As you know we have cruised HAL a very large number of times and I have never carried currency around with me.
On the traditional "tip night", we have prepared envelopes for those bar servers who we have been with alot during the cruise.
HAL will never leave envelopes in your cabin or tell you who or how much to tip. But...you can be sure there are plenty of envelopes available on the counter at the office and you stop by at your convenience and pick up whatever number your need. For your waiter, asst waiter, wine steward and any bar servers etc you wish to tip.
Whatever lounge a bar steward is in on the first night, they will be in for the entire cruise. They are rotated from bar to bar only for a subsequent cruise or only in the case of a rare special need during a cruise. And...you will soon learn that once a bar steward or bartender meets you in a lounge on any HAL ship, he will remember your name, cabin number and drink. Each time you enter that bar, he/she will greet you and you will soon become friends with a number of them depending on how many lounges and how often you go to.
We normally go to the same lounge before dinner; stop by the casino bar after dinner and then up to the Crowsnest. In our case, because of how often we cruise HAL, we already know so many of the crew, that we pick up the conversation where it left off on our last cruise. For a cruiser trying HAL for the first time, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the genuine friendliness and the quality of the service that is the norm on HAL.
If you are in any of the lounges for a considerable number of times, I think you will choose to thank them appropriately. These Stewards are like none others we have ever seen on any other cruise line. Obviously, if you went to a certain bar once or twice and never saw that steward again, you probably would not tip them by envelope the last night. (There is nothing wrong with carrying around singles with you and tipping as you go if you wish, but not many people do that. Some do....and that's certainly your choice.)
The point I was starting to make about them being in the same bar for the cruise is that it is no problem at all finding them on the last night to give them an envelope...which will be very much appreciated. They will 99% of the time be in the same place you have seen them the entire cruise.
My husband and I always notice what we call "musical bars" on the last night of the cruise. That is that pax who have NEVER been in the Ocean Bar the entire cruise for their pre-dinner cocktail sand hor d'ourves are suddenly in the Ocean Bar the last night and some who have been in Ocean Bar EVERY night of the cruise, suddenly feel the urge to go to the Crowsnest. That is the way they avoid tipping the crew and think no one knows or notices. They are mistaken!
Tipping in the dining room is handled the same as on every other cruise line we have ever been on. Steward, Assistant Steward and Wine Steward (if you have used his/'her services). As on all other lines, if you feel the Head Waiter or Maitre d' has done something special for you, by all means, he, too, appreicates any and all tips.
No crew person on HAL will ever answer even if you ask how much to tip or who to tip.
It is entirely up to you and at your discretion. No one will tell you to tip the Head Housekeeper...a major gripe of mine on Celebrity.... or to tip anyone else for that matter.
They do, however, acknowledge that tipping is the universally accepted method of saying thank you and tipping is very much ALLOWED and appreciated....and yes, expected!
Hope this has been some help to anyone with HAL tipping questions.