Tipping for room service when you don't have USD?

[ustal]

Is there a way to add tips to your seapass account when someone brings room service, without having to know who it was, go to the customer desk, increase your tip amount or put in a new one or whatever? Is there something you can just write down "+$5", and sign it, and that works as a tip?

 

I guess I could just go to the casino and get USD, but I really much prefer to go cashless if I can. And I'm coming from Switzerland - so I don't imagine the crew would be quite so grateful for my funny-colored bits of paper as they would be for good ol' greenbacks :o (Aside from which, the smallest bit of paper is about $10, which seems a bit much for just bringing me a snack!)

[LuAnn]

Is there a way to add tips to your seapass account when someone brings room service, without having to know who it was, go to the customer desk, increase your tip amount or put in a new one or whatever? Is there something you can just write down "+$5", and sign it, and that works as a tip?

 

I guess I could just go to the casino and get USD, but I really much prefer to go cashless if I can. And I'm coming from Switzerland - so I don't imagine the crew would be quite so grateful for my funny-colored bits of paper as they would be for good ol' greenbacks :o (Aside from which, the smallest bit of paper is about $10, which seems a bit much for just bringing me a snack!)

 

I'm not sure...because we don't do alot of "room service" but I think that you could do 1) give him some US $$ (if you have that) or 2) I'm sure that you can add on to the "bill" that is "presented" to you when the food is delivered that you can add on a tip? I think that this "bill" is presented as a way for you to give a tip! As I said...I'm not the expert on this..perhaps others can help more...Just my ideas LuAnn

[lobster129]

Is there a way to add tips to your seapass account when someone brings room service, without having to know who it was, go to the customer desk, increase your tip amount or put in a new one or whatever? Is there something you can just write down "+$5", and sign it, and that works as a tip?

 

I guess I could just go to the casino and get USD, but I really much prefer to go cashless if I can. And I'm coming from Switzerland - so I don't imagine the crew would be quite so grateful for my funny-colored bits of paper as they would be for good ol' greenbacks :o (Aside from which, the smallest bit of paper is about $10, which seems a bit much for just bringing me a snack!)

 

I would leave tips in USD or euros....something the staff can use. Customer relations will do $$ exchanges for you....but there is a service fee. If you get USD from the casino on your sail card, there is a 3% fee. Probably worth it...as you can ask for it in all $1 billls.

[dzcruisers]

If I remember correctly we could add the tip on when we signed for thr room service.

[CathyCruises]

I don't recall ever signing for room service on board. . .

 

We had the same girl each day and gave her a lump sum at the end of the trip.

[kitty9]

Room service on a cruise ship is not like being in a hotel---there's nothing to sign. They just bring the tray and that's it. And I don't think you can go down to the purser's office and fill out a tip form every time you have room service.

 

To the OP, are you cruising out of a US port? If so, at some point in time you're going to need US dollars. Just exchange enough of your money to equal $25USD, or use your credit card in the ship's ATM and get some USD.

[Oville]

If you've ordered an alcoholic beverage you can add a tip to the slip, otherwise you need to tip in cash.

[Napi's Mom]

I'm not sure...because we don't do alot of "room service" but I think that you could do 1) give him some US $$ (if you have that) or 2) I'm sure that you can add on to the "bill" that is "presented" to you when the food is delivered that you can add on a tip? I think that this "bill" is presented as a way for you to give a tip! As I said...I'm not the expert on this..perhaps others can help more...Just my ideas LuAnn

We've NEVER gotten anything like a "BILL" when receiving room service.... Guess I'm cheap but I always figured since the new tipping came out that "THE additional service people" mentioned w/tip per Diem...would pay the tipping for this delivery. We are not of the belief one must throw money all over to get decent service. (I can feel the flames rising already!!)

[ourlol]

Living in the UK we have a similar dilemma.

 

Just a thought, could you not go into your local bank at home and order say 50 or 100 x $1 notes specifically for use on board. We use them for room service tips, maybe for good service from a bartender over the course of an evening, perhaps a little extra for our cabin steward (over and above the pre-paid gratuity). Travelling, with teens in the party, the latter is normally well earned!

 

Laura

[ustal]

Please let's not turn this into a "should you tip or should you not" thread. :o Especially when it comes to things like room service, I think it's totally up to each person. Circumstances are different, requests are different, some people always seem to have the same person deliver room service, others get a different person each time... At the end of the day, I'm gonna do what I want to do, and you should do what you wanna do :)

 

kitty9 - we're cruising out of Venice (Italy), so won't need dollars at all for the ports. It's also the last cruise before the TA, so I didn't really want to use Euros, because I'm not sure how much chance the staff will have to spend them.

 

The other problem with Euros is that if I give coins, they can't exchange them if they're not spent. And the smallest Euro note is 5EUR/$7, which is more than I would be thinking of tipping, unless I just waited til the end.

 

Last time I needed dollars, the bank only had $20s and $50s, but I'll go ask and see if I can get a bunch of singles. Thanks for the tip (:p) ourlol!

[ourlol]

Last time I needed dollars, the bank only had $20s and $50s

 

Same here, but my own bank, with a bit of notice, will order them in for me. When I collect them, I feel quite wealthy. There's nothing like the feel of a huge wad of cash... even if they are just, sadly, of $1 denomination

 

If you have any left over, you can just save them for your next cruise.

 

Good Luck.

[excitedofharpenden]

 

Last time I needed dollars, the bank only had $20s and $50s, but I'll go ask and see if I can get a bunch of singles. Thanks for the tip (:p) ourlol!

Take your larger note(s) to the onboard casino and ask them to change it to singles.

 

Phil

[Yannn]

The other problem with Euros is that if I give coins, they can't exchange them if they're not spent. And the smallest Euro note is 5EUR/$7, which is more than I would be thinking of tipping, unless I just waited til the end.

It depends where your cruise takes place. If it's in the Mediterranean, where the euro is the local currency or widely accepted, it's probably not a big problem, as the staff can use them ashore or have them converted to notes easily.

In other places, I suppose it's better to get $1 notes.

[leoandhugh]

For room service, assuming you want the tip to go to the person who delivers your order, you need to tip in cash get some US $ from the casino or the front desk. If you add the tip to the bill, then it is spread around and if you are ordering food like breakfast for which there is no charge and therefore no bill, you will need to do it in cash if that is your intent. Which, since you asked the question, is what you intend:)

[excitedofharpenden]

It depends where your cruise takes place. If it's in the Mediterranean, where the euro is the local currency or widely accepted, it's probably not a big problem, as the staff can use them ashore or have them converted to notes easily.

In other places, I suppose it's better to get $1 notes.

Personally I'd forget the euros. The onboard currency is USDs. Whilst they might spend euros if they have time off in a port they'll find USDs more useful to combine and send home.

 

Phil

[ustal]

excitedofharpenden, you're so clever! Thank you! I can't believe I didn't think of just getting big notes and changing them at the casino! Will they do that? Perfect solution if they will.

 

I agree with you about Euro - especially since the TA is right after our cruise. It just seems better to tip them in USD, when that's the official/cruiseline currency.

[excitedofharpenden]

excitedofharpenden, you're so clever! Thank you! I can't believe I didn't think of just getting big notes and changing them at the casino! Will they do that? Perfect solution if they will.

 

I agree with you about Euro - especially since the TA is right after our cruise. It just seems better to tip them in USD, when that's the official/cruiseline currency.

Yes, they'll do that for you. You are going to have to wait until the second night for the casino to be open as your are in Venice overnight for the first one. Have a great cruise. I did that itinerary in 2006. The view as you leave Venice is spectacular.

 

Phil

[WapCaplet]

Please, please, please forgive me if I'm flogging a dead horse here. I just have a quick question regarding tipping and this thread.

 

I have signed up for the pre-paid gratuities program (which I think might be mandatory now?). I want to tip. I want to ensure that the lovely folks who provide such excellent service are recognized for their efforts. So my question is: What exactly does the pre-paid gratuities cover, or more importantly, what do they not cover?

 

Before reading this thread I had assumed that the pre-paid gratuities covered all my services while on board and that I could increase that amount at the end of the cruise for those above-and-beyond situations. With this assumption, I figured that I would not need to tip for room service (we are staying in a CC room) as this is already covered with the pre-paid. But now I'm confused as it appears that most of you DO tip for room service, in addition to paying the pre-paid grats.

 

Which makes me wonder what else the pre-paid grats do not cover. Which makes me wonder what the point of the pre-paid grats is, since I'm still stuck trying to figure out who to tip and when and how much.

 

Help? :confused:

 

Again, this is just clarification on when/where/how much to tip. Not if I should tip.

 

Thanks,

Tom

[excitedofharpenden]

Tom, if my cabin attendant brings room service then I just recognise the efforts at the end through the tips. If someone who isn't assigned to my stateroom (and therefore is not on the "tipping list") brings room service then I'll let them have a tip in cash as and when they provide it. I took it that was what the thread was about.

 

Phil

[ustal]

Tom,

Good question. According to the X website, prepaid gratuities cover the following:

 

Waiter $3.65

Assistant Waiter $2.10

Dining Room Management $1.00

Butler (Suites Only) $3.50

Stateroom Service $3.50 ($4.00 for Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms)

Other Service Personnel $1.25

 

All those are per person per day.

I don't think anyone knows for certain who "Other Service Personnel" are - and people report different experiences with room service. Sometimes the stateroom attendant brings it, sometimes it's someone else.

 

Additionally, people make different requests of room service. If all you're looking for is a basic breakfast and some coffee, that's obviously a different story than if you want a four-course dinner in your suite. If you're ordering a standard pizza from the normal room service menu, that's different to asking the butler if there's any chance you could get two slices of pepperoni and one of veggi from the pizza bar upstairs, oh and please bring some lemonade and two of those choc-chip cookies too.

 

We're staying in a suite, and I'm a spoiled princess (:p), so I expect there'll be a few breakfast special requests, and course-by-course balcony dinners. That's why I'm concerned about how to tip for room-service.

 

Personally, my take on it would be: if you're ordering a "reasonable" amount from the normal room service menu, you probably don't need to tip extra.

 

If you're ordering for more people than are in the stateroom (friends visiting?), ordering something off-menu, or ordering something that requires extra work, then you should probably consider tipping. Especially if you're planning on doing it more than once :D

 

How much you tip, whether you tip each time or all at the end, and even whether you agree with me about what's "normal" service and what's "extra" is totally a personal decision. But my rule-of-thumb is basically "if I feel a bit cheeky asking for this, I should tip" :rolleyes:

[hcat]

You an get some Euro coins or US dollar bills for extra tips--not that hard to acquire--you cannot sign just for tips as noted above..

[dzcruisers]

For room service we tip $1. or $2. depending on how much we order. Others tip more but I think that is out of line with what we tip our cabin stewart for a day even though we tip above prepaid for extraordinary service.