Room Service Question

"gfc" wrote in message ...
Well, I thought part of the question was about tipping. Her original
post says "but I still don't quite get the tipping process. Do you
never hand out cash and settle it
all at the end, or do you tip for room service?" That's why I
explained how it is on HAL thinking it is probably the same system on
other lines.


Hi gfc,
You are right, it was about tipping, also. But from your post you have confused the end of the cruise tipping and room service tipping. I have been on 46 cruises, some even before automatic tipping came into play. Now, we just go with automatic tipping where the amount (being $10-$11.) per person, per day, is automatically posted to your onboard bill for you to pay at the end of the cruise.. I have been on HAL for four cruises and it was always done this way, giving you an option to adjust it at the reception desk if you so desired...Room service is an entirely different thing...you tip the person bringing you the food when he/she brings it as a courtesy for their service...Sometimes it is someone who works in the kitchen...It is not something you can put on your shipboard account. That is why we always bring plenty of one dollar bills on our cruises and you can get larger bills changed in the casino if you run out of ones...

At the end of the cruise if we feel that one of the waiters, his assistant, room steward and his assistant went beyond our expectations, we personally hand them extra on the night before disembarkation to show our appreciation. They know that we have automatically tipped, so they do not have to share that extra money... it is all theirs...Believe me they know...Long ago I asked a maitre 'd and he told me they check the computer and it tells them who automatically tipped and this way realize that what you have given them is for them and them alone since you have already contributed to the gratuity "pool"
by signing up for automatic tipping which is divided among all of them. I think that most, if not all cruise lines have automatic tipping now. To me it is very convenient not having to bring extra money along to do it the old way, when you put the money in marked envelopes for each person that you were supposed to tip. Thankfully for the crew's sake, it has eliminated the "stiffing" that used to go on. They put in long hours, work hard and deserve to be well compensated.

I notice that Celebrity is now charging $11.50 per day, per person ($15 if in a suite) according to the documents that I just received for our Constellation cruise next month.

Sorry if I came down too hard on you...I did not mean to!
--Jean

"peter" wrote in message
...
gfc wrote:
On Sep 6, 1:58 pm, "Jean O'Boyle" wrote:
"George Leppla" wrote in message


"Marcia R." wrote in message
...

My question is about room service on the ship.

Marcia

George, am I ever glad that you came to Marsha's rescue with the TRUTH
about
room service! I was amazed at the answers that she got...Kurt was right
too,
but did not go into as much detail as you did! All Marsha wanted was
information for breakfast to be sent to her cabin, for Pete's sake!!!
--Jean- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well, I thought part of the question was about tipping. Her original
post says "but I still don't quite get the tipping process. Do you
never hand out cash and settle it
all at the end, or do you tip for room service?" That's why I
explained how it is on HAL thinking it is probably the same system on
other lines.

gfc

And you were entirely right. Jean's comments are inappropriate to the
extent they don't distinguish between sisker and the rest of us.


Hi Peter,

Nowhere in your post did you tell Marsha that you tip the room service
person when they deliver to your cabin...But you did say:

"Gratuities may be charged (and are in fact by default charged) to your
onboard account
and include tips for cabin steward, dining room staff and room service
people"

That was misleading ...to me as it sounded as if you were saying that she
could charge her room service tip to her shipboard account which she cannot.
Perhaps the room service servers do get some out of the "pot" but their tip
is always paid in cash when they deliver food to your cabin.
For someone, like Marsha, who had been on one cruise years ago, it would not
have been clear and sounded as if her room service tip was taken care of on
her shipboard account. Many things have changed in all the years of cruising
and if I were in her place, I would want to know what to expect. At least
have an idea of what to expect as we all have different views but some are
clearly written out for us in our documents.
Didn't mean to step on your toes! ;-)

--Jean

"George Leppla" wrote in message
...

"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
John Sisker wrote:
"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm new to this group, but some of the names are familiar
from other newsgroups.

We're booked on the Sapphire Princess sailing to Alaska next
June. I was on one cruise years ago, but I had nothing to do
with the booking or finances so I'm pretty clueless.

My question is about room service on the ship. I just
discovered we sail through Tracy Arm Fjord from 6 to 10 in
the morning, so not being a morning person I'm curious about
just getting something simple sent to the room and sitting
out on our balcony. I know there's some fancy balcony
breakfast service, but that's not what I mean. On the
Princess web site, it says there is no charge for room
service, but I still don't quite get the tipping process. Do
you never hand out cash and settle it all at the end, or do
you tip for room service? Also, since we're probably not the
only ones who are going to do this, can we arrange for it the
night before? Any other tips or tricks would be greatly
appreciated.

Thanks,
Marcia



Marcia,

We too will be on the Sapphire Princess soon, but to the
Mexican Riviera, not Alaska. However, that's another story.

As for room service and tipping, room service likes to promote
itself as 24-hours a day. And even though a 15% gratuity will
be added to the bill, we will slip anywhere from $3 to $5
extra to the person delivering it to our cabin anyway. We know
this is above and beyond what will show on the final bill, but
getting cheap on a technicality is a little tacky to us.

Smooth sailing to all...
John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID:
714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com


I'm still really confused. I know about the tips at the end of
the cruise. But just for the one breakfast on the one day,
will there already be an extra tip included with the others, or
do I give the person cash?

Thanks for the info about leaving our order on the door the
night before.

Marcia...who feels really stupid about this stuff. ;-)


The answer you got from John is wrong.

Room service on the Sapphire Princess is FREE... you don't pay
anything. There is a room service menu in your cabin and you can
either fill out an order form and hang it on your door or call
your order in. Again, it is FREE.

It is customary to tip the person who delivers your order a
dollar or two in cash. You will have to sign a receipt and the
total on it will be $0.00 They do that just to keep track of how
much food they are using at any given time and to make sure that
it was delivered to you. There is no gratuity added to this and
nothing is put on your onboard account.

That is all there is to it. Hot coffee and some pastries on the
balcony is a great way to see Tracy Arm.

If you order bar drinks delivered to your cabin, they add 15%
just like anywhere else on the ship, but you weren't asking
about bar service, just breakfast.


--
George Leppla

Countryside Travel http://www.CruiseMaster.com
Blog http://cruisemaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/CruiseMaster


On the Sapphire, what you are saying is absolutely correct, since
we were just on it. On the form they ask you to sign, there's a
place to ADD IN a gratuity, if you don't have the cash handy to
tip the steward.

Nonny

--
Nonny

Our nation should be more like Illinois
and limit all politicians to just TWO terms:
One in office and the second in prison.

"Jean O'Boyle" wrote:
"peter" wrote in message
...
gfc wrote:
On Sep 6, 1:58 pm, "Jean O'Boyle" wrote:
"George Leppla" wrote in message

"Marcia R." wrote in message
...

My question is about room service on the ship.

Marcia

George, am I ever glad that you came to Marsha's rescue with the TRUTH
about
room service! I was amazed at the answers that she got...Kurt was right
too,
but did not go into as much detail as you did! All Marsha wanted was
information for breakfast to be sent to her cabin, for Pete's sake!!!
--Jean- Hide quoted text -

Well, I thought part of the question was about tipping. Her original
post says "but I still don't quite get the tipping process. Do you
never hand out cash and settle it
all at the end, or do you tip for room service?" That's why I
explained how it is on HAL thinking it is probably the same system on
other lines.

gfc

And you were entirely right. Jean's comments are inappropriate to the
extent they don't distinguish between sisker and the rest of us.


Hi Peter,

Nowhere in your post did you tell Marsha that you tip the room service
person when they deliver to your cabin...

I looked for that too, and I thought - what about room service?
But you did say:

"Gratuities may be charged (and are in fact by default charged) to your
onboard account
and include tips for cabin steward, dining room staff and room service
people"

That was misleading ...to me as it sounded as if you were saying that she
could charge her room service tip to her shipboard account which she cannot.

It sounded that way to me too.

Perhaps the room service servers do get some out of the "pot" but their tip
is always paid in cash when they deliver food to your cabin.
For someone, like Marsha, who had been on one cruise years ago, it would not
have been clear and sounded as if her room service tip was taken care of on
her shipboard account. Many things have changed in all the years of cruising
and if I were in her place, I would want to know what to expect. At least
have an idea of what to expect as we all have different views but some are
clearly written out for us in our documents.
Didn't mean to step on your toes! ;-)

--Jean

I've rarely had room service but the last time I did (not on
Princess), no matter when I said I wanted it, they came about 10
minutes before that time and before the wakeup call which I asked for
about 10 minutes before the time I asked for breakfast. And because
they came so early, they disappeared too fast for me to be able to get
any money out to tip them because I wasn't quite awake yet - even when
I got the money out the night before. They were extremely fast
leaving the tray and getting out. I guess they were lucky I was able
to get a robe to put on to open the door.

Jean O'Boyle wrote:
"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm new to this group, but some of the names are familiar from
other newsgroups.

We're booked on the Sapphire Princess sailing to Alaska next June. I
was on one cruise years ago, but I had nothing to do with the booking
or finances so I'm pretty clueless.

My question is about room service on the ship. I just discovered we
sail through Tracy Arm Fjord from 6 to 10 in the morning, so not being
a morning person I'm curious about just getting something simple sent
to the room and sitting out on our balcony. I know there's some fancy
balcony breakfast service, but that's not what I mean. On the Princess
web site, it says there is no charge for room service, but I still
don't quite get the tipping process. Do you never hand out cash and
settle it all at the end, or do you tip for room service? Also, since
we're probably not the only ones who are going to do this, can we
arrange for it the night before? Any other tips or tricks would be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Marcia


Marcia,

We too will be on the Sapphire Princess soon, but to the Mexican
Riviera, not Alaska. However, that's another story.

As for room service and tipping, room service likes to promote itself as
24-hours a day. And even though a 15% gratuity will be added to the
bill, we will slip anywhere from $3 to $5 extra to the person delivering
it to our cabin anyway. We know this is above and beyond what will show
on the final bill, but getting cheap on a technicality is a little tacky
to us.

Smooth sailing to all...
John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID:
714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com

I'm still really confused. I know about the tips at the end of the
cruise. But just for the one breakfast on the one day, will there
already be an extra tip included with the others, or do I give the person
cash?

Thanks for the info about leaving our order on the door the night before.

Marcia...who feels really stupid about this stuff. ;-)
George Leppla posted:

The answer you got from John is wrong.

Room service on the Sapphire Princess is FREE... you don't pay anything.
There is a room service menu in your cabin and you can either fill out an
order form and hang it on your door or call your order in. Again, it is
FREE.

It is customary to tip the person who delivers your order a dollar or two
in cash. You will have to sign a receipt and the total on it will be $0.00
They do that just to keep track of how much food they are using at any
given time and to make sure that it was delivered to you. There is no
gratuity added to this and nothing is put on your onboard account.

That is all there is to it. Hot coffee and some pastries on the balcony
is a great way to see Tracy Arm.

If you order bar drinks delivered to your cabin, they add 15% just like
anywhere else on the ship, but you weren't asking about bar service, just
breakfast.


George, am I ever glad that you came to Marsha's rescue with the TRUTH about
room service! I was amazed at the answers that she got...Kurt was right too,
but did not go into as much detail as you did! All Marsha wanted was
information for breakfast to be sent to her cabin, for Pete's sake!!! There
are menu cards in your cabin, Marsha where you select what you want, how
many or how much, and the time that you want it delivered. Some cruise line
kitchens will call your cabin and tell you that it is on the way...I guess
so you will be presentable opening your door. ;-) But not all of them so
just be prepared for it to arrive at the time that you have checked on the
menu card. And the breakfast is free as George stated and a tip of $1 per
person is adequate.

To claim that he is a T/A and give the advice that Sisker did, (which was
included in one of Marsha's posts by the way) astounds me and I have serious
concern for the "clients" that he claims to have. Marsha, ALWAYS be careful
and listen to T/As you can trust for answers...George is definitely one of
about five who post here that will always steer you straight...they don't
post here just to get their name in print and spam for sales.

Marsha, you will love Alaska...we have been there five times; one of them
with George on the Star Princess just this past May. If there are more
questions, please ask them here but be careful to sort the "wheat from the
chaff"!!!
Bon Voyage!

--Jean


Just to clarify, don't confuse me (Marsha from Ohio, who has been on one
cruise (Great Lakes circle cruise) or Marsha from Nevada, with Marcia
R., the original poster. :-)

Marsha from Ohio

In article ,
"George Leppla" wrote:


It is customary to tip the person who delivers your order a dollar or two in
cash. You will have to sign a receipt and the total on it will be $0.00
They do that just to keep track of how much food they are using at any given
time and to make sure that it was delivered to you. There is no gratuity
added to this and nothing is put on your onboard account.
Interesting. I don't ever remember even having to sign a 0.00
receipt. Just bring it in the room, set-it up, thank me for the $2.00
and on their way.


If you order bar drinks delivered to your cabin, they add 15% just like
anywhere else on the ship, but you weren't asking about bar service, just
breakfast.
You don't know that for sure. Maybe an eye-opener will be requested
(g).

--
Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought
of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.
Jimmy Buffett

Jean O'Boyle wrote:
"George Leppla" wrote in message
...
"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
John Sisker wrote:
"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm new to this group, but some of the names are familiar from
other newsgroups.

We're booked on the Sapphire Princess sailing to Alaska next June. I
was on one cruise years ago, but I had nothing to do with the booking
or finances so I'm pretty clueless.

My question is about room service on the ship. I just discovered we
sail through Tracy Arm Fjord from 6 to 10 in the morning, so not being
a morning person I'm curious about just getting something simple sent
to the room and sitting out on our balcony. I know there's some fancy
balcony breakfast service, but that's not what I mean. On the Princess
web site, it says there is no charge for room service, but I still
don't quite get the tipping process. Do you never hand out cash and
settle it all at the end, or do you tip for room service? Also, since
we're probably not the only ones who are going to do this, can we
arrange for it the night before? Any other tips or tricks would be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Marcia


Marcia,

We too will be on the Sapphire Princess soon, but to the Mexican
Riviera, not Alaska. However, that's another story.

As for room service and tipping, room service likes to promote itself as
24-hours a day. And even though a 15% gratuity will be added to the
bill, we will slip anywhere from $3 to $5 extra to the person delivering
it to our cabin anyway. We know this is above and beyond what will show
on the final bill, but getting cheap on a technicality is a little tacky
to us.

Smooth sailing to all...
John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID:
714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com

I'm still really confused. I know about the tips at the end of the
cruise. But just for the one breakfast on the one day, will there
already be an extra tip included with the others, or do I give the person
cash?

Thanks for the info about leaving our order on the door the night before.

Marcia...who feels really stupid about this stuff. ;-)
George Leppla posted:

The answer you got from John is wrong.

Room service on the Sapphire Princess is FREE... you don't pay anything.
There is a room service menu in your cabin and you can either fill out an
order form and hang it on your door or call your order in. Again, it is
FREE.

It is customary to tip the person who delivers your order a dollar or two
in cash. You will have to sign a receipt and the total on it will be $0.00
They do that just to keep track of how much food they are using at any
given time and to make sure that it was delivered to you. There is no
gratuity added to this and nothing is put on your onboard account.

That is all there is to it. Hot coffee and some pastries on the balcony
is a great way to see Tracy Arm.

If you order bar drinks delivered to your cabin, they add 15% just like
anywhere else on the ship, but you weren't asking about bar service, just
breakfast.


George, am I ever glad that you came to Marsha's rescue with the TRUTH about
room service! I was amazed at the answers that she got...Kurt was right too,
but did not go into as much detail as you did! All Marsha wanted was
information for breakfast to be sent to her cabin, for Pete's sake!!! There
are menu cards in your cabin, Marsha where you select what you want, how
many or how much, and the time that you want it delivered. Some cruise line
kitchens will call your cabin and tell you that it is on the way...I guess
so you will be presentable opening your door. ;-) But not all of them so
just be prepared for it to arrive at the time that you have checked on the
menu card. And the breakfast is free as George stated and a tip of $1 per
person is adequate.

To claim that he is a T/A and give the advice that Sisker did, (which was
included in one of Marsha's posts by the way) astounds me and I have serious
concern for the "clients" that he claims to have. Marsha, ALWAYS be careful
and listen to T/As you can trust for answers...George is definitely one of
about five who post here that will always steer you straight...they don't
post here just to get their name in print and spam for sales.

Marsha, you will love Alaska...we have been there five times; one of them
with George on the Star Princess just this past May. If there are more
questions, please ask them here but be careful to sort the "wheat from the
chaff"!!!
Bon Voyage!

--Jean


I'm sure I'll have many questions, so thanks for the offer.

Marcia...not Marsha ;-)

Marsha wrote:
Jean O'Boyle wrote:
"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm new to this group, but some of the names are familiar from
other newsgroups.

We're booked on the Sapphire Princess sailing to Alaska next
June. I was on one cruise years ago, but I had nothing to do with
the booking or finances so I'm pretty clueless.

My question is about room service on the ship. I just discovered
we sail through Tracy Arm Fjord from 6 to 10 in the morning, so
not being a morning person I'm curious about just getting
something simple sent to the room and sitting out on our balcony.
I know there's some fancy balcony breakfast service, but that's
not what I mean. On the Princess web site, it says there is no
charge for room service, but I still don't quite get the tipping
process. Do you never hand out cash and settle it all at the end,
or do you tip for room service? Also, since we're probably not
the only ones who are going to do this, can we arrange for it the
night before? Any other tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Marcia


Marcia,

We too will be on the Sapphire Princess soon, but to the Mexican
Riviera, not Alaska. However, that's another story.

As for room service and tipping, room service likes to promote
itself as 24-hours a day. And even though a 15% gratuity will be
added to the bill, we will slip anywhere from $3 to $5 extra to the
person delivering it to our cabin anyway. We know this is above and
beyond what will show on the final bill, but getting cheap on a
technicality is a little tacky to us.

Smooth sailing to all...
John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID:
714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com

I'm still really confused. I know about the tips at the end of the
cruise. But just for the one breakfast on the one day, will there
already be an extra tip included with the others, or do I give the
person cash?

Thanks for the info about leaving our order on the door the night
before.

Marcia...who feels really stupid about this stuff. ;-)
George Leppla posted:

The answer you got from John is wrong.

Room service on the Sapphire Princess is FREE... you don't pay
anything. There is a room service menu in your cabin and you can
either fill out an order form and hang it on your door or call your
order in. Again, it is FREE.

It is customary to tip the person who delivers your order a dollar or
two in cash. You will have to sign a receipt and the total on it will
be $0.00 They do that just to keep track of how much food they are
using at any given time and to make sure that it was delivered to
you. There is no gratuity added to this and nothing is put on your
onboard account.

That is all there is to it. Hot coffee and some pastries on the
balcony is a great way to see Tracy Arm.

If you order bar drinks delivered to your cabin, they add 15% just
like anywhere else on the ship, but you weren't asking about bar
service, just breakfast.


George, am I ever glad that you came to Marsha's rescue with the TRUTH
about room service! I was amazed at the answers that she got...Kurt
was right too, but did not go into as much detail as you did! All
Marsha wanted was information for breakfast to be sent to her cabin,
for Pete's sake!!! There are menu cards in your cabin, Marsha where
you select what you want, how many or how much, and the time that you
want it delivered. Some cruise line kitchens will call your cabin and
tell you that it is on the way...I guess so you will be presentable
opening your door. ;-) But not all of them so just be prepared for it
to arrive at the time that you have checked on the menu card. And the
breakfast is free as George stated and a tip of $1 per person is
adequate.

To claim that he is a T/A and give the advice that Sisker did, (which
was included in one of Marsha's posts by the way) astounds me and I
have serious concern for the "clients" that he claims to have. Marsha,
ALWAYS be careful and listen to T/As you can trust for
answers...George is definitely one of about five who post here that
will always steer you straight...they don't post here just to get
their name in print and spam for sales.

Marsha, you will love Alaska...we have been there five times; one of
them with George on the Star Princess just this past May. If there are
more questions, please ask them here but be careful to sort the "wheat
from the chaff"!!!
Bon Voyage!

--Jean


Just to clarify, don't confuse me (Marsha from Ohio, who has been on one
cruise (Great Lakes circle cruise) or Marsha from Nevada, with Marcia
R., the original poster. :-)

Marsha from Ohio

OMG, there are 3 of us here. LOL.

Marcia from Las Vegas :-)

"Marsha" wrote in message ...
Jean O'Boyle wrote:
"Marcia R." wrote in message
...
George, am I ever glad that you came to Marsha's rescue with the TRUTH
about room service! I was amazed at the answers that she got...Kurt was
right too, but did not go into as much detail as you did! All Marsha
wanted was information for breakfast to be sent to her cabin, for Pete's
sake!!! There are menu cards in your cabin, Marsha where you select what
you want, how many or how much, and the time that you want it delivered.
Some cruise line kitchens will call your cabin and tell you that it is on
the way...I guess so you will be presentable opening your door. ;-) But
not all of them so just be prepared for it to arrive at the time that you
have checked on the menu card. And the breakfast is free as George stated
and a tip of $1 per person is adequate.

To claim that he is a T/A and give the advice that Sisker did, (which was
included in one of Marsha's posts by the way) astounds me and I have
serious concern for the "clients" that he claims to have. Marsha, ALWAYS
be careful and listen to T/As you can trust for answers...George is
definitely one of about five who post here that will always steer you
straight...they don't post here just to get their name in print and spam
for sales.

Marsha, you will love Alaska...we have been there five times; one of them
with George on the Star Princess just this past May. If there are more
questions, please ask them here but be careful to sort the "wheat from
the chaff"!!!
Bon Voyage!

--Jean


Just to clarify, don't confuse me (Marsha from Ohio, who has been on one
cruise (Great Lakes circle cruise) or Marsha from Nevada, with Marcia R.,
the original poster. :-)

Marsha from Ohio

LOL! I'm sorry, Marcia....although Marsha from Ohio and Marsha from Nevada
are very nice people, I am sorry for the misspelling of your name!!!

--Jean

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"George Leppla" wrote:


It is customary to tip the person who delivers your order a dollar or two
in
cash. You will have to sign a receipt and the total on it will be $0.00
They do that just to keep track of how much food they are using at any
given
time and to make sure that it was delivered to you. There is no gratuity
added to this and nothing is put on your onboard account.
Interesting. I don't ever remember even having to sign a 0.00
receipt. Just bring it in the room, set-it up, thank me for the $2.00
and on their way.


If you order bar drinks delivered to your cabin, they add 15% just like
anywhere else on the ship, but you weren't asking about bar service, just
breakfast.
You don't know that for sure. Maybe an eye-opener will be requested
(g).

Yeah, Kurt! Like a Bloody Mary???

--Jean ;-)