ADDITIONAL Tips/Gratuities - How much do you give and for who?

[ghstudio]

I wish I could moderate this thread....because it will undoubtedly become a discussion of standard gratuities, etc....but please do NOT discuss those here. 

 

This thread assumes that you pay the standard gratuity, whatever it is in your cabin category.  Some of us leave additional tips.....but reading in CC or elsewhere, apparently the "politically correct" statement is "give whatever you think is deserved" which sounds wonderful but gives absolutely no information to the reader. 

 

I am starting this thread so new cruisers can get an idea of how much folks give as an ADDITIONAL tip in dollars...not in words like "nice tip".  If you don't leave the standard gratuity, for whatever reason...,please be a reader....don't add to this thread....there are a multitude of threads about whether or not to leave standard gratuities....please post there.

 

As a start, we normally give the following on each cruise.  If it's a back to back....that's two cruises.  We don't change the amounts based on the number of days on a cruise...a cruise is a cruise.  I repeat...this is in ADDITION TO STANDARD GRATUITIES.

 

Cabin attendant: $20 plus $10 at embarkation if we ask for something special which we seem to do more often than not.

 

waiter: $20 if we have had the same waiter for multiple nights in select/aqua

 

asst waiter: $10 if we tip the waiter

 

wine steward $20 if he refills our glasses and doesn't try to pass classic wine when we have the premium package (unfortunately, this means we often don't tip him)...often I'll give him $10 after a couple of days...and then another $10 at the end of the cruise.

 

bartender: varies...usually $10-20 if we use the same bartender often....and he doesn't try to put house vodka in the martini.  I have strayed here for some exceptional service, heavy pours or the occasional premium pour on the classic package.

 

specialty restaurants.....we had one meal in the wine room with a group with our own dedicated head waiter....we had wonderful service and he and the sommelier got a $50 tip.  Normally we don't leave anything extra.

 

I'm interested in reading what others give.

[Bo1953]

g - your rates of additional sounds about correct..

 

For us, with bartender usually $10 - $30 first few nights then at end of sailing $50/$60

 

Room Steward usually $20 first day and upwards of $50.00 at end of sailing pending on how attentive they have been.

 

Specialty Dining - again, how proficient and attentive everyone has been, upwards of $25.00 pp to include Sommelier and Wait Staff...

 

bon voyage

[Loracpin2]

Seven Night Cruise

Cabin Steward $25-30 depending on ho many special requests

Waiter $25

Ass't Waiter $10

Wine Steward $20

Upcoming Fall 12 night cruise amount will most like by doubled.

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Loracpin2
correction

[Phxazzcruisers]

OK, maybe we seem to over tip, we are always in Suites and we always get exceptional service.  Our usual extra cash tips at the end of the cruise or each leg of a B2B cruise for exceptional service have been:

 

Cabin attendant - $5.00 per day, min $50.00 per cruise

Waiter - $5.00 per day as we always have the same waiter in Luminae, min $50.00 per cruise

Asst waiter - If they do a good job, some do not  $20.00 for a 10 day cruise

Somilier - $5.00 a day for excellent service, less if not so good.  We have had some excellent somiliers who recommend wine to pare with our meals and some that just pour to pour.

Butler - $5.00 a day for excellent service, we usually do not require much so sometimes $3.00 day.

 

We do not tip the Consierge, as we never use him/her, but will give the Michael's Club host and CC Host about $20.00- $25.00 if they have gone above and beyond, as most do.

 

I know these seem high in comparison, but for example, in the past there would be 2 stateroom attendants per room, now only one.  We know how hard they work and feel the extra is justified.  Our waiters, by the 3rd night, always know what we like, how we want it prepared and always make excellent suggestions and give excellent service.  We expect the Asst waiter to remember which breads we like and how many, most do, some do not.

 

And of course, we always mention, by name, the people who give us such excellent service, even those that we do not give extra tips to.

[Alsmez]

I'll play. We keep the auto-grats in place and usually give the following in additional tips:

 

Cabin steward: $20-50 depending on length of trip and level of service. 

 

Bartenders: we tend to switch around a lot so rarely develop a relationship with a given bartender, but we do try to tip if we find ourselves using a specific bartender's service a great deal. For instance, on our last Reflection cruise we spent a lot of time at Sunset, and one of the bartenders there went above and beyond. We tipped him $20 at the end of the cruise. We also usually add a couple dollars tip if we have to pay an upcharge on a drink (happens sometimes at World Class Bar, etc.), since those are often more labor-intensive drinks to make.

 

Wait staff: we don't usually eat in the MDR. Our team in Blu or Luminae gets $20-50, again depending on the level of service and length of cruise. In specialties, usually $5-10 per meal although we have received poor enough service in Tuscan and Lawn Club that we have left no additional on occasion.

 

Wine steward: nothing unless they do more than pour wine. One cruise we had a great steward in Blu who made excellent recommendations and was happy to get me wines I had had elsewhere on the ship - we tipped her $20 - but that was an exception to the level of service we generally encounter. 

 

Cafe al bacio: We get coffee here daily and I usually tip $10-15, especially if the barista learns my name/usual order/has it ready before I even get to the counter!

 

Other: I look for at least one person who is unlikely to receive individual tips (a bar back, a washroom attendant) who is doing a really great job, and give them $10-15. I also make sure to let them know I will mention them by name when I fill out my survey, which they say is the best tip of all.

[Pushka]

And if on a European cruise, people would give US or Euros? Coming from Australia we’d have access to Euros but USD I save for trips to the States. 
 

I like the idea of tipping the washing attendant or someone who wouldn’t normally get recognised. There was a delightful girl near Aqua on Equinox who did a great job. Maybe better for her would have been a mention on the feedback form assuming these are actually read. 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Pushka

[SMSACE6]

I think it is a personal thing.  Leave daily gratuities in place, so behind the scenes people get their reward, but also you can give extra in cash to those who you feel have gone over and above those daily gratuities amounts.  

 

For me that would most always be a dining service team who go above and beyond to make my dining experience perfect, or a room steward who just leaves nothing unattended, or done, or who is not accessible.  Also, from time to time, I have had an exceptional bar server in a certain venue who impresses me, as well as one in the casino who is also above and beyond in service. For those who have exceeded my expectations, I always have an extra cash gratuity on the last evening, and I bring my own envelopes, with a brief note expressing my thanks, plus a little extra cash.  I am not in a position to leave a lot of extra cash, but I have always found that a little as 5.00 or 10.00 cash US, is always gratefully accepted.

 

there have also been times on other cruise lines, where, while the job was done, there was nothing over and above, so those did not get an extra cash tip at end of cruise.  But I always leave my auto gratuities in place. therefore, I don't have to feel, someone is left out, and all workers are covered. Just me.

 

 

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, SMSACE6 said:

there have also been times on other cruise lines, where, while the job was done, there was nothing over and above, so those did not get an extra cash tip at end of cruise.  But I always leave my auto gratuities in place. therefore, I don't have to feel, someone is left out, and all workers are covered. Just me.

 

 

Pretty much the way we see and do things too...

[Fouremco]

We typically give $5 a day to cabin stewards, wine stewards, waiters and assistant waiters, so the total varies with the length of the cruise. We usually give the assistant waiter the same amount as the waiter, as they do most of the heavy lifting, both literally and figuratively. We tip on the last full day of the cruise.

 

As we don't drink that much and seldom spend any amount of time at a given bar, we very infrequently give an additional tip to bartenders.

 

We have never removed the auto gratuities, but there have been times when we have given a reduced or no additional tip when we simply felt that the service was below par. Wine stewards are the most likely to receive less, although we have had some excellent ones too.

[Alsmez]

7 minutes ago, SMSACE6 said:

But I always leave my auto gratuities in place. therefore, I don't have to feel, someone is left out, and all workers are covered.

 

Absolutely. We have definitely had cruises where we didn't give additional tips in some of our usual categories simply because we felt the service was bare minimum. The auto-grats ensure that everyone receives a decent wage and anything beyond that is absolutely discretionary.

[Gordoncruickshank]

We usually give Luminae $10 a day, we never give to any individual as I can’t be bothered going round everyone who helped us over the cruise. Often I will use non refundable obc and transfer it to the restaurant and let the maitre’ d know to watch out for it. We would give the room attendant $30 to $40 if he was reasonable, butler the same if he was the same and the MC barman around $30 to $40. Specialities depend on level of service, if great $10 to $20 but if not so good, nothing as I have always believed what we were told many years ago that the cost includes a gratuity. 

we tend not to tip sommeliers and one off bar persons as they get extra from some sort of pool based on the number of drinks the serve.

 

[jelayne]

We primarily take longer cruises 10+ days and do B2Bs.  For a 10 day cruise here is the range we normally tip extra when warranted:

 

Cabin Attendant.  $25 - 45 (1 cruise I injured my foot requiring ice bag 3x a day that attendant got $65

Blu/Luminae dining team $40-50

Sommelier. $10-50, except the 1 that poured some wines outside of the Prem. Pkg.

Butler $35-100.  When in higher level suites we generally have guests in for drinks etc so we tip accordingly.

Bar - we frequent the Martini bar and if service has been good, drinks remembered and refilled we tip $20 mid cruise and $25 at the end of the cruise.

Restroom attendant- DH & I tip the attendants in the restrooms outside the OV and near our dining room near the end of the cruise $10.

 

Others we may tip if they have done something over and above could include the MaitreD, Blu/Luminae Host, Conceigre.

 

With the exception of the mid cruise  Martini Bar tip all extra tips are given at the end of the cruise.  We have never tipped at the beginning of a cruise.

 

[MamaFej]

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

 We usually give the assistant waiter the same amount as the waiter, as they do most of the heavy lifting, both literally and figuratively. We tip on the last full day of the cruise.

 

 

We have found that, at least half the time, we feel that the assistant waiter deserves a larger tip. We've had some terrific assistant waiters with great, friendly personalities. We were so pleased when we were on the Eclipse in October that the assistant waiter we had absolutely loved in March had been promoted to a host position in Tuscan. She deserved it, and we are looking forward to seeing Estephany again this fall. She had definitely earned her tip in March, which had been larger than that of her head waiter.

[Ravbo]

We always leave the daily gratuities in place and give the following to the individuals at the end of the cruise.

Also should mention we always stay in suits.

We also use the Specialty Restaurants every other day.

 

Butler - $15.00 to $20.00 per day of cruise (extra for parties in suite).

Suite Attendant - $15.00 to $20.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Maitre'D - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Waiter - $15.00 to $20.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Assistant Waiter - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Wine Sommelier - $10.00 to $15.00 per day of cruise.

Michaels Club Concierge - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Michaels Club Bartender - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Other Bartenders - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Specialty Restaurant Waiter - $200.00 per cruise.

Specialty Restaurant Wine Sommelier - $50.00 per cruise.

 

Safe travels,

Bob

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ravbo

[sunonfire]

I have a question about Celebrity Cruise. If you have unused onboard credit can you designate “x” amount of dollars to a specific crew member as an extra gratuity? We were able to do this on a Royal Carribean Cruise. I had to fill out a form with the crew members’ names and where they worked. I made a duplicate copy and handed it to the crew member so they had proof. Hopefully it showed up in their paychecks.

[jelayne]

You can do the same on Celebrity, at least for some positions.

[tartana]

this is interesting - thanks for the input.  We are used to all inclusive resorts more so than cruising, so I've never been really sure about what's kind of "normal" with cruising.  We haven't been over the top tippers, but we do like to tip extra to those who have been extra helpful and kind - often with some smaller tips every day or two or midweek and a larger one at the end of our trip.  I've always wondered about the person who assigns your dinner table in the MDR.  When I've had good service after a week, I often give them a few dollars tip when we are leaving.  I wondered if this was kind of awkward, but then I realized, "who is gonna turn down money"? lol.  Another question to you more experienced cruisers...if a tip is left on the table in the MDR when a person leaves, who will actually get it?  This isn't my practice, but I was curious about this. 

Edited February 2, 2020 by tartana

[Oville]

OP, your tip recommendation is this:

 

“Cabin attendant: $20 plus $10 at embarkation if we ask for something special which we seem to do more often than not.

 

waiter: $20 if we have had the same waiter for multiple nights in select/aqua

 

asst waiter: $10 if we tip the waiter

 

wine steward $20 if he refills our glasses and doesn't try to pass classic wine when we have the premium package (unfortunately, this means we often don't tip him)...often I'll give him $10 after a couple of days...and then another $10 at the end of the cruise.

 

bartender: varies...usually $10-20 if we use the same bartender often....and he doesn't try to put house vodka in the martini.  I have strayed here for some exceptional service, heavy pours or the occasional premium pour on the classic package.”

 

Another cruiser tips this:

 

Butler - $15.00 to $20.00 per day of cruise (extra for parties in suite).

Suite Attendant - $15.00 to $20.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Maitre'D - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Waiter - $15.00 to $20.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Assistant Waiter - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Luminae Wine Sommelier - $10.00 to $15.00 per day of cruise.

Michaels Club Concierge - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Michaels Club Bartender - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Other Bartenders - $5.00 per day of cruise.

Specialty Restaurant Waiter - $200.00 per cruise.

Specialty Restaurant Wine Sommelier - $50.00 per cruise.”

 

I’m interested what your thoughts are regarding tipping and how you thought this would help new cruisers.  Tipping is a very personal thing and people do what they think is right for them and those who serve them.  There are people who stay in high end suites and others that save just to go on a cruise every few years or so.  

 

Also, we Americans are used to tipping, it isn’t necessarily common in other countries.

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Oville

[Alsmez]

22 minutes ago, Oville said:

how you thought this would help new cruisers

 

Questions from first timers asking for clarification on auto-grats and how much they should tip for various extras are common. While tipping is of course personal, there are typically cultural guidelines for tipping on land, and many first time cruisers want to know what others do to determine whether there is an equivalent cultural norm at sea. Seeing the variety of responses from cruisers in different cabins should at least reassure them that there is no hard and fast rule, and noticing common themes among the answers may help them feel that their choices are within the realm of "normal."

[Oville]

7 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

 

Questions from first timers asking for clarification on auto-grats and how much they should tip for various extras are common. While tipping is of course personal, there are typically cultural guidelines for tipping on land, and many first time cruisers want to know what others do to determine whether there is an equivalent cultural norm at sea. Seeing the variety of responses from cruisers in different cabins should at least reassure them that there is no hard and fast rule, and noticing common themes among the answers may help them feel that their choices are within the realm of "normal."

I totally agree and feel strongly that no one needs to be pressured into doing something like tipping.  Having said that we do tip and somewhere between my two examples. 😉😁

Edited February 2, 2020 by Oville

[Alsmez]

2 minutes ago, Oville said:

I totally agree and feel strongly that no one needs to be pressured into doing something like tipping

 

I agree that no one should feel pressured to tip beyond the auto-grats, but I truly wish the entire cruise industry would put the confusion surrounding auto-grats to rest by either making them compulsory "service charges" or simply building them into the cruise fare. 

[M&Msmom]

I have never heard of using onboard credit as an additional gratuity. Could someone please explain how you would go about doing this? Thank you

[Oville]

1 minute ago, Alsmez said:

 

I agree that no one should feel pressured to tip beyond the auto-grats, but I truly wish the entire cruise industry would put the confusion surrounding auto-grats to rest by either making them compulsory "service charges" or simply building them into the cruise fare. 

But I don’t see this happening but we’ll still give tips for excellent service either way..

[Alsmez]

1 minute ago, M&Msmom said:

I have never heard of using onboard credit as an additional gratuity. Could someone please explain how you would go about doing this? Thank you

 

You can go to guest services and ask that a portion of your OBC be given as a gratuity or an individual or team. On our last cruise we did this to tip our team at Luminae and it showed on our final statement as "Gratuities - Luminae" or something like that.

[Oville]

2 minutes ago, M&Msmom said:

I have never heard of using onboard credit as an additional gratuity. Could someone please explain how you would go about doing this? Thank you

If you have an OBC and want to give it to a waiter or a room attendant I believe you can do this thru Guest Services.