Tips

[blendedmemory]

I've never cruised Holland America and I was wondering, do they do auto-tipping and if so how much is added per person to the room per day?

 

Thank you in advance!:)

[jhannah]

Yes. The service charge is $11 per person per day.

[blendedmemory]

Wow, thanks for your speedy reply!

[pms4104]

Following is HAL's policy:

 

"HOTEL SERVICE CHARGE

 

 

Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as our dining room wait staff and the stewards who tend to your stateroom each day. There are also many others that tend to your care that you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff. To ensure that the efforts of all of our crew members are recognized and rewarded, a daily Hotel Service Charge of US$11 per passenger is automatically charged to each guest's shipboard account. If our service exceeds or fails to meet your expectations, you are free to adjust this amount at the end of the cruise. The Hotel Service Charge is paid entirely to Holland America Line crew members, and represents an important part of their total compensation package. A 15% service charge is automatically added to bar charges and dining room wine purchases. In terminals, airports, ports of call and on shore excursions, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary local practices."

 

Further, if you reduce the daily amount or eliminate it entirely from your onboard account ... any crew you tip individually with cash are required per their employment contract to turn that $$$ in to the tip pool, and those tips then are shared by all in the pool. So, of the $100 you might give to your steward ... if you remove the $11/person/day from your account, the steward will receive only a teeny portion of that $100.

[RuthC]

There's also a 15% service charge added to bar drinks, including wine and soda.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We prefer to leave the auto tips in place and tip extra to those who go the extra mile to make our cruise a special one.

Note: Cabin Stewards split $3.50 between them as you now have 2 cabin stewards -- dining room staff split $3.50 between the 2 of them -- and the last $4 is divided among all the "behind the scenes" staff --kitchen staff, those you cleaning the elevators, polishing the brass, laundry and fry cleaning staff, etc.

[penetangjudy]

I wouldn't even think of lessening our auto tip, our ship, the Eurodam, was spotless and the service excellent by everyone. On our last morning we sought out our cabin steward and gave him an extra tip, he went above and beyond :)

[Boytjie]

On our last morning we sought out our cabin steward and gave him an extra tip, he went above and beyond :)

 

Are you aware of the fact that you actually had two cabin stewards? :)

[Beebob1]

Saturday morning I waited on the cabin steward and gave him the tip and told him to split it however he thought was right. I dealt with him more in the room.

[Jewel99]

Hi there,

 

Is that $11 per adult or per person? I'm just trying to budget everything for our trip, so I wasn't sure if children (age 5) were included in the calculation or if it was a reduced rate.

 

My gut tells me it'll be the same rate - which makes sense as having our son with us will mean the sofa bed will be made up every night, etc., and his meals need to be served and dishes cleared, so it only makes sense that the tips are per person regardless of age, but I thought I would check.

[garydm]

My five year old grandchildren would warrant a double tip to the steward!

 

Gary

[RuthC]

Is that $11 per adult or per person?

It's per person, for the exact reason you list. Your child will create at least as much work as you do.

[lardor]

We prefer to leave the auto tips in place and tip extra to those who go the extra mile to make our cruise a special one.

 

Note: Cabin Stewards split $3.50 between them as you now have 2 cabin stewards -- dining room staff split $3.50 between the 2 of them -- and the last $4 is divided among all the "behind the scenes" staff --kitchen staff, those you cleaning the elevators, polishing the brass, laundry and fry cleaning staff, etc.

 

Now I know why the french fries are so clean....