Should I consider not tipping?

[dursin]

The question asked was "should I consider not tipping" not what are the rules.

When you ask for people's opinions then they are going to give them.

That post was in response to the OP responding to someone who was implying that there was some sort of policy saying you had to tip.

 

[dursin]

In the case of a cruise, the wait staff is NOT paid a salary. It is not just a bonus it is how they make a living.

...and going back to the faq, the gratuity is "in recognition of service." It's not supposed to be the customer paying a salary. Plenty of people in this world depend on tips for their living...and very few, if any, would expect a tip when no services were provided.

 

[dursin]

I have a question... I know that I am going to be eating the in the dinning room but I would like to know what is a good amount .. I am going to be on a strict budget since I lost my job but I am still going to have the money to go but I want to make sure that I do indead have enought.. I thought that Disney let you choose what you want to tip right? It isn't like some cruiselines that take a certain amount off your card onboard if not prepaid right..

Disney provides guidelines with suggested tip amounts, but ultimately what you tip is at your discretion. You can find those guidelines here:

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/help/overview?name=OnboardServicesFAQLandingPage#9

 

[Foxes Den]

I hardly think Beaches is appropriate for my two little girls, and despite their "great kids program", I've been there and it's not that great.
I just find it hard to fathom, that it is "due" to them, when they aren't providing our family that service..if that's the case, why not tip the spa staff for that massage that you didn't get. I appreciate your opinion, but I think I will call DCL and make sure they know not to assign us a dining rotation.
This is about as silly, as my best friend who has to purchase the dining plan for everyone in her party, even though her youngest has a feeding tube and can not eat table food.

Years and years ago we went on a family cruise out of Canada - it was UK and CDN on the ship and had a NO TIPPING policy in place. They toted it as all the tips were prepaid in your cruise fare.. let me tell you, they HUNTED my Uncle down and gave him bad service until he upped the cash. WRONG WRONG WRONG.

I also feel that it is important to tip well for service, we have our own special needs and tip DOUBLE if and when we go out. BUT I feel it is unfair that you should have to tip for a service not used. I would contact Disney prior and again when you board.. to make it clear so that they staff member in question will have their tables adjusted.

AND I also feel that the cruiselines should pay a basic wage for all the hard work that is done by their staff.

PS> I have been in travel for over 20 years.. so its not my first time around the block.

Taylor

 

[Bareacuda]

Just a bit of background first...

DH and I have been cruising on the Magic since the Maiden Voyage...

We have tipped EVERY TIME, regardless of the service. Which has always been excelent.

Just take a look at the last night of dining.... you'll notice the place is very quiet... and half empty... out of those are about 50% of cruisers bailing out NOT to tip the wait staff...

Dont ever think that the staff walks away with alot of tip money... they really dont. And for informatation... for thoses of you that pay the tips by credit cards... the staff will not get paid from that for 5 to 6 weeks AFTER your cruise. Tipping them anything/ something is better then NOTHING.

Im only passing this info out because I do know... my ADD works on the Magic.

Ann

 

[sftnslky]

If you don't like the policy, consider another type all-inclusive vacation where tips are already paid Just my thoughts.

Sorry I have never ever gotten in one of the 'tipping' post, but your post left me speechless PLEASE do not guilt anyone including the op into not taking her little ones because of something YOU believe. If you read the DCL website....it says and I quote..." What about gratuities? It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. As a guideline, may we suggest the following: I would never ever allow someone or some company to guilt me into tipping, so I pray that the orginal poster will not either. And just for the record... our family typically tips 20-25% on land and more then "customary" at sea, but we have and will continue to decrease or not tip at all if we feel they do not deserve it.

So flame away I will be ready with my own fire extinguisher.

 

[dursin]

Just a bit of background first...

DH and I have been cruising on the Magic since the Maiden Voyage...

We have tipped EVERY TIME, regardless of the service. Which has always been excelent.

Just take a look at the last night of dining.... you'll notice the place is very quiet... and half empty... out of those are about 50% of cruisers bailing out NOT to tip the wait staff...

Dont ever think that the staff walks away with alot of tip money... they really dont. And for informatation... for thoses of you that pay the tips by credit cards... the staff will not get paid from that for 5 to 6 weeks AFTER your cruise. Tipping them anything/ something is better then NOTHING.

Im only passing this info out because I do know... my ADD works on the Magic.

Ann

They don't wait for the gratuities if they are charged to your stateroom account.

 

[tinytink]

Here is the low down the wait staff assigned to you table for dinner also ROTATES between all food stations on the ship and Castaway Cay. As I stated before you may very well get your assigned server at Lunch at BBB or Topsiders or on the island. Would you just carry around $$ and tip as you are served food anywhere on the ship?

Let's no flame anyone or get upset over this. Gratuities are suggested but imagine you spend 6 months or more away from family, bust your butt off working 16+ hours a day to ensure every guest had a wonderful vacation and you get nothing in return.

The ALL servers clear tables at breakfast and lunch even if they are not your "assigned" servers, essentially you are still getting serviced.

I would somewhat see where you are coming from if you planned on bringing your own food and drink on board and eat in your room but come on that is not the case and as you stated you cruised on the Magic prior to this so you know how hard they work. I am not an "over tipper" but I feel in all fairness a tip is well deserved even if you chose not to take FULL advantage of what your assigned server has to offer. It is your choice not the servers to not dine in your dinner rotation but what about the servers who have to tend to you when you eat at BBB or TS?

I am sure the server thinks everytime they get new guest assignment, I am not going to serve the ones who are not going to tip me but guess what they serve those guest just like every other guest.

Off my soapbox now, have a good night. I think the mods need to lock this because it could get ugly in here!

 

[aan1701]

My only thoughts on this is - are you going to tip the servers who serve you at each meal and/or help you at the buffets each time you go?

To be honest with you, this one quote should give you your answer. If you plan on tiping at the buffets, or at lunch or breakfast, then just give the tip at the end. If you bring your own stuff, then no need to tip as you will not be useing the service.

 

[Foxes Den]

Good point about the CCard, I always tip in cash onboard.

Taylor

 

[PCH]

Sorry I have never ever gotten in one of the 'tipping' post, but your post left me speechless PLEASE do not guilt anyone including the op into not taking her little ones because of something YOU believe. If you read the DCL website....it says and I quote..." What about gratuities? It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. As a guideline, may we suggest the following: I would never ever allow someone or some company to guilt me into tipping, so I pray that the orginal poster will not either. And just for the record... our family typically tips 20-25% on land and more then "customary" at sea, but we have and will continue to decrease or not tip at all if we feel they do not deserve it.

So flame away I will be ready with my own fire extinguisher.

Maybe DCL should be more forthcoming and explain in their policy that their waitstaff are bearly paid anything, and that they really rely on "tips" to support their family back home, who they only see every 4 or 6 months. Maybe DCL should not really call it "tip" as its really their "wage" where DCL takes no risk should the passenger choose to skip out on it, all all risk is borne by the waitstaff.

I really try to be polite in my very few and infrequent responses in this forum, but I just can't understand how people try to justify and rationalize stiffing people(rally hard working people) of their basic "living wage".

We who go can afford to go on these cruises are blessed, why not just calculate the "tips" as part of the vacation expense.

Maybe we can just make our own beds and bring our own toiler scrubbers so we can stiff the cabin attendant of his/her tips too? Better yet, maybe we can also bring our own captain so we can just ask DCL to reduce our fare by 20%

I really feel ashamed when I read comments from people who are "just cheap". Just face it, that's really what you are.

 

[aan1701]

Good point about the CCard, I always tip in cash onboard.

Taylor

I agree, but I have been working way to hard to make sure my Disney CC gets paid off every month for the last year and a half so I can have my rewards points. I should have between 700-800 when we set sail in two weeks. That will cover the tips and then some.

 

[aristocats_lover]

The average waiter makes anywhere from $2.65 - $3.20 an hour. They really do depend on tips to make a living.

My husband is in the restaurant business and they have a saying:

"Our livlihood is dependant on the generosity of others."

That being said, if you look at the guidelines, you'd basically be saving only $51 by NOT tipping the wait staff. Personally, if I was eating in the buffet room where I was having beverages brought, or tables bussed, etc I would fork out the $51 at the end of the week. On a 7 day cruise that's like $7.29 a day to show appreciation for any assitance etc you were given.

 

[Joan1]

The dining room experience doesn't have to take 1.5 hours for your dinner
If you let your server know on the first night that the children cannot sit that long they will hurry the dinner along for you. They try to make it a leisurely dinner but they can also make it a quick one as long as you aren't ordering every course on the menu.

The second option is to go to the dining room and as soon as your children are done you can excuse yourself and take them to the kids club then you can come back and finish your dining experience

Personally I woldn't skip the dining rooms I would prefer to just go in an have an entree then pizza, a sandwich, chicken finger, etc up on deck.

 

[Joan1]

This is about as silly, as my best friend who has to purchase the dining plan for everyone in her party, even though her youngest has a feeding tube and can not eat table food.

There is a way around that. Just leave that child off the reservation and purchase a park ticket separately. Then they don't have to purchase the dining plan for her. It isn't that Disney wants to charge them for their child it is that their system is so antiqueted (sp?) that they cannot split people off the reservation based on something like this

 

[mmouse37]

Not sure why this question was even posted in the first place. OP has cruised before and been around the boards enough to know that tipping policy threads cause heated debates. I can't help but feel this was posted to just stir the pot.

 

[Skuba2]

I will re-state the important post in this thread. Unless you don't eat at any breakfast, lunch, dinner, room service, buffet, etc----you are receiving the services of the wait staff and should tip accordingly. There are 21 meals during the cruise as well as all the munchies. Dinners are just a part of that. All servers and assistant servers help out in other areas of meal service. Our assistant server was passing out trays in topsiders one day and working the midnight buffet the next. If you have a table number, they are required to prepare your table in case you arrive.

I guess the other option is to raise the cost of DCL's labor by paying the crew members what they are worth and doing away with tips---sound better. Then you can add the cost of any kind of benefits or taxes that are associated with the higher wages but the passenger won't have to tip. Then they can raise the price of the cruise to compensate. Then the serves can give ok service and not worry about making their customers happy. They'll be fed but just think of all the time the servers will save not learning those napkin tricks or other games. I had one server make a little chair out of a champagne cork. Everyone will be happy--right. We won't have to tip, the crew will get paid a nice salary, and we will all get fed. The only benefit I see is maybe the cruise won't be as sold out as in years past.

I am sorry--but I think the whole tip or not to tip is an old debate. If someone is looking for a way to not tip someone on the boat BEFORE they even get on the boat, I personally don't think cruising is for you. Yes, they say the tips are optional. But, in reality, it is a part of cruising. I would go so far as it is a "cost" of cruising. It is a way of allowing the passenger to express either their delight or displeasure with the crew members that wait on you hand and foot. Restaurants on land don't "require" you to tip either but you do anyway. You know it is a cost of dining.

If you can't afford the TOTAL cost of a cruise, then you can't afford it. Either wait until you can or find another line that is cheaper. (I know that is going to go over well) You can't look at the price of your ticket and think that is the cost of a cruise. It isn't--that is reality and needs to be accepted by the masses.

Disney may not have the best food in the cruise industry (I liked it), but their crew is one which will do what needs to be done to make you feel welcome and taken care of on your special vacation. They put up with more than their share of screaming, demanding children while trying to still pamper the parents. Or are they putting up with demanding parents while trying to pamper the children. Either way works. LOL!

These are just the thoughts of a seasoned cruiser who is tired of people trying to save money at the expense of others.

DG

ETA---Castle--learning to sit through a meal is just a part of growing up. Unfortunately, you need to go through some really bad times to get to the good ones. If you cut short your dinners out every time your kids act up, then they will learn to act up to get out of dinner. I don't remember how old your kids are, but taking them out is a good way of teaching everything from patience to good manners. Try practicing at home. Hit a restaurant very early when they just open up and be determined that you aren't leaving. You can even warn the staff. Believe me, I have taken a child or two of mine for a time out in the restroom corner. But, the only way to overcome something is to face it and get through it. The Disney cruise may be a perfect chance for you to start the lesson of sitting through a dinner. This is coming from someone with a child with ADHD who knows a little something about fidgety, hyper kids. It can be a process just to get her to keep her two cheeks in her seat.

The crew probably thought you were sick and would have gladly sent a tray of food to your cabin. They did this once for me when I was ill.

I wrote the above as a general response to the old debate. By the time I read to the end of the post, I think I had forgotten your original reason for writing.

Good LUck!
DG

 

[imsetuc]

We who go can afford to go on these cruises are blessed, why not just calculate the "tips" as part of the vacation expense.

QUOTE]

I agree with you, we are blessed, and that was my point earlier about planning the tips as part of the vacation expense. Or at least that is what I was trying to point out.

It has been pointed out many times that if you eat on the cruise at all, you have benefited from the servers services. The tipping "suggestion" is a way to allocate fairly among all the serving staff who gets the tips. If everyone tips according to this, then all servers would be paid equitably, without you having to figure out which person to tip at which meal, which buffet, which snack, Castaway Cay, Pirate Party, etc. Yes, sometimes we tip over and beyond to someone who makes an impression outside of our servers, and that's great.

I consider myself blessed for being able to take my family on a DCL cruise, and I hope to the staff who serve me get some of that blessing in return.

 

[nokidz]

The amount gratuities should be based on the level of service received. If no service is received, then no gratuities should be granted. But, if you use any of the dinning rooms for any of the meals, breakfest, lunch or dinner, then you are using the services of the waitstaff, so gratuities should be offered.
On our first cruise the service was good so we tipped the suggested amount. On our second cruise the service was excellent, so the waitstaff received almost double the suggested amount. I have no qualms about tipping less if the service demands it.
To the OP, it is up to you, what would you feel right in doing? Remember, your children are a little bit older on this cruise. They may be old enough to enjoy a dinning experience of this nature. They need to start sometime.

 

[Epperbiker]

Our son is 4 years old now and has been on 5 cruises. His first was at 18 months old. He has had every meal with us in the Dining Room and has done just fine. Maybe the OP could work with their kids to help them cope with dining out.