Tipping in Specialty Restaurants

[NewSalt]

We recently had dinner in Sabatini's on the Emerald Princess. The bill was $50 ($25 pp, we had started a bottle of wine before we reached the dining room, and it was our table mates' turn to buy the wine at table). DH started to add our customary 20% tip, but I made him bump it up since we had had almost three hours of outstanding service.

 

At home the dinner would probably have been at least $250 and merited $50+ for a tip, so I'm wondering what would be an acceptable tip for a specialty restaurant since the price isn't really indicative of the cost of the meal and the service far surpasses all but the best restaurants.

[eandj]

What does "acceptable" mean? Gratuities are based on service. Not what the meal tastes like. The servers don't prepare the meal. Tips are a personal choice.

 

side note....Personally I never thought a meal there was "worth at least $250".:o At least not compared to the service and food that we get at our nicer restaurants. Of course food and service are subjective.

 

We actually had pushy and overly attentive service on our last dinner there, that wasn't appealing. We made note of it to the maitre d. Turns out we were being served by a new team...maybe trying too hard.:rolleyes:

[OCruisers]

We also tip extra in the Specialty Restaurants -- normally $20 in cash for the two of us.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Pam in CA]

Extra tipping in the specialty restaurants is optional. Sometimes deserved, sometimes not. It's up to the individual and circumstances. Service is usually outstanding but not always. At home, if I've received "OK" service, I'll tip 15%. Really good 18%. Exceptional 20%. Also, keep in mind that a similar meal in some areas of the US could cost less than half what it would in NY or LA.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Pam in CA

[Astro Flyer]

I agree with the other posts but if you tip it's best to give cash instead of adding it to your bill. As long as you keep the auto tip your server may keep a cash tip; if adding the tip onto the bill it goes into the tip pool shared by others and does not go to your server.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[NewSalt]

What does "acceptable" mean? Gratuities are based on service. Not what the meal tastes like. The servers don't prepare the meal. Tips are a personal choice.

 

side note....Personally I never thought a meal there was "worth at least $250".:o At least not compared to the service and food that we get at our nicer restaurants. Of course food and service are subjective.

 

We actually had pushy and overly attentive service on our last dinner there, that wasn't appealing. We made note of it to the maitre d. Turns out we were being served by a new team...maybe trying too hard.:rolleyes:

 

I don't believe that I said anything about the taste of the meal. I am not a novice. I know that the wait staff is responsible for service and not how the meal tastes. I don't know where you got that erroneous impression. As a matter of fact, the meal itself was not up to previous ones we've had in Sabatini's. It was the service that was outstanding. Attentive when we needed it to be, discreetly observant the rest of the time.

 

I did not say the meal was "worth" $250, but rather that it would have cost that much. Our last dinner out before our cruise at a nice but not first-class restaurant, with fewer courses but two glasses of wine, was just under $200.

 

A tip of $10 would have seemed cheap and insulting for such good service.

[NewSalt]

I agree with the other posts but if you tip it's best to give cash instead of adding it to your bill. As long as you keep the auto tip your server may keep a cash tip; if adding the tip onto the bill it goes into the tip pool shared by others and does not go to your server.

 

Thank you for letting me know that. I didn't realize that the tips in the specialty restaurant went into the pool.

 

I assume that's true of tips at the bars too?

[OCruisers]

Thank you for letting me know that. I didn't realize that the tips in the specialty restaurant went into the pool.

 

I assume that's true of tips at the bars too?

 

Our bartenders tell us it's always best to tip in cash so that's what we do. ;)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you for letting me know that. I didn't realize that the tips in the specialty restaurant went into the pool.

 

I assume that's true of tips at the bars too?

I have read posts saying bar tips added to bills are pooled with bar personnel only but I do not know whether it's true or not. We rarely go to bars and hopefully someone will have firsthand knowledge that they could share with us.

 

For those who remove the auto tip then all cash tips to dining room staff and cabin stewards are required to go into the tip pool and they don't keep to keep the extra cash. Could they conceal it? Yes but few would risk being terminated for violating the rules.

[Colo Cruiser]

We always tip in the specialty restaurants and if the service was exceptional for a looooong dinner I would have no issue tipping $50. ;)

[cruzsnooze]

Tipping is included in the upcharge so anything above that is NOT cheap and is optional.

[jkskrap]

We tipped $20 cash (total for the 2 of us) at Crown Grill and Sabatini's and the server seemed very happy. We had excellent service.

[Hlitner]

Lets talk about this "tipping" thing. You have already paid for your cruise, which includes the cost of food and service. You are probably going to pay daily "tips" via Auto Tipping and that money is put into a "pot" and divided up among certain crew according to a formula set by the cruise line. In a sense, the autotipping scheme is just a hidden price increase that allows the cruise lines to advertise lower prices that do not include that additional expense. When you buy a drink (or a bottle of nearly anything) you are also assessed an additional tip (15-18% depending on cruise line) that is supposed to be divided up among the bar staff. Now if you buy a bottle of wine in the MDR, and it is served by your waiter...did you ever wonder if your waiter actually gets that `15%???

 

So now you go to an alternative restaurant where you pay extra (over and above what you have already paid for your cruise). Now, do you think the staff in that alternative restaurant already shares in "auto tip?" And who gets that extra 15% you pay when you order wine or a drink in that alternative restaurant?

 

So, now after having paid for the cruise (which already includes food and service), having paid auto "tips," and having been assessed an additional 15% on every drink, you are going to tip again for the staff in the alternative restaurant? And we are wondering when they will put out a "tip jar" so you can tip the security men/women who screen you whenever your return to the ship. And how about a "tip jar" for the very hard working Guest Relations staff (who have to hear all the complaints)? And do not forget to tip the "shore excursion" staff, port/shopping lecturer, librarian, etc.

 

I guess my point is that perhaps we have been "brainwashed" with the tipping schemes on ships. Once upon a time there were no tips added to onboard bar bills. Then they started adding 10%, it went up to 15% (and 18& on some lines) along with the price of drinks. Then, some cruise lines started leaving space on the bar bills so you could even add extra tips (above your cruise fare, autotips, and 15% drink tip). Now some lines do not have this extra tip line....YET.

 

Hank

P.S. We are actually generous tippers on ships...but sometimes wonder if we are being suckered :)

[AlFrank]

Just off the Royal and we had dinner one night in the Crown Grill. Service was excellent and we did tip $20.00. He thanked us did not look at the bill just put it in his pocket, handled very classy.

[hllwdcruiser]

Lets talk about this "tipping" thing. You have already paid for your cruise, which includes the cost of food and service. You are probably going to pay daily "tips" via Auto Tipping and that money is put into a "pot" and divided up among certain crew according to a formula set by the cruise line. In a sense, the autotipping scheme is just a hidden price increase that allows the cruise lines to advertise lower prices that do not include that additional expense. When you buy a drink (or a bottle of nearly anything) you are also assessed an additional tip (15-18% depending on cruise line) that is supposed to be divided up among the bar staff. Now if you buy a bottle of wine in the MDR, and it is served by your waiter...did you ever wonder if your waiter actually gets that `15%???

 

So now you go to an alternative restaurant where you pay extra (over and above what you have already paid for your cruise). Now, do you think the staff in that alternative restaurant already shares in "auto tip?" And who gets that extra 15% you pay when you order wine or a drink in that alternative restaurant?

 

So, now after having paid for the cruise (which already includes food and service), having paid auto "tips," and having been assessed an additional 15% on every drink, you are going to tip again for the staff in the alternative restaurant? And we are wondering when they will put out a "tip jar" so you can tip the security men/women who screen you whenever your return to the ship. And how about a "tip jar" for the very hard working Guest Relations staff (who have to hear all the complaints)? And do not forget to tip the "shore excursion" staff, port/shopping lecturer, librarian, etc.

 

I guess my point is that perhaps we have been "brainwashed" with the tipping schemes on ships. Once upon a time there were no tips added to onboard bar bills. Then they started adding 10%, it went up to 15% (and 18& on some lines) along with the price of drinks. Then, some cruise lines started leaving space on the bar bills so you could even add extra tips (above your cruise fare, autotips, and 15% drink tip). Now some lines do not have this extra tip line....YET.

 

Hank

P.S. We are actually generous tippers on ships...but sometimes wonder if we are being suckered :)

 

I was having the exact same thoughts about this topic. We, too, are generous tippers and do tip above and beyond the auto tip, but it can get completely out of hand.

We tipped $10.00 cash to our servers at both Sabatinis and Crown Grill and they seemed really happy with it, thanking us profusely. We had no idea that some were tipping upwards of $50.00 and that we would appear "cheap" in comparison.

If I thought that paying for a specialty meal was going to cost us an additional $100, including tip, on top of our auto tip and base cruise fare, we would never eat at a specialty restaurant. To be honest, although the food is far superior to that in the MDR or buffet, it is not on par with the finest restaurants that can be found in Miami, Chicago, LA or NYC. And our meal at Sabatinis last week was only just a tad above average.

I was told by Guest Services that 75% of the auto tip goes to the restaurant servers and 25% goes to the stewards. Not sure of the accuracy of that statement, but that is what I was told.

Our steward was exceptional on our last voyage and we tipped him $40 on a five nighter. That was more than we normally tip - but every day he went out of his way to make us feel unique and special. Now I'm wondering if that amount also would be considered "cheap and insulting"

[eandj]

I don't believe that I said anything about the taste of the meal. I am not a novice. I know that the wait staff is responsible for service and not how the meal tastes. I don't know where you got that erroneous impression. As a matter of fact, the meal itself was not up to previous ones we've had in Sabatini's. It was the service that was outstanding. Attentive when we needed it to be, discreetly observant the rest of the time.

 

I did not say the meal was "worth" $250, but rather that it would have cost that much. Our last dinner out before our cruise at a nice but not first-class restaurant, with fewer courses but two glasses of wine, was just under $200.

 

A tip of $10 would have seemed cheap and insulting for such good service.

Sorry if you were offended by my post. Your connection to the cost of a comparable meal and the service made me believe you based your gratuities only on the cost of a meal. My misunderstanding.

We see a gratuitiy to a server/s as based on the service. Not the final bill. Obviously if there are many courses served, lots of knowledge about a menu, special requests, recs, etc a server will receive a larger "thank you" for making the night more enjoyable. But a good server on a $100 bill might receive the same or greater gratuity as a poor server on a $250 bill. So the cost of the food for us doesn't neccesarily always follow a u&c percentage.

 

"feeling cheap" doesn't enter into our gratuity philosophy. It is truly an individual decision. Seems you handled the decision the best way for you. ;)

Edited February 17, 2014 by eandj

[eandj]

I was having the exact same thoughts about this topic. .

Our steward was exceptional on our last voyage and we tipped him $40 on a five nighter. That was more than we normally tip - but every day he went out of his way to make us feel unique and special. Now I'm wondering if that amount also would be considered "cheap and insulting"

 

 

Sounds like you have your gratuities figured out. ;) I often wonder why some people worry what a gratuity looks like..to someone else. :confused: makes for interesting discussion/reading tho.:D

[hansi]

We recently had dinner in Sabatini's on the Emerald Princess. The bill was $50 ($25 pp, we had started a bottle of wine before we reached the dining room, and it was our table mates' turn to buy the wine at table). DH started to add our customary 20% tip, but I made him bump it up since we had had almost three hours of outstanding service.

 

At home the dinner would probably have been at least $250 and merited $50+ for a tip, so I'm wondering what would be an acceptable tip for a specialty restaurant since the price isn't really indicative of the cost of the meal and the service far surpasses all but the best restaurants.

 

You would pay $250 for a meal:eek:! The cover charge is all I would pay:cool:

[DebJ14]

We tipped $25.00 extra the nights we ate in the Crown Grill and Sabatini's.

 

We had breakfast every morning in Sabatini's and on those mornings when our service was great we gave our main server an extra $10.00. The last breakfast we gave everyone who served us at breakfast an extra $25.00. Turned out not to be our last breakfast there due to a fog situation. Let's just say that they couldn't do enough for us on the actual last morning. I went away feeling really happy that we had tipped. We talked to our favorite waiter and assistant and found out that apparently the suite guests that week had their wallets locked up and only a few guests tipped.

[eandj]

. We talked to our favorite waiter and assistant and found out that apparently the suite guests that week had their wallets locked up and only a few guests tipped.

 

 

I find it odd and actually unsettling that staff would discuss and comment on tipping habits of other guests? Professional?:o

[gingera]

I am from the Midwest, and from where I live the tip is 15%-20% of the cost of our meal. Midwest meals are much cheaper than many parts of the country, ...so are my wages.

$50 tip in my town is very high. People just don't tip that much where I am from.

 

If what some say that the tip is included with the fee, then are we tipping on top of the tip? I don't know....

[EightFurryPaws]

I find it odd and actually unsettling that staff would discuss and comment on tipping habits of other guests? Professional?:o

 

I totally agree with you. Now every time I'm having breakfast at Sabitini's, this will be in my mind. Even though the breakfast will, I'm sure, be wonderful, I will have a bad taste left in my mouth.

[eandj]

If what some say that the tip is included with the fee, then are we tipping on top of the tip? I don't know....

 

 

Yes, if you add cash to any of the services provided by staff on the ship, then you are indeed tipping over and above the prepaid daily rate. Don't let anyone using words like "cheap" or "locked wallets" persuade you otherwise. ;) Enjoy your cruise!

[drisinger]

This is a wonderful thread to read. I am gaining insight into others tipping methods.

 

Just incase you're interested, this is how we do it.

 

We tip a two dollar bill for each room service call (meal).

 

We tip $5 daily for cabin cleaning... and all the other nonsense our cabin steward has to put up with from us. ($35 for a 7 dayer)

I normally fall in love with our room steward! I have this task at home and feel I should get much more than that daily!

 

We tip our favorite bartender last day of cruise. $10-20 depending.

Normally drink at the same watering hole.

They get slipped a buck or two from time to time as well! Once we hit a favorite bartender we love going back again and again, gets to feeling like family!

Lots of fun shared with them.

 

One trip to a Speciality Restaurant (for 2)- $10-20 depending.

 

We tip MDR server $40 last night of cruise.

 

There's ~$140 over the $84 we spend auto tipping (a piece) on our 7 day cruise. Based on their suggested $12 a day.

 

It does all add up, but I'm on vacation and want to do the right thing.

I hope I am being fair and not too cheap because I understand the staff depends on tips for their income.

These tips trickle all the way down to the very bottom of the ship and all those behind the scenes we are completely unaware of for most part.

I understand sharing of these additional tips also critical to those employees that are beyond the public eye. ;)

 

I felt compelled to add my $.02 Cents..... LOL. :)

[SwissDave]

Have never tipped extra for dinner in crown grill or sabatinis, its already included as part of the upcharge.

 

Have tipped extra for sabatinis breakfast except last time earlier this year maitre'd got nothing as all he was interested in was getting off the ship and going home the following weekend. Waiters got $10 as it seemed they were not quite focused on the job but did get me everything i wanted.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse tryping orrers.