Cruise Passenger readers always have plenty to say about what’s going on in Australian cruise, and in the broader cruise community. In Your Say, Cruise Passenger looks at the issues our readers are writing to us about on our blogs, posts and newsletters.
Tipping has long been a complicated issue for Australian cruisers. Culturally, for Australians, it is not in our custom to tip. We are told that their gratuities are built into the cruise fare, so in theory, we are not obligated to tip anyone.
However, this then leaves them confused about where that money is actually going, and if they receive particularly exceptional service from someone, how do they know that any of their gratuities are actually going to this particular crew member?
There is not much transparency from cruise lines about how gratuities work and are distributed amongst the crew. This then leaves cruisers with decisions on whether they should tip, who to tip, and how much to tip.
While no one can tell you exactly to tip, if you’d like to know what many Aussies are tipping, just to get an idea, cruisers in an online Royal Caribbean Facebook group for Aussies shared how much they tip and to who. Many cruisers revealed that they do give cash to crew members.
Amy Bickerton offered a detailed breakdown of her tipping habits.
“We generally sail in suites and get a dining and drink package and base on seven days and a family of five. We tip $100 for cabin staff, AUD$10 – $20 for specialty dining waiter per meal (not breakfast) and random AUD$5 to AUD$15 per order for bar staff per order ( for good service, not all the time). We virtually never eat in the main dining room. I may also get the cabin attendant some snacks when we go ashore.
“I factor the extra tips in on my cruise budget. These people can really make your holiday that bit extra special and we like to recognise that. Also the three kids, although now bigger, can add more work for the cabin attendant and they work so hard.”
Ric Barker said: “We tip our room attendant US$300 and our waiter (we always have the same one in Coastal Kitchen) US$200.”
Antoinetta Holzhauser said: “We usually give our stateroom attendant AUD$200 for two rooms. In terms of other crew such as waiters and assistant, that depends on how often we use the main dining room, the last cruise we gave them about AUD$50 each.”
Deborah Pritchard revealed: “We do AUD$50 or AUD$70 for our room attendant, as well as AUD$50 each for dinner staff and AUD$5 per night to bar staff that look after us.”
Linda Van Newman said: “It depends how long the cruise is. We give our room steward US$25 – 30 for each week, and a similar amount for waiters and for our favourite bartender. Plus, we bring treats for the entertainment staff.”
Sean Steele offered how much he tips: “For the room attendant, depending on the length of the cruise, if it’s less than 15 nights then AUD$20, if its more then AUD$40. For dining room waiters, for 15 nights or less AUD$20, or for 15 nights or more, AUD$35.”
Gail Dodds shared what she tips, as well as some other ways she cares for the crew: “We normally give or room steward AUD$10 a day at the end, as well as any unopened snacks we took with us and didn’t eat. So chips, lollies and biscuits.
“If we’ve had the same servers every night we tip them and also a favourite bar tender.
We also ask our room steward if the prefer coke or lemonade etc. They still have to pay for cans onboard if they want soft drink, so I’ll often grab a couple from the bar to give to them during the trip.”
Justine Searle said, “Look, it depends on how amazing the service is. I will normally tip my cabin attendant USD$1-2 per day in a regular cabin, but I also give them a little treat every day as well, plus any unused diamond drinks for the main dining room people. The head waiter and the assistant waiter should get the same amount. It could be between US$20 and US$50.”
Another cruiser added: “We usually tip AUD$50 to our stateroom attendant andAUD $20-50 per entertainers/bartenders/DJ who went above and beyond for us.”
Mandy Rad said: “I give the stateroom attendant AUD$10 per day and servers AUD$5 each per day.”
Other cruisers shared their advice on how to figure out the complexities of gratuities.
Seija Milburn said: “This is a very personal question, and everyone is different. Some leave nothing, and some leave a lot. You have already paid, so don’t feel pressured to pay any extra.
“We give a small amount to our cabin steward, dining room waiters, and our favourite bartenders.”
Jo Mason said: “We always tip extra depending on the length of the cruise. We also buy them anything they may need at port stops and get them coffees or drinks using left over vouchers.”
Alan Shephard offered: “Seeing as this often comes up, the answer I usually give is “tip as much as you feel they earned during your trip.” Tips should reflect your level of satisfaction with their service. The only people we didn’t tip on our last trip was our MDR servers, and that was only because we had all but one of our meals in the Coastal Kitchen.”
Please keep those comments coming!
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