Can you refuse to tip!

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Of course we will use them otherwise how else will be eat. I guess room service

If you refer to my post re Topsiders or Beach blanket, then you are using the servers, maybe not your own, but the service provided by the Animator's palate evennig team, and therefore, its included in the tipping guidelines.

If you are using ROOM SERVICE only and tipping only for that and advise DCL that you do not need the tables, then the tipping guidelines for meal service doesnt apply.

 

[KSandbergFL]

If you are not going to use any of the restaurants do tell DCL in advance so your table can be allocated to someone else.

yes, i agree, that seems only fair.

 

[Lewis]

I think im lost.

If i want to spend 50% in the food place and then 50% on room service is that ok? do you tip the room service guy each time they bring your food?

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

I think im lost.

If i want to spend 50% in the food place and then 50% on room service is that ok? do you tip the room service guy each time they bring your food?

Room service (Lady/or/Guy) you tip at the time about $1 to $2 per item.

If you only go to dinner in the main restaurants about 50% of the time you and your family will miss a lot there, part of the Disney experience is the evening meals.

If you do not advise them in advance that you do not want to go to dinner some nights, then you should consider respecting the DCL guidelines for tipping. The final decision is yours. However the amount you tip, relative to the amount of meals, and also cruise prices is very small.

 

[KSandbergFL]

I think im lost.

If i want to spend 50% in the food place and then 50% on room service is that ok? do you tip the room service guy each time they bring your food?

when we get room service, i usually just hand the person some cash.

however, if you want... i think you can write down an amount on a receipt and it will get added to your account.

alternatively, if you write down the persons name -- you can specify a tip for that person by going to Guest Services and settling your tips on the last night. Disney will have a list of your room attendant, your dinner servers, etc... you can add a name to the list and tip an amount to that person, using your credit card. You would do this if, for example... you asked an Indian chef to make you a special Tandoori meal, and you wanted to tip the chef nicely.

 

[Pluto 2]

of course you should always tip. if your not going to tip do not take the coward way out, tell them in person that your not going to tip them.

 

[kcashner]

OK, the question "Can you walk off the ship without tipping and no one be the wiser?" Yes, you can. The real question is whether you should.

The suggested tips on DCL total $12 per guest per day. That is divided among 4 people. SO, your room host would get $4 per day for each of you--$16 for a family of 4. For this, he/she will deliver and remove your luggage, clean your room daily, freshen the room with turn down service in the evening, get anything you need, and maintain the public areas near your room. Additional services from this individual would include things like recharging a motorized scooter for a handicapped guest, etc.

Your serving team works other venues at breakfast and lunch; the dining room tip on the last night represents the tips for ALL the meals you have eaten on the ship except Palo. Even though you are served by other people at breakfast and lunch, YOUR servers are serving other people. The tip is for ALL the meals during the cruise. Again, that total is $8 per day (the other $4 went to the room host), so $8 in tips for 3 meals per day, or less that $3 per meal. But wait, in the initial post, you said you tip $5 or $10 per meal! The difference is that you don't eat out 3 meals a day.

I'll echo some of the sentiments expressed here by others. If you can't afford the tips on a long cruise, perhaps you would be able to take a 3 or 4 day cruise and take care of those who have served you. Tipping is part of the cost of cruising. If the service isn't worthy of the tip, speak to the dining manager as soon as there is a problem so it can be resolved. Don't use the excuse of "bad" service to avoid paying those who have served you.

 

[DisneyCrunch]

The way I see it your service providers are counting on your "head" in order to make their salary. Regardless of the principal of the thing, regardless of whether or not you choose to show up at dinner, you have been allocated to your service providers and they count on your tips in order to get PAID. Is it wrong of DCL to not pay their workers a fair wage and to essentially mandate that you pay them via tips? Would it be better if the sun was purple and the sky was green? Like it or not you pay their salary period the end and they ARE counting on your tips (at LEAST the minimum suggested amt per head.)

We tipped for all 5 of us for our servers even though our kids came to dinner exactly twice and often ate lunch in the kids' programming BECAUSE they were counting on my tips to pay their salary. My kids took up one of their "seats" and a person in their "head count" even when they didn't show for dinner.

The only excuse I consider valid for not tipping the minimum amt is POOR SERVICE.

And as far as can you get away with not tipping? Sure! You could probably get away with a LOT of things like walking out of a store with expensive merchandise without paying, hitting a car in a parking lot and leaving, ditching the bill at a fancy restaurant...ETC... doesn't make it ethical.

 

[Maryrn11168]

When I was planning my expenses for our 7 night cruise last year I thought the tipping was a bit steep, then I broke it down per meal and per day and It did not seem so bad. When I experienced ALL that these people do and how they will go out of their way to serve you better It was worth giving them extra!!! They work very hard for their tips and they deserve them!!

 

[Goofy Mum]

OK, the question "Can you walk off the ship without tipping and no one be the wiser?" Yes, you can. The real question is whether you should.

The suggested tips on DCL total $12 per guest per day. That is divided among 4 people. SO, your room host would get $4 per day for each of you--$16 for a family of 4. For this, he/she will deliver and remove your luggage, clean your room daily, freshen the room with turn down service in the evening, get anything you need, and maintain the public areas near your room. Additional services from this individual would include things like recharging a motorized scooter for a handicapped guest, etc.

Your serving team works other venues at breakfast and lunch; the dining room tip on the last night represents the tips for ALL the meals you have eaten on the ship except Palo. Even though you are served by other people at breakfast and lunch, YOUR servers are serving other people. The tip is for ALL the meals during the cruise. Again, that total is $8 per day (the other $4 went to the room host), so $8 in tips for 3 meals per day, or less that $3 per meal. But wait, in the initial post, you said you tip $5 or $10 per meal! The difference is that you don't eat out 3 meals a day.

I'll echo some of the sentiments expressed here by others. If you can't afford the tips on a long cruise, perhaps you would be able to take a 3 or 4 day cruise and take care of those who have served you. Tipping is part of the cost of cruising. If the service isn't worthy of the tip, speak to the dining manager as soon as there is a problem so it can be resolved. Don't use the excuse of "bad" service to avoid paying those who have served you.

Very well said. I paid the DCL guideline to DCL when I paid for my cruise. Then I can just tip extra cash where I see fit, ie room service, etc. At least the majority of it's paid in full so I wont have to worry about it when we're on holiday. I can't imagine stiffing! Even if they were none the wiser I couldn't live with myself. Sorry that's just me.

 

[wwwosie]

I think im lost.

If i want to spend 50% in the food place and then 50% on room service is that ok? do you tip the room service guy each time they bring your food?

Not sure what you mean, but the room service tips for us are not part of the tips we leave the other servers. In our last cruise, our kids were in a separate cabin with strict orders that if they ordered anything from room service they were to tip EVERY time. They did...

We tipped everyone above and beyond what we had prepaid DCL (which was the suggested amount), WHY? because our room steward was AMAZING, not only did he straighten out the kids room twice a day but one day he knew exactly where my daughter had left something she couldn't find. He was personable, funny and added a lot to our cruise.

Our server was amazing, unfortunately she got sick the last night and wasn't able to serve us that night or the next day, we still left her an envelope with an additional tip.

Like folks said here, tipping is part of their wages. The other thing you should know (since you asked how many passengers the serving team handles) is that the AVERAGE work week for anyone on DCL is about 70 hours PER WEEK.

 

[Fawn]

This is a question of morality and ethics. Of course, you can walk off without paying. Of course, noone will be the wiser or stop you or force you. Who will know? Only you!!

All literature, cruise sites, boards, etc, for any cruiseline, offer lots of info about tipping. There is no doubt in anyone's mind what is expected, or that tipping is a normal part of any cruise. Right or wrong, the staff makes a living from our tips...and, by and large, they work very hard for that money!

If someone thinks it's funny to not tip, or to "get away with it", there is probably nothing much you can do to change their mind. Everyone has to live with what they see in the mirror each morning.

 

[TnRobin]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please do not feed the Trolls. It is like feeding stray cats. When you do, they stay around and beg for more.

 

[Goofy Mum]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please do not feed the Trolls. It is like feeding stray cats. When you do, they stay around and beg for more.

Aha! Never thought about that!

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please do not feed the Trolls. It is like feeding stray cats. When you do, they stay around and beg for more.

I kinda thought that too
I did try NOt to bite mr board monitor, honest I did

 

[Goofy Mum]

I kinda thought that too
I did try NOt to bite mr board monitor, honest I did

I fell for it hook, line and sinker!

 

[orlandothebeagle]

I fell for it hook, line and sinker!

I thought he would have flamed right off the board, we/they were pretty kind to him/her.

 

[disney1990]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please do not feed the Trolls. It is like feeding stray cats. When you do, they stay around and beg for more.

What am I missing? Trolls?

 

[over50visits]

Sadly, DCL (any many other cruise lines) artifically advertise a lower price for a cruise because they don't pay all of their employees. A real cost of the cruise is the balance of the employees pay, called gratuities.

Yes, it is optional. I suppose there might be bad service, but in many cruises I have never had anything close to service which deserved cutting the servers/cabin steward's pay.

If you can't afford it, or don't want to pay it, you should not take the cruise. Period. To take money away from hardworking servers who are not paid proper wages by Disney is downright mean. Sorry, but that's just how I feel. I lay the blame for this problem squarely on Disney's shoulders because they "lowball" us by leaving out this true cost of cruises.

And I happily pay the gratuities. These people work very, very hard and long hours, and I've seen them be extraordinarily nice to nasty cruise guests who should have been sent to their room.

<down off soapbox now>

 

[Fawn]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please do not feed the Trolls. It is like feeding stray cats. When you do, they stay around and beg for more.

Dang...got sucked in again!