Gratuities question

[Sytrace]

I would think that since OP is already paying for Concierge service (including dining) AND paying for Palo and Remy meals and tipping those servers that she is already tipping over and above what an average guest is tipping anyway. JMHO though.

All the OP wanted to know is if others have reduced the amount of tips on services that they would not use based on the factors put forth. I would say no...since she is not using MDR's, Cabanas, quick service etc.
Now, the cabin host/hostess would still be tipped because the guest IS utilizing those services everyday. Unless, they are making their own beds, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. So leave the tips on for Cabin host/hostess, but reduce or remove for the MDR servers she is not going to be interacting with at all.

 

[Flossbolna]

Of course, if the OP really manages to not have any table assigned for her because she does not want it, there would be no one to get the tip. And there are always cruises where not all tables are filled for both seatings, so servers are used to having not all their available places filled all the time.

I am also wondering if this is something they would do for concierge as there are other dining options available for those guests that others don't have like the concierge lounge or room service meals with MDR food brought to their stateroom. As those would be tipped separately, I could see why someone would not want an unnecessary table assigned and tip servers that they do not use.

OP, please come back after your cruise to report back whether they really did not assign you any table and how that worked for tips. Would they still want to add on automatic tips for some servers even without a table? I think this would be interesting information!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Of course, if the OP really manages to not have any table assigned for her because she does not want it, there would be no one to get the tip. And there are always cruises where not all tables are filled for both seatings, so servers are used to having not all their available places filled all the time.

I am also wondering if this is something they would do for concierge as there are other dining options available for those guests that others don't have like the concierge lounge or room service meals with MDR food brought to their stateroom. As those would be tipped separately, I could see why someone would not want an unnecessary table assigned and tip servers that they do not use.

OP, please come back after your cruise to report back whether they really did not assign you any table and how that worked for tips. Would they still want to add on automatic tips for some servers even without a table? I think this would be interesting information!

As I said, I'm fairly confident that everyone is assigned a table/servers in the MDRs. Now, whether Concierge is going to have that information removed from their KTTW card and/or onboard account, who knows? So, basically, just assigned a table/servers on paper. I doubt that such a table/servers would get additional tables assigned to make up the loss, however.

But OP can certainly remove the gratuities if desired. There's always that option.

 

[Axelskater]

I will report back. I called shore side and reaffirmed that the early dining they gave us was assigned to someone on the waiting list. I asked if they gave me a late dining table instead and they did not but that the late MDR dining is never completely full if we were to change our mind and I told him I would not. I will see what happens when I board : )
There are separate servers in concierge who bartend and serve food, and we give them cash, in addition to giving the regular staff cash. The stateroom tip on the auto-gratuity is really not enough since they are cleaning a room which is rather large, so I add to that in cash.

 

[Dug720]

I would think that since OP is already paying for Concierge service (including dining) AND paying for Palo and Remy meals and tipping those servers that she is already tipping over and above what an average guest is tipping anyway. JMHO though.

All the OP wanted to know is if others have reduced the amount of tips on services that they would not use based on the factors put forth. I would say no...since she is not using MDR's, Cabanas, quick service etc.
Now, the cabin host/hostess would still be tipped because the guest IS utilizing those services everyday. Unless, they are making their own beds, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. So leave the tips on for Cabin host/hostess, but reduce or remove for the MDR servers she is not going to be interacting with at all.

But ALL cabins include dining - not just concierge. The extra money you pay for concierge does not go to the crew members, so no. Their dining is not exempt from tipping. And the decent thing to do is to leave it on since it is so minuscule compared to the price of a cabin in concierge.

To remove it is IMHO petty and cheap.

 

[over50visits]

I believe it is not relevant whether the dining room is full, whether waiters may have empty tables, whether you tip concierge/PALO/waiters, etc. That is just a rationalization to not tip them at all if you don't go to one or all evening meals. As already posted in this thread, they do so much more for you than serve the evening meal. Just sayin'

 

[Sytrace]

But ALL cabins include dining - not just concierge. The extra money you pay for concierge does not go to the crew members, so no. Their dining is not exempt from tipping. And the decent thing to do is to leave it on since it is so minuscule compared to the price of a cabin in concierge.

To remove it is IMHO petty and cheap.

Perhaps I missed it.
The OP is staying Conceirge. She is dining at Palo one night (tipped) Remy one night (tipped) And possibly Palo or Remy another night. They will be utilizing the dining accomodations at Concierge level (tips that she pays to that team will cover such snacks etc) She will tip the bartenders accordingly at Concierge level or anywhere else on the ship.
She will be dining via Room Service (tipped) and will not be using MDR, Cabanas, Flos, Maters, etc. as her dining will be happening at Concierge level (tipped in one form or another)

To my way of cheap and petty thinking...why would she tip on a service she is not using in any way, shape or form? Lets just say she is staying at a large resort and there are 3 restaraunts at the resort. None of which she dines at. Should she still tip at those locations even though she is not getting service there? Say there are quick service places at this resort of which she does not go to. Should she tip at those places too?

Seeing as I am way too cheap to spend extra money to stay Concierge, I don't have a dog in this fight.
But it seems that she is already paying the Concierge serving team, room service deliveries, Palo and Remy servers via tips. And if, as someone else mentioned, she is getting room service from servers that are covered by daily tips in the MDR's (ie. they are possibly going to be delivering to her cabin) then the tip she gives them would cover that and then some per item... wouldn't it?

And maybe the amount is so minimal that it seems petty to remove it but she is already paying a large sum of money to stay at that level and get that service AND she is paying extra to dine at Palo and Remy. And tipping them.
Sorry, I will agree to disagree with you on this one and will take the petty and cheap comment in stride. Have a nice evening Dug720

 

[FigmentSpark]

It will be interesting to see if the OP actually gets an envelope for servers' gratuities. If they aren't put at a table, they may not be assigned to a MDR team at all.

 

[TestingH2O]

I'm most interested in whether or not a table is actually assigned. I haven't heard of anyone not getting an assignment.

We've sailed concierge and have always taken at least some meals in the MDR. Even knowing that we did room service/ adult dining, we still tipped full gratuity plus some. Had we not been in the dining rooms, we would have just done the standard. For us, it's a service charge and just part of cruising.

 

[MUN]

But ALL cabins include dining - not just concierge. The extra money you pay for concierge does not go to the crew members, so no. Their dining is not exempt from tipping. And the decent thing to do is to leave it on since it is so minuscule compared to the price of a cabin in concierge.

To remove it is IMHO petty and cheap.

Do you tip concierge staff if you do not stay in a concierge room?

 

[Axelskater]

Perhaps the reason people haven't heard of not being assigned a table is because they've never requested this. i appreciate your opinions. I figured my $ and my cabin mate's $ was better spent tipping the people I actually meet who are serving us, drinks, food, etc. My question was posed as to whether others had experience doing the same thing. Tipping people whom I will not even meet or with whom I will have no interaction at all did not make sense, and I was wondering if anyone else had experience with this. Thank you to those of you who PM'ed me who had been in the same or similar situation.

 

[sharonabe]

Perhaps the reason people haven't heard of not being assigned a table is because they've never requested this. i appreciate your opinions. I figured my $ and my cabin mate's $ was better spent tipping the people I actually meet who are serving us, drinks, food, etc. My question was posed as to whether others had experience doing the same thing. Tipping people whom I will not even meet or with whom I will have no interaction at all did not make sense, and I was wondering if anyone else had experience with this. Thank you to those of you who PM'ed me who had been in the same or similar situation.

Sorry, we are going on our first cruise later this year, so I'm still learning. Will you have any money on your account for tips or will you just put tip money in the envelopes they give you? I thought the total amount that is put on account was divided up between the room attendants and servers. If you don't put the total suggested amount, will they know to just give it to the room people or will they divide the lower amount between all of them, thereby shorting the room attendants?

 

[Dug720]

Do you tip concierge staff if you do not stay in a concierge room?

Totally different as there is no way that non-concierge guests even have access to their services.

Choosing to cheat your MDR servers out of their small amount that is a piddling if you're able to afford concierge IS cheating tham out of it because you're not NOT assigned to them just because you use concierge. If you choose to isolate yourself from the commoners on board, that is your choice. But your assigned servers should not be cheated because you don't want to slum with the rest of us.

And FWIW, the one time we stayed in concierge (and said NEVER AGAIN...we are too low maintenance for that) we did not use THEIR services (save the happy hour and we tipped the bar tender) BUT we tipped all of the concierge hosts. WHOSE SERVICES WE NEVER USED.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sorry, we are going on our first cruise later this year, so I'm still learning. Will you have any money on your account for tips or will you just put tip money in the envelopes they give you? I thought the total amount that is put on account was divided up between the room attendants and servers. If you don't put the total suggested amount, will they know to just give it to the room people or will they divide the lower amount between all of them, thereby shorting the room attendants?

DCL automatically charges $12.00 per guest (that's you) per nigh to your onboard account. At the end of the cruise, you get coupons in your room showing the tip amounts/names/positions of the people being tipped. That's what you put in the envelopes.


You can go to Guest Services at any time and adjust/remove the gratuities across the board, or for individual people. So that, yes, you can remove all gratuities except the room host, if that's what you want to do. Or cut how much is earmarked for each person. BTW, the division is $4.00 per guest per night to your room host; $4.00 per guest per night to your dining room server; $3.00 per guest per night to your assistant server; and $1.00 per guest per night to your head server.

Even if you remove the gratuities entirely, you'll still receive the gratuity envelopes in your room.

 

[ASchwa]

Perhaps the reason people haven't heard of not being assigned a table is because they've never requested this. i appreciate your opinions. I figured my $ and my cabin mate's $ was better spent tipping the people I actually meet who are serving us, drinks, food, etc. My question was posed as to whether others had experience doing the same thing. Tipping people whom I will not even meet or with whom I will have no interaction at all did not make sense, and I was wondering if anyone else had experience with this. Thank you to those of you who PM'ed me who had been in the same or similar situation.

How do you know that you would have no interaction with MDR servers? If you order room service even once, you may have an MDR server. I have seen on all three times I cruised with Disney, my servers in different locations. Even on embarkation day the last time I cruised, a server in the MDR that is open when embarkation is going on, the second server who got my drink, was in the area I was in for the muster drill. My main server was in Cabanas two mornings in a row, and when I got an extra ticket for the Frozen meet and greet, I was speaking with a cast member, not sure if he was a server or not, but he identified me from what I had been saying. My server had a special way of addressing me and this cast member used it. You may believe that you will not have interactions but you don't know what goes on behind the scenes.

 

[squirk]

Redacted.

 

[dcassetta]

http://pubx.co/47weDI I thought this was an interesting article from the perspective of a person who worked in tipped positions on a ship

 

[mevelandry]

In Canada, we pay for everybody's maternity leaves with our taxes. I've chosen not to have children but I'm still proud to contribute (at least financially) to society. Same for health care. I may spend a whole year without seeing a doctor, my taxes still pay for everybody's health care and I am proud to contribute for it too.

MDR are "included" in the fare whether you use it or not. Why not contribute?

On our first cruise, I was sick on the first night so I did not eat in the MDR past the appetizers (also our server was kinda rude) and we dined at Remy and Palo for the rest of the trip. We still paid 100% of gratuity and I wouldn't do it any other way.

My mother was a minimum wage worker and she worked hard all the time. I learned to respect and encourage minimum wage workers because of her.

Make me pay all the gratuities you want!

 

[RedSox68]

Read "Cruise Confidential" by David Bruns. It will open your eyes about what these people go through to serve the passengers -- usually on only 4 hours of sleep a night (by the time they do the midnight buffet after setting up their tables for the next day's service, etc.).

 

[undertheradar]

We stay concierge and I cannot understand wanting to reduce those tips. We tip over and above. Our minimum room service tip would be $10. I would consider it the same as a daily resort fee and just pay it.