What to tip at Palo's?

[GenieDana]

What is the tipping protocol at Palo's?

I understand dinner, per person, is $5. In a full-price restaurant, the 15% - 20% rule would apply, but if the service is what I've heard, I wouldn't feel comfortable insulting the waiters with a $2 tip for a couple.

So then, what is customary?

Thank!

 

[Michelle]

We usually get a bottle of wine at Palo and a gratuity is added to that; typically we tip anywhere from $25 to $40 for the meal, on top of the cover charge.

 

[GenieDana]

My DH and I are Diet Coke drinkers (not even coffee), so what would be customary for meal alone?

Thanks,

Genie

 

[Michelle]

It's really up to you, but I personally would tip at least $20 over the cover charge, even without the wine. I meant that we tip that amount on top of the auto-gratuity that is included with the wine.

 

[ziggy_play_guitar]

Just got back from the 1/19 Wonder Cruise. Ate at Palo's. We tipped $26. The service was awesome. The server was working his butt off. Received a nice thank you note at our stateroom the next day from the server.

 

[dznymom1]

We tip as though we had eaten in a nice restaurant at home, and figure the bill would have been somewhere in the $100 range for the 2 of us, so we tip around $25-$30 for us on top of the surcharge.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The $5 per person charge at Palo is not a dinner charge nor a cover charge. It's a tip. Disney's DCL website says, "There is a service charge of $5 per Guest for gratuities." So that's a $10 tip for a couple.

Then if you order a bottle of wine or drinks, there are automatic 15% gratuities. Let's assume 2 drinks at $6 each and a bottle of wine for $38. So that adds an automatic $7.50.

Thus, the automatic, mandatory tip is at $17.50. That's a good start, but it really doesn't seem like enough considering it's a restaurant where you can linger for hours, enjoying multiple courses and great service.

When you get the bill, there's room to write in an optional, additional tip. Of course, how much you leave is up to you. My guess is that most people would leave at least another $10. But there are undoubtedly those who feel the mandatory tips are enough, while others would write in a much larger amount.

If a couple that's had drinks and wine adds $25-$40, they're leaving a total tip of $40-$60. That's a generous tip, and I'm sure the servers appreciate it. But my guess is that few people tip that much.

 

[tigerhoo]

Do the Palo servers usually send a thank you note? Or does it vary from server to server?

 

[chuckncole]

We ate at Palo's on the eastern Caribbean last week. had Lorenzo ( a great great server) but figured that the 10$ went to them, plus the 15% for the bottle of wine and San pelligrino. Then added an additional $5/ I think we disapointed him as he was quite cold a brunch the next day. We figured 25$ per serve/person for the week as requestd was the protical but by his reception the next day at brunch.....( you do the math) I think e insulted him. Go figure. We even requested him again???? Some one tell me the correct way to do things so we are prepared and well versed next time

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by tigerhoo
Do the Palo servers usually send a thank you note? Or does it vary from server to server?

Toward the end of our cruise, we received thank you notes from our Palo brunch server and our Palo dinner server.

Originally posted by chuckncole
Then added an additional $5/ I think we disapointed him as he was quite cold a brunch the next day. We figured 25$ per serve/person for the week as requestd was the protical but by his reception the next day at brunch.....( you do the math)

I'm not sure I understand the comparison you're making to "25$ per serve/person for the week."

For your main dining room server, assistant server and head server, the combined recommended tip amount per guest is $50.50 for a 7 night cruise, which works out to $7.21 per guest per night. I assume many guests tip more. But the Palo dining staff members undoubtedly serve fewer guests per night, and they're the elite team of servers on the ship. And I don't know if the Palo staff works breakfast and lunch throughout the ship, as the main dining room servers do, for which they get no additional tips beyond your end-of-cruise envelopes. So it's really hard to equate the two.

I would assume that the tips at Palo are shared with others on the service staff, just as they are at a restuarant in any US city.

Thinking about what you would tip for a comparable dinner at a comparable retaurant in a US city is probably the best way to determine how much additional tip, beyond the automatic tip, you wish to leave.

 

[TootyJane]

Originally posted by tigerhoo
Do the Palo servers usually send a thank you note? Or does it vary from server to server?

We received a thank you note from our server, Mauritzio [sp?]. He was an awesome server!!

 

[GenieDana]

So,

Per Horace and Disney's DCL website, the $5 per person charged is a built-in gratuity (and obviously there are other built-in's for wine, coffee, etc.).

I think I'm confortable doing more then, since from what I've read the service and food equates to about a $50 per plate meal in a landside restaurant. Also, the service staff do not do normal meal rotation, so this is it for them.

Thanks for all the discussion, I really appreciate the input and clarification.

Genie

 

[ducklite]

We tipped an additional $30 at dinner, $20 at brunch, plus the automatic gratuity on the alcohol. For tea it was $5. I left cash each time.

Anne

 

[newtodisney]

This is hubby of, so dont get mad at my wife.

Are you certain that the service charge goes to the servers? I assumed that the money went to DCL.

If anyone has definitive evidence, either way, I'd love to hear it.

(We tipped $20 at Brunch, which our server seemed pleased about, and another $20 at dinner)

 

[GenieDana]

Originally posted by GenieDana
Thank you Horace for the helpful information, any doubters can see for themself on The Disney Cruise Line page:

"http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/disneycruiseline/faq/faqgroupingindex?id=FunOnboardFAQGrping#FunOnBoardRomanticRestaurantFAQ"

Look under the question: "Is there a romantic restaurant just for adults?"

The "Official" word is....

"There is a service charge of $5 per Guest for gratuities."

Now do they actually get the gratuity from Disney???? Good Question!

 

[chuckncole]

not once.... BUT T W I C E !!!
Dont make the mistake we did.... If you happen to have Lorenzo at Palo's be extra good to him.... He is a great waiter.... We didnt want to come across as The Americans that throw money around and thought conservative was a good plan BUt we really Cheated him now that I look back I guess we will have to plan another magic cruise to makeit up to him!!!!

Anyway... Have fun, Do visit Palo's as much as you can while there And Treast Lorenzo well. He wont disapoint you. Ask for a side of the balsamic reduction.... ~it's to die for!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by chuckncole
We totally blew it on Tipping at Palo's

not once.... BUT T W I C E !!!

You didn't cheat your server. As I recall from earlier in this thread, you tipped $5 in addition to the $10 per couple gratuity that DCL automatically charges. So if you value the multi-course meal at $50 per guest before beverages ($100 per couple), you left a 15% tip. Then, your server got an additional automatic 15% tip on the beverages.

15% is a standard tip. That's certainly not cheating the server. It's not a generous tip, but most servers in US restaurants would be thrilled if everyone left at least 15%; alas, many people leave less or far less or nothing at all. (There have been threads on this board about people who leave nothing for their stateroom host or their regular dining room service team. Now that's cheating!)

$10 on top of the $10 per couple gratuity would equate to a 20% tip. $30 on top of the $10 would equate to a 40% tip. Of course, this math is based on the premise that an equivalant meal in a US restaurant would cost around $50 per guest before taxes, alcohol, and tips. In fact, there are plenty of nice restaurants in the Chicago area where a comparable meal would cost far less than $50.

Please don't feel guilty because another couple left $25 or $30 ($35 or $40, including the automatic gratuity, corresponding to 35% or 40% based on the math above). Other guests are welcome to leave $100 tips if they like, but that doesn't mean that someone who leaves less is a cheater.

 

[chuckncole]

You have made me feel better! Thanks