What if we don't rotate?

[Land-and-Sea]

Hi all. Me and the Mrs. are getting ready for our 3rd cruise and have decided that we will probably not go to the regular rotation restaurants at all this time around. I have a dilemma over what (if anything) I should tip the servers. Have any of you not gone to regular dining? If so, can I ask what you eneded up tipping?

 

[alikat99]

I have not actually NOT gone to regular rotation dining, but I would have to say that you should still tip. Your servers work breakfast, lunch and dinner and they also work on CC. Even though you won't see them at dinner, someone will be serving you for other meals. Just my thought!

 

[alexandrew]

So....You are stating in your post that you will not dine at all at any of the regular rotation restaurants in the evening....????Although I cannot possibly imagine what you'd be doing during your scheduled dining time that could be better than being doted on at the restaurants , it's your business...However, I find it ludicrous that posters would advise you to seek out the waitstaff and tip them if are not partaking in the evening rotation dining....

DW and I tip based on our personal experience with the staff, and nothing else...if the service is exceptional,which it usually is, they receive an exceptional tip...I am mindful but do not tip based on the fact that my waiter also may do a shift or 3 at Scoops or CC...that is part of his job....

 

[lbgraves]

At the same time, it is not right for someone to skip the regular dinners & not tip anyone. They are eating somewhere on the ship. I don't know of anyone who plans to tip at every meal to the person who serves you for that meal. What guideline would you use?

 

[alexandrew]

the poster didnt specify 3, 4, or 7 day....if 7-day, they can eat at Topsiders every evening...then again, theres Plutos, Pinochios, Scoops, and room service....

I dont think the poster has any obligation to seek out his waitstaff and hand them a tip envelope at the end of the cruise... "I dont know you, I havent met you,and I'm sure you would have done an excellent job,but I ate at Palo one night, then I ate some room service and chicken tenders on deck 9 the balance of cruise....oh, but heres your tip for the entire week"

 

[Land-and-Sea]

Hm, so we have one for and one against. We need some tie-breakers!

Alikat: I see your point but remember, the servers other places we will eat (Palo, ports of call, room service etc) will get their tip.

Alexandrew: Well, perhaps some would call us unsociable but we prefer to do our own thing and frankly, find neither of the main dining times convenient. With at least 2 visits to Palo for dinner (hopefully), dinner in Key West, afternoon tea (which leaves us not very hungry for dinner), room service etc...it looks like it'll just be easier never to go. We've done them all before anyway and would like to spend the time in other pursuits.

Thanks for the replies, folks! Anxious to hear more opinions. Please know that I'm not a cheapskate and believe that people should be tipped well. I just question if I should spend that $100 if I don't use the service.

LaS

 

[smchan]

If you're going to Palo, then you may want to tip more because the service will most likely be outstanding. Same goes for room service. It's customary to tip a few bucks for room service.

I don't tip at breakfast and lunch because I do tip in full at dinner - regardless of whether I ate there every night or not. However, if I skipped dinner my entire cruise, I'd probably leave a few bucks whenever I sat down for lunch or dinner.

If you don't intend to use your table, you should inform DCL or - at the latest - your head waiter when you board. There's probably a family wanting to sit together, someone wishing to change rotation, someone wishing to sit alone, someone wishing to change dining times, etc so please give them a shot. If you prefer to hold the table "in reserve" just in case you might use it, then I definitely think you ought to tip because you've denied the wait staff a chance to earn that tip otherwise.

JMHO.

Sam

 

[alikat99]

My point is that the original poster is going to be eating somewhere for breakfast and lunch and all the servers rotate those shifts. Sure it's part of your servers job to work different shifts, but in my opinion and many others on this board, you are not tipping the dinner servers just for their service at dinner. You are tipping on the fact that someone is always serving you at other meals too. However, unless they are going to "tip" each server that they encounter at all of the other meals, then I guess it's ok.

Now, this is just my opinion, take it for what it's worth. I'm no expert on DCL, but I would at least tip the servers a portion of the recommended tip if they aren't eating at dinner, and aren't tipping the other servers at breakfast & lunch.

 

[WDWLVR]

I agree with the previous poster. If you really aren't going to go any night then talk to the head server and let him know. That way your table can be given to someone else. Whether or not you are there your serving team is and they shouldn't be shortchanged because you want to do things differently.

So my vote is - if you can notify DCL you don't want a table then don't worry about tips.

If however you don't notify DCL and you get assigned a table then yes I think you should tip your servers - they were there even if you weren't.

 

[alexandrew]

I am not meaning to be argumentative, but where have you read or discerned that your tips to your assigned waitstaff are something other than for the specific meals they serve you...????

Land and sea....I definitely see your point...there are some great restaurants at Key West , and 2x Palo is great....that still leaves 4 nights....Lumieres is really good though....AP I can really take or leave food-wise

 

[alikat99]

This will be my last post on this subject, because I'm not an argumentative person, at all!!

I've read on this board several times when this type of subject comes up regarding tipping that your servers don't just work dinner, they work almost all meals. I just know that if I chose to not eat at my assigned table for any of the dinners, I would at least give my server some sort of tip because someone else's server served me at breakfast & lunch, and in exchange, my server served other guests at other meals. Like I said, just my opinion and with that, I'm done!

 

[jhorstma]

If you're going to Palo, then you may want to tip more because the service will most likely be outstanding. Same goes for room service. It's customary to tip a few bucks for room service.

I don't tip at breakfast and lunch because I do tip in full at dinner - regardless of whether I ate there every night or not. However, if I skipped dinner my entire cruise, I'd probably leave a few bucks whenever I sat down for lunch or dinner.

If you don't intend to use your table, you should inform DCL or - at the latest - your head waiter when you board. There's probably a family wanting to sit together, someone wishing to change rotation, someone wishing to sit alone, someone wishing to change dining times, etc so please give them a shot. If you prefer to hold the table "in reserve" just in case you might use it, then I definitely think you ought to tip because you've denied the wait staff a chance to earn that tip otherwise.

JMHO.

Sam

This is spot on - if you release your places in the rotation restaurants then you're freed of the tip obligation, otherwise you're obligated to tip. Fair or not the common cruise industry compensation standard for waitstaff is based on tips on an assigned seat basis.

 

[Land-and-Sea]

SMCHAN/WDWLVR: A ha! Very good advice. I'll inform DCL that we will not be using our dining rotation and make it available to others who might want it. Good idea. On our first cruise we were assigned the late seating and REALLY wanted an earlier one (which we have this time) so I know someone will appreciate it. Thanks for the feedback. (PS: I *always* tip very well for Palo. It might just be my most favorite restaurant of all time)

alexandrew: Well, the basic plan is to go to Palo as many times as possible. We're usually into larger lunches and smaller dinners so Pluto's or room service is fine.

Here's our tentative plan....
Night #1: Palo (standby). We've had good luck with this as most don't go to Palo on the first night.
#2: Key West
#3: Afternoon tea so something light for dinner (room service?)
#4: Palo (standby) or misc (Plutos, room service, topsiders etc)
#5: Pirate theme night (isn't there a late buffet?)
#6: Brunch @ Palo (not very hungry by dinner)
#7: Palo (sched)

Somewhere in there is also the Castaway Club event which is more afternoon food leaving us less hungry for dinner.

Anyway, the point is...on our last cruise we found that we were rarely hungry by the time dinner camer around and just went to eat because it was time to. This time we're going to try something a little different.

Thanks again for all the great responses. This helped us out.

LaS

 

[DizWiz]

My opinion: Yes, you are tipping based on the service you receive at the dinners. That's why you have only one team of servers the whole cruise--so they can learn what you like and dislike and serve you the best they can in order to earn their tip.

If you don't take part in the rotational dining, then don't tip. However, as smchan and WDWLVR mention, I would recommend notifying DCL or your head server that you're not going to be in dining in the rotation so they can rearrange to accommodate others if necessary.

Have a great trip! I wish I could tag along!

 

[American Scrapper]

This is a very touchy subject, and it really is up to you and how you feel. For myself, I probably still would tip, maybe not necessarily the requested amount (if you are going to let them know before hand), but would give something. Our head server was working in Topsiders during lunch and on another cruise I seen our assistant server working in Parrot Cay for breakfast & lunch and at Cookies on Castaway Cay. We seen our servers several times throughout the cruise and they always went out of their way to make sure we were happy. Our head server even got my DH a "grilled" cheeseburger at lunch because he overheard him say that he really had a taste for a real cheeseburger instead of the ones that they have at the Mickey Pool.

Kathy

 

[jweiss]

I have been in a real quandry over this issue, so even though there have been a number of threads on the subject, I'm glad to see the opinions again. We are on the 14 day cruise in August. Because we got on late, we have late seating (am on wait list for early, but will unlikely get it). I know for a fact there is no way either of my kids (ages 14 and 1 at time of cruise) can wait for late dining. I respect the opionions that the wait staff relay on the tips, and have been wondering how to handle this. Yesterday I called DCL (wanted to make sure I was still waitlisted for early dining) and I asked the CM what he thought. He really minimized the issue......said HE only tips for the nights he eats in the restaraunt. Last year I cruised (alone) with three children, one being 6 months old. We rarely ate in the dining rooms....found Topsiders much more comfortable and convenient. There must be a way to work this out, without feeling cheap!!!!!

 

[ivanova]

I understand this can be a sensitive topic.....If everyoe skipped dinner (not gonna happen) servers would never get paid (their tips are basically their pay).....they work 14-18 hour days making sure ALL meals run smoothly, and IMHO if you go to breakfast or lunch at any of the venues they work, they should be tipped something......how much ultimately would have to be up to each individual cruiser.

 

[missmulan]

I agree with some of the poster saying that you should notify DCL of your plan as soon as possible so they can assign another table to the wait staff who would have waited on you. Being short on two passengers tip may not be alot to us but I'm sure they had plans for their money!

 

[charstar]

I understand this can be a sensitive topic.....If everyoe skipped dinner (not gonna happen) servers would never get paid (their tips are basically their pay).....they work 14-18 hour days making sure ALL meals run smoothly, and IMHO if you go to breakfast or lunch at any of the venues they work, they should be tipped something......how much ultimately would have to be up to each individual cruiser.

If everyone skipped dinner, Disney would rework the way they did dining. Personally. I think, Tipping should be included with the cost like in the dining plan at WDW. I love getting the meal plan at WDW so I don't have to worry about tipping. Plain & simple! I love that (most) all the meals are included in the price on the ship and you don't have to carry around much cash. There are several different CM's who work on the ships who get no tips but the service they provide is just as useful as a Dining Room server.

Employers: (my take) I hope they have some one reading this!
I think you should expect a kind of service from your staff, pay them well, and drop tipping completly. If a server doesn't perform, they don't deserve the job. Tipping causes too much trouble (again my take). Even the CM who had a horrible day, shouldn't have to rely on tips to help her pay for the family back home. The job should pay her for the duties it requires. So many times I have gone somewhere (inland) and seen a server taking on too many tables or had people call in sick. Work so hard then get stiffed for having to do two peoples jobs and not getting a drink refill to someone in a timely manner. Sometimes the blame falls on management for not having enough people on hand. I have for years thought empoyers show their true colors by paying an employee a wage they deserve.

Now that the ranting is out.
and back to the cruise tipping:
I would tip for work done for you personally. If you go to dinner, make sure, you leave the minimum tip at the end of the cruise. If you had poor service, speak with the Dinning Manager. I can not think of a time where I had poor service from a CM. So until the system is changed, Tip if you use the service! Don't worry about it if you don't.

 

[jrabbit]

I would tip the serving team even if I didn't go to any of the rotational dinners. Your servers are serving at 3 meals per day along with the snack stations, topsiders and buffetts.

As far as it being awkward like someone else has said - "I don't know you but here's your tip" you don't even have to personally give them your tip - just go to guest services and charge it to your account and DCL will automatically pass the tips along to the wait staff. That way you don't have to carry cash to tip for service at breakfast and lunch and at the snack places.