Tipping other crew members?

loislane

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
1,337
Tried searching and can't find an answer. Two adults traveling - no kids.

Obviously we tip our 3 servers and our stateroom host (and add extra along with compliments by name!)

Can you tip other crew members - like the folks who lead trivia or things like that? On our last cruise, we kept encountering one excellent cast member (trivia, learn to draw, deck parties, led our excursion off the ship, etc.) and I'm wondering if you are allowed to give cash tips to those crew members?

(Note - we did give him a very positive cast compliment in the survey - I even followed up with an additional email after we got home - and we also gave him a small token (little Mickey keys we had to hand out) the last time we saw him. He followed up by leaving a thank you postcard on our door, which kinda blew our minds!)
 
I saw someone tip the Club Host once. CH said it was not necessary but the guest insisted. CH never said it wasn't allowed and she accepted it, so I guess it's ok.
 
I thought the cruise staff (the activity hosts) weren't allowed to accept tips (or if they did, they had to refuse so many times and then it had to be turned over and used for everyone - like a pizza party for the group or something) but now I'm wondering if I'm mistaking them for WDW CM's. Regardless, I often bring chocolates or other treats back and hand them over to the cruise staff to put out in their secret back room that I assume they have.

For anyone in a tipped position - like bartenders, servers, etc, you can tip them via the tip slips at guest services (even if they're not your specific server). They can add the tip to your account just like they do the other mandatory ones.
 

I thought the cruise staff (the activity hosts) weren't allowed to accept tips (or if they did, they had to refuse so many times and then it had to be turned over and used for everyone - like a pizza party for the group or something) but now I'm wondering if I'm mistaking them for WDW CM's. Regardless, I often bring chocolates or other treats back and hand them over to the cruise staff to put out in their secret back room that I assume they have.

For anyone in a tipped position - like bartenders, servers, etc, you can tip them via the tip slips at guest services (even if they're not your specific server). They can add the tip to your account just like they do the other mandatory ones.
A few years ago we had a Youth CM before some unkind person drove her away. I recall her saying they were NOT allowed to accept tips.
 
I brought note cards and envelopes just in case. I gave $20 to the guy who was in charge of the soft serve ice cream machines. He had so much patience and had to clean up so much ice cream. And he was very cheerful through it all. Cold hands. Warm heart.
 
I thought the cruise staff (the activity hosts) weren't allowed to accept tips (or if they did, they had to refuse so many times and then it had to be turned over and used for everyone - like a pizza party for the group or something) but now I'm wondering if I'm mistaking them for WDW CM's. Regardless, I often bring chocolates or other treats back and hand them over to the cruise staff to put out in their secret back room that I assume they have.

For anyone in a tipped position - like bartenders, servers, etc, you can tip them via the tip slips at guest services (even if they're not your specific server). They can add the tip to your account just like they do the other mandatory ones.
Yes, that's why I was asking. Those people who aren't in openly tipped positions but you still want to do something nice for them.
 
Yes, that's why I was asking. Those people who aren't in openly tipped positions but you still want to do something nice for them.
Some people had said years ago that magazines were nice for them to read during their time off. And they didn’t have to turn those in as a gift.
I made origami baskets out of a dollar and then put two pieces of candy in it.
 
Non tipped positions are not allowed to accept money, just like in the parks.

Last year on my cruise I brought chocolate and candy for various non tipped positions. I used them like CM compliments in the parks.

I brought some notepaper and a pen and when I saw a non tipped CM do something or had a great interaction with a non tipped cm I wrote a small note, attached it to the chocolate or candy and went to guest services.

On one day, I got into a conversation about Disney parks and specifically Disneyland California with a non tipped CM. They were disembarking at the end of the cruise and going to Disneyland California for the first time. So after the conversation I wrote a note with tips and a mini scavenger hunt relating to the the History of the park. I gave this note to the supervisor in their department.

There are many ways to show appreciation to the non tipped CM's that dont involved giving them money.

Oh and for those wondering, yes its me, Bad Pink Tink from Ireland. I was banned but decided to try to come back due to the recent events. I posted in the Dis Unplugged section on here.
 
No, CMs cannot accept tips if they are in a non-tip position. But candy is appreciated to help get through the day 😀
So, are all the other positions beyond the 4 included in the gratuities considered non-tipped?
 
The tipped positions as far as I am aware for Disney Cruise are
  • Stateroom Host
  • Head Server MDR
  • Server MDR
  • Assistant Server MDR
  • All the bars around the ship
  • Cove Cafe
  • Spa
  • Palo
  • Remy if on your ship
All other CM's you see or interact with or do a behind the scenes job such as kitchens are not tipped and are not allowed to accept money.
 
The tipped positions as far as I am aware for Disney Cruise are
  • Stateroom Host
  • Head Server MDR
  • Server MDR
  • Assistant Server MDR
  • All the bars around the ship
  • Cove Cafe
  • Spa
  • Palo
  • Remy if on your ship
All other CM's you see or interact with or do a behind the scenes job such as kitchens are not tipped and are not allowed to accept money.
Thank you.
 
Our son LOVED the kids clubs, but Youth CM's can't accept cash. So little gifts like candy and toiletries and small things they would buy at a port CVS/Walgreens are permitted, appreciated. Positive comments to DCL, and nice photos posted to their FB accounts are good as well.
 
I go to out local Aldi grocery store and buy a bunch of their big chocolate bars, they are only around $1.50 each.
We brought them on our last cruise and gave them to our regular tipped cast members. This is in addition to the extra cash tips we usually include with their regular tips.

On our next cruise we will bring them with us and not only give them to our regular tipped cast members but we will give them out to cast members we see go above and beyond.

We were told by a cast member we know candy is good for more than one reason. If they do not eat candy they can use it to barter for other things other cast members might receive but they might not enjoy.
 
This is all so much better on Virgin Voyages.

We've done 3 VV cruises over the past 2 years. There is a strict "No Tipping" policy on VV. Crew are all paid based on fair wages. There's no extra 18% on your drinks and no tips expected for any position. This is probably an offshoot of Richard Branson (who is English) and his philosophy of what he disliked about cruising. It's actually refreshing to get on board and know that the crew is already taken care of (what was "tipping" is essentially rolled into your cruise fare).

Princess has something similar where some of their packages include all gratuities.
 
I went ahead and asked PlanDisney about tipping other crew members and figured I would share the response I received as there IS a way to tip those other cast members. You just can't give the tip directly to them.

https://plandisney.disney.go.com/qu...itions-prepaid-gratuities-go-question-546049/

Perhaps this is a new policy. We tried to do this exact thing in the past and were told no, but that the positive comments would go into their record and help with things like time-off, and promotions.
 
Perhaps this is a new policy. We tried to do this exact thing in the past and were told no, but that the positive comments would go into their record and help with things like time-off, and promotions.
That's why I figured I'd share. Maybe it's new. Who knows? LOL. But now between the answers I got here and the answer I got at PlanDisney, I know there are a few things I can do if I want to recognize a crew member that I feel is outstanding. :)
 
Some Guests who were aware of the tipping policy would, making sure I didn’t see them doing it, leave a tip on my desk or dashboard and leave. I couldn’t refuse it because I didn’t know it was there until after they left. I didn’t know who they were and unlikely that I would ever see them again. They knew that I had to pick it up, sneaky but effective.
 

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