Gratuities

[JoeyandDavid]

John, I agree that getting to know your "staff" is good, I too am a people person..(if you hadnt noticed)...

I did notice the change in service when HAL went from a tipping "option" to a "suggested" tip.

It seemed the crew, knew they were going to get "paid" so they lost that edge for service..

We always tip extra to those who go above expectations....and always with a hand written note..

Once again I wish main stream lines would include gratuities in the fare and let us tip back on service and not because its part of salary :sad:

[Dan]

I have said before, and at least I'm starting to get through to some of the cruise lines (like NCL). Call it a service fee, not a gratuity, because that is what it is. I would prefer they put it in the price of the cruise, but with such stiff competition, every dollar they can knock down their advertised prices is needed to sell cruises.

A couple comments on what I've read above. I'm not exactly sure what tipping in the UK entails if $70pp for 7 days is too much. Considering the number of people getting a cut of that, I think it's cheap. You would barely cover tips for a week of food if you had to pay for every meal on that , let alone the room stewards.

I think the idea of paying some of the "tip" up front assumes the stewards are incapable of doing their jobs otherwise. It's been reported in various online articles that cabin staff take it as an insult to have somebody hand them 20 bucks when they first meet and say "do a good job and there's more where that came from". Of course, most of these people come from cultures where pride dictates they do a good job, not a greased palm. Not to mention you can't hide a bad job on a cruise ship. If the staffer did a bad job, and only a good job for those who slip some greenbacks early, then word would get back and this person would be let go. And quite often, these so-called savvy travellers who think they just bribed the steward into giving extra special service with the promise of more later, end up stiffing the steward anyway.

There has been mention of phone cards. That is a great idea, and shows you put a little more personal thought into the crew member's service. You just have to be careful which you buy, since not all cards work for all situations. I'm pretty sure, and you can check with the purser's desk when you board, that tips over and above the daily recommendation, are for the person who gets it, and doesn't go into the pool. What you can do is write a note and enclose cash for the amount of the card you wanted to buy. Say you didn't want to end up buying the wrong card. The crew member will know which card to buy. Plus, many crew members use cell phones or internet access now, instead of lining up at the 4 pay phone in port, so they could apply the cash to their phone bill or onboard internet accounts.

[sailingrose]

I wouldn't mind them including the tips in the cruise price and then I'd give extra to whoever I choose.

[Gregswife]

Getting to know your service person is a good idea, and also fun to learn about different cultures. This can be done at dinner, but for a cabin steward that you actually lay eyes on 1 time in 7 days, it is a little harder. When we checked into our stateroom this last time, the previous occupant's trash was still in the wastebasket. We should have realized that it was an omen of things to come. He gave the same attention to the cabin while we were staying in it as he had before our embarkation. We did receive a bottle of champagne from the captain along with his apologies though....

[JoeyandDavid]

now thats just nasty

[jbond]

You're not Irish by any chance? You three are a right pair if ever I saw one. Couldn't resist. :rolleyes:

[KeithnRita]

We, like Joey, noticed a drop in service on HAL after auto tipping was added. We cruise the Zaandam in Feb 2003, before auto tipping and before the 15% add on for drinks. The service was outstanding and we tipped above the normal and tipped the bar staff the last evening aboard. Our last HAL cruise was also on the Zaandam and was the first with auto tipping. The service and attention was not the same. It seemed to us that the bar staff was short handed and you had to wait much longer for service.

We don't mean to imply that service was bad, it was not, it just was not as good as before. We still tipped extra, but probably not as much.

[JohnG]

Yes, JBond, I am Irish :grin: .

[lashl]

we have always pre-paid the tips and have added more at the end of the cruise if earned. We have had good service in the past and expect it to continue.

Steve

[RNSANE]

I usually prepay gratuities now...but I almost always take my own cruise envelopes ( I make them special on my computer at home ) and tip more, depending on the service. I also take little goodies for the crew as well, nothing fancy but they are so appreciative of the thought. For example, living by Manila Market in Daly City, I buy the little bags of dried mangoes ( they are about $1.25 each ) - and say Phillipine mangoes on the front. I give those to crew members from the Phillipines. You'd think I was giving out gold...they grin from ear to ear when they see these packages!