Suite Guests eating in Blu asked for additional tip??

[JaneStarr]

This is only a guess: we dine select (anytime) and the maitre d' always prints a ticket with table assignment along with our cabin number and # of guests. After being seated, the waiter always ensures he takes the ticket and pockets it. I had guessed that this was how certain gratuities were assigned to him and his asst waiter. If this is true, and an AQ class diner eats at the MDR via Select then the waitstaff will have a record of it.

 

This is also how it *should* be done when select/suite guests dine in Blu. Maybe that is why they make note of suite number each time you dine in Blu-- to properly assign tips? I really hope Celebrity (consistently :rolleyes:) handles Select diners from suites this way.

 

We are lucky enough to be in a suite on our next cruise. We specifically chose select dining (with PP gratuities) because we are traveling with a group of friends in AQ and hope to dine with them, when possible.

We typically eat after 8 pm on cruises ("late" traditional seating), so I think we will most likely be able to join our friends in Blu.

(We really dislike Select dining and are hoping not to use it much; we just chose it to hopefully help get tips to the right wait staff & avoid abandoning traditional seating tablemates.)

 

Certainly Celebrity wouldn't intentionally have a policy in place that would encourage us to downgrade our cruise fare in order to avoid nightly tipping handling. :eek:

 

We have always tipped our regular servers extra on every single cruise -- but not until the last night.

 

I don't understand why this has to be so complicated. We don't want to spend time & energy on our vacation second-guessing how Celebrity allocates tips.

By choosing to PP gratuities we are trusting Celebrity to reward the appropriate staff for basic good service. We are happy to tip those who deserve extra; we just don't want to deal with every time we turn around.

Jane

[Wine-O]

This is also how it *should* be done when select/suite guests dine in Blu. Maybe that is why they make note of suite number each time you dine in Blu-- to properly assign tips? I really hope Celebrity (consistently :rolleyes:) handles Select diners from suites this way.

 

We are lucky enough to be in a suite on our next cruise. We specifically chose select dining (with PP gratuities) because we are traveling with a group of friends in AQ and hope to dine with them, when possible.

We typically eat after 8 pm on cruises ("late" traditional seating), so I think we will most likely be able to join our friends in Blu.

(We really dislike Select dining and are hoping not to use it much; we just chose it to hopefully help get tips to the right wait staff & avoid abandoning traditional seating tablemates.)

 

Certainly Celebrity wouldn't intentionally have a policy in place that would encourage us to downgrade our cruise fare in order to avoid nightly tipping handling. :eek:

 

We have always tipped our regular servers extra on every single cruise -- but not until the last night.

 

I don't understand why this has to be so complicated. We don't want to spend time & energy on our vacation second-guessing how Celebrity allocates tips.

By choosing to PP gratuities we are trusting Celebrity to reward the appropriate staff for basic good service. We are happy to tip those who deserve extra; we just don't want to deal with every time we turn around.

Jane

 

We were eating with a group in Blu - there were 6 or 8 of us, and at 8:30, never had a problem getting a table. Had to wait 5-10 minutes on an occasion or so. I agree -- let Celebrity sort out the distribution of the tips. If you have paid the minimum, ain't your problem, and tip extra to those who you believe provide extraordinary service. The Sommelier in Blu was one of those.

[ghstudio]

Celebrity does not move tips around. If you are in a suite, your tip goes to the MDR for distribution in their tip pool. If you are in aqua, your tip goes to the blu tip pool. There is no magic behind the scenes....celebrity is not "making it right".

 

Do what you want, but don't rationalize based on what you'd like Celebrity to do. If you feel that your "requested daily gratuity" covers your meal, no matter where you eat, I suggest you start to communicate with Celebrity HQ about the tip that's part of your specialty dining reservations.....after all, you have already paid your appropriate tip for every meal. Perhaps you should pay $40 instead of that $45.

 

If you don't want to deal with tips on a daily basis, then make sure you never order a drink or bottle of wine. Is signing a piece of paper after a meal really going to mar your experience.

 

Get a grip on reality folks....the crew that are serving you are working at less than a minimum wage.....you are in a suite....and you are finding reasons and rationalizations why you don't need to tip them:(

[maggie.1008]

We have never had a problem dining in Blu when staying in a suite. Never received a paper to sign. We just left extra when we dined there.

[Gonzo70]

Celebrity does not move tips around. If you are in a suite, your tip goes to the MDR for distribution in their tip pool. If you are in aqua, your tip goes to the blu tip pool. There is no magic behind the scenes....celebrity is not "making it right".

 

 

That is not always the case. On Millennium last year we were in a Sky Suite. We did specialty dining the first night, but went to Blu the second. The Maitre' D inquired if we wanted to dine regularly in Blu; we said we had a couple nights in the specialties but otherwise would like to dine in Blu. He indicated he would arrange for our gratuities to be reallocated to Blu. I am not sure how often this is done, but it definitely was done in my case.

[Phxazzcruisers]

That is not always the case. On Millennium last year we were in a Sky Suite. We did specialty dining the first night, but went to Blu the second. The Maitre' D inquired if we wanted to dine regularly in Blu; we said we had a couple nights in the specialties but otherwise would like to dine in Blu. He indicated he would arrange for our gratuities to be reallocated to Blu. I am not sure how often this is done, but it definitely was done in my case.

 

I agree with you Gonzo. On our last few cruises, we were in the Penthouse and ate in Blu with friends who were in AquaClass. We confirmed with the Matre' D that our prepaid tips would be reallocated to Bl and he confirmed they definitely would be. This was the same answer we received on several different X ships. That being said, as the service has always been excellent, at the end of the cruise we always gave our wait staff an extra tip and a mention on the comment cards.

[ghstudio]

if they offer a suite guest dining in blu all week, then they handle it manually....if you eat there one or two nights, nothing is moved around.

[Gonzo70]

if they offer a suite guest dining in blu all week, then they handle it manually....if you eat there one or two nights, nothing is moved around.

 

That very well could be the case.

[Aloha 1]

Celebrity does not move tips around. If you are in a suite, your tip goes to the MDR for distribution in their tip pool. If you are in aqua, your tip goes to the blu tip pool. There is no magic behind the scenes....celebrity is not "making it right".

 

Do what you want, but don't rationalize based on what you'd like Celebrity to do. If you feel that your "requested daily gratuity" covers your meal, no matter where you eat, I suggest you start to communicate with Celebrity HQ about the tip that's part of your specialty dining reservations.....after all, you have already paid your appropriate tip for every meal. Perhaps you should pay $40 instead of that $45.

 

If you don't want to deal with tips on a daily basis, then make sure you never order a drink or bottle of wine. Is signing a piece of paper after a meal really going to mar your experience.

 

Get a grip on reality folks....the crew that are serving you are working at less than a minimum wage.....you are in a suite....and you are finding reasons and rationalizations why you don't need to tip them:(

 

Here's the reality: We ALL pay the gratuity. For Suites Guests,it is slightly higher given the increased level of service allegedly in the Suites. This is purely an allocation issue for X as to where the tips should go. For you to suggest that guests in Suites should "pay more" smacks of class warfare which we certainly do not need on CC. Some of us have a special event that we wish to celebrate with our family and splurge on a Suite. It certainly does not mean we have an unlimited budget. I, personally, do tip extra when warranted. but why should I be forced to tip more than the X mandated gratuities simply because some staffer in Miami can't figure out how to allocate our pre paids to the right group?? It should not matter what dining venue you eat in. Gratuities are gratuities. X, get them where they need to go.

[jackdiamond]

Here's the reality: We ALL pay the gratuity. For Suites Guests,it is slightly higher given the increased level of service allegedly in the Suites. This is purely an allocation issue for X as to where the tips should go. For you to suggest that guests in Suites should "pay more" smacks of class warfare which we certainly do not need on CC. Some of us have a special event that we wish to celebrate with our family and splurge on a Suite. It certainly does not mean we have an unlimited budget. I, personally, do tip extra when warranted. but why should I be forced to tip more than the X mandated gratuities simply because some staffer in Miami can't figure out how to allocate our pre paids to the right group?? It should not matter what dining venue you eat in. Gratuities are gratuities. X, get them where they need to go.

What is your definition of "class warfare"?

[ghstudio]

Here's the reality: We ALL pay the gratuity. For Suites Guests,it is slightly higher given the increased level of service allegedly in the Suites. This is purely an allocation issue for X as to where the tips should go. For you to suggest that guests in Suites should "pay more" smacks of class warfare which we certainly do not need on CC. Some of us have a special event that we wish to celebrate with our family and splurge on a Suite. It certainly does not mean we have an unlimited budget. I, personally, do tip extra when warranted. but why should I be forced to tip more than the X mandated gratuities simply because some staffer in Miami can't figure out how to allocate our pre paids to the right group?? It should not matter what dining venue you eat in. Gratuities are gratuities. X, get them where they need to go.

 

OK...I'll put it in blunt terms....we are talking about $10 a dinner....if you eat in Blu three times that's $30. If you are in a suite, and I don't really care if you're on your last gasp cruise, it's part of the cost of being in a suite. You don't go to a restaurant at home (hopefully) and leave no tip (at least in the US) because you've saved for a special meal and you are splurging so stiff the waiter. This is no different. It's not tax the rich....it's having someone who is accommodated in Blu pay their fair tip.

 

If you feel no tip is necessary...do what you want, but IMHO, it's really cheap especially given the amount of money we're talking about.

[bighairtexan]

OK...I'll put it in blunt terms....we are talking about $10 a dinner....if you eat in Blu three times that's $30. If you are in a suite, and I don't really care if you're on your last gasp cruise, it's part of the cost of being in a suite. You don't go to a restaurant at home (hopefully) and leave no tip (at least in the US) because you've saved for a special meal and you are splurging so stiff the waiter. This is no different. It's not tax the rich....it's having someone who is accommodated in Blu pay their fair tip.

 

If you feel no tip is necessary...do what you want, but IMHO, it's really cheap especially given the amount of money we're talking about.

[vana]

Hi,

 

I understand that if we are in a suite we have to pay a little extra if we want to dine at Blu and I'm OK with that since we don't want to dine there every night and transfer our gratuities in Blu. We like the MDR but also enjoy some dishes served in Blu.

 

But what about breakfast? Do we have to pay 5$ / person every morning? I wouldn't mind leaving a couple of $$ but if I received a 10$ bill every morning, I might go someplace else....

 

Thank you in advance

[ghstudio]

Suite guests are welcome in blu for breakfast every day. No additional tip is needed (except for great service) from anyone for breakfast.

[Aloha 1]

OK...I'll put it in blunt terms....we are talking about $10 a dinner....if you eat in Blu three times that's $30. If you are in a suite, and I don't really care if you're on your last gasp cruise, it's part of the cost of being in a suite. You don't go to a restaurant at home (hopefully) and leave no tip (at least in the US) because you've saved for a special meal and you are splurging so stiff the waiter. This is no different. It's not tax the rich....it's having someone who is accommodated in Blu pay their fair tip.

 

If you feel no tip is necessary...do what you want, but IMHO, it's really cheap especially given the amount of money we're talking about.

 

Not to start a flame war but why are you ignoring the fact that every passenger ALREADY is paying the gratuity and, in the case of Suite guests, they are paying more. No one is suggesting not to tip but simply allocating the tip to where the diner is dining. For myself, I will add an extra tip when and where warranted but I do not appreciate being forced to.

[Aloha 1]

What is your definition of "class warfare"?

 

Aqua Class vs. Suites

[ghstudio]

Not to start a flame war but why are you ignoring the fact that every passenger ALREADY is paying the gratuity and, in the case of Suite guests, they are paying more. No one is suggesting not to tip but simply allocating the tip to where the diner is dining. For myself, I will add an extra tip when and where warranted but I do not appreciate being forced to.

 

Suites are paying more because of the additional service a butler provides. If you are in a suite, your tip covers a reserved seat in the main dining room every night, even if you don't use it, deciding to eat in your suite, a specialty dining room, ashore or in Blu. If you eat in a specialty dining room with a fee, an additional tip is included in that $45 or whatever. If you dine in Blu, there is no fixed fee and no tip is "moved". So, if you eat in blu, you are being served by folks who are not getting a tip from you. It doesn't matter if you think Celebrity should do it differently...they don't...take it up with celebrity HQ....but don't take it out on the servers in Blu.

 

and as far as being forced to....you probably should be angry that you are part of that $45 specialty restaurant charge is an additional tip since you already paid your tip. That's another one to take up with Celebrity HQ...or you can try to get that meal for $40, explaining that you already paid a tip so why are you paying again.

 

I'm sorry but you have to deal with reality....not the way you think Celebrity should handle tips. If you think the system is wrong, then work to fix it with celebrity HQ but don't punish the people on board who are trying to make your dining exceptional.

[Aloha 1]

Suites are paying more because of the additional service a butler provides. If you are in a suite, your tip covers a reserved seat in the main dining room every night, even if you don't use it, deciding to eat in your suite, a specialty dining room, ashore or in Blu. If you eat in a specialty dining room with a fee, an additional tip is included in that $45 or whatever. If you dine in Blu, there is no fixed fee and no tip is "moved". So, if you eat in blu, you are being served by folks who are not getting a tip from you. It doesn't matter if you think Celebrity should do it differently...they don't...take it up with celebrity HQ....but don't take it out on the servers in Blu.

 

and as far as being forced to....you probably should be angry that you are part of that $45 specialty restaurant charge is an additional tip since you already paid your tip. That's another one to take up with Celebrity HQ...or you can try to get that meal for $40, explaining that you already paid a tip so why are you paying again.

 

I'm sorry but you have to deal with reality....not the way you think Celebrity should handle tips. If you think the system is wrong, then work to fix it with celebrity HQ but don't punish the people on board who are trying to make your dining exceptional.

 

As I stated in my post, "Suite passengers pay a higher gratuity due to the EXTRA services provided". So, yes, I am aware of that fact. As to the specialty restaurants, every passenger is subject to that "extra" tip since every passenger pays gratuities. That is what it is. And does not every passenger pay for a reserved seat in the MDR/BLU even when they dine elsewhere or in their cabin?. And no one said anything about "taking it out" on the servers. I for one, would never do that. Within this thread are several posts stating that gratuities can be moved around contrary to your assertion they cannot. I will find out the truth of that in my next 2 cruises. You are correct that this is an issue that should be addressed by X. They scan this forum and hopefully will take some of this debate under consideration.

[dkjretired]

As I stated in my post, "Suite passengers pay a higher gratuity due to the EXTRA services provided". So, yes, I am aware of that fact. As to the specialty restaurants, every passenger is subject to that "extra" tip since every passenger pays gratuities. That is what it is. And does not every passenger pay for a reserved seat in the MDR/BLU even when they dine elsewhere or in their cabin?. And no one said anything about "taking it out" on the servers. I for one, would never do that. Within this thread are several posts stating that gratuities can be moved around contrary to your assertion they cannot. I will find out the truth of that in my next 2 cruises. You are correct that this is an issue that should be addressed by X. They scan this forum and hopefully will take some of this debate under consideration.

 

Believe Celebrity handles their tips just fine, not something that needs to be addressed. Some of these posts are just making everything a lot harder than they are in reality.

[ghstudio]

As I stated in my post, "Suite passengers pay a higher gratuity due to the EXTRA services provided". So, yes, I am aware of that fact. As to the specialty restaurants, every passenger is subject to that "extra" tip since every passenger pays gratuities. That is what it is. And does not every passenger pay for a reserved seat in the MDR/BLU even when they dine elsewhere or in their cabin?. And no one said anything about "taking it out" on the servers. I for one, would never do that. Within this thread are several posts stating that gratuities can be moved around contrary to your assertion they cannot. I will find out the truth of that in my next 2 cruises. You are correct that this is an issue that should be addressed by X. They scan this forum and hopefully will take some of this debate under consideration.

 

I did not say celebrity could not move around tips....I said that they don't unless you are "moved" from one venue to another manually.

 

If you don't tip the servers in Blu at dinner, you are effectively punishing the servers for something that you believe Celebrity should do even though they don't do it. In my book, that's taking it out on the servers because they deserve a tip, be it built into the gratuity as it is for aqua passengers, or with a separate tip from suite guests.

 

Not sure how you can say "it is what it is"...because if we follow your logic, then you've already paid your tip for dinner and "it's up to celebrity to move it to the specialty restaurant". It really is no different than blu. Perhaps if they had a charge for blu which included a tip for suite guests, you would be OK with that....let's make that charge $5 a person :) Remember Aqua Class tips are routed to Blu already, so they don't have to tip again...unless they go to the MDR where they should tip the waiters there.

[Wine-O]

 

If you don't tip the servers in Blu at dinner, you are effectively punishing the servers for something that you believe Celebrity should do even though they don't do it. In my book, that's taking it out on the servers because they deserve a tip, be it built into the gratuity as it is for aqua passengers, or with a separate tip from suite guests.

 

I don't accept your premise. We were in a Suite and never once ate in the MDR, but rather had all our meals in either Blu or a specialty restaurant.

 

Based on your premise, the MDR waiters were rewarded, and the Blu waiters were stiffed. Personally, I think that's a bunch of crap. I was never once asked for $5 for eating in Blu, and I'm confident the ship sorted it out properly so everyone was compensated appropriately. The Maître 'd noted my stateroom cabin each night.

 

Could you say the waiters in either the MDR or Blu were compensated for not doing anything if we ate in a specialty restaurant?

[Jade13]

Has anyone figured out the number of seats in BLU verses the number of AQU class cabins and the number of Suites?

 

If most AQU and most Suite guests dine in BLU are there enough tables? I ask because there was usually a wait when we were onboard Silhouette, and our friends who went on Reflection said the wait was really long and service not that great. Note they were in AQU Suite so they were assigned to BLU.

 

Are having Suite guests make BLU their primary dining room hurting AQU passengers who have to wait longer for a table?

[bphman]

Lets look at this in a different way. Suite guests are assigned to the MDR. Your tips are allocated to the wait staff there. They only have a few tables from which to derive their income. A suite guest now decides to eat in Blu, not in his assigned location. He wants to reallocate his gratuities to Blu or feels that since he is already paying gratuities for dining he does not need to tip further. So, you are basically screwing either the Blu staff by not tipping them or the MDR staff because you have decided not to eat where assigned and are removing your gratuity. Is that about right?

[ghstudio]

Has anyone figured out the number of seats in BLU verses the number of AQU class cabins and the number of Suites?

 

If most AQU and most Suite guests dine in BLU are there enough tables? I ask because there was usually a wait when we were onboard Silhouette, and our friends who went on Reflection said the wait was really long and service not that great. Note they were in AQU Suite so they were assigned to BLU.

 

Are having Suite guests make BLU their primary dining room hurting AQU passengers who have to wait longer for a table?

 

That's true...and one of the reasons we won't go on the reflection. I suspect that Blu maitre d's are getting mixed messages from their management and having trouble deciding if they should or shouldn't ask suite passengers to return when Blu is less busy.

[ghstudio]

Lets look at this in a different way. Suite guests are assigned to the MDR. Your tips are allocated to the wait staff there. They only have a few tables from which to derive their income. A suite guest now decides to eat in Blu, not in his assigned location. He wants to reallocate his gratuities to Blu or feels that since he is already paying gratuities for dining he does not need to tip further. So, you are basically screwing either the Blu staff by not tipping them or the MDR staff because you have decided not to eat where assigned and are removing your gratuity. Is that about right?

 

You are correct...but there appear to be a number of folks who believe that "celebrity will make it right" vs wanting to understand what really happens.....or vs what they would like to think Celebrity should do, but doesn't do.

 

No point in continuing....those who are in suites and think they have tipped enough will continue not to tip and they will continue to be annoyed that they are asked, even occasionally, for a $5 pp tip. The ship staff will survive...it's an unfair world and they are, unfortunately, caught in it.

 

I hope that celebrity implements a firm policy (it would be a first) that suite passengers are charged $5 pp if they eat in blu. That would be both simple and fair. If they prefer to save the $5, then they are, of course, always welcome in the dining room that they signed up for....the MDR.

 

For the record, we only book in Aqua...and we have passed on some attractive suite offers because we value being able to eat in blu when we want. That option is open to everyone....and if you really want to eat in blu, book in aqua and suffer with a slightly smaller cabin; rough it with us...believe me, it's not so bad :)