how much to tip in the dinning rooms?

[Jay045]

hey I was wunderin if most people tip the suggested amout on the lastnight, or more or less? what does it depened on?

the tips just kind of seem high to me since i am still young I guess, lower 20's and I have to put in many many hours to afford vacation...
when I went to mexico with my family afew years back it was allinclusive, and we were told tips were already factored in or somnething in the price, but we still tiped alittle at the bar and maids...

just wundering for some suggestions thanks

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

hey I was wunderin if most people tip the suggested amout on the lastnight, or more or less? what does it depened on?

the tips just kind of seem high to me since i am still young I guess, lower 20's and I have to put in many many hours to afford vacation...
when I went to mexico with my family afew years back it was allinclusive, and we were told tips were already factored in or somnething in the price, but we still tiped alittle at the bar and maids...

just wundering for some suggestions thanks

There are four passenger-focused service positions on the ship that essentially aren't paid by the cruise line. They're paid by the passengers. The four positions, along with DCL's tipping guidelines, are:

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 ​

You'll interact directly with each of these crew members. You'll see your Dining Room Head Server and your Stateroom Host/Hostess less often than your Dining Room Server and your Dining Room Asst. Server -- but they all perform an important role.

You might want to read the following recent threads:

"How does tipping work?" at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=509463

"What does the Head Server do?" at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=833629

"Tipping at Palo" at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=886850

 

[webray]

hey I was wunderin if most people tip the suggested amout on the lastnight, or more or less? what does it depened on?

the tips just kind of seem high to me since i am still young I guess, lower 20's and I have to put in many many hours to afford vacation...
when I went to mexico with my family afew years back it was allinclusive, and we were told tips were already factored in or somnething in the price, but we still tiped alittle at the bar and maids...

just wundering for some suggestions thanks

Looks like you are going on the 7 night..so..you think $3.68 per day in tips for your dining room server is high. I doubt if you would deliver one meal for $3.68 to anyone on any given night.

We always tip over..for good service.

 

[Drcell01]

We have always found the level of service on DCL to be above expectations. Therefore we always tip above the suggested and include LD phone cards and Wal-Mart Gift Cards as added gratuity.

On DCL we "want for nothing" as we have been provided with outstanding service at every opportunity.

 

[clten]

I think part of the cost of a cruise vacation you need to factor in is the tips. We usually tip more than the guidelines because we usually get excellent service and because we can afford it. My opinion is - if you can only afford the suggested amount, tip that and don't feel bad about it. The only time I would tip less than the suggested amount is if we have severe problems with a staff member (which has never happened) or more typically if the head server only introduces himself on tip night.

 

[mott]

I am totally on board with the tipping. But I would like to know what services the head server is supposed to provide? I've cruised 4 times before (only one of those DCL), and have no idea what my tip is for? He introduced himself to us but that's about it. I guess we've never had any problems, so we've never had to deal with him? Just wondering....

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I am totally on board with the tipping. But I would like to know what services the head server is supposed to provide? I've cruised 4 times before (only one of those DCL), and have no idea what my tip is for? He introduced himself to us but that's about it. I guess we've never had any problems, so we've never had to deal with him? Just wondering....

See "What does the Head Server do?" at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=833629

 

[mott]

Thanks Horace Horsecollar!

 

[johare]

Yes...thanks. Good information here. We are a family of 5 going on the 4 day cruise in October so assuming all 5 of us dine in the main dining rooms all four nights, that would be $218.50. Works out nice since I have about $217 in Disney reward $ from using my Disney Visa this year.

 

[mott]

Yes...thanks. Good information here. We are a family of 5 going on the 4 day cruise in October so assuming all 5 of us dine in the main dining rooms all four nights, that would be $218.50. Works out nice since I have about $217 in Disney reward $ from using my Disney Visa this year.

My understanding of the tip guidelines in the above post is for each person for the length of the cruise - even if not everyone dines each night in the dining room. This is because during other meals (breakfast and lunch) all the servers are hard at work too - you just might not have your dinner servers. Even if you choose to eat one or more nights in Palo or Topsiders or Pluto's, you still tip for that meal in the dining room. At least that is the way I understand the listed amounts.

 

[johare]

My understanding of the tip guidelines in the above post is for each person for the length of the cruise - even if not everyone dines each night in the dining room. This is because during other meals (breakfast and lunch) all the servers are hard at work too - you just might not have your dinner servers. Even if you choose to eat one or more nights in Palo or Topsiders or Pluto's, you still tip for that meal in the dining room. At least that is the way I understand the listed amounts.

I think people have different viewpoints on this subject. I'm usually an excellent tipper and would tip above the recommended amounts for services which I feel went above and beyond, however I personally don't see the reason to tip for services I don't receive. If I were to to get room service for breakfast in the morning and tip the person who delivers the food, eat lunch in port and tip those servers and then come back to the ship and have dinner at Palo or Topsiders, then that's one full day where I received no services from the normal dining staff whatsover and under those circumstances, no tip has bean earned or is deserved for that day.

 

[pearlieq]

It shouldn't be more than $100 for the whole week--it's really not that much considering the cost of the cruise fare. A lot of people tip more than the recommended minimum.

If you can't "afford" to tip, you can't "afford" to go. I think you'll find after a couple of days on board that you can't believe the tips are so low for all the work they do!

 

[lbgraves]

I doubt that you put in 16 hour plus days and rely on your guests to pay the tips that are suggested for your income. Why someone would not tip for every day is beyond me when you factor in the total cost of the cruise and the level of service you receive. I do understand paying less if the service is terrible.

 

[johare]

I doubt that you put in 16 hour plus days and rely on your guests to pay the tips that are suggested for your income. Why someone would not tip for every day is beyond me when you factor in the total cost of the cruise and the level of service you receive. I do understand paying less if the service is terrible.

So, you understand paying less for bad service, but not paying less for no service?

 

[mott]

I think people have different viewpoints on this subject. I'm usually an excellent tipper and would tip above the recommended amounts for services which I feel went above and beyond, however I personally don't see the reason to tip for services I don't receive. If I were to to get room service for breakfast in the morning and tip the person who delivers the food, eat lunch in port and tip those servers and then come back to the ship and have dinner at Palo or Topsiders, then that's one full day where I received no services from the normal dining staff whatsover and under those circumstances, no tip has bean earned or is deserved for that day.

I supposed if you did this EVERY day and for the entire trip, did not have service from the diner staff, then I would agree with you. BUT if you encounter ANY of the dinner waiters along the way (for lunch or breakfast), wouldn't you need to make sure you add the tips for those meals into the tip you give the dinner staff? This tip is not just for the dinner meals, but for all the meals where these wondeful servers work for NO TIP. The way they break the tips out in the guidelines, they have you tip only your assigned dinner staff. This is the way the tipping works in the cruise industry. I am sure it is done this way so it is easier for the customer. I supposed you could just carry around a bunch of cash and then tip each server you meet along the way. Just don't forget to tip for the meals you eat at other times than dinner too where you encounter any of the dinner staff.

 

[johare]

I supposed if you did this EVERY day and for the entire trip, did not have service from the diner staff, then I would agree with you. BUT if you encounter ANY of the dinner waiters along the way (for lunch or breakfast), wouldn't you need to make sure you add the tips for those meals into the tip you give the dinner staff? This tip is not just for the dinner meals, but for all the meals where these wondeful servers work for NO TIP. The way they break the tips out in the guidelines, they have you tip only your assigned dinner staff. This is the way the tipping works in the cruise industry. I am sure it is done this way so it is easier for the customer. I supposed you could just carry around a bunch of cash and then tip each server you meet along the way. Just don't forget to tip for the meals you eat at other times than dinner too where you encounter any of the dinner staff.

I'm pretty sure I can figure out how to tip accordingly. My example was a day where I tipped for room service separately, tipped separately in an off-ship restaurant while in port and then ate at Palo. In that case, if I tip my server at Palo, I don't see where any other tip would be due for that day. If I have breakfast and lunch in the ships restaurants and do not tip separately at those times, then that's a whole other story and I would definatly tip either the full amount or very close to it for that day when calculating the final gratuities.

 

[atakaratemom]

While I understand the logic of the scenario you present I can't help but think that the tipping structure probably takes into account the fact that most people do not eat every meal in the dining rooms. Many people eat at Palo, Topsiders, Plutos and in port at some point on their cruises, yet it still seems appropriate to fully tip your servers if they have done a good job for you. From what I understand, these people rely on tips essentially as their salary and as such I am sure they appreciate being compensated for the very hard work and excellent job they do. When you break down the suggested tip over the number of meals that they do serve you (even if you miss a few) it is really not that much to expect. I guess I look at it more as tipping in the overall excellence and spirit of the service you receive as opposed to a meal by meal break down.

Mary

 

[johare]

While I understand the logic of the scenario you present I can't help but think that the tipping structure probably takes into account the fact that most people do not eat every meal in the dining rooms. Many people eat at Palo, Topsiders, Plutos and in port at some point on their cruises, yet it still seems appropriate to fully tip your servers if they have done a good job for you. From what I understand, these people rely on tips essentially as their salary and as such I am sure they appreciate being compensated for the very hard work and excellent job they do. When you break down the suggested tip over the number of meals that they do serve you (even if you miss a few) it is really not that much to expect. I guess I look at it more as tipping in the overall excellence and spirit of the service you receive as opposed to a meal by meal break down.

Mary

Actually it's fairly obvious that they don't take into account that people won't eat in the main dining rooms every day. If you look at the suggested tipping guidelines:

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

11/3, 14.75/4 and 25.75/7 all give about the same amount...about $3.68 per day. Just taking a wild guess, I'd say that someone on a 3 day cruise is likely to eat in the dining rooms every day. Someone on the 4 day cruise would probably use the dinning rooms about 87.5% of the time and someone on a 7 day cruise might use the dining rooms about 70% of the time.

I think the reason they refer to them as 'suggested tipping amounts' or 'gratuity guidelines' is so people can adjust the amounts appropriately. Otherwise it would just become a tacked on service charge. If I spent 25% of my time not using a persons services, why would the suggested amount I tip them not be reduced by 25%? And for those who always tip at least the full amount, where would you draw the line? What if you were on your 4th or 5th seven day cruise and for a change of pace decided to skip the on ship dining rooms and eat in port 5 of the 7 days....would you still tip the full amount?

 

[cali4niacruisin]

It seems people are basing their tips on use of services provided by the cast members(for example how many meals were attended) rather than the fact the services are being made available. If you choose not to utilize the services provided by the staff, should you really not pay for them? I believe you should pay anyway. My reason is that the staff gets paid nothing(I believe I heard $50/month) by the cruiseline, so their entire income is received from passengers. The cruisline assigns passengers to tables and cabins assuming they will utilize and pay for the services provided. Therefore, if a head server is assigned 30 people to serve for dinner, but only 15 show up and pay for it, they only receive half the money they were expected to earn. If other people could be put in your spot to pay for your absense, I would have no problem with passengers not paying for what they do not use. But your table is reserved and saved for you and the servers are there to serve you even when you are not there and it is unfair to punish them because you have chosen to miss a meal or not taken advantage of the services available.

The suggested tip amounts are a guideline, and the guideline is based on how many days you will be on the ship. Obviously you should adjust accordingly for either exceptionally good or bad service. But, IMO, you should not base your tip on how often you used the services, but rather how good the services were when you received them.

 

[johare]

It seems people are basing their tips on use of services provided by the cast members(for example how many meals were attended) rather than the fact the services are being made available. If you choose not to utilize the services provided by the staff, should you really not pay for them? I believe you should pay anyway. My reason is that the staff gets paid nothing(I believe I heard $50/month) by the cruiseline, so their entire income is received from passengers. The cruisline assigns passengers to tables and cabins assuming they will utilize and pay for the services provided. Therefore, if a head server is assigned 30 people to serve for dinner, but only 15 show up and pay for it, they only receive half the money they were expected to earn. If other people could be put in your spot to pay for your absense, I would have no problem with passengers not paying for what they do not use. But your table is reserved and saved for you and the servers are there to serve you even when you are not there and it is unfair to punish them because you have chosen to miss a meal or not taken advantage of the services available.

The suggested tip amounts are a guideline, and the guideline is based on how many days you will be on the ship. Obviously you should adjust accordingly for either exceptionally good or bad service. But, IMO, you should not base your tip on how often you used the services, but rather how good the services were when you received them.

I guess that's where I have a differing view. I don't tip based on available services, I tip based on services I receive. I really wouldn't consider it punishing them either. If I don't show up, then they do less work since they spend no time serving me. They can use this time to relax a little or perhaps even use the extra time to put a little effort into one of their other tables, maybe earning a little extra tip there. Tipping/gratuities are always based on services rendered, not services available which may or may not be used.

I wonder what happens if you have to cancel at the last minute and make a claim on your travel insurance...that table, along with your servers are probably still there to serve you as is your stateroom attendent. Guess you'd have to mail a check to DCL to cover the gratuities...I wonder if the insurance covers that!