Tip/ Gratuity Help

[Catvondita]

Hi there!

I was looking through the booklet that you get when you book a Disney Cruise and I saw something completely foreign to me regarding tip. It basically said something along the lines of "you can pay in advance"?? or "pay in cash at the end of the cruise"??? or "the standard gratuity amounts will be added to your on board account"??????????????

So I'm obviously a cruise noob and I one) didn't know we had on board accounts and two) didn't know tip was done so weirdly.

My trip is in a few days so I would really appreciate if someone can explain to me everything. I'm used to going out for dinner or going out for drinks, getting the bill and tipping off the bill based off of service. Not to get into a discussion about appropriate tipping amounts but I tend to tip around 20% as my standard, so does using the disney standard save me money or cost more? Is there no way to just tip at the moment (like if I order a $7 beer and leave $2 on the bar for the bartender?) or order room service and tip the server then? Do we have to have anything put on our on board account? We don't really like the idea of having an account that we can't pay off as we go. I'm assuming it would accumulate and then you have to pay when your cruise ends.

One final thing would tipping at palo be the same thing? That we can't tip then and there once we get our bill?

Thanks in advance!

 

[olafLover]

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[NS8VN]

There is an automatic gratuity of $12 per person per day to cover dining staff and your stateroom host. Some choose to tip above that if desired by either giving cash at the end of the cruise or asking guest services to increase the amount and have it charged to their onboard account. Ordering drinks has an automatic gratuity added, I believe DCL is 15%. You can choose to leave cash at the bar as well at your discretion, but the automatic gratuity usually comes out to 1-3 dollars per drink. The buffet and quick serve places are staffed by the dining room staff so your automatic gratuity will go to them and no need to tip anything additional there. Room service is not automatically tipped so you would want cash on hand if you wish to tip them. Spa services have an 18% gratuity applied. Palo and Remy are at your discretion so you can tip there as you would at a restaurant back home.

One area where tipping is neither expected nor accepted is with child care employees. They can accept small gifts but are instructed to politely decline money.

 

[diznymom]

As NS8VN explained, tipping onboard the ship is different from on land.

Everyone has a Onboard Account. You can call DCL and add money to your account before you board the ship. This money can be used for tips, excursions, spa packages, souvenirs, drinks, etc. I like to load up my onboard account so I don't have a bill at the end. (We got a refund on the last cruise). Some things like the standard tips and excursions can be calculated, other things like souvenirs and drinks need to be estimated.

 

[Geomom]

Most of the PP's have covered the tipping situations--cashless ship (you can apply cash/gift cards to your account if you don't want to use credit), not tipping every time you eat, etc. I just wanted to add more info about the 'automatic' gratuities that get added to your account at the end of your cruise:

$12/person/day gratuity breakdown:

• $4 Stateroom Host
• $4 Server
• $3 Assistant Server
• $1 Head Server

As others have said, that amount can be adjusted up/down at guest services--but that is a cruise industry standard tipping amount. You will receive tip slips and envelopes at the end of the cruise with the amounts each person will be getting. If you have a credit card listed on board, it'll be charged that way. If you want to add more money, you can add additional cash to the envelope for that person.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Mommb]

Just to clarify about Palo (and Remy):
The servers at Palo and Remy are not part of the standard dining rotation, so (unlike servers who work throughout the day in the main dining rooms and buffet) they do not receive part of the standard gratuity.

You will receive a bill at the end of dinner indicating a charge to your room account, with the opportunity to add a gratuity that will be charged to your account. If you want to present the gratuity in cash instead, you may, but you will need to sign the slip for your ship account anyhow. If you want to tip as a percentage of the cost of the meal, keep in mind that the fixed charge for a meal at Palo or Remy is significantly less than what you would pay for a similar meal at a restaurant onshore.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

As far as tips go, cruising is not like going out for dinner on land.

Cruise ships assess your gratuities up front. You can either prepay the assessed gratuity or you can remove it from your onboard account and tip as you see fit, but in reality these tips, as regarding the dining staff, are assessed based on their duties all over the ship for the entire cruise. They don't just act as your serving team in the dining room in the evening, during the day they work at Cabanas or the fast food areas.

As noted, if you do any specialty dining (on DCL that would mean Palo or Remy) the tip for that should be assessed separately.

Bar tips are automatically added to the checks at 15%. Can always give some extra (either added to your total, or in cash if you prefer, although the ship's operations are generally cashless)

 

[lanejudy]

The "standard" gratuities are $12 per passenger per night. So for a 7-night cruise is $84 per guest (or $336 for a family of 4). This covers your stateroom host, server, assistant server and head server. You can "pre-pay" these in advance of the cruise, or they will be auto-charged to your onboard account. If you really prefer to pay them in cash, you can have the auto-charge removed from your account and just put cash in the envelopes the last day. You are also welcome to add cash to the envelope at the end of the week if you so choose.

As mentioned, the ship is cashless so every stateroom has an "onboard account" -- any incidental expenses are charged to the onboard account. When you did your online check-in, you may have set-up a credit card for these charges. Or if you set it to "cash" you will need to visit Guest Services periodically to pay down the expenses. Onboard expenses include port excursions, adult dining, spa services, alcohol purchases, some snacks/drinks, souvenirs, photos, etc.

Tips for alcoholic beverages will be automatically added to the slip you sign when receiving the drink. The spa also automatically adds a tip. You might want to bring some singles if you plan to order room service, as that may or may not have a slip to sign (might not if the items ordered are no-cost).

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Catvondita]

Thanks all! This is so weird but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it So if I wanted to pay everything as close to "as I go" as I can I can set that up when I first board the ship? That way I'll have some food, drinks whatever and occasionally stop by a front desk to pay if I don't want to wait until the end of the trip? To keep it simple I may stick with the Disney standard guide of tipping and maybe towards the end add some extra cash for anyone who did above and beyond. Do the slips they give you indicate the specific person so they get those envelopes? Do you give the envelopes to a front desk person at the end of the trip?

Lastly I know discussions on a good tip are problematic on the Disboards but if I wanted to leave a tip close to what I would normally tip on land how should I factor that in for the math? For Palo I will be getting the wine tasting add on and my fiance will not but that would still mean his meal is technically only $30ish but I want to try to add the tip as I would normally. I think my meal would be around $80 and his $30 but should I add extra to make it more similar to the price of what a fancier meal would be on land?

thanks again for all your insight!

 

[Quellman]

Thanks all! This is so weird but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it So if I wanted to pay everything as close to "as I go" as I can I can set that up when I first board the ship? That way I'll have some food, drinks whatever and occasionally stop by a front desk to pay if I don't want to wait until the end of the trip? To keep it simple I may stick with the Disney standard guide of tipping and maybe towards the end add some extra cash for anyone who did above and beyond. Do the slips they give you indicate the specific person so they get those envelopes? Do you give the envelopes to a front desk person at the end of the trip?

Lastly I know discussions on a good tip are problematic on the Disboards but if I wanted to leave a tip close to what I would normally tip on land how should I factor that in for the math? For Palo I will be getting the wine tasting add on and my fiance will not but that would still mean his meal is technically only $30ish but I want to try to add the tip as I would normally. I think my meal would be around $80 and his $30 but should I add extra to make it more similar to the price of what a fancier meal would be on land?

thanks again for all your insight!

Yes you can pay as you go (especially if you are a cash guest they require you to settle your account at certain dollar thresholds) or have them just charge your card at the end of the cruise.

For services (ordering a drink poolside or a prepacked food item at the evening entertainment show, a standard tip will be included. If you feel that person deserves more tip, you can add an amount to the receipt they bring for you to sign.

The head server, server, assistant server, and stateroom host all get a preset tip amount. You are given envelopes with each postions name (not the person the job title) to put in your tip card. The top card shows how much you tipped them. Customarily you provide the envelopes to those persons the last night you are on board the ship. If you want to increase the amount of the tip you can either add cash OR you can go to guest services to increase the amount of the tip. They will print you a new slip to put in the envelope showing how much will be electronically added to that cast members account.

There are a lot of threads and theories about tipping at Palo and Remy. It really is up to you and how you feel it is worth it.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do the slips they give you indicate the specific person so they get those envelopes? Do you give the envelopes to a front desk person at the end of the trip?

You'll receive in your room on the second to last night of the cruise (part of the nightly turn down service) a coupon sheet and envelopes:


Each coupon indicates the name, position and amount of gratuity. Tear off each coupon (you keep the top shaded part) and place in the appropriate envelope. You hand out the envelopes the last day/evening to the correct persons.

 

[Catvondita]

You'll receive in your room on the second to last night of the cruise (part of the nightly turn down service) a coupon sheet and envelopes:
View attachment 291955 View attachment 291956

Each coupon indicates the name, position and amount of gratuity. Tear off each coupon (you keep the top shaded part) and place in the appropriate envelope. You hand out the envelopes the last day/evening to the correct persons.

For the state room hosts do we ever meet them or is it something you can leave in the room at the end of the trip?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

For the state room hosts do we ever meet them or is it something you can leave in the room at the end of the trip?

We've always crossed paths with our stateroom host on every cruise. Some people have reported not. You can either hand the tip to them, or leave it in the room.

You can also hand it in at Guest Services and they'll see that the correct person gets it.

 

[Catvondita]

Sorry for all the questions but I have one more. If I am paying as I go, by going to the front desk to pay for my drinks etc am I paying for those tips also then and there (like Palo and bartenders since they are not going to be apart of my usual rotation?) but the other people who sort of stay with me (stateroom host, head server etc) all only get paid at the very end of the trip?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sorry for all the questions but I have one more. If I am paying as I go, by going to the front desk to pay for my drinks etc am I paying for those tips also then and there (like Palo and bartenders since they are not going to be apart of my usual rotation?) but the other people who sort of stay with me (stateroom host, head server etc) all only get paid at the very end of the trip?

You don't pay for drinks and all at the front desk. When you order a drink, it will come with a signature slip. You sign it and it's added to your onboard account (including the 15% gratuity). Any time you order a paid for beverage (Palo/Remy/main dining room/bars/poolside) that's the procedure. The 15% gratuity is pooled to be divided by all beverage servers/bartenders at the end of the cruise.

All tipping/gratuity payments will be given to the appropriate person(s) at the end of the cruise.

If, for example, you purchase a drink in a lounge, sign the slip and add a couple of dollars to the slip for the server, the server still participates in the 15% pool division and can keep the couple of dollars directly tipped to them.

You can go to Guest Services daily to pay down your onboard account, but the gratuities are not distributed until the end of the cruise to all.

 

[Jess_S]

You'll get a slip to sign for the drink and it will be charged to your onboard account. There's a tip included on the slip. If you want to give more, you write it in or you can just give cash to the bartender.

ETA: Shmoo gave a much better response while I was typing.

Incidentally, if you tell us whether you are planning to pay cash or use a card to settle your onboard account, people might be able to provide more detail on how the charges work. I always use a card. They keep a running total and then charge your card when it reaches a certain amount or at the end of the cruise -- whichever comes first. You get an account statement at the end (or earlier, if you want one), so that you can be sure you actually charged all the items that appear on your bill. I keep the slips until the end of the cruise to square them out.

 

[AngelDisney]

On our last cruise, we encountered a dining server with amazing service and attitude. You could feel that he loved Disney, excited about his job and tried his best to help his guests having a magical time. He served us at Enchanted Garden during embarkation lunch and gave us suggestions of things to do enthusiastically. We then met him again at Palo brunch. He was by the cold table. He didn’t recognize us at first and he was again very helpful with DD’s diet restrictions. Since he was not our main server at MDR or Palo, I went to Guest Sevices to pay him extra gratuity. I got the payment slip, put it in the gratuity envelope and put the envelope in a box. I was assured that the server would get the tip because it’s in the computer. So, even if we don’t get to give the slips to our stateroom host or dining servers, they would still get their tips as per our shipboard records.

 

[kiford]

For the state room hosts do we ever meet them or is it something you can leave in the room at the end of the trip?

We've always had them come by the first day (usually before the life boat drill) and introduce themselves. Then we often pass by them in the hallway as they're working and chat for a few minutes.

Also, as has been mentioned with buying drinks, there is an automatic gratuity of 15% that is shared by all of the bartenders. If you add an additional tip, the individual server is the one who gets the tip. I always add a bit more. It helps them to remember you and what you like and can add to the service you get. Not that they don't have good service if you don't, but they will remember those who tip well much better than the average tipper. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't cost a huge amount more over the length of the cruise. One bit of advice if you do an additional tip - try to get the same server each time. On one cruise we went to Meridian (Dream) every day and I ordered the same thing each time. We tipped well and it got to the point when we walked into the lounge, she would see us, get my drink without me having to order, hand DH the martini menu and make a recommendation (he was working his way through it) and sometimes bring us some chocolates or chocolate-covered strawberries.

Also note that if you order wine or a drink with dinner you'll also have to sign a chit. Again, you can add an additional tip which goes to the assistant server. We usually do that rather than increase the end-of-cruise tip for the assistant server. A good assistant server will be able to anticipate your drink needs so I feel that it's totally worth adding an additional tip per drink. We've had assistant servers who learn pretty quickly that I like to order the paired wine with whatever entree I'm ordering so sometimes if I forget to order or when it's just really busy, I've had servers that just bring me the wine pairing and ask if I'm OK with it (I am!). There's also no wine pairing usually for the lighter entrees and I've had assistant servers go and find me a wine pairing for it. So I'm quite happy to encourage that with additional tipping.

For Palo I will be getting the wine tasting add on and my fiance will not but that would still mean his meal is technically only $30ish but I want to try to add the tip as I would normally.

It's totally at your discretion but we always add a tip that would be equivalent to the same meal at an equivalent restaurant on land. I believe that, if you do both brunch and dinner at Palo/Remy they will try to pair you with the same server for both meals so, again, although service is good regardless, it certainly doesn't hurt to tip the same person well. We've had the same server at Palo on the Magic on at least three different cruises. I've no idea if our tipping practices influenced that at all, but it was really nice to have the same person over multiple cruises.

 

[lbus42]

Thanks all! This is so weird but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it So if I wanted to pay everything as close to "as I go" as I can I can set that up when I first board the ship?

You won’t have to set anything up other than maybe setting up a credit card for your purchases. You can also setup as cash. You can go to the front desk at any time and pay on your account.

Do the slips they give you indicate the specific person so they get those envelopes? Do you give the envelopes to a front desk person at the end of the trip?

The envelopes they give you are specifically for the cabin steward, the head server, server, and assistant server. There will be slips showing the “prepaid” tip amounts. You can place the slips into the envelopes, along with extra cash if you wish, into the envelopes. You can hand these to your servers and your steward on the last day.

Lastly I know discussions on a good tip are problematic on the Disboards but if I wanted to leave a tip close to what I would normally tip on land how should I factor that in for the math? For Palo I will be getting the wine tasting add on and my fiance will not but that would still mean his meal is technically only $30ish but I want to try to add the tip as I would normally. I think my meal would be around $80 and his $30 but should I add extra to make it more similar to the price of what a fancier meal would be on land?

How I handle this is to compare Palo to Carraba’s. I figure what I would have paid for the meal, and tip the waiter the difference. Or you can tip a percentage of what you value the meal to be.

 

[polyqueen]

After all this discussion, I just want to say: Best Wishes and much Happiness as you begin your new life together! Have a wonderful time on the cruise!