Random DCL Questions

[Matt Hiers]

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. Going on the Magic the first week of May and had a few random questions (sorry if you've heard these before).

1) Already prepaid all of our tips, but when I get up from a meal, should I leave some cash on the table? It's going to feel really weird to just walk away after receiving (what I hope to be) great service.

2) Same thing goes for a beer at the bar. I know they're already getting gratuity every time I get a drink, but should I leave a dollar or two? Or can I write in a tip on the receipt so I don't have to carry cash everywhere.

3) Would it be acceptable for my wife and I to drink our own champagne (mimosas) in the terminal before boarding?

All thoughts/feedback is much appreciated!

 

[karpy111]

Ive only cruised once but I'll answer to the best i can.

1) I believe we paid all tips the last day. I think they gave us envelopes for each person on the ship we should tip and on the last day we gave them out. There are recommendations for what you should give each person per day per person and we just followed that.

2) When I did buy a couple of drinks I did tip them since they were not one of the people the cruise recommends you tip.

3) Not sure about drinking at the terminal. I wouldnt think you could drink in public.

 

[cruisehopeful]

1.) You really don't pay the servers after each meal. You will have the gratuity envelope to hand them on the last night. You can either add cash to that envelope, or before the last night, go to the customer relations desk and ask them to add to it from your on board account.

2.) Whenever you buy any drink, even a water bottle, there is automatically 15% gratuity added to the charge. You are able to write in additional gratuity if you want to. If you don't want to tip above the 15%, make sure you write the total when you sign. I've read reports that some drink servers have added in an extra tip on the slip.

 

[TestingH2O]

Hey all,

Long time lurker, first time poster. Going on the Magic the first week of May and had a few random questions (sorry if you've heard these before).

1) Already prepaid all of our tips, but when I get up from a meal, should I leave some cash on the table? It's going to feel really weird to just walk away after receiving (what I hope to be) great service.

2) Same thing goes for a beer at the bar. I know they're already getting gratuity every time I get a drink, but should I leave a dollar or two? Or can I write in a tip on the receipt so I don't have to carry cash everywhere.

3) Would it be acceptable for my wife and I to drink our own champagne (mimosas) in the terminal before boarding?

All thoughts/feedback is much appreciated!

1. If you prepaid the standard amount, you can use the envelopes for additional at the end. The servers certainly don't think that people will be leaving cash on the tables.

2. Again, I think cash would be odd at the bar. You can add additional tips on the slip though.

3. I have no idea if there are rules about this, but I doubt it would be encouraged.

 

[thumpie's mom]

We don't drink, so can't answer the questions regarding the bar tips. The tips for the head server, servers, and room host are all done at the end of the cruise. You don't need to leave tips during the cruise for dinner. You can go to guest services to either increase or decrease the amounts if you want. Have a great cruise!

 

[lanejudy]

Prepaid tips go to your MDR servers (head server, server, assistant server) and stateroom host. You are welcome to add more if you so choose, but there really is no expectation that you'll leave a tip on the table after each meal. Tips are generally considered to cover all meals even if "your" serving team didn't serve you (breakfast, lunch). The exception is Palo/Remy, and if you opt for dinner at Cabanas you may leave a cash tip on the table.

Room service should be tipped. Bar tabs include an autogratuity; you are welcome to add more if you so desire.

I suspect there may be rules or laws discouraging drinking in the terminal. DCL allows passengers to bring beer or wine with the understanding that it will be consumed in the privacy of your stateroom. You may bring a bottle to an MDR for a corkage fee.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Matt Hiers]

Fantastic. Thank you all for the very helpful and quick responses!

 

[clten]

It may seem odd to you now to get up from dinner and not tip but I think you'll see it a little different once you are onboard and interacting with your servers. They don't expect to see a tip until the end of the cruise and they act accordingly (well, some go a little heavy on the "was everything excellent" and may be fishing for bigger tips but still don't expect them until the end of the cruise). If you were going to give a cash tip, I recommend handing it directly to the individual (in the MDR) as there are multiple individuals serving you so even if they assumed it was a tip (they may assume you just left it behind), they wouldn't know who it was meant for.

As far as bar service, as others have said, there is an auto-gratuity on those. So you can decide if you want to tip above that amount or not. The most convenient way (and I believe the crew's preference) is for you to add it to the slip that they present to you to sign. If you prefer to give them cash, they usually bring your check in a folder (like a restaurant) so you can sign the slip and include the cash for tip. But since the ship is cashless, we never have any small bills on us when we go out for a drink or are around the pool.

I think the mimosas would have to be done earlier before arriving or later when you get into your stateroom. Don't believe you can have them in the terminal. Anyway, if you are there early, waiting to board, you are there with a pretty big crowd so it's pretty high energy and excitement not really a relaxing, mimosa sipping atmosphere. If you are there once boarding starts, you don't want to slow down for a drink!

Enjoy your cruise and thanks for coming out of the shadows and joining the conversation!

 

[Quellman]

About the mimosas in the terminal. The terminal likely doesn't have a liquor license, so if you are consuming in the terminal, you could have a really bad time if someone were to report it. Even if it were sold Disney Cruise Line alcohol policy states " Alcohol brought on board may not be consumed in any lounge or public area." The terminal is certainly a public area.

The loop hole is that you haven't actually boarded. However, I do not know what the port rules or policies are at the terminal. I will bet there is some ordinance that forbids it. I would not chance it - especially since you never know how much time you will have in the terminal from check-in to boarding. My recommendation would be to wait once you are on board.

 

[wcw57]

to my knowledge: do NOT drink in terminal. I don't think they'll make a big deal but they can if they want to. Just have your vacation start once u are on board...

 

[Steve Dexter]

OP, I understand and always feel a little weird getting up and just walking out after eating at one of the main dining rooms or a buffet. After 11 DCL cruises it still feels awkward. I have tipped cash a few times with bartenders that I really liked, but for the most part if you want to tip on a drink it's easy to just add it to the bill when you sign for it. I've had 2 or 3 DCL bartenders tell me they cannot accept any cash at all, that didn't seem to stop the other ones (also on DCL) from taking it and seeming very happy about it.

 

[gemduncan]

Sorry to high jack your post, but I'm curious how much extra do people typically tip at the end of the cruise if you already pre-paid your tip?

 

[Saimaeve]

1) Already prepaid all of our tips, but when I get up from a meal, should I leave some cash on the table? It's going to feel really weird to just walk away after receiving (what I hope to be) great service.

Nope, it's normal to not tip nightly. I just add more at the end

2) Same thing goes for a beer at the bar. I know they're already getting gratuity every time I get a drink, but should I leave a dollar or two? Or can I write in a tip on the receipt so I don't have to carry cash everywhere.

You can add in more on the slip you sign.

3) Would it be acceptable for my wife and I to drink our own champagne (mimosas) in the terminal before boarding?

I would be very careful about this. I seriously doubt it's allowed.

 

[Saimaeve]

Sorry to high jack your post, but I'm curious how much extra do people typically tip at the end of the cruise if you already pre-paid your tip?

I didn't add in much more the room steward. Maybe another $12 or so.

For the wait staff we added in quite a bit more because they went above and beyond. Another $50 I believe to the Asst Server because he was amazing, another $20 for the head server (We rarely saw him)

 

[gemduncan]

I didn't add in much more the room steward. Maybe another $12 or so.

For the wait staff we added in quite a bit more because they went above and beyond. Another $50 I believe to the Asst Server because he was amazing, another $20 for the head server (We rarely saw him)

Thanks! This is really helpful when planning to bring some extra cash with us later this month for our first DCL.

 

[kiford]

2) Same thing goes for a beer at the bar. I know they're already getting gratuity every time I get a drink, but should I leave a dollar or two? Or can I write in a tip on the receipt so I don't have to carry cash everywhere.

You pretty much never use cash on the ship unless you want to add additional cash to the envelope for the tips at the end of the cruise for the four tipped positions (stateroom host, server, assistant server, head server). Everything goes onto your stateroom account (which you can pay for in cash if you wish).

Although there is an autogratuity of 15% on all alcoholic drinks, my understanding is that it goes into a pool shared amongst the drink servers and bartenders. If you add an additional tip amount, it goes to the specific server. I always add additional - even if it's $0.50-$1.00. I find that they remember me much better, and my preferences. And even if they are good and attentive servers, it just helps that much more in getting even more exceptional service. It doesn't cost more than about another $20-30 for a cruise so I think it's worthwhile to do. You just write it in on the chit.

We spent a fair bit of time in Meridian on the Dream and not only tipped the servers additionally but spent time chatting to them. Every time we walked in, they would ask if I wanted my usual (iced champagne with a twist of lemon peel) before I even sat down. They would often bring salted chocolate caramels for us or chocolate or caramel covered strawberries.

3) Would it be acceptable for my wife and I to drink our own champagne (mimosas) in the terminal before boarding?

I don't think that the terminal is licensed and even if it is, you generally cannot bring your own alcohol in. Wait until you get on to the ship. I usually order a bottle of champagne to be delivered to the stateroom before we board then sit on our verandah drinking it while we pull out of port. That's our "happy to be cruising" celebration.

 

[Stasia5]

We added an additional $20 in cash to the tip envelopes for all but the head server on our last cruise. Not that he didn't do a good job, just that we felt the others deserved more. They were all incredibly grateful for the extra tip.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

How do you pre pay the tips in advance? Do I call DCL and do it over the phone?

If I don't pre pay, doesn't Disney automatically charge my room for tips, and then I would pay this at guest services before getting off the ship?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How do you pre pay the tips in advance? Do I call DCL and do it over the phone?

If I don't pre pay, doesn't Disney automatically charge my room for tips, and then I would pay this at guest services before getting off the ship?

Yes, if you want to pre-pay them, just give DCL a call. One note - if you used a TA, they would be the one to call and pre-pay them.

Yes, if you don't pre-pay it will be charged to your onboard account for settling at the end of the cruise.

 

[malbergotti]

We tipped everyone extra, although I can't remember the exact amounts. We are in the restaurant business, and when we looked at what the suggested tip amounts were, spread out across 5 days of service, it seemed a little cheap to us (once again, we generally over tip, so others might not agree with that perspective). We also left extra when we got cocktails throughout the cruise. As others noted, the good servers will start to remember you and seemed to go above what was their normal great service. Enjoy your cruise, and be prepared to get hooked on sailing with Disney!