pre paid tipping

[kayzfam]

Is this a good thing to do? Do you still get quality service? Did you feel bad not tipping more on tip night? Are the servers aware in advance that you have prepaid?

[kayzfam]

Is this a good thing to do? Do you still get quality service? Did you feel bad not tipping more on tip night? Are the servers aware in advance that you have prepaid?

[PEB]

I have sailed Princess where they have pre paid tipping. It does work out well and we felt the service did not suffer. You can go to the pursers desk and have them change any amounts you wish. You can even have them not take out pre paid tipping and tip directly to the staff if you wish. I am booked on the Victory in Jan I will see how if I find the same results with them.

We sailed the Spirit in April, and loved the pre-paid tipping. Must say that some of our group didn't like it, and changed with the Pursar. In our case, they gave us voucher's to give. Waiter's, etc., have no idea that you prepaid. If you want to give more on the last night, you do. In our case, we were 2 people on a 17 day trip, and it was wonderful not having the extra charge on our sail and sign card. I'm sure you'll like it.

[secondnature]

I read another on-line commentary that suggested a portion of your intended tip be handed to the head and assistant waiter on your first or second night, with the indication of more to come. This will send a signal that you know and will honor the system.

Another suggestion they had was going to the bank and getting a supply of $2 bills. Use these for little tips and to say thank you. They are a novelty and the crew evidentally think they are great.

In any event, both tactics are likely to get you remembered and establish a friendly rapport with those crew members most important to the success of your cruise. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Knightingale]

Does the $2 thing really work? I was planning on the prepaid thing. I find it hard to hand someone money.

[PEB]

I have heard about people doing the $2 thing. I have a friend who likes to use $2 bills for himself as well as tipping. There are times he has trouble using a $2 bill because some people do not think they are real. I only mention this so that you consider is the $2 bill going to cause the person you are tipping problems. It might.

[Knightingale]

yES IT SEEMS LIKE A CUTE IDEA! bUT i WOULD NOT LIKE THE THINK MY GESTURE CAUSED ANYONE PROBLEMS OR CONFUSION. i HAVE A $2 BILL IN FRONT OF ME NOW iT DOES MAKE ME TAKE A SECOND GLANCE $2 ?~ $20 ?. i WOULD NOT LIKE TO GIVE THE WRONG IMPRESSION !!!
mY SON DID DO HIS HISTORY FAIR PROJECT ON THE hISTORY OF US PAPER MONEY . iT WAS A GREAT HISTORY LESSON ~ i NEVER LOOKED AT MONEY THAT CLOSE WHAT SYMBOLISM. oH! wELL THAT IS ANOTHER SUBJECT! $2 REAL? i HAVE TO THINK ABOUT DOING THIS ... i THINK i MIGHT PREPAY AND GIVE AN ADDED AAMT BY HAND IF SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING OUTSTANDING. i WILL SEE pLAY IT BY EAR. tHANKS FOR THE tip!

[ikesmem]

We were faced with pre-paid tipping in May of this year with Carnival. I have to say that it is easier, but I wonder if the crew is better off. We contacted Carnival about this, and they told us that no money was taken out of the tip. I wonder who is paying for the paper work. This was our 4th cruise with Carnival, our first with pre-paid, and we could tell a great deal of difference.Some posts are saying, you will have a choice, but I found that not to be true without alot of trouble.We saved money really, because we pre-paid and did not stand in line to increase it.I could tell alot of difference in the cabin steward. He was really rude and hard to find. He refused to remove soft drinks and water from our cabin. Only to find that he removed them two days later to put them into another cabin to save himself steps. Which is OK, but remove them from my paid room. Just little things. The crew will know in advance the amount of the tip.

[kayzfam]

These are all interesting ideas and I think I have decided to stay with the traditional tipping the last night. I guess I would hope that we will be so easy to please that our stewards and waiters will think our kindness through out the week was part of our tip! Thanks for all of the ideas! I do like the 2.00 bill idea. I am sure the more people that use them, the more crew members know what they are! Kay [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]