stateroom steward and anytime dining tipping

[jmadams]

I want to give our steward an extra tip to make sure I get good service. What’s considered a good tip per day/person?  My mother and sister are in the next room and I want to cover their tip also. Do you think we will have the same Steward? They are not connecting cabins.

 

I may not eat in the same dining room twice on this cruise.  I was thinking of going to the purses office and just increasing my tips to 20% and not bring cash with me for extra dining/drinking tips. What are most people do to make it easy? 

 

Thanks for your help guys. Your tips are very useful. It makes my planning fun!

 

Jean

[Lady Arwen]

Princess will charge every passenger a daily gratuity fee of approximately $14.50 per person per day (higher for suites). This is charged to your account on  daily basis, you don't have to do anything. It covers your room steward, your dining staff (both in the MDR and buffet) and all those hard working people that you never see, but are all helping to make your cruise memorable.  Please do not have these charges removed.  Of course, for those who go above and beyond,  you may tip EXTRA in cash, usually at the end of your cruise.  You can ask Customer Service to have your family's gratuities covered by the credit card that you have provided. No need to think about %s, it's all done for you.  

[mtnesterz]

As mentioned above, Princess' automatic tipping is $14.50 per person, per day. They say this amount give a wider distribution of your tip than you could with envelopes.  Where automatic tip money really goes is a subject in Youtube videos. But, you may adjust this amount up or down by visiting what Princess calls the Passenger Services desk.  Your drinks will have roughly a 15% tip added to the tab. There are envelopes provided at Passenger Services the last couple days of your cruise if you wish to supplement in a more personal manner.

Cabin service is seamless in quality. I do not believe tipping in advance will change your experience.  What does make a difference is taking a few minutes here and there to chat with your cabin steward.  They have interesting stories to tell. They have a tough job with little time off while all around them, people are on vacation having fun.

Edited September 3, 2019 by mtnesterz

[riffatsea]

To make it easy just pay the automatic tips that will be added onto your account!

You do not have to tip extra daily for good service!!!

IF you really like your steward you can choose to give something extra but you do  not have to do it daily!! Your auto tips will include all workers on board so you do not have to worry about tipping each time you go to dinner!! Not at all necessary!!

[voljeep]

31 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

Your drinks will have roughly a 15% tip added to the tab

currently 18%

[skynight]

1 hour ago, jmadams said:

I want to give our steward an extra tip to make sure I get good service. What’s considered a good tip per day/person?  My mother and sister are in the next room and I want to cover their tip also. Do you think we will have the same Steward? They are not connecting cabins.

There is a good chance you will have the same cabin steward. Cabin stewards provide excellent service. Their gratuity is part of the daily per person hotel charge. I would not provide any cash tips to the cabin steward in advance. It will not improve service. If you want provide a cash tip in envelope at the end of the voyage.

 

I may not eat in the same dining room twice on this cruise.  I was thinking of going to the purses office and just increasing my tips to 20% and not bring cash with me for extra dining/drinking tips. What are most people do to make it easy?

Waiters in the DR's as well as those in the buffet and specialty dining are also part of the daily hotel charge. We really don't tip waiters when we have anytime dining. The waiters can change each evening.

We normally do provide an extra cash tip if we dine in a specialty restaurant.

All beverages have an 18% gratuity automatically added to the menu price. You can not change this up or down at passenger services. If you frequent the same lounge or bar and the same drink waiter or bartender serves you all cruise then if you wish you could provide them with an extra cash tip. 

 

Thanks for your help guys. Your tips are very useful. It makes my planning fun!

 

Jean

See above

[jmadams]

OK you guys are really clearing things up for me and yes it is my first cruise. I probably should have just asked how much cash to bring.  I really don’t know what standard tipping protocol is on cruising.   At a hotel I plan on tipping daily.   I will let my Stewart know that family members are in the cabin next door. I’m going to ask them to open up the balcony.

 

When do you guys use cash on the ship? 

 

I read some people bring gifts to leave their Stewart’s. I am doing a mid October Cabo cruise, so Halloween/Day of the Dead is coming up. 

[wrongwaywatson]

I would not bring a gift.  The crew shares cabins and space is very limited.  They have free food on the cruise, so that isn't a good idea either.  Cash is always appreciated.   I give my cabin stewart some cash at the end of the cruise.  I do anytime dining and if I sit at the same table and really like my wait staff, I give them a little extra on the last evening.  Other than that, they are covered in the tips.  The bar staff receives extra gratuitiy, because every time you order a drink, a tip is added

[donaldsc]

2 hours ago, jmadams said:

I want to give our steward an extra tip to make sure I get good service. What’s considered a good tip per day/person?  My mother and sister are in the next room and I want to cover their tip also. Do you think we will have the same Steward? They are not connecting cabins.

 

I may not eat in the same dining room twice on this cruise.  I was thinking of going to the purses office and just increasing my tips to 20% and not bring cash with me for extra dining/drinking tips. What are most people do to make it easy? 

 

Thanks for your help guys. Your tips are very useful. It makes my planning fun!

 

Jean

 

You will get the same excellent service regardless of whether you give the steward and extra tip or not.

 

DON

[NavyVeteran]

5 minutes ago, jmadams said:

OK you guys are really clearing things up for me and yes it is my first cruise. I probably should have just asked how much cash to bring.  I really don’t know what standard tipping protocol is on cruising.   At a hotel I plan on tipping daily.   I will let my Stewart know that family members are in the cabin next door. I’m going to ask them to open up the balcony.

 

When do you guys use cash on the ship? 

 

I read some people bring gifts to leave their Stewart’s. I am doing a mid October Cabo cruise, so Halloween/Day of the Dead is coming up. 

As stated, the daily hotel charge includes normal gratuities. You have no obligation to tip more, but you may want to for outstanding service.

 

If you want to give your cabin steward something extra, the best thing would be cash in an envelope at the end of the cruise. They don't have a lot of room in their cabins to store stuff, so it would be very difficult to find anything else he or she would appreciate instead of cash. The other thing to give for extra service is to fill out the card available at Passenger Services with the name of the Princess employee and details of the great service - these cards are very useful to them in getting future contracts with Princess and possible promotions.

 

There is no way to know in advance if you and your family members will have the same steward. You can find that out when you talk with the steward on the first day. If you have different stewards, then each should be tipped separately - if you decide to give an extra tip.

 

I would not recommend increasing the hotel charge at the Passenger Services Desk. This increase will go to a large group of people - not to the ones who gave you the extra service. In my opinion, it is better to leave the standard hotel charge and to tip individuals separately if wanted.

 

There is no need to tip waiters and bartenders every time you get a drink - they are covered by the 18% automatic gratuity on drinks. If you frequent the same bar throughout the cruise and get excellent service from the bartender or bartenders and servers there, you may want to give them something extra (cash in an envelope on the last night). If you have the same waiters in anytime dining several times and get excellent service, you may want to give them something extra.

 

If you take Princess shore excursions, you will probably want to tip the guides and drivers on the excursions. These tips would be in cash - either dollars or local currency. In the Caribbean, dollars would be fine. In Europe, I would use euros.

 

You don't have to bring a lot of small bills for tipping if you don't want. Although the Passenger Services desk will not cash checks or change currencies for other countries, they will change large US bills into smaller US bills.

[suekel]

19 minutes ago, jmadams said:

OK you guys are really clearing things up for me and yes it is my first cruise. I probably should have just asked how much cash to bring.  I really don’t know what standard tipping protocol is on cruising.   At a hotel I plan on tipping daily.   I will let my Stewart know that family members are in the cabin next door. I’m going to ask them to open up the balcony.

 

When do you guys use cash on the ship? 

 

I read some people bring gifts to leave their Stewart’s. I am doing a mid October Cabo cruise, so Halloween/Day of the Dead is coming up. 

The only thing I use cash for on the cruise is feeding it into a slot machine, and even that isn't necessary.  Have a great cruise.  Do the luxury sailboat ride in Cabo.  🙂

[riffatsea]

A cruise adds on tips for you a stay in a hotel on land does not do this so it's different.

You wouldn't bring a gift for the staff at a hotel on land and you certainly don't need to bring one for the crew on a ship!

As mentioned before IF we like the steward we give something extra some time during the cruise. We don't wait for the last day. The same goes if we have a wait staff we like.

Bar bills have tips added automatically. Some folks who use the same bartender often give extra but you don't have to do that either.

We bring some cash for those extras and for tips on tours and just to have in case.

DH doesn't know how to travel without several hundred $$s in cash in his pocket!!

[brisalta]

As the others have mentioned tips I will not deal with that but something else you mentioned.

You mention going to Cabo by which I assume you mean Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. I recommend taking a number of small denomination dollar bills to Mexico. Most of the vendors in that region will take dollars or pesos. For the short number of hours you will be there it will be easier to deal in dollars and not worry about having left over pesos.

[c-boy]

27 minutes ago, jmadams said:

OK you guys are really clearing things up for me and yes it is my first cruise. I probably should have just asked how much cash to bring.  I really don’t know what standard tipping protocol is on cruising.   At a hotel I plan on tipping daily.   I will let my Stewart know that family members are in the cabin next door. I’m going to ask them to open up the balcony.

 

When do you guys use cash on the ship? 

 

I read some people bring gifts to leave their Stewart’s. I am doing a mid October Cabo cruise, so Halloween/Day of the Dead is coming up. 

ewwwww that's a fun cruise, d o d is excelente'.  

[denmarks]

I read somewhere that if you cancel the automatic gratuity and pay in cash the money must be turned in and is still divided for all the service staff. They can only keep money that is over the automatic tip. Therefore if you gave $2 a day to your waiter and $10 a day to your room steward they would have to turn it in to be divided by all. Can anyone confirm if this it true?

[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, denmarks said:

Can anyone confirm if this it true?

How many times does it need to be posted as such on Princess thread topics for people to believe?

 

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, jmadams said:

When do you guys use cash on the ship? 

Only time you'll use cash on the ship is when you give that "something extra" to those who gave you above and beyond service (also a buck or 2 for room service). If you do the envelopes, be sure to put your cabin # & name on them.

We tip $20 for our steward/waiters in traditional dining for a "standard" 7-10 day cruise. More for longer cruises. Sometimes none for below the norm service.

Edited September 3, 2019 by JF - retired RRT

[ell52]

2 hours ago, jmadams said:

When do you guys use cash on the ship? 

 

I read some people bring gifts to leave their Stewart’s.

On the ship, we use cash for:

• Room service (usually about $2, depending on what they're delivering) 
• Extra tips at end of cruise for steward or dining staff we think have provided exceptional service (Note: we feel no obligation to give extra if we get average or sub-par service) 

So generally, we have a stash of small bills for room service and to have handy when we go into ports. 

 

As for gifts to your steward, I'd agree with others that a positive Comment Card at the end of the cruise is the best gift and greatly appreciated as it goes toward their overall evaluation for promotions and future contracts.  Make sure you get their name, position, and your cabin #  on the form. And if possible, be specific about what they did that was "above and beyond" expectations.  

[Lady Arwen]

Please, please do NOT give gifts to your cabin steward.  You do not know these people or what their culture is and they don't have room in their tiny cabins for "stuff".  Cash is king and it's much more appreciated than a trinket.

[Potstech]

Want to give them a gift?  Give them a calling card that can be used to make International Calls. No storage needed and they can call their families when they get the chance. This was from several crew members we have meet on excursions.

[c-boy]

^ now that is BRILLIANT ! 

[cruisenfreak]

But we’ve been told many of the crew now use Facetime and have no use for the cards.

[ell52]

1 minute ago, cruisenfreak said:

But we’ve been told many of the crew now use Facetime and have no use for the cards.

Yes, this.   

 

Years ago, when crew got off, you'd see a rush to shoreside telephones; now it's a rush to internet cafes or wifi hotspots.  

[Crown Cruiser]

In 31 cruises, I have never had to tip a steward in order to receive good service.  I have tipped in cash many times(in addition to the auto gratuities, for exceptional service).

[Mike45LC]

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

Want to give them a gift?  Give them a calling card that can be used to make International Calls. No storage needed and they can call their families when they get the chance. This was from several crew members we have meet on excursions.

Great idea! 

 

We usually bring Filipino telephone cards with us on the cruises as gifts, because we almost always have a Filipino cabin steward (and often other service people); my wife was the one who thought of this, because she always asks the steward (and a lot of the other service personnel) in Tagalog how long since they've been back home, etc.  We buy the cards in a local Filipino grocery store here in Vegas (which has a huge Filipino population).  They are good worldwide, but they are packaged for the Philippines.