Lack Of Tipping In The Diamond Lounge

[2CatsInFlorida]

JMHO but I prefer all inclusive travel where tips are included in the price. Otherwise, you have to bring a wad of $1 bills to hand out.

 

If an employees goes beyond the norm in service, we will leave an extra tip.

 

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

We tip in the Diamond Lounge because we feel it is the right thing to do. Yes, the drinks are free for us, but we do not feel entitled and do not refuse to tip because we have already spent so much money and time achieving D status that the drinks are now free. Does that make sense? :p

 

We tip $1 per drink at the time of service, alcoholic or not (I do not drink, DH does). The servers seem to appreciate it and they are very attentive. :)

[gerif]

JMHO but I prefer all inclusive travel where tips are included in the price. Otherwise, you have to bring a wad of $1 bills to hand out.

 

If an employees goes beyond the norm in service, we will leave an extra tip.

 

 

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Not necessary to bring a wad of $1 bills. Guest services will be happy to make change for you. Servers in the DL and CL do not get the 18% per drink that other bartenders get and IMO should be rewarded for their service.

[champagne123]

Not necessary to bring a wad of $1 bills. Guest services will be happy to make change for you. Servers in the DL and CL do not get the 18% per drink that other bartenders get and IMO should be rewarded for their service.

 

:):):):) Best post EVER

[George C]

We do bring at least 50 in singles for extra tips and another 50 or more in fives, but I understand some people liking how Sandals resort does it with no tipping at all allowed

[handbellplayer]

My upcoming cruise will be my first as Diamond and I definitely plan on tipping while I'm in there. I'll probably tip on a nightly basis as I'm sure the service will be superb :)

 

I would recommend doing it nightly. On our last cruise (first as Diamond) we waited until the end of the week and were sorry because the waiters circulated in and out of the lounge and we missed some of them the last night. We'll be tipping by the round on our Freedom cruise.

[Beachin2]

We prefer to tip nightly. Have had some experiences in the DL/CL where servers were reassigned mid-cruise to fill needs elsewhere on the ship I and would never want to miss any of them.

 

They work too hard and deserve every centavo.

[Firefighterhoop]

veddy intewesting. on our last cruise, we met and got to know MANY D+s and Pinnacles who frequented the CL with us. they all tipped a dollar per drink.. even if half the guys only drank tonic water. these were people who were staking out their couches an hour before cocktail hour and closed it down every night so many cans were opened. We, like we normally do, tipped at the end.

 

I almost was tempted to keep track of the dollars handed out to compare with what we tipped at the end for approximately the same number of drinks over the course of the week. and the JD and cokes Mr spook got were decidedly in favor of the JD.

 

I also tip out the barstaff at the end of the cruise - as with the Concierge. Just the way I have always done it I guess. I do know some tip each drink, each night, or at the end. It doesn't really matter.

 

To me it is important to tip out these folks at some point because they are taken away from a bar that they could be making money at, and as everyone else that works, they are dependent on that money.

 

Also I make sure I tip each time if I use my card outside of the CL/DL during cocktail hour for the "3 free drinks". They do a great job in all of be bars, and should be rewarded for it as they aren't making anything off of the "Free" drinks.

 

Just my opinion.

[MattInFLL]

I actually enjoy tipping. But then my livelihood depended on it when I first got out of college.

 

I generally tip my DL waiter(s) at the end of each evening. Usually $5 each or sometimes more for things that were out of the ordinary. At the end of the cruise one or two of them usually get something extra too for their exceptional service.

[papaflamingo]

We were on Serenade a couple of week ago and chose to spend our time in the Diamond Lounge with friends. The service we received was among the best of any Diamond Lounge I have been in. I am not a fan of daily tipping or by the drink tipping in the lounge. Generally, and it was this way on Serenade, the servers are there every day. So we tipped early and again late in the cruise. We tipped very well, and it was well deserved.

As for some of the comments about not seeing people tip, we tend to tip very discretely. I don't feel I need to call attention to myself tipping someone for good service. So you may not have seen me tip, but rest assured, I did.

[2CatsInFlorida]

Not necessary to bring a wad of $1 bills. Guest services will be happy to make change for you. Servers in the DL and CL do not get the 18% per drink that other bartenders get and IMO should be rewarded for their service.

 

 

Then I agree they should be tipped.

 

 

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[pinkrosesdeb]

The servers in those lounges are so amazing. Always pleasant and smiling, some the of sweetest people onboard. As mentioned in a previous post, they do NOT receive an automatic tip with your order but serve you every night and do it with great professionalism. They remember your drink and take great care of everyone. They deserve something for all they do! I don't understand the idea that someone "owes" you their service.

[cruiselife4me]

Great thread!! When DH and I were on a short 5 night NCL cruise we had an upsell to a penthouse. We loved our butler and gave him a great tip, but was horrified when talking to neighbors what they planned on tipping. Usually (not always) poor tipping happens because people aren't sure what's the proper amount to tip, AND because there's no real guidelines, some crew are under tipped. I was a waitress in my young adult years so I want to give the hardworking crew what they are due.

 

 

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Edited April 9, 2016 by silver_cloud

[handbellplayer]

We prefer to tip nightly. Have had some experiences in the DL/CL where servers were reassigned mid-cruise to fill needs elsewhere on the ship I and would never want to miss any of them.

 

They work too hard and deserve every centavo.

 

That's why we plan to tip nightly this time. It may vary from ship to ship as to whether the bartender/servers are there every night. We were on an 11-day cruise with an insane number of D and up and the D club used the whole Viking Crown lounge every evening. So servers had to be deployed to other events on some nights.

[Ontario Cruiser]

Question?If you use your 3 free drinks on your card at a bar not Diamond Club do those waiters get their 18% tip?Thanks Ontario Cruiser

[Stormy15]

Great thread!! When DH and I were on a short 5 night NCL cruise we had an upsell to a penthouse. We loved our butler and gave him a great tip, but was horrified when talking to neighbors what they planned on tipping. Usually (not always) poor tipping happens because people aren't sure what's the proper amount to tip, AND because there's no real guidelines, some crew are under tipped. I was a waitress in my young adult years so I want to give the hardworking crew what they are due.

 

 

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I agree with this. I wish they would give guidelines for tipping concierge. I don't believe our cruise next neighbors tipped anything to either the concierge lounge bartenders or the concierge and seemed surprised that we were.

[ARCruisinNana]

Question?If you use your 3 free drinks on your card at a bar not Diamond Club do those waiters get their 18% tip?Thanks Ontario Cruiser

 

 

No, they don't. That's why I think it's important to tip them when you receive your drink.

[pcur]

veddy intewesting. on our last cruise, we met and got to know MANY D+s and Pinnacles who frequented the CL with us. they all tipped a dollar per drink.. even if half the guys only drank tonic water. these were people who were staking out their couches an hour before cocktail hour and closed it down every night so many cans were opened. We, like we normally do, tipped at the end.

 

I almost was tempted to keep track of the dollars handed out to compare with what we tipped at the end for approximately the same number of drinks over the course of the week. and the JD and cokes Mr spook got were decidedly in favor of the JD.

 

I tip the equivalent of the 18% service charge per drink, but at the end of the cruise, and rounded up. Mr. pcur drinks diet coke, so his 18% is less than my manhattan 18%, but it's an easy thing to just figure the approximate number we consumed over the week.

[pcur]

Question?If you use your 3 free drinks on your card at a bar not Diamond Club do those waiters get their 18% tip?Thanks Ontario Cruiser

 

As previously stated, they don't. I always hand my card to them with my order and a dollar bill wrapped around the card.

[pcur]

Nothing like hoping to anger people to let everyone know you're an arrogant know-it-all who likes to sit in judgment of others.

 

Odd, but I didn't read that statement with that impression. I read it as a further explanation of the OP's objection to people not providing tips to the CL/DL staff.

[Ontario Cruiser]

Thanks we will also tip at the bars as well. Ontario Cruiser

[marci22]

I agree with this. I wish they would give guidelines for tipping concierge. I don't believe our cruise next neighbors tipped anything to either the concierge lounge bartenders or the concierge and seemed surprised that we were.

 

If it is a loyalty reward, I don't think they need to give guidelines on tipping. I suppose they could suggest it for suites, but what happens now with the genies? Do you still tip the concierge?

 

I do always tip the bar servers, but the amount I tip the concierge has varied, depending on how helpful/pleasant they were. Anywhere from zero to $75. Sometimes the concierge does things for you and chats and sometimes they are preoccupied with others most of the time. It is very variable.

 

I would guess that, on average, $50 for a week would be guideline-ish, if he was pleasant and helped you with a few problems.

[blackshirt]

I would recommend doing it nightly. On our last cruise (first as Diamond) we waited until the end of the week and were sorry because the waiters circulated in and out of the lounge and we missed some of them the last night. We'll be tipping by the round on our Freedom cruise.

 

That's what we thought too but on our last cruise (Explorer), when I tipped the waiter on our first night he kind of looked at me like "what's this for". I then watched as he went to talk to the other waiter, showed him the tip, they talked a little, then I saw him open a cabinet and put it in. It almost felt awkward. I did not witness anyone else tipping so rather than continue to tip by the drink, we waited for the last night and tipped each waiter. Since the same two worked the diamond lounge every night, that worked out ok.

[hollykimalan]

I am the only person who is picking up that there is proportion of 'Diamond and above' folks on Royal Caribbean who have an uppity, self-important sense of either entitlement or pompousness?

Don't get me wrong, I see value in really appreciating your perks and your sense of loyalty to Royal Caribbean. Absolutely nothing wrong with feeling its nice to be appreciated as intimate and welcomed contributors to the overall success of the Royal Caribbean enterprise. Even wearing badges to show this is cool.

 

We are booked in to a suite* (on the explorer) and I worry that we might not like the type of folk that moan about others tipping or inflate their ego with their 'status points'....I think (hope) they must be in the minority but in social situations people like that really piss me off...

*We (6 of us) are in a suite. It doesn't mean we look down on anyone or anything. I am not better than anyone else. I have been fortunate, had a few lucky breaks and worked hard in my life. I could even, quietly, consider myself a success considering where I started in life. But this pompous sense of self-rightousness I am beginning to dread encountering on Royal Caribbean...

[marci22]

That's what we thought too but on our last cruise (Explorer), when I tipped the waiter on our first night he kind of looked at me like "what's this for". I then watched as he went to talk to the other waiter, showed him the tip, they talked a little, then I saw him open a cabinet and put it in. It almost felt awkward. I did not witness anyone else tipping so rather than continue to tip by the drink, we waited for the last night and tipped each waiter. Since the same two worked the diamond lounge every night, that worked out ok.

 

Any waiter that looks at money and wonders what it's for must be very new. I don't think he'll do that again.

 

They like tips. And I don't try to fold it all up and be sneaky. I just hand them the money and say, 'thank you!'

 

If you prefer to tip at the end that's fine, but don't feel awkward.