Tipping Poll

[lbgraves]

That's what I thought too but everyone else is saying no.

The tip on the receipt that you sign with the 15% added to it in the dining rooms goes to the bartender who prepared the drink.

 

[disneynewbee]

The tip on the receipt that you sign with the 15% added to it in the dining rooms goes to the bartender who prepared the drink.

That is exactly what I thought Thanks.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

I always do B. If I didn't, I would feel really bad because they work so so hard.

 

[dursin]

The tip on the receipt that you sign with the 15% added to it in the dining rooms goes to the bartender who prepared the drink.

I've asked this question several times and gotten different answers, including the exact opposite...that the server gets the built in 15% tip. I've got a feeling that the truth is somewhere in the middle and the bartenders and the servers split the 15%.

 

[Presentation]

The tip on the receipt that you sign with the 15% added to it in the dining rooms goes to the bartender who prepared the drink.

Lisa,

Can you please cite your source?

I am not disagreeing with you.

I have seen posts that claim the assistant server gets 100%, I have seen posts that claim the tip is put into the bartenders pool to be split and shared to the base 15% goes to the pool and any additional goes to the server.

I am not saying either is correct. I do not know.

I am simply asking for a reference to support your statement.

 

[Presentation]

Oh, as a preemptive answer to all those that jumped on me last time I asked this and posted things like “Why do you want to know” and “What difference does it make” my answer is because its my money and I want to know where its going just like I want to know what the banks did with $700,000,000,000 of taxpayer money.

 

[Olga]

Hi there DCL cruisers!

Thought I'd ask a poll question:

Do you....A. tip THE suggested amounts, B. tip OVER the suggested amounts, C. tip UNDER the suggested amounts, or... D. NOT tip at all (and skip the last dinner...we've seen lots of empty tables!).

Thanks! Just curious!

An empty table does not necessarily equate to no tipping.

Our table was empty several nights including the final one. The concierge team delivered our tip envelopes on our behalf since we ordered dinner delivered to our suite.
Our final day was Castaway Cay due to a schedule change, and dinner and drinks in our suite was simply more convenient.

 

[webray]

We have always tipped over the suggested amounts. Never found any reason not to.

 

[dursin]

We typically tip slightly above the recommended amounts for our server and asst. server, the recommended amount for our stateroom host (sort of hard for them to exceed expectations) and either the recommended amount or nothing for the head server depending on whether we see him/her at all during the trip.

 

[kcashner]

An empty table does not necessarily equate to no tipping.
.

On our next cruise we will be in Palo our last night. We specifically chose this night for a birthday celebration. And, yes, we will tip just as we've done on every other cruise.

People leave the table empty for many reasons, but no doubt that in some cases, the reason is to avoid tipping....particularly if they also don't attend breakfast the next morning.

 

[Olga]

On our next cruise we will be in Palo our last night. We specifically chose this night for a birthday celebration. And, yes, we will tip just as we've done on every other cruise.

People leave the table empty for many reasons, but no doubt that in some cases, the reason is to avoid tipping....particularly if they also don't attend breakfast the next morning.

I agree. I welcome the day that gratuity is automatically added and not an option.

 

[dursin]

On our next cruise we will be in Palo our last night. We specifically chose this night for a birthday celebration. And, yes, we will tip just as we've done on every other cruise.

People leave the table empty for many reasons, but no doubt that in some cases, the reason is to avoid tipping....particularly if they also don't attend breakfast the next morning.

OMG! Will you leave your gratuity the night before the last evening?!? You don't want to risk inflicting psychological anguish on your hard working servers by making them wonder whether or not they'll be stiffed on your gratuity. They won't even be able to sleep that evening! Sorry, had to post that before someone else did!

On a more serious note, does anyone know why the DCL Faq says the Dining Manager should be tipped 'At your discretion'? I don't even know who the dining manager is or what they could possibly do to earn a gratuity.

 

[lbgraves]

There are two dining managers per dining room. Our favorite is Fitz. They oversee the head servers, who oversee the serving teams. They circulate in the dining room taking care of problems as they arise. They are the ones who "put out the fires" with guests or problems with servers. They are usually the people you see at the podium in the jackets when you enter the dining rooms and they direct a server to show you to your table your first evening in each of the dining rooms. A couple cruises ago I requested copies of the menus to post on the boards from our server. He advised the dining manager who came by one night and showed me the portfolio listing all of the meals on each menu with the main ingredients, which he made a copy of and had delivered to our room a couple nights later. Fitz came to our table on the EB repo several times to say hello to our family. Since he remembered us from our 2006 cruise and knew that I am a moderator on the cruise boards he asked if I minded if he asked some questions about what people were posting about the changes that had been made recently in the dining rooms and elsewhere. He was very interested in the opinions posted here and how guests felt about changes.

 

[Vegaslover]

I have spent most of my life working in a high end family owned steak house. I think this tipping thing is strange because for one we should just tip the head waiter who should then distribute the tips accordingly to the staff. And, two we have to think how much we would pay for this meal if we were staying in a hotel and eating out, if we do that, then the recommended tip truly doesn't match. Most people think nothing of tipping at least 20% for a great meal/service when not on a cruise, so this is the frame of mind we should be in when we consider the wait staff.

Also, as far as the room host, my goodness they really deserve a wonderful tip. It's like having your own personal butler right there! And, even if you don't use them, they are there making sure your room is clean.

For those of you staying at WDW, please remember to tip the maid! Just $5 left on your pillow will make someone's day.

 

[Olga]

And, two we have to think how much we would pay for this meal if we were staying in a hotel and eating out, if we do that, then the recommended tip truly doesn't match. Most people think nothing of tipping at least 20% for a great meal/service when not on a cruise, so this is the frame of mind we should be in when we consider the wait staff.
.

I can't equate food served on a ship as a great meal. It's not made to order, it's mass produced and processed, which is expected for a cruise ship serving thousands of people. The food is acceptable but by no means IMO is it fine dining. The suggested tip is reasonable.

 

[Vegaslover]

Exactly, Olga. That was my point. The only place I have ever had more than one server was at a 5 star restaurant where the meal was $100 a plate. This is my first Disney cruise, I can only compare it to Carnival, so I'm trying to figure out if the recommended tip amount is more than adequate. Carnival's food was yummy! Gained six pounds on the dining room food alone, I think. But, hey, I've been to restaurants where an 18% gratuity was included and I still tipped on top of it because the service was outstanding.

 

[Olga]

Vegaslover,
Enjoy your cruise! ,
I found that the food and drink staff will surely aim to please.

 

[WDWKevin]

I follow the simple rule, bad service or just okay service I tip the recommended amount. If the service is great, I add to it accordingly. Keep in mind that the majority of these crew members pay is tips. =)

 

[dursin]

I follow the simple rule, bad service or just okay service I tip the recommended amount. If the service is great, I add to it accordingly. Keep in mind that the majority of these crew members pay is tips. =)

Why would you tip the recommended amount for bad service?

 

[WDWKevin]

Why would you tip the recommended amount for bad service?

I hope I don't have to duck for cover after this... BUT... I am one that feels that 15% is for okay/sub-standard service. Good, great, or exceptional service should be tipped at a greater amount than what is recommended. Just my opinion of course. If service is truly bad, then have the manager of the establishment (or in the case of DCL your Head Server) reassign you to a different server team. I just feel that there is never an acceptable excuse for tipping less than the recommended amounts onboard or less than 15% in shoreside world.