Dining rotation, Palo and tipping questions?

[kmc33]

We are scheduled for a 3-day land/ 4-day sea package on the Wonder. There are a couple things I am 'wonder'ing about...

When do you find out your dining rotation? With your cruise documents or not until you check-in for your cruise?

If not until you check-in, since we will be checked in for the cruise when we check into the hotel, will we find it out then?

And finally, if we were to dine at Palo on the last night of the cruise, when do we give our waiters from our rotation their tips?

Thank you!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

You won't know your dining rotation until you check in. Since I've never done a land/sea package, I'm not sure if you'll know when you check in for the land portion. I thought I once read that your key will work both at the resort and the ship. If it is the same key, then the dining rotation is usually printed on it. It will be in code, something like this:

TAPT
APTA
PTAP

Where T = Triton's, A = Animator's Palate, P = Parrot Cay.

We often eat at Palo on the final night. If so, we either stop by the dining room beforehand, or deliver the tip envelopes at breakfast on the final morning. Your regular wait team will serve you at this meal.

 

[kmc33]

That is a good idea to stop by the dining room to give tips before dinner at Palo, if it's the last evening. I saw a trip report on epinions where the couple gave the waiters' tips to someone at guest services who said that she would get them to the servers. Later this same person denied ever taking any envelopes! So this got me to wondering what others have done.

I hope our rotation is printed on our key card when we check into the hotel, so we can plan a backup strategy if the last night at Palo is booked up.

Thanks again for the information!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

One safeguard you can use for the tips is to charge them to the room account. This way (I think) the tips is credited to the crew member's shipboard account. I think the ticket is just a receipt for them. We usually do this, then add a phone card or two for good measure.

Oh, and get the soufflée for dessert at Palo....

 

[snowiit]

I agree about putting the tips on your room charge.. we did this about halfway through the cruise and then paid it off right away with travelers checks. You do get a receipt with each individual's name you are tipping. So basically the record of your tips is right there in black and white on your room charge listing. Our rotation was TAPP so we went right to wavebands prepared to ask for the last night... and if not.. the night before since they were both the same restaurant. Well we did get the last night. We gave our dining room wait staff their tips that Wed night then. I didn't realize that we would have them for breakfast the last am of our cruise (first time cruiser and all!<G>) And I agree.. the soufflee is great!!!!

Nancy

 

[AmyM]

If you are doing the Land/Sea you WILL NOT know your rotation until you get to the ship. The KTTW cards that work at both WDW and the ship do not have the rotation printed on them.

 

[kmc33]

Oh well, I thought I could plan my strategy in advance! I do know that we are going to shoot for the last night for Palo. When we get on the ship, I guess we can figure out our second choice!

Thanks for all the information. I do like the idea of putting the tips on our account. I hadn't thought of that. I had read that you get your servers for breakfast the last morning, but I didn't want to wait to give it to them then in case for some reason we didn't make breakfast at the last minute. It sounds like there are plenty of options to get the envelopes to the servers -- just not to guest services! And I guess there is no reason you can't just drop by the dining room to pass them on to the server, even if you aren't dining there for that dinner (or breakfast the last morning).

Thanks again!

 

[AmyM]

If you go to Palo reservations as soon as they open you should have no problem getting a reservation on the last night. That is what we did on our last cruise. As far as tipping our wait staff, what we did was tip them before Palo's on the last night. We had before dinner cocktails at the Promenade Lounge and when it was a little time into our regular dinner seating at AP, I ran up and gave them their tips. We also charged the tips to our stateroom account.