TheRick Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 We are going on a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise on Harmony in August. The gratuities are pre paid along with most of everything we can prepay. At the start of the cruise we want to tip the head wait staff, our wait staff, and our cabin steward. We also want to tip the bartenders beyond the gratuities on the deluxe drink package. We are also doing two excursions. The problem is we don’t know what is a decent tip beyond what is already paid. We don’t want to offend anyone with a tip that is too low. Also how much cash need to have on hand do you think is typical for a 7 day Caribbean cruise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 I don't think you'd offend someone with gratuity on top of the automatic. For bartenders, I tip $1 per drink usually. They definitely appreciate it. Hharris1997 and CruiserNic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 Most people tip at the end but that's up to you. Many prefer to base their tips on quality of service. I don't think you can offend anyone as not everyone will tip anything extra to some of these crew members so they are likely appreciative of anything reasonable. I don't want to suggest amounts as I feel that's a very personal decision based on various factors other than the $1/drink for bartenders is fairly standard. EDIT: Matt beat me to most of what I said. (Must be a Horizon West thing. ) sammy79 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitsmom Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 We usually tip the extra at the end handing it to them in person. Anything over and above the standard is greatly appreciated for sure. We have been lucky in that we have had great cabin stewards, waitstaff, and bartenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTieBrigade Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 27 minutes ago, Matt said: I don't think you'd offend someone with gratuity on top of the automatic. For bartenders, I tip $1 per drink usually. They definitely appreciate it. This raises a question I’ve had for some time. Do staff members know you have pre-tipped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda R Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 I tip bartenders $1 or $2 each time I order. I also give room stewart some extra money on the first day of the cruise. Anything beyond the normal tipping is always appreciated. Neesa, CruiserNic and Bob_KY 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRick Posted May 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 40 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said: Most people tip at the end but that's up to you. Many prefer to base their tips on quality of service. I could tip the extra at the end. I’m a little rusty. I don’t think I’ve been on Royal Caribbean since they got rid of skeet shooting. I also plan on tipping extra no matter the quality of service. There could be reasons if the service is not the very best, they could be having a bad day or maybe they’re homesick and no matter what, they are assisting me and the least I can do is appreciate the effort. ChessE4 and Bob_KY 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted May 18, 2022 Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 I say tip what you feel is warranted. With the exception of my room steward, I tip as I go. I don't like to wait to the end and have to hunt down anybody. I could only eat in the MDR the first night and never go back, the same with any other venue. WAAAYTOOO and Bob_KY 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AandD Posted May 19, 2022 Report Share Posted May 19, 2022 I started tipping our cabin steward a little bit on the first day and a little bit later in the week the last few cruises. Bob_KY 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted May 19, 2022 Report Share Posted May 19, 2022 5 hours ago, BowTieBrigade said: This raises a question I’ve had for some time. Do staff members know you have pre-tipped? I know the cabin stewards definitely do know, so I would imagine dining staff would know as well. BowTieBrigade 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endofturn Posted May 19, 2022 Report Share Posted May 19, 2022 I normally tip the porters $2/bag which is usually 2 smallish bags, we don't pack crazy. That's cash I have to bring. If there is a shuttle driver I'll tip them $2 as well if it is a group of people they are transporting. Bartenders 75% of the time I'll let the auto grat stand. It is 18%, so that's over $2 already automatically. If I'm really hammering them or if they are extra nice to me or funny I'll tip more on the slips. Tour shuttle drivers I'll tip $5, tour guide $5. Then I'll have like $50 in cash that I'll split somehow between my waiters in MDR and cabin steward, depending on who I think did more on like a sliding scale. I'm no star class passenger so I don't have a ton extra to throw around but I do budget like $75-$100 in cash just for tips. ChessE4 and TheRick 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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