Thread: Room steward tip

We seldom see our room steward, does the room while we are at breakfast & when we are at dinner, as we seldom want anything else that's it.

Originally Posted by johnthed0g

I bet a lot don't though, can you imagine the scene back"below stairs"? ...''arggh! did you get trapped by that woman in x123 ? on & on & I haven't a clue what she is on about, I'm trying to make the friggin' bed''

Not saying you're wrong, but you could be! On our last cruise DH and I chatted nightly with one of the waitresses at one of the bar areas. She would say how glad she was to see us since the night seemed to be going slow until we arrived. We heard about her adventures of parasailing in one of the ports. Sure didn't seem like she couldn't wait to get rid of us. We also chatted with other crew in one of the lounges where they approached us and sat down to chat. Maybe we're just easy to talk to?

Sometimes the staff are happy to chat, but other times, they are too busy. Unfortunately some people don't seem to know when to let the staff get on with their job. I am sure the last thing any of us would want is for a staff member to get in trouble because someone had complained about poor service as the staff were too busy chatting.

Yes. I enjoy chatting with the crew too. Just would like to point out... that how busy a cabin attendant is...is not as easy to determine as a bar waiter especially when you can see the entire bar and it's nearly empty.

Originally Posted by ziggysun

Not saying you're wrong, but you could be! On our last cruise DH and I chatted nightly with one of the waitresses at one of the bar areas. She would say how glad she was to see us since the night seemed to be going slow until we arrived. We heard about her adventures of parasailing in one of the ports. Sure didn't seem like she couldn't wait to get rid of us. We also chatted with other crew in one of the lounges where they approached us and sat down to chat. Maybe we're just easy to talk to?

I think talking to bar staff is entirely different to cornering a busy cabin steward. It is also easy to mistake politeness by the staff for them actually wanting to talk to people.

Originally Posted by swrinfla

I objected to the cruise lines and their "mandatory" gratuities, at first. Then, after a better explanation of where the money goes, I now allow the automatic charge.

But, I also still may reward my cabin steward, my dining room lead waiter and his assistant (if I am at the same table every night) privately on the last night. I've heard that they may have to share that extra with the whole ship, which I think is regrettable, frankly.

I may also give a little something to a favorite bar waiter/waitress, especially if I don't ever have to tell him/her what I want after that first night! And, being somewhat a sexist, it helps if she is "cute!"

I have never ever given the maitre d' a gratuity. The only thing he's ever done for me is show me to my table on the first night!

And, only once have I ever NOT given my cabin steward something. That one time was because I never saw him once during my ten nights aboard! Not once! Usually, they make a point of greeting you almost as soon as you come aboard!

"Greasing the palm" in advance may work with the maitre d' at some Mafia-connected high-rolling restaurant on shore, but it is contrary to my outlook, personally!

"Nuff said!

SWR

Not sure about all the cruiselines, but on Princess, as mentioned before, if you keep on the autotips, any extra money you give to a crew member they can keep (after your account is checked to make sure you didn't remove the autotip). That crew member may decide to share some of his extra tip with crew members that have aided him (such as the linen laundry person).

Some people consider the unseen cabin steward as a good thing: he or she goes in and cleans and straightens when you're not there and otherwise makes sure you have everything. Some passengers leave notes and as long as those needs are addressed, they're happy.

From time to time, we'll talk to a cabin steward or waiter about their home country. As long as we're careful to make sure we're not keeping them from their job, we can tell they are often happy to talk about back home. When we found out a cabin steward was from Romania, hubby told her about a trip there that his family made to his father's birthplace when he was a kid. They discussed the current economic situation was at the time.

Another cabin steward was from an Asian country and thought it was cute when our daughter did the proper bow (her teacher the year before came from Korea). So the steward reciprocated by telling us the Thai greeting.

I would imagine a bartender, as long as he or she is serving a bar full of customers, and isn't trying to catch up on various maintenance tasks there, may be a better fount of info about the ports. Many of the crew members probably spend much of their time in some ports waiting for a phone off the ship so they could call home.