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Question About Amount for Extra Gratuity for Room Steward

Grumpella

By Grumpella,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Grumpella

Grumpella

Posted
Posted

I know this is a touchy subject, but just asking, so don't bite my head off.  lol

 

I just got off Anthem of the Seas last Friday.  I was in an inside studio cabin, 14 day cruise.

 

I paid the regular gratuities and then gave my room steward an extra $ 120 in cash.

 

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.  The only thing extra that he did for me was put on an extra topping on the bed before I arrived, as I requested before the cruise because the beds are so hard.

 

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

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scooby1

scooby1

Posted
Posted

I’d suggest many on that cruise would give little gratuity let alone the base amount. Tipping in the UK is the diametric opposite to the US, not be default and only when things are exceptional. 
 

Belief is staff should be paid the appropriate amount to begin with. So I’m short I wouldn’t worry and I’m sure it’s that they have a long day ahead to get guests on and off the ship and nothing more. 

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island lady "Live from...." Rare

island lady

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, Grumpella said:

I know this is a touchy subject, but just asking, so don't bite my head off.  lol

 

I just got off Anthem of the Seas last Friday.  I was in an inside studio cabin, 14 day cruise.

 

I paid the regular gratuities and then gave my room steward an extra $ 120 in cash.

 

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.  The only thing extra that he did for me was put on an extra topping on the bed before I arrived, as I requested before the cruise because the beds are so hard.

 

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

 

I think that was extremely generous, since you already had prepaid grats on top of that.  

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Billy Baltic

Billy Baltic

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Carnival Cheerleader said:

I am trying to figure out why you gave your cabin steward $120 over the auto gratuities. Just can't figure it out. To me, it's kind of like being told a car will cost $10,000 and you decide to give them $11,000.


Take cover dude. Some people around here would advocate for giving them the deeds of your home and your first born. 

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mjkacmom

mjkacmom

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Carnival Cheerleader said:

I am trying to figure out why you gave your cabin steward $120 over the auto gratuities. Just can't figure it out. To me, it's kind of like being told a car will cost $10,000 and you decide to give them $11,000.

I usually tip extra, no more than $50. I have a big family, when we go out to eat we usually get a mandatory 15% gratuity added, sometimes I add more for good service.

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voyager70

voyager70

Posted
Posted

That was an extremely generous tip. I can see tipping extra if you are a single staying in a double occupancy room where the auto grats only cover one person’s tip but a studio is designed for single occupancy. I may have tipped a little extra if the service went above and beyond but if the steward was disappointed with a $120 additional tip he was out of line.

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Grumpella

Grumpella

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  • Author
Posted

I don’t think I’m throwing my money away.

 

I feel that they work very hard, long hours and are away from their families for at least 6 months at a time.

 

The $16 that I paid a day is split so many ways, it is ridiculous. Not to mention that some of it is used to give a bonus to employees that are given good reviews by passengers.

 

Back in the day, it was spelled out exactly how much of your tip went to room steward, waiter, etc..  Now it is a crap shoot.

 

And I figure if I am fortunate enough to be able to afford a 14 day cruise, even if in a tiny room, lol, I can certainly afford to be kind/generous to someone so hard working.

 

 

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smokeybandit

smokeybandit

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Grumpella said:

I don’t think I’m throwing my money away.

 

I feel that they work very hard, long hours and are away from their families for at least 6 months at a time.

 

The $16 that I paid a day is split so many ways, it is ridiculous. Not to mention that some of it is used to give a bonus to employees that are given good reviews by passengers.

 

Back in the day, it was spelled out exactly how much of your tip went to room steward, waiter, etc..  Now it is a crap shoot.

 

And I figure if I am fortunate enough to be able to afford a 14 day cruise, even if in a tiny room, lol, I can certainly afford to be kind/generous to someone so hard working.

 

 

 

You can tip whatever you want. Just the general theme from responses seems to be that the steward wasn't disappointed in the tip. But likely perplexed/surprised/humbled by it.

 

And it's not a crap shoot as to how much your steward gets. It's not widely publicized, but also not a secret.

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not-enough-cruising

not-enough-cruising

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Grumpella said:

I know this is a touchy subject, but just asking, so don't bite my head off.  lol

 

I just got off Anthem of the Seas last Friday.  I was in an inside studio cabin, 14 day cruise.

 

I paid the regular gratuities and then gave my room steward an extra $ 120 in cash.

 

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.  The only thing extra that he did for me was put on an extra topping on the bed before I arrived, as I requested before the cruise because the beds are so hard.

 

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

You gave about $90 more than I would have........you have nothing to worry about

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firefly333

firefly333

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Grumpella said:

I know this is a touchy subject, but just asking, so don't bite my head off.  lol

 

I just got off Anthem of the Seas last Friday.  I was in an inside studio cabin, 14 day cruise.

 

I paid the regular gratuities and then gave my room steward an extra $ 120 in cash.

 

He seemed disappointed with the extra amount.  The only thing extra that he did for me was put on an extra topping on the bed before I arrived, as I requested before the cruise because the beds are so hard.

 

Thank you in advance for your opinions.

Maybe he just didnt openly disply he was happy. I'd bet he was happy. 

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cruiselvr04 Great Review Rare

cruiselvr04

Posted
Posted

You were very generous.  Since the gratuity increase and decrease in service to once a day we’ve stopped tipping extra.  In theory, you’re already tipping about $8 per day for once a day service.  In our case that’s picking up towels, emptying the trash and a quick wipe down of the bathroom as we keep our cabin very tidy. 
 

I think you misunderstood his reaction.  

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