Porters in Europe: Tip or no?

[sverigecruiser]

19 minutes ago, complawyer said:

 if the service workers that help me get upset that i'm not tipping, i'll tell them to contact you

 

That's okay.

[sverigecruiser]

11 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

 

Yes, exactly.

 

In places like Barcelona, it isn't that I make a conscious decision not to tip the porter. I never actually see them because by the time I have paid the taxi driver my bags are gone and the porter has long gone.

 

Do you tip the taxi driver?

 

I did the last time in Barcelona and he was very surprised so obviously he wasn't used to it.

[KeithJenner]

15 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Do you tip the taxi driver?

 

I did the last time in Barcelona and he was very surprised so obviously he wasn't used to it.

Yes, I generally tip taxi drivers, but I’d agree that I sometimes feel that they weren’t expecting a tip.

 

I do wonder whether peoples experiences are due to where they come from. Americans are more likely to tip, so it probably isn’t a surprise when they do so. Europeans are less likely to tip which may be why people sometimes act as if they weren’t expecting it,

[cruzsnooze]

When in Rome do as the Romans do and Europe is a non tipping country. They only think Americans will tip because many of them do. When Europeans come to the US we expect them to follow our tipping customs so don't we follow theirs? I do. 

[complawyer]

just because its non-traditional doesnt mean you shouldnt do it. we've been to france, germany, norway, iceland, spain, most carribbean islands, on about 18 cruises, and not once did anyone not appreciate the tip.

 

bottom line, (and i hope this will end this thread) if you dont feel it is necessary to tip, by all means DONT!!

 

my wife and i however, will continue to issue gratuities to those who offer personal services, be it cab drivers, porters, or cruise waiters/waitresses.

[freaky_82]

Tips are very common in Europe. We have a tipping culture. 

I don't know where this misunderstanding comes from, but we surely tip. It is usually not a certain percentage, but we still tip. 

Here is a list of what and how I would tip, and I'm born and raised in Europe.

porters 2 € - 5€ depending of how many bags I leave with them

room service 1€

hairdresser 5€ for cutting

restaurant 2-5€ per person who is dining, depending on how many courses

getting a drink served at a table, round up to the next full €, like 2 cokes for 2x2,8 = 5,6 would leave 6€ at the table.  

taxi round up to the next 5€, ( if it costs 12€ I give 15€, if it costs 16€ I give 20€)

nurses, after a 2 day stay at a hospital we usually give 15€ per nurse that looked after us

 

Funny to see how many Americans replied and claim to know exactly how we Europeans tip.

But then again saying Europeans is a lot, because there are huge differences between countries.  

 

 

[sverigecruiser]

30 minutes ago, freaky_82 said:

Tips are very common in Europe. We have a tipping culture. 

I don't know where this misunderstanding comes from, but we surely tip. It is usually not a certain percentage, but we still tip. 

Here is a list of what and how I would tip, and I'm born and raised in Europe.

porters 2 € - 5€ depending of how many bags I leave with them

room service 1€

hairdresser 5€ for cutting

restaurant 2-5€ per person who is dining, depending on how many courses

getting a drink served at a table, round up to the next full €, like 2 cokes for 2x2,8 = 5,6 would leave 6€ at the table.  

taxi round up to the next 5€, ( if it costs 12€ I give 15€, if it costs 16€ I give 20€)

nurses, after a 2 day stay at a hospital we usually give 15€ per nurse that looked after us

 

Funny to see how many Americans replied and claim to know exactly how we Europeans tip.

But then again saying Europeans is a lot, because there are huge differences between countries.  

 

 

 

Interesting that you first say that tips are very common in Europe and at the end you say that there are huge differences between countries! It may be common in some countries and rare in other.

 

I have never, ever heared about tipping the hairdresser or nurses at hospital! In which country is that? 

[PORT ROYAL]

10 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Interesting that you first say that tips are very common in Europe and at the end you say that there are huge differences between countries! It may be common in some countries and rare in other.

 

I have never, ever heared about tipping the hairdresser or nurses at hospital! In which country is that? 

We are in England and my Wife and I tip our hair stylists.  Then, we have received any in hospital treatment, a favourite bottle for all nurses, with a large hamper, from a well known store, for the doctors.

No knowledge of other countries.

 

[sverigecruiser]

47 minutes ago, freaky_82 said:

restaurant 2-5€ per person who is dining, depending on how many courses

getting a drink served at a table, round up to the next full €, like 2 cokes for 2x2,8 = 5,6 would leave 6€ at the table.  

 

As for tipping in restaurants and bars. That is 100% based on service here. If the service isn't excellent I see no reason to tip anything. They are paid to do their job so no reason to give them anything more unless the  service is very good.

[freaky_82]

13 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Interesting that you first say that tips are very common in Europe and at the end you say that there are huge differences between countries! It may be common in some countries and rare in other.

 

I have never, ever heared about tipping the hairdresser or nurses at hospital! In which country is that? 

Luxembourg but also Belgium, Germany and Italy. That is for hairdressers. 

For hospitals, I thankfully only know how it works in Luxembourg and Italy,  we tip nurses and even the emergency/ambulance team especially older people. 

 

I once went to a hairdresser in the US and gave her 10$ tip and she looked at me very funny. I was convinced that I undertipped even tough it was over 15%. Still don't know if I did anything wrong.

 

Etiquette can be quite confusing for outsiders. 

 

What I meant was that I tip like I do at home in Luxembourg, as a European, but that still might be different from what a local in Italy would do.

 

[sverigecruiser]

1 minute ago, PORT ROYAL said:

We are in England and my Wife and I tip our hair stylists.  Then, we have received any in hospital treatment, a favourite bottle for all nurses, with a large hamper, from a well known store, for the doctors.

No knowledge of other countries.

 

 

I'm not really sure about it but I assume that it's not allowed to accept gifts from patients here. I know that nurses working in home care are not allowed to accept gifts. 

[ColeThornton]

I thought I'd heard everything about different tipping habits/cultures until I read about tipping nurses.   That's one that I just looked at my screen and said "seriously?".   😉

 

You learn something new every day.  

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

I thought I'd heard everything about different tipping habits/cultures until I read about tipping nurses.   That's one that I just looked at my screen and said "seriously?".   😉

 

You learn something new every day.  

 

I guess that if nurses are tipped policemen, firefighters and teachers can be tipped too. Maybe I shall have a tip jar in the cloakroom when the parents are allowed to enter the building again! I know that they appreciate the job I do with their children so maybe they are willing to tip me!

[freaky_82]

Our firefighters are not professionals, meaning they don't do this fulltime, but have other day jobs and fight fires in their off time. Only our capital city has full time firefighters, who can assist if needed. The volunteer firefighters are usually tipped after a fire, or send a gift basket, or invited to a round of drinks. 

 

Teachers get a nice gift at the end of every semester. It is even customary to ask them what they could use. Sometimes all of the kids pitch in 10 - 15 € to get them a bigger gift from the class. But only in Elementary school (for kids under 12) after that,  we switch to a system with different teachers for different subjects and this isn't done anymore. 

 

 

[CILCIANRQTS]

Why not rename this thread “Can I spend thousands on a cruise and save a few bucks by not tipping?” 🤨

[Old & Retired]

On 9/21/2021 at 12:43 PM, tallnthensome said:

Always $10 here, they'd laugh at one or two dollars in my opinion. 

They will laugh even harder at the nada tip.  Porters over the years seem to be getting lazier and lazier.  Now they just stand by their cart and expect you to walk up and then pay them for placing your suitcase on said cart.  In Europe, tipping isn't necessary.  They get zippo for doing almost zippo.

[KeithJenner]

7 hours ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Why not rename this thread “Can I spend thousands on a cruise and save a few bucks by not tipping?” 🤨

Because then the title wouldn't match the content of the thread.

Edited September 24, 2021 by KeithJenner

[Elo Moreno]

22 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Interesting that you first say that tips are very common in Europe and at the end you say that there are huge differences between countries! It may be common in some countries and rare in other.

 

I have never, ever heared about tipping the hairdresser or nurses at hospital! In which country is that? 

I believe it's almost mandatory to tip a hairdresser in the US - like a waiter in a restaurant, in the US.

[orchestrapal]

4 minutes ago, Elo Moreno said:

I believe it's almost mandatory to tip a hairdresser in the US - like a waiter in a restaurant, in the US.

 

4 minutes ago, Elo Moreno said:

I believe it's almost mandatory to tip a hairdresser in the US - like a waiter in a restaurant, in the US.

Tips are what they are and NOT mandatory!,

A tip is always appreciated and for most cruisers will not break the bank.

Skip loosing money at the casino and what you save will make many people happy when you tip them in any country.💰