Going on a cruise

amyllu
amyllu Posts: 432 Member
edited September 30 in Chit-Chat
This is the first time I will be going on a cruise in December for 12 days but am rather worried about the tipping aspect.
I wonder if any of you folks could give me some advice and tell me your experiences?
Any help would be very much appreciated...Thankyou!:smile:

Replies

  • abbie017
    abbie017 Posts: 410
    (1) Bring gym clothes and actually USE the gym on the ship.
    (2) Portion control. Just because it's an all-you-can-eat buffet, don't revert back to old habits
    (3) A lot of cruise lines are adding healthy low cal/fat/card/sodium meals to their menus, so check and see if your line does it. Most recently I sailed on Carnival, and they had at least one "healthy" option for every meal, including dessert.
    (4) HAVE FUN!

    as for tipping, the pre-set prepaid tips are the way to go. It's an average of $10 per person per day. You'll find the people on the ships really deserve every cent you give them, and more.
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
    LOL a cruise is supposed to be FUN & RELAXING! don't worry ahead of time. relax & have fun, leave one tip at the end of the vacation.
  • beesareyellow
    beesareyellow Posts: 335 Member
    Most cruise lines offer the option to pay your gratuities upfront, so no other tipping is required. At the end of the cruise, you will be supplied with envelopes to place your total tip amount inside, if you have prepaid, you will get coupons to place in the envelopes. If we have had exceptional service, we may place a couple of twenties along with the prepaid amount. Hope this helps :)
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    My wife and I went on a cruise last december for our honeymoon. Cruises give you a card which is not only your room key, but is also how you pay for things on the ship and then you pay everything all at once at the end. At the end of the cruise they will give you a card which designates how much you would like to tip the room service people, servers, etc which will be added to the bill.

    If you are a pop drinker, there should be a sticker you can buy the first day on the boat which will give you free sodas for the time on the boat; otherwise it's really expensive.
  • michelle2566
    michelle2566 Posts: 43
    It will all depend what cruise line you go with,we have been on 2 cruises one with P&O and one with Cunard. P&O you tip your cabin steward and your waiter in the dining room but none of the other staff and you give what you feel we gave £50 each for a 12 day cruise that was in 2005 (I think!!!) With Cunard they add the tips onto your bill at the end of the holiday so no need to tip anyone.
    Hope that helps...
  • holliehhobbie
    holliehhobbie Posts: 17 Member
    I've been on two cruise lines and on both tipping was done at the very end of the cruise for the cabin guy and another for our wait staff. I suggest you read thier web site, it should tell you or when you get on the cruise ask. They are all so very nice and helpful.

    Main advice....
    1. Ask about what is included in the pre-paid meal plan. we didscovered that if you order room service it's included. But if you go to one of the snack shops you have to pay extra.
    2. you have to put your luggage out the night before your last day. So make sure you have a carry on bag that will hold what you can not pack the night before and what you will need for most of the next day...This really messed us up on our first cruise.
  • weebowll
    weebowll Posts: 15
    I have been on a few cruises on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. They will both tell what is "standard" and Carnival will actually take it out of your account from day one. You usually tip your room attendant, waiters, and bar tenders. But there is always, at least on the two liners I have been on, an option to change the tip amount. For instance I think on RC they wanted us to give the Head Waiter a sizable tip and all this guy does is come to our table like once the whole cruise and ask how everything is going... I personally am not giving him as much as I am going to give our actual waiter who was with us every night. I usually start with the "standard" amounts and tweek here and there. Like on one cruise our stateroom attendants were particularly awesome so I gave them some extra. It's up to you. But if you're nervous and it is your first time and you have nothing to compare it to you can't go wrong with giving what is suggested, as long as you don't feel like it isn't warranted.
    And forget about the tipping, YOU'RE GOING ON A CRUISE! Just enjoy yourself!
    Have fun!
  • dougstevens
    dougstevens Posts: 208 Member
    This is the first time I will be going on a cruise in December for 12 days but am rather worried about the tipping aspect.

    Wife and I went on a cruise a few years ago, our first time. (Believe it was 4 days and three nights). We were there for my wife's high-school friend's wedding. Several of guests, including us, stayed on for the cruise.
    We met another couple, also part of the wedding party, who have been on many cruises. The guy deliberately lost 15 pounds before the cruise, "preparing himself." Though he did not over eat to the point of being sick, but he did eat a lot. He ordered almost one of everything, including dessert for each meal. He is actually a thin guy, and I suspect his eating habits is not his normal lifestyle. If he had gain any weight, it was probably a few pounds.

    I remember feeling envious about his ability to eat without feeling any guilt. From that experience, I learned that when you are prepared, you get rewards (even indulgences of food). So, if I were to go on a cruise today, I would watch what I eat, because I'm not prepared. However, six months from now, AND if I prepared myself, I might indulge.

    As for tipping. The ship we were on was pretty large, it didn't tip over at all. *snark*
    Seriously, we put the gratuity as part of our fees and did not worry about it.


    Have fun on your cruise!
  • La_Amazona
    La_Amazona Posts: 4,855 Member
    I'm going on one with Norweigen this in a couple of months.

    I also went on a Carnival one about 3 years ago and the tipping method was the same.

    On both of these cruises, we didn't need cash. They charged everything to our room. At the end of the cruise they would charge the credit card we put on file.
    As far as tipping was concerned, there's a rate a day per person they will charge you right when you start the cruise. For example, Noweigen's is $12 a day per person! So for me and my husband, it's $24 on tipping a day for our 7 day cruise. Their books say we can go to the office (once on the cruise) and change that amount if we wish. You can also tip certain people who really took care of you with a little extra which usually people do at the end. Although it seems like a lot (it does to me), on our Carnival cruise we were treated SO WELL. I loved the service. We were like a King and Queen. Hopefully Norweigen is the same because $12 is above all the other cruise lines right now.
  • amyllu
    amyllu Posts: 432 Member
    Thanks for all that info everyone!

    Still a bit nervous about it as you all seem to be like mini Rothchilds!...lol!

    Glad you told me about the hand luggage bit Holliehobbie, that's good to know.
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