a little something in advance??

[barbarabeeb]

I have read on several message boards that you should give you cabin attendant "a little something extra" when you first arrive. How do you go about this do you just flat out hand them money? do you slip it to them? what do you say to them? i dont want to sound like a complete idiot and be like here is an extra tip.....how much do you normally give? we will be doing the 12 night to alaska on the infinity booked in a CC. If you dont give a littel something when you arrive do you get worse service? any insight will be great :-)

thanks in advance
Carolyn

[MaryLou]

Carolyn:
I have never tipped at the beginning of a cruise and I have never had bad service. I know some people do like to tip a little at the beginning...but I do not see the need for it.

Ditto Marylous post, we don't tip upfront and have always had our ice bucket filled and good service all around.
I tip extra as needed, but rarely do we ask for more then the normal .

[OLD MAN]

Don't tip up front... Just put your tips on your "sea card" and enjoy your trip..OM

[Dorothy]

If you decide to tip upfront (and many people do) you might find a small service that you wish to ask performed and while handing them your tip say "Do you think you could have cookies in our room each evening" or whatever you want....

If you don't have anything special you are asking for, you can always just hand them the money and say "We're glad to meet you and are really looking forward to a great week."

dorothy

[Paul B]

We have never tipped in advance, but we have always given a little extra at the end of the cruise.

[Thomas]

I do give the cabin steward a little up front when I first meet him/her. Usually $10 or so.

Regards,
Thomas

Both Dorothy and Thomas so far are correct.

Let me give you an example.

I am MR. Cheap. I never book anything except inside cabins and hope for upgrades.

I almost away tip a ten or twenty to the waiter, busboy and cabin attendant on the second night of the cruise. I then proceed to jokingly say to the waiter how much I enjoy shrimp cocktail and explain to the busboy I love hot chocolate and water with no ice. I have more than once found a shrimp cocktail at my place setting quite a few nights.

Cabin attendants go out of their way to do extras when you reward them.

I also explain to the one I am giving to tip that I normally always give the regualr suggested tip at the end of the cruise and often more. The amount I am giving them now has nothing to do with my tip at the end of the cruise. All I am doing is letting them know I am on a vacation and want to have as good of a time as possible.

I can honestly say I have never been sorry I gave the extra tip in advance except once and that was when they changed busboy's on me. So I don't give the extra tip now until the second night.

As other posters have said, on other posts, with tips added to your account many staff will tell you their tips are less than before. I would guess, the reason, because most people believe their tipping respopnsibility is taking care of and it really is. But I want them, the service staff, to know I am determined to reward GOOD service above the normal tip. I also give an extra ten or twenty at then end of the cruise if the service was great.

I ALWAYs TRY TO FIND A PRIVATE PLACE WHERE I CAN GIVE THIS EXTRA TIP AND HAVE THIS CONVERSATION. I often will return to the dining room after we have left to do this.

I don't drink but if I did I would give the guy who hussles the drinks an extra tip also. I would almost assure you you would never lack a drink at least if he or she were arouind.

I will be on my 15th cruise in March and have used the above for 12 of the 14 previous and have found it works well for me. Hpe this helps.

Don

[jaxon]

I don't understand. Several folks on these forums have said that the employees must pool their tips, so why would I give extra, if the special employee won't get it? Some have said that some ships will fire them if they get caught not pooling. In the past, the wait staff asked to be remembered by name on the comment card so they could get points. I guess if you get named often enough, you get a reward from the line. I now always comment by name on the card for good service.

[luv2cruise]

We do not tip in advance and found our service from everyone (cabin attendant, waiter, ect.) to be exemplory! I think what helps is to be very polite when requesting something, saying how much you appreciate their help and treating them like ''people''. We listen to their stories about their families back home, ask a couple questions and empathize with them. These people work very hard and very long hours, and are very eager to please. I think they will provide you with the extras wether you tip at the beginning or at the end.

[CruisinOkie]

I have never pre-tipped, and in fact I find the practice condescending. Basically, it's saying, "treat me special, and maybe there will be more." I will tip extra for requests that are out of the ordinary, or if we have guests and make more than our usual mess. I have never once felt that our service suffered. We leave auto-tips in place and have tipped extra almost every time.

i tip canin steward before and after crusie and the bar servie wheteher at bar or the walk up people who bring you drinks by the pool.a couple of dollars each time .they are there as soon as my drink is done and when they get my drinks from the bar the bartender remebers my drink and makes it extra special and we seem to get extra attention to our needs .that is just us and i am not saying anyone has to do this.just answering the question!enjoy crusing the way you want(thats the goal ,have fun and enjoy!)

[Honeybear]

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Post Edited (04-17-05 19:26)