When Tipping How Much Is Enough?

The simple answer would be no, the recommendations are sufficient.  The longer answer is an amalgamation of factors such as, do you think those who you are considering tipping extra merely did their jobs or went above and beyond the call of duty, how demanding were you as a passenger or even whether or not you stayed within your budget on that particular cruise (if didn’t spend as much as you planned why not spread a little of it out).

As most of you know all cruise lines have a certain amount they suggest you tip.  Usually, the suggested tipping amount is just fine.  In fact, most cruise lines make it easy for you to follow those guidelines by allowing you to have the tips automatically added to your account.  If you want to go a step further you could pre-pay the gratuities before you even board, this is what I like to do as it reduces how much I spend onboard.  The question then becomes, should I ever tip more than what is recommended?

While I have only experienced bad service once on a cruise I also rarely experience what I would call “exceptional service”, most seem to fall somewhere in the middle.  First let me talk about the time I did experience “bad” service.  I won’t say which cruise ship it was on or what the cabin stewards’ name was but I will say he made a terrible first impression and things never really got any better.  In short, I will tolerate a lot of things but a rude cabin steward that gives zero effort isn’t one of them.  The end result was a weekly tip that cut got cut in half and a bad review.

As I said before, most service you receive will be pretty good but nothing that makes your head spin and for those you will just want to stick to the recommended amounts.  Those auto-tips take care of your cabin steward and dining room staff.  Along the way there will be people who serve you that don’t fall under those categories mainly bartenders and room service.

Bartenders are easy since there is automatically a 15% gratuity added to the price of your drink, I never add any more to that amount.  On the rare occasion where I actually sit at the bar I have been known to slip the bartender a little extra.  In my experience this is only useful if you frequent the same bar as it will get you special service and most likely a stiffer drink if you make it know that is how you like it.

On the other hand I always without fail take care of room service.  Imagine having to get hundreds of breakfasts up to cabins on different decks within specified time slots.   These guys get up in the wee hours of the morning to race up several decks over and over again in an effort to deliver your food in a timely manner for literally nothing, unless you tip them.  They are also responsible for getting that drunk guy on deck twelve his 5 trays of food at 3 a.m. fast enough that he won’t call down to yell at anyone, even though they know he won’t eat most of it or appreciate any of it.

As far as tipping extra for exceptional service is concerned, we all have different levels of standards.  What constitutes exceptional service for me may not be the same when viewed through someone else’s eyes.  However I will say that if in the past you have received treatment from someone that you still talk about 3 cruises later, anytime you come across someone who approaches that level they probably deserve an extra little something.

Related posts:

1. Controversial Carnival Cruise Picture
2. Additional Costs of Cruise Vacations
3. The Newbies Guide to What to do After You Board the Cruise Ship
4. Ten Over-looked Items I Never Cruise Without
5. An Overview of my March 15th Adventure of the Seas Cruise

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