Average Tipping

[Al Vig]

NOT including the gratituites charged by royal Caribbean how much extra is average for room steward (given only one cleaning a day now)/waiter/asst waiter.

[Xaa]

Check here.  We've just been talking about it.

 

 

[steverk]

I'm probably cheap, but I usually leave an extra 20 for the stateroom attendant and waiter. An additional 10 for the assistant waiter.

I'll adjust upward if service is exceptional. It frequently is.

I never remove tips. 

[smokeybandit]

There is no real average.  It's whatever you think it appropriate 

[RCIfan1912]

1 hour ago, steverk said:

I'm probably cheap, but I usually leave an extra 20 for the stateroom attendant and waiter. An additional 10 for the assistant waiter.

I'll adjust upward if service is exceptional. It frequently is.

I never remove tips. 

I see no issue with an extra 20 bucks for a 7 night cruise but that's just me. 

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Is that per person or total amount?  Just curious 

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

We are currently on Oasis and our MDR waiter just started for the first time on this cruise.  So night one was his first night ever!  It’s been a real struggle getting things right each night!  We have 17 total so have 2 tables…he is the waiter for all of us.  He is very nervous and also very difficult to understand.

I will say he is very pleasant and trying his very best and we are not the type of family to complain.  I know he is looking for a 10 on the post survey (he hinted last night) and honestly I do not want to cause him any “demerits” or whatever they get for under 10 scores.  However it is not being honest if we say his service has been stellar…but as I said this is his very first time!  
 

What would others do?

[tonyfsu21]

This is going to be all over the place because ultimately it’s up to the guest but since you asked…. For a 7 day cruise (non star class)

room attendant $200.00

waiter/assistant $100.00 since we mainly dine in speciality venues.

waiter/waitress in speciality dining in addition to auto gratuity: $10-$20 per meal.

[CanHardlyWait]

9 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

We are currently on Oasis and our MDR waiter just started for the first time on this cruise.  So night one was his first night ever!  It’s been a real struggle getting things right each night!  We have 17 total so have 2 tables…he is the waiter for all of us.  He is very nervous and also very difficult to understand.

I will say he is very pleasant and trying his very best and we are not the type of family to complain.  I know he is looking for a 10 on the post survey (he hinted last night) and honestly I do not want to cause him any “demerits” or whatever they get for under 10 scores.  However it is not being honest if we say his service has been stellar…but as I said this is his very first time!  
 

What would others do?

This may sound a little crazy but I would be honest. LOL.

Maybe don't have new staff actually doing anything but observing there first week. 

To give a 10 wouldn't be honest or helpful to the overall process.

[CanHardlyWait]

2 hours ago, Al Vig said:

NOT including the gratituites charged by royal Caribbean how much extra is average for room steward (given only one cleaning a day now)/waiter/asst waiter.

Nothing extra is required. So it's a personal/individual thing. Give something if you feel you want to. Nothing if you feel you don't. How much nobody can or should be able to tell you. 

[steverk]

29 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Is that per person or total amount?  Just curious 

In my case, it is per cabin. 

[Pattycruise]

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

We are currently on Oasis and our MDR waiter just started for the first time on this cruise.  So night one was his first night ever!  It’s been a real struggle getting things right each night!  We have 17 total so have 2 tables…he is the waiter for all of us.  He is very nervous and also very difficult to understand.

I will say he is very pleasant and trying his very best and we are not the type of family to complain.  I know he is looking for a 10 on the post survey (he hinted last night) and honestly I do not want to cause him any “demerits” or whatever they get for under 10 scores.  However it is not being honest if we say his service has been stellar…but as I said this is his very first time!  
 

What would others do?

If you can speak with the waiter as to what he needs to do ,”relax, fill water, repeat order” -whatever it is, that could be helpful.  Additionally where is his supervisor? He needs to be addressed.  We had a bad experience on Symphony and FINALLY the head waiter (? Boss for the area) pulled our assistant waiter for some extra training and, unfortunately our main waiter suddenly injured his foot and so we had a new main waiter for our last 3 nights of a 2 week cruise.

[CanHardlyWait]

29 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

FINALLY the head waiter (? Boss for the area) pulled our assistant waiter for some extra training

Exactly. Say nothing and give perfect 10 scores and things don't have a chance at improving. 

[Coda_Sarah]

Definitely don’t feel like you have to.  We have been on a lot of cruises so we give more when we feel service is above and beyond our expectations or when we feel someone really going out of their way to make our experience feel pampered and enjoyable.  The most I have ever given extra is $50.  When we eat in the MDR every night with great service, I give a little more.  

[FloatyBoaty]

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

We are currently on Oasis and our MDR waiter just started for the first time on this cruise.  So night one was his first night ever!  It’s been a real struggle getting things right each night!  We have 17 total so have 2 tables…he is the waiter for all of us.  He is very nervous and also very difficult to understand.

I will say he is very pleasant and trying his very best and we are not the type of family to complain.  I know he is looking for a 10 on the post survey (he hinted last night) and honestly I do not want to cause him any “demerits” or whatever they get for under 10 scores.  However it is not being honest if we say his service has been stellar…but as I said this is his very first time!  
 

What would others do?

I had a brand new waiter and assistant waiter on one of my cruises this year. They were still so awkward - like they were told to make a minute of small talk to connect with me before taking my order but did not know how to do it at all. He would ask the same question again right after I answered (briefly, trying to spare him). They really made an effort and the head waiter was always around and checked in every day, which I appreciated. However, when it came time to do the survey, I had to be honest - they were kind, they were polite, they made every effort to be efficient and give good service, but that they were obviously completely green and not deserving of a 10 at all. I hope that they were not penalized, but it's not really my responsibility to train them and also hope that they are given an opportunity to grow into the service as expected.

[TXcruzer]

18 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

This is going to be all over the place because ultimately it’s up to the guest but since you asked…. For a 7 day cruise (non star class)

room attendant $200.00

waiter/assistant $100.00 since we mainly dine in speciality venues.

waiter/waitress in speciality dining in addition to auto gratuity: $10-$20 per meal.

Wow!

You are VERY generous!

[Ryan79]

Room attendant gets $20/day per cabin. For dining, $20/meal if the waiter is extra attentive or chatty. Bartenders $1/drink. 

[CruisingNewb]

21 hours ago, Al Vig said:

NOT including the gratituites charged by royal Caribbean how much extra is average for room steward (given only one cleaning a day now)/waiter/asst waiter.

You can get an "average" by taking all of the responses given, and dividing that number by the number of people providing responses.  

[ChessE4]

Forget average since sample is biased. Do what you want. Anything extra is appreciated. Cruisers come from many cultures and lifestyles.

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

Forget average since sample is biased. Do what you want. Anything extra is appreciated. Cruisers come from many cultures and lifestyles.

This.

[Ray]

27 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

Forget average since sample is biased. Do what you want. Anything extra is appreciated. Cruisers come from many cultures and lifestyles.

Agreed

 

Fact is anyone can sit behind a keyboard and say the tip X to the room steward and Y for every drink! Who's to say its not BS? 

If anyone wants to tip extra then it should be a personal thing between them and the recipient. No one should feel pressurised into tipping more than they can afford just to keep up with others.

[Fuzzywuzzy]

I recently foot the bill for 9 People to cruise, including prepaid gratuities. Since I already paid over a thousand bucks in gratuities I was in no rush to now start pulling cash out of my wallet. Except for bartenders of course.

[Montemy2419]

My response to the additional tipping or filling out the survey is you don't have to do either.  For the room attendant this year I have given at the end of a 7 day, 3 and 4 day cruise anywhere from $0 extra to $40 for two of the 7 day cruises.  The waiters I tend to tip from $25 to $50 extra and asst waiters from $20 to $30.  These are a one time payment at the end of the cruise.  I have had 2 excellent Head waiters and I tipped each of them $50 but the other ones nothing extra.  I pre-order my meals with the Head waiter due to food allergy so sometimes they have been fantastic while others almost can't be bothered to place my order and the kitchen has to hussle to make my meal.

[Heymarco]

Nothing extra unless service was just exceptional. No guilt either since have already paid generous gratuities, no need to double dip. Tipping amounts left by Americans is extremely high.

[SweetPea]

I never worry whether we are tipping too much or too little.  A long time ago, i realized there will always be people who tip more and people who tip less. So we tip with what we can sleep with at night and call it a day. Tip as your heart leads you, not internet forums with arbitrary "standards."

I'll share one dumb story to this point. We typically cruise in the Norwegian Haven. I find one poster on that "other cruising site" particularly ... i don't even know the word. But i can't read that person's posts without an eye roll. Whenever there is a post on "what should we tip the butler?" this poster always chimes in with "when asked, we tip the butler $10-20 pp/pd." This is a pretty ubiquitous post for this person, as i imagine it's kept on a clipboard for easy pasting every time this comes up. Families of 5 panic ... $700 for the week for what's essentially room service delivery???

I agree, that's crazy!

My point: We became very good friends with one particular Norwegian Haven Butler and sailed with her 3x, the second 2 by special mutual request, one of those cruises being 2 weeks long. We keep in touch outside of cruising also. After being very comfortable with her, we broached the subject as casually as possible. She said very few are that generous, and she often gets tips in the $50 range for couples and $100 for families for a week-long cruise. That was average, and there were always some who didn't tip at all. She's a vastly experienced Butler, and we have no reason to believe she wasn't 100% honest in her response.  Her experience was certainly not $20 pp/pd like the poster who seems to be on a personal crusade to make his/her comfort level the interweb standard of Butler tipping.

[Ampurp85]

I echo the idea of tipping what you want and can afford. Even if it's just a dollar or two, the crew appreciate it.

I recall being on a sailing, I believe Harmony in Sept 2022, where not only were people not tipping they were removing the daily gratuity. I was solo, so I often talk to crew in certain areas. Many would thank me for my tips and chat me up. However if you look at roll calls, Facebook or other sites. People are saying they tip $50,$100 a day. There is no average, just what you can afford.

[smokeybandit]

I've wondered, what does the crew do with tip money, specifically cash?  Seems there could be a lot of cash sitting in their cabins until they can mail it home. Or can they "deposit" the cash somehow on board and then wire money home?

[Ray]

Crew use tips for when they go onshore. Whilst onshore they can also wire any extra cash back home through western union or similar money transfer company.

 

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, Ray said:

Crew use tips for when they go onshore. Whilst onshore they can also wire any extra cash back home through western union or similar money transfer company.

 

But it may be weeks at a time between when a crew member has enough time to go ashore and find a bank.

[teddy]

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I've wondered, what does the crew do with tip money, specifically cash?  Seems there could be a lot of cash sitting in their cabins until they can mail it home. Or can they "deposit" the cash somehow on board and then wire money home?

High stakes Poker?

[tonyfsu21]

25 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

But it may be weeks at a time between when a crew member has enough time to go ashore and find a bank.

You might be surprised. You should see the volume of crew members who overtake 17th street in Fort Lauderdale every single weekend. They are in Publix, the dollar store and anywhere else they can find a western union to wire money back to their home country. I don’t think it’s a matter of weeks but probably more like days. There’s an entire business model set up in East Fort Lauderdale to transport crew members from the port to various shopping plazas on 17th street. 

[fireclan]

So do the crew members keep the cash tips for themselves? I used to assume that but I'm not so sure anymore.  Maybe they get a portion of it?

[tonyfsu21]

30 minutes ago, fireclan said:

So do the crew members keep the cash tips for themselves? I used to assume that but I'm not so sure anymore.  Maybe they get a portion of it?

I always hoped when I hand a cash tip discreetly to the cabin steward that they just put the money in their pocket. I would actually be pissed if they ended up pooling the money. I can understand the waitstaff with the envelopes on the last night but a discreet cash tip in passing through the hallway should go direct to the steward IMHO. 

[CruiseMsclDad]

On 8/1/2023 at 5:17 PM, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

We are currently on Oasis and our MDR waiter just started for the first time on this cruise.  So night one was his first night ever!  It’s been a real struggle getting things right each night!  We have 17 total so have 2 tables…he is the waiter for all of us.  He is very nervous and also very difficult to understand.

I will say he is very pleasant and trying his very best and we are not the type of family to complain.  I know he is looking for a 10 on the post survey (he hinted last night) and honestly I do not want to cause him any “demerits” or whatever they get for under 10 scores.  However it is not being honest if we say his service has been stellar…but as I said this is his very first time!  
 

What would others do?

Besides extorting him for the 10 score? No seriously, be fair and honest, but here is my rule of thumb, if you were going to give an 8, and then they suggest in any way that makes you feel uncomfortable that they really want a higher score, give them a 7. If they are joking about wanting a high score give them the 8, allowing of course for cultural differences. My boys are dead serous jokesters, but I had to explain to them that there can be language barriers, and cultural differences, so keep the joking light.

[Wheeler825]

On 8/2/2023 at 2:04 PM, Ray said:

Agreed

 

Fact is anyone can sit behind a keyboard and say the tip X to the room steward and Y for every drink! Who's to say its not BS? 

If anyone wants to tip extra then it should be a personal thing between them and the recipient. No one should feel pressurised into tipping more than they can afford just to keep up with others.

Yep, I consider about 90% of the people saying they tip hundreds of dollars to be complete and utter BS.

[CruiseMsclDad]

1 hour ago, Wheeler825 said:

Yep, I consider about 90% of the people saying they tip hundreds of dollars to be complete and utter BS.

I am curious now, how much money does everyone think they make at the end of an average 7 day cruise? I know they work very hard for their money.

[Wheeler825]

40 minutes ago, CruiseMsclDad said:

I am curious now, how much money does everyone think they make at the end of an average 7 day cruise? I know they work very hard for their money.

Enough to where I've heard them talking about being in the process of buying their second home.  Don't feel sorry for these people.  They work hard but they're being paid out the ass by their own country's standards.

[TXcruzer]

9 hours ago, CruiseMsclDad said:

I am curious now, how much money does everyone think they make at the end of an average 7 day cruise? I know they work very hard for their money.

 

8 hours ago, Wheeler825 said:

Enough to where I've heard them talking about being in the process of buying their second home.  Don't feel sorry for these people.  They work hard but they're being paid out the ass by their own country's standards.

If they weren’t cleaning up (by their countries standards) you wouldn’t see so many crew members returning contract after contract for YEARS 

Depending on the country of origin, many of these crew-members in one 9 month contract will make several years worth of equivalent wages in their home country.

[tonyfsu21]

11 hours ago, Wheeler825 said:

Yep, I consider about 90% of the people saying they tip hundreds of dollars to be complete and utter BS.

I believe there are still generous people out there (especially on vacation). What is the point of spewing BS to a bunch of random people on a forum like this? Also what does “tip hundreds of dollars” mean (like at once or over a 7 day period)? I guess I am in the 10% of people that will “tip hundreds of dollars” over a 7 day cruise and I am not full of BS. These crew members work very hard and I don’t mind tipping well at all. 

[Ray]

10 hours ago, CruiseMsclDad said:

I am curious now, how much money does everyone think they make at the end of an average 7 day cruise? I know they work very hard for their money.

If you were to take 1 bar person recieving $1 per ROUND of drinks from 20 customers in a day then multiply that by 7 thats $140 in tips per week.

A 9 month contract would $140 x  36 so roughly $5k 

My guess would be that the above is vastly underestimated!