Tipping

[disneygatorfan]

skallywag,

you will have a head server (who oversees your dining staff, but doesn't actually "serve you" but makes sure your dining section runs smoothly.

then you will have a server... handles meal selection
and then an assistant server.. handles your beverages and helps set and clear table..

you will have one room attendant....

so you will have a total of 4 tipped cast assisting you on your cruise.

 

[dwkwootton]

The service industry has always been set up on tips. Barring poor service, you are indeed supposed to tip and you know this before you order the service. Whether you dine at your regular rotation or opt for chicken fingers by the pool, a member of the waitstaff is working for you. Your $3.00 cup of coffee at Starbucks includes the cup, the lid, the stirrer, the plethora of syrups, sugars & creams, the state of the art grinders & brewers that are cleaned regularly, the uniform on the employee, your parking space, the building, the heat or a/c inside, the clean floor, the tables & chairs that are cleaned for you, the electricity, the background music, the trashcan that has been emptied for you, the artwork, the pc hookups, the plumbing and so on. While it may not seem difficult to mix Reese's Pieces into ice cream, (or hazelnut syrup into coffee) I wouldn't want to be on my feet all day doing swing shifts from before dawn to after midnight providing a service that I could not afford based on a single digit hourly income without benefits for those who do not understand that if you cannot afford the cost plus the tip, you cannot afford the service.

 

[TheWog]

skallywag -

this may help you calculate tips. There is a guide for amounts and who should receive them on disneycruise.com This site will easily calcualte them for you.

http://members.aol.com/CruiseTip/

dwkwootton - am I expected to tip the guy who makes my hazelnut iced coffee once a week at Dunkin Donuts'???? What if this particular store does not have a tip bowl out for its customers to place money into? If I don't tip, can I not afford the coffee with the mixing of cream and sugar and handing it to me or does the fact that DD does not allow me to go behind the counter and make it myself come into play?

edited to correct my poor spelling.

 

[dwkwootton]

I love Krispy Kremes and Starbucks so I've never been in a Dunkin Donuts and I'm not familiar with their setup. But it sounds reasonable to not allow customers to go behind the counter to prepare part of their order. Wouldn't that be much like passengers on The Magic requesting to go behind the bar to draw their own beer to avoid the automatic gratuity? Or like patrons in a restaurant requesting to go in the back to make their own salad to save a couple dollars? If you choose to address me personally as opposed to the group of posters who feel that proper tipping is in order, would you mind spelling my name correctly?

 

[momof3luvs2run]

Originally posted by dwkwootton
The service industry has always been set up on tips. Barring poor service, you are indeed supposed to tip and you know this before you order the service. Whether you dine at your regular rotation or opt for chicken fingers by the pool, a member of the waitstaff is working for you. Your $3.00 cup of coffee at Starbucks includes the cup, the lid, the stirrer, the plethora of syrups, sugars & creams, the state of the art grinders & brewers that are cleaned regularly, the uniform on the employee, your parking space, the building, the heat or a/c inside, the clean floor, the tables & chairs that are cleaned for you, the electricity, the background music, the trashcan that has been emptied for you, the artwork, the pc hookups, the plumbing and so on. While it may not seem difficult to mix Reese's Pieces into ice cream, (or hazelnut syrup into coffee) I wouldn't want to be on my feet all day doing swing shifts from before dawn to after midnight providing a service that I could not afford based on a single digit hourly income without benefits for those who do not understand that if you cannot afford the cost plus the tip, you cannot afford the service.

Wootton but where do you draw the line? McDonalds is a service industry, do you tip there? What is the difference between a place like Starbucks and McDonald's? Why is the Starbuck person entitled to a tip? My Doctor provides a service -- do I tip him. What about the lab tech and the nurses? Do I tip them? I find this thread fascinating.

Geeze I sound like an ogar. lol Really I'm not. I tip the person who cuts my hair, I tip the person who waxes my eyebrows. I tip at all restaurants we sit down at. I will be tipping appropriately on the cruise.

 

[momof3luvs2run]

geeze lighten up!!!

 

[disneygatorfan]

I figured out the secret to getting a lot of answers/responses to your question... just title the subject of your post "Tipping"

Bam! overnight it's the most active thread on the dis boards

 

[drdelsol]

Disneygator fan-too true,lol

I don't know why exactly this topic always seem so touchy. Some do seem to make it into the" haves versus the have-nots."

We could really get this going if everyone put down "republican" or "democrat" after their post.

Last year on our cruise we only ate in the dining room once, but still tipped everyone, but just the recommended. And yes, guest services was surprised we did it and told us it wasn't necessary.

As for the Starbucks coffee also paying for all the store overhead- the point some are making is every brick and motar business has this same overhead, service and retail, but they are not all asking for tips. I own two businesses, one service and one service with retail also, but no tip jars. The lady whos owns a deli two doors down from one of mine makes the food herself but still has a tip jar. I am not saying that is right or wrong, it just takes the employee factor out of the equation.

Last point, I agree, lighten up and just do what you feel is right.

 

[CheapMom]

We could really get this going if everyone put down "republican" or "democrat" after their post.

That made me laugh!
I am a democrat who has a tendancy to overtip!

 

[kcashner]

We're very veteran DCL cruisers...and have heard all sorts of things from various servers, etc. The bottom line is that their income is almost totally dependent on tips. No matter where you and/or your children chose to eat, you did/will eat somewhere and someone will serve you. The tips that you give to your server/asst. server/head server on the last night reflect all of the meal service you have received while on the ship. You are not expected to tip at breakfast or lunch (although it certainly won't be refused if you are so inclined.)

The only additional tip that I've ever been aware of is the automatic 15% added to bar items--unfortunately, sodas and snacks outside the movies count as bar items. These tips are pooled and divided among the servers who work these areas.

So...even if your child eats with the club/lab group for every meal, someone is serving him/her, and that person will be tipped by another family at the last night's dinner. Thus, you should tip as if your server were the one serving your child all the time.

I'll echo Horace--I've never cruised in concierge level, so I don't understand what 18% you might be referring to. However, I'm almost certain that there isn't a food charge there, since there isn't one for us "common folk"...and yes, I do know that you have more menu options.

Cast members in "non-tipped" positions are paid for their services by DCL. You are not expected to tip the kid counsellors, although a tip or small gift is certainly welcomed. You are expected to tip your dining room servers--their families frequently depend on these tips. If I add up the cost of similar meals at a restaurant, the suggested DCL tips are very reasonable (considering 3 meals a day for the length of the cruise.)

Personal opinion, but if you can't afford to tip the 4 positions where it is expected, maybe you can't afford to cruise....yes, I can feel the flames already.

 

[kristen821]

Wow people do get angry when it comes to tipping! This is my opinion. I wish the tips were included in the price of the cruise just so you don't see how much you really are putting into the tips, but since the tips aren't included you have to tip the recommended amount. I am putting the tip money in envelopes for each tipped employee before I even board the plane. If I feel somebody deserves more I will add more, which means I can take out money also if I receive poor service(very unlikely to receive poor service) I think it is wonderful if you can afford to tip extra but not everyone can afford it. I personally have my tip money set aside but whatever I put in extra is one less thing my children get for suveniors.

 

[jbbt]

Just curious if anyone ever tried to figure out what the servers make. I read on here that a serving team gets 22-24 people to serve at a seating. That would mean around 44-48 per night. Am I right?

The guideline for tipping the regular dining server alone is $3.75 per person per day according to the Passporter. Now obviously the server won't always have that number of guests and some people will tip above and some people will tip below or not at all. But in the best case scenario the server will be tipped ($3.75 per day x 48 guests x 7 days) $1260.00 per week!!!! Multiply this number times 4 weeks and add the $50 disney wage and you get $5090.00 per month!!!!!!!!

Is that right? Am I figuring something wrong? Don't misunderstand me. I'm not against what servers make. I'm sure it is all hard earned and I'm sure they are very deserving - they obviously sacrifice a lot. I just can't figure out why people feel sorry for them. It appears they are making a decent living. I'm not sure how much they are taxed or if their room and board is free, but even if they clear half of that they are doing well!. My sister works in the service industry and she only dreams of making that kind of money. Please don't flame me, I'm just trying to make sense of these debates in my brain.

I would like the tips included in the cruise cost as well, but I think leaving it up to the passengers encourages the crew to perform at a uniformly higher level. The same goes for the service industry here at home.

FYI - The stateroom host/hostess should make about the same according to the tipping guidelines.

The last statement leads me to another question. I have never been on a cruise before and intend to tip according to guidelines or better, but why do we tip so much more for a stateroom host than we do for maid service elsewhere? For a family of 4 at a hotel, a GREAT tip per day would be $8.00 ($2 per person), right? But for a stateroom host a family of 4 is supposed to tip at least $14.50 per day. Those of you that have been on a cruise before may be able to tell me. I'm really just curious.

BTW - where do I sign up to work for DCL? ...just kidding

 

[kristen821]

jbbt -
you make a great point about them working for thier tip! also i think the stateroom host works harder than a maid. they clean the room more often, and do other extras of course i have never been on a cruise but from what i have read this is what it sounds like. I agree they make a lot of money a lot of them are from other countries so when they send the money home they must be millionaires, but millions of dollars would not be enough to keep me from my family, but for a single person it would be a wonderful job!

 

[SweetSpot]

We just returned and stayed in a cat. 3. We ordered room service every night and had a hot breakfast delivered one morning. We never signed for anything and were never charge 18%. Even if they ordered drinks or snacks that you are charged for the standard auto tip is 15%. I have no idea what the person who mentioned 18% could be referring to.

To help to understand why it is so important to tip, we were on Coki Beach and were talking to the people next to us who were on the Mariner of the Seas and another couple who were on a different ship (I think Holland America, but I forget which one). We were discussing the differences between the ships. The were the first to bring up how beautiful their ships were but how bad the service was on both of the other ships. They don't get to know their servers, the staff is cold and nothing like we describe as our experience. They also said that at dinner or at a bar you could order a drink and not see if for over a 1/2 hour because there is no incentive to work too hard because all tips are pooled.

Our room steward Don was great. He made sure that I had a week off from my daily chores and made sure that we felt pampered. Our servers Silvio, Leasa and Jeff made our trip for us. Silvio is the best we ever had. Gemma and Milan at Palo were both wonderful. Not only did they take care of us at our set times we saw them working at Topsiders Buffet, doing pool duty, working lunch, Castaway Cay and they also do shifts at Scoops and work behind the scenes. They work 6 months, 7 days a week, most days 16 hours and ALWAYS still have a smile on their face and are a pleasure to be around. When you break down the totals that you have come up with by hours it isn't as much as you would think especially when people don't pay the recommended tip becuase it isn't a requirement.

If you are reading the thread than you know that part of the expense of the trip is a tip and you know the guidelines. There are other cruise lines who don't suggest you to tip so much. You choose the DCL cruise because of the service and experience that you know you will get with Disney and you paid more for your cruise than you would have on other lines to get that experience. Part of the price is the tip that keeps the experienced people on the ship willing to work so hard at making sure your trip is "excellent".

 

[Masonpips]

The guideline for tipping the regular dining server alone is $3.75 per person per day according to the Passporter. Now obviously the server won't always have that number of guests and some people will tip above and some people will tip below or not at all. But in the best case scenario the server will be tipped ($3.75 per day x 48 guests x 7 days) $1260.00 per week!!!! Multiply this number times 4 weeks and add the $50 disney wage and you get $5090.00 per month!!!!!!!!

But remember that in addition to work those two shifts, they work breakfast and lunch nearly every day. I believe they get two day meals off per week. So they are working A LOT of labor hours to get to that rate.

I think breakfast starts at 7 and late dinner ends at 10:30 probably. Then there are deck parties, filling in at Topsiders or Scoops or Plutos, etc. There are very few hours in a day where they are NOT working

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by jbbt
The guideline for tipping the regular dining server alone is $3.75 per person per day according to the Passporter. Now obviously the server won't always have that number of guests and some people will tip above and some people will tip below or not at all. But in the best case scenario the server will be tipped ($3.75 per day x 48 guests x 7 days) $1260.00 per week!!!! Multiply this number times 4 weeks and add the $50 disney wage and you get $5090.00 per month!!!!!!!!

Your math assumes a full ship and everyone tipping, on average, the recommended amount. As you said, it's a "best case scenario". I'd wager that reality is closer to 50-70% of your figure. Assuming 70 hours work per week, that equates to roughly $8-$16 (best case scenario) per hour.

Sam

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by jbbt
Just curious if anyone ever tried to figure out what the servers make. I read on here that a serving team gets 22-24 people to serve at a seating. That would mean around 44-48 per night. Am I right?

The guideline for tipping the regular dining server alone is $3.75 per person per day according to the Passporter. Now obviously the server won't always have that number of guests and some people will tip above and some people will tip below or not at all. But in the best case scenario the server will be tipped ($3.75 per day x 48 guests x 7 days) $1260.00 per week!!!! Multiply this number times 4 weeks and add the $50 disney wage and you get $5090.00 per month!!!!!!!!

Is that right? Am I figuring something wrong? Don't misunderstand me. I'm not against what servers make. I'm sure it is all hard earned and I'm sure they are very deserving - they obviously sacrifice a lot. I just can't figure out why people feel sorry for them. It appears they are making a decent living. I'm not sure how much they are taxed or if their room and board is free, but even if they clear half of that they are doing well!. My sister works in the service industry and she only dreams of making that kind of money. Please don't flame me, I'm just trying to make sense of these debates in my brain.

I would like the tips included in the cruise cost as well, but I think leaving it up to the passengers encourages the crew to perform at a uniformly higher level. The same goes for the service industry here at home.

FYI - The stateroom host/hostess should make about the same according to the tipping guidelines.

The last statement leads me to another question. I have never been on a cruise before and intend to tip according to guidelines or better, but why do we tip so much more for a stateroom host than we do for maid service elsewhere? For a family of 4 at a hotel, a GREAT tip per day would be $8.00 ($2 per person), right? But for a stateroom host a family of 4 is supposed to tip at least $14.50 per day. Those of you that have been on a cruise before may be able to tell me. I'm really just curious.

BTW - where do I sign up to work for DCL? ...just kidding

I know plenty of Americans with college degrees that do not make $5000+ per month. Why anyone would feel sorry for them is beyond me. I'm sure they work hard and deserve the tips they receive.

Looking forward to our first DCL cruise next year.

 

[TooPure4u]

What I think is funny is seeing a tip cup at the local Dunkin Donuts DRIVE THRU. Talk about in your face....this is the first time I have ever seen a tip jar in a drive thru. Funniest part of it was that everytime I go to this place...they have a dollar bill conveniently hanging over the cup but not to cover the label maker tape saying "tips for exceptional service"!!!!!

Anyone ever get the answer to 18% yet????

 

[CM_Mom]

The difference between maid service in a hotel and a stateroom host is that your stateroom host does SO much more. Our stateroom host made the beds in the morning and picked up any clothes that had been left laying around and left them folded neatly on the foot of the bed. We asked for ice at the beginning of our cruise and our small collapsible ice chest was kept supplied with ice without asking again. We were provided with extra hangers and extra pillows. We had towel animals every evening and our beds were turned down and the couch bed made up ready for sleeping. The towels were always fresh in the bathroom and we always got a cheerful Hello when we saw him in the hall. He was also the one responsible for delivering our luggage to our room and picking it up on the last night so we didn't have to worry with it.

Maybe I don't stay in the right hotels, but I've NEVER had that type of service from a maid service in a hotel.

I think the reason so many folks on these boards mention tipping extra is that they pay for the quality of service they receive and it's consistently between above average and fantastic.

I would also guess that while those of us on the DisBoards are usually a generous bunch that there are lots of folks who go on a cruise and never tip at all!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by jbbt
The last statement leads me to another question. I have never been on a cruise before and intend to tip according to guidelines or better, but why do we tip so much more for a stateroom host than we do for maid service elsewhere? For a family of 4 at a hotel, a GREAT tip per day would be $8.00 ($2 per person), right? But for a stateroom host a family of 4 is supposed to tip at least $14.50 per day. Those of you that have been on a cruise before may be able to tell me. I'm really just curious.

Housekeepers at a U.S. hotel are paid by the hotel. I've read that the range is between $6.00 and $10.00 per hour. Some guests leave a tip; some don't. When a guest leaves a tip, it's an extra "thank you." Tips are more common at resorts and for longer stays than at typical overnight lodgings.

On the other hand, cabin stewards on cruise ships are essentially paid by the passengers, not by the cruise line. The cabin stewards work 7-day weeks. Their pay from the cruise lines works out to somewhere around 20 cents per hour.