Gratuities -- Pay in Advance or Not?

[dcassetta]

Update: I removed my gratuities upon boarding. It was not questioned or commented upon. Nor did I receive any calls, notes or stop-bys afterwards on the matter.

One comment on service: If you get the dining server Ivan, you are being blessed. Enjoy and appreciate. Oh wait, two comments.: Mina (from Japan) at the front desk, if she say's it can't be done, it can't. Because if it can, she will do it. Even if Disney Vacation hangs up on her eight times. She got our tour time moved, it was great and we are indebted to her for the experience.

I certainly hope, since it sounds like removing his standard gratuity was a first day priority, that the excellent Ivan was suitably tipped upon your departure, and that you mentioned Ivan and Mina specifically on your cruise survey.

 

[All about me]

Oops, it was Disney Port Adventures, not Disney Vacations (should have checked my notes more carefully) where Mina was so helpful (already corrected in original post).

It should be noted that if you find (like I did) there is not enough room on the survey to list the exceptional work of specific employees, guest services is happy to provide additional sheets of paper to do so and they can be dropped in the same survey box at guest services, with or separate from the surveys, and will be given the same weight as the comments on the surveys.

 

[dcassetta]

Oops, it was Disney Port Adventures, not Disney Vacations (should have checked my notes more carefully) where Mina was so helpful (already corrected in original post).

It should be noted that if you find (like I did) there is not enough room on the survey to list the exceptional work of specific employees, guest services is happy to provide additional sheets of paper to do so and they can be dropped in the same survey box at guest services, with or separate from the surveys, and will be given the same weight as the comments on the surveys.

I always pack a sheet of notepaper for this exact reason.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

We always pre-pay the tips and then add cash to the envelopes that you deliver at the end of the cruise. It is just easier that way to me.

 

[mmmears]

We don't prepay. I don't see why I would. We do let DCL charge us the standard amount, and then add on extra (usually in cash) for the outstanding service we have often received. I don't get the prepay to avoid "sticker shock" mentality, since we already know how much the bill is going to be anyway, but I think if it works for you, do it.

 

[DisneyEcho]

I don’t pre-pay because my philosophy is why give them my money any sooner than I have to, but it’s just a personal preference.

It is easy to adjust onboard either by adding cash or going to guest services to adjust the payment. They prefer account payments over cash as they are limited to how much cash they can keep in their rooms, the purser has limited hours they have to visit to get it added to their account if they have cash and that cuts into their very tight free time, and it’s easier to send the money to family through their accounts.

So what about room service tipping? Is it better for them to get the tip as cash or add a tip to our stateroom charges? I had previously read for room service tipping that cash was preferred.

 

[smiths02]

We don't pay in advance. If something occurs in which we are unable to cruise, it is one less thing to worry about. One less thing to track down. It is same reason we never pre-paid for parking (there wasn't any incentive to do it, like a lower rate).

We too use discounted gift cards, and go to guest services before the cruise ends and adjust our tips based on our service level and then pay our account with the gift cards. It really isn't that difficult and if you visit guest services at an off time (not the last night at 7pm) it is really quite simple. Sure I've already moved the money from my bank account to the gift card, but again, one less thing to worry about should something happen or for some reason need an infusion of cash. I could sell the gift card for a % of its value if it came down to it.

For us it is about mitigating risk. Sure the risk is quite low that we would need to cancel or anything else, but it gives me some piece of mind.

I used some discounted gift cards as well as my Disney Visa rewards, and we did not pre-pay. I went to guest services on our first day, asked a question about dining, scheduled a class, and put the gift card money on my account.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Because the business/company/corporation already failed. If I have paid for an experience that is suppose to include stellar guest service and then I have to ask for stellar guest service, you have failed. If is included, I should not have to ask. I was reading the 'Concierge vs. non. Is it worth it?' thread and one poster was saying you have to know what is included so you can ask for it. Umm, no, if it is included and therefore paid for, it should be automatically provided. If it is not, it is a fail.

I don't agree with this part. Different people want different things out of the experience. If you provide everyone with ALL the things that are available, many will be overloaded and not happy. Ex: food from Palo is included, but would you really want it automatically brought to your stateroom every time it is available? Some people have no desire for it.

 

[xiphoid76]

We have come to remove gratuities and then pay in cash at the end with the envelopes provided. Guest services never questions why we are removing them and we have never had any follow up from anyone on the cruise after we removed them.

 

[All about me]

So what about room service tipping? Is it better for them to get the tip as cash or add a tip to our stateroom charges? I had previously read for room service tipping that cash was preferred.

Cash at delivery.

Just a note: I don't know if this is the norm but on our final night I was down to change, around five dollars worth I put in a ziploc baggie for him for easy carry, and he choose to go without a tip rather than accept it.

I don't agree with this part. Different people want different things out of the experience. If you provide everyone with ALL the things that are available, many will be overloaded and not happy. Ex: food from Palo is included, but would you really want it automatically brought to your stateroom every time it is available?

No but I would definitely want to be informed about it and it offered to me when it was available.

 

[DisneyEcho]

Cash at delivery.

Thanks!

 

[dcassetta]

Cash at delivery.

Just a note: I don't know if this is the norm but on our final night I was down to change, around five dollars worth I put in a ziploc baggie for him for easy carry, and he choose to go without a tip rather than accept it.

Perhaps signing for a tip would have been better than offering a bag of coins.

 

[LeeLeeK]

I used some discounted gift cards as well as my Disney Visa rewards, and we did not pre-pay. I went to guest services on our first day, asked a question about dining, scheduled a class, and put the gift card money on my account.

Did you also have a credit card listed on your account? I added my credit card info during my online check-in but I also plan to buy a Disney gift card for my expenses/excursions/tips. I want my credit card as a backup. Is adding a gift card on board at guest services and asking them to charge the gift card first going to be a problem? Or should I just remove the credit card from my account and instead hand over the gift card to guest services on the first day of my cruise? Help!!

 

[allashore]

Did you also have a credit card listed on your account? I added my credit card info during my online check-in but I also plan to buy a Disney gift card for my expenses/excursions/tips. I want my credit card as a backup. Is adding a gift card on board at guest services and asking them to charge the gift card first going to be a problem? Or should I just remove the credit card from my account and instead hand over the gift card to guest services on the first day of my cruise? Help!!

your gift cards will be used first, if you owe anything after all gc, then your cc will be charged
you can also add your GC before you get on the ship, it will be listed as onboard credit(OBC)
just do not throw your GC out, because if you do not spend all of it, any unused goes back to gc
you can monitor your onboard account on the app,

 

[MausFan]

We've prepaid the past three or four times, just so we didn't have to worry about it later. I will comment on excellent service on the comment card, and the envelopes can be used for extra cash tips.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Guess I’m different. We don’t typically pre-pay. I guess I’ve just always felt that the Service was Better... they have no idea How much Xtra I’ll leave... and won’t be lax cause tip already in their hands.
That being said.. hubby is a very good tipper, so I’m comfortable with it. And yes... it Can be a Shock... with that final
Tally.. but it’s Vacation after all!
( no disney Cruises .. not my choice lol)

I don't believe they get the tip ahead of time. DCL collects the money from you, put it in your onboard account, and at the end of the cruise, gives you the printed receipts that you then put in the envelopes and hand to your dining team and stateroom host. I don't think they are even aware that you pre-paid. So the service you get would be the same regardless.

 

[LeeLeeK]

your gift cards will be used first, if you owe anything after all gc, then your cc will be charged
you can also add your GC before you get on the ship, it will be listed as onboard credit(OBC)
just do not throw your GC out, because if you do not spend all of it, any unused goes back to gc
you can monitor your onboard account on the app,

Thank you so much for the info!!

 

[bumbershoot]

I know this is an older post...

Gratuities are at the guest's discretion.

And the suggested amounts are not a minimum, they are 'in recognition of exceptional service'.

That is truly not how cruises work. It hasn’t been since before I took my first cruise in 2003 and it definitely isn’t now.

Gratuities are the bulk of the employee’ pay.

They then gave me a new receipt showing amount to give our to servers and hostess.

FYI you don’t have to give the receipt to them. The money will still make it to them.

We don't pre-pay anymore. We've found that sometimes service deserves more or less and don't want to mess with adjusting it on board.

So now you take it off once onboard then either deal with all cash at the end or go back to GS a second time. Call me crazy, but that sounds like two trips rather than one, and/or bringing a lot of extra cash.

Sometimes it can be hard to speak up, especially on a Disney cruise. I wasn't particularly thrilled with our servers the cruise we took. I've read stories of people being blown away by their servers and feeling so sad to say good bye at the end, and I felt nothing close to that. I felt like the service was slow, they seemed harried, it was hard to get the drinks we wanted, I asked for things for kids and they never arrived, etc. And then at the end got the, "Weren't your servers EXCELLENT?" speech from the head waiter. I think he may stopped by once the first night and we never saw him again. I didn't really want to make a big deal, but by the end I definitely didn't feel they were excellent. We did keep tips the same though, it wasn't worth the effort of changing them.

You said nothing. You tipped the same.

You get that they had NO idea of the subpar service, right?

This is a fallacy.

Straight from Disney Cruise Line site:
'Q. Is there an expected amount for gratuities, and how should I pay them?
A. It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of exceptional service,

The fact that mainstream cruises use gratuities as the bulk of the pay isn’t a fallacy.

Using Disney’s cute wording to justify behavior is short sighted.

they assured me I can removed the auto-gratuities in full from my bill and then tip as I please at the end of the cruise in cash.

And you’ll have accomplished the same thing with your trip to GS at the start and keeping cash, as you would have accomplished with a trip to GS to increase/decrease gratuities at the end.

I was reading the 'Concierge vs. non. Is it worth it?' thread and one poster was saying you have to know what is included so you can ask for it. Umm, no, if it is included and therefore paid for, it should be automatically provided. If it is not, it is a fail.

It’s not a fail to not have a 2 hour meeting to find out all the services available.

Believe what you like, but I am speaking from personal experience. My curmudgeon uncle was very determined about having guest services remove the standard gratuities. On a 3 night cruise there were calls, notes and one officer even stopped by our Palo table to follow up with him. He was frustrated with all of us for ordering beverages, due to the automatic tip on bar service.

Yep.

Even when I’ve done something out of their ordinary, I am asked about it. During our Disney cruises I was in prime weight-loss mode, and being very careful about food. I also didn’t have a big appetite, because of that.

I don’t typically get appetizers anyway, but especially not then. I remember our first night was at AP and I got the risotto as my meal, and truly found not finish it along with my salad and still have any room to try dessert. The server freaked. Asked 18 million times what was wrong. I didn’t *want* to talk about my weight loss woth my server, but I had to, to get him off my back.

Anything out of the ordinary, they will worry about.

I like to wait until the cruise to tip only because of one incident we had with a homophobic waiter. He was terrible and we were able to decrease his tip significantly due to his behavior at guest services.

Since you were able to decrease his tip just the same AND let his employers know of the issue, and you had prepaid, why decide to not prepay?

 

[DietCokeMommy]

You said nothing. You tipped the same.

You get that they had NO idea of the subpar service, right?

It's not my job to get them to do their job better. My actual job is literally coaching my employees every day to do better. On vacation I don't want to be coaching the waiters. And I don't want to shortchange people for whom every dollar counts. If that's how you want to do vacation, you do you.

 

[ADisnerdsLifeForMe]

We like to pre-pay for as much as we can on our trips, so we have more out of the way now vs. worry about it later. Kind of along the same reason as to why we always do the Disney Dining Plan when we visit WDW - we just want it out of the way, lol. We tip additional cash for excellent service, as well.