Thread: Extra or Reduced Tipping?

This is not a thread on tipping per se, but I am curious to know what services the staff provide that would cause you to tip extra (above recommended), and conversely what would cause you to tip less.

I personally have never received any service that would merit anything more than the recommended amount. The service was as I expected.

I have though reduced the tip due to lack of service, i.e. cabin not cleaned well, and once an Asst. Waiter received no tip whatsoever due to his surly attitude.

Cheers,
Peter

Peter we have never tipped less.............I guess we have been fortunate in that our service has always at least been acceptable.........other than a missed glass of tea here or there..........

We have on occassion tipped more...........basically it is the attitude, friendliness........open your door everytime they see you in the hall, extra towels left in the room...........ice more than 2 times a day.......I think you get the general picture..............we don't tip extra everytime but have about 30% of the time.

I have also done both. We had one waiter that everytime we came into the dining room would meet me at the door and walk me to the table and was just a lot of fun at dinner. We've also had waiters that we never saw only to take our orders and bring the food. I tip according to the service I get just like I would at any restaurant or hotel. I actually argued with someone in the pursers office when I asked to have the charge taken off my account.

Very good question!! I do tip extra, But because of extra responsibilites at home that will not allow me to cruise more, The one that I have is once a year!! I have never been dissapointed on a cruise, and only once, I held back a tip for a steward. I don't look for anything that isn't perfect!! Nothing is, I have always met friendly crew, always get extras, Always pay extra!! I get to be pampered for an entire week, once a year!! They do make my cruise special, and make me feel special once a year!! I want them to know that they did it, and I was very happy!!!

Those are the kinds of comments I'm looking for.


Cheers,
Peter

I also tip for service. But what does make it special is attitude, yours and theirs. One feeds off the other and when both work together, you can't lose. Rufus, our steward on Adventure of the Seas, was extra special. Always smiling and available. Had gave a real personal touch to our conversations. Almost like family. Made this 10 day southern caribbean cruise perfect. Our favorite so far. Rufus was a big part of that.

Tipping is always a fun topic to discuss.

We pretty much over the years have went along with published quidelines, BUT, if the service was more than expected, then we will add to the tip.

The 'suggested' tips that I object to is the Head Housekeeper and on occasion, the Maitre d'. I will not tip the HH. What is getting done by his staff is what he is getting paid for them to do . . . if they are doing an outstanding job, mention him on the comment card and let him and the line deal with a raise in his wages. (This one has always had a ring of extortion to it IMO and is a major factor in my dislike of automatic tipping or tipping on my cabin account). If the Maitre d' has some personal involvement (more than just coming to our table and saying good evening) in our cruise then I will tip him. If not, he falls in the same class as the HH . . . no tip.

I have on occassion tipped bartenders at the end of the week. Not being a real frequenter of the bars on board (don't avoid them either :headbang2), I usually figure the 15% gratuity tacked on each drink is sufficient. However, there have been a couple of times where a particular bartender put forth extra effort to please me. On the Explorer of the Seas this past February, there was a particular bartender at the Pub on the Promenade. When my wife was napping, I would go down and have a cold draft or in the evening when we would people watch. After the first time, he always addressed me by my name, by the second he only questioned if I wanted a regular or Tall one and by the 3rd evening knew that it was a tall one in the afternoon, and regular ones in the evening and served accordingly. Always pleasant and willing to make small talk. I gave him a rather nice tip the last night of the cruise.

John, I don't do HH either. Honestly, I don't know how true this is, but I have heard many times, the tips at the end of the week are pooled. The amounts are checked by the line, and if there is extra, over the regular suggested amount, they get to keep the extra!! That is why I give the extra at the beginning of the week!!

I've never seen anything about tipping the headhousekeepers so apparently we've been stiffing them. I've over tipped both waiters and stewards depending on the service. On one cruise, we had brought a bunch of cold drinks onboard and our steward brought us a cooler and kept it filled with ice. He also, seeing there were 3 women, brought us more hangers. I once wrote Carnival about an execptional room steward DH and I had. He was just wonderful and he was funny. Carnival sent me a letter for a Bon Voyage gift for my next cruise.

Here's a suggestion.. Before cruising, always we get a couple dozen Sacajawea, $1.00 coins at the bank and give them out as tips.. They're unique, different and people don't know what to make of them. Most think it's some worthless coin we got stuck with from one of the Islands.. After they get a chance to check it out, you've got a friend for life.. On the Oosterdam, we tipped a pool waiter, he said thanks and pocketed it.. About 5 minutes later he came back with a small table to put between our lounges, got us some dry towels and was back every ten minutes to see if we needed anything...
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