Tipping twice at specialty restaurants ?

[MTJSR]

We do tip extra in the specialty restaurants.

 

Just watched a "Cruising Do's and Dont's" show on the travel channel. They said, the additional fee for the specialty restaurants covers the gratuity. Do they now anticipate that we will tip on top of the tip??

[kymbakitty]

Just watched a "Cruising Do's and Dont's" show on the travel channel. They said, the additional fee for the specialty restaurants covers the gratuity. Do they now anticipate that we will tip on top of the tip??

 

Yah, this felt kind of strange too because you think that the $20 or $30 per person charge should or would cover the tip.

 

I don't know...I'd also like to know what others think about this.

 

I know we have done the speciality restaurant a few times and we have always left additional $$ (it has a line on the receipt to add the tip)...and my husband always tips...(he was in the service industry so he will always tip 18-25%)....but I just never knew what the protocol was because they already bill the $10.50 per day for everything....does this NOT include the specialty restaurants?

 

Good question....like to see what the "norm" is for this service.

 

Dawn

[Toto2Kansas]

Just watched a "Cruising Do's and Dont's" show on the travel channel. They said, the additional fee for the specialty restaurants covers the gratuity. Do they now anticipate that we will tip on top of the tip??

 

We have never looked at the extra charge for the specialty restaurants as a tip, and I would doubt that it goes to your servers. Whether they are included in the tip pool or not, we normally tip extra (unless the service is terrible, which we have only run into on ONE occasion in the dozens of times we have dined at one of the speciality restaurants).

[FritzG]

When we ate at Sabatini's on the Diamond in Jan. '08 there was no space on the bill for a tip. When we tried to tip the server he refused it.

[kymbakitty]

We have never looked at the extra charge for the specialty restaurants as a tip, and I would doubt that it goes to your servers. Whether they are included in the tip pool or not, we normally tip extra (unless the service is terrible, which we have only run into on ONE occasion in the dozens of times we have dined at one of the speciality restaurants).

 

Interesting responses already....you state that you basically would never consider NOT tipping...but the post after you had an experience where the waiter refused a tip....odd.

 

Do you remember if there was a place for the tip on the charge slip....or was this something you gave in cash?

 

Also, I agree...the service fee for the specialty restaurant is more for the entire setup, etc. But I was thinking that the overall tipping you do ($10.50 or something like that, per person, per day) for waiters MIGHT cover it since you are not utilizing your regular wait-staff.

 

Again, my husband always tips (over tips in my opinion, but he's been like that for 20 years and it since we can afford it, it's just something I've gotten used to)....but I would like to know what others do in this area.

 

Thanks.

 

Dawn

[Colo Cruiser]

We never look at tipping in the specialty reataurants as tipping twice.

We always tip extra there. Cash.

 

Never had anyone refuse a tip.

[kymbakitty]

We never look at tipping in the specialty reataurants as tipping twice.

We always tip extra there. Cash.

 

That's great...but can you provide a little more information as to what you base it on?

 

There are not prices listed...not "total," per se.

 

Do you leave $20 or $50...how do you determine?

 

Do you leave cash on table or do you put in on the charge slip. As one poster said, there wasn't a place for it. I remember a place on the receipt last time we did this.

 

Dawn

[Colo Cruiser]

That's great...but can you provide a little more information as to what you base it on?

 

There are not prices listed...not "total," per se.

 

Do you leave $20 or $50...how do you determine?

 

Do you leave cash on table or do you put in on the charge slip. As one poster said, there wasn't a place for it. I remember a place on the receipt last time we did this.

 

Dawn

 

Nothing really to base it on unless you compare it to a comparable meal on shore.

We will tip $10 -$20 pp on the whole experience.

We also will tip a little more for the UBD.

[kymbakitty]

Nothing really to base it on unless you compare it to a comparable meal on shore.

We will tip $10 -$20 pp on the whole experience.

We also will tip a little more for the UBD.

 

That sounds quite doable and reasonable.

 

Do you leave cash or put on charge slip?

 

Dawn

[Colo Cruiser]

That sounds quite doable and reasonable.

 

Do you leave cash or put on charge slip?

 

Dawn

 

I don't think we have ever used the write in tip. Always cash. ;)

[MTJSR]

We Americans do love to chuck money around like we make our own:D but as a result, have we trained the waiters to expect nothing short of a fat tip? Is the original intent of the charge to cover a gratuity? That's what was on reported on that TV show. I typically tip because I want to make it out of the restaurant alive. I guess in Australia they do not tip at all.

[pghflyer]

We have never tipped in specialty, there was no place to add it to the bill, and no one expected it. American guilt complex issue.

[kymbakitty]

We have never tipped in specialty, there was no place to add it to the bill, and no one expected it. American guilt complex issue.

 

If someone from another country (or in this country for that matter) does not want to tip, then that is up to them.

 

But why does it seem that if someone does not agree with the common tipping practices in the US, some suggest we do it out of "guilt"? Where does that come from? It is our practice/custom....not guilt but customary.

 

We tip because we are very blessed and don't even miss a few bucks here or there. Those few dollars we don't miss seem to make a huge difference in the lives of others.

 

Do it or don't do it...but don't assume that those that do--do so out of guilt. It IS the custom in the US....if you don't agree, that's fine.

 

Dawn

[50cruiser]

weve ate in the special restrants a lot , on our 14 day to europe this summer we ate everynight there . WE still left $5 per person tip on top of the $11 ship deducted and the $25 ship charged PP We had 4 waiters who coundnt do enough for us ,after the 3rd night we had 5 waiters at our table . They were happy to get extra tips . There was 4 of us we got a designated table by the window for the whole cruise . I didnt like the service in the MDR so we switched . Best food and service ever . I say tip when service is given .on top of that we gave an extra $20 ea. the last night . They brought us a special Baked alaska and All our servers took a group photo with us . Our head waiter said we were the 1st group to eat every night there . Best money we spent . It reminded me of cruising 35 years ago and the way it used to be We are looking foward to Sabatinies and Stirling steakhouse next week on our Grand 11 day Ultimate Carribean CARL

[Happy ks]

I think that an additional tip on top of the tip is very generous, but there are few people who will refuse to relieve you of your "excess" cash. We don't tip $20 - 30 pp in any restaurant on land, usually just 15-20% of the bill, a nice dinner is usually around $85 - 100 for us without tip. So, even if we do tip extra in a specialty restaurant it will be more like an extra $10-15.

 

We've been told by the maitre d' in shipboard specialty restaurants the servers gratuity is around $5 out of the charge. So figure $25 - 35 for food and increase your extra tip from there, this is what I would think an equivalent dinner would cost on land. If you tip 15% of the bill, it would be around $3.75, 20% it would be around $5.25 in a land based restaurant. Tipping an additional $20-30 per person is the equivalent of tipping @ 100%.

 

I don't consider the quality of the food because the servers didn't cook it.

[tenpin]

We were told not to tip on the last two Grand cruises by the Maite D' as this was included in the extra charge made for eating there.

[ONT-CA]

We have never tipped in specialty, there was no place to add it to the bill, and no one expected it. American guilt complex issue.

 

If the gratuity is included in the charge then you have no say in the matter whatsoever, whether the service is good bad or indifferent. We would say that an additional gratuity could be offered for exceptional service. We have applied this reasoning on each occasion offering a gratuity on occasion and then not doing so on others where it was not warrented.

[Putterdude]

I am of the view that the specialty restaurant people are covered off in the "discretionary hotel" charge. Plus there is the cover charge and if a portion of that doesn't go the staff where does it go? If a gratuity were expected then I believe that there would be a line for it. Having said all of that we are inclined to add something to the bill.

[Guest Spo]

I don't think we have ever used the write in tip. Always cash. ;)

 

The first time we went to one of the specialty restaurants, I knew a tip was customary and had every intention of tipping, but I just assumed I could write it in. There was not a place for it and I asked the waiter if I could just write it in (since we were carrying zero cash at the time:o) and he said no. Now I always make sure we take cash to tip in Sabatinis and Crown Grille.

[Colo Cruiser]

The first time we went to one of the specialty restaurants, I knew a tip was customary and had every intention of tipping, but I just assumed I could write it in. There was not a place for it and I asked the waiter if I could just write it in (since we were carrying zero cash at the time:o) and he said no. Now I always make sure we take cash to tip in Sabatinis and Crown Grille.

 

I have had to run back to the cabin a few times. ;)

[kruisey]

I always tip cash:)

[4cats4me]

It never even occurred to us to tip in the specialty restaurant. We too

were under the impression that the $25 pp covered everything, i.e., gratuity. Moreover, we don't carry any cash on the ship at night.

[Habs_Fan]

On our last 9 night cruise we ate at the Crown Grill 4 times and had 1 waiter 3 times and another time we had someone else, but the head waiter actually did most of the work.

 

I can't remember how much I tipped each, but I did tip all of them including the head waiter but I just did it on the last night. Never really thought about doing it at the end of the meal.

 

I did see our waiters working in the Horizon Court so I'm sure they do get tips from the general pool....but their service was excellent so I felt it warranted an extra tip.

[Steelers36]

My opinion is that most folks are correct in presuming "the tip" is covered as part of the specialty fee and from the daily room charges for tips. There should be no guilt about thinking more is REQUIRED.

 

However, we cruise customers always have the option to tip additionally where warranted and less as well (but hopefully none of us has such experience or feeling to the negative!).

 

I think additional cash for specialty wait staff is no different than any additional a customer might leave for MDR Waiter or Cabin Steward. Or Sanctuary team for that matter.

[Northern Bear]

Don't all wait staff pool tips regardless of what dining room they work in?