Honest Question (Oh no, not another tipping thread!)

[Amy Giard]

Now before I burst into flames, this is a hypothetical but honest question.

 

The dining thread got me thinking:

 

If you NEVER eat in the MDR, not for breakfast, not for lunch, not for dinner. (ALL your meals are from the lido deck - the ENTIRE cruise!)

 

What would YOU do with the $ 5.80 gratuity per day for dining room service:

 

A: Remove it completely - (Why should I tip for nothing?)

 

B: Shift ALL of the money over to alternative services - (I am eating them exclusively so I will give all the dining room tips to them.)

 

C: Shift SOME of the money over to alternative services and pocket the rest- (I am using them more BUT they are not waiting on me)

 

D: Shift SOME of the money over to alternative services and leave some for MDR staff- (A Compromise)

 

E: Leave it as is - (The MDR staff is still working hard and expecting it.)

 

 

This should be interesting :rolleyes:

[EmiGirl826]

Leave it as it is. You'll find the dining room staff also serves in the alternative dining.

[pcrum]

Leave it as it is. You'll find the dining room staff also serves in the alternative dining.

 

Yes, we've seen our waiters working the Lido buffet.

[dk1]

Agree with Emi, many times we'll see "our" waiter bussing tables etc on Lido.

 

dk

[golfadj]

Excellent question. The $ 5.80 tip per day is for sitdown meal service.

 

If you did not get it due to having all meals on lido think i would reduce the amount by a few dollars per day.

 

However the food is much better in the DR so for us we would never do it.

[tomboyy]

you must luv controversy

[firefly333]

Leave it on, especially if you choose traditional dining and not anytime. If traditional that means your waiter will have your seat waiting for you, even if you choose not to show up. Not to mention he will be pulling shifts up on Lido or other eating venues.. the same waiter that you are assigned to.

 

I dont know why anyone would never go to the MDR all week. I think my last 7 day cruise I did eat in the buffet 3 or 4 nights, my choice.. but I would never stiff my waiter. People from my MDR table ran into me and asked me why I didnt come back so I did come back to eat the last 2 nights.

 

If you choose anytime dining.. at least your tips are more spread out and one waiter is not bearing the brunt of you choosing not to eat there or tip.

 

So, first of all I would make sure I choose anytime dining if you choose to remove some or all of the tips.

 

OP I read some of your posts on the other tipping thread so I know you love to stir the waters.. but I really dont understand people do all this planning for a vacation.. and then obsess over trying to save a few bucks on tips. It makes no sense to me.

[Amy Giard]

you must luv controversy

 

No not really :rolleyes:

 

This one is not as black-and-white as your standard

"tipping thread" so hopefully there will be some civil

discourse.

 

(holding in laugh)

[cruzsnooze]

A buffet does not warrant the same amount of tipping as a full service MDR meal so i would remove that portion and tip in the buffet as appropriate.

Despite your premise I think you are looking to stir the pot with question.

[Amy Giard]

 

OP I read some of your posts on the other tipping thread so I know you love to stir the waters.. but I really dont understand people do all this planning for a vacation.. and then obsess over trying to save a few bucks on tips. It makes no sense to me.

 

Did you even read my OP? I used the ALL CAPS to make it clear:

I said if you NEVER set foot in the MDR what would you find appropriate.

Next time I'll type slower so you can understand

 

 

And get off your high horse about stirring the waters: You were the FIRST ONE to drag this post into the mud. You win the Ship on a Stick. Congratulations!

[EmiGirl826]

Agree with Emi, many times we'll see "our" waiter bussing tables etc on Lido.

 

dk

 

 

Not only do they bus tables, but every cruise I've been on they offer to get me more lemonade/tea/etc. I'm a MDR girl for dinner myself though.

[MSRussell]

My last cruise, I ate in the MDR twice. I kept the tips on, as they also go to the laundry workers, kitchen workers, etc.

To me, the dishwashers are almost as important as the Chefs. If the dished don't get washed in a timely manner, there will be nothing to put the food on..

[tamirpr]

I would remove it and add it to the other personnel. The dining room staff is not in the lido for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If that was the case, then who's serving in the MDR? I agree I've seen them around the buffet, but not exclusively. Our dinner waiter has served us breakfast in the MDR before, so I know he wasn't on lido all the time.

 

I would only do this if I never went the MDR. I can't imagine not eating in the MDR except on a three-day cruise maybe.

[firefly333]

Did you even read my OP? I used the ALL CAPS to make it clear:

I said if you NEVER set foot in the MDR what would you find appropriate.

Next time I'll type slower so you can understand

 

 

And get off your high horse about stirring the waters: You were the FIRST ONE to drag this post into the mud. You win the Ship on a Stick. Congratulations!

 

OK let me make it clear... if you book traditional dining.. they hold a chair for you.. what dont you get.

 

There is no choice to not eat in there.. are you going to the maitre d' and say .. I dont plan on eating in the MDR please take me off the list and give my seat to someone else so my waiter makes money this week.

 

Dont start yelling at me.. it wouldnt work. Its you who doesnt get it.

 

There is no option to choose no dining in the MDR. . you dont say how you are going to deal with this.. so lets get real. Would you go to the maitre d' and say I give up my seat??

 

You think I have to post how you like so you can be cheap.. go for it. It doesnt make you smart to post and ignore how you are going to deal with not eating there.. .you forgot the important thing.. thinking about your waiter. If you dont like how its set up .. you should at least have some compassion and go once onboard and remove yourself from eating there.. give up your seat.

[Amy Giard]

Dear God, what part of HYPOTHETICAL do you not understand.

 

Contrary to what has been implied, I did not post this

to "stir the waters" (although there is nothing wrong

with that - if not here, then where?)

 

As I stated in the OP, the other dining thread got

me thinking:

 

IF the MDR went pay only, how many people would

never go and what would happen to the tips?

 

If that is "stirring the waters" so be it... I've seen

MUCH worse here.

[Chmie]

We prepaid gratuities and ate in the MDR only once during our last 7 day cruise. Left it on and continued to tip everywhere we ate or drank.

Felt good about it and enjoyed what we thought were the heartfelt thanks from the servers. :)

[firefly333]

Dear God, what part of HYPOTHETICAL do you not understand.

 

Contrary to what has been implied, I did not post this

to "stir the waters" (although there is nothing wrong

with that - if not here, then where?)

 

As I stated in the OP, the other dining thread got

me thinking:

 

IF the MDR went pay only, how many people would

never go and what would happen to the tips?

 

If that is "stirring the waters" so be it... I've seen

MUCH worse here.

 

If Carnival turned the MDR into a pay venue.. they would also change the tipping structure.. making this whole thing moot right?

 

They would not require tipping if its a pay venue, they dont require tipping in the steak house as its included in the price.

[RyanDMB99@aol.com]

I dont understand why this issue even comes up as often as it does. Its there, you an prepay and never think about it again, or you can overthink it daily and go down to guest servicess and use it to pay off your bar tab and screw the crew. Do i believe that 100% goes to the crew? Heck no! But i believe its worked in to the price of the product for a reason, the same way "recovery fees" are worked into my hotel stays. Its there, pay it, and move on with life.

[sail2sea]

A buffet does not warrant the same amount of tipping as a full service MDR meal so i would remove that portion and tip in the buffet as appropriate.

Despite your premise I think you are looking to stir the pot with question.

 

I agree with you, on both accounts.

[boaterette]

We usually do not eat in the MDR. We have room service for breakfast. We eat a hamburger for lunch or eat in port. At dinner if we are hungry we might have a sandwich from room service. We are not big eaters and food is just something we do for fuel. So why should we tip for something we are not receiving?

[Amy Giard]

They would not require tipping if its a pay venue, they dont require tipping in the steak house as its included in the price.

 

:confused:

 

That makes no sense. If it's included in the price then it's required.

[tomboyy]

you two are just argueing a point that can't be settled...some are gonna fall on one side and some on the other.

 

get a room and get your grudgef on

[Love_to_cruise83]

Now before I burst into flames, this is a hypothetical but honest question.

 

The dining thread got me thinking:

 

If you NEVER eat in the MDR, not for breakfast, not for lunch, not for dinner. (ALL your meals are from the lido deck - the ENTIRE cruise!)

 

What would YOU do with the $ 5.80 gratuity per day for dining room service:

 

A: Remove it completely - (Why should I tip for nothing?)

 

B: Shift ALL of the money over to alternative services - (I am eating them exclusively so I will give all the dining room tips to them.)

 

I

 

C: Shift SOME of the money over to alternative services and pocket the rest- (I am using them more BUT they are not waiting on me)

 

D: Shift SOME of the money over to alternative services and leave some for MDR staff- (A Compromise)

 

E: Leave it as is - (The MDR staff is still working hard and expecting it.)

 

 

This should be interesting :rolleyes:

 

 

I didn't want to start another thread, but post a related question... I will not be paying my tips in advance as I had in the past. Will they auto charge them to my sail and sign card or will I be able to simply pay out cash tips for outstanding service ?

 

Thank you,

[macandlucy]

I think it all comes out in the wash -- wherever you eat, it's basically all the same staff. They all work some crazy number of hours in a day, etc. Personally, I prepay the tips and leave them on, even though we don't eat in the MDR that often.

 

However, I think that adults should be able to have a respectful conversation in a forum, even if the topic is controversial. Especially if it is controversial. I agree that this is the perfect place to discuss such things.

 

I have a real hard time understanding the people who can't bear to read anything even slightly negative towards CCL. Companies get better and stronger when they hear honest opinions, including complaints. That's why they ask for your opinion.

[T. Advisor King]

I guess the question is whether the waitstaff portion of your tip is designed and intended to be equivalent (in principle, if not in amount) to the tip you would pay for dinner at a restaurant.

 

If so, then there would be logic to reducing your auto-tips by some or all of that portion. If I go out for dinner either for fast food or to a "serve-yourself buffet" (i.e., where you walk in the door, pay the cashier, and then pick up a plate and fill it with food), I don't typically leave a tip because the cashier's service (and the work done by the cooks, etc.) is not, but any social custom that I'm aware of, a tippable service.

 

So if I'm eating at the buffet, I'm not receiving the personal service of a waiter and server that, by social convention, normally attracts a tip. It doesn't matter to me that some staff work in the buffet ("they work really hard and they don't earn very much and their families are impoverished ..."). The service they provide is not, by custom, tippable, so it doesn't suddenly become tippable just because I've chosen to eat there instead of the MDR.

 

All that said, if I was actually in that position, I probably wouldn't bother adjusting the auto-tips (even though I think it would be fully justified). It is a small amount, it is a hassle to do, and it allows me to choose to post from the high road here if I want to.