Tips

As one who has worked for tips, I looked forward to those little envelopes at the end of the cruise. It was like Christmas. I couldn't wait to go to my room and open the presents.

Bruce, I've been both bar staff and riverlorian. I agree with Captain Lexie--the staff looks forward to those envelopes at the end. I can tell you all about the DQ tipping--but it may not apply at all to MAL. On the DQ, the bar staff had a tipping pool, a 15% gratuity that was added to every bar bill automatically. You did not have to add anything, although the check had a spot for you to add it. I always tried to explain the policy the first day, so that people understood the tip was already there. If you wanted a particular person to get a tip, you should hand it to them--otherwise, any tip written on the check would be split with the entire bar staff. As far as housekeeping and dining room staff, they count on the tips for their living--their wages are next to nothing. The boat provides you with a tipping guide, a suggested amount per day. There is a porter's box by the purser's office--all of the porters share the tips in the box--they carry your luggage, provide the lounge snacks, etc. Most people do not tip deck crew, entertainers or the riverlorian; however, anyone who does a particularly nice job for you is happy to have that recognized. The boat will cash a traveller's check or personal check for you, and keeps enough cash on hand for you to leave tips. Having said all of this, be prepared for totally new policies on the boats with MAL--it could be quite different. I'm sure they will provide you with a guide.

Hi, Bruce, Mary, Lexie:
Interesting thread on 'tips' and worth discussing. The family and I have not been on the DQ or MQ in some years and I can't recall what we tipped then. 'Tipping' has been an item of discussion on the web since the get go. Unfortunately, it raises red flags in a number of quarters. In high school and college I worked in the service industry and know what those tips for long, hard days at the country club or big city clubs here in town meant.

There was a prominent sign posted on the service door of one fancy 4th St. club kitchens here in town reading: 'Look sharp...be attentive. SERVICE is ALL we have to sell.' Not 'pure steamboats,' but on the big ocean ships we travel on the wait staff are generally now from 3rd world countries. They give exemplary service and put up with a lot from passengers. Most passengers are gems and never fail to tip for usual, customary and beyond-the-call-of-duty service. Now you can work the tip in on your final room account via credit card. We usually stick to the traditional system of handing conveniently supplied envelopes to our steward/stewardess/waiter/bus boy etc. I've seen some passengers on the ocean ships hand out big tips the first day saying, "Here, take care of me the rest of the week and there will be more." In some ways that's not proper form but the staff don't seem to object. I don't have any of the latest literature from the DQ or MQ and can't vouch if there's a printed 'suggestion' in the information section for passengers on tipping. I've seen people like Lexie and Judy working the way they did/do on the DQ & NATCHEZ and wondered what they may have been favored with.

I well remember for years on the DELTA QUEEN the shoe shine stand down on the front deck at the foot of the main stairs. A porter etc. would render fine service to the passengers. Does it still exits? Who knows? Passengers come and go while the service staff 'live' on the boats and depend on the consideration of their passengers.

Cheers,
R. Dale Flick

Bruce,

First cruise with "DQSC"? Welcome, it will be magical. DQ? MQ? AQ? And when? It's a good possiblity that somebody that posts on this forum may be on your cruise.

Tips...to embellish a little on Mary's post (Hey there Mary!...Bruce, she's the riverlorian extrordinaire on the DQ)... the next to the last night on the boat the cabin attendent, when he or she turns down your bed at dinner, will leave envelopes on the bed in your stateroom, typically five of them, for tips, one envelope each for the cabin attendant, the maitre 'd, your bus boy, your waiter and the porters. Private message me or email me for recommended amounts to be given in each envelope, the amount for some of the tips depends on the amount of nights on the boat. In addition you can obtain additional envelopes from the purser if you choose to tip additional people, which Deb and I typically do for the bar staff. You are in no way required to tip anybody, but the crew are so wonderful, why wouldn't you want to? The tips are personally handed by you in their envelopes to the person you want to receive it, typically at the last dinner, except for the porters which have a box at the purser's office for you to put your tip in and your cabin attendant where you leave the envelope on the bed when you go down for the last dinner.

You're gonna love it...all boats, all cruise itineraries are wonderful experiences...contact me if you have any questions...

Bruno

Tokens of Appreciation

On the gamlin' boats, tips are called tokes. Dealers, bar staff, F&B, and slot attendants depend upon these tokens of appreciation which make up a sizeable portion of their pay as their base salaries, like on the steamboats for the same duties, are low. All dealers and slot personnel share their combined tips proportionally to the hours they worked. Bar and cocktail staff have their own method of sharing tokes. Housekeepers and unlicensed marine staff receive only a few tips, and those are gotten directly from the customers although they may render helpful services to the casino patrons in various ways. Counting their tokes, dealers are rumored to average anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five bucks an hour, depending upon the location of the boat, volume of business, and the generosity of the tokers (my word). When you get down to it, all the staff and crew of casino boats and the celebrated steamboats are virtually the same, and even interchangeable; the biggest dissimilarity is the means of fuel combustion that propels the vessels.

Yes and yes

Well, I am reluctantly re-iterating what others have said. Working on the boats is a love it or hate it job. The "hate it" never stay too long. For the others, it is the service industry with the extra twist that the shifts are usually much longer and the base pay is much worse because the company does provide the employees room and board as part of the deal.

Thus, the tip income is really part of their income. It is more than just Lagniappe (something you will learn about on the boats)- it is basically part of how the crew make their living.

But, I still believe that one tips based on extraordinary service and what an individual can afford. Since many crew regard many passengers as friends, it gets a bit tricky because at home, I certainly don't ask my friends for money.

I would also like to mention the following odd things. Europeans generally don't tip because it is not as customary there as the USA. What Mary mentioned about shared tips among bar staff and porter staff is also true. That creates good teamwork but also creates some problems when a crew member has to share a generous tip that the specific crew member worked especially hard for by being attentive. The only way to avoid that is placing the money (with or without envelopes) in the hands of the person you want to tip. Personally, I did not worry too much about that because I was less reliant than my crew mates on the whole income. Sure, I needed to support myself but my circumstances meant I had other income sources by sharing where I lived and charging rent to whomever lived with me. Not all crew had that advantage.

Personally, having to make my living by tip income was one of the things I liked least about my job. It seemed a kind of begging instead of a sales commission or a reward for a job well done. I like to think I would do an extraordinary job with or without the extra money. But I certainly appreciated it as much as anybody. Baby needs new shoes and the tips might be what buys 'em.

Also, I want to emphasize that whenever you need something extra, ask! When something bothers you, yes, complain to the person who can do something about it. When problems are resolved, remember to thank the person and remember to mention that in comment cards.

Any business that makes its money on service needs to provide the best customer service and it takes customer or passenger feedback to insure that service happens. The worst thing that can happen is the person who is disappointed but says nothing and never comes back. The boats have enjoyed a higher than average repeat business for the cruise industry. One of the reasons is the extraordinarily excellent service.

So, bring your tip cash and Bruno Krause can give you exact amounts. But bring your voice too which also means praise and note what is done right and by whom. It will go a long way.

I also still cherish the little origami dollars that were placed on my bar along with the cheer box. Of course, I will never spend that money because it has become a souvenir for me. I also love the pictures from Bruno Krause and others and those are priceless to me along with the fact that every Christmas, I have to make time to send extra cards to my friends from the river.