I heard that there was no tipping on the resort, however how does the money situation work? Can we use our debit cards? Do we need to exchange money and where do we do that? Can we just carry American money to use?
Thanks!
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I heard that there was no tipping on the resort, however how does the money situation work? Can we use our debit cards? Do we need to exchange money and where do we do that? Can we just carry American money to use?
Thanks!
yes no tipping at the resort. There is really no need for cash at the resort, as soon as you check in the put a card on file and everything is charged to your room. We brought all cash, and then had to keep going down to the front desk and paying our room. Wish we would have known, and would have brought very little cash for off the resort and just a credit card or debit card for the resort. The gift shop and photography will not take cash just charging to your room..hope this helps!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajames4292
They use the US dollar all over Jamaica so there is no need to exchange money. The resort takes American Express but if you go out into town you'll need some cash.
There is no tipping on the resort, however you should be aware that if you leave the resort for excursions arranged by the resort such as shopping trip, the drivers are not employed by the resort but rather a tour bus company and tipping is customary. I was very disappointed in the guests of CN during our stay because we took a trip to the Times Square shopping village and my husband and I were the only couple to tip the driver.
Every place accepts American currency, but if you want to exchange money do it at the resort. There is about a 10 dollar difference in exchanging at the resort vs. the airport. Your resort is going to give you the best rate. On the resort itself you will not use money of any kind. You need a credit card (not discover) to authorize a hold for room charges that you pay for at the end of your stay (discover is ok then). Anything item or service that incurs a charge on the resort (gift shop, spa and so on) is charged to your room.
Hope that helps!
On the resort, you will need cash to tip the spa staff as they are not Couples employees. Your treatments will be charged to your room, but tips are customarily paid in cash at the time of the massage.
Everyone pretty muched summed it up - no cash on the resort (except tips at the spa)
However anytime we left the resort we carried cash to tip the drivers/tour guides/etc
I have to say that I agree with b&l1997 - we were at CTI and noticed on both the Dunn's River Trip and also the Horseback trip that some of the passengers on the bus didn't tip the driver... made me feel so bad that instead of what I was normally going to tip ($10) I doubled it to try and make up for the others who didnt tip... you have to remeber that you're not paying for the excursion... so throw the guy a couple bucks!
Just remember to bring enough to tip the following:
baggage handlers at the airport (figure on about $2/$3 per bag),
the driver of the airport shuttle (gave him $20 there and $20 on our return trip),
any of the drivers for outside activities off the property ($10 to $20 depending on distance),
the tour guides for any of the tours like Dunn's River ($10-20 depending on their attitude and your experience),
and the spa if you're planning on going (around 15-20%)....
We stayed for 6 days and brought around $500 in small bills (1's 5's 10's) did a couple off premise excursions and still came home with some money in our pockets
We usually take a couple of hundred in small bills, 20/10/5/1 for tipping the spa, getting some music on the beach, a little time playing the slots, tipping the red cap, shuttle driver and spending in the airport. Really don't need much and you can use it where you can't use a debit card. Enjoy.
Can you not charge the tips for the spa to your room when you pay for your treatment? Or is that all separate? I know that it is OK to tip for spa services and I do/will, but I thought we could just charge it to our room. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by TandT