Have you ever NOT tipped your staff and why?

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by rae519
Disney shows tips for Head Server. Obviously, that means they expect us to tip him, our Server, our Assistant Server and our Room Steward!!Rae

Yeah, that's kinda what I thought. But Dean's response confused me. We always tip the HS at least minimum no matter what.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by CRSNDSNY
So, are you saying that if the Head Server doesn't specifically do anything special for you other than dropping by to say hello, that proper etiquette says we should not feel obligated to tip them?

On most cruise lines this is the case. I have RCCL and Carnival brochures before me and this is the case there. The say "at your discretion". Does the fact that DCL lists a suggested tip make any difference in this situation, I don't think so.

 

[rae519]

Okay, Dean, now I understand - you are merely giving your opinion based on your experiences with other cruise lines and personal choice regarding tipping.


My two cents remain that I tip everyone I possibly can (including the breakfast and lunch staff) because it makes me feel good to share what I have. I don't have money to burn, but I have been blessed and believe in sharing my good fortune with others.

All in a person's opinion which we all have and are valid only in our eyes....


As for tipping, do what your conscience tells you - and forget other people's opinion on it...

Rae

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by rae519
Okay, Dean, now I understand - you are merely giving your opinion based on your experiences with other cruise lines and personal choice regarding tipping.

My two cents remain that I tip everyone I possibly can (including the breakfast and lunch staff) because it makes me feel good to share what I have.

It is customery to tip the Head Server at the end of the week because the Head Server is a tipped service position. (There are undoubtedly people who don't tip the Head Server, which is unfair to the Head Server and to those of us who tip the head Server.)

It is not customary to tip at breakfast and lunch on the Disney ships (or at daily dinners for that matter) because the services of those servers are covered by the tips to the service staff at the end of the week.

Obviously, any passenger can give tips whenever and to whomever they wish, but folks who are reading this board and planning their first DCL cruise should not think that they're expected to tip at breakfast and lunch.

This is not a crticism of Rae for being generous. I'm sure the service staff members appreciate her generosity. This is merely a comment on the customary tipping.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by rae519
All in a person's opinion which we all have and are valid only in our eyes....Rae

Very well put, Rae! I wish more people would think like this. Maybe we'd see less arguing on this board, but that's OT, so......

Just to add one piece of insight to our tipping habits (as if anyone cares, but I'll babble anyway!!!). We tend to go back to the same bartenders during our cruises and add on extra tip (aside from the amount that is automatically tacked on) for a couple of reasons -- They really get to know us on a personal level and seem to be some of the friendliest DCL employees we encounter. Standing out was Will at Promenade Lounge on the Magic December 2001 and this past January on the Magic at Quiet Cove pool was Ryan and Willy. In fact, we came to know their shifts in each instance and frequented these bars during their shifts. We tipped them a little extra here and there. They work hard, were friendly to us and deserved it!

My only tipping heart attack came on our December 2001 trip when we visited Sessions for some celebratory champagne. We bought a bottle of Dom Perignon and the auto tip was OUTRAGEOUS. I'm not complaining at all, but it was very shocking and funny all at the same time. We really enjoyed that bottle!!! And, hey -- you only live once. We were on our honeymoon!

 

[married@wdw]

I haven't read all the replies to this thread yet, but I just had to say this. We cruised with Disney -- our first ever cruise -- in January of 1999. I knew long before we left that tipping was expected, with the guidelines. It was clear as could be in the paperwork. I don't know why anyone would say DCL "hides" this information.

That said, we had less than no service from our head waiter. He was supposed to serve us a congratulations cake for our honeymoon and when our assistant server realized it hadn't arrived, she went to get it for us to take back to our room and apologized. Now that same assistant server was fantastic, not just with serving the meal, but with helping us figure out things about Nassau, Castaway Cay and the ship. We were very fortunate to have her. So I didn't tip the head waiter -- he never stopped at our table, served cakes to others and otherwise, just stood at the door watching things in the room. We put his tip towards my assistant server's tip. She's the one who did all his work for our table after all!

 

[married@wdw]

I've read a little more and must say that I do tip extra where I get good service. We had a fantastic bartender at Palo who happened to turn up at the adult beach on Castaway Cay the next day, too -- asked if I wanted my "usual" and remembered what I'd been drinking the night before. Just really friendly. I certainly gave him an extra tip! And room service folks always get extra from us -- especially if we order a full meal! And when we're eating in restaurants I always feel the need to tip -- somebody else might stiff the server and my generosity makes up for that.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by rae519
Okay, Dean, now I understand - you are merely giving your opinion based on your experiences with other cruise lines and personal choice regarding tipping.


My two cents remain that I tip everyone I possibly can (including the breakfast and lunch staff) because it makes me feel good to share what I have. I don't have money to burn, but I have been blessed and believe in sharing my good fortune with others.

All in a person's opinion which we all have and are valid only in our eyes....


As for tipping, do what your conscience tells you - and forget other people's opinion on it...

Rae

Actually I usually tip them more than the DCL recommended as they have always be great for us. DCL is the only cruise line I've come across that suggests a tip amount for them though I'd guess there may be others. I do have a problem with tipping them just fore being there even if things do run smoothly. I wonder if DCL pays them less than other cruise lines.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Dean
DCL is the only cruise line I've come across that suggests a tip amount for them though I'd guess there may be others.

Your comment made me curious about what other mid-market cruise lines recommend. Carnival and Celebrity suggest tippiing the Head Servers (although they use different terms). Royal Caribbean makes a suggestion for shorter cruises, but not for longer cruises. Holland America says "tipping not required," which I assume means thay pay their service staff more. Princess and NCL charge an automatic $10 per day per passenger (which the passenger may adjust), with the money spread across the service staff (which may or mat not include the head Server).

Carnival Cruise Lines

<blockquote>Dining Room Waiter: $3.50 per person/per day
Dining Room Busboy: $2.00 per person/per day
Dining Room Maitre d': $0.35 per person/per day
Dining Room Head Waiter: $0.15 per person/per day
Room Steward: $3.50 per person/per day </blockquote>

Celebrity Cruises

<blockquote>dining room service
Per Person Per Day
Waiter $3.50
Asst. Waiter $2.00
Restaurant Manager $.75

stateroom service
Per Person Per Day
Butler (suites only) $3.50
Stateroom Attendant $3.50
Chief Housekeeper $.50 </blockquote>

Royal Caribbean (not from official site)

<blockquote>Dining Room Waiter: $3.50 a day per guest.
Housekeeper: $3.50 a day per guest.
Assistant Waiter: $2.00 a day per guest.
On 3 and 4 night cruises headwaiters are generally tipped $2.50 per guest for the cruise.
On 7 night or longer cruises, headwaiter gratuities are at your discretion.
Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. </blockquote>

Holland America

<blockquote>"Tipping Not Required" Policy

Exceptional service is part of the Holland America cruise experience. Because you are our guest, it is our goal to make sure you receive the finest service possible. Our "tipping not required" policy ensures that the professional and gracious service you receive on board is truly sincere; that we are dedicated to providing the most relaxed cruise vacation, not simply providing service in return for tips. You are free, however, to extend monetary recognition if you wish-it's entirely up to you. (Company policy prohibits us from suggesting how much.)

Please remember that this "tipping not required" policy does not extend beyond the ship. In terminals, airports, ports of call and on special shore excursions, you should tip consistent with customary local practices. </blockquote>

Princess Cruises

<blockquote>TIPPING
Effective January 2002, all ships will implement an automatic gratuity program; formerly this option was applicable only to those ships with Personal Choice Dining. A charge of $10 per person per day for Dining and Stateroom Personnel will be automatically added to the passenger's shipboard account. We are confident that passengers will find the services onboard exemplary and should a passenger wish to reward a staff member for service "above and beyond", they may do so by adding to the automatic gratuity. Similarly, if a passenger feels that the service levels fall short of his/her expectation, then they may subtract from the automatic gratuity amount simply by visiting the Purser's Desk onboard and requesting the change. It is important to remember that passengers will be able to increase, decrease or remove the automatic gratuities at their discretion. Gratuities for other shipboard staff such as Casino dealers and Spa Personnel is at the passenger's discretion. Please note that a 15% gratuity is automatically added to all bar tabs. </blockquote>

Norwegian Cruise Line

<blockquote>-- Service charge is automatically applied to your shipboard account.
-- $10 per guest per day, for guests age 13 and above
-- $5 per day for children age 3-12 (no charge for children under the age of three).
-- All service personnel on board receive gratuities from this service charge
-- If you wish to tip more or less than the suggested guidelines, contact the Front Desk to make any adjustments you think appropriate. </blockquote>

 

[trishy]

Very interesting, Horace. Thanks for posting that. Personally, I like NCL's tipping policy.

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by CRSNDSNY
. We bought a bottle of Dom Perignon and the auto tip was OUTRAGEOUS.

Autogratuities...now that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

How come when I went to a drink cart on CC and got a can of Coke and a bottle of water I was charged 15% extra? I mean...the guy reached into his cooler and pulled out two cans/bottles of something and for that I had to pay him 15%??? Wow! Now, THAT'S service!

 

[cjsmith]

On our January 4 night cruise we had Ali as our head server and he was fantastic. One night he tole my husband about a fish that was being served in one of the other restaurants and when my husband said how great it sounded, Ali ran and got him a serving! He was at our table every night and took such amazing care of us. What a surprise to have him again on our June 7, 2003 7 night cruise. He had been called over the Magic for a few cruises to help take care of some problems. He immediately recognized us all and once again went overboard taking care of us. Needless to say, both times he was tipped more than required.
We also tip the bartenders that we get to know well and take such care of us. Not only will we give them alittle extra each time, but we'll give them a really nice tip at the end of the cruise. I guess that's why they remembered us from our first cruise in July 2002 when we returned to the Wonder in January 2003!

 

[dclwdwlover]

Originally posted by cjsmith
On our January 4 night cruise we had Ali as our head server and he was fantastic. One night he tole my husband about a fish that was being served in one of the other restaurants and when my husband said how great it sounded, Ali ran and got him a serving! He was at our table every night and took such amazing care of us. What a surprise to have him again on our June 7, 2003 7 night cruise. He had been called over the Magic for a few cruises to help take care of some problems. He immediately recognized us all and once again went overboard taking care of us. Needless to say, both times he was tipped more than required.

THIS is exceptional service & deserves - in my eyes - an exceptional tip.
As I've said before, we don't tip the HS if he's never approached us until the last night or ever. We always tip way over & above the recommended for special service that makes the cruise be that much more special & magical. If the server & asst. server give mediocre service (which, frankly, we've NEVER had on DCL!) they would get the standard, recommended tip just for waiting on us. But when someone just holds a position & you never see or speak with him/her --- why tip? Their salary - as menial as it might be - covers 'just ordinary', expected work.

Additionally, my husband ALWAYS insists on personally (face to face) tipping those servers that have waited on us at breakfast and/or lunch and also provided wonderful service. He likes to hand them their envelopes not so much so that they know it's from us -- but to ensure that they can connect the terrific service that they gave to a passenger to their tip. Then they'll keep on giving exceptional service is our philosphy and know it's very much appreciated!!!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by ohiominnie
Autogratuities...now that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

How come when I went to a drink cart on CC and got a can of Coke and a bottle of water I was charged 15% extra? I mean...the guy reached into his cooler and pulled out two cans/bottles of something and for that I had to pay him 15%??? Wow! Now, THAT'S service!

SERIOUSLY! Some autogratuities seem reasonable, some seem rediculous! LOL

 

[Tesabat]

First- I'm glad to know from all that replied that on DCL you can PERSONALIZE your tip. Not that I'm going to be so extravagant that I wanted them to know that it was ME that gave them that tip - but the whole idea of being treated badly by servers who couldn't tell who stiffed them and who didn't...was not making me happy about sharing tables with strangers.

And - regarding the autotips - I am SO glad I read this...

Yes, I knew that there was a 15% gratuity...but I never put it into practical application in my mind. So...expensive bottle of special bubbly for the evening....make sure you add on...And...

Originally posted by ohiominnie
[B} How come when I went to a drink cart on CC and got a can of Coke and a bottle of water I was charged 15% extra? [/B]

Hadn't even thought about that...guess I've been to WDW just a few too many times. Not a huge deal money wise...but still. I guess I'm surprised.

I love that so many veterans post on these boards. It really does help us newbies out a lot!

 

[jlawall]

Each time we sail, more and more of the wait staff are looking familiar around the ship. We tip alittle more to those who make a point of being friendly, remember us from former interactions and anyone who makes us feel special. It's these people who keep us coming back!

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
Your comment made me curious about what other mid-market cruise lines recommend. Carnival and Celebrity suggest tippiing the Head Servers (although they use different terms). Royal Caribbean makes a suggestion for shorter cruises, but not for longer cruises. Holland America says "tipping not required," which I assume means thay pay their service staff more. Princess and NCL charge an automatic $10 per day per passenger (which the passenger may adjust), with the money spread across the service staff (which may or mat not include the head Server).

I'm not sure where you got the info but I have the brochures in front of me for RCCL, HAL, Princess, NCL and Carnival. On page 114 of the RCCL 2004-2005 it says:

Gratuities for headwaiters and other service personel are at your discretion.

In the 2003-2004 Carnival brochure it says:

Tipping your Maitre d' is at yor discretion, based upon the service you received.

Princess Alaska from 1999 says:

You may also wish to reward your Head Waiter and/or Maitre 'd as well if they have performed some special service.

NCL from 1997:

Maitre d' and busboy $1.50 each person per night.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Dean
I'm not sure where you got the info but I have the brochures in front of me for RCCL, HAL, Princess, NCL and Carnival.

My info was copied and pasted from the cruise lines' official websites (except for Royal Caribbean, which was pasted from a travel provider's site).

Dean, your Princess and NCL brochures are from the previous century! (Seriously, in recent years, Princess and NCL switched to automatic $10 per passsenger per day gratuities billed to passengers' onboard accounts.)

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by Tesabat

I love that so many veterans post on these boards. It really does help us newbies out a lot!

Best part of having cruise veterans, especially multiple DCL veterans, is that you will get a wide variety of responses to your questions -

Best part of having "cruise newbies" is that we get a fresh perspectives and make new friends through their input.

Both are equally valuable!!

Rae

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
My info was copied and pasted from the cruise lines' official websites (except for Royal Caribbean, which was pasted from a travel provider's site).

Dean, your Princess and NCL brochures are from the previous century! (Seriously, in recent years, Princess and NCL switched to automatic $10 per passsenger per day gratuities billed to passengers' onboard accounts.)

Yes they were 4 and 6 years old, hardly ancient history. Any cruise line that bills to an accoun allows you to adjust (up or down) if you wish. Since Carnival and RCCL are two of the largest, if not the two largest, those were the ones I was going with as they have been the ones we've been looking at for 2005. I find it amusing that people take what Disney does as the standard then works from there. They certianly aren't the industry leader in either cruise lines or timeshares. They do have a quality product but they are an outlier.