Tipping at Chops

[LidoBoy]

I know the tip is included in the cover charge, but I feel the need to tip some amount for such great service. But as RC keeps raising the cover (now $30) I'm feeling less compelled to tip. It would be helpful to me if I knew how much of the cover is actually tip.

 

Do u tip in Chops? How much for a perfectly orchestrated meal.

 

How much of the cover charge is tip?

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[LidoBoy]

I would like to believe others would have an opinion on this...:o

[setsail]

We tipped extra. Don't care what the cover is/for. If we liked our waiter/waitress and they gave great service, we left extra, we left 10$ at chops

[loudbmw]

I usually leave an extra $5 per person at all the specialty restaurants

[pltag]

There has always been varying opinions on how the Service Charge is divided ...... including those who have cited servers and mangers at Chops & Portofino. And as with so many things RCI ...... NO one knows for sure. So ....... we always tip extra, and our last cruise we did so in cash. We gave each of our servers an extra $10!

[beardedladies]

Hi there...

 

Well we do love to tip a bit extra, we were recently on the Jan 10th sailing on the Independence of the seas and there was three of us, we received excellent service and food was amazing and so we added an extra $20 ...

 

But a couple of days later I was told that the staff are salaried and if you give a tip not to add it to the bill as they never see any of this extra money and to leave cash instead... Good news though as it seems that the bar staff do receive the extra tips when you add them to the slip... :eek:

 

It maybe different for ships that sail from the US... has anyone else heard of this happening to them... I was very peeved at the time though!...

Mark x

[cb at sea]

You have to figure that the cost of the food is part of your fare....your "cover charge" is the tip for the specialty restaurants. $30 pp = $60 tip.....$60 is 20% of $300.00....That's a HECK of a bill when alcohol isn't even included for 2 people! I cannot imagine that the food that is served in Chops would incur a $300 bill, before cocktails!

 

So, tip additionally, if you like...but that cover charge is well within a standard tip amount!!!!

[ZoeyVictoria]

We tip 20% of the bill, just as we do in land-based restaurants. Even if part of the "cover charge" is considered to be a tip, we are spending disposable income on a very nice vacation while the staff is working; it is a way of showing appreciation for what they did to make our vacation nicer, and the $12 or so probably means more to them than it does to us. I don't understand spending hundreds/thousands of dollars on a vacation and then worrying about saving a few dollars on tipping.

[Verfai]

First my two cents, I will never understand the US tipping system :D, with this way of working I can’t understand that anybody would want to work as a waiter in the first place…

 

On the specialty restaurant, come on people, 30$ that you already have to pay extra, for like above stated by “cb at sea” is well within the service and food that you get imo, so no

I would not tip extra and have not done so in our visits to Portofino and Chops.

 

Same goes for the alcohol, Its already 15% extra every order, I don’t understand why I should tip even more for pouring out a drink!?

 

That all being said, and this might sound strange when you have red above, at the end of a cruise those that have goan that extra mile, especially the waiters, do receive an extra bonus from us as at that time they have proven that they did try to give us a good time without seeing money first.

 

My two European cents :D lol

[Barbiegator]

Yes, we leave extra tip because service is great.

[rushedmom]

We usually always leave extra $5 to $10 per person in our family. Our last trip to chops the service was very slow and it was not that crowded. I think we left an extra $5 total...

 

I don't think the $30 upcharge is just tip, it offsets some of the higher food costs.

[phoenix1181]

You have to figure that the cost of the food is part of your fare....your "cover charge" is the tip for the specialty restaurants. $30 pp = $60 tip.....$60 is 20% of $300.00....That's a HECK of a bill when alcohol isn't even included for 2 people! I cannot imagine that the food that is served in Chops would incur a $300 bill, before cocktails!

 

So, tip additionally, if you like...but that cover charge is well within a standard tip amount!!!!

 

That's crap!

 

Food covered in your fare can be obtained in many venues but Chops is not one of them. The cover charge is for the [much] higher quality food as well as the more personalized service. Part of the $30 is for the wait staff but certainly not all, or even the majority!

 

How much is tip seems to be unknown but the general consensus is that it's a relatively small amount.

 

The service is so good, we always tip an additional $20.

[LidoBoy]

A European's point of view on tipping (or lack there of) would be a whole different thread. I've heard that RCL has made attempts to update their compensation policy for european sailing because tipping is not the norm for cruisers on these itineraries, though, I don't know if they have followed through on it. As it goes for many of these staff compensation treads, the truth will vary from line to line and ship to ship.

 

As compared to U.S. passengers I'm glad I am similar in my thinking. I agree with ZoeyVictoria, the money means more to the staff than it does to me.

 

On a cruise I am generous, probably overly so but I want to simply appease myself from the perspective of my land-based tipping habits. So it would help to know how much of the cover is reserved for tips. I would be floored if the truth is that the staff gets the entire $30.00. I will likely never know exactly... so I am in favor of tipping similar to others with a similar point of view and $10-$15 cash makes sense IMO.

 

Tom

[ryano]

. Part of the $30 is for the wait staff but certainly not all, or even the majority!

 

 

She has been corrected NUMEROUS times on this and still goes on spreading the falsehood that the cover charge IS the tip :rolleyes:

[ryano]

....your "cover charge" is the tip for the specialty restaurants.

 

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[househunter]

The $30 charge is not just for the tip. It also covers the difference in price for the upgraded food. We usually tip $20 for the 2 of us at dinner for the specialty restaurants and at least $10 for lunch.

 

And for the non tipping cultures, in your country you pay a higher price for your meals in restaurants and then the restaurant pays the server.

 

In the US we pay a lower price and then add the tip. This creates a need for the server to actually work hard to earn a good tip.

 

We have traveled extensively outside the US and you can see the difference in service in non-tipped areas. It is usually horrible!

 

But no matter how you look at it, the consumer still pays the wages of the employees in all businesses.

[setsail]

First my two cents, I will never understand the US tipping system :D,

 

My two European cents :D lol

 

So, when you sail I hope you tip all the public bathroom attendents on the ship as they are in there cleaning etc. all the time:D:D....per your system

 

Customs

 

Belgium law requires everyone to carry some form of official identification at all times.

Tipping

 

Service charges are included in bills in Belgium and tipping is not necessary, unless for exceptional service. Porters, coatroom and bathroom attendants are generally tipped.

[coordinator23]

She has been corrected NUMEROUS times on this and still goes on spreading the falsehood that the cover charge IS the tip :rolleyes:

That's because when the "specialty" dining was introduced, eons ago on Voyager, "we" were told by the company that the up charge was for the wait staff as they did not share in the tips that the main dining room staff was getting - and I'm sure they still don't. I believe that the MDR and Windjammer staff somehow split this money up. The food at that time was basically the same, so no one wanted to pay more for either yesterdays or tomorrows menu in a smaller, more intimate space. I believe they upgraded the menu to attract more people. I'm sure it is a new "cash cow" for them. In the back of my mind, I too believe, that this upcharge was to pay the wait staff so they were not short changed. Since I've already paid for dinner, only a small amount of the cost should cover the "upgraded" food.

[Topo Gigio]

I personally think the cruise lines are making a fortune out of the specialty restaurants. Every ship that goes into dry dock will come out with at least 2 (extra) specialty restaurants, so why make all these extra costs if they are not making money?

[pspercy]

with this way of working I can’t understand that anybody would want to work as a waiter in the first place…

 

A good waiter/waitress can do very well indeed. I know someone who paid his way thru' law school as a waiter at the old Steak & Ale chain.

[Topo Gigio]

with this way of working I can’t understand that anybody would want to work as a waiter in the first place…

 

A good waiter/waitress can do very well indeed. I know someone who paid his way thru' law school as a waiter at the old Steak & Ale chain.

 

Because those waiters on cruise ship will earn at least 10 times more then at home and most probably working less too..

[cruisemama1]

First my two cents, I will never understand the US tipping system :D, with this way of working I can’t understand that anybody would want to work as a waiter in the first place…

 

On the specialty restaurant, come on people, 30$ that you already have to pay extra, for like above stated by “cb at sea” is well within the service and food that you get imo, so no

I would not tip extra and have not done so in our visits to Portofino and Chops.

 

Same goes for the alcohol, Its already 15% extra every order, I don’t understand why I should tip even more for pouring out a drink!?

 

That all being said, and this might sound strange when you have red above, at the end of a cruise those that have goan that extra mile, especially the waiters, do receive an extra bonus from us as at that time they have proven that they did try to give us a good time without seeing money first.

 

My two European cents :D lol

 

'like'

[chadbeck]

I always tip extra. I don't count the cover charge as part of the tip even if it is. The food is always great and the service has never been anything but excellent for me. Personally I always tip extra when ordering at one of the bars as well if I am going to be in there. I also always do it in cash. I am sure I tip more than is needed but just find the service every place on the ship fantastic so I just figure it into my trip budget.

[Verfai]

So, when you sail I hope you tip all the public bathroom attendents on the ship as they are in there cleaning etc. all the time:D....per your system

 

Customs

 

Belgium law requires everyone to carry some form of official identification at all times.

Tipping

 

Service charges are included in bills in Belgium and tipping is not necessary, unless for exceptional service. Porters, coatroom and bathroom attendants are generally tipped.

 

Okay you quoted a site on Belgium :D, why did you not quote my last sentence??? I clearly state that I do adapt to the US customs, as I do tip extra, just that I wait till the end of a cruise.

NOT for the extra food cost (=that I don’t agree with, there is not one product that Chops uses, that can’t be found in the MDR), but for some individual person that went out of their way.

 

And it’s true on Belgium :D, it is a custom to tip a bathroom attendants over here, but you tip them max 50 Euro cent (65 Dollar cents ) which is NOT the amounts that you would pay on what the OP asked for Chops :D….

Than again I would like to backfire this at you (no pun intended) ;), since you all tip for extra service…Why do you not tip the bathroom attendants??? What’s the difference with a waiter…They did a service for you, didn’t they? And the once I have met on LOS can do some real good jokes :D

 

Grtz

[setsail]

Its very simple, you don't understand why americans tip the way they do and I don't understand the idea of tipping to go to the bathroom or that the custom of males having to tip a bouncer/door moniter.:D

 

Its the customs- they are different-and if you are going to travel out of your country then.......:rolleyes:

 

I will take that as a NO, you did not tip the bathroom attendents even though its your custom