Recommended tipping

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by HLFDZN
Also thanks for not flaming me for asking!

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[FayeW]

I am confused as to why I am expected to tip a room steward nearly $15.00 per night ( for a family of four). Isn't making up my room the sole reason they are employed on the ship? I understand the wait staff tipping, because I may ask for a variety of things at any particular meal, causing them to run back and forth, but isn't the room steward only tidying the room once a day? If I am not asking them to perform any extra service, why should I tip them at all? I have not yet been on a cruise, but I am in the early stages of planning one, and I truly would like to know what service the room steward provides that requires me to tip nearly as much as the head waiter, who if I understand correctly, is going to serve me 3 meals a day. Also, what happens if we eat only at the buffets and counter service all week, how much do you tip the wait staff then?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by FayeW
If I am not asking them to perform any extra service, why should I tip them at all? I have not yet been on a cruise, but I am in the early stages of planning one, and I truly would like to know what service the room steward provides that requires me to tip nearly as much as the head waiter, who if I understand correctly, is going to serve me 3 meals a day. Also, what happens if we eat only at the buffets and counter service all week, how much do you tip the wait staff then?

The stateroom and dining service staffs are paid almost nothing by Disney Cruise Line. (The same is true for the other mid-market cruise lines.) These people work 7 days a week, often from early morning until late at night. They get room (small, shared cabins) and board (crew meals), and around $42 per month. The passengers, not the cruise lines, pay them for their work. They work very hard to earn gratuities from passengers, so that they can provide food, shelter, and education to their families back home.

Some of us on this board are disappointed that DCL doesn't mention the recommended gratuities in the promotional DVD, in advertisements, or in price quotes . We think that's unfair to the service crew and to first-time passengers.

It doesn't matter where you eat on the ship. By paying gratuities on the last evening to your dinner server, assistant server, and head server, you're paying your share for the services you've gotten in any dining room or buffet, for all your meals, over your entire cruise. There's no expectation that you'll tip on a meal-by-meal basis for other meals, whether table service or buffet. But there is an expectation that you'll tip on the final evening.