Gratuities on Carnival Ship for Wedding

[LyndsayVictoria]

Hi On-Board Cruise Ship Brides!!

 

I'm getting married on board the Carnival Valor in less than 2 weeks and I'm wondering about gratuity.  

 

I know that Carnival automatically takes approx $11-$12 per day for normal sailing guests

 

But what about tipping for the wedding services....should I be tipping the DJ, Salon Staff, Officiant, Wedding Coordinator?????  Do I need to do this??  If so, when?  At the end of the cruise?

 

Any advice would help!

 

THANKS!!

[mrswilson2012]

We plan on tipping our wedding coordinators after the wedding. I purchased thank you cards that I am bringing with me and will add cash to. For the hair salon I will tip the person immediately after my hair is done, same for the person applying my make up. =]

[LyndsayVictoria]

Thanks! I like the thank you card idea to go along with the cash. I'll do that.  Thanks again!

[BarbaraBusybee]

thank you.

[BeachGirl13]

You can go to the onboard passenger services desk (located in the atrium on most Carnival ships) and adjust your automatically set Carnival gratuities. IMHO, Carnival's $11.50 per day gratuity amount is a little excessive, and for a family of four, for example, totals $46 per day. So reduce the automatic amount, and then tip the officiant and other wedding service personnel out-of-pocket. BTW you can tip the people you'll see every day in cash also such as the headwaiter at your dinner table and/or your room steward.

[TAkathy]

The reason the cruise lines establish a mandatory gratuity is because so many people don't tip.  This mandatory gratuity is shared amongst some of the hardest working staff - cabin stewards, housekeeping and dining room attendants (but not Head Waiter or Maitre D').  Many of the cruise lines have decreased the wages they pay these staff members when they instituted the mandatory gratuity policy so it is really taking $ out of their pocket to decrease it - it is very reasonable considering how hard they work.

 

As far as the wedding services, provide tips according to how satisfied you are with the service that was provided.  There are standard tips as for any service of this type.

 

I would recommend you carefully consider this aspect of your payment - these people work very hard and if they made your wedding experience memorable and wonderful, they should be properly compensated.

[zupochka]

great to know! Thank you!

[SuchALady777]

Good info!