Mentioning people's name is HUGE on a review. I have been promoted because of this. (I'm a land based tour guide)

Very very good information! We tip more than the normal and i truly feel we get better service - seems to also work on land tours too! We are blessed to be on a vacation while these people don't see their family for months- and work all the time.

This is REALLY helpful, first time cruiser coming up in August!! Excited, nervous, never ending list of questions! I paid $73 in gratuity upon booking my cruise, I do still wanna leave a few dollars here and there and I’m really happy to hear it doesn’t have to be $20 for every tip I leave! So many people get hung up on the percentage of a tip, and while I wanna be fair, I know I’d rather leave SOME tip than NO tip! I appreciate your help!

Great Video One of the most helpful out there on tipping. I used to tip the state room attendant the first time I meet them never worked well, always tipped them extra on the last day seemed to be more appreciative then. Bring lots of ones and fives so you don't even notice it but everyone is so appreciative of the tips. Most deserve it. Great way to show how well performers did it to leave comment after shows comment cards mean more than you realize I always keep a list of names, I keep on my phone so I can call them out when I fill out comment cards.

Some good ideas. We always tip above the automatic Gratuities. I hadn't thought about a few of these but most line up. People should always reward all the incredible service. It makes the trip so special. 😊

Outside of the automatic gratuity, I tipped my bartender and stateroom attendant.

I tip with two dollar bills when I cruise. I buy them in bulk from my credit union. People love it & remember you when you tip using a rarely used currency 💴.

We got off the NCL Joy almost 2 weeks ago & yes, kept the auto tips where they lay… Added extra to the room steward & extra to the Spa Masseuse! Used that service Twice! It was too Nice! I was almost floating off the ship! 😊

Tips - to ensure proper service tipping will give you better service it's true 💯 - i tip bc i like the service - it works! and the workers talk too -

On a recent cruise I tipped a bartender an extra $20 on a $15 tab. I’m not a big drinker, seldom have more than 2 or 3 drinks on a 6 night cruise. The lounge was not busy and he spent a long time answering some questions about the brands they used and poured me a sample of something I had never heard of. I counted it as “entertainment” and felt like the time he spent with me was worth that much. It would have cost a good bit more to go to a tasting.

I always remove the mandatory/automatic gratuity charges on day one and then tip myself. I tip way more than that set amount, I just don’t agree with how most cruise lines split tips. The last night, I go and get cash to cover the list I’ve amassed over my trip. I let the great people know that that’s how I do it and those people seem to know they should pay attention. It results in better service which is a sad reflection of the reality of the tipping situation. I love thanking them the last night, expressing that their kindness and dedication matters to people.

I personal tip the head waiter because I have food allergies and he works very hard for me. I am not sure if I would if I didn't have special need.

Yes to all of the above but we also have kids so we tip Adventure Ocean staff too! They are so incredible with kids. Especially when my kids are younger and extra fussy, they really deserve the tips!! Casino staff is another one I tip when playing. Great video!

I tip similarly to you. Even though tipping practices vary on cruises, I feel better that someone else has a similar tipping technique!

Was on a cruise a few weeks ago and my wife and I tipped the room steward, the bartenders at the Schooner Bar and our two waiters at the dining room (we had the same seat, staff every night who went out of their way to accommodate my wife's dietary restrictions. Wife might have tipped the casino cocktail waitress as well, but for me those were the ones that stood out.

The crew has gone thru so much these past 2 years. Hope it's smooth sailing for them moving onward🛳🛳🛳

I agree with all of your amounts. I use the cash envelope system. My first envelope is $2 both ways for the airport park n fly shuttle, then I have $5 for porters for my bags. I had the refreshment package and I did tip a $1 a few times for my can coke zeros.

I’m home in Ireland a few weeks now, after being on a Caribbean cruise out of Miami. Your right Brandon, we have a completely different view of tipping, I was actually nervous about it. But, I’m pleased to say, I pretty much did all the tips as you described. I’m must have acclimatised very quickly!

I always tip my important people to me. It’s my time to look them in the eye and say what a wonderful job they did for me personally. Just handing them an envelope isn’t enough. But I am a touchy feely so of call. I have had some amazing service and I want them to know that.

Interesting topic! I think you're probably going to go over the math when you do the automatic gratuities video, so I won't mention any numbers, but for a weekend cruise, the crew probably makes around the same, or less, as your local drive thru barista does a day in tips. As a former fine dining waiter wayyyy back in the day, I made considerably more on a busy weekend. So I totally think it makes sense that, if someone goes above and beyond to make an impression and make your cruising experience memorable, it's totally worth it to take care of them with a little extra token of appreciation. Thanks for the discussion!

I have only cruised on Virgin-I like the NO KIDS and all-inclusive pricing. I still give nice extra tips at the end of my trips to my Suite Concierge and Housekeeping Manager-They take great care of me.

Great vlog. Nice for me to know that my tipping is in line with yours. Thanks!

Great video. We've been cruising for many years and I agree with your tipping guideline that you used. Although we do usually tip the bus driver a dollar or two for his driving.

We pay the automatic gratuities, $10 for the porter (more if he helps with my wheelchair (60 lbs) both for pre and post cruise services. We tip the waiters at breakfast and lunch $2 to $5 depending on service provided. Room steward gets $40 on a 7 night cruise. We also try to keep a tidy room to make their job easier. We don't drink much but tip $1/drink. We have done the specialty dining in the past and tipped well but we find the main dining room has more than adequate offerings for our tastes. I have used the spa but feel the services were really basic, way over priced and the pressure to buy extras was unpleasant at best. I always tip the servers in the buffet, I think they are frequently neglected.

The prepaid gratuities should be enough, especially sailing solo who has limited demands of the crew. If someone goes above and beyond then an extra tip is warranted. If the staff isn't happy with the amount they receive from the prepaid they should lobby to get it raised. I wouldn't mind if the cruiseline raised the daily rate from 14.5 to 20.00. That would keep everyone happy. I am keenly aware their salaries are based on the gratuities. Are you tipping in addition to the prepaid gratuities? or do you take them off and tip staff individually? Maybe I missed this but it wasn't clear.

I once asked a waiter on a Princess cruise if it was expected in the MDR. Being from New Zealand it’s not part of our culture. He basically said how dare you ask me that … so confused.

I agree that this is a sticky subject and I really appreciate your honestly addressing this! It always bugs me when I hear people removing the automatic gratuities. These go to a lot of people you never see or probably understand what they're doing for you in the background. While I agree that the cruise lines should just pay their employees a living wage and incorporate that cost into the cruise fare and not even charge additional gratuities. But as a casino comped player, I'm not even paying full cruise fare, so I tend to over tip. The only other thing that I want to mention is that I like to pre-tip crew that will be more likely to go above and beyond for me: my cabin steward and butler (or host or concierge) and sometimes the maitre d', especially if I know I'm going to have a lot of special requests for them. Again, great job addressing a topic that many people don't like to talk about!

First of all It was great meeting you last week on Wonder of the Seas. The picture came out great 😊. We agree with you 100% on tipping. We like to tip them, because all of them go out of their ways to make you feel special. They work really hard and you will always see them with a great attitude.

I always acknowledge crew members by name with personalized comments in the surveys. I take their pictures with their name tags that shows their name and title, then make a list from the pictures before I start the survey. I then have nice photos of them. They always smile so nicely when having their picture taken. I also verbally praise them to their supervisors and have even emailed Michael Bayley highlighting a crew member’s fine work.

Great guidelines and I think many of my tips I may want to up a little. For room service when I first started cruising room service was complementary. My grandmother told me to tip at least $5 she said since I was getting the room service for free I could spend 5 bucks. Even now with the small fee I feel $5 is a good go to amount and if I order a lot of food (like if I order for my kids which we haven’t done yet…) then $10 seems fair and reasonable.

Thanks Brandon! Some of these tips I hadn't thought about. But I always tip my room steward and my wait staff. I will consider them for my next cruise. And the survey is a must do!

Ha! Dijan made it into your bartender segment! He is one of the best! After our discussion about auto grats im eager to see your take and what you found out about that topic. Great info as always in the video.

Hi, Brandon. 🙂 I really appreciate your whole approach to tipping and thank you for sharing your insight. The way in which you go about tipping might not be shared by everyone and that's ok. My biggest takeaway is the fact that vacations are not taken for you to come home broke. You did not convey that in this video, but how you carefully tip others helps to ensure that. Thank you! 😊

100 percent agree on all grounds . Thanks for sharing. I am a big believer and rewarding great service. It’s refreshing to hear someone else’s point of view. Turns out we think a like. Only other thing is if the room attendant is truly outstanding will tip higher. Thanks again for sharing.

I did $800 for a 7 days lol cu he was so good to us. Thanks for sharing this video great video love it

I think tipping is very important for front line staff like waiters, bartenders, etc. anyone who is giving you a great experience and face to face interactions should be motivated by tips. This will ensure that their performance is directly related to potential compensation. It also increases the desire of those positions. Nevertheless, all staff should be given a living wage at base. There is absolutely no reason someone should be working and not able to provide for their families back home. Them being there is a sacrifice enough. Personally I believe Carnival Cruise has the best staff in the industry. Out of all the cruise lines that I’ve been fortunate to travel on, I have actually learned the names of my carnival peeps.

Basically the exact same thing I’ve always done. Good video

Great thorough review of the tipping system! Just got off Odyssey and pleased to see I’m in alignment with your amounts!

Life goals! I want to cruise more. You have it down. So jealous.

Only cabin steward deserves personal tipping. All other tipping are included in the gratuity charges which is rather hectic.

Good information. I pre-pay gratuities but will still give $2 for drinks, room service, porters, and more to our waiters and room attendant.

You are on point with tips…we tip about the same!! The only tips that are different for us is the porter we tip $10 per bag, our stateroom attendant along with our tip of $5 per day I include a nice thank you card and a $10 Starbucks gift card!!

Great info Brandon ! Thanks for sharing your tipping amounts. I am right in line with you on how I tip on the ship.

Thanks Brandon, very much appreciated. Now I have an idea of how much cash to take with me.

I pay a small fortune to go on a cruise eventhough we have an inside cabin. I even have to pay gratuities ontop of the advertised price Hence I expect the cruise line to pay their staff a fair salary. I do not tip unless I requesr something beyond what they are allready paid to do At the MDR the waiter bring me food I ordered. He does that. Perfect. I do not see why he shoyld get a bonus for doing excatly what he is hired to do?

Well done video, insightful and well thought out. I covered the same topic on my channel about a week ago

I always tip the driver because I have a scooter in the hold! Even if they only just open the hold. Agree with the names! On Azamara it’s hard find something above and beyond. For the first time the requested distilled water and extension cord was their when I got to my room. I mentioned that on the survey and that finding extra things were hard to find and the first. I was B4B so they heard about it at the end of the first cruise and thanked me every day after that for a week! I wish I knew what had happened but apparently it was mentioned that I noticed what I asked for was already there. I don’t need them til night so later with cleaning rooms is fine but …..

The cruise director on my last Carnival cruise gave us what I think is an excellent idea. The end of cruise survey always asks if any particular employee did an outstanding job and I could never remember (much less SPELL) their names! Simply pull your I phone out and take a picture of their badge. I always tell them I'm doing it to brag about them when I get the survey and of course they never complain!!

You had mentioned the drink package has 18% gratuities added. But even if you don’t have it, at least on Royal Caribbean they added a gratuity on every drink. Also they charge a nightly tip each night on your bill. So with that said, I tip my housekeeper $50 at the end of my stay. And I keep my room very tidy. On one cruise I bought German chocolate at the store on the ship and I gave it out to anyone that made an impression me. They seemed thrilled by the gesture. These folks work very hard and must come from 3rd world countries. You would be surprised how much they appreciate the gratuity.

I just subscribed, I love the transparency! Thanks for info.

I wish I had this tutorial before my first cruise in January. I prepaid the tips. Since I rarely use cash, I only brought $60 with me. I ended up stiffing tips on several excursions because I didn't realize these places or rides wanted cash, so I brought little to no cash on the excursions. Though I brought my ATM card, I so rarely use it that I didn't realize it expired in December.

Hi Brandon, I like you, love to tip all of my friends on board...I tip my favorite bartenders $5 each drink and like you usually in specialty restaurants tip $10 above the included tip...I always tip my head waiters $15 or $20...and I tip the rest pretty much like you...I'll always go higher if in doubt, because I have traveled all over the world and to all of the countries that all these employees are from and I know how much this cash helps them...Tipping should be based on how good their service is...Thanks for being you !!

On what line do the porters take your bags "all the way to your room?" On Virgin and Disney, the porters load your luggage onto a cart and take the carts to be x-rayed and dog sniffed, then to the ship. Depending on the port, some of this process may be automated and the bags travel on conveyor belts. The stateroom hosts then take the suitcases to the area outside the cabin door. The porters at most terminals are unionized and make approximately $40-50K in salary plus often that much more in tips that are never reported or taxed. Still, if you want your bag to arrive at your room and be dry, in the US you need to tip them. On any line, whether in a drink package or not, there is an automatic 18-20% tip which is usually split among the bar workers. Any additional tip usually goes to the person who served you. From there, it depends on the cruise line and how transparent they are about how the automatic gratuities work (who gets them and how much). Disney is totally transparent--you know how much your server, assistant, head server, and stateroom host get from your auto-grat. You also know that those people work at other stations when not in the MDR, and that your dinner tip covers the work at those other stations. Our usual cruise is two of us on a 7 night cruise, and I usually add $20 to the autograt for the server, assistant, and stateroom host. Also, on some lines you can use any leftover onboard credit toward tips. Also on Disney if a cast (crew) member in a "non-tipped position" receives a tip, they are required to turn it into their manager or the ship's porter. It is then used (depending on the department) for a department party or donated to a charity. Keeping a tip if these people are not in a tipped position is a fireable offense! Room service and cabana attendants are hard ones to figure out. I know I tip more for room service if there is not a "delivery fee" attached. If I have a cabana, I've paid A LOT of money for that service, but I know that the cruise line is keeping most of it...tip depends on how much the person did for me/us. I will tip a tour guide, but not the bus driver unless the driver did something for me beyond driving the bus. If he handled my luggage, wheelchair, or whatever, he gets a tip. There are cruise lines where tipping is included in the cruise fare (not as the auto-grats) and additional tipping is either strongly discouraged or not allowed. Virgin Voyages is the most recognized of these. I offered a tip after a spa service and was told that it was not permitted, that she was very well paid for what she did. I have seen bar tenders accept small cash tips, even though the drink prices include the tip, but there is no way to charge a tip to your account. It is cash or it doesn't happen. Bottom line, of the six lines I've cruised, I believe each one handles tips slightly differently. Learn what you can about the line you are cruising. My underlying feeling is that if I have paid the auto-gratuity, I have done what is expected of me. Tipping over that is a reward for great service....and I do that. The best thing you can do for a crew member is mention them by name (and position, department, or where they are from if known) on your evaluation at the end of the cruise. Per cruise members, one or two positive mentions might result in an extra hour off during a port day or getting a preferred "rotation" on a future sailing. More positive mentions result in raises and promotions. And they emphasized to me that the extra hour off is a huge thing. Another thing we have done is to take a box or bag of candy or another packaged treat to Guest Services along with a card/thank you note and ask GS to have it delivered to the tech crew of the theatre or the engineering/maintenance guys. These are people who are rarely remembered and never tipped, but your cruise wouldn't be the same without them. I realize that there are people who can't eat candy, etc. but I've had amazing responses from some of these teams in terms of thanking me or remembering me on a future cruise. And after I typed all this, I looked at your title and realized you were very clear that this was intended to apply to Royal only....sorry.

Great video Brandon.! Thanks for sharing..!

Totally with you on all of the tipping, tho we are Celebrity folk. We utilize our personal butler and compensate them very well.

I tip a little different. So porter 10, stateroom attendant typically 40 to 50, favorite bartenders last day I will tip between 20 and 30 each. dining room I do last nite and 10 and 20. Windjammer I always find I sit same area and the stage who take care of my area I tip usually 10 to 20. I find I always do my cash typing on last night. I also take that time to make sure I get names and even pictures with staff I really enjoyed there service and help from. I also always fill out the survey and put names of those staff with a good description of there service.

I was taught the maitre’d gets a tip when they do something special like fixing cherries jubilee, something no longer done.

Very helpful tips. Thank you!

I tip the porters, and then my automatic tips come off.. I drink Water, so I dont go to the Bar, and a lot of room service, which I do tip. I figure I am paying arround $15.00 a day for tips, that should be good... I also talked to people that helped us, and found out that make sure you put their name on the Reviews that get emailed out. Because that helps them. But I do take my bags down with me. SO if I am paying 30.00 (per couple per day) that should be enough right? Royal used to give us little slips which we could divy up for tips from our automatic tips.

Tipping is the guilt tax on Americans. Most of us who come from other places where there is a service charge this is weird, they should be paid by the line. Yes, service on cruises is the best in the world but that doesn't mean I need to be handing out cash because you did your job. In my case. I just do auto gratuities and count it as service charge

And I bring my own envelopes. The ones I currently have say "YOU ROCK!"

Great tips. Thank you

On my last cruise the dining staff went above and beyond which is not always the case. I have food allergies. The desserts are what is typically affected in the MDR and what I got was inedible. To correct this the head waiter actually asked me for recipes and they made them. Needless to say I tipped well and I tipped my dessert chef (he was surprised). I tip in cash with a personalized note and a specialty chocolate bar.

Only people I tip extra is the room steward. If they removed the gratuities I would tip more people on board but as it stands today I only tip the room steward extra.

We tip an extra $1/$2 per drink, $5 per assistant waiter, $10 for head waiter, $100 for room steward on one week cruise. Few others as well. Although we do pay the prepaid gratuities we have no clue where it actually goes. There’s lots of speculation as to how this money is used.

Hi, what is the right (best) time to tip the server in the dining room? At the very beginning or at the last night ?

Extremely helpful! Thank you.

OMG... Get to it already😂😂😂😂 pretty much starts @ 2:50

My wife and I had such a great time on our cruise that we just came back from. All the workers we meet were fantastic! We already paid for the tip service. But at the end of the cruise. I tipped $20 to 5 people that I saw daily. I tipped $50 each to my 2 waiter/waitress. Extra $50 to the room service.

Per 7 day cruise: Wait staff: $40-50 for each of my two waiters. Cabin Steward: $30-40. Last cruise: : $20 for the head waiter, (who I normally don't tip; but this guy went above and beyond for me on several occasions. Bartenders: $0.00 - 18% is enough for them. Works for me. Excursions? $5 per trip. Unless they are great ($10) or crappy ($0.00)

Excellent advice Brandon!

How do they work harder than: miner/military/bricklayer/roofer/postman/scaffolder/aerialrigger/deliverydriver/fisherman etc etc etc

Agree although have never had a Genie.

These people deserve it. Just came from Oasis, the waiter was telling me the crew has to work 7 days a week for 7 months. No days off. I told him no wonder there are no American workers. Most collect unemployment cause they don’t want to work. 😅 Most Americans would roll their eyes. The workers go above and beyond. They appreciate the work since they send money to family members.

Hi - I purchased the Classics Drinks package on Celebrity. It includes wifi and tips. What does this mean in terms of tips? If I order a drink, do I still tip? I don't want the bartenders to think I'm cheap, but I am pretty sure I paid for tips in advance. The one week cruise costed about $2200 with the package.

Thanks for this, Brandon! It's been my practice to prepay the gratuities. Beyond that, I tip a dollar for each non-alcoholic drink. On the last day of the cruise, I give additional tips to the room steward and to our waiter/assistant waiter in the MDR. To the porters, usually a fiver per bag (I'm sure our bags weigh close to a ton!).

What if you are on celebrity and tips are included

Good advice. For discretionary tips, is these recommendations per person or per stateroom.

Just subscribed. I like your style.

Do you mind me asking which ports do you cruise out of most often? I too am looking to move to FL next year and do as many cruises as possible...probably 1 per month to start.

Great idea!

Are the examples after paying the regular gratuities-prepaid or do you remove it and do your own?

If an automatic tip is added to your total bill for the cruise, which is then split with all staff including the behind the scene staff (who in the case of the kitchen staff deserve it more than the waiters imo, there should be no need to leave additional tips in cash ...in reality you are tipping twice.

Hi there! I've just received an offer to work onboard as dive instructor. Do you have any idea how much could I get for tips? Thanks!!!!!

thanks Brandon!!!

Brandon, I'm a first time cruiser going on board along with my family and close relatives. In Main Dining room since there is no bills how do u tip them, the assistant waiter and actual head waiter, do u hand over in cash or is there any pool where u can contribute

Can you please tell me a fair amount to tip if you’re coming from a country where we automatically lose half the value of our dollar with the exchange rate. We have also included the automatic gratuity.

How do you get all of those wine bottles into your room Brandon? I need your setup!

Have you considered tipping for the "free" drinks for Diamond and above? I haven't seen where those have ANY gratuities included? I usually go $2.00 per drink.

Are you doing this in addition to the automatic tips or are you saying that you don't have them remove the automatic tips

Thanks for the TIPS

great stuff. can you find out that if you give cash to the person... do they have "Share" that cash tip that you gave them to the other members of that group. ie. I tip a crew member at the windjammer in the evening ... are they "sharing" it in the "collective" tip jar? (Like that on land based restaurants or does that individual keep it all. )

I tip exactly the same.

I don't think the matre de gets any of the regular daily gratuities

Hey Weekend Cruiser…. Do you tip your room attendant and MDR waiters each day or at the end of the cruise

Do you know what happens if you remove the automatic gratuities on board? Does it dock peoples pay?? I usually leave them and tip extra but have been debating removing them and tipping larger amounts directly to the staff.

Bar guy make $23 to $60 a hour work over 18 go 20 year m They make $ 90 to $120 a hour

I always prepay all my gratuities but then I also give extra tips as well but I love how you break it down. Thank you for all the information you share with us. I just booked my next cruise on Oasis Nov 27th thru Dec 4th maybe I will meet you on a future cruise.

so you get on a cruise with a huge wad of cash in small notes? I am dreading being in the USA again - I rarely carry cash with me at all in New Zealand - but it seems to be in the USA and even on the cruise that I need to have wads and wads of small notes???

What could be going away March 15th?