How much to tip in Palo or Remy?

[PPink]

I called to DCL to ask some questions and since I had them on the phone I asked what is the recommended tip for Remy and Palo. I figured if they tell us what to pay for regular dinner and host it would not hurt to ask. The CM said the up charge is the tip. She said you are not paying for the meal, you are paying for service. I even asked - so if I and my husband eat in Remy and $150 is charged to our account is that our tip and we do not need to pay extra? She said yes - that is the tip if you want to pay more it is up to you. Now what do you think about that?

 

[PPink]

I called to DCL to ask some questions and since I had them on the phone I asked what is the recommended tip for Remy and Palo. I figured if they tell us what to pay for regular dinner and host it would not hurt to ask. The CM said the up charge is the tip. She said you are not paying for the meal, you are paying for service. I even asked - so if I and my husband eat in Remy and $150 is charged to our account is that our tip and we do not need to pay extra? She said yes - that is the tip if you want to pay more it is up to you. Now what do you think about that?

 

[RosiePA]

DH and I were just on the Dream last week. We splurged for Concierge and took advantage of the MDR Room Service in our suite. We asked the wonderful CM who gave us an amazing private dining experience which way was best to tip--to our onboard account or in cash. He probably wasn't supposed to share this information with us, so I will leave his name out of this post, but he told us that if we tip in cash, he can keep it, but if we added the tip to our onboard account, it would be split between the CMs (not sure how many or what pot it would be added to, we didn't ask). Anyway, with that knowledge, we gave him cash.

I didn't ask if he could keep the cash because he just didn't have to tell anyone he received a tip or if that was their actual policy, but I didn't really care. I know many waiters and waitresses who don't claim all of their cash tips, so I wasn't worried about it.

Anyway, with this knowledge, we've decided to tip in cash on the ship going forward. Just thought I'd share our personal experience.

Oh, and we tip $10pp in Palo for both brunch and dinner--we always have the same server for both, so we just try to be consistent. Plus, DH doesn't drink anything bubbly, and the server always lets me have his mimosa at brunch!

We've only been to Remy once, and we tipped $50, I think, on top of the auto gratuity for the wine. We had a bottle + 2 glasses of wine, so with that, we probably tipped a total of $75.

 

[MillauFr]

Just as our tips for our dining team cover all the other service we get, then the upchsrge at palo covers the extra cost of the food above the value oh our main dining room meal. I do not see that we need tip 20 percent of the street value of the meal but 20 percent of what we paid. So for a $20 upcharge, we pay $4 or $8 for a couple. They also get an auto tip for any alcohol consumed.

Actually that is the way I figure out the tips. I figure the street cost of a Palo meal is about $100. So I left $20 for the two of us.

 

[PPink]

I called to DCL to ask some questions and since I had them on the phone I asked what is the recommended tip for Remy and Palo. I figured if they tell us what to pay for regular dinner and host it would not hurt to ask. The CM said the up charge is the tip. She said you are not paying for the meal, you are paying for service. I even asked - so if I and my husband eat in Remy and $150 is charged to our account is that our tip and we do not need to pay extra? She said yes - that is the tip if you want to pay more it is up to you. Now what do you think about that?

 

[Makayna]

We did $20 for 2 people at Palo. And we've budgeted $20 for Palo and $50 for Remy on our upcoming trip. Personally, I'd never go below $20 for two people (unless the service was bad, which I highly doubt it will be).

 

[jrabbit]

I called to DCL to ask some questions and since I had them on the phone I asked what is the recommended tip for Remy and Palo. I figured if they tell us what to pay for regular dinner and host it would not hurt to ask. The CM said the up charge is the tip. She said you are not paying for the meal, you are paying for service. I even asked - so if I and my husband eat in Remy and $150 is charged to our account is that our tip and we do not need to pay extra? She said yes - that is the tip if you want to pay more it is up to you. Now what do you think about that?

What I think - is that the DCL person you had on the phone is sadly mistaken. The best info we have accumulated here over the years is that at most Palo servers get $4.00 per guest out of the $20 upcharge.

 

[Twinprincesses]

WE tip $40 for the 2 of us and have only had Brunch. The service is exceptional and the meal is amazing.

 

[tweis]

I called to DCL to ask some questions and since I had them on the phone I asked what is the recommended tip for Remy and Palo. I figured if they tell us what to pay for regular dinner and host it would not hurt to ask. The CM said the up charge is the tip. She said you are not paying for the meal, you are paying for service. I even asked - so if I and my husband eat in Remy and $150 is charged to our account is that our tip and we do not need to pay extra? She said yes - that is the tip if you want to pay more it is up to you. Now what do you think about that?

Hmmm.....that is completely different than what we were told in May. I could probably call DCL and speak with a different CM and get a totally different answer because they are very inconsistent and not always knowledgeable about certain things.

What I think about that is that I will continue to tip in Palo because the service and the food are excellent.

 

[disneywonderfun]

You can certainly do an approximation based on what you think the meal would cost in your area. To us, Palo is somewhere between or maybe just slightly better than Olive Garden/Carabbas. Then again, we have not eaten at an Olive Garden in maybe 10 years! Anyway, for the two of us, I would suspect the meal in our area would cost around $75 total, no more. So, we leave either $20 or $25 total for the two of us as the extra gratuity. No reason in our mind to go overboard (dangerous enough when you are on the open seas!). Palo is better than a MDR meal, but certainly not high end cuisine either. Again, something in the $30-40 range as the meal cost per person is a fair approximation to what you can get in most US cities.

DWF

 

[slg]

So we are actually double tipping the meals we are in Palo or Remy, because we are paying our waiters in the MDR for service they aren't providing, and then tipping again in the speciality dining.

Personally, I don't think it is necessary to tip the full cost of the meal, but of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I'm sure the Palo wait staff are delighted with the wonderful tips they get from everyone, and I know they do provide fabulous service. However, no better than the poor overworked staff in the MDR!

This is a very interesting discussion. I am enjoying reading everyone's opinion.

 

[KBelle]

We were a group of 3, and had brunch and dinner at both Palo and Remy. We tipped $10 per person at Palo and $20 per person at Remy, where our server was amazing! We didn't care how the up charge was split up, everyone was awesome and the food was incredible. For the food and service, I think we tipped low. lol

 

[JonKPest]

We enjoyed our first brunch up in Palo on the Wonder in Alaska. Our waiter said the $20 charge was a tip split between the chefs and support staff. The additional tip was for him. So for two of us I added $35. I could never find a better meal for less elsewhere. Next cruise — I'll be booking a Palo dinner for sure!

JonK

 

[jrabbit]

So we are actually double tipping the meals we are in Palo or Remy, because we are paying our waiters in the MDR for service they aren't providing, and then tipping again in the speciality dining.

...

This is a very interesting discussion. I am enjoying reading everyone's opinion.

I am NOT trying to be "nasty" or combative here ... and there's no "but"

I understand your point about paying for services NOT rendered.

The tips to "your" servers for dinner covers tips for three meals a day plus snacks (they work all three meals and in the other food areas throughout the day. so on a 7 night cruise you are tipping your main servers for 20 out of 21 meals - a pretty small percentage. It's "worse" on a 3 night cruise where you are tipping your MDR servers for 8 out of 9 meals.

 

[over50visits]

So we are actually double tipping the meals we are in Palo or Remy, because we are paying our waiters in the MDR for service they aren't providing, and then tipping again in the speciality dining.

I look at the MDR servers a bit differently. They are obligated to be there whether I show up or not. I think of calling a taxi, having him wait outside for an hour, then telling him never mind. Do I owe him for sitting there being available for me? Of course.

We owe them for being there for us every meal, and we also owe the Palo waiters for their service. Simple, fair, and that's how I feel it works. They both earn it with hard work.

 

[Feisty Fairy]

Thanks.

I will be the odd person but Disney says tip is included so I do not tip additional.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We've done $25.00 additional tip for Palo dinners. It will be our first time at Remy this winter

And yes I know as past posters have said, tips are supposed to be included in the cost BUT, service has alway been fantastic. We always put a shout out to CM that are "Wonder"ful and make our cruise "Magic"al and the Palo servers have always made the shout out list at the end of cruise survey.

We believe they have deserved the EXTRA tip; above and beyond what the additional cost of the meal is when reserved. And I won't let these poster make me feel like I wasted my money!

We have seen them at other meal venues and strike up a conversation while getting our meals. Great service deserves recognition

 

[slg]

I think if you want to tip extra and you feel good about it, you absolutely should. I also believe that if you don't want to, that is fine too. DCL says that tip is included for Palo and Remy meals, they do NOT say that for MDR, so I believe that tipping for MDR is accepted and tipping for Palo and Remy is optional.

I have only gone once and I tipped about $10 for the both of us, and feel perfectly fine about that.

 

[Evan&Kimberly]

I went on the Fantasy over Easter and went to Palo by myself the last night of my cruise for dinner.The food was good but I wasnt impressed with the service, my waiter made it seem like it was going to take an act of God to get me some steak sauce.When it came to dessert I wasnt happy with it, but didnt say anything, when he came back and asked me how I liked it I said I didnt care for it, he didnt ask me if I would like to try something else, needless to say my Palo server was not up to par with the MDR servers.I really didnt want to leave a tip but I did and it was $5 too much. I Feel that a tip is earned and good service should be rewarded and that depends on what you can afford.

 

[Minnie Monellen]

We had dinner at Palo on the Dream. Our service was just OK. We were only there for about an hour and fifteen minutes. We tipped $20 for two people based on what I had read on this forum. We weren't offered anything other than one appetizer, entrée and dessert. Not sure what is so special about this restaurant.