$2 Bills for tipping

[cei3]

Are $2 bills suitable for tipping on board? Read somewhere that being the denomination is unusual and seldom seen, that crew may have trouble spending them outside the US. Thoughts please.

CEI3

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, cei3 said:

Thoughts please

Give $1 bills.

[spookwife]

You can’t even spend them INSIDE the US.  
 

most businesses don’t even know they are real. 

[Bizmark'sMom]

Even in the US, people are likely to think $2 bills are fake.  Just use singles, or put the gratuity on your account.

[ChinaShrek]

What about dollar coins?  They are easier to carry.

[davekathy]

9 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

What about dollar coins?  They are easier to carry.

Use dollar bills. A lot easier to carry no matter if giving or receiving. 

[cello56]

Do the crew a favor and just give them regular currency. I have no idea where this 'cutesy' idea of giving $2 bills came about, but why would anyone want to give a gift that the recipient could likely have difficulty spending? 

[Kartgv]

6 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

What about dollar coins?  They are easier to carry.

 

Easier how?   They're heavier, clank around, and more than 3 or 4 would make an odd bulge in a pocket!   Plus, same problem as with the $2 bill - many won't know what they are, may mistake them for quarters or half-dollars, which are also rapidly disappearing.    

 

The only place onboard we use even $1 bills is tipping for room service.    Everything else is either automatic daily gratuities, or in some places added to a tab.    If we have a favorite server and want to give him/her extra, we do it at the end of the cruise and it's always much more than a few $1's.    

[navybankerteacher]

33 minutes ago, ChinaShrek said:

What about dollar coins?  They are easier to carry.

Not if you are planning to give more than just a dollar or two in total.  We just got off a 12 day Caribbean - $2 each morning for coffee delivery — 24 of them would have been a real nuisance, while a few dozen ones that n an envelope are easy.

 

Keep it simple.

[Ptroxx]

I’m the one that uses 2.00 all the time and love them.  As do the crew.  
Everyone I give them to always comment on them. 
what better way to strike up a conversation.  

the crew has a way to cash them just like any other bill you give

The ship is filled with people from all over the world.  
And they get all types of currency from all over the world  and the crew has an exchange system just for this purpose.   

I have 50 waiting for me now at the bank for my cruise in 3 weeks.   

[Seville2Cabo]

I don’t know what banking or exchange services the ships provide the staff, but I do know that outside of the US coins have no value and 2 dollar bills are hard to exchange.

 

We have a home in Mexico and a number of waiters and bartenders we know ask us to exchange coins and 2 dollar bills since they can’t be used in Mexico. We just give them pesos and bring it back to the US.

[donaldsc]

HERE WE GO AGAIN. Why do  people seem to think it is cute to give the crew money that is hard to get rid of.  Do they enjoy creating problems for other people or do they have a need to get noticed.  Of course crew members can't tell them what they think of them but I would suggest that they do not order room service because they will never know what the crew member has properly and deservedly put into whatever they order.

 

DON

[Dancingnurse79]

Give them to me, instead. I collect them. 😜

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, cei3 said:

Are $2 bills suitable for tipping on board? Read somewhere that being the denomination is unusual and seldom seen, that crew may have trouble spending them outside the US. Thoughts please.

CEI3

We were in Barbados 3 weeks ago.Stores were giving US $2 bills in change.I cannot recall the last time ,possibly never ,that I got a $2 bill in change.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Kartgv said:

 

Easier how?   They're heavier, clank around, and more than 3 or 4 would make an odd bulge in a pocket!   Plus, same problem as with the $2 bill - many won't know what they are, may mistake them for quarters or half-dollars, which are also rapidly disappearing.    

 

The only place onboard we use even $1 bills is tipping for room service.    Everything else is either automatic daily gratuities, or in some places added to a tab.    If we have a favorite server and want to give him/her extra, we do it at the end of the cruise and it's always much more than a few $1's.    

I have been taking a $1 coin on every cruise over the past 11 years.On my last cruise I was in a store and the person taking my money for a purchase saw the coin and asked if she could give me a bill for it.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, Ptroxx said:

I’m the one that uses 2.00 all the time and love them.  As do the crew.  
Everyone I give them to always comment on them. 
what better way to strike up a conversation.  

the crew has a way to cash them just like any other bill you give

The ship is filled with people from all over the world.  
And they get all types of currency from all over the world  and the crew has an exchange system just for this purpose.   

I have 50 waiting for me now at the bank for my cruise in 3 weeks.   

 

1 hour ago, Ptroxx said:

It’s not.  The crew gets all types of currency and they have a way to cash it for what ever they want.   Remember. Most all the crew is from another country.   

You are just experiencing the professionalism of service industry personnel who smile and response politely no matter what.  

[Ptroxx]

If you say so.      
 

but the crew sees 2.00 bills all the time and enjoy getting them.  
this from personal experience. 

 

sorry if you don’t like the fact that people like getting 2.00 bills.  

 

until there’s actual proof from a ship employee that they dislike these 

everyone is just assuming.     
 

 

[Donald]

4 minutes ago, Ptroxx said:

If you say so.      
 

but the crew sees 2.00 bills all the time and enjoy getting them.  
this from personal experience. 

 

sorry if you don’t like the fact that people like getting 2.00 bills.  

 

until there’s actual proof from a ship employee that they dislike these 

everyone is just assuming.     
 

 

OK. Here is some proof for you.

I have managed Hotels on cruise ships for nearly 30 years; 28 different ships for 18 different cruise lines.

I have had 10s of thousands of tipped crew working for me over the years.

Every few months we get some guest who thinks it’s cute to tip with strange currencies or denominations.

The crew brings the odd bills and coins to me to see if I can change them for something that’s is useful to them. They cannot take the strange currencies home, as they cannot change them there. Many times they cannot find time or a location to change them during the cruise. Generally the crew purser will not accept any unusual coins or bills from the crew. So the crew is usually just stuck with them. 

After smiling at you when you hand them the strange bank note, they only remember the nitwit  who thought he / she was being cute.

[Shmoo here]

11 minutes ago, Donald said:

OK. Here is some proof for you.

I have managed Hotels on cruise ships for nearly 30 years; 28 different ships for 18 different cruise lines.

I have had 10s of thousands of tipped crew working for me over the years.

Every few months we get some guest who thinks it’s cute to tip with strange currencies or denominations.

The crew brings the odd bills and coins to me to see if I can change them for something that’s is useful to them. They cannot take the strange currencies home, as they cannot change them there. Many times they cannot find time or a location to change them during the cruise. Generally the crew purser will not accept any unusual coins or bills from the crew. So the crew is usually just stuck with them. 

After smiling at you when you hand them the strange bank note, they only remember the nitwit  who thought he / she was being cute.

Thank you.

[Ptroxx]

Then I guess I’m wasting a bunch of 2.00 bills then. 

Out

Edited January 4, 2020 by Ptroxx

[donaldsc]

3 minutes ago, Ptroxx said:

Then I guess I’m wasting a bunch of 2.00 bills then. 

Out

 

You could take them to the nearest bank and exchange them for real money. 

 

DON

[Ptroxx]

Just now, donaldsc said:

 

You could take them to the nearest bank and exchange them for real money. 

 

DON

Nope I’m good.  I get them from a bank and take them with me on every vacation.  
 

glad I’m not a follower.  I’m my own person don’t believe everything you hear on the internet.  
 

I’ll just keep wasting my money. Thanks.  

[cb at sea]

Do YOU like $2 bills?  NO ONE DOES.  Give regular money.  Foreign countries don't understand $2 bills.  Just give $1's or $5's.

[ilikeanswers]

If the US$2 is legal currency why does no one use it? And why does the government keep printing it if no one uses it? 

[Dancingnurse79]

45 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Do YOU like $2 bills?  NO ONE DOES.  Give regular money.  Foreign countries don't understand $2 bills.  Just give $1's or $5's.

See my photo I posted previously on pg 1. I *DO* like $2 bills. I collect them. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Dancingnurse79