Tipping Poll

[mirandag819]

With the main server receiving the "requested" $28 per person, times 18 guests, plus the $50 per week someone said they get paid by DCL, that server would make $554 per week or $2,216 per month... that's a lot more than an average person's salary! No wonder why our main server said he was going to do his job til his kids started college back home in the Phillipines and then start his own business there!

We did give every tipped position a phone card ... sounds like that was an oops! Oh well, hoping our next cruise assigns us more magical servers!

$2216 per month pre tax isn't not more then the average person's salary, aren't national averages like $40,000 or so? $2216 per month is only $26,000 a year.

But..... do the same servers work both the early and late seating? If so then I would assume their salary would be double that amount $53,184 a year which is much more worth the long days and time away from home. I just don't see $26,000 being worth working away from my family.

 

[bigbootee]

I don't like paying tips early, I want to wait to see what kind of service I receive frist.
Do you still give a full tip even if you don't use your server at all one day?

Yes. The server is there for you whether you use him or not. I've seen tables set up by the servers with everyone's drinks and no one showed.

 

[All Things Simba]

$2216 per month pre tax isn't not more then the average person's salary, aren't national averages like $40,000 or so? $2216 per month is only $26,000 a year.

But..... do the same servers work both the early and late seating? If so then I would assume their salary would be double that amount $53,184 a year which is much more worth the long days and time away from home. I just don't see $26,000 being worth working away from my family.

You are soooo right! I just remembered that they serve early AND late seating... so they are definetely making good money! And that explains how they can go home and take care of a family in a poor country, and then open their own business. Good for them!

 

[Melrosgirl]

We tip the suggested amount, at least. Only exception is the dining room manager (head server or whatever it's called). We give something, but it's not the suggested $50 a week or whatever it is (unless the manager or whoever it is really went out of the way for us which only ever happend once and that was on Princess cruiseline).

We also tip the servers on the morning we leave since we see them at that point (and actually Brent, the cruise director) mentioned you can tip them the last night or the next morning at breakfast.

 

[DaniTaylor]

Ok we're leaving on our very first cruise next week and I'm super excited but nervous about the whole tipping thing. I plan on making a bunch of thank you cards (I'm a big paper crafter/scrapbooker) to hand out but I wanted to know if we charge the tips do we have something to give to the staff so they know we tipped them? We haven't decided whether we are tipping in cash or charge yet we are playing that part by ear

 

[hgon76]

Okay, now I feel bad! We rounded up on all of our tips, stateroom host, server, and assistant server(not the head server because we only saw her twice our entire cruise),but we LOVED our assist. server Jana and everynight we would give a generous tip on top of the 15% for our drinks. So at the end, I didn't round her tip up quite as much because I thought we had been tipping above and beyond throughout the cruise. Does anyone know FOR CERTAIN that it's the bartender and not the assist. server who gets that? Also, does anyone leave a tip for the person who cleans your table say if you go to Topsiders for lunch or Parrot Cay's buffett?

 

[AlexandNessa]

Okay, now I feel bad! We rounded up on all of our tips, stateroom host, server, and assistant server(not the head server because we only saw her twice our entire cruise),but we LOVED our assist. server Jana and everynight we would give a generous tip on top of the 15% for our drinks. So at the end, I didn't round her tip up quite as much because I thought we had been tipping above and beyond throughout the cruise. Does anyone know FOR CERTAIN that it's the bartender and not the assist. server who gets that? Also, does anyone leave a tip for the person who cleans your table say if you go to Topsiders for lunch or Parrot Cay's buffett?

IMO, no one should EVER feel bad about tipping the recommended amount. You rounded up. Don't feel bad about that at all. Disney set a guideline. You followed it and them some. Nothing to feel bad about at all, whether the assistant got some of your extra 15% for drinks or not.

 

[mikehn]

We had great service from everyone and I tipped the suggested amounts. My opinion is the suggested amount already reflects the superior service provided. This is just my opinion, if yours differs, good for you.

 

[dursin]

We had great service from everyone and I tipped the suggested amounts. My opinion is the suggested amount already reflects the superior service provided. This is just my opinion, if yours differs, good for you.

We have the same opinion. The recommended amounts are based on the excellent service that Disney is known for, which sets the bar fairly high for an additional gratuity. That said, in four cruises I have tipped slightly above the recommended amounts twice for our main server and once below for a stateroom host who fell below expectations.

 

[HallsofVA]

Looking forward to our 5/2 7 night Western!! It's been 20 years since our last cruise!

I know the guidelines for tipping for adults (and I usually tip more than the recommended amount) but what about tipping for our 13 month old who doesn't require the same level of service??

If I remember, the guidelines say you tip for children as well as adults, but I don't know about infants. I've only cruised with toddlers, and I've had no issues tipping for them as well, as everyone always seemed to go out of their way to accommodate the variable needs of a toddler. In many ways, our kids probably required a higher level of service than the adults!. The little things they do, like hunting down the small spoon for the little one (since their regular spoons are too big for little kids), or finding yogurt at odd times of the day, or cutting the kids food into small pieces (or cutting mine when I was holding a sleeping toddler) really helped make the cruise easier on me and was well worth the extra tip.

But you could always play it by ear depending on how much they end up helping you with the infant vs how much you do yourself, and even pay different people different numbers of tips. For instance, if you're only nursing and the servers don't bring you any food, plates, bowls for the baby, or do anything else for the infant, then you could probably cut back on the baby's tips to the servers (esp. the head server). But you would probably still want to tip for the room host who sets up the crib and empties the diaper pail for you.

Only you'll be in the position to decide if it's worth it or not to tip for the infant, but you may be surprised when you add up everything they do to make things easier on you over the course of a 7 day cruise.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[aan1701]

4 lowly cat 11 cabins...

Sorry, But you really just ofened me. Because I choose to sail in a Cat 11 I am lowly? Have you ever givin any thought to the fact that some people like myself do not need anything more than 11. I am never in my room, I just like to be on Deck six or above. That is why I book an 11 not because I am lowly. If I wanted to I could book higher, I just choose not to.

 

[fey_spirit]

If you want to play this card, you do realize that you've just compounded the original offense by being offensive yourself right?

You say you're not lowly because you could if you wanted to hire a higher cat, but you choose not to.

Does it matter if you can or can't afford better then an 11 if you want to?
Why should not being able to afford better make you lowly?

Sorry, But you really just ofened me. Because I choose to sail in a Cat 11 I am lowly? Have you ever givin any thought to the fact that some people like myself do not need anything more than 11. I am never in my room, I just like to be on Deck six or above. That is why I book an 11 not because I am lowly. If I wanted to I could book higher, I just choose not to.

 

[aan1701]

If you want to play this card, you do realize that you've just compounded the original offense by being offensive yourself right?

You say you're not lowly because you could if you wanted to hire a higher cat, but you choose not to.

Does it matter if you can or can't afford better then an 11 if you want to?
Why should not being able to afford better make you lowly?

I agree with you. I think you read the post wrong. What I was trying to imply is that if someone books a cat. 12 or a cat. 1 is should not make a difference. Apperatly it makes a difference to the person who thinks a cat. 11 is lowly.

 

[fey_spirit]

That is why I book an 11 not because I am lowly. If I wanted to I could book higher, I just choose not to.

It wasn't hard to misread that line... it's not so much that I thought you meant harm, as that I wondered if you realized how that might have come off.

I a
gree with you. I think you read the post wrong. What I was trying to imply is that if someone books a cat. 12 or a cat. 1 is should not make a difference. Apperatly it makes a difference to the person who thinks a cat. 11 is lowly.

 

[aan1701]

That is why I book an 11 not because I am lowly. If I wanted to I could book higher, I just choose not to.

It wasn't hard to misread that line... it's not so much that I thought you meant harm, as that I wondered if you realized how that might have come off.

I can see your point. Well at least we are on the same page now.

 

[frdeb1999]

We tip the normal amounts and put them on the cc ASAP. Then if we have service that we feel is above and beyond we add cash to the envelopes. We seem to always do this for at least 1 or 2 of the suggested people. We have never had any reason to tip lower and think the amounts are very reasonable.

 

[MyLove4Disney]

Interesting about the cat levels for servers. I have taken 5 cruises now. 3 time late dining at a table of 8, 2 each couple. I have been in cat 10 and 9 during these. The other three couples were all in cats 6 to 4, while no one was in a 3 or higher.

4th cruise we were in cat 11 seated next to Don "Ducky" Williams with the same server so I don't know but I would supppect that he was not in a cat 11 room. He had his brother and two other guest with him.

my last cruise I requested my server once we got on the ship and we got our own private table for two, we were in a cat 11. His other tables one of 6 also a cat 11, the other table a table of 8 4couples were all cat 3's and then he had one other table, but I'm not sure what that was so at least he had people 16 people half from cat 3 and 11. The people at the 8 top that were in Cat 3's, asked us if someone special one the trip as we got to sat by ourselves and that the head waiter spent a lot of time chatting with us and that we knew our server so well. One of the couple had heard my daughter was singing in Rock n bar D on karioke night and raved about how good she was really, they wondered if she was a performer on the ship or on Broadway and if I was just hear visiting her. We told them we were guest just like them.

We all had a great time with out servers you would have thought he had one big table of 16 he all tooks pictures and conversered with each other. Eventhough the two of us sat alone we never felt that way, because we didn't want to. So it may be a policy that servers get promoted up to higher cat's, but ours have always had a mix.

I give the recommended amount via credit card and then my extra with cash and chocolate bars and candy.