How to tip

[Sleepydormouse]

OK -- this is NOT a "should I tip" thread. I absolutely will tip at least the minimum and probably more.

But logistically, it's confusing. I've seen the charts about how much for each person (stewards, wait staff, etc.) but I don't understand HOW you do it. Does Disney provide seperate envelopes for each? Do I have to run around the cruise ship making sure the individuals get their tips? Or does Disney just have you pay the tip in a lump sum and they divide it appropriately? (NCL has a "service fee" instead of "tips". I never appreciated before how convenient that is.)

What is the procedure?

(Again... I DO plan to tip and to tip heavily. Please don't hijack the thread into a "why you should tip" thread.)

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Disney will provide you with tipping envelopes on your last night. One for your room steward and 3 for the dining room staff.

You can either fill the envelopes with cash and hand them out or go down to guest services and pay them there (using your on board account). If you pay your tips at guest services, they will give you paper tickets to put in the envelopes to hand to the staff.

 

[nikknyc]

i'm confused as well. we pre-tipped when we bought the cruise, paying in full. are we all set or do we need to bring more to deem our tips appropriate?

 

[PrincessTrisha]

i'm confused as well. we pre-tipped when we bought the cruise, paying in full. are we all set or do we need to bring more to deem our tips appropriate?

If you prepaid your tips you are set. You will receive the paper tickets to put in your envelopes to hand to the staff.

 

[Sleepydormouse]

So, do we give the envelopes to the dining staff at dinner on the last night and leave the steward's envelope in the room?

Are they going to be standing around collecting envelopes? Am I going to be running around trying to find them? What if I don't eat in the main dining hall the last night? How do I get it to them?

 

[PrincessTrisha]

So, do we give the envelopes to the dining staff at dinner on the last night and leave the steward's envelope in the room?

Are they going to be standing around collecting envelopes? Am I going to be running around trying to find them? What if I don't eat in the main dining hall the last night? How do I get it to them?

We always leave our envelope for the room steward on the bed when we go to dinner on the last night. If you are eating in the dining room on your last night, you can hand the envelopes out then or leave them on the table if you feel ackward handing them out.

If you don't eat in the dining room, you can either go down and find your servers and hand them the envelopes or stop at the Maitre D's podium and hand them to him/her to give to your servers (explaining that you will not be dining there tonight but wanted to take care of your servers).

Don't stress too much about it. While it's not as convenient as the auto tipping on other lines, because tipping is expected, they make it easy to do.

 

[jetskigrl]

So, do we give the envelopes to the dining staff at dinner on the last night and leave the steward's envelope in the room?

Are they going to be standing around collecting envelopes? Am I going to be running around trying to find them? What if I don't eat in the main dining hall the last night? How do I get it to them?

We spoke with our room steward multiple times each day (he was awesome) so we just gave him the tip envelope when we saw him the last night. Since we didn't eat in the dining room on our last night, I just stopped in at the podium and asked for our head server. I gave him all three envelopes and asked him to please give them to the other servers.

If you have paid the tips at Guest Services, it is kind of just "for show" anyway since the actual money is given to the CM electronically by DCL. The envelope just has a "receipt" inside. They will get the money whether they get the envelope or not. But it gives you a chance to give a final thank you for the service, etc.

If you are paying cash or adding additional cash to the envelope, then of course you want to make sure and hand it to them personally.

 

[kcashner]

Tipping is actually far easier than it seems when people are trying to figure it out in advance.

If you pre-paid your tips, you are DONE. You will have tip coupons delivered to your room on the second to last day along with the envelopes. Place coupon in envelope, hand envelope to appropriate individual. You can certainly choose to increase your tip amount (either by adding some cash to the envelope or by going to GS and increasing the amount), but if you pre-paid, the standard amount is already taken care of.

If you didn't pre-pay your tips, you can go to GS at any time during the cruise and charge them if you wish. Alternatively, you can use cash.

On the second to last day you will get a form in your stateroom along with tip envelopes. The form will indicate the suggested amount for each of the 4 positions. Again, you can complete the form, sign it, and drop it in the box at GS--the coupons will appear within a few hours.

The one difference--if you are on the MAGIC, the standard tips will be automatically charged to your account unless you go to GS and change this. You can increase, decrease, or fully remove the charge if you wish, but if you do nothing, the standard will be charged to your account. If your pre-paid, both the charge and the credit will appear on the account.

As to how to give the tip to the person--you will usually see your room host. Hand him/her the envelope. If you don't see him/her, leave the envelope on the bed when you go to dinner. If you are eating in the regular dining room the last night, give each envelope to the appropriate person. If you are dining elsewhere, you can stop in the dining room to deliver the envelopes--either to the correct individual or to the head server at the podium who will distribute them for you...or even leave them at GS with a request that they deliver them. What is not a good idea is to assume you'll do it on the last morning. That last morning is hectic for you and the staff. If a member of your team is going on vacation, they may not be at breakfast at all! IF you charged tips, they will get the full tip whether you hand the coupon to them or not, but if you are tipping in cash, there will be no way to get the tip to them.

 

[Stinasmom]

For the first time I pre-paid the gratuites yesterday when made the final payment for our June cruise. For now, we just paid the "recommended" amounts.

The advantage to me in doing this is that the amount is lumped into the "Disney vacation" charge going onto my Premier Disney Chase Visa and will qualify for the 5% back in Disney Dollars as well as the 6 months 0% interest to pay it off.

My TA said that we will get tickets in our room to put into the tipping envelopes just like you'd get from Guest Services, but then you can add cash if you want to give more than the prepaid amount.

 

[sissy_ib]

So, do we give the envelopes to the dining staff at dinner on the last night and leave the steward's envelope in the room?

Are they going to be standing around collecting envelopes? Am I going to be running around trying to find them? What if I don't eat in the main dining hall the last night? How do I get it to them?

You can give it at dinner the last night or at breakfast the last day.
You don't even have to give them the tickets. They get the money no matter what.

 

[kcashner]

You don't even have to give them the tickets. They get the money no matter what.

The only thing I will add is that the tickets form part of their "safety" system. A CM can verify the check from DCL against the coupons they got. In addition, if there is an issue as to who waited on you, someone being out for a night or whatever, there is a system where a CM can turn in a signed coupon to have DCL make a correction.

It is correct that they will get the tip in their check without the coupon, but there are situations where they need the coupon to support their "behind the scenes" situation.

And it is interesting to see the CM's real names on the coupons! I've had situations where I actually showed them the coupon and asked if that was them. The CM laughed and said yes, but DCL changed his name to make it easier for Americans. In other cases we've seen CMs who go by a middle name on the ship because their first name had political or religious connotations.

 

[barbeml]

Thank you to everyone who posted all this helpful info: we will be cruising DCL (Magic) for the first time in June, and I love the idea of prepaying our tips (of course with the option to add more at the end of the cruise).

 

[paul436]

For the first time I pre-paid the gratuites yesterday when made the final payment for our June cruise. For now, we just paid the "recommended" amounts.

I paid off my cruise last week via the Disney Cruise web site and didn't see any option to pre-pay the tips. Is it automatically included in the charge? If not, can I go back to the Disney Cruise site and do this? Thanks.

 

[sissy_ib]

I paid off my cruise last week via the Disney Cruise web site and didn't see any option to pre-pay the tips. Is it automatically included in the charge? If not, can I go back to the Disney Cruise site and do this? Thanks.

You have to call DCL to pre-pay the tips. If would be nice if it was an online option!

 

[fotogirl]

One thing I learned here was to include some candy or chocolate with your tip envelope. Our servers loved this added touch!

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

DW and I go to customer service about two/three nights before disembarking and ask for the envelopes. On the last night we hand them out to everyone and let them know how fantastic a job they did (and they always have, each and everyone). We always gave more than the suggested amount.

The only time we gave the suggested amount and he probably didn't deserve that, was when we were on the Big Red Boat back in 1987. We never once seen the head server (if he is the one in charge of the whole dining room). Our actual server and assistant were great.

For each of our DCL cruises we saw and talked to him each and every night. During our Wonder PC cruise, Harry's my name don't wear it out; was by far the best one we've had. We gave him a shout out on the survey we filled out.

 

[1stdcl2012]

I was looking for info on how to tip the
(1) Concierge Team (onboard, shoreside)
(2) Kids Club counselors
(3) Nursery staff

Thanks for any helpful info!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I was looking for info on how to tip the
(1) Concierge Team (onboard, shoreside)
(2) Kids Club counselors
(3) Nursery staff

Thanks for any helpful info!

AFAIK, kids club CMs (and maybe the nursery, also) are not allowed to accept cash tips. Any tips they receive must be pooled for a kids club CM party.

Concierge - no clue, I've never been there.

 

[kcashner]

Concierge team may accept tips--place in an envelope like the other tips. The amount is up to you and there is no suggestion. Originally this was not considered a tipped position but so many guests asked about tipping that it is now. I honestly do not know if the tip stays with the person you hand it to or if it is pooled and divided among the team (I suspect this).

The youth people, including nursery, are not considered a tipped position. Unless policy has changed, they are required to turn over any cash or gift card tips to their manager. These are then used for a team party. Gift cards become door prizes. The idea is that many people provided care for your children; it isn't fair to reward one or two individuals. Supposedly they can accept a gift card IF it has their name on it. What is at least as important--mentioning them on your evaluation.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

I wonder why Disney is still using a tipping system like this. I prefer Carnival's and Celebrity's system where they charge your account directly and you don't have to hand out the envelopes. This system seems very outdated. I used to tip this way a long time ago but have not done so in many many years. Has Disney always done it like this?