Carnival's tipping the Maitre'D policy....?

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Lew

When I first started cruising many years ago, it was the expected thing to tip the Maitre'D, but then there was only one in charge of the Dining Room and you only tipped, if he actually did something for you during the cruise. Now there appears to be a Maitre'D for every group of eight tables.
I haven't experienced the little brown envelope since automatic tipping was introduced, on any cruise line, so i would assume that the Maitre'D collected his slice from the pot like everyone else.

crazyinsocali

When you leave the extra envelope for the maitre'd they still have to split the tip with evryone else. They will usually do the same thing whether you tip them or not. Just be nice, it goes a long way further.

Johan from Sweden

Ill guess that maitreD is among the three who gets the "mandatory" tiping. But as other has said I am not sure if theyre do anything besides being a boss and saying hello. Ill guess a deasent tip is in place if youre a regular cruiser and expect to get back to that ship/company.

However I like to have my mandatory tiping prepaid. J.

stepmiller2

I have been on a bunch of cruises and the cruise line encourages tipping the Maitre D although I am not quite sure why. He/she has to be one of the better paid personnel on the ship, so unless they do something special for you I can not see tipping them. Reality is if you want something done ask your wait staff as the chances are much better that it will be done. I always tip the wait staff above and beyond the what the ship adds to my bill. I have yet to have a bad experience with the wait staff and they have always gone above and beyond for me.

shhhhhhhhhhhimhiding

Both RCL and Carnival does this...yes i agree the maitre'D really doenst do anything for you (other than plan the seating charts) do tip or not....but on the RCL ship I was on, the man came table to table the last night and was pretty upfront about expecting a tip...almost felt like we were being held hostage

pamerator

Just throw the envelope away if you don't want to tip. I do.

johnrklinger

After talking to wait staff and room attendants on varios cruises, I came up with the following conclusion on tipping the Maitre'd. I only tip when I have them do something such as change my table or dining time. Other than that, I don't.

Due September 17th with baby #1

No, This is not just on Carnival. I have been on many cruises and they always have an envelope there in your stateroom(ex. Disney). However, you are not obligated to tip the Maitre'D. Tipping the Maitre'D is to your discresion and there is no price tag on it. It is completely up to you.
You said that you only tip them if you recieve a better table. Well, this is just a small part of their job. At times though, they just may not be able to relocate you. The Maitre'D is like the manager of the entire diningexperiencee. Theyfor seee the arrangements and make sure that everything is to your liking and flows well. They are the ones that organize the dancing of the servers, the music, the announcements, they have a big role in your dining experience and much of their work is done behind the scenes much like a manager of a hotel orrestaurantt.
Carnival is not trying to suck money away from you and they do always say that tipping your Maitre'D is at yourdiscretionn. Well tipping at all is at your discretion. You have the right to adjust youprepaidid or pre-posted to your bill tip prices either up or down depending on the level of service yoreceiveve and what you feecomfortablele leaving for them. Never has Carnival, nor any other cruise line demanded that you give them a certain amount of money.
You can find this information out online at http://www.carnival.com or in the back of one theirier many brochures or before you board pamplets. If you want to reserch this on your own then feel free to visit other cruiselines websites.

bluedreams1810

When my parents went on a Celebrity cruise they did this. But they loved their Maitre'D, he always stopped by their table and talked to them, made sure they had everything. He really did everything he could to make their dining experience wonderful, so they did tip him extra. I don't remember being asking to tip the Maitre'D extra when I went on a carnival cruise a few years ago. But you don't have to tip anyone. They put the tip on your card automatically, but you can go to customer service (can't remember the name of the desk lol) and request them to lower the tip and they will take it off your credit card. That's what we did, because we only ate in the dining room twice.

Evelyn w/Leading Edge Travel

I guest that is the stardard in the cruise industry when traveling with the Moderate Cruise Lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL) and Premium Moderate Cruise Lines (Disney, Holland America, Princess); you do tip the Maitre'D seperately but it is always at your discretion.

Visit the links below for some cruise lines guidelines on gratuity.

When you are ready to travel with Luxury Cruise Lines (Crystal, Regent Seven Seas) and Superior Luxury Cruise Lines (Seabourn, Silversea) guidelines do change in your favor; gratuity is include on the price of your cruise (all inclusive). Call on me on any cruise reservations in your future... Happy cruising! Evelyn with Leading Edge Travel & Tours at ev@letnt.us or visit http://letnt.us

Tivogal

no i have not heard of this.
yes tipping for service but not the extra envelope.

have a nice day
(cc)

Mary L

You're kidding, right? Sheesh! I've been on over a dozen cruises and am a generous tipper, but a maitre'd has NEVER done anything other than stand there and say hello, so I have never tipped one. If one would do something special for me, I would probably tip, but that has not happened.

I suggest you raise this question directly with Carnival! They should have a reasonable explanation. (Is it possible that this is something done on only one ship? If so, I would be curious as to whether it is something dreamed up by a maitre'd who has a pile of envelopes and access to a printer, with or without the knowledge and consent of Carnival and the ship's Captain.)

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