tipping for an infant? and another ??

[Disney Vegas]

I am bringing my baby, I know gratuity is up to us, but they suggest prices and it say's "including children" Now, I am sorry, but there is no way I am leaving a tip from the baby when he is not even being served or anything.
I know I will leave more than the suggested price, because, for instance, $4 for the head server seems way to small and I was a server myself, so I always tip well.

Another Question:

When we have our "server" that stays with us for the length of the trip, do we let the hostess know who he/she is at breakfast or lunch? How does this whole server deal work? I mean, I know for dinner, we have set times etc., but what about breakfast and lunch, I am wondering how this works.

 

[5lilfish]

You do not have your regular server for breakfast and/or lunch. they follow you for dinner.

As for tipping....I guess that is a personal decision. Be prepared for people to disagree with you. If the baby is 3 months old and literally eatting NOTHING then I could see your point. If the baby is old enough to be given fruits/veggies that have been mashed up and/or delivered by the servers then it might be another story. I have always tipped for my twins and they have been cruising since they were 8 months old.

Jess

 

[clten]

When we have our "server" that stays with us for the length of the trip, do we let the hostess know who he/she is at breakfast or lunch? How does this whole server deal work? I mean, I know for dinner, we have set times etc., but what about breakfast and lunch, I am wondering how this works.

Your serving team is your serving team for dinner. They will work in other spots during your cruise (the buffet, the restaurants that are open for breakfast/lunch, the fast food spots) but their schedules vary. For breakfast and lunch, if you are going to the open restaurants, Parrot Cay or Triton's/Lumiere's, you'll be seated in whichever section they are seating in and whichever server is handling that area will take care of you. (If your serving team happens to be in that restaurant, you can ask to be seated in their area and if you don't, don't worry, they won't be insulted and they will probably stop by to say hi.) Breakfast and Lunch are open seatings. You select where you want to eat and what time. The times the restaurants/buffets will be open will be in the Navigator each day.

Tipping is a personal thing and you can handle it however you see appropriate.

 

[TDC Nala]

It is a personal decision, but it would be customary on DCL to tip for all party members.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

double post, sorry

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Your stateroom host will most likely being working extra hard because of your infant. Crib set up and changing sheets as needed and also diaper disposal, and overall trying to keep your room neat with so much baby stuff; we all know babies don't travel light.
You will see. They work hard so that your trip is magical. Those tips are very well earned, imho. They will not force you to though.

Server and assistant server do 99% of the work. The head server supervises the dining room staff.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I am bringing my baby, I know gratuity is up to us, but they suggest prices and it say's "including children" Now, I am sorry, but there is no way I am leaving a tip from the baby when he is not even being served or anything.
I know I will leave more than the suggested price, because, for instance, $4 for the head server seems way to small and I was a server myself, so I always tip well.

.[/COLOR]

You should DEFINITELY tip for your 10 month old.

 

[dismom73]

Our younest DD's first cruise was when she was 8 months old and I was still nursing her. She was brought nothing of her own from the servers in the dining room. The cruise line (not disney) did provide a pack n play, but not a sheet, we brought our own bedding for her from home. The room steward had no extra work for her because I keep our cabin tidy and pretty much the only thing our room stewards do is make beds/change sheets (which he didn't do for the crib) and clean the bathroom. Therefore we did not feel the least bit guilty not tipping for her. We do, however usually tip over the suggested amount anyways. As pp mentioned I'm sure others will disagree, but I'm a firm believer that tipping is earned from providing a service, I don't tip for nothing....
I think, if I'm reading correctly, you are confused about tipping for breakfast and lunch? You don't leave any tips for those two meals. The allotted amount of tipping is for those meals also, all the dinning room staff work the breakfast and lunch areas as well, so it all kind of "works out". Which is why when you see people asking about tipping if they never ate in the dining room for dinner others will respond that you should still tip because it all "works out" in the end. HTH

 

[Edd]

There are many who do not eat in the dining room, in the evening, for the exact reason, not to tip at the end of the cruise. That is why Carnival automatically charges everyone for the tips the first day you cruise. You can than go to customer service and dispute it, but not many do not.

RCCL does not have that policy and so their waiters get stiffed many times also. Sometimes diners will only show for a night and two and than skip the last meals in the dining room so that do not have to tip. If you say you usually give more just forget about gioving more and include the baby in the tip.

 

[atinkerbellmom]

Yes be preparred to have people disagree with you. Just remember it is an opinion and just be ready to hear the opinions. With that said, I want to adress the servers for breakfast & lunch v/s dinner. Your entire serving team as you are aware follows you each night to each restaurant as you rotate. From Head Server down to Asst. Server. So you will see them each night you are eatting in your "assigned" rotation. If you choose to eat pool side, room service or Buffet; then you get the additional staff. Now for breakfast and lunch they rotate which restaurants are open and the staff rotates taking turns as teams working in them. They serve ANYONE who chooses to do sit down as a meal. The teams also rotate in and out of TopSiders/BeachBlanket. This is also the case on Castaway. So they are always serving as someone's servers somewhere. It is funny to watch, you can tell if a team belongs to someone's dinner rotation, when eatting in other restaurants. For example, we headed up for lunch at Topsiders one afternoon and there was our crew. They were responsible for everyone there, but they gave us extra attention because they "belonged to us." Once our team was assigned to CC. That was the best CC lunch we hadve ever had. They had special food for my daughter already waiting and when they saw us, they went in the back and got it. So for breakfast and lunch eat anywhere you choose, but you have a 1:4 chance of getting your team.

Now as far as tipping. There are many past threads on this. I will try to find one for you. Yes it is assumed you will tip for the baby. You are not paying anything else for them but taxes and fees. So it is assumed. Now as far as dinner goes... If you are just breast/bottle feeding then you may have a point of not tipping your Dinner service team. If that baby will be in FLounders during your dinner time, then you have a point. If you are bringing the baby in a stroller and the assist server is needing to navigate around it, position the stroller for you, then I do not know if you have a good point. If the baby is needing a highchair, they set that up, they clean it before and after, they position everything so to accommadate the baby. They mat the table for the baby, then again I think you should tip. If your baby is eatting solids, they bring pureed food, if you have your own, they heat it for you. They even bring extra dishes for you. They will bring additional crackers, they will even bring applesauce, they will bring water/containers to heat bottles. They do a lot. They pick up all those little Cherrios on the floor. I think it is easier to take care of adults than kids.... So depending on your baby's age; depends on if I would side with or opposite of you about the dinner staff.

Now as far as your SRH.... For sure you should tip for a baby. They bring you a diaper genie and as my friend said, they emptied the genie even before the breastmilk had gone through the babies intestine. They make up your baby's bed many times a day and tip toe around baby's nap time. They bring things to heat bottles and thake that stuff away when you are done. They will bring a fridge if needed and keep that tucked so neat away. They give you extra towels and take those away. If a crawling baby, they even pay extra special detail to cleaning the floor everyday three times a day. These guys more than deserve a tip for an infant. They fold your stroller when needed and if a DCL stroller, they will even take it away and bring it back when needed. These guys do so much extra for our little bundles I can not even think of everything.

 

[tvguy]

There are many who do not eat in the dining room, in the evening, for the exact reason, not to tip at the end of the cruise. That is why Carnival automatically charges everyone for the tips the first day you cruise. You can than go to customer service and dispute it, but not many do not.

RCCL does not have that policy and so their waiters get stiffed many times also. Sometimes diners will only show for a night and two and than skip the last meals in the dining room so that do not have to tip. If you say you usually give more just forget about gioving more and include the baby in the tip.

And on NCL, they no longer call it an automatic tip, it is a daily service charge and can not be reduced. The assumption was too many people were trying to reduce the tip, or not tip at all.
Even in a restaurant on land I have an issue with tipping a percentage of the bill. Does the person work any harder serving me a $20 entree than a $5 entree? Why should they get a tip that is 4 times bigger just because I bought the steak instead of the burger?

 

[kcashner]

Your stateroom host/hostess will provide a diaper genie and empty it twice a day, set up and take down the Pack and Play crib as you direct (some people want it left up all day, others want it up only at night). There is a sheet provided by DCL, but some people like to bring their own.

Your infant occupies a place at the dinner table. Even if he eats nothing from DCL, never deposits food that you supply on the floor so the serving team has to clean it up, etc. he has taken a spot that would otherwise be filled by another guest. Thus, if you leave no tip for the child, the server loses a tip.

As to the head server's tip....he gets a small tip from a large number of guests. Since each serving team normally handles 18 guests at each seating and the head server supervises 6 or more serving teams, he's actually seeing a quite reasonable total for each night of the cruise (assuming guests tip as per the suggested amount). He is responsible for dealing with any allergy issues, special celebrations, and overall quality of the food and service.

 

[Dicecatt]

And on NCL, they no longer call it an automatic tip, it is a daily service charge and can not be reduced. The assumption was too many people were trying to reduce the tip, or not tip at all.
Even in a restaurant on land I have an issue with tipping a percentage of the bill. Does the person work any harder serving me a $20 entree than a $5 entree? Why should they get a tip that is 4 times bigger just because I bought the steak instead of the burger?

I don't want to debate tipping, but I want to point out that USUALLY in higher priced places, you would expect better service. I know if I go to Ruth's Chris I get better service on average than Steak & Shake. Usually. So in theory, that is why a higher tip is warranted. Extra silverware needed, more trips to the table, more clearing of the table, more courses, more drinks served (alcohol sometimes). To ask the question you did is to try to change the entire restaurant industry. Normally, the answer to your question is no, they may not work HARDER but they are supposedly BETTER. Like I said, not always, but part of the appeal of going to a high priced place to eat is service, much like cruising Disney as opposed to a cheapy cruise on another line.

As far as the baby, I agree with the others that said for servers, if the baby truly needs nothing in the dining room, fine, don't tip. But surely, you aren't throwing those diapers away yourself in the main trash areas, or changing the sheets? Babies make messes as we all know. Don't go on expensive vacation and be cheap...if, at the end of the cruise you feel that they did nothing for the baby, that is one thing, but to just not tip because they are young is the wrong way to think.

 

[dismom73]

Just to clarrify.....our DD's first cruise was NOT on DCL it was on carnival and none of those things were done for us. The crib was not set up, we set it up ourselves, no sheet provided, no diaper geenie, we disposed of the diapers ourselves, etc. Had those things been done for us we would have DEFINITLY tipped for her. I guess that's just one of the MANY reasons we only cruise DCL with the kids now!

 

[Edd]

I don't usually tip a percentage no matter what anyone asks or wants. I tip on the amount of service I receive. I have been known not to tip because a waiter or waitress did a crappy job. On a cruise I have always tipped at least the recommended amount and usually more because those people know what service is. On the DCL I never tipped the Head Waiter (3 cruises) because I never saw them around until the last night. That led me to believe they were just coming around to remind me I should tip them. On other cruise lines I have tipped the head waiter because they were always around asking questions or receiving complaints.

Transportation is a different story. I pay for the ride and if I receive nothing from a driver I don't tip a driver. A driver has to earn a tip with me. Tip is an extra amount of money, over the price, given for extra service. Tip when someone doesn't deserve it only inflates that persons ego and thanks him for a good job which he obviously didn't do.

So did you bring your own crib or they just threw the crib in the room without any sheets? I have had better sevice than that on the Carnival when I took my grandson. It is really surprising that they would leave you hanging like that.

 

[Dicecatt]

On the DCL I never tipped the Head Waiter (3 cruises) because I never saw them around until the last night. That led me to believe they were just coming around to remind me I should tip them. On other cruise lines I have tipped the head waiter because they were always around asking questions or receiving complaints.

QUOTE]

I noticed that for a couple of cruises...on our last one (the Med) Simone was great, came by every night, chatted, brought us things. He earned his tip. But you make a great point with the head server comment. I know they are doing things behind the scenes, but unless they make some kind of effort to talk to us we tip the bare minimum there.

 

[justmestace]

I don't want to debate tipping, but I want to point out that USUALLY in higher priced places, you would expect better service. I know if I go to Ruth's Chris I get better service on average than Steak & Shake. Usually. So in theory, that is why a higher tip is warranted. Extra silverware needed, more trips to the table, more clearing of the table, more courses, more drinks served (alcohol sometimes). To ask the question you did is to try to change the entire restaurant industry. Normally, the answer to your question is no, they may not work HARDER but they are supposedly BETTER. Like I said, not always, but part of the appeal of going to a high priced place to eat is service, much like cruising Disney as opposed to a cheapy cruise on another line.

As far as the baby, I agree with the others that said for servers, if the baby truly needs nothing in the dining room, fine, don't tip. But surely, you aren't throwing those diapers away yourself in the main trash areas, or changing the sheets? Babies make messes as we all know. Don't go on expensive vacation and be cheap...if, at the end of the cruise you feel that they did nothing for the baby, that is one thing, but to just not tip because they are young is the wrong way to think.

I agree with all that you said....except for the line about "cheapy cruise on another line".....and I know that's not what this thread is about, but you've obviously not cruised concierge/butler level on some of the other lines. The service they provide is so far and above Disney's it isn't even funny.

 

[Dicecatt]

I agree with all that you said....except for the line about "cheapy cruise on another line".....and I know that's not what this thread is about, but you've obviously not cruised concierge/butler level on some of the other lines. The service they provide is so far and above Disney's it isn't even funny.

True, I've only cruised with steerage. I'm sure that is true...you pay for that though. I know that concierge is awesome on many other lines, for sure. My comparison is strictly apples to apples...regular cabin to regular cabin.

 

[Edd]

Do you tip the cooks? They work behind the lines also. The DCL head waiter only got friendly to get some extra cash and on one of the cruise tables I ate, not a one of us tipped the Head Waiter. We joked if she came to the table we might, but she never made it over there until we were getting up to leave. Does that tell you something? We got to tell her bye, but kept our little .75 per day. Maybe she learned something.

 

[Dicecatt]

Do you tip the cooks? They work behind the lines also. The DCL head waiter only got friendly to get some extra cash and on one of the cruise tables I ate, not a one of us tipped the Head Waiter. We joked if she came to the table we might, but she never made it over there until we were getting up to leave. Does that tell you something? We got to tell her bye, but kept our little .75 per day. Maybe she learned something.

I was agreeing with you, lol.