone ever justify selling a hotel room that hasn’t been cleaned, including the toilet.

 

(sung to the theme of Rawhide, with apologies to Frankie Lane, Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin - 1958)

 

Keep trollin', trollin', trollin'
Call the tipping broken
Keep the tips and tokens

Then hide

 

Through rain and wind and weather
Stop my tips forever
Wishin' my tips were soon denied.
All the things I'm dissin'
My complaints, gripes and hissin'
Are needed to satisfy my pride.

 

Tell 'em no, stiff 'em now
Stiff 'em now, Tell 'em no
Tell 'em no, Stiff' em now

Then hide

 

Cut 'em out, lead 'em on

Lead 'em on, cut 'em out

Cut 'em out, lead 'em on

Then hide

source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/rawhidelyrics.html

Edited February 6, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[GUT2407]

That ignore button doesn’t work too good it seems.

[cb at sea]

Tips for the cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiter are covered by the gratuities they add on a daily basis, unless you pre-paid your tips.  All beverage purchases have 18% added to the bill or to the price of the "package" if you purchase that.   No further is required or expected.

 

Baggage handlers $1-2 per bag

Tours...that's dependent on whether the tour is merely transportation or if there is a guide who enhances the experience.  Anywhere from $5 -$20, depending on YOUR enjoyment!

[pacruise804]

13 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

But tipping is meant to be for service, not because the boss won’t pay. How could anyone ever justify selling a hotel room that hasn’t been cleaned, including the toilet.

 

I probably lean more to the side of overtipping, but in this instance I agree with you.  If we are staying several days at a hotel, or did something to cause extra work (large take out boxes to deal with, illness, dirty diapers, etc) then we would tip.  If we are only staying one night and not causing any extra work (sheets need changed for new guests regardless, bathrooms need cleaned and restocked for new guests too).

 

If we stay where a breakfast is included and we notice the staff providing extra service (clearing plates, offering to fill drinks) we would tip then.  If a similar extra service was provided by cleaning staff for a one night stay I would probably tip as well.

 

I don't tip at fast service/counter style restaurants (McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc) and feel no guilt for it.  I do tip at full service (and even some mid-level service) restaurants.

 

OP - when in doubt, bring a little extra cash for contingencies.  Maybe you will feel led to tip someone who you didn't think of and it can be nice to have it (or another emergency might come up).  You can always put the unspent cash back when you get home.