Best Tipping Advice Thread

[mcgrawfan]

I decided to start a best tipping advice thread because this is something a little confusing to us first time cruisers. Please add to this your best tipping advice. Like when and who to give a $2 bill. What are some times you have given a phone card. Any other ideas for a special tip (or gift) besides a phone card. Dollar amount ideas for tips. Besides the last night, when are other proper times to tip and to whom?? When are you given the final envelopes for tipping and who all do they include?? All tipping advice will be welcomed especially for us "newbie cruisers".
Thanks!!

 

[femmfaerie]

do you tip at the welcome buffet? or in resturants for breakfast when you are not seating with your usual server?

 

[SweetSpot]

The tipping for server, asst. server, head server & room steward are done on the last night of your cruise. There will be envelopes in the stateroom for you to use. You can charge the tips to your account by going to guest services and they will charge the amount to your credit card and give you a slip to put in the appropriate tip envelope. There is a guide to how much per person per day in your cruise documents. Many people add more to the recommended amount or add phone cards because the service is outstanding.

The $2.00 bills are usually used for tipping the person who delivers room service. I bring $1.00 and tip based on how much is ordered but usually start at $3.00 per trip. That is entirely up to you.

The phone cards are generally used to tip people not allowed to receive cash tips. I brought along thank you notes and added phone cards for the lab counselors because they were amazing. Others give cards to special people at guest services, etc.

femmfaerie:

You don't have to tip at sit down, non-dinner meals. Unless you order a drink other than soda, water, coffee (free sit down beverages) you won't even recieve a slip so if you don't have cash there isn't a way to tip. If you do order a drink they will receive an automatic 15% which is added to all beverages you purchase.

When you go to Palo, the service is so good that you will want to
tip and because you are charged a fee for eating there you will receive a slip to sign and you can add the extra there. We tipped an additional $25 at dinner

There really isn't anyone at the welcome buffet to tip. There will be many servers there ready to take away dirty dishes but in Topsiders it is completely serve yourself.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

The $2 bills, to me, are kind of a novelty item. I have never bothered to bring them, although they seem to be kind of a cool change of pace.

For room service, I start with $2 for the first dish and $1 for each subsequent dish, unless it's 3:00am and I'm craving a pizza, in which case I usually hand the waiter a $5 bill. This is in addition to the auto-gratuity which is added to room service drinks.

We use the phone cards as a way to say good-bay and thank you. On the last night, we wander around the ship giving these to those who we feel have made an extra effort at making our trip special. This usually includes a bartender or two (who we've been tipping all week), a Palo waiter, and anyone else who's stood out to us during the trip. We also add a phone card to our servers' and room steward's envelopes, in addition to their regular tip.

 

[mcgrawfan]

Bumping up to get more of that great Dis Board advice!!

 

[rae519]

I always tip at Topsiders. Each server has a specific area to work - they do more than take the plates away. They have often asked if they could get us a refill on our drink, or made some recommendations about the food at the buffer. Often, when they aren't too busy, they will answer our questions regarding their life on ship, their country and the ports we will be at. A vast source of great information and education for us.

Yes, I tip at ALL meals that are buffets (Topsiders and Parrot Cay, on certain days) - but that's MY choice and it is not required, expected or the norm.

I figure it costs me about $40/week for the three of us for those tips and I'd rather have that good feeling in leaving a tip than not.

Rae

 

[jrabbit]

We always try to tip our Server and Asst. Server well and we hope that everyone else does too. These folks are working at all of the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and at some of the miscellaneous food outlets. If we tip them well, they are "compensated" for working at all of these other times. So once again, we hope that everyone does the same with their wait staff (I know that there are many who do not).

We usually tip the asst server about the same amount as our server because we do not usually order any drinks with our dinners (milk, soda and water is fine with us). So if they don't ignore us because we are not ordering "tipable" drinks, they will get it made up to them in the end. If we are ignored, then they get the standard amount only.

One of our favorite people on the cruise is our Room Steward. We seem to get to know them better than the wait staff - we bump into them freqently when going to or from our room. We have always had good room stewards and we tip them accordingly.

The Head Server (you know the one: "My name is Joe and I will be around the last day to pick up my tip"). He/She is the hardest one to tip usually - because the above is what we usually get from them. So they get the standard tip or less if they only show up once or twice out of 7 nights. One time he helped us with our lobster tails during the Captians gala, and we gave him a higher tip.

Remember the Nike slogan is just a applicable to tipping your cruise staff as it is to Nike:
Just Do It

 

[scurutchet]

Newbie to the board and verra, verra excited!! We are sailing on 11/8/2003 for the first time (9 of us, me, Mom, Sis, BIL, 2 nephews, 2 nieces and my DD) .

I have a question about tipping at the spa. Do you tip them cash or just charge it in with the service on the KTTW card?

Thanks!!

Stacie

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by jrabbit
The Head Server (you know the one: "My name is Joe and I will be around the last day to pick up my tip"). He/She is the hardest one to tip usually - because the above is what we usually get from them. Just Do It

Maclean (India) has been our head server for 3 cruises already and each time he spends time with us, every evening - when we are seated, during our meal and when we leave at night. He remembers our names, asks about our day and always has a smile ready for us. He is very attentive and goes out of his way to make sure that special occassions are celebrated with flare!
Lots of Maclean stories I could share but suffice it to say, his servers and assistants are happy working for him and we always ask for him!!!

Rae

 

[Tesabat]

So - for the kids club...or your favorite bartender (Yes - I'm planning ahead!) - the best "tip" would be a phone card?? Is it any old phone card that you can by in Wal Mart , or does it have to be a specific kind that can be used for International Calls?

I should add on to my tag - Help the Uninformed that "seriously" start their planning less than 30 days out!

 

[rae519]

Hang in there, Tesabat - you are a New Yorker - and never forget it!


Rae

 

[Tesabat]

Thanks Rae!! Good to see you back.

 

[Masonpips]

Spa tipping can be added to your KTTW card. They'll give you a receipt to sign for your service and there is a line for gratuity on there.

 

[SINK]

Although phone cards are a nice addition, but cash is KING. You can always try to slip $ discreetly. We would even leave $s for Palo Tea (I tend carry the $'s with me). Two $ bills are tacky. A stack of $ bills work better.

 

[moinab]

I agree about the $2 bills, $1 coins, etc. Although money is money, going out of your way to give someone a form of currency that is not commonly used doesn't make sense to me. Would you want to be paid in $2 bills? JMO

My best tipping advice is to ask your servers and steward if they prefer their tips charged or in cash. We asked our lunch servers, and one said cash. The other said he wasn't comfortable keeping a lot of cash on board, and preferred them to be charged. (BTW, you don't have to tip lunch servers, but we did because they were great and we wanted to.) When we asked our dinner servers, one enthusiastically said cash, and the other said it didn't matter. All of them seemed to really appreciate that we asked, however.

 

[musicgirl]

I know that you tip on the last night. But when? After dessert? As you are leaving? Am I the only one who feels strange in presenting the tips this way?

 

[alexandrew]

musicgirl,

it is actually very natural to present the tip envelopes to your servers the last night....usually after dessert, but prior to saying goodbye, I hand them the envelope, shake their hand, and thank them for the great service....

it is not in the least bit awkward...you'll see

 

[WDWLVR]

For our last three cruises we have brought phone cards as an ADDED tip for our server, asst. server and room steward. We have always gotten genuine thank you's for them.

For the head server we usually tip a little above suggested unless they have really gone out of their way for us. When you don't see them but everything else is going well you know they are doing their job!