Tip Penalty

[billylen]

I have read the "suggested" amounts to tip for services provided on the cruise. I have no problem with that and I do not view the employees of the ship as my personal servants.

We all put our pants on one leg at a time (if you know what I mean)

I have read mixed reviews of the staff on the cruise ships (mostly positive) and i am wondering if you would subtract from the suggested amounts if service was sub-par?

I have stayed on Disney property and I have nothing but GREAT things to say about how we were treated each visit and I think if someone (heck anyone) takes time to put up with me and my son, they deserve a reward.

However, I have had experiences where I thought the service "sucked" and I tipped accordingly.

Is that what you would do on the cruise?

Also on a cruise you tend to tip at the end (except for room service) When ever I stayed on WDW property, I would tip daily and the staff would really let you know how much they appreciated it. Is it always customary to tip at then end of a cruise and does anyone know why?

Sorry about all the words

 

[4nana]

The word TIP is also considered by many to be an acronym:
T.I.P. - "To Insure Promptness" or "To Insure Prompt" service

So why is it customary to tip at end?? Dave?? Barb?? Anyone??

Personally, we tip accordingly:
Excellent service: excellent tip
Good service: good tip
Bad service: you get the idea

 

[callahanjulie10]

To be perfectly honest- on our second cruise we had an AWESOME asst server (LEO) and a not-s0-great server. Leo did his job and our servers job plus he entertained the kids, etc. In fact- on our last cruise he actually remembered us and for the rest of the cruise we talked with him almost daily! We tipped him the servers suggested amount and our server got the asst server amount.
I realize that some might not agree but it is what I felt right doing. He worked esp. hard for us and earned every bit of what we gave him. As for our server (I don't remember his name!) I felt justified in what we tipped him. DCL gives a suggested amount which is fine but I do not feel obligated in giving that amount unless it is earned. I could be flamed for this and that is fine- I would and will do it again if I feel the need.
I would go with your instinct- and do what you think is fair and just. I do not, however, understand how people do not tip at all- there is never an instance that I could fathom that would constitute nothing. Just my opinion.....


Not sure 4Nana- except maybe to keep the hassel to a minimum.

 

[prymsu]

If everyone tipped at the beginning, then you may not always be assured that you would get excellent customer service? By tipping at the end, you ensure that your staff has added incentive and is motivated to go the extra mile and give you continued customer service.

 

[albiats]

TIP is an acronym for 'To Insure Promptness' and it was first used back in the Colonial Times by a man named Thomas Cook. He wanted to impress his female friend and travelled to another city the day before his date with her and offered the waitress in the tavern some additional money in advance to get superior service.

The waitress gladly accepted the money, and provided prompt service during the date. He married the girl he was trying to impress a short time after that.

Thomas Cook was also the person that invented Traveler's Checks. It was somewhat dangerous to travel with large amounts of cash in the area where he lived because thieves would ambush you and rob you of your money. Thomas Cook had an excellent reputation for finances and it became known that if you gave him money in advance of your trip, he would give you a voucher. You could exchange the voucher in the other city for services or cash and the merchant that accepted it was certain that he would be able to redeem it for cash, from Thomas Cook. the next time he was in that city.

I was told all of that information at a conference for travel coordinators where I used to work. The conference was hosted by the Thomas Cook people, of course.

I agree with the other poster that said it was perceived that you might not get the promised superior service if you gave the tip in advance. In these times, we prefer to see the excellent service before we reward it. I suppose we prefer to transfer the risk of non performance to the provider now.

 

[atigeg]

Interestingly, I once decided that we would tip at the beginning of the cruise (suggested amounts, with the intention of adding additional at the end for exceptional service), just to see how that would affect things. But when we visited Guest Services on the first day, they couldn't process the tips that early! So unless you are using cash, forget about the "To Insure Prompt Service" angle.
I don't think we've ever deducted anything...it would take a really bad experience to make me go below the minimum. We are much more likely to tip additional. In the early days, it's possible we skipped a head server if we never saw them during the cruise (that seems to be a vague memory, but it must have been a long time ago because I can't recall specifics). We don't deduct a day when we go to Palo instead of our regular restaurant, either. Overall, the service has been excellent and well worth the tips.
My favorite tipping memory is when we gave Ernesto (who I like to call "King of Towel Animals") his tip. We gave it after he had already cleaned our cabin on the last night, but he still returned and made a towel animal menagerie. I guess he appreciated the extra!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[billylen]

I remember a time about a year ago on another cruise line (RCCL) where the server was obviously new. I would guess a kid in his early 20's from India. You could tell he was new because he was just nervous as he was serving and also how he handled himself. You could also see in his eyes that he wanted to be good at what he was doing....

I pulled him aside after the first meal and offerd him a suggestion. He took my suggestion and I watched him as he did his job the rest of the week. He was GREAT! I take no credit for that it was already in him he just had go with it.

I tell that story for this reason; I could have considered that kid to be a clod and lessened his tip at the end of the cruise, or just understood that we all have those "brunette" moments when we get nothing right.

but that is different than someone who obviously is in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing and they make you pay for their misery... and they should get what they deserve...

But that would never happen on a DISNEY cruise, right???? RIGHT??

RIGHT!

 

[atigeg]

That RCCL story reminded me of an incident that happened to hubby on one of their ships (I think it was Sovereign, but I'm not positive). Our server was great throughout the cruise, but then, on the very last night (just before tips were handed out), he was taking hubby's shrimp scampi out of the shells and one of them flew through the air and landed right on hubby's shirt!! The poor server was so embarrased!!! And I'm sure he thought that his tip had just dwindled down a few notches!!! But it was just one of those things...we laughed it off. They would have laundered the shirt, but since it was the last night, we just took care of it when we got home.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[WorknFires]

I would (and have) deduct from a tip if I thought the service was not good. I don't mind new. New people are obvious. They WANT to help you even if they don't excel at it. That's different than a "can't be bothered" or "I choose to ignore a problem you're having because it's easier on me" attitude. Our 1st Disney cruise, I was VERY unhappy with our waiters service. They made so little effort it was unreal and their tips reflected that. The 2nd cruise, our head waiter was exceptional. His tip was well above the recommended amount. The assistant waiter did his job but was very obnoxious about it. He loved to constantly tell us what we wanted (mainly that we NEEDED to buy a bottle of wine after we expressly told him we did not drink ANY alcohol) Once would have been okay but several times a meal at every meal was more than we could stand. But since he did his job otherwise, he received just the recommended amount.

Cheryl

 

[Mojomanny]

On our Magic cruise, I tipped our server, asst server and cabin steward the first day. I tipped them each about 75% of the recommended tip and made it clear that I wanted to ensure my family had a nice time and that I would make an additional tip at the end of the trip.

Did my family have a great time? Yes. Did the servers accomodate our requests, remember our drinks and help us? Yes. Did we have a zoo-ful of towel animals? Yes. Was our stateroom always nicely attended to? Yes.

Did it make a difference? who knows. I think everyone on board got great service and had a wonderful time.

Would I pre-tip and post-tip again? Yes. I think it let them know that I appreciate good service and do not mind tipping more than average to get the service I expect.

 

[GeorgeG]

For the most part, ship-board servers know where their bread is buttered and will go above and beyond not to jeopardize that. Not only do they need to please the passengers, but they are usually under the watchful eyes of a demanding management.

The one thing that really impressed me was their ability to remember our names and what we liked as if they had known us forever.