Alexis

I've never taken a cruise and I'm just wondering exactly how you tip? <BR>That is to say, do you leave a cash tip each day in your cabin (for the steward) or at the dinner table (for the waiter)?...or do you seek the service person out at the end of the cruise and pay them in cash? <BR>charge it to your account? <BR>How exactly does this work? <BR>Thanks much! <BR> <BR> <BR>

Sally

<BR>It is impossible to answer your question w/o knowing which ship you will be taking. Even w/i the same cruise line it varies. However, the majority of the ships still supply guidelines and you tip at the end.

Andy

Alexis- if your ship is not one of the very exp. all tipping included ships-ie.seaborun,crystal,silversea---then, the day before you disembark they put a flyer in your cabin along with envelopes and a suggested tip scale for the respective employees--ie.cabin steward,waiter,busboy--they are a definite yes--the wine steward is a yes IF you ordered a bottle of wine with dinner- the maitre de is a yes if you ask for a special dessert etc...an for the bar people,it's usually tip as you order the drinks---For the above,you just put your tips in envelope and hand to respective person--hope this helps

Paul Therault

<BR>Hi Alexis, <BR> <BR>I will add a little bit more. <BR> <BR>Some cruise lines will add the tips to your on-board account. You may go to the information desk and have them not do this if you like. See your travel agent and he/she will tell you about your particular ship. <BR> <BR>Another tidbit: The tipping that is done at the pool and at the bars is automatically added to your on-board account. <BR> <BR>Please do tip, at least the minumum that will be announced in your daily bulletin and also in your brochure. <BR>The wait staff and room steward/stewardess send all their money home to support their families. Some earn only about $60 a month in wages and it is a tough job. If you do have a bad experience, please forgive them since they may be in training, nervous or are human like us who make mistakes. <BR> <BR>Have a great cruise. <BR> <BR>Paul

MHS

There is a lengthy discussion of this on at least one other board. Some info from that discussion: Cruise employees are paid. It is a "minimum" but includes room and board. It is also considerably more than they would be able to earn in their home countries. <BR> <BR> Average dining room table on a mega ship holds 8 (so I'm told; I avoid mega ships). $4 a day for 7 days, $28 times 8 = $224 a week in tips -- from 1 table and the last time we cruised the waiter handled 3-4 tables. When you add that to their minimum wage and factor in the cost of renting an apartment or paying a morgage and buying food plus fuel to cook it and electricity to keep it cool, their incomes are very comparable to ours. <BR> <BR>Someone on that other discussion chimed in that she has asked a waiter what he averaged for a week, he replied that even with the few "non-tippers" he averaged $1,000 per week in tips. -- About twice as much as I take home! And, as non-US citizens they pay no US taxes. <BR> <BR>I would like to know how cruise lines determine their "suggested" tipping schedule. Have read that RCCL suggest $3.50 per day per person, but Princess suggests more than $6.00 per person per day. <BR> <BR>When we are on a land vacation, our normal vacation choice, we eat breakfast out (@$10 total for 2 = $1 tip), lunch ($15-20 total for 2 +$2 tip) and dinner ($40 plus if we have wine and/or dessert/coffee = $5 tip) <BR>That's $8 for two -- higher than RCCL's $6 for two but lower than Princess's $12. <BR> <BR>Please don't tell me that it's "better service" -- have been on 3 cruises and know it's not. If you want great service in a restaurant go to Paris. And don't tell me it's great food -- Vegas was better & neither are in Europe's ballpark. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

David

MHS - A $2 tip on a $20 meal? You are cheap.

Paul Therault

<BR>People seem to forget that the wait staff works 17 hours a day, 7 days a week. What would you earn if you worked this many hours? <BR> <BR>They do not get free room and board. They must pay $60 + a week for laundry and dry cleaning. They must pay $50 a week for the cabin steward. They must pay for their beverages and sundries. <BR> <BR>And if one thinks a resort vacation is less money than a cruise, they are mistaken. <BR> <BR>Three full course meals (not counting major snacks) will cost you at least $90 a day per person and the tip should be $13.50. A far cry from the 5 - 6 dollars a day you tip on the ship. <BR> <BR>Paul <BR>

Bruce

Alexis - as noted above, you normally tip at the end of the cruise, and the cruise lines will tell you how much to tip per person. The line will give you envelopes for cash, and you hand them to your waiter, bus person, and cabin steward on the last night. The exceptions are the staff who serve alcohol (bartenders, the folks around the pool, the wine steward/ess) for whom a tip is automatically included every time you order. Also, I routinely tip a dollar or two to whoever brings room service to my cabin. <BR> <BR>As to the morality of "suggested" tips, I just look at it as part of the fixed cost of a cruise: the price, plus port charges, plus tips. The staff are depending on receiving my tips and are giving me service accordingly. Personally, I've never had a bad experience with service, although sometimes mediocre. As on land, I just tip those people the minimum with nothing extra. <BR> <BR>I also usually find an excuse to tip the cabin steward $5 or $10 the first day - I then get great service the rest of the week! If so, I recognize it at the end.

Paul Therault

<BR>Great post Bruce. I am sure you are in the majority. <BR> <BR>I have been on 70 cruises and I find tipping the Steward/Stewardess at the beginning of the cruise does not seem to work. They are programmed to do their job nothing more and nothing less. When I need something extra or I get up late and he/she is waiting to make up my cabin I give him a few extra dollars. I think this works better. <BR> <BR>Such as you I never tip less than the minimum since I know they do try hard, they are just forgetful at times. <BR> <BR>Paul

Ishoo

Is this guy Paul for real or does he just write to fill up space? Looks like a lot of nonsense to me.

Laura

MHS, <BR> <BR>I would be ashamed to admit I tip that poorly!

Huh?

Ishoo (Gesundheit!) <BR> <BR>Paul's last post looked pretty straight to me. What's your problem?

Ishoo

To Huh, and Paul! Are you the same person! Ninety dollars a day to eat! How many of you people out there spend that kind of money to eat every day? Where do you get your information on the expenses the wait staff incurs? Sounds like total BS to me.

Paul Therault

Dear Ishoo,<BR><BR>I have been in the industry for years.<BR><BR>I do not post using another person's name. I have no reason to.<BR><BR>Paul

Paul Therault

Dear Ashoo,<BR><BR>I neglected to address your other question concerning the $90 per day.<BR><BR>Apparently you have never eaten at a resort or at a recomended restauarnt on an island. I am not talking about Hambone Bills.<BR><BR>I'll give it a shot: Breakfast ... Juice $2.00; Bowl of fruit $3.50; eggs fries and bacon $9.00; beverage $3.00.<BR><BR>Lunch: Soup 3 - 4 dollars; salad 3 - 4 dollars; light entree $12.00; dessert $4.00; beverage $3.00.<BR><BR>Dinner: Al La Carte ..... Soup $5.00; salad $5.00; Appetizer 4 - 8 dollars; entree $22 to $28; dessert 4 - 6 dollars; beverage $3.00.<BR><BR>And do not think these gourmet dinners are large portions.<BR><BR>Must I add up all the high-priced snacks? Am I up to $90 yet?<BR><BR>Do not take my word for it. Next time you are cruising and port at say Nassau. Take a look at the menu prices at Atlantis. Try San Juan, try Antiqua. You must find names of resaurants like L'escargot etc.<BR><BR>Sorry, I guess you are not familiar with resort or island restaurant prices. <BR><BR>Paul

annie

Alexis- we travel on Holland America lines. They claim they are a no tipping ship, but even they put in a pitch for tips at the end! I don't feel obligated to do tips as that is their advertised policy, but did tip the cabin boy when ever he did something nice or extra.

nanette

I agree w/Paul. When we looked into Bermuda with a travel agent to go by air and stay in a resort it was twice the price per person than a cruise. Then our travel agent said we probably could not afford the meals because most of the restaurants ther are very expensive. She was right. We checked out differnt menus in Hamilton and the entree prics were outragous. We had wonderful food in the dining room each evening, that didn't cost any extra. There was even a guy at our table of 8 people that (no lie) ordered 3 appetizers, 3 entress, at least 3 desserts, and even had the head chef make something special for him one night, and ordered 3 for himself and one for each of us at the table. If he would to do this at a Hamilton restaurant he would not be able to afford it. Needless to say ,my husband and I ate every meal on the ship and more than enjoyed it. This was the economical way for us to do Bermuda and we are thinking of returning same time next year!NANETTE

Sharon

Paul is right on target! I no longer do resort vacations as I found that I can do a first class vacation on a cruise ship for about half the cost. I do think that the employees must work about 17 hours a day as I have seen the same ones performing another job in the evening. I usually tip the cabin steward more than the required amount as I have always recieved great service. For some reason, I find myself tipping the bus boy more than the required amount. <BR><BR>I usually frequent one bar that I am comfortable with and always leave a tip for my bartenders at the end of the cruise. I always find it amazing that they can remember what I drink with hundreds of people onboard!<BR><BR>Just an old gypsy,<BR><BR>Sharon

Janice

Annie wrote:<BR>"we travel on Holland America lines. They claim they are a no tipping ship, but even they put in a pitch for tips at the end! I don't feel obligated to do tips as that is their advertised policy..."<BR><BR>No offense, but some people seem to have a problem with the English language. Where in HAL's policy does it say "tips included" or "no tipping allowed?"<BR><BR>What the policy says is "tipping not required." That means it is at your discretion. You decide how much and who you want to tip. You are not pressured to do this. Again, it is at your discretion.<BR><BR>As I said, some people have a problem with the English language even when it is their first and maybe only language.<BR>Unfortunately, this discretionary tipping policy allows the cheapoes one more opportunity to stiff the service providers.

annie

Janice,<BR>I stand corrected. HAL has changed their policy to "tipping not required". Summer before last though, it was advertised as "no tipping". They made a BIG deal of it in their ads. The last night of the cruise, the director got up on stage and said,"I am not officially allowed to mention tips, but some people might want to know the typical amount of tips...." then went on to push for tips. No need to get nasty Janice. I am not a cheapo, and although my native language IS English I would have understood her in Spanish,Japanese,and German and would have gotten the gist of it in French. As I said, we tipped the cabin boy regularly despite the policy, but there was strong pressure to tip all. Loved every single other thing about Holland America