cabin steward

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rheg

Guest
My last cruise on the glory the cabin steward and i got off on the wrong foot and continued that way the entire cruise. Because of that i missed out on alot of stuff cause i didnt want to inconvience him (ie unlocking my fridge a warm blanket additional bathrobe etc) This time around im on the miracle and my plan is to make my steward my best friend. I know i should tip them often but how much am i tipping? Is a dollar per request too cheap? im not planning on running him ragged but i would definate feel better about not upseting some one who has free access to my room!
 
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SandyBeach

Guest
I'm sorry to hear that you had trouble with your room steward. We don't tip them until the end...then we give them over and above what Carnival has already taken out of our sail and sign card based on how their service during our stay has been. However, we have in the past given phone cards the day we arrive or the second day. With the advent of the internet and email...I'm not sure if phone cards are appreciated as much as they use to be. If you decide to go ahead and tip him/her for each service....$1 to $2 should be more than enough - in my opinion. Why don't you play it by ear...take a few extra singles with you in case you feel you have to tip him/her to get what you need but wait until you see how you and he/she get along. It may be totally different this time. We've been on 11 Carnival cruises and only twice did we have problems with the room steward. One time was a communication problem - they didn't know enough English. That was frustrating but we eventually understood each other. And the other time we had a room steward whose contract was about up (we didn't know this at the time)...when we stopped at our first port we were assigned a new room steward and he was great.
 
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onewiththesea

Guest
Interstingly enough, we had problems with our room steward on the glory. Just got back 3 weeks ago. It took us two days of asking for three sets of towels (there were 3 of us in a room) before he finally brought them. He wasn't friendly at all, until of course the last two days of the cruise. Hmmm. Wonder why?!
 
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Mbandy

Guest
I have never had bad service from a cabin steward but have definately had some better than others. They usually know when you're in the cabin and when you're gone. Some you never see at all and others make a point of checking with you to see if everything is ok. Getting a good steward opposed to an average one really makes a difference in a cruise. Our favorite was Nigel on Explorer of the Seas last year.

Oddly enough out of 16 cruises I have only had one female cabin attendant and that was on a 2 night CTN. Without sounding politically incorrect has anyone noticed any particular difference in service between men or women attendants?
 
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SandyBeach

Guest
We haven't had that many female attendants during our 12 cruise history, Mike, but I'd have to say the guys for the most part have been better than the girls.
 
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BlueChef

Guest
Rheg - It's a shame you had that bad experience the other cruise, but it's certainly not normal.

Some people feel they need to tip on the first day to get good service, but I have never done that and I still receive great service throughout the cruise. I take sticky notes with me, and if I need anything special, I leave a note with one dollar bill. Otherwise, I leave my auto tips on the S&S account and tip a little extra the last morning. Here's hoping your next steward and you will hit if off better. (And yes, it could be the language barrier...?)
 
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Hairtech

Guest
This will be my first cruise and my friend told me they leave a envelope in your room to tip them with. Is this a tip you give in adddition to your charge on your sail and sign card? Also, can you just tip them each time you ask for something and what is automatically put on your card?
 
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Mbandy

Guest
First of all the tip is automatically charged to your sail and sign card. The charge is $10 per person per day. The envelope is for any extra you may want to give. Not sure about Carnival but Royal Caribbean leaves envelopes in the cabins and if you have the gratuities on the sea pass account they also leave little "coupons" to slip in to the envelope to let the steward, waiter, etc. know that your gratuities have peen paid through the ship. That way if you don't want to give extra $$ you still have something to hand them other than an empty envelope. We usually give more because the service is always great!
 
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truecruiser

Guest
[quote rheg]My last cruise on the glory the cabin steward and i got off on the wrong foot and continued that way the entire cruise. [/quote]

Do tell... What happened to get you off on the wrong foot? It may be helpful for others to know the problem you encountered.

I only had one cabin steward with an attitude problem. It was on the Victory, and oddly enough she was female. Strange that others have discussed this gender issue. nothing happened to start anything off wrong, she just wasn't happy or helpful(i suspect that she was tired and couldn't deal with the turn around time between the previous sailing's debarkation, and our embarkation). I know they work hard, but it isn't fair to take it out on the next guests!

Regarding tipping: I always leave my sign and sail tips as is, and tip additional, in cash, if service is great. but, i do that at the end of the cruise. i have never tipped throughout. Some people do it at the beginning of the cruise and insist that they get better service. but to me, great service is expected, and the extra tip should come after it is done, not before to ensure that you receive it. Perfect case in point, had i tipped the cabin steward on the victory b/4 we set sail, wld that have made her less of an unaccomodating grouch? Who knows, but we rarely call upon our cabin stewards when we sail,anyway, and if i had tipped her extra, i'd have been looking to get it back!
 
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Mbandy

Guest
As I said before I have had some better than others but never a grumpy one. On Century our cabin steward always brought our room service order in the morning. Celebrity charges for cranberry juice at breakfast so on our first stop at Key West we bought a bottle and kept it in the cabin. Towards the end of the cruise the bottle was empty. The next morning when he brought our fruit plate and danish our steward also brought a whole new bottle of cranberry juice! Don't know if he bought it from the crew store or snuck it out of the kitchen but you can bet he got a good tip from us. To me, it's these kinds of things...the little extras...that make the cruise extra special.
 
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LHP

Guest
We always add our "bonus" at the end of the trip. The only things we tip extra for at the time of usage is if we use Room Service ($2) and ($5) when we use the free wash and fold service Carnival provides for Platinum members. If we were asking for extra ice (like some folks do for their coolers) then I would tip at that time as well.

The bonus depends on the job they do.

As stated earlier, we have never had a bad cabin steward. Some were just better than others. We prefer one that is a little chatty. We like to get to know the folks we are sailing with. But not all people are chatty (and the possible lanuage barrier) so we don't hold that against them as long as they do a good job.

I will never forget our first family cruise. Our youngest son came down with a high fever on the second night of the cruise. We took him to the ship's doctor to rule out an ear infection. That night I stayed in the cabin with him and our cabin steward checked on us constantly. He also brought me the "beef" meal (well done just like I like it) and pizza for our son from the formal dining room. (this was years ago) I found out that he had a son that age at home as well. I will never forget his kindness. The next day (as children will do) our son was fine. Fever was gone...and not a hint that he had ever been sick.
We had a great time the rest of the cruise.
 
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rba01701

Guest
If its the Liberty's Su Popo then you had better tip her. She threw out my outfit.
 
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jkmcroot

Guest
I've never had a bad room steward. We always try to meet our room steward the first day and then are friendly throughout the cruise. We ask opinions of the different ports. I think if you treat them with respect they will give you better service (and they should be treated with respect). Just get friendly right away and then they will remember you so when you want or need something they think, oh that's the nice family in cabin xxxx who needs something.
 
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