Tipping on the Trip

Be sure you have a supply of dollar bills handy.

Who to Tip

The "who" part is easy. It's up to your discretion to tip anyone who provides a service you would like to recognize. This begins as early as your airport check-in. Porters carrying your bags in airports expect a tip. Depending on your city, $1.00 to $2.00 a bag will do. Same thing applies when you retrieve your suitcases at the baggage claim area at your destination; if you use the services of a porter or skycap, tip him for taking your bags to your bus or taxi. "Wait a minute!" you say, "I'm shelling out all these dollars and I haven't even reached the ship yet..." While it's perfectly acceptable to carry (or roll) your own luggage into and out of airports, if you accept assistance you'll be expected to pay for it.

After checking in at your departure airport, you may not even see your suitcases until they appear outside your cabin door on board your ship. In that case, don't worry about the interim tipping. However, if you take a taxi to the pier and hand over your bags to a stevedore, be sure to tip him. He's the person responsible for your suitcases getting onto a pallet and on their way to the ship. Stiff this guy and hours later you may be filing a report for your missing bags. We treat these men with respect and pass along at least $5.00 with a handshake and big smile.

Whew... I've gotten you on board. Now what? Relax. Cash tips won't be expected until the last night of your cruise. With very few exceptions, a 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill during the cruise. If you use salon and spa services, a similar percentage is generally added to the bill. If your cruise line doesn't automatically add the recommended amount to your onboard account, you'll personally distribute tips for dining room staff and room stewards on the last evening on board. By then you'll know whether or not the cruise line's recommendations are low, high, or right on target for the level of service you've received.

During your last day of cruising there will be a "Disembarkation Talk"—usually conducted by the Cruise Director. One member of each family is encouraged to attend and, in addition to customs and immigration procedures, tipping is discussed. (Don't worry if you miss the meeting, it will be replayed on television all day long.) Small white "tip" envelopes may appear in your stateroom during the last day of the cruise, along with luggage tags and written disembarkation instructions. As a general rule of thumb, you can count on the following amounts falling within the tipping guidelines:

Room Steward - $3.00 to $3.50
Dining Room Waiter - $3.00 to $3.50
Dining Room Asst. Waiter - $1.50 to $2.00
Those suggestions are per person, per day. For a seven-day cruise (at the maximum rate above), count on gratuities of $63.00 per person TOTAL, BUT NOT MANDATORY). In addition, it may be suggested that you tip the headwaiter $5.00 per person per week. If he's rendered some special service (flaming desserts tableside), or been particularly attentive and kept things moving, by all means give him a tip. If he only shows up that last evening with a smile and his hand out, you needn't feel obliged to tip him.

This is what the carnival website states:

What is the tipping policy onboard?

Service Gratuities

For your convenience, we automatically charge the gratuities for dining and stateroom staff to your onboard Sail & Sign account. The total amount is $10.00 per guest, per day (our recommended guideline) as follows:

$ 3.50 Per Day Stateroom Services

$ 5.50 Per Day Dining Room Services

$ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff

For Cruises-To-Nowhere, gratuities of $10 per guest, per day must be prepaid.

Our Staff is totally committed to exceed your expectations in every way possible. If you are not satisfied with the service you receive, we encourage you to contact the Purser’s Information desk while onboard. This will allow us to address your concerns in a timely and appropriate fashion. At your discretion, you may adjust the gratuities at any time.

For beverage purchases, fifteen percent of the bill is automatically added to the Sail & Sign charge. Room Service staff may be tipped as service is rendered. Tipping your Maître d’ is at your discretion, based upon the service you receive.

If I have a room steward who is particularly attentive and keeps my ice chest full of ice - I will give him cash....sometimes upfront!

debbie

Thanks Deb!

This was one of the concerns that I had on my first cruise because I had NO IDEA how much it was going to be overall. Best I remember the total charged on my bill for tips was $50.