Having photos that are sharp and in focus is so vitally important to pro photographers that they actually have coined a term for them. They call them "tack sharp." And the road to sharpness is the faithful use of your good tripod always in your shoot (Day or Night). This may take more work but is also one of the key factor that separates professionals from amateurs.
Next, get a smooth ballhead with your tripod, making shooting less tedious with each adjustments. I was contemplating bringing my Manfrotto 190XB for my Hong Kong trip in March but I believe I will be bringing it with me after all...
Tip #2 of this article, use the 2 seconds self-timer for each shoot, and never with your fingers to immediately release the shutter. Once again, my favorite feature to turn on is mirror lock up delay. This stabilizes the mirror in place before actually releasing the shutter. Also remember our little test with VR lens earlier on? Turn it off when in tripod mode please.