Do you tip the head waiter?? Just curious

[flashcat]

Our head waiter on Voyager in February was at our table every night. He delivered bread and told us that he started out 25 years ago delivering bread and was still glad to do it!!! Best one we have ever had!!!

[Bobal]

We've always tipped the head waiter since we choose pre-paid tips. Having said that we've always had a very attentive head waiter and never regretted the tips. The HW's have always been particularly good at paying attention to the kids and ensuring all the table servide is running smoothly. At 0.75$ a day I'm not complaining :)

[luvscruising2007]

We have had very good head waiters on all of our cruises. We have always tipped them. We have sailed only on RC.

Our next cruise is on Carnival ant they do not include a head waiter as part of the tipping process. Actually they add the tips to your on board account on a daily basis. The tip amount is $10 pp per day.

So, perhaps different cruise lines have different recommendations.

[Captain Jake]

of course we do,only the pathetic cheap ones do not

:cj

[MIcruiser99]

We've always tipped the head waiter since we choose pre-paid tips. At 0.75$ a day I'm not complaining :)

 

We do the same. The amount of tip is quite small to worry about!

 

There seems to be a huge difference in their attentiveness to diners. Only one cruise did we actually meet the head waiter. He came to our table every night and spent about 5 minutes telling us about what our next port was going to be and what to expect on the menu for the next night. Since that one time, we have not seen another head waiter!

 

Maybe as others mentioned their behind the scenes work keeps them busy???

[kyriecat]

I usually opt for adding gratuities on my seapass and those include tips for the head waiter. I've had some head waiters who came by every night to make sure we were having a good experince, and a few who only showed up a couple times (one of those being the last night for tips). Since the tip amount isn't very much, I usually don't worry about it. Our head waiter on my last cruse was very visible - it was our waiter who wasn't around. Our head waiter was the one who cleared our plates most nights because the waiter was missing. I haven't had that happen before.

[angiemom]

We tipped what was recommended but nothing extra. It didn't seem to me that the head waiter did that much for us but I thought maybe they do something behind the scenes that warrants the tip. Our waiter and assistant waiter got the recommended tips plus extra - they were absolutely wonderful and really contributed greatly to our enjoyment of the cruise. I would consider tipping the head waiter more if he made an effort to acknowledge us, but the rather anonymous nature of the head waiter on our March cruise didn't make me feel like leaving him an additional tip.

[abhb]

Out of all our cruises, we had the best head waiter on the Explorer last summer. He came over to our table every night and talking and made sure everything was good. Our waiter and ass't waiter were wonderful too. This is the only cruise that I really remember any real interaction with the head waiter.

[megr1125]

I've had a couple Superior HWs, a couple mediocre and 1 horrible one whom i tried to UN tip...(saw him only once, when we had an issue and he was arrogant to put it mildly!)

 

The superior HWs have been tipped much extra! They've often paved the way for us to have a great table and service staff...especially on our B2Bs....and we've gotten out of the way tables that make it easy for my mom in her wheelchair...they've also arranged for her dinner to be delivered on days when she just doesn't feel up to getting into her WC to go to the dining room....

[stcruise]

On our last cruise on Serenade we opted for the prepaid gratuities.

 

We did end up tipping extra to the Asst. Waiter, Waiter and our Head Waiter. They were all excellent. The Head Waiter came by our table every night to check on everything - he poured our wine, took away empty dishes and refilled water glasses as necessary. We really felt we were being taken care of by a team of three and no task was too large or too small for any of them to do. This has not always been the case on other cruises, so we really appreciated the above and beyond we experienced from all three - therefore, extra tips for all!

[cruiseblue]

Yeah, we tipped our head waiter. As others have said, we didn't really see him/her much but figured they played some role in the dinning room.

[cruzincurt]

Perhaps the reason some of us never see our head waiter is because a couple of diners have them bottled up every night cutting their food, chatting, looking after special needs and so on....And I'm sure some diners capitalize on their attention and they are high maintenance pain in the butts.

 

I've noticed some head waiters seem to get stuck at particular tables every night or are off running errands and dealing with some diner's "problems".

[eddjbishop]

Our last cruise (Explorer of the Seas), I was going to tip our head waiter, UNTIL the last dinner on the ship, our head waiter brought a slip of paper folded up to me... he asked that, instead of a tip, would I mind getting this: the list was of several bottles of liquor..!! I thought "Whatever"... I didnt give him SQUAT..!!

[SpongeAlan]

of course we do,only the pathetic cheap ones do not

:cj

 

 

A statement such as that is pathetic.

[steponboard]

If he makes the rounds and comes around to ask if everything is alright I tip the suggested amount. If I have never seen him then why tip for service not received.

[twinlges]

We had the same head waiter on two of our cruises, I thought he was spectacular on the first one--at our table every night playing word games with the kids and he wouldn't give them the answer till the following night!! If he was spectacular on the first one, I cannot even describe the level of service on the second cruise, first when we came to the table--he remembered my mom was travelling with us the last time and asked after her (and we hadn't been there in 2 years!!!) FOR REAL! Then one night one of the teenagers lost their cell phone, they saw him preparing something in the dining room late that night and knocked on the dining room door--he escorted them to the table (the lights were out in most of the dining room and searched under the table with a flash light for the phone--they didn't find it...the next evening at dinner he asked if he could talk to the girls for a minute, he called them to the side and asked if they had found the phone...they had in the mess of the room, he asked if we (parents knew of the situation--we did not!) He never said another word about it...on the last night right before dinner they told us the story--since they are teenagers they had no clue about the tipping--needless to say we feverishly stuffed whatever extra we had in his tip envelope. He said he would miss us very much as he was on the Mariner and was going with them to the west coast--We told him we knew about the cell phone, and he said "don't be too angry, they were very concerned and tried real hard to locate it!" His name is Raj, and if anyone has him as a headwaiter--you are very lucky!!

 

Katie

[Mango Tango]

On our first few cruises we hardly ever saw the Head Waiter, but since then, we have had wonderful service from our head waiter. We gladly tip him or her for their service.

[madforcruising]

As with everybody in the service industry, there are those providing good service and those that proovide not so good service.

 

Anyway I´ve always tipped the head waiter. The head waiters job is mainly behind the scene and while it´s a nice touch - if the service is good - there´s no need for me to see / talk to the headwaiter on a daily basis.

 

If the waiter and assistant waiter are providing great service, the head waiter has done a good job, as that´s one of his main responsibilities. I think many people confuse the responsibilities of the head waiter, lokking for the personal attention in first place.

[tip]

Now that we are using "Anytime Dining" on every cruise, it is a moot point since tipping is automatic. We have been on 18 cruises and the only once was the head waiter really visible. That was when they first introduced Anytime Dining on Independence of the Seas. He stopped by each night to chat and sincerely seemed interested in our feedback to the program.

 

On the otherhand, the only time we saw the headwaiters on previous cruises was on the final night when he/she had their hand out.

[xcomet]

Only once have we NOT tipped him....we never saw him, didn't know who he was, and he NEVER came to our table...not even on the last evening when tips were being handed out...therefore, no tip! We had his envelope, but he never appeared! SML3 must have had the same headwaiter we did!

 

Me too, that has happened more than once on our cruises, and we did the same thing. The other times we tipped if he came over and at least checked in!

[katiel53]

Last week we were on Freedom and had MTD so we had to tip the head waiter. He was, without a doubt, the worst head waiter we have ever had. He did show up on lobster night and took the lobster tail out of the shell, and also cut up my dad's steak. (I have no clue why he did that as my father is certainly able to cut up his own steak, lol.)

 

We never saw him at our table again and we did have some problems in the dining room with the policies of MTD. He never did anything for us or for his wait staff. Our waiter was working his tail off and was so busy, but this HW was nowhere to be seen.

 

He never even stopped by the last night to get his tip, but then again, he knew with MTD that we had to tip him. On the way out of the dining room, I saw him, and I know I was rude, but I said to him "Since you didn't have the courtesy to visit our table, we left the vouchers on the table." He then started with Thank you, thank you etc. I just kept walking. I really am not rude to the cruise employees, but this guy really ticked me off.

 

The dining room manager came by several nights and although he isn't a person to tip, I would much rather my tip for the HW would have gone to the dining room manager who was wonderful.

[NYCRUISR]

Yes. These threads pop up from time to time and point out the misconceptions that most people have about the head waiter. I don't know about their salary. I assume it is not very much, or there would not be suggested tipping. The $0.75pp per day is probably as much or more than the waiters, because a head waiter is responsible for a whole crew of waiters, and therefore is getting that $0.75pp from several times as many people.

 

Anyway, the head waiter's main job is to supervise that wait staff and help with any problems that come up. So, if you have great service, it probably means you have a good head waiter, helping to make sure his/her staff is providing great service. In my experience, they usually do visit their tables from time to time, but that is not really the main "service" that they provide. If I get good service, and RCCL says that a $0.75/day gratuity to the head waiter is appropriate for good service, then I'm fine with that.

 

As a general rule, we tip the head waiter as a whole table. Some cruises we get more personal service, sometimes less. But I agree, it is his job to supervise and make it all happen.

[TPKeller]

Oh, the ubiquitous "shall we tip the head waiter" threads...

 

It's easy to get tired of them, but on the other hand, each one gives us a chance to educate a whole new set of cruisers to the misleading terms used to describe the system which the cruise lines use to compensate the wait-staff.

 

The only answer to this question is: "Yes, you should always tip the head waiter, unless you are sure that they have done such a poor job that they do not deserve to be paid for their work."

 

It really is that simple. The cruise line and the employee have a contract, which spells out their method of compensation. That contract provides that a certain portion of their income will come from the passengers, in the form of "tips". Now these employees are guaranteed a certain minimum level of compensation, but you can be sure that if the passengers are consistently not tipping them enough to meet that, then they will be finding other jobs soon.

 

It is frustrating that these mis-applied terms are so confusing, and that our cultural assumption about what a "tip" is does not conform to the compensation method that the cruise lines choose to use.

 

It's a salary, not a reward for above and beyond. If you choose to withhold it, and I am 100% in favor of passengers keeping that decision, you just need to know what the real meaning of that decision is.

 

The cruise industry is the only industry in the world that I know of that leaves the decision completely in the hands of the end customer to decide whether or not you deserve to be paid for your work. Imagine if that were the case for your job. Don't treat that decision lightly.

 

Theron

[cruzincurt]

We had the same head waiter... at our table every night playing word games with the kids and he wouldn't give them the answer till the following night!!

 

That's why he sometimes never makes to visit all the tables in his area. :rolleyes: On the second cruise he was probably tied up at someone else's table.

[Submariner]

Oh, the ubiquitous "shall we tip the head waiter" threads...

 

It's easy to get tired of them, but on the other hand, each one gives us a chance to educate a whole new set of cruisers to the misleading terms used to describe the system which the cruise lines use to compensate the wait-staff.

 

The only answer to this question is: "Yes, you should always tip the head waiter, unless you are sure that they have done such a poor job that they do not deserve to be paid for their work."

 

It really is that simple. The cruise line and the employee have a contract, which spells out their method of compensation. That contract provides that a certain portion of their income will come from the passengers, in the form of "tips". Now these employees are guaranteed a certain minimum level of compensation, but you can be sure that if the passengers are consistently not tipping them enough to meet that, then they will be finding other jobs soon.

 

It is frustrating that these mis-applied terms are so confusing, and that our cultural assumption about what a "tip" is does not conform to the compensation method that the cruise lines choose to use.

 

It's a salary, not a reward for above and beyond. If you choose to withhold it, and I am 100% in favor of passengers keeping that decision, you just need to know what the real meaning of that decision is.

 

The cruise industry is the only industry in the world that I know of that leaves the decision completely in the hands of the end customer to decide whether or not you deserve to be paid for your work. Imagine if that were the case for your job. Don't treat that decision lightly.

 

Theron

 

Sorry - what you describe is a 'service charge' - not a tip. A tip should be voluntary for great service (hint: above normal, regular service). Call a spade a spade. It just peeves be to pay someone extra to do their regular job.

 

Aww crap... I promised myself that I wouldnt get involved in another tipping war... too late.:(