PALO Question

[Quagmire]

My wife and I obtained Platinum status on our last cruise. We leave for our next cruise in a few weeks and will be going to PALO for a complimenatary dinner. My question is I thought the charge for Palo was so that your server recieved a tip. if the meal is complimenatry how is the person being compensated? Maybe I'm missing something but the last thing I want to do is deprive someone from fair compensation. Another question is do you recive a complimenatary dinner each time you go on a DCL once you reach Platinum status. Thanks for the assistance.

 

[volfan1978]

I've always tipped (generously) on top of the standard charge for Palo. My understanding is that the $30 per person is to cover the increased quality of the meal, not for the servers.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

There was a post no too long ago on this. Someone emailed DCL and was told just $5 from the fee goes to the servers. I've always tipped $15-$20 on top of the fee.

 

[tink1970]

On the slip there will be a $0.00 charge (because the $30 is as others have noted, primarily NOT a tip) but a line for gratuities. So you will still hand over your KTTW card and be given a charge slip and will have the opportunity to tip the server.

 

[mcgluvint]

My wife and I obtained Platinum status on our last cruise. We leave for our next cruise in a few weeks and will be going to PALO for a complimenatary dinner. My question is I thought the charge for Palo was so that your server recieved a tip. if the meal is complimenatry how is the person being compensated? Maybe I'm missing something but the last thing I want to do is deprive someone from fair compensation. Another question is do you recive a complimenatary dinner each time you go on a DCL once you reach Platinum status. Thanks for the assistance.

Yes you will receive a complimentary dinner every time. My parents always tip. The food itself probably cost more than 30 dollars. The service is great. My parents tip 20 dollars.

 

[llachance]

I always tip - even though the meal is free

 

[hanscarlet]

Similar to what PP's have said, I believe the $30 charge mostly goes to the food and chefs and not much goes to the server. We had one server tell us they get no compensation from the $30. If you are getting it for free under platinum, I would just assume that $30 is being eaten by DCL and not the server and either way still tip as normal.

 

[clten]

It was explained to me that the Castaway Club benefits are budgeted in one "bucket" that is different than the normal revenue "buckets" for DCL. So when a Platinum cruiser goes to Palo, their dinner is free to them but still "paid" to DCL by moving the money from the Castaway Club bucket to the DCL revenue bucket. So regardless of the debate about how much of the cover charge goes to the server, the same amount would go to them whether you are paying for it yourself or the Castaway Club budget is picking up the tab.

Once you are platinum, you will get one free Palo experience on each subsequent cruise you make with DCL (unless benefits change).

 

[Quagmire]

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses. I appreicate it.

 

[speicher46]

My wife and I obtained Platinum status on our last cruise. We leave for our next cruise in a few weeks and will be going to PALO for a complimenatary dinner. My question is I thought the charge for Palo was so that your server recieved a tip. if the meal is complimenatry how is the person being compensated? Maybe I'm missing something but the last thing I want to do is deprive someone from fair compensation. Another question is do you recive a complimenatary dinner each time you go on a DCL once you reach Platinum status. Thanks for the assistance.

The fee charged for dinner at Palo does not go to the server. I normally tip at least $15 per person in addition to the fee.

 

[Jason Martin]

Agree - the $30pp is for the higher quality food, and even paying for it its well worth it. That being said, we tend to do the brunch on a sea day so we do not miss a dinner rotation - been platinum for a couple of cruises, and yes we typically tip $20-30 per couple depending on the service and that can be added on your KTWC

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The fee charged for dinner at Palo does not go to the server.

How do you know this? It's often been reported that a (small) minimal amount of the extra charge goes to a pool for all the Palo servers. I believe the amount reported was around $4-5.