tipping questions? when and who do you tip

[gincruz]

so when/who do you tip aboard the ship and how much?

 

[Mbandy]

Carnival will automatically add gratuities to your on board account at $10 per passenger per day. This covers your waiter at dinner, head waiter, assistant waiter and cabin steward. I usually add a little bit more at the end of the cruise.

No need to tip bartenders because there is a 15% gratuity built in to the price of the drinks. I usually tip my cocktail server in the dining room at dinner at the end of the cruise.

Other people you tip are baggage porters ($1 per bag) and spa attendants.

I hope you have a great time on your cruise :doubleup:

 

[Gayle V]

so when/who do you tip aboard the ship and how much?

Hello gincruz:

Who to tip:

All your taxi drivers, (those who take you to and from the airport/hotel, to or from the cruise terminal, those who you hire on the islands)
Don't forget the shuttle drivers, and excursion guides
Sky caps at the airport
Door men and Bell boys at your pre cruise hotel
Spa staff if you have any spa treatments done
Luggage handlers at the pier when yuou drop off your bags, and those that help you with the bags at debarkation

On the ship the tipping is automatic, just as Micheal said. If you feel your servers, or you room steward deserve more you can give some additional, I recommend giving it in person. The tips you pay on your room card are pooled, so your own servers will end up sharing with all the others, and he'll get only a tiny fraction of that extra.

In person tipping is usually done on the last evening of the cruise. The room stewards will make themselves much more visible in the halls outside your room on that evening, about the time you go to dinner. (For most of the rest of the cruise they will be nearly invisible.) For the waiters and assistant waiters, it is usually done as you leave the table on that last evening.