How does tipping work

[CobraKai]

Yes, the wait staff definitely works even for the infants of that age! They do a great job on the "entertainment" front, as well as with helping out with table food that will work - pureed veggies, etc. Plus - if your 11-month old is anything like mine were, there's likely a fair mess left behind after dinner, which the wait staff cleans up. I had no hesitation about tipping for my infant, too.

ALso - you didn't ask, but the stateroom host also definitely earns his/her tip in this situation, too. Ours took care of the diaper genie, changed out crib sheets, etc.

Thank you! Your information was very helpful. I figured there was something I was missing as this will be our first cruise ever next month. Glad to hear of the entertainment and pureed food availability. And that sounds great regarding the stateroom host as well, I guess I didn't know what to expect as their service likely surpasses that of a hotel maid. It's probably one of those things that you can't fully appreciate until you experience it first hand and realize just how accommodating they are, and the extra effort the put in to make your vacation special!

 

[RLccweems]

Your Server (takes your food order and brings you your food), Assistant Server (takes your beverage order, brings the bread to the table and assists the server in delivering your food, head server (the person that makes sure that your server and assistant servers are doing their jobs. Also comes around on the last night and introduces them self and says "remember to tip me please” ) and Room Steward (Cleans up your room several times per day, brings you ice for your cooler, usually makes towel animals, turns down your bed and makes up the couch into a bed and sets up the pull down bed every evening. We've found these folks to be some of the nicest/friendliest people working for you.

Now for the how much (the following amounts are PER GUEST (including children) for THE ENTIRE cruise). This is from DCL's web site.
What about gratuities? (September 2004)
We'll make it easy. It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. As a guideline, may we suggest the following:


Per Guest per cruise______3-Night____4-Night____7-Night
......Dining Room Server___11.00______14.75______25.75
Dining Room Asst. Server____8.00______10.75______18.75
.Dining Room Head Server____2.75_______3.75_______6.50
..Stateroom Host/Hostess___10.75______14.50______25.25
Dining Manager Your Discretion
Room Service Your Discretion

For your convenience, a 15% gratuity is automatically added to bar, beverage, wine, and deck service tabs. All gratuities can be charged to your room charge.
At the Walt Disney World® Resort, 15% is the customary gratuity at restaurants and bars.

The truthful answer (legal) is no. The real answer (ethical) is absolutely. Many of us here use this guide as the minimum tip. Many tip a little over these recommended amounts and many more tip a lot over these amounts. If you receive very poor service from any of these positions you should tip less than the recommended amount AND make an appropriate comment on the comment cards that DCL requests us to fill out at the end of our cruise. If you received a "way above and beyond the call of duty" service from ANY cast member - be sure to comment about them too!

Well, that’s how these folks get paid. DCL only pays these people about $50 per MONTH (yes month, not day, not week). Granted they also get room and board. But they usually work 16-17 hours per day 7 days a week

Per Guest per cruise______4 people on the 7-Night[/b]
Dining Room Server___4 x ______25.75
Dining Room Asst. Server____4 x ______18.75
Dining Room Head Server____4 x _______6.50
Stateroom Host/Hostess 4 x ______25.25[/FONT]
Dining Manager Your Discretion
Room Service Your Discretion

Is this right to get my total? Plus extra that I may what to add?

thanks for the help....

 

[pindecisive]

I've paroosed this thread to get myself situated with tips for when I go on my cruise.

My question is this: can you, and is it easier for you to tip as you go along during the cruise with gift cards and phone cards to people who aren't the 3-4 servers and host (who you pay at the end)?

 

[nzdisneymom]

Per Guest per cruise______4 people on the 7-Night
Dining Room Server___4 x ______25.75
Dining Room Asst. Server____4 x ______18.75
Dining Room Head Server____4 x _______6.50
Stateroom Host/Hostess 4 x ______25.25
Dining Manager Your Discretion
Room Service Your Discretion

Is this right to get my total? Plus extra that I may what to add?

Yes. The recommended tipping amounts are per guest, so if you have four people in your party, then you multiply by 4 using the amounts for the 7-night cruise.

When we were planning our first cruise, I misread and thought it was PER DAY rather than PER CRUISE.

 

[IMDORY]

This is a great thread for me. I've never been on a cruise before and I knew that it would be different than a regular WDW resort vacation tips wise. That is why we decided to book one category down from what we thought we could swing-once you add all of the tipping and incidentals normally not needed for a WDW trip(excursions, transfers etc.) -we're back up to what we feel we can afford to spend comfortably. I know we won't have the cost of park tickets-but I already counted that in when looking at what we could afford.

The more I think about it-the main "suggested" tipped positions-servers etc. equals about what we would pay on a WDW resort trip in tips for breakfasts and dinners-so no big deal there-just a bit different how it is done on land. From what I hear, it sounds like the service we will get will far surpass the service we are used to on land too.

The cabin steward is more-but clearly they do much more for you than your standard housekeeping person at WDW and I'm sure it is worth every penny.

My question is-how will I EVER be able to go back to "normal" life after the cruise??? I could really get used to being waited on in such detail! Room cleaned twice a day...bed turned down... chocolates.... I want to be on my cruise now! I'm certain that I will rebook another cruise while on board.

 

[RLccweems]

Yes. The recommended tipping amounts are per guest, so if you have four people in your party, then you multiply by 4 using the amounts for the 7-night cruise.

When we were planning our first cruise, I misread and thought it was PER DAY rather than PER CRUISE.

Thanks...this makes sense...I had thought the same thing as you at first.

 

[nzdisneymom]

The cabin steward is more-but clearly they do much more for you than your standard housekeeping person at WDW and I'm sure it is worth every penny.

Absolutely! The cabin steward cleans your room and bathroom, makes and turns down your bed, brings ice if you want it, and generally takes care of anything you need like sending out laundry, etc. And most of the time this is done without you even seeing him/her! We have found our cabin stewards to be so unintrusive! For the longer cruises, they learn very quickly which guests are early risers and which ones are not. I think they also have your dining time (main or late) to know when to come in to turn your beds down and provide fresh towels.

 

[irishelysia]

First off, thanks so much for all the info in this thread. It was really very helpful. I am in the preliminary planning "can i afford this" phases of looking into a 4day land/3 day sea and this was great.


And secondly, I work in a restaurant and of course am all for tipping people, especially when they do a great job. That being said, I have never in my life tipped someone at a hotel. Not because I'm just mean, but because i NEVER thought about it until reading these boards. I dont know if anyone else thought this way, but now that I think of it, I feel horrible I never have! Especially at DisneyWorld, where "Mousekeeping" was so friendly. I guess since my family never left tips at hotels, i never thought to do it either. (Plus, I am one that i would PREFER housekeeping didn't touch my room. I just don't like the idea of people touching my stuff...thats of course not their fault though)
Then I got to thinking....

When we went to WDW we wondered why we saw towel animals in everyone else's window...lol perhaps since we never tipped, we never got towel animals or extras!??


Further, I'm glad I read this thread because I had no idea that employees only got $50 a month base pay. I would have no problem tipping these people the amounts that have been listed, but because I would be on a *really* tight budget on a cruise, the concept of tipping is a large extra cost I hadn't considered (I knew there waas tipping, i just didnt realize how much. It's making me think perhaps I should wait to do a disney cruise until i would have the extra $300-$400 to tip adequately. I really would not feel right about not tipping properly and would be on such a tight budget i wouldn't have had enough money for tips had I gone on the cruise without reading this. Had I read it after, I would have felt horrible!


AAAnnndd Lastly a question....i read somewhere that the cruise line will sorta bother you to tip...(NO i would never do this, but) what if you didnt tip at ALL...would they just add a tip automatically, or just curse at you on the way out but not be able to do anything about it?

Thanks so much again for this thread!

 

[Kurby]

AAAnnndd Lastly a question....i read somewhere that the cruise line will sorta bother you to tip...(NO i would never do this, but) what if you didn't tip at ALL...would they just add a tip automatically, or just curse at you on the way out but not be able to do anything about it?

Thanks so much again for this thread!

i would think they would get a lot of complaints if they started adding "tip" onto someone's bill once they left the ship.

considering "tipping" is optional they have no right to add that to your visa. restaurants inform you if they are adding a tip because of the number of people you have in your party and if cruises are going to start doing the same thing just hike up the cost at the beginning and inform everyone that tipping is included and be done with it. then no one will b1tch and complain they are being forced to tip.

a lot of places now say tip and tax included and people just accept it when planning trips or outings.

as for tipping in general - it's optional. no one should be made to feel guilty because they didn't tip nor should they be patted on the back for leaving a larger tip. it's up to you what if any you tip.

i read all too often in posts that someone left 20 or 25% - and i just wonder why someone needs to tell everyone that - do you (the royal you) want someone to say - oh wow you did??? that's wonderful. good on ya -

personally - i don't care what others tip - i tip according to service and what i tip doesn't have anything to do with the service someone else had with the same person it's the service i get or my family gets that matters.

so rather then giving a blanket 15% or 20% figure out what you feel is right and live with it. if you want to give someone $10 per day for cleaning your cabin or $50 per day - it's your choice and don't feel guilty because you read the "recommended amount" or that someone else gave more. that was their choice.

 

[irishelysia]

i would think they would get a lot of complaints if they started adding "tip" onto someone's bill once they left the ship.

^thats what I figured! Maybe whomevers posts i was reading that said they felt hassled/forced/bothered to tip were being a little overdramatic ? who knows.

 

[ktnryansmom]

Do the tips only apply x the number of days/nights you eat in the dining room?

What do you do if you don't eat there for a day or two (i.e. on excursions, eating at Palo, room service)?

 

[Doingitagain]

Do the tips only apply x the number of days/nights you eat in the dining room?

What do you do if you don't eat there for a day or two (i.e. on excursions, eating at Palo, room service)?

That is built into the tip. The dining room staff provides service to guests all over the ship for lunch, snacks, etc., not just the dining room. So my understanding is that you tip for each day even if you aren't in the dining room.

 

[ironpig70]

i think this forced tipping is absurd. so disney doesn't pay well and we are forced to make up the difference. what if i feel the service was not good am i forced to pay???? i'd rather pay more for my trip so the workers get a higher salary than being made to tip so disney can pay substandard wages.


so is tipping mandatory????

 

[dursin]

Further, I'm glad I read this thread because I had no idea that employees only got $50 a month base pay. I would have no problem tipping these people the amounts that have been listed, but because I would be on a *really* tight budget on a cruise, the concept of tipping is a large extra cost I hadn't considered (I knew there waas tipping, i just didnt realize how much. It's making me think perhaps I should wait to do a disney cruise until i would have the extra $300-$400 to tip adequately. I really would not feel right about not tipping properly and would be on such a tight budget i wouldn't have had enough money for tips had I gone on the cruise without reading this. Had I read it after, I would have felt horrible!

I think the $50 per month thing is not confirmed and I have a feeling they do get a bit more than this. And yes, you probably should wait until you have enough to at least come close to what the suggested gratuity amounts are.

AAAnnndd Lastly a question....i read somewhere that the cruise line will sorta bother you to tip...(NO i would never do this, but) what if you didnt tip at ALL...would they just add a tip automatically, or just curse at you on the way out but not be able to do anything about it?

Thanks so much again for this thread!

They typically don't bother you at all. On the last (or is it second to last) evening, your stateroom host will leave 4 tip envelopes in your stateroom, along with a guide as to what the recommended gratuity amounts are. That's usually the only thing you'll hear/see regarding tipping.

 

[dursin]

i think this forced tipping is absurd. so disney doesn't pay well and we are forced to make up the difference. what if i feel the service was not good am i forced to pay???? i'd rather pay more for my trip so the workers get a higher salary than being made to tip so disney can pay substandard wages.


so is tipping mandatory????

No, nobody is forced to leave a tip.

 

[Kurby]

I think the $50 per month thing is not confirmed and I have a feeling they do get a bit more than this. And yes, you probably should wait until you have enough to at least come close to what the suggested gratuity amounts are.

sorry but i'm going to be one of the few who disagree (or maybe just one of the few who will actually post it)

there are more people then anyone knows who have saved for years to take their kids on that "once in a life time" cruise and why should they have to wait even longer because of this tipping crap?

it's not like the cost of the cruise stays the same so they could just wait a year far from it - the cost keeps going up and they may never be able to go if they had to "wait until they came close to what the suggested gratuity amounts are"

maybe those amounts are the spending money this family has to buy their children a few photographs, souvenirs and memories.

sorry but if you have the money to go on the cruise and give your children the memories of a life time then go. and if you can only leave a little bit of a tip so be it. not everyone can afford to go 2 or 3 times a year or even once every 5 years. a lot of people have to save for years to afford it and why should they be told to wait because they didn't save 2 or 3 more years for a stupid tip?

 

[dursin]

sorry but i'm going to be one of the few who disagree (or maybe just one of the few who will actually post it)

there are more people then anyone knows who have saved for years to take their kids on that "once in a life time" cruise and why should they have to wait even longer because of this tipping crap?

it's not like the cost of the cruise stays the same so they could just wait a year far from it - the cost keeps going up and they may never be able to go if they had to "wait until they came close to what the suggested gratuity amounts are"

maybe those amounts are the spending money this family has to buy their children a few photographs, souvenirs and memories.

sorry but if you have the money to go on the cruise and give your children the memories of a life time then go. and if you can only leave a little bit of a tip so be it. not everyone can afford to go 2 or 3 times a year or even once every 5 years. a lot of people have to save for years to afford it and why should they be told to wait because they didn't save 2 or 3 more years for a stupid tip?

That's why I said you "should probably wait"...given circumstances like this, I would have to agree. Go on the cruise and tip whatever you can afford, no matter how little it may be. Your children and their memories should be priority number one.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

so is tipping mandatory????

Legally, tipping is not mandatory. Nobody will be arrested or sued if they don't tip their stateroom host/hostess, dining room server, assistant server, and head server.

Morally and ethically, it could be called "mandatory," unless a crew member provides awful service. The crew members in the tipped positions work extremely hard, seven days each week, long hours each day.

It's a dirty little secret that all the mainstream cruise lines operating out of U.S. ports sell "all-inclusive cruises" that essentially don't include the services of stateroom host/hostess, dining room server, assistant server, and head server. Those crew members make almost all of their income from so-called tips.

Sure, repeat cruise passengers know how the system works. (And it works very well because the crew members have a strong incentive to provide excellent service.) First-time cruise passengers who read all the FAQs on cruise lines' websites or the fine print in the back of the cruise brochures will read that tips are "recommended." But many first-time cruisers are likely to be surprised when they receive their final documents, or even when they receive their tip envelopes onboard.

The cruise lines (including Disney) are doing their crew members and their first-time passengers a disservice by not making it more clear, up-front (before a someone even makes a deposit for a cruise), that passengers pay for the services of some crew members directly.

 

[tinkerone]

i would think they would get a lot of complaints if they started adding "tip" onto someone's bill once they left the ship.

considering "tipping" is optional they have no right to add that to your visa. restaurants inform you if they are adding a tip because of the number of people you have in your party and if cruises are going to start doing the same thing just hike up the cost at the beginning and inform everyone that tipping is included and be done with it. then no one will b1tch and complain they are being forced to tip.

a lot of places now say tip and tax included and people just accept it when planning trips or outings.

as for tipping in general - it's optional. no one should be made to feel guilty because they didn't tip nor should they be patted on the back for leaving a larger tip. it's up to you what if any you tip.

i read all too often in posts that someone left 20 or 25% - and i just wonder why someone needs to tell everyone that - do you (the royal you) want someone to say - oh wow you did??? that's wonderful. good on ya -

personally - i don't care what others tip - i tip according to service and what i tip doesn't have anything to do with the service someone else had with the same person it's the service i get or my family gets that matters.

so rather then giving a blanket 15% or 20% figure out what you feel is right and live with it. if you want to give someone $10 per day for cleaning your cabin or $50 per day - it's your choice and don't feel guilty because you read the "recommended amount" or that someone else gave more. that was their choice.

sorry but i'm going to be one of the few who disagree (or maybe just one of the few who will actually post it)

there are more people then anyone knows who have saved for years to take their kids on that "once in a life time" cruise and why should they have to wait even longer because of this tipping crap?

it's not like the cost of the cruise stays the same so they could just wait a year far from it - the cost keeps going up and they may never be able to go if they had to "wait until they came close to what the suggested gratuity amounts are"

maybe those amounts are the spending money this family has to buy their children a few photographs, souvenirs and memories.

sorry but if you have the money to go on the cruise and give your children the memories of a life time then go. and if you can only leave a little bit of a tip so be it. not everyone can afford to go 2 or 3 times a year or even once every 5 years. a lot of people have to save for years to afford it and why should they be told to wait because they didn't save 2 or 3 more years for a stupid tip?

are you my long lost sibling? my twin? i have been saying these things since i read my first post on tipping. i have a friend, single mom who managed to get enough together to take her two daughters on this cruise but only had enough to leave tips for two, not three. mentioning it got me a black mark but i say, good for her. she will not be able to do that again for a loooonnnggg time.
and yeah, i hate when people talk about the extra they leave. i find it is bad manners to talk about that. just how i was brought up.
anyway, thanks for posting. it is clear i am not alone while i thought i was. or maybe no one else is brave enough to say it, its not a popular stance.

 

[Chelley00]

there are more people then anyone knows who have saved for years to take their kids on that "once in a life time" cruise and why should they have to wait even longer because of this tipping crap?

a lot of people have to save for years to afford it and why should they be told to wait because they didn't save 2 or 3 more years for a stupid tip?

We are pretty much once in a lifetime vacationers. We went to WDW in 06, and are cruising in Nov. We had never been on a family vacation until our trip to the world in 06. We saved for 3 years. We've saved for 2 for the cruise. This will be the ONLY time we ever cruise, I'm sure, especially with 4 kids. However, when we set our budget to figure how much we needed to save to go, tipping was included. We knew what we were getting in to from researching the DCL website, reading the books and reading the boards. For us, it's just part of the cost to cruise, much like travel to the port. It meant we had to cut back to a 4 day instead of 7 day, or not go to the WDW parks beforehand, but I'm not going to let people wait on my family for days and not tip them.

Even if they made a good salary, they are in tipped positions on a cruise liner, and that's just what you are expected to do when you are cruising.....any cruise line and not just DCL from what I've read.