Are you required to tip for room service?

[piccolopat]

I've never been on a cruise and the practice there may be different. In hotels, whether I tip or not for room service depends on whether the hotel is already charging a service fee in addition to a delivery fee. If the bill already shows a 15-20% service fee, I don't add an additional tip since that is what the service fee is for.

 

[hanscarlet]

I always tip on room service, I find they expect it and deserve it imo

 

[SpaceSquirrel]

When in doubt tip, by all means tip and tip well.
Often times this is how people make their living.

 

[cgolf]

I've never been on a cruise and the practice there may be different. In hotels, whether I tip or not for room service depends on whether the hotel is already charging a service fee in addition to a delivery fee. If the bill already shows a 15-20% service fee, I don't add an additional tip since that is what the service fee is for.

Most room service items are free so there is no fee applied.

 

[piccolopat]

Most room service items are free so there is no fee applied.

Since room service items are "free" on the cruise, it sounds like they should be handled like meals on the DDP where the tip is extra and should be based on what the meal would have otherwise cost. I'm not sure how you would estimate that for items that are free.

 

[wombat_5606]

Since room service items are "free" on the cruise, it sounds like they should be handled like meals on the DDP where the tip is extra and should be based on what the meal would have otherwise cost. I'm not sure how you would estimate that for items that are free.

I've always heard tipping for room service should be around $1-2 per person or per meal ordered. So, the cost of the meal is not considered. Think of it more like you would when you park a car with valet. They are just bringing your order.

Tipping on a cruise ship does not relate to dining on land.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Here is my take on the whole tipping for room service issue....

Everyone on the boards makes a big deal that people should tip even if they don’t go to the MDR, etc. So can someone please tell me why I would know to tip someone that all they do is bring me free room service tray when I am not expected tip the breakfast and lunch servers that do much more for me? To me land based tipping rules are suspended once you step foot on the ship. Flame me if you want, but as I said, had I not read about it I would not have expected to tip. We are not cheap either, land based restaurants we generally tip 15-20%.

There is one difference between room service and the MDRs with respect to tipping. The MDR servers actually work breakfast, lunch, and dinner service. Although you may only see your particular service team in the MDR, they will be assigned to work breakfast and lunch somewhere on the ship (or at Castaway Cay), and there will be other service teams working wherever you have breakfast and lunch. When you tip your MDR service team, it effectively covers all three meals. Even when someone different serves you, they are being tipped by the diners in their MDR assignment and you are tipping your MDR servers even when they don't actually serve you. Think of it as a form of indirect compensation.

For room service, the server is not a MDR server, so does not participate in the tips that go to your MDR team. Even though there is no separate identified charge for room service (except for those items that carry additional charge), the room service server has provided a service that might well deserve to be recognized in the form of a gratuity. We generally tip for room service and extra cost beverage service (if merited, since a 15% gratuity is already added automatically) at the time of service.

 

[cgolf]

There is one difference between room service and the MDRs with respect to tipping. The MDR servers actually work breakfast, lunch, and dinner service. Although you may only see your particular service team in the MDR, they will be assigned to work breakfast and lunch somewhere on the ship (or at Castaway Cay), and there will be other service teams working wherever you have breakfast and lunch. When you tip your MDR service team, it effectively covers all three meals. Even when someone different serves you, they are being tipped by the diners in their MDR assignment and you are tipping your MDR servers even when they don't actually serve you. Think of it as a form of indirect compensation.

For room service, the server is not a MDR server, so does not participate in the tips that go to your MDR team. Even though there is no separate identified charge for room service (except for those items that carry additional charge), the room service server has provided a service that might well deserve to be recognized in the form of a gratuity. We generally tip for room service and extra cost beverage service (if merited, since a 15% gratuity is already added automatically) at the time of service.

This is where I disagree to a point, especially your first time on the ship not having been on these boards or anything. When you see you don't have to tip for the free breakfast and lunch, different from land based eating, it is not a stretch to think that you don't need to tip for the free room service. I am talking from a newbies point of view.

By the time we first ordered room service we knew the proper amount to tip. All I am saying is that it is very possible for someone new to cruising and think it is ok and proper not to tip for the room service. I don't feel that everyone will assume that you should tip them based on other experiences on the ship. Our first trip we were pretty lost as to the ins and outs lol.

 

[SeaSpray]

I agree that how we (the collective "we") view tipping depends on where we live in the world, and maybe even where we live in the US.

I grew up near NYC and now live near Boston; both places it's customary to tip almost everyone. LOL

I grew up being taught to tip (when traveling):

**Airline baggage handlers ("JFK" "Honolulu!!!" [Seinfeld joke! lol])
**Hotel baggage handlers
**Valet (if you have or rent a car and have it parked for you)
**Restaurants on land, of course
**Hotel room service delivery person (percentage of cost of meal, if delivery fee not included in total)
**Cruise ship room service ($2-$3 per meal ordered; last cruise I had a lot of "free" Gatorade and gingerale delivered, and I tipped anyway, even though there was no slip to sign).

The only people who would absolutely NOT accept a tip no matter how hard I tried to give them (to several different CMs) were the Guest Services desk CMs who literally RAN the Pedialyte freezer pops up to me when I called to request them. They were awesome, and even brought us a nice gift basket on our last night. I specifically mentioned these CMs on the form before we debarked the ship, and also in an email once we were home.

There was one lunch that we had on the last day when I was out of quarantine. We went to Lumiere's. I had no appetite and was still nauseous so I had soup and crackers. For dessert my DH ordered something, and then I asked the CM that was serving us if they had any sorbet. I was still feeling very dehydrated and I figured some sorbet would be good. He said they had mango sorbet. I/m not a fan of mango so I told him "Ok thank you, I was hoping you had lemon sorbet". He paused for a moment and asked me if I was feeling ok (I guess he realized that I only had soup and crackers thus far), so I told him I'd been really sick and quarantined. He replied "Oh I understand, I'm sorry that we only have mango sor...... *he stops talking for 2 seconds*... I will be right back! I will get you lemon sorbet from Palo!"

I was SO thankful, nobody will ever understand what this CMs action meant to me in that moment!!!

He was back in 10 minutes with a dish of Palo's lemon sorbet (which I've loved for years!) PLUS he had a "to-go" container of the sorbet for me to take back to my cabin.

I gave him an excellent review before we left the ship, and I also wrote to DCL to tell them what his decision that day meant to me.

This awesome CMs name is Jimmey. He was fairly young but he was not only a great server, he displayed great empathy that day.

As always, the above are my own humble opinions, and personal experiences.

Oh, almost forgot to add: My DH gave him a nice tip for going above and beyond what we consider the usual lunch service.

 

[diznymom]

Do you just use ordinary envelopes or do you make up something out of paper yourself? Also do you I like this idea. I assume it goes over just fine?

I make them from paper. I found them on the Creative DISigns area. I use 8-1/2 x 11 scrapbook paper. The scrapbook design is on the inside. These have been well received by roomservice and in all restaurants at WDW and Palo.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Thanks. I'll have to take a look.

 

[jendeli]

Here is my take on the whole tipping for room service issue. Had I not either read this on DIS or in the passporter, don’t remember where, I would not have tipped and wouldn’t have felt bad about it or thought I was in the wrong.

This is why in my opinion I wouldn’t expect to tip them, and use my first ever DCL cruise as an example. When we boarded for the first time, we went to lunch in Parrot Cay and had incredible table service, better than most land based restaurants we have been too. When we went to leave, I was confused as to whether we should tip or not, we rightly didn’t.

Spin forward a few years and we had an incredible server at that first lunch and when he saw us throughout the cruise he lent a hand and said hi to us. We did give him a write up in our post cruise email, but did not tip.

Everyone on the boards makes a big deal that people should tip even if they don’t go to the MDR, etc. So can someone please tell me why I would know to tip someone that all they do is bring me free room service tray when I am not expected tip the breakfast and lunch servers that do much more for me? To me land based tipping rules are suspended once you step foot on the ship. Flame me if you want, but as I said, had I not read about it I would not have expected to tip. We are not cheap either, land based restaurants we generally tip 15-20%.

Because MDR servers get their tips from the passengers they serve at dinner. Room service deliverers do not. The only tips they get are from delivering room service.

 

[cgolf]

Because MDR servers get their tips from the passengers they serve at dinner. Room service deliverers do not. The only tips they get are from delivering room service.

Your missing my point though, I get that and tip them because of what I learned on here. What I am saying is that someone that didn't research on DIS or CC before there first cruise may not expect to have to tip room service because they don't have to in the dining rooms after each meal. They wouldn't know that the tips the servers get at the end of the cruise cover all their work and that the room service people don't get any tip money. They would just see the lunch servers doing more for you and getting nothing vs someone dropping off a tray of room service.

By no means am I saying to not tip them, I am just saying that the tip don't tip thing onboard is confusing to a newbie.

 

[phinz]

This is where I disagree to a point, especially your first time on the ship not having been on these boards or anything.

Except that the room service menu clearly says, "Gratuities not included."

 

[st0nehedge]

If I hadn't been privvy to these boards, as a newbie to cruising, I would not have any clue about the tipping etiquette for mdr or room service.

If I were to see "gratuities not included" (or miss seeing that completely) I might have just thought it were for the charged "not free" items.

Also, as someone who rarely travels or does valet or anything that requires tipping aside from land based resturaunts, the whole notion of tipping is kinda a foreign thing to me. Label it as you'd choose to, but honestly aside from my every other year haircut (if that) and occasional resturaunt visit, I don't tip for anything.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I keep hearing. "If it wasn't for these boards, I wouldn't know x yz". Definitely true for aspects of DCL ins and outs. This is 2017, and we have the entire internet to answer customary or expected etiquette or niceties questions. Heck, I traveled the world before (gasp) the intenet was in common use. There's a thing called guidebooks or travel books to answer all these questions. When I was a teen. I knew to tip my hairdresser and cabbies. I think at this point if we're not seeking out answers to these types of questions , perhaps we are of the mindset of too bad, so sad. I will also bet there are many, many folks who don't even tip the expected gratuities DCL spells out. Some may be feigning ignorance, i think some people just won't tip.

 

[st0nehedge]

May also be a cultural thing. We don't use or have cabs around here unless you're at an airport.

Different life experiences, ya know?

 

[Cackyschmackers]

May also be a cultural thing. We don't use or have cabs around here unless you're at an airport.

Different life experiences, ya know?

I never used a cab until I visited my friend in Manhatten. I think I was 19. After that, I only used them for work as you say going to/from airports. I recall before the Internet reading magazine articles about who to tip and suggested amounts. If you are interested in the answer to something, it's out there

 

[st0nehedge]

I never used a cab until I visited my friend in Manhatten. I think I was 19. After that, I only used them for work as you say going to/from airports. I recall before the Internet reading magazine articles about who to tip and suggested amounts. If you are interested in the answer to something, it's out there

That's fantastic for you.

I still hold to my opinion that not the everyone, even those of us not living under rocks, may not necessarily know the etiquette of tipping on cruise lines, especially if it's their first cruise and they are under the impression that the entire cruise is paid for.

Have a superbly magical day

 

[Cackyschmackers]

That's fantastic for you.

I still hold to my opinion that not the everyone, even those of us not living under rocks, may not necessarily know the etiquette of tipping on cruise lines, especially if it's their first cruise and they are under the impression that the entire cruise is paid for.

Have a superbly magical day

Then I'm glad for you that you know now from reading these boards.

Thank you for your good wishes!