Gratuities

[serendipity1499]

Have I been misimformed? I was told that the $20 charge in the Special Restuarants is considered the tip. This is because you would normally receive a provided included in the cruise.

 

No, the $20 Service charge is kept by HAL...I asked the Ladies at the Front desk about it on one of our cruises..It probably is to help off-set the extra Pinnacle expenses..The Pinnacle Waiters do receive part of the $11 pp per day..We usually will leave extra for the Pinnacle Waiter if the service warrants it..Occassionally, service has been mediocre.. Therefore we may not leave as much as we normally would if the service had been fantastic...

 

I would think a cash tip is a way to reward a specific person for their good service. After all, the auto-tip is divided evenly amongst everyone regardless of whether the service was outstanding or average, right?

 

But if I give a cash tip to an individual, they keep that for themselves. Or am I wrong, and they have to turn it in to be placed in the tip pool?

 

Yes that is correct..As long as the $11.00 pp per day is left on your final bill, whatever extra is given to an employee can be kept by that person...However, I've also heard that some times the crew votes to pool those extra tips... Whatever they decide to do really doesn't concern me..

Betty

[HWY 101]

Like most places, there are different local customs. For instance, 10% in Australia seemed to be quite acceptable, while in Europe, you get warned not to over tip for some of us in the States. But, some of the other Countries have a decent wage tacked on up front in their salaries, unlike other places. On board, like many have mentioned, it comes down to better than average service... And then we add on a little something extra.

 

We have found that warm room service food as you like it deserves some gratuity.