Tipping your Bartender?

[misseattle]

Is it normal or ok to tip your bartender with cash? Or is there a spot to write in tips when you charge to your room with your pass? Do the bartenders pretty much work the same way as in regular bars?

 

Thanks!

[rclcruzer]

Is it normal or ok to tip your bartender with cash? Or is there a spot to write in tips when you charge to your room with your pass? Do the bartenders pretty much work the same way as in regular bars?

 

Thanks!

Hi---most ships that I know of do not handle cash. On RCCL they have an extra line on the slip to write in an extra tip. Say on a normal $4-5.00 drink, they get an automatic .80, something relative to that. It turns out that since my DH and I gamble almost every evening, the bartender gets to know you pretty well! :p So at the end of the cruise we will tip an extra $10 dollars, my gosh, he know's both our names by the 2nd night and as soon as he see's us coming he has our drinks practically in our hands! Well worth it! :D

Happy Cruising!

[cruisePRN]

15% is automatically added to all bar bills, even for non alcoholic drinks like soda.

[TEXASMUNK]

If you happen to drop and extra dollar or chip, they won't mind.

[BiteMEagain]

Have to keep the bartender happy and he/she will keep you happy (burp)

[rclcruzer]

Have to keep the bartender happy and he/she will keep you happy (burp)

hee -hee -hee :D

[brigittetom]

We actually went thru the period of giving the two dollar bills and explaining why they were special because of something I read on CC.

 

The crew loves cash. :)

[Bobal]

Have to keep the bartender happy and he/she will keep you happy (burp)

 

Very true. On our last two cruises we found a nice friendly bartender on the first day and looked after him with the odd cash tip throughout the cruise. In both cases he would always keep checking back to see whether we needed drinks, replaced a couple of drinks which we knocked over FOC, sometimes gave us our 'sailaway' cocktail in the souvenir glass at no extra cost and looked after us VERY well (hic) at the Captain's cocktail party ;)

[Trainman-2]

I take a bunch of $5 bills for "On The Spot" tipping and slip one into the little folder when I pay the bill. :)

 

For some reason unknown to me, out drinks tend to be on the bar by the time we get there. DW's wine glass seems to always be extra full. They make my favorite drink perfectly. They make the time to talk with us and make sure we enjoy our time with them.

 

So I give away $35 on a 7 night cruise. Not a big deal to me considering what I have spent for the cruise but certainly a big deal to the bar tenders.

[Mamanance]

On one cruise we tipped the guy five bucks every night and he kept giving us drinks for free the whole cruise. This has happened on several cruise lines. Or your drinks will be perfect no doubt, either way.

[cb at sea]

Our drinks have never been anything but strong! Our bartenders have always been extra attentive. That's without tipping additionally up-front. Our regular bartenders do get a nice tip at the end of the cruise, but we've NEVER had to tip for strong drinks or good service.

[cruisingrightalong]

We tend to "honor" a particular bar the whole trip with occasional visits to others. So at our "main" bar we tip an extra $5 each night in cash. Then on the occasional ones $1-2 depending. All cash. Unless you do cash to your "favorite" all the tips go in a pool and are split.

Or so I have been told by staff.

Lou

[whyrlygig]

On our last cruise DH and I tipped the 3 pool bar guys $10 each and then I ordered a glass of bubbly. The rest of the night, they filled my glass for free! :D

[misseattle]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

 

I'm pretty cheap so I'm hoping to find a cool bartender that might "hook us up" in exchange for a daily additional tip.....either by giving us a few free or just making them extra strong so I don't have to buy as much. :D I think sticking with one bartender is probably the way to go! (and hopefully he is good looking and single LOL).

[threeofus]

Very true. On our last two cruises we found a nice friendly bartender on the first day and looked after him with the odd cash tip throughout the cruise. In both cases he would always keep checking back to see whether we needed drinks, replaced a couple of drinks which we knocked over FOC, sometimes gave us our 'sailaway' cocktail in the souvenir glass at no extra cost and looked after us VERY well (hic) at the Captain's cocktail party ;)

 

 

Yep..We met a guy who gave a nice tip on day one....and got it back many times over.

[BobBeaSea]

While the 15% service charge is automatic we also tip with cash. The bartenders do not rotate during your sailing (they do however rotate every sailing or two, to change things up and spread the workload) so if you have a favourite bar or two, modest cash tips can go a long way. :)

[KillaFee]

We'll either occasionally leave a few extra bucks here and there, or add an additional tip on the line to get charged to our seapass if it's a bartender we really like or go to all the time. My fiance always scouts out one from the get go "This will be our guy for the week", he says. :D They bust their @$$ so I have no problem giving them a little extra. We also go around and give them each an envelope with $10 or $20 at the end of the week to the ones that really made our week fun.

Laura

[amybear912]

We usually tip a couple of extra bucks to our Pool Bar Attendant early in the week and then periodically throughout the cruise...

 

As a result, the PBA usually remembers us throughout the cruise and takes good care of us by:

 

*seeking us out near the pool to get us drinks

*quick service

*occassionally, stiffer drinks

*every now and then, they'll throw in a free one:)

 

I cannot guarantee that this will happen for everyone, but this has certainly been our experience.

[sideways2]

It's perfectly ok to tip your bartender! After one bad experience with a terrible bartender, I have learned to find a bartender at whatever bar I will be frequenting most, tell him/her that they'll be seeing a lot of DH and myself and tip well that first time. Make friends with your bartender and do it early! It always pays off in excellent service!

[sgttami]

Yes, every drink includes an automatic tip but tipping some extra $$ in the beginning, during and end of the cruise puts a smile on the faces of the bartenders and lots of freebies for us for the duration.

 

Sailed on Serenade in '03 and then again in '05. The same bartender was on both cruises in one particular bar. It floored me when he remembered me and my name (without looking at my SeaPass!!) on the first day in '05..

 

A $50 bill on the first day goes a LONG way!!! (We only do this in the bar that we frequent the most..usually the pool bar)

[sgttami]

Yes, every drink includes an automatic tip but tipping some extra $$ in the beginning, during and end of the cruise puts a smile on the faces of the bartenders and lots of freebies for us for the duration.

 

Sailed on Serenade in '03 and then again in '05. The same bartender was on both cruises in one particular bar. It floored me when he remembered me and my name (without looking at my SeaPass!!) on the first day in '05..

 

A $50 bill on the first day goes a LONG way!!! (We only do this in the bar that we frequent the most..usually the pool bar)

[JudyM]

We usually tip a couple of extra bucks to our Pool Bar Attendant early in the week and then periodically throughout the cruise...

 

As a result, the PBA usually remembers us throughout the cruise and takes good care of us

 

Amybear is exactly right, and we have also found this to work with the waitstaff from the bar on deck 13 on Explorer. Our family likes to get together in the evening for casual card games in the card room, and on the first night, our clever DS went next door to the bar, introduced himself to a waitress with a $5 bill, and asked if she could come to the card room to take our orders.

 

From then on, she kept an eye out for us, and as soon as we settled in, she came over with a tray of ice water and a bowl of bar snacks. She was never pushy, just very charmingly greeted us by name, asked how our day had been, told us what the daily special was, and was available for orders. Naturally, our drinks came promptly and yes, they were strong enough! We continued to tip her - in cash - every night, well worth it for the perfect service.

[jjtt]

We will be on Mariner in a couple of days!!! :D :eek: :D How do you scope out the good bartenders? Any we should look for on Mariner??? :confused:

[jjtt]

Very true. On our last two cruises we found a nice friendly bartender on the first day and looked after him with the odd cash tip throughout the cruise. In both cases he would always keep checking back to see whether we needed drinks, replaced a couple of drinks which we knocked over FOC, sometimes gave us our 'sailaway' cocktail in the souvenir glass at no extra cost and looked after us VERY well (hic) at the Captain's cocktail party ;)

 

"we found a nice friendly bartender" how do you go about doing that? Any suggestions? We leave tomorrow:eek: for the Mariner Eastern Caribbean!!! Thanks in advance.

[gaiamother]

I always tip extra! I even befriend a cocktail waiter by the pool. Tip them a little extra and they always make sure you're taken care of. We leave on the Enchantment in a few weeks and I'm hoping my guys are still on the ship from last May!!