Is anybody else is tipping extra at the MDR?

[L454S]

Some of the replies here seem to get terminology twisted. Tipping the full prepaid amount IMO is for very good service, now $12.95 a day PP and 18% on other purchases.

 

Room stewards and wait staff would have to go a ways to beat very good.

 

I guess it's a modern language thing. Right off everything is "AWESOME". No, it's not, it's "GOOD". In my view excellent is not the norm, it happens occasionally. The same could be said for terms like "HORRID" or "TERRIBLE" service, and yes these superlative or extreme terms are thrown around these boards quite regularly.

 

As a reference, after looking back, there was only one cruise where we cancelled auto tip, and left envelopes because of sub par service. Also, there was only one time we left extra for over and above attention.

[Big_G]

I guess it's a modern language thing. Right off everything is "AWESOME". No, it's not, it's "GOOD". In my view excellent is not the norm, it happens occasionally. The same could be said for terms like "HORRID" or "TERRIBLE" service, and yes these superlative or extreme terms are thrown around these boards quite regularly.

 

 

How about it being a 'NIGHTMARE' to listen to wait staff explain the rating system. :eek::rolleyes:

[calypso73]

How about it being a 'NIGHTMARE' to listen to wait staff explain the rating system. :eek::rolleyes:

 

"Nightmare" was used in relation to staff begging for extra tips not merely explaining the rating system. unless you've been inside a persons head while they are sleeping who are you to say what is or is not someone's nightmare?

 

Good thing there are no tips given out for mind reading :rolleyes:

[Big_G]

"Nightmare" was used in relation to staff begging for extra tips not merely explaining the rating system. unless you've been inside a persons head while they are sleeping who are you to say what is or is not someone's nightmare?

 

Good thing there are no tips given out for mind reading :rolleyes:

 

No, this is a nightmare. Lets put it in perspective.

 

 

Of the four different lines I've sailed, I've never heard a waiter beg for tips. I've heard the rating speech but never in your words, 'begging' for tips.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Big_G

[calypso73]

There are at least as many different nightmares as there are people on the planet ;-) I'm glad that you haven't experienced begging and I'm sorry that the previous poster has. Unless we were there I don't think anyone is in a position to discount another persons experiences.

 

And to return to the topic at hand I would not tip extra in the MDR if I felt staff were begging or in any way pressuring me to do so.

[Paul65]

Of the four different lines I've sailed, I've never heard a waiter beg for tips. I've heard the rating speech but never in your words, 'begging' for tips.

 

I agree. Different people might have different ideas of what constitutes "begging." I've heard a waiting say something like, "I hope you had great service and will give us 10s, when you get your survey." Some might consider that begging, but I've never had an interaction that came across to me as begging.

 

Now, the last time I bought a car, I had the salesman say that, if I gave him 10s on my satisfaction survey, I'd could get free oil changes for the first year. That definitely rubbed me the wrong way to have someone basically bribing me to rate them highly.

[American Bear]

During my last 2 cruises I noticed that nobody around my tables gave extra tip to the waiter or his assistants. I always give them extra tip because I believe they really deserve it. I'm not planning on cutting them my extra tip in the future but at some point I was wondering if I am the only one giving extra tip.

 

 

No we continue to tip extra to all those we come in personal contact with.

So you are not alone.:)

[Summerknight]

We tip extra, but others may not notice because it is done discretely before the last night. We normally dine in Windjammer or Specialty restaurant the last evening.

[LMaxwell]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

 

Mr. A, Mr. K, Pol, Frankie on the Legend last year were phenomenal and got plenty of extra cash from us and included in our comments.

 

I felt like the waitstaff on Majesty went out of their way for my wife, so they got extra cash.

 

The whole dining experience on Allure was pretty awful and we never had the same wait staff twice, so no extra. Vision of the Seas was average; nothing terrible, nothing great. So no extra.

 

We've already prepaid tips for "good" service but we do give a little extra when it is great.

[marci22]

I usually do, but I didn't this time. Our dining team was just ok. We had booked traditional dining as my family likes seeing the same waiters, but it didn't work out well this time. We agreed that next time, we would choose MTD.

 

And we still had to listen to the 'give us all 10s' speech at the end, from both servers and the head waiter. And we just had to nod and nod...

[kicker]

Our last several cruises have been Royal (both set time and MTD) and Disney. We found the service comparable in every case - I would think you might get slightly less personal service with MTD, but we had the same waiter & Asst every night, so maybe that's why it was good.

 

A few cruises back DW noticed the couple next to us having an Escargot appetizer (not on the menu). She asked the waiter and, every night afterwards, she was given Escargot as an appetizer. That is something that certainly deserves an extra tip.

 

And, to go back some posts, I believe the correct saying is "A broken squirrel still finds time to eat a nut twice a day";)

[Big_G]

 

And, to go back some posts, I believe the correct saying is "A broken squirrel still finds time to eat a nut twice a day";)

 

Nice! I knew I was close. :D;)

[Itsbeentoolong]

Sorry, whats a WOW card?

 

thanks

[Clarea]

Sorry, whats a WOW card?

 

thanks

It's a card you get at check-in that you can give to a crewmember you wish to praise. They supposedly can redeem WOW cards for various perks.

[marci22]

They didn't give out wow cards at Cape Liberty this past sailing.

[EMED2010]

As a Brit I have difficulty with the whole tipping thing that American Companies have going on. If Service has been included in the bill, its included. Why pay more? I get completely irritated by service that is in your face the whole time. Serve me, yes, but don't bug me the whole time I'm eating!

 

Its the same with the cabin staff. Yes be friendly, but do your job unobtrusively just do it, its what you are paid for. I wish they would just charge what they need to charge and pay the staff appropriately. Rather than have the whole fuss and bother of tipping.

 

Oh and while we are on the subject, 10% is considered a good tip here in a restaurant. This is why UK restaurant bills are more expensive, they are inline with what it actually costs to pay someone appropriately for their work.

 

I'm sure this is going to cause a tirade. Feel free.

 

Actually, I like your idea! I would rather pay a higher fee for my meal than have to worry about tipping. I always tip 18% in restaurants at home and hate having to sit there and figure it out after my meal. I would much rather hand my credit card over, sign and be done. On the ship, I do tip my waiters extra, but then we have always had really nice ones. Pressure to tip in the US has really gotten out of hand and I wish we could handle it the way your country does.

[livinginyellow]

When we sailed last November, we didn't tip any extra for MDR, even though we did it every night. The reason for this was we had a different table and a different waiter every night (which we were OK with) It's not that their service wasn't good, it was just that we would feel guilty giving each just a few bucks, or likewise giving the 'best' waiter the tip and no others a tip.

 

We did, however, tip bartenders that we used frequently. We probably ran them more than our waiters (as all we had at MDR was 1 app and 2 entrees every night) so we felt that that was the right way to distribute our tips.

 

It's all personal and depends on your experience.

[Alohaaloha]

We noticed too that we were the only ones on our table of 8 that tipped extra on the last night, and we too had pre paid our gratuities. We tipped extra because we felt we truly did have exceptional service at the table, from our room steward and in the CL and wanted to acknowledge that personally rather than in a general payment.

 

 

 

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[cindivan]

No, this is a nightmare. Lets put it in perspective.

 

 

Of the four different lines I've sailed, I've never heard a waiter beg for tips. I've heard the rating speech but never in your words, 'begging' for tips.

 

 

Like!!

 

"Nightmare" is a bit dramatic.

[BigB0882]

I hope I am not considered cheap but I don't tip extra. I would if the server does something that warrants it but in my experience, I have always had good service but nothing above and beyond in the MDR. Maybe this is because I sail Carnival and always have a different team each night. However, I have tipped my room steward extra. On our last cruise he was just exceptional and we felt he deserved more so he got more on our last day.

[molsonschooner]

No, this is a nightmare. Lets put it in perspective.

 

 

Of the four different lines I've sailed, I've never heard a waiter beg for tips. I've heard the rating speech but never in your words, 'begging' for tips.

 

When we were on Oasis a couple years ago, the assistant waiter in particular seemed to be begging for tips. While he never came right out and said tips, every night it was "how is the service, is it great, is it better than great. Is it awesome". Every single night he went through this routine. To be honest, this was the worst service we have experienced on any cruise.

[Grandma Petania]

On the 3 cruises I've taken so far, I have tipped extra cash on the last night to my wait staff & room steward, accompanied by an appreciative note. I am a somewhat disabled senior with a limited income, but I know that my life is so much easier than theirs.

 

I first sailed on the Oasis in 2012 with my older daughter, my disabled son-in-law, and grandson. We had set dining time, and had the same wait staff all week. Our waitress was a most delightful young woman from the Philippines, and she gave us excellent service, including cutting out my SIL's lobster tail, shrimp in shells, etc. I sailed again in 2013 with my younger daughter. We had MTD, and felt very fortunate to be waited on by this same waitress - specifically at our request.

 

The family sailed again this past February. Once again, we were able to get our favorite waitress in MTD. By the third night, the head waiter (female) told us to just come at the same time every night, and go straight to "our" table. We didn't have to wait in line or check in with anybody. Again, our waitress gave us excellent service - even remembering which of us was allergic to shellfish (me).

 

I know this is kind of unusual, and wouldn't appeal to a lot of people, but she invited me to be friends on Facebook at the end of my 2013 cruise. As far as I can tell, she has only two other FB friends who were/are cruisers. All the others are other crew members or friends & family from the Philippines. I have come to know her family through her FB posts, including three children that she works on Oasis to provide better schooling and life for. I look forward to seeing her again next February, and will do everything I can to be served by her. I will miss her when I sail on the Allure in 2017, but I'm ready for a different ship with different shows.

 

Whether you choose to tip extra or not, know that the people who serve us on board appreciate being able to count on the tips that are prepaid (or billed daily on board). Prior to that, they were often at the mercy of passengers who undertipped.

[clm1982]

We tipped our waiter and assistant waiter extra on our last cruise as they were so good. They cut up our childrens food for them and kept them entertained with paper planes, biscuits etc. If i went to a normal resturant waiters would not cut the childrens food up for them i would usually have to do it. So they got an extra $20 each for our table.

 

I did not tip my room steward any extra as he didnt do anything out of the ordinary and we had 2 rooms of which only one bathroom, bin etc was used so basically got same amount of tips for less work. He also didnt replace sanitary bags when it was clear i had my period at the time, i thought that was poor.

[JulieRose]

We don't really do the MDR so no. We only tip extra for mixed drinks and to the room steward... And, of course, room service when we get it.

[DonnaK]

We don't usually tip the wait team or the steward extra. We always get great service, for which the recommended tips are adequate.

 

My feeling is that an extra tip is warranted when someone has gone above and beyond the call of duty, or outside the realm of their usual job responsibilities, for us. This has only happened to us a few times, and in those isolated cases, we've given an additional tip.