Gratuities/tipping

[jenseib]

Is there a way to prepay online?

 

[myolite]

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

 

[jenseib]

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

Yes

 

[atinkerbellmom]

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

Yes no matter the age. If they are on the ship, you need to count them in for the tip. (People, she asked what is expected; so please do not start an argument!) Yes DCL and the staff expect for you to tip for baby too....

 

[over50visits]

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

Sometimes I think babies should generate a bigger tip, since they seem to receive a lot of attention and care from the waiters!

 

[Pinkprincessmom]

Sometimes I think babies should generate a bigger tip, since they seem to receive a lot of attention and care from the waiters!

I agree with this. You will want to leave a tip after your experience!

 

[dursin]

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

If the baby is with you at meal times, yes. As other have said, they will likely fuss over the baby and bring you anything you may need. If you were to leave the baby in Flounder's at meal times...then it becomes a judgement call. Many will say yes even in that case. I personally would say no, however since my youngest is now 8, I don't have to worry about that situation coming up...well, at least not before grandkids.

 

[jenseib]

If the baby is with you at meal times, yes. As other have said, they will likely fuss over the baby and bring you anything you may need. If you were to leave the baby in Flounder's at meal times...then it becomes a judgement call. Many will say yes even in that case. I personally would say no, however since my youngest is now 8, I don't have to worry about that situation coming up...well, at least not before grandkids.

But you are also paying tips for all meals, just not dinner, remember. And also the housekeeping staff, who will be cleaning the room that the baby (and diapers ) are in.

 

[myolite]

Oops, I didn't mean to start any trouble! I was just genuinely curious.

 

[dursin]

But you are also paying tips for all meals, just not dinner, remember. And also the housekeeping staff, who will be cleaning the room that the baby (and diapers ) are in.

My post referred to "meal times" and not just dinner. If anyone in a tipped position (server, stateroom host, etc..) provides services for the baby, then they have earned a gratuity and should most definitely get one.

 

[KingRichard]

But you are also paying tips for all meals, just not dinner, remember. And also the housekeeping staff, who will be cleaning the room that the baby (and diapers ) are in.

So we as a family of 5 should pay 2.5 more in tips then a family of 2 in the same room?

Sorry, but it is not that much more work and cleaning.

My 3 year old will not be doing anything to make a mess.

Disney makes more money by squeezing more into a room for sure.

My 3 year old is not going to eat $150 per day in food!

 

[dursin]

So we as a family of 5 should pay 2.5 more in tips then a family of 2 in the same room?

Sorry, but it is not that much more work and cleaning.

My 3 year old will not be doing anything to make a mess.

Disney makes more money by squeezing more into a room for sure.

My 3 year old is not going to eat $150 per day in food!

Tipping a frequently and passionately debated topic here. My belief is that a gratuity is something you give for services rendered. When no service is provided, no gratuity is earned, nor should one be expected. For example, if I were to leave the ship early in the morning for a shore excursion, have lunch somewhere off the ship and then return and have dinner at Palo, it would be ok to not include that day in the tip calculation for the dining room staff. However, if I were to have breakfast at Parrot Cay and lunch at Topsiders/Beach Blanket and then ordered room service for dinner, I would expect to include that full day in the gratuity calculation as your normal services work elsewhere serving guests during the day.

 

[brucechase]

So we as a family of 5 should pay 2.5 more in tips then a family of 2 in the same room?

Sorry, but it is not that much more work and cleaning.

My 3 year old will not be doing anything to make a mess.

Disney makes more money by squeezing more into a room for sure.

My 3 year old is not going to eat $150 per day in food!

By that logic, then tipping based on the cost of a dinner (which is how it is done at EVERY restaurant I've been to) is wrong because it is no more work to carry a $5.00 burger to the table that a $30 steak. You might be perfectly correct in your logic, but that just isn't how it's done (but maybe it should be???).

 

[jenseib]

So we as a family of 5 should pay 2.5 more in tips then a family of 2 in the same room?

Sorry, but it is not that much more work and cleaning.

My 3 year old will not be doing anything to make a mess.

Disney makes more money by squeezing more into a room for sure.

My 3 year old is not going to eat $150 per day in food!

I'm not sure where you are coming up with that figure. But I think Disney guidelines are $12 a day per person. It's totally up to you. But that $12 is divided up with at least 4 people. It is pretty standard on any cruise. I think Carnival asks for $13 a day. I think it's pretty standard in the range of $11 - $15 on most cruiselines. Some cruiselines will automitically charge your card during your trip, unless you go and tell them otherwise. So this isn;t just a Disney thing.
Another thought is, that Disney has beverage stations, so you don't have to pay for evey soft drink you have. Most other lines charge you for every single drink besides milk and tea/coffee.

 

[jilljill]

So we as a family of 5 should pay 2.5 more in tips then a family of 2 in the same room?

Sorry, but it is not that much more work and cleaning.

My 3 year old will not be doing anything to make a mess.

Disney makes more money by squeezing more into a room for sure.

My 3 year old is not going to eat $150 per day in food!

Total suggested tips by DCL is $12/person per day. The breakdown is server $4, asst. server $3, head server $1, stateroom host $4.

If you have 5 people in your cabin there will be 4 beds being used. A cabin with 2 people will only have 1 or 2 beds used, that's a lot more work for your cabin host twice a day - to make the beds in the morning and turn them down in the evening. This doesn't take into account all the towels being used. So yes a family of 5 should be tipping more than a family of 2 in the same cabin.

Remember these amounts are suggested and anyone is free to tip to whatever they feel is appropriate.

 

[KingRichard]

Somehow i don't think they will be turning down the bunks for us? Or will they be replacing them in the morning.

We will be doing that as they will be completely in our way?

The $150 a day was what it will cost to bring my daughter with us. Not the cost of the tips.


When we go out for a expensive meal, we don't just give 18% on the meal cost.

I know it is a tough job, but 18% on a $12 drink that they carried with 3 others 20 yards is not really that hard and or yes the $30 steak that they carried 20 yards.

When they ask how is it before i have even taken a bite because I'm cutting up my daughters food and they can clearly see I have not touched it always gets a deduction.

The really good people who always ask if they should bring out my daughters first.

They get tipped 25%!

Went for sushi last night and sat in front of chefs. 18% on $95 bill. Waitress carried drinks 10 feet, forgot our sides and didn't even have to get our sushi as the chefs handed it to us.

I really hope they(chefs) got part of that tip. They were great, she was not!

 

[stitchlovestink]

Somehow i don't think they will be turning down the bunks for us? Or will they be replacing them in the morning.

We will be doing that as they will be completely in our way?
The $150 a day was what it will cost to bring my daughter with us. Not the cost of the tips.


When we go out for a expensive meal, we don't just give 18% on the meal cost.

I know it is a tough job, but 18% on a $12 drink that they carried with 3 others 20 yards is not really that hard and or yes the $30 steak that they carried 20 yards.

When they ask how is it before i have even taken a bite because I'm cutting up my daughters food and they can clearly see I have not touched it always gets a deduction.

The really good people who always ask if they should bring out my daughters first.

They get tipped 25%!

Went for sushi last night and sat in front of chefs. 18% on $95 bill. Waitress carried drinks 10 feet, forgot our sides and didn't even have to get our sushi as the chefs handed it to us.

I really hope they(chefs) got part of that tip. They were great, she was not!

bolding is mine...

As for the bunk that comes down out of the ceiling, the room steward will set that up and close it up as appropriate. if I recall correctly, 'we' cannot acess that bunk as it required a 'special key or tool' to release it from the ceiling. They will also bring out/store the bunk's ladder as appropriate. I guess you could close up the couch that turns into a bed, but we didn't. It wasn't really in our way, so we let them do it when they came in to take care of making the other beds. BTW, they will be in and out of your room SEVERAL times a day. We had one room steward who was FABULOUS and one who was a bit above okay. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[tinkmom2]

The first time I cruised and saw the tips required I was shocked but didn't know what each person did to earn the tips. Our server Ganesh who we have had on both of our cruises took the time to know each of us. My kids still talk of him. We still keep in contact with him. He knew our likes, dislikes, by the second service on our first 4 day. He helped me when I didn't know how to do something and didn't make me feel embarassed. (hopefully we will have him on our third cruise) He was awesome!
I have a food allergy and the head server was at my table checking and double checking if I could eat certain foods saving me from a outbreak. His small tip was well deserved.
Our last stateroom attendant Made' was awesome! We were pretty messy lol
Our beds were made, our state room cleaned, towels animals made, the beds turned down every night with little chocolates, bed rails installed.. well worth the small tip.
Sure each has their own opinion but I know my 3 year old at the time sure made a mess at the table. Sure she only ate mac and cheese and cheeseburgers but I think my server worked just as hard for her as he did for us.
As previous posters said each cruise line requires tips. You can adjust and tip accordingly but to just not tip is like ripping the staff off in my opinion. It doesn't matter how many inches your drink or food is carried. You are still being rendered a service. Many of these people do not earn decent wages and their tips make up a huge percent of their salary.
So I prepay my shipboard account and that way I don't have to worry about tips as a added cost. It's taken care of for me.

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

I know my 3 year old at the time sure made a mess at the table. Sure she only ate mac and cheese and cheeseburgers but I think my server worked just as hard for her as he did for us.

That was the 1st thing I thought of, too! I know that 9 times out of 10, when we're at a restaurant (whether at home or on the ship) the 'under 5 crowd' can leave one horrific mess on the floor, table, you name it!

I've often watched the wait staff after a family has left and have cringed on their (the servers) behalf.

 

[myolite]

The first time I cruised and saw the tips required I was shocked but didn't know what each person did to earn the tips. Our server Ganesh who we have had on both of our cruises took the time to know each of us. My kids still talk of him. We still keep in contact with him. He knew our likes, dislikes, by the second service on our first 4 day. He helped me when I didn't know how to do something and didn't make me feel embarassed. (hopefully we will have him on our third cruise) He was awesome!
I have a food allergy and the head server was at my table checking and double checking if I could eat certain foods saving me from a outbreak. His small tip was well deserved.
Our last stateroom attendant Made' was awesome! We were pretty messy lol
Our beds were made, our state room cleaned, towels animals made, the beds turned down every night with little chocolates, bed rails installed.. well worth the small tip.
Sure each has their own opinion but I know my 3 year old at the time sure made a mess at the table. Sure she only ate mac and cheese and cheeseburgers but I think my server worked just as hard for her as he did for us.
As previous posters said each cruise line requires tips. You can adjust and tip accordingly but to just not tip is like ripping the staff off in my opinion. It doesn't matter how many inches your drink or food is carried. You are still being rendered a service. Many of these people do not earn decent wages and their tips make up a huge percent of their salary.
So I prepay my shipboard account and that way I don't have to worry about tips as a added cost. It's taken care of for me.

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. They choose the profession. (I speak as a former server and bartender, as well) If you feel strongly that cruiseline employees should be making more--I believe advocating for increased wages is the way to go. Given the money DCL makes off of cruisers, they could allocate the suggested tip off of the monies already paid and pay the workers if they didn't want to give them a raise. IMO.