Spending little $ once you board

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Sarahsal
It never occurred to me to deduct for the nights at Palo etc.-of course since we tip more than the recommended amount it really isn't an issue. Is it common to multiply by the number of nights at dinner rather than the number of nights on the ship?

I've never heard of it before hte above poster....everything I read was you tip per night on the ship...not if you eat there or not. The tip covers the person working breakfast and lunch too since your own servers work those too but dont get tips for it.

 

[WDWLVR]

Whether you choose to eat in the dining room each night or not your servers are there and waiting to serve you. They should be tipped for every night of the cruise. As someone else pointed out they are also working hard to serve you and others at lunch and dinner too. They depend on those tips.

If you are looking to cut money from your buget I suggest you do it by cutting out drinks, photos, and other things before cutting out tips.

 

[coleland]

Please... let's not start yet another tipping debate. People will tip where they feel appropriate.

 

[TraSee]

I was just asking for ideas on how to save on the cruise. Just curious as to the ways others did it...sorry about it leading to this tipping debate. We budget the appropriate amount for tips...as stated by Disney...I distribute those tips accordingly. I was really looking for other suggestions.

 

[WDWLVR]

Two of my favorite things on the ship are FREE!

1) Take the ships tour. It usually lasts about an hour and you find out so many wonderful things about the ship. Like how the imagineers came up with the themes for the different areas and special touches you might not know about. For example on the Disney Wonder there are records that are in the floor of Wave Bands. If you read the labels you most likely won't recongize the names. That is because the names are family and friends of the Imagineers who planned the room.

2) Go to the Captain's talk. A great way to find out little secrets, and some rumors as well. That is how we found out about the 10 day cruise we now have booked for December. The Captain told us about it back in May of '03.

Many people skip these, but I've always enjoyed them.

 

[lrodptl]

WE asked guest services about the tip thing since we were ordering room service and tipping that person even though an 18% gratuity was automatically deducted. We ate 1 meal at a restaurant. She said that we certainly were not responsible for tipping for service we did not use. We had notified concierge that we would not be using our table and it was used by others. I absolutely would never tip for unused service. Make reservations at a restaurant,don't go,send along a tip!

 

[4formickey]

deactivate your key card and you you will not have any problem with your budget. You know how much you can spend so tip what you can afford. I'm glad every thing is working out for you

 

[missyoh8]

We are drinkers, especially on vacation!!!!!!! DCL lets you take your own alcohol on board! We took a case of warm beer, case of bottled water, and a bottle of the Captain (after all it is a cruise). Our cabin steward iced down the beer twice a day and we just left what remained for him! Still a lot cheaper than the bar. Once you unload a suitcase of libations then you have room to pack when you go home.

 

[TinaRN]

Originally posted by SuzPasq
The year we went to Palo's for dinner we spent an additional $50, but even then we spent under $200 for the 7nts.

I was under the impression that the $10 per person charge for Palo's was for the tip! If you tipped $50 that means you think your meal was worth about $300-$350! I don't mean to seem a scrooge, but the food is paid for with the cost of the cruise. The tip shouldn't have to be that much. However, maybe the cost is more if you ordered drinks. Please let me know what to do about tipping at Palo's.

 

[TraSee]

I did not post the most recent response, but from my experience we have often spent $50 in Palo's also. We often buy a glass of wine and tip heavily there because the service is outstanding! The dining experience is well worth the $50...to cut costs this year, however, we will skip the drinks!

Enjoy your cruise!
Tracy

 

[professorandmom]

I find the biggest spenders on the ship are my kids, arcade cards, smoothies (CMs bring them into the theater and walk up to the kids and ask them if they would like to take a glass off the tray), candy outside the theater and shopping...
I have no problem with my self-control and budget but I find it harder to manage the kids..
(don't want to start a new thread as to whether to deactivate the kids cards...in my situation, the kids had Disney Dollars which were for the things listed above and with careful monitoring, the kids stayed within budget. )
Just trying to describe how it can be tough to spend nothing beyond tips with school aged children
Barb

 

[disneygatorfan]

if you want to not spend, beware of bingo

alcohold drinks start to add up, I usually limit myself to about one a day, on sea days... and I do the drink special, then its only $3.50.

excursions can be pricey, but you can usually find a cab to take you to a public beach, and you can have a nice excursion on your own for about $10 a person.

Spa treatments are expensive as well, but if you want to "do" the spa thing, just to do it, I reccomend the rainforest room. A day pass isn't that much at all, and it's very relaxing.

really your big $$$ stuff are...
1)spa
2)excursions
3)alcohol
4) bingo (if you get addicted)

 

[HookedonMagic]

Hi Tracy,

I don't have much to add here (we spent WAAAY too much on our last cruise Hurricane stress can do that!)...I just want to wish you happy and SMOOTH sailing!

I'm so glad that you were able to change your ressie to this December. I would love to see the ship all "decked out" for the holidays. It should be an awesome trip.

Lisa

 

[crisi]

I'm a fan of the "pre cruise spa day" as well. Cheaper than the cruise, and I'm not spending my cruise time getting my nails done.

But even that costs money. So, instead, make up a massage basket (or call Shirley). Some lotion and oil. Can't do candles in the room, but quiet music. A few massage tools.

Put the kids in the kids clubs, relax in the hot tub by the adult pool first (maybe with a drink you pour from the rum you brought onboard) then head back to the room and take turns......

 

[missyoh8]

What a great idea....................I hope NaNa and PaPa don't knock on the door! lol

 

[SuzPasq]

I was under the impression that the $10 per person charge for Palo's was for the tip! If you tipped $50 that means you think your meal was worth about $300-$350! I don't mean to seem a scrooge, but the food is paid for with the cost of the cruise. The tip shouldn't have to be that much. However, maybe the cost is more if you ordered drinks. Please let me know what to do about tipping at Palo's. >

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but we thought of the $10 as an amount to cover the cost to DCL of us eating there (since it's a more upscale dining room and the experience is enhanced as well). So the additional amount we tipped ($30) was specifically for our server. My husband probably had one glass of scotch, so we're not big drinkers.

 

[TraSee]

The $10 is not the tip...it is the charge to eat there. The tip would be on top of that...once again...worth every penny!

 

[disneygatorfan]

I have heard of many people mistaken the service charge at Palo as the gratuity. I wonder how often it really happens to those servers?? I wish DCL made it more clear...

 

[CheapMom]

I am one of those who was under the impression that the $10 charge was because this meal would not be covered by your regular server and he/she would not see the end of cruise tip from your family.
If 2 people ate at Palo the charge would be $20 which would be 20% of a $100 meal. Most people on these boards say the service at Palo merits far more than 20% tip and so that is why most people leave extra.
Can someone clear this up as I want to eat at Palo on my upcoming cruise and I don't want to commit a faux pas.
My plan is to leave between $10 and $20 extra depending on service.
If I leave $10 and the initial $20 charge per couple goes to the server that is a 30% tip- which would be adequate.
BUT if what the 2 previous posters are saying is correct than I would only be leaving a 10% tip I can't do that!
I heard all the Palo serving staff splits the service charges for the evening. Can anyone confirm?

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I can't give you any tips, I was bad and spent WAY TOO much on the 10/23 cruise. My best tip from my experience is stay away from all the extra drinks and Shutters.

At Shutters I was sucked in to buying a digital camera on the last night!!!! I played with it all through the cruise and finally bought it the last night. Atleast I can say I bought my camera on the Mickey Boat. And buying their pictures because they are just so great!!!

Drinks can get pretty bad, especially when you are buying for 3!!! My mom and I fell in love with the Conch Coolers and BBC!!! Very addicting!!!

I actually spent more because this will probably be my last cruise due to trying to buy a house, so I knew I was going to be spoiling myself and my mom!! I had no problem with the bill being pretty bad!!