Dinner at Cabanas ????

[gayles]

Thank you for all the wonderful Imfo . Our trip will be My daughter, 2 grandsons ( 9 & 11) & me Grandma . Our reason MDR . Is takes so long & we figured out we missed Going to Rainforest & touring ship in evening . We would go to the Show's with the boys . Then they would beg to go to the Kids Club . We're doing it for more flexabilty in the evenings .

 

[Dug720]

FWIW, the only time I ever felt "slowed down" in the MDR was animation night in AP. Other than that, my servers have gone off my pace and it's NEVER taken me 2 hours - even when I was with my parents and sister. Granted that only works with your own table, but it is most definitely possible to get out in under 2 hours - honestly I'm not sure I was ever even in there for 90 minutes (excepting the animation night which is pretty much on a timed schedule).

 

[sayuracodfish]

Two questions:
1) Is it customary to tip if you dine at Cabana's (and if so, how do you leave a tip? Charge it to your onboard account?)
2) Are the menus for all 3 MDR's the same as each other each night? In other words, would Cabanas have choices from 3 different menus, or just one?
We are considering going there for a few nights on our 14 night WBPC, just to mix it up a bit.
Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Two questions:
1) Is it customary to tip if you dine at Cabana's (and if so, how do you leave a tip? Charge it to your onboard account?)
2) Are the menus for all 3 MDR's the same as each other each night? In other words, would Cabanas have choices from 3 different menus, or just one?
We are considering going there for a few nights on our 14 night WBPC, just to mix it up a bit.
Thanks!

1) You can either hand the tip directly to them, or leave it on the table. Don't know about charging it to you room.
2) If you go to Cabanas on a night that each of the 3 Main Dining Rooms is serving it's own Signature menu, the menu in Cabanas is a selection of items from all three menus. If you go to Cabanas on a night where all the MDRs are serving the same menu (for example - Pirate night), it's the same (Pirate) menu there, also.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Two questions:
1) Is it customary to tip if you dine at Cabana's (and if so, how do you leave a tip? Charge it to your onboard account?)
2) Are the menus for all 3 MDR's the same as each other each night? In other words, would Cabanas have choices from 3 different menus, or just one?
We are considering going there for a few nights on our 14 night WBPC, just to mix it up a bit.
Thanks!

There is no need to tip, they are often new training staff that are getting ready for MDRs and it is not classified as a tipping position. You do not tip at breakfast or lunch, albeit someone will point out that that's covered by the night MDR tipping.

Cabanas at breakfast and lunch has a mixture of staff, some from the Animators palate serving team - if they are not running a character breakfast, and some Cabanas only team, there are also on port days staff from palo there.

The evening team, has never been noted anywhere on any DCL information as a tipping position, if you want to, it's down to you, but not expected. If it was expected, DCL would inform you. The same as you do not tip at Petes boiler bites, or Diasy do lites, or fir pizza.

 

[sayuracodfish]

There is no need to tip, they are often new training staff that are getting ready for MDRs and it is not classified as a tipping position. You do not tip at breakfast or lunch, albeit someone will point out that that's covered by the night MDR tipping.

Cabanas at breakfast and lunch has a mixture of staff, some from the Animators palate serving team - if they are not running a character breakfast, and some Cabanas only team, there are also on port days staff from palo there.

The evening team, has never been noted anywhere on any DCL information as a tipping position, if you want to, it's down to you, but not expected. If it was expected, DCL would inform you. The same as you do not tip at Petes boiler bites, or Diasy do lites, or fir pizza.

Thank you for the info! I just thought that because it would be "sit down" as opposed to buffet (like for breakfast and lunch) that tipping might be expected.

 

[sayuracodfish]

1) You can either hand the tip directly to them, or leave it on the table. Don't know about charging it to you room.
2) If you go to Cabanas on a night that each of the 3 Main Dining Rooms is serving it's own Signature menu, the menu in Cabanas is a selection of items from all three menus. If you go to Cabanas on a night where all the MDRs are serving the same menu (for example - Pirate night), it's the same (Pirate) menu there, also.

Thank you PricessShmoo!

 

[JoieNsk]

Two questions:
Is it customary to tip if you dine at Cabana's (and if so, how do you leave a tip? Charge it to your onboard account?)

I don't know if it is customary or not, we did it once, and we did leave a tip - I don't see why not: it's a restaurant, the waiter is working anyways. I don't remember how much, my husband did it, he usually is pretty generous. But this time it might be like 5 bucks or so, as the meal didn't have a price tag, and our waiter WAS very young, and was NOT perfect )) But he was very nice and sincerely tried to make us happy without being all over the place - that I personally REALLY appreciate.

But we usually leave couple bucks even at the buffet breakfast, just leave it on the table. And I saw other people do it in nice hotels - like us. Disney cruise feels like a nice hotel to me, as the breakfast is nice, and staff is very nice. So we usually leave couple bucks at a breakfast too.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I don't know if it is customary or not, we did it once, and we did leave a tip - I don't see why not: it's a restaurant, the waiter is working anyways. I don't remember how much, my husband did it, he usually is pretty generous. But this time it might be like 5 bucks or so, as the meal didn't have a price tag, and our waiter WAS very young, and was NOT perfect )) But he was very nice and sincerely tried to make us happy without being all over the place - that I personally REALLY appreciate.

But we usually leave couple bucks even at the buffet breakfast, just leave it on the table. And I saw other people do it in nice hotels - like us. Disney cruise feels like a nice hotel to me, as the breakfast is nice, and staff is very nice. So we usually leave couple bucks at a breakfast too.

Just for a little clarification. The servers you have in the dining rooms for dinner are the same servers in the buffet and poolside quick serve locations. They rotate through those duties. The gratuity that you give your dinner servers covers all meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you wish to tip additionally when at the buffet, by all means, do so, but it's not necessary.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Thank you for the info! I just thought that because it would be "sit down" as opposed to buffet (like for breakfast and lunch) that tipping might be expected.

I understand, but firstly, go to DCL " official " gratuity guidelines, not posters here, what does the official website say, is it " at your descresion, no. It's in the buffet, and I have also been served " sit down" at breakfast and lunch, tea coffee,toasts, desserts, - it's not expected, you can if you wish, and from posts here people have started to do it, soon that may cause DCL to introduce it like say concierge, if people do it, thier wages will get cut to a tipping position.

Worth following the official website!

 

[MPS516]

Not intended to begin another tipping debate, just had a couple personal observations.

Asking this question with extreme caution (don't want to start something, tipping seems to be a sensitive topic). If you choose to skip the MDR for your entire cruise, you don't even meet your serving team, are you still required to tip at the end of the cruise?

I'm curious. I am considering this for our next cruise, just eating from the pool deck, or Cabanas. Years ago, I asked about skipping some nights and only tipping for the nights we ate in the MDR and I got torn up on the thread when I posted about it. So I now understand that even if we eat in the MDR only 2 out of 7 nights we are required to tip for the entire LOC. If I never lay eyes on my serving team.....???

On each and every cruise we have taken we see staff from our MDR serving breakfast and lunch in the sit down dining rooms or at Cabanas, we are receiving their services throughout the day and consider it a part of our cruise long server and assistant server tip. So yes we would tip even if we never sat down for supper in the MDR.

Two questions:
1) Is it customary to tip if you dine at Cabana's (and if so, how do you leave a tip? Charge it to your onboard account?)
2) Are the menus for all 3 MDR's the same as each other each night? In other words, would Cabanas have choices from 3 different menus, or just one?
We are considering going there for a few nights on our 14 night WBPC, just to mix it up a bit.
Thanks!

I am in the camp of if you would like to tip go right ahead, I do not believe a tip is necessary however.

There is no need to tip, they are often new training staff that are getting ready for MDRs and it is not classified as a tipping position. You do not tip at breakfast or lunch, albeit someone will point out that that's covered by the night MDR tipping.

Cabanas at breakfast and lunch has a mixture of staff, some from the Animators palate serving team - if they are not running a character breakfast, and some Cabanas only team, there are also on port days staff from palo there.

The evening team, has never been noted anywhere on any DCL information as a tipping position, if you want to, it's down to you, but not expected. If it was expected, DCL would inform you. The same as you do not tip at Petes boiler bites, or Diasy do lites, or fir pizza.

I am assuming this means the Cabana's evening team since the MDR evening teams are our main servers.

Now for full disclosure we are server snobs, we do ask for specific servers and have back ups in the event we do not get our requested. They know us pretty well and tell us which restaurant they will be in during the next day if assigned and if not suggest who to ask for. We also ask for specific serves at restaurants here at home.

I also understand how different tipping customs are throughout the world, here in the upper Midwest it is often fairly generous and something my family marvels at when visiting from Ireland. We have also lived in the eastern United States and the deep south, tipping is different from what is customary here. I also discovered that no one is right or wrong in exercising their own preferences, servers that we deal with seem to know a customer is from somewhere other than where they may be from and may have differing customs. I feel comfortable if I meet the tipping guidelines the cruise line publishes and include additional amounts when I am very happy with the care these people have provided me.

 

[cruisehopeful]

If you choose to skip the MDR for your entire cruise, you don't even meet your serving team, are you still required to tip at the end of the cruise?

I have done this in the past and always tipped the standard recommended amount when I've skipped MDR for the entire cruise. The main reason is that their wages are mostly tips. They are assigned people to serve and that is basically what they count on as their pay. If those people don't tip, they essentially lose their pay. I know they are counting on my party to pay their wages and because of that, I tip even if I never see them.

 

[JoieNsk]

I have done this in the past and always tipped the standard recommended amount when I've skipped MDR for the entire cruise. The main reason is that their wages are mostly tips. They are assigned people to serve and that is basically what they count on as their pay. If those people don't tip, they essentially lose their pay. I know they are counting on my party to pay their wages and because of that, I tip even if I never see them.

I feel like this too.

Though I don't know what positions are tipping and what are not at the cruise - as somebody mentioned above. Probably we even tip somebody we are not supposed to be tipping.

But I feel better tipping than not tipping, as I didn't always had that type of income I am lucky to have now, and I know how small people can be paid, and how tough life can be financially. If I am given good service - I tip, and people always take the tip and say thank you.

 

[dcassetta]

I feel like this too.

Though I don't know what positions are tipping and what are not at the cruise - as somebody mentioned above. Probably we even tip somebody we are not supposed to be tipping.

But I feel better tipping than not tipping, as I didn't always had that type of income I am lucky to have now, and I know how small people can be paid, and how tough life can be financially. If I am given good service - I tip, and people always take the tip and say thank you.

On the Disney ships, if someone is not supposed to receive a tip, they will decline it. One example of this are the cast members that work in the kids clubs.

I may sometimes have tipped people on the ship that were "not supposed to be tipped", including in Cabanas. But I don't feel bad about this at all. I have found that the cast members on the ship work very hard, they are a long way from home and family for long periods of time, and if my $5 or $10 allows an extra phone call home.

 

[CamColt]

Do the servers bring you your drinks too or can you use the fountains like at breakfast and lunch?

 

[dcassetta]

Do the servers bring you your drinks too or can you use the fountains like at breakfast and lunch?

When I have dined at Cabanas, it has been a sit down dinner service, and the drinks are brought to you.