Gratuities/tipping

[Wadekind]

When you have ordered room service what did you tip?

 

[Disneyholic]

Good guess. For when, you got it right the first time, bravo.

As far as how much, when you book you'll be given recommended tip info in your paperwork, it's based on how long you're going for. I personally usually go over/under depending on how the service was. Keep aware they make most of their salary off the tips, not the pay they get from DCL.

Also any beverages from bar service which are not free, btw, require immediate tipping.

There is a 15% tip already included when you get your drinks at the bar. There is a line to add additional tip if you want to, but it is NOT necessary. Check any slips that you have to sign to see if there is already a tip added.
(You should check your slips at restaurants at home, too. The last time we went out as a group with 10 people at our table, each couple on their own check, our slips came with the tip already added in. I was the only one at the table who noticed it, but when I told the others, they immediately crossed out the additional tip they had put down. They had never heard of tip already being on the check.)

 

[brucechase]

While I will be tipping appropriately, I do admit that I cringe at the concept of people justifying tipping because servers "do not earn decent wages". Servers know what their base wage(s) will be. They know that that the bulk of their income will be through tips........

And by the same token, people who cruise know that they need to tip these positions. It is in all the documents you get as well as many other places. It's not sprung on you at the last minute.

 

[stitchlovestink]

There is a 15% tip already included when you get your drinks at the bar. There is a line to add additional tip if you want to, but it is NOT necessary. Check any slips that you have to sign to see if there is already a tip added.
(You should check your slips at restaurants at home, too. The last time we went out as a group with 10 people at our table, each couple on their own check, our slips came with the tip already added in. I was the only one at the table who noticed it, but when I told the others, they immediately crossed out the additional tip they had put down. They had never heard of tip already being on the check.)

bolding is mine...
Yep...We learned that one the hard way!! LOL
DH gave the server an add'l $3 on top of the already charged by DCL! Oh well, live and learn... I considered it the cost of the adorable plastic glass that we got to keep that the drink came in. It now holds my WDW/DCL pens!!

 

[justmestace]

When you have ordered room service what did you tip?

We take a large stack of $1 bills, and hand them directly to the crew member who delivers our food. That way, we know that person gets the money, rather than signing it to our account and not knowing for sure who does get it.
And it depends on how much they bring....if it's just coffee, it's a couple of dollars, more if there's food, and a lot more if there's a lot of food.

 

[WendyKnowlton]

a friend told me she heard that if you don't leave tips at the end of a DCL trip they add it to your room anyway. Is that really true?

 

[jenseib]

a friend told me she heard that if you don't leave tips at the end of a DCL trip they add it to your room anyway. Is that really true?

I don't know about Dsiney, but on some other cruise lines they do it that way...well they are just automatically taken unless you tell them otherwise.

 

[dursin]

a friend told me she heard that if you don't leave tips at the end of a DCL trip they add it to your room anyway. Is that really true?

DCL does not automatically add any gratuities to your stateroom account. Some cruise lines do, but I believe you still have the option of going to guest services and having the amount removed or lowered.

 

[Suz D]

Would you include a baby as a person for tipping purposes?

Definately! Your housekeeper will provide a diaper genie which is emptied twice daily plus other housekeeping things that go along with having a baby in the room.

If your baby is old enough to sit up at the table and eat crackers etc. there will be a mess to clean up. I found that the servers really were helpful with babies (entertaining, making sure that they had enough snacks etc).

Totally unrelated to the tip topic (say that three times really fast), we found Flounder's Reef to be outstanding for babies.

 

[zaz]

So, for my family of 4, 7 nights, I should leave the standard 336 $ US. Amount which I can put on my current credit card right away by calling DCL and then get a voucher for the trip duration.

Then, bar drinks would include the tip in the quoted price.

I need to leave a few dollars for the room service if I order any.

I assume that we also need to tip the excursions guides about 10 $ for the family. How about the person that gets us from the Disney ship to the excursion? How about the person with whom we book the excursion if done once onboard?

I can bring some food items for the counsellors taking care of my daughters, as they need to pull their cash for parties.

Any other tipping positions?

 

[dursin]

So, for my family of 4, 7 nights, I should leave the standard 336 $ US. Amount which I can put on my current credit card right away by calling DCL and then get a voucher for the trip duration.

Then, bar drinks would include the tip in the quoted price.

I need to leave a few dollars for the room service if I order any.

I assume that we also need to tip the excursions guides about 10 $ for the family. How about the person that gets us from the Disney ship to the excursion? How about the person with whom we book the excursion if done once onboard?

I can bring some food items for the counsellors taking care of my daughters, as they need to pull their cash for parties.

Any other tipping positions?

Don't think the bar drinks include the tip in the quoted price, but the tips will be included when comes time to 'pay the bill'.

I would bring some cash for tipping while on excursions and a pile of singles for room service. You also should tip the guys who take your bag at the curb if you'll be driving to the port. I think that about covers it.

 

[chrisd596]

We're have reservations for Palo for dinner on the sea day. Do we also tip at Palo's and also provide a tip for the dining staff at the rotational dinner which we wont be at???

Thanks

Chris

 

[Disneyholic]

We're have reservations for Palo for dinner on the sea day. Do we also tip at Palo's and also provide a tip for the dining staff at the rotational dinner which we wont be at???

Thanks

Chris

We tipped dining room staff as if we had been there as well as adding a tip to the bill at Palo. We actually always left extra for our servers and stateroom attendants because we always felt that they did an exceptional job of taking care of us. ( The dining room staff also takes care of people during other meals besides dinner. They work the dining rooms for breakfast & the buffets & fast food areas on deck 9. You may not have YOUR server, but you will have somebodies servers & they will have yours. ) But, as far as tipping both Palo & dining for the same night, this would be totally up to you.

 

[dursin]

We're have reservations for Palo for dinner on the sea day. Do we also tip at Palo's and also provide a tip for the dining staff at the rotational dinner which we wont be at???

Thanks

Chris

The service charge at Palo includes the gratuity.

 

[Blc78]

So after reading this thread I still wonder while I cruise on the Wonder next Sunday...


After ordering a drink at the bar do you leave a tip or are you billed the tip two different answers in the above thread..

Also if you go to breakfast or lunch at one of the resturants do you leave the tip on the table? Since you wont likely be having your regular server?

Thanks

 

[jenseib]

So after reading this thread I still wonder while I cruise on the Wonder next Sunday...


After ordering a drink at the bar do you leave a tip or are you billed the tip two different answers in the above thread..

Also if you go to breakfast or lunch at one of the resturants do you leave the tip on the table? Since you wont likely be having your regular server?

Thanks

All drinks ordered..that you sign for, have a tip built right in...you may leave extra if you want to, but it's already there.
No, you never leave tips on the table. You tip the staff on the last night...The tips even out because your server from dinner may be serving others at lunch...and you will be served by someone elses server for lunch. You can always give your server extra on the last night if you chose to.

Everything onboard is cash free, so you won't need any cash to eat or get drinks...it's all signed for on your card (when there is a charge) You can and should tip room service though...and that would be cash.

 

[Chicogirl]

DCL does not automatically add any gratuities to your stateroom account. Some cruise lines do, but I believe you still have the option of going to guest services and having the amount removed or lowered.

This is no longer the case. Disney has changed its policy. I even called guest services before my Thanksgiving cruise on the Wonder. The policy was changed about a month ago. They also said if you want to change any of it just go to guest services on board and you can change the amount to more or less.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

This is no longer the case. Disney has changed its policy. I even called guest services before my Thanksgiving cruise on the Wonder. The policy was changed about a month ago. They also said if you want to change any of it just go to guest services on board and you can change the amount to more or less.

I thought that this was only happening on the Magic.

 

[jenseib]

This thread is a year old

 

[Conservative Hippie]

Before we went on our first cruise I was skeptical about including my 10 month old son in the $12 per person per day gratuities. After the first night I knew the staff deserved every penny! At our first dinner, we arrived at our table to find 2 high chairs already set up (also had a 3 year old). I mentioned that we don't use baby food and just feed him soft table food, and our server brought mashed potatoes for him and asked what else he liked to eat. I have a habit of always picking up the floor under the high chairs, and when I started to do this my server said absolutely not!!! Arriving back in the stateroom, the beds were turned down and the pack-n-play was set up. And the diaper genie was emptied twice a day! I have never felt so pampered in my whole life. All of our servers got a little extra on top of the recommended.