Tipping

[Dvcfan55]

About to go on my first cruise and wondering...I will of course tip more than recommended amounts however, I feel uncomfortable handing someone an envelope personally and expecting a reaction out them for it or would feel terrible if they got it and were expecting more and thought I was cheap.. I don't know what it is but, couldn't I just add extra tip without having to hand deliver it and avoid the awkwardness? Is this possible to do?

 

[jiminy14]

I always bring a pack of Thank You cards with me and put the additional tip in a card with a short thank you message. Hallmark sells a pack of cards with a nautical design which I thought was pretty appropriate.

 

[Shanti]

I wouldn't rely on the fact that the auto-tip collected by the cruise line actually goes to the staff. I hope it does - but I doubt it.

On DCL, it does.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I don't know why you would wonder this.

You don't know why I would wonder if an auto-tip actually makes it to the server? I know from experience that there are some establishments who have a pre-determined tip on a receipt and the servers have not received it. No, this experience is not cruise-line based, but it is real-life based. You would hope that the establishment is doing the right thing, but I have encountered some who do not.

 

[Pooh2]

How do you go about prepaying the tip before the cruise?
Can you do this at the beginning of the cruise week on board?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know it'll change but can someone give a rough amount of what is recommended and for who(or at least how many people)? For a 7 day cruise for example.

Is it a suggested amount per day no matter what trip length?

is the booking actually the cheapest part of the trip?!?

The suggested gratuities are $12.00 per guest (each person in a room is a guest) per night. That $12.00 breaks out to $4.00 per guest per night to your room host; $4.00 per guest per night to your dining room server; $3.00 per guest per night to your assistant server; and $1.00 per guest per night to your head server. The $12.00 per night is for each guest, regardless of age.

You can go to Guest Services at any time during the cruise to have these amounts adjusted/removed.

At the end of the cruise you will get in your room with the turndown service, a gratuities sheet along with envelopes.


The coupons designate who receives and how much that gratuity is. You separate the coupons and place them i the co-responding envelopes (printed with position title) and hand them out the last day/night of the cruise.

You can add additional cash to the envelope along with the coupon, if you wish, instead of increasing the gratuity charged to your onboard account.

If you remove the gratuities, you'll still receive the envelopes in your room to be filled and distributed.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

Its roughly $14 per day - covers dining room and room steward

Sorry, found answer farther down in thread, thanks.

 

[DLM1980]

Does one need to distribute said envelopes? I was under the assumption that what was given on the bill was distributed and I didn't need to hand an envelope

Working in retail I don't receive tips but the occasional guest tips me for the gift wrapping or walking the purchase to the car. I always try to turn it down, just part of my job, but I always feel weird accepting them, and I don't want to put someone else in that position

 

[DLM1980]

What does the head server do? The last cruise he said Hi once and on the last day it was "hope everything was excellent" survey speech

I don't tip a head server at a restaurant on land, so why on a cruise ship?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Does one need to distribute said envelopes? I was under the assumption that what was given on the bill was distributed and I didn't need to hand an envelope

Working in retail I don't receive tips but the occasional guest tips me for the gift wrapping or walking the purchase to the car. I always try to turn it down, just part of my job, but I always feel weird accepting them, and I don't want to put someone else in that position

No, you don't HAVE to distribute the envelopes. I will, however, mention it's a good idea to confirm the name on the tip coupon is the correct one. There have been occasions when they weren't. The coupons are used by the CMs to confirm when they get their paychecks that the correct amounts have been added. If your coupon has the wrong CMs name on it, your server/room host may have some difficulty getting the proper tips. Tipping is part of the "cruise culture". There's no reason for either the giver or receiver to feel weird.

What does the head server do? The last cruise he said Hi once and on the last day it was "hope everything was excellent" survey speech

I don't tip a head server at a restaurant on land, so why on a cruise ship?

The head server makes sure the service is running smoothly, and any issues are addressed (allergies, problems with orders, server issues, whatever). If you don't see your head server, it typically means there have been no problems.

I will say, that on all our cruises, the head server stopped by the table every night just to say "Hi".

 

[TestingH2O]

What does the head server do? The last cruise he said Hi once and on the last day it was "hope everything was excellent" survey speech

I don't tip a head server at a restaurant on land, so why on a cruise ship?

At $1 per person per day, probably not much that we actually see. My understanding is that the head server is an extra set of hands in case the teams need help and can act as a maitre d if you need additional help. I don't know that DCL would really expect cruisers to have lots of regular contact with their head server.

 

[DLM1980]

Here's another tipping question:

When ordering drinks from the bar they add 15%. Which seems to be 85-90 cents a drink. Do most people leave it at that?

At a bar I typically tip $1 per drink but it I felt strange writing 10 cents extra tip. It was like I was insulting the server. I almost would have preferred they not auto-gratuity the bill and let me write $1

 

[hanscarlet]

About to go on my first cruise and wondering...I will of course tip more than recommended amounts however, I feel uncomfortable handing someone an envelope personally and expecting a reaction out them for it or would feel terrible if they got it and were expecting more and thought I was cheap.. I don't know what it is but, couldn't I just add extra tip without having to hand deliver it and avoid the awkwardness? Is this possible to do?

To answer the question of awkardness, you hand them an envelope and there is no amount stated on the envelope, it's enclosed so there is no reaction of being too cheap or too generous, the servers are all so professional, they will be gracious with no matter what amount you give them. I bet you'll find that by the end of your trip that you will be so impressed and pleased that you'll be eager to give them the envelope. I imagine their favorite day of a cruise is to get the envelope no matter the amount.

In two circumstances I tipped well for outstanding service and both recipients went out of their way to acknowledge the extra tip but otherwise all of them take it with a gracious thank you and smile, the whole experience is fun.

We usually add extra to the tip by going down to guest services and having the take the $$ from the onboard account and then we have them reprint the tickets that are to be inserted into the envelopes. Our head server on the last cruise, we weren't that impressed and I'm a fan of head servers and all the work they do, we gave him a little bit extra but not a lot.

We order room service a lot so we always bring a stack of $5s and leave them on the safe near the door so we can quickly tip them when they come by. Those guys work their tails off and appreciate the cash.

Here's another tipping question:

When ordering drinks from the bar they add 15%. Which seems to be 85-90 cents a drink. Do most people leave it at that?

At a bar I typically tip $1 per drink but it I felt strange writing 10 cents extra tip. It was like I was insulting the server. I almost would have preferred they not auto-gratuity the bill and let me write $1

I usually leave $1 dollar, I don't know why, I feel weird leaving it blank. I heard they auto add because it's not as common for folks from countries outside of the USA to tip on everything.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Here's another tipping question:

When ordering drinks from the bar they add 15%. Which seems to be 85-90 cents a drink. Do most people leave it at that?

At a bar I typically tip $1 per drink but it I felt strange writing 10 cents extra tip. It was like I was insulting the server. I almost would have preferred they not auto-gratuity the bill and let me write $1

Some people tip additionally, others leave it at that, or just leave one tip at the end of the night.

One note, the 15% gratuity is pooled to be shared by all drink servers/bartenders onboard. Any additional tip goes directly (and only) to whomever you designate to receive the tip.

 

[amanda12404]

One more tipping question. My husband and I are going to do a Palo brunch. Can anyone help me with the tipping amount?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

One more tipping question. My husband and I are going to do a Palo brunch. Can anyone help me with the tipping amount?

As with all tipping, it's entirely up to you what the service was worth. I know that doesn't help much, but it's the truth. What one person perceives as being worth $20 may be worth $100 to another. And both are correct.

 

[hanscarlet]

One more tipping question. My husband and I are going to do a Palo brunch. Can anyone help me with the tipping amount?

I've read anywhere from $10/$20 per person for Brunch and $25+ per person for dinner. I think we did $40 for brunch and $60 for dinner but we added the extra $10 for dinner because we ordered wine. I will say I was surprised at how expensive the wine was, I am sure those are normal prices for a 5 star restaurant but we are going to bring our own wine and pay the corkage fee because it's significantly cheaper than the cheapest bottle.

 

[amanda12404]

As with all tipping, it's entirely up to you what the service was worth. I know that doesn't help much, but it's the truth. What one person perceives as being worth $20 may be worth $100 to another. And both are correct.

Ugh I hate the entirely up to me If I was thinking $50 total, $25 for each of us would that be considered cheap? I am already going into the cruise as thinking I am going to be tipping more than the $12 a day. I always have the hardest time with tipping. I never had that type of job, so I just want to be generous but not crazy.

 

[Viviene Anthony]

I feel uncomfortable handing someone an envelope personally and expecting a reaction out them for it or would feel terrible if they got it and were expecting more and thought I was cheap.. I don't know what it is but, couldn't I just add extra tip without having to hand deliver it and avoid the awkwardness? Is this possible to do?

Why feel embarrassed and awkward? If they are already going to get the suggested amount, whatever you give them extra will be just that... extra. Each one of the staff is there to make sure you have a great time. If you've felt they've done an outstanding job, acknowledge it in whatever way you see fit. Whether you do so with a thank you or an extra tip, if you're even looking for a reaction, the one you'll likely get is a smile and a thank you back.

I heard they auto add because it's not as common for folks from countris outside of the USA to tip on everything.

This is probably true. It's not commonplace practice to tip in many counties. But mostly I believe it just makes it easier for guests not to have to handle any money exchange or worry if they are tipping enough/too much. But yeah, I would probably tip $1 per drink... which I would do anywhere.

 

[hanscarlet]

You don't know why I would wonder if an auto-tip actually makes it to the server? I know from experience that there are some establishments who have a pre-determined tip on a receipt and the servers have not received it. No, this experience is not cruise-line based, but it is real-life based. You would hope that the establishment is doing the right thing, but I have encountered some who do not.

Yes a lot of hotels don't give room service fees to those delivering the food (as an example)