Dining & Gratuity Questions-First Carnival Cruise

[simplelife]

One of the first things we do on embarkation day is to visit the dining room to check out our assigned table and request changes, if any. If the maitre d' handles a request for us, we give him a tip. Otherwise we don't tip the maitre d'. (BTW - Your wait staff and steward will receive a list of those who have prepaid gratuities and those who have paid by autotip, so they will know you have not stiffed them).

[tandemcruzr]

For assigned dining I think your table mates would prefer that you let somebody know you are not coming to the MDR on any given night. That way they are not waitng on you and delaying their dinner service.

 

Agree. We do this if we are going to the Steakhouse the next night or if we will be eating ashore at a port with a late departure.

[riffatsea]

The Maitre d, is in charge of the dining room.

We do not give him a tip.

I imagine that IF he did something special for us then we might but ordinarily we do not! In a restaurant on land we would not tip the manager so to us that is the same thing.

[bruadhin]

For assigned dining I think your table mates would prefer that you let somebody know you are not coming to the MDR on any given night. That way they are not waitng on you and delaying their dinner service.

 

I can certainly see that. We have never shared a table except on our first cruise and that was with friends.

 

I did observe a number of tables around us that were shared, the waiters seemed to proceed at the same pace whether the others showed or not. I don't recall if they even asked those there or not. If they were ready to order, they took their orders without waiting to see if the others showed.

[skittl1321]

Thank you everyone for the kind and helpful replies! I really appreciate them. After reading through the replies, I now have an additional question, lol. If the pre-paid gratuities do not cover the MD, then what is the 'standard' tip, and do you give it once at the end of the cruise, or each night?

 

We have never tipped the MD. It is the salaried job to assign us to dining, and we have never received additional service from the MD.

 

Now, if s/he went above and beyond to do something for you, a tip might be right.

 

 

As for room service, we put dishes in the hall, arranged as nicely as possible. We've found they disappear sooner that way.

 

When I do assigned dining, if I know the day ahead I tell my waiter I won't be there (like I know I am booked in the steakhouse), but if I decide last minute, I do not go out of my way to tell anyone.

Edited June 18, 2015 by skittl1321

[evandbob]

A Maitre'D once put me at an 8 top with 7 women. I gave him a tip.

 

As for dishes, I ask my room steward what he prefers - and I've found that I don't get the same answer each cruise.

[MommyCPA]

I am a newbie cruiser and have similar questions. Who do any of you give additional tips to? I want to receive good service at the bar and anywhere else. I usually tip more than the minimum recommended as well. Do you tip extra to your bartender if you have Cheers? When do you give extra to the steward? At the beginning to get stellar service or do you wait till the end?

[bruadhin]

I am a newbie cruiser and have similar questions. Who do any of you give additional tips to? I want to receive good service at the bar and anywhere else. I usually tip more than the minimum recommended as well. Do you tip extra to your bartender if you have Cheers? When do you give extra to the steward? At the beginning to get stellar service or do you wait till the end?

 

I have never had Cheers, so I can't comment on that.

 

We have always given the steward more at the end. The service has always been good, we did it as a way to say thank you.

 

My impression is, if you treat the crew like they are human, they always give great service. Just be a decent person. Again, just my impression, but I get the feeling that a lot of the passengers look down upon them and can be rude. Yes, it is their job, but they are still people and still like to be appreciated. Don't check your manners at the pier and I think you'll be quite happy with the service you get.

[Joeinmo]

You can pre pay gratuities, you just have to call to do so. Otherwise they will auto post to your onboard account on the 2nd night. This is all grats, room and dining.

 

Just to clarify, we chose pre-paid gratuities when we booked online. I don't remember seeing this option for our past cruises, so this may be a new addition.

[crusinpsychRN]

You can call room service to pick up the tray also. If left in the room there is no predicting if or when it'll get picked up. The hall can be full of dishes for hours. Once someone put a trash basket in the middle of the hall half filled with what had been in their stomach. After 2 hours I called for it to be removed. Another 45 minutes later I called again and it was finally removed.

 

Scooters can have difficulty negotiating the hall with all the trays.

 

The ice thing is such a pain on the first dy. Different stewards have told me they get to it at turndown. Had to go to Lido for ice.

 

When the steward comes to introduce themselves I let them know I have a small cooler I keep on the floor of the shower for ice. In about 10 minutes they fill it and it's kept full the rest of the trip.

 

I've never asked the steward to move the stuff out of the mini fridge, I do it myself if needed. (Put the stuff in the cabinet next to fridge and replace it last night.)