Tipping on top of tipping

[anc876]

I understand that DCL automatically charges gratuities to passengers' onboard accounts. Of course, passengers may pre-pay or remove this feature or adjust the amounts as they see fit. I intend to pay the suggested amount of $12 per day per person.

From what I have read, it appears that many passengers tip above and beyond these suggested gratuity amounts for outstanding service. So rather than earning just the full "recommended" gratuity, are CMs expecting (is it customary to provide) additional tips for going the extra mile? Also, if extra is given, do the specified CMs keep it or does it get pooled?
I'm just trying to wrap my head around this whole cruise tipping thing since our first cruise is quickly approaching.

 

[sandrakit]

On my last cruise I asked the CM's if they were able to keep their tips or we they pooled & I was sold that the required tip amount was deposited directly in their accounts at the end of each cruise & any extra cash that was given that they got to keep it for themselves .

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I understand that DCL automatically charges gratuities to passengers' onboard accounts. Of course, passengers may pre-pay or remove this feature or adjust the amounts as they see fit. I intend to pay the suggested amount of $12 per day per person.

From what I have read, it appears that many passengers tip above and beyond these suggested gratuity amounts for outstanding service. So rather than earning just the full "recommended" gratuity, are CMs expecting (is it customary to provide) additional tips for going the extra mile? Also, if extra is given, do the specified CMs keep it or does it get pooled?
I'm just trying to wrap my head around this whole cruise tipping thing since our first cruise is quickly approaching.

Any tips you give go to the specific person that the tip is designated for. The $12 per day is broken out as $4 per day for the room host; $4 per day for your dining room server; $3 per day for your asst server; and $1 per day for your head server. At the end of the cruise you will receive in your room vouchers and envelopes for tipping. The envelopes are printed with the position being tipped, and the vouchers are printed with the name and position of the person being tipped. You separate the voucher (you keep half) and put the other half in the correct envelope. At that time, if you wish to tip additionally, you add the cash to the envelope with the tip. You then hand the envelope to the correct person. Each person's tip goes only to them, not pooled.

The only pooled tip is the 15% added gratutiy on drinks. That is pooled to be split by all bartenders and servers in the bar/lounge areas. If you tip cash to your bar server (or bartender), they get to keep it. It isn't added to the pool.

 

[mmgrdg]

May sound like a silly question, but do you think that the members of a serving team might compare tips and know if a particular table tipped one of them more or less than the others?

 

[sissy_ib]

I understand that DCL automatically charges gratuities to passengers' onboard accounts. Of course, passengers may pre-pay or remove this feature or adjust the amounts as they see fit. I intend to pay the suggested amount of $12 per day per person.

From what I have read, it appears that many passengers tip above and beyond these suggested gratuity amounts for outstanding service. So rather than earning just the full "recommended" gratuity, are CMs expecting (is it customary to provide) additional tips for going the extra mile? Also, if extra is given, do the specified CMs keep it or does it get pooled?
I'm just trying to wrap my head around this whole cruise tipping thing since our first cruise is quickly approaching.

NO. I think many people here will tell you they tip extra. But the DIS is a small population of travelers. I will say I tipped some more but not all. And it was no where near the double some people say they tip. It is not expected or customary to leave more than the recommended amount.

 

[wendyoconnor]

In addition to tipping more for exceptional service, write down the CM's name and position on your comment card especially if you feel the CM's supervisors should know about the exceptional service. DCL uses this information for recognition and promotions.

From a personal standpoint after working in a service industry, extra money is great, a "way to go" from my boss = priceless

 

[anc876]

Thank you all for your input.

 

[llqool]

What about bartenders/servers who bring you drinks? I know a 15% gratuity is automatically added, but when do you add extra? On our last cruise, there were at least two separate occasions where they couldnt figure out how to make a drink I ordered (a sidecar, which I had actually first learned about in a martini tasting on the previous cruise!), and there was also a time at the sail away party when a server was gone an extremely long time and then LOST my KTTW card! I don't have a gripe w giving the pre included gratuity, but there are many times when giving extra doesn't seem necessary (the above circumstances, or just ordering a beer). Are there general guidelines? And if you tip extra, do the server and bartender split that?

 

[pjmjsj]

NO. I think many people here will tell you they tip extra. But the DIS is a small population of travelers. I will say I tipped some more but not all. And it was no where near the double some people say they tip. It is not expected or customary to leave more than the recommended amount.

This is helpful. We're going on our first cruise soon and we already prepaid tips but in reading messages here, it seems like just about everyone tips more so the 'recommended' tip is just the base and what is expected is some amount more than this.

 

[NancyIL]

I tip the recommended amount and rarely more. The two times I tipped extra were both on Royal Caribbean cruises.

 

[luv2sleep]

To add extra you can also go to guest services to do it. They will add the extra to your account and reprint the vouchers for you to hand out.

Question about cash....I read here that cash was not preferred in terms of tipping because of something about the CMs having a difficult time getting that money onto their accounts. What was mentioned is that a lot of them send money home and that I guess the ship won't add that cash to their account or something? I read that adding the tip onto a charge slip was better. However, I don't know if the tipped amount you add to be deducted from your account is pooled for people like your room service waitstaff also. So I wonder if it's better for them to get pooled tips that go to there accounts or cash tips that they may not be able to use to send home? Any ideas on this issue?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

What about bartenders/servers who bring you drinks? I know a 15% gratuity is automatically added, but when do you add extra? On our last cruise, there were at least two separate occasions where they couldnt figure out how to make a drink I ordered (a sidecar, which I had actually first learned about in a martini tasting on the previous cruise!), and there was also a time at the sail away party when a server was gone an extremely long time and then LOST my KTTW card! I don't have a gripe w giving the pre included gratuity, but there are many times when giving extra doesn't seem necessary (the above circumstances, or just ordering a beer). Are there general guidelines? And if you tip extra, do the server and bartender split that?

The 15% gratutiy on all drink services is pooled for all bartenders and servers. If you tip additionally, the person to whom you give the tip gets to keep all of it.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I am interested in what luv2sleep asked.

I've read on any # of threads that NO cash was necessary or required on the Cruise and I don't intend to carry any.

 

[disney1990]

We always tip extra in cash. No last minute trips to Guest Services to stand in a long line.

 

[luv2sleep]

We always tip extra in cash. No last minute trips to Guest Services to stand in a long line.

It was easy. I didn't wait until the night before. I went before that and asked ahead of time. There was no line at all. I did it during the day. I went to guest services a couple of times. Never a line. Could have been good timing because I was going for random things and not at the very beginning or very end.

If leaving cash is easy for the CMs to manage I have no problem doing it.

 

[sandrakit]

I was told by Cast Members that they like the extra cash as it is what they use for their free time in ports to spend on themselves !

 

[luv2sleep]

I was told by Cast Members that they like the extra cash as it is what they use for their free time in ports to spend on themselves !

Oh good! Will bring lots of ones like last time.

 

[luv2sleep]

And larger bills for bigger tips, of course.

 

[sissy_ib]

What about bartenders/servers who bring you drinks? I know a 15% gratuity is automatically added, but when do you add extra? On our last cruise, there were at least two separate occasions where they couldnt figure out how to make a drink I ordered (a sidecar, which I had actually first learned about in a martini tasting on the previous cruise!), and there was also a time at the sail away party when a server was gone an extremely long time and then LOST my KTTW card! I don't have a gripe w giving the pre included gratuity, but there are many times when giving extra doesn't seem necessary (the above circumstances, or just ordering a beer). Are there general guidelines? And if you tip extra, do the server and bartender split that?

Would you tip those people in a bar on land? Just because you are on the ship does not mean you should tip, and tip extra even, for sub-par service for some reason. And really, IMO 15% is usually fair for bar items. In a bar setting we tip about $1 a drink.

 

[thegales]

There are two different tipping discussions here, as there is a difference between them.

For the four tipped positions that is now automatically added to your room, you could add cash or visit GS to add some more, if you are so inclined. I think this is where the receiver would prefer if it was not cash, as it is in their account right away, and they can do everything electronically. But the amount you tip goes only to the named person.

For the autogratuity added to bar bills, as others have said, this is split among the bar staff (not sure if the bar staff working that bar, or all bar staff). However, if you tip extra, it may not necessarily just go to the server. From one of our tastings, I asked about an extra tip and who it would go to. The response was it was split among all the staff working the class. I would have preferred to give the lead bartender more of the tip. While I did not tip the full amount I wanted to give, I did put some extra on that slip. Later, I went back to the bar and ordered another drink. Again I asked how it was to be split, and he said it would go just to him. So I did the rest of what I wanted to tip for the tasting on that drink.

An interesting question, if you tip extra on a drink at dinner, I wonder where that extra goes; to your assistant server, the serving team, the bartender, or all of the above?