Tipping in the WJ

[oregand]

Are the waiting staff allowed to accept cash tips in the WJ.

 

On our recent sailing on the Serenade there was a girl who was very good at spotting us and getting us our wine and soda etc. at lunch time.

 

One day we tried to give her a tip and she would not accept it!

 

We thought it was very strange.

[sxphil]

Very Strange indeed

 

Never known a tip refused

[alaskawdw12]

That is strange...

On the Allure this past summer we ate dinner in the WJ every night. We had an amazing waiter (Organ, in case anyone runs into him). When he saw us come him he would immediately set up our favorite table next to the window with 2 diet cokes and silver wear wearing for us. It was like MDR service in the WJ!

and he was just amazing, so we tipped him on the last night of the cruise and he was more than happy to accept :) he really deserved it!

[Merion_Mom]

Are the waiting staff allowed to accept cash tips in the WJ.

 

On our recent sailing on the Serenade there was a girl who was very good at spotting us and getting us our wine and soda etc. at lunch time.

 

One day we tried to give her a tip and she would not accept it!

 

We thought it was very strange.

 

Very strange. Were you offering her monopoly money, by any chance? ;)

 

 

Edited November 14, 2013 by Merion_Mom

[bigboffs]

Recently, a Chinese lady wait staff on her first contract refused a tip saying it is not her custom when only doing her job. Finally, persuaded her to take it but clearly she was surprised

[trev71]

That is a first, Never heard of anyone on a cruise refusing a tip :rolleyes:

[Cigar King]

They are, and my experience is they are extra appreciative when you tip there, since it's seems like they often do not get tips while they are working in the windjammer.

[ryano]

They are, and my experience is they are extra appreciative when you tip there, since it's seems like they often do not get tips while they are working in the windjammer.

 

I agree with this. Any time I have ever tried to tip in the WJ, of course they accepted it (one guy I had to practically beg to accept it) but there was a look of "shock" and that let me know they must not get tipped very often in the WJ.

[cruzsnooze]

It sounds like some wait staff resent the tip and see it as something other then a thank you. I would respect their wishes and customs if they refuse your money and just thank them again for their outstanding service.

[Debde]

We often eat all our dinners in the WJ. That is why I always did and still do, treat my night time WJ staff as everyone else treats their MDR staff and tip them. That's why I will never pre pay my tips!! they have always been very appreciative of the tip.

This is why so many, that eat dinner in the WJ and never eat in the MDR hate this auto tip thing. Luckily-it is easily removed!!

[Merion_Mom]

It sounds like some wait staff resent the tip and see it as something other then a thank you. I would respect their wishes and customs if they refuse your money and just thank them again for their outstanding service.

 

I don't think that either of the aforementioned workers was resentful. And I don't know why you would assume that.

[reedl]

I don't think that either of the aforementioned workers was resentful. And I don't know why you would assume that.

 

In some cultures, a tip is considered offensive. They are not used to it, so they will not accept it.

[TwoHearts22]

If a tip is refused, I might ask the manager in the WJ to give the tip to the person with an explanation that the service was exceptional and you wish to reward the person. With no mention of the refusal just the service.

 

The manager then knows about the exceptional person and can also help ease the person into accepting tips directly.

 

Trudy

[gerif]

We often eat all our dinners in the WJ. That is why I always did and still do, treat my night time WJ staff as everyone else treats their MDR staff and tip them. That's why I will never pre pay my tips!! they have always been very appreciative of the tip.

This is why so many, that eat dinner in the WJ and never eat in the MDR hate this auto tip thing. Luckily-it is easily removed!!

 

Just curious. Do you tip the same amount as suggested or less? How do you deal with breakfast and lunch? There are people working those ships who are depending on money from the autotip amounts as well. How do you compensate them?

[Merion_Mom]

In some cultures, a tip is considered offensive. They are not used to it, so they will not accept it.

 

Thank you for the lesson in culture.

 

These people are hired to work on a cruise ship. They are trained in cruise ship culture. There is no way, unless it is literally a worker's first day ever on the job, that they have not been told about tipping.

[slyster]

Interesting...I have never heard of tipping in the WJ. I guess I can see why. We have had WJ staff who seemed to go out of their way to seat us or assist us during breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We have become friendly/friends with a couple of the servers too and I never thought of leaving them a little extra for helping us have a nice meal.

 

For those who gave, how much would you give?

[Lionesss]

I am sure if you left the tip on the table, it would be appreciated, or get there name and put it in an envelope and have customer service direct it to them.

Sea Ya

[PattyG12]

Just curious. Do you tip the same amount as suggested or less? How do you deal with breakfast and lunch? There are people working those ships who are depending on money from the autotip amounts as well. How do you compensate them?

 

Geri ... I believe OP suggests that they do not tip the suggested amounts. They tip their WJ staff instead.

[Cigar King]

We often eat all our dinners in the WJ. That is why I always did and still do, treat my night time WJ staff as everyone else treats their MDR staff and tip them. That's why I will never pre pay my tips!! they have always been very appreciative of the tip.

This is why so many, that eat dinner in the WJ and never eat in the MDR hate this auto tip thing. Luckily-it is easily removed!!

 

You can do both. The thing about the auto tips is they get split amongst everyone, where as cash, well, that's likely going into the recipients pocket. Doesn't everyone deserve their share...especially when they are paid so little?

[gwb2004]

What would be a Good amount to leave at the wj for dinner group of 5

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[sdear]

Thank you for the lesson in culture.

 

These people are hired to work on a cruise ship. They are trained in cruise ship culture. There is no way, unless it is literally a worker's first day ever on the job, that they have not been told about tipping.

 

sigh

[marjosagb]

We often eat all our dinners in the WJ. That is why I always did and still do, treat my night time WJ staff as everyone else treats their MDR staff and tip them. That's why I will never pre pay my tips!! they have always been very appreciative of the tip.

This is why so many, that eat dinner in the WJ and never eat in the MDR hate this auto tip thing. Luckily-it is easily removed!!

 

You can do both. The thing about the auto tips is they get split amongst everyone, where as cash, well, that's likely going into the recipients pocket. Doesn't everyone deserve their share...especially when they are paid so little?

 

Agree with Cigar King.

 

Automatic gratuity is in place to ensure that ALL staff receive their fair share. If you feel like the service was not up to par, you can adjust the amount before you leave the ship.

 

But by cancelling it all together and just tipping manually where you see fit is going to exclude a lot of people that are working hard behind the scenes to serve you. Think cooks, dishwashers, cleaners, laundry workers, etc, etc.

 

Servers in the WJ/MDR, and room attendants are the face for all service workers on the ship. They deal directly with customers and their service is what most people remember and assess when it comes to gratuities. But that is not to say that the others working hard behind the scenes to serve you do not deserve their share of gratuities as well (especially when wages are so low, as Cigar King mentioned).

 

So as odd/wrong as it sounds to pay "automatic gratuities" before you even know how the service is going to be, I think it is even more odd/wrong to tip manually and leave a bunch of "behind the scenes" people out.

 

As for the WJ vs MDR comparison...the service is more attentive and there is the taking of orders / bringing of food involved in the MDR, so I can understand where Debde is coming from to a point...but I think that keeping the auto gratuity and just lessening it slightly would be a far better option than cancelling it and tipping manually (if you feel so inclined to do so seeing as you are serviced slightly less than those dining in MDR).

[Ocean Boy]

You can do both. The thing about the auto tips is they get split amongst everyone, where as cash, well, that's likely going into the recipients pocket. Doesn't everyone deserve their share...especially when they are paid so little?

 

Reminds me of an old Joni Mitchell song......

 

and we just keep going round and round in the Circle Game....

[Ocean Boy]

Agree with Cigar King.

 

Automatic gratuity is in place to ensure that ALL staff receive their fair share. If you feel like the service was not up to par, you can adjust the amount before you leave the ship.

 

But by cancelling it all together and just tipping manually where you see fit is going to exclude a lot of people that are working hard behind the scenes to serve you. Think cooks, dishwashers, cleaners, laundry workers, etc, etc.

Servers in the WJ/MDR, and room attendants are the face for all service workers on the ship. They deal directly with customers and their service is what most people remember and assess when it comes to gratuities. But that is not to say that the others working hard behind the scenes to serve you do not deserve their share of gratuities as well (especially when wages are so low, as Cigar King mentioned).

 

So as odd/wrong as it sounds to pay "automatic gratuities" before you even know how the service is going to be, I think it is even more odd/wrong to tip manually and leave a bunch of "behind the scenes" people out.

 

As for the WJ vs MDR comparison...the service is more attentive and there is the taking of orders / bringing of food involved in the MDR, so I can understand where Debde is coming from to a point...but I think that keeping the auto gratuity and just lessening it slightly would be a far better option than cancelling it and tipping manually (if you feel so inclined to do so seeing as you are serviced slightly less than those dining in MDR).

 

I can't figure out how the old system of handing cash to the folks that served you worked for decades leaving all of these other poor souls out in the cold.

[gerif]

What would be a Good amount to leave at the wj for dinner group of 5

 

 

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See, here's the thing. If you leave the autotip in place, you are totally covered. If you remove it as suggested by a previous poster, then you need to figure what to tip at EVERY venue (including breakfast and lunch) in order to cover everyone who serves you. Kinda dumb IMO, but if you do want a figure, just divide the recommended gratuity by three and leave that PER PERSON for each meal. E.g., if the recommended amount is $8 per person per day, then you might want to leave $2 per person at breakfast and lunch and $4 at dinner - so your group of five would be leaving a total of $20 for dinner.

 

Does that sound stupid? Yeah, I thought so - better to just leave the autotip in place.