Tipping at Cagneys/Modernos for Suite guests

[havenfan]

I understand that the servers are covered by the DSC.

I understand that there is no obligation or expectation to tip them beyond the DSC.

 

However, I am curious, from those of you who have tipped extra:

1) Did you tip at each meal or at the end of the cruise?

2) If at the end, did you tip the servers individually or collectively, i.e., an envelope for the entire staff?

3) How much did you tip? If at the end, would you please specify the length of the cruise?

 

Thanks in advance to those who address my questions.

[CruiseyCruise]

I was eating with my kids on the gem. They wanted pina colada and a strawberry daiquiri. Waitress first said they didn’t have them at that restaurant but she sent someone to get them for the kids. I gave her a twenty. I thought that was above and beyond.

[Shellbelle28]

I understand that the servers are covered by the DSC.

I understand that there is no obligation or expectation to tip them beyond the DSC.

 

However, I am curious, from those of you who have tipped extra:

1) Did you tip at each meal or at the end of the cruise?

2) If at the end, did you tip the servers individually or collectively, i.e., an envelope for the entire staff?

3) How much did you tip? If at the end, would you please specify the length of the cruise?

 

Thanks in advance to those who address my questions.

We had an exceptionally good experience throughout an entire cruise from a young woman working the hostess stand for Moderno/Cagney's on the Pearl. (Among other things she ran up 4 decks to retrieve my forgotten handbag for me!)

At the end of the cruise I hunted her down and gave her an envelope with a nice tip. However, I was concerned I might not have been able to find her, so at your last expected encounter would be a good time too.

And always take note of names and submit positive comments. It was matters a lot to them!

[dcruiser50]

Havn't been a suite guest but being platinum we get 2 dinners, I always tip in cash when we dine at an upcharge restaurant except under the UDP, which I have already tipped 20%. If I find a great server in the complimentary restaurants I try to get a seat in their section and tip them extra at the end of the cruise

[VideoTech]

I understand that the servers are covered by the DSC.

I understand that there is no obligation or expectation to tip them beyond the DSC.

 

However, I am curious, from those of you who have tipped extra:

1) Did you tip at each meal or at the end of the cruise?

2) If at the end, did you tip the servers individually or collectively, i.e., an envelope for the entire staff?

3) How much did you tip? If at the end, would you please specify the length of the cruise?

 

Thanks in advance to those who address my questions.

 

If you want to tip individually at any restaurant on the ship, I'd suggest doing it immediately after the meal. The servers do move around, getting different assignments from time to time. Possibly the only exception is in the Haven restaurant, for those ships that have them. But even there, we have seen the staff change over the course of a cruise.

[DaisyGoldberg]

Be sure to check your room charges when you leave tips on dining plan meals. Once we tipped our waiter but the room charge showed only the cost of the drinks we had purchased. I went to the desk at the restaurant and asked them to make sure that the waiter received the money we had tipped, because our electronic record didn't reflect that they'd taken the money off our account. Didn't want the guy stiffed.

 

Took a few minutes for them to understand that I was disputing a charge in their favor (!), but once they did they figured it out and thanked me on his behalf.

[Plut0]

I have done the tipping both ways, throughout the week and at the end.

 

On the POA, I noticed the same people were are breakfast each day, but lunch seems to change so I started giving the server at lunch a tip when I left. For the breakfast folks, I tipped at the end of the week.

 

Everyone does things in a way that best suits them and I am sure you will do the same.

[NLH Arizona]

I leave cash at the end of each meal in a specialty restaurant.

[cliffd64]

When our service was consistently memorable and pleasant and beyond the call of duty in the "Suite occupant only" restaurants, we provided an envelop to our preferred waiter at the end of the cruise. He really contributed to making our mornings especially nice at breakfast. We struck a good friendship with him and continue to stay in contact the 5 years since. We felt he deserved to be recognized after we had such a great time.

[psac]

I’m not sure if it’s clear that the topic is referring to what would be the Haven Restaurant on the ships without a Haven Restaurant, where they have breakfast and lunches in Cagneys and Modernos instead. So this isn’t about one specialty dining meal.

 

When we were on either the Gem or Pearl in a suite, we had the same waiter every day for breakfast, and it was like the old school super-friendly dining table waiter who knew our drinks by mid-week and got us everything right when we sat down. We happily took care of him with cash on the last morning. On our one Breakaway Haven trip, we didn’t have any one single waiter that we repeatedly had or stood out, so we didn’t do anything similar.

[roger001]

I just tip $5 cash at the end of each meal.

[Peachypooh]

I just tip $5 cash at the end of each meal.

 

That's what I do.

[amygutman]

If you want to tip individually at any restaurant on the ship, I'd suggest doing it immediately after the meal. The servers do move around, getting different assignments from time to time. Possibly the only exception is in the Haven restaurant, for those ships that have them. But even there, we have seen the staff change over the course of a cruise.

 

Agree with tipping at the end of a meal.

 

Don't forget about the buffet either - we always bring extra $5s and $10s as there is always a waiter / housekeeping staff who goes above and beyond to bring you a drink, clear off a table, or just smile and make your day. You may not see that person again for days (if at all). We had one great "roaming" waiter at the buffet who saw that my son was bummed because they were out of chocolate sauce for his ice cream (first world problems, I know), and told him to "stay put for a minute" - ran to the coffee shop in the atrium and grabbed him a cup of chocolate sauce that they use for the fancy coffee drinks. He not only got a "hero card" for his efforts, but a $10 and I hunted down his manager to let him know how much we appreciated him spoiling our son.

 

In the MDR, there is not a place on your receipt to tip unless you order something with a surcharge - so cash is the only way to directly tip your waitstaff.

 

Amy

[welove2cruise2014]

Always tipped on the charge slip even if there was no charge (UDP or SDP). Typically $10 per specialty meal (we would each add $5 to our slip).

 

We once had a great experience with a hostess getting us into Cagneys on the last night when even our concierge couldn't. We gave her $20. She really tried to insist on not taking it... but she eventually did :)

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[mertziek]

When we eat in the specialty restaurants, we always leave a cash tip for our server at the end of the meal - assuming service was/is good. We have, at times, left tips for lunch and breakfast servers in Cagney’s or Moderno for suite/Haven passengers. Not required but we like to reward friendly, competent servers right away. And we have tipped extra in the Main Dining rooms if service is exceptional. Our feeling is most of these people are sending money home to families in some of the poorest countries in the world where every extra bit of money is appreciated.

[fiftyguy]

Maybe someone can clarify. I’ve been told a tip on a charge slip goes to a pool for server tips and not to the server you want to reward for good service. I always leave a cash tip now so I’m rewarding the server. Is this info correct or am I misinformed?

[Love my butler]

Simple solution. Just bring a was of cash and pass it out to any and all crew you encounter. Problem solved.

[havenfan]

OP here. Thanks for all the replies. I'm certainly going to do what I'm going to do, but I'll change what I do if another way seems better.

 

Yes, my question is about the breakfast/lunch restaurant available to the suite guests on the older ships. I suppose I should have called it the Haven restaurant, but I haven't sailed on any of the newer ships where suite guests can also have dinner in a separate venue.

 

For me, the quieter, less crowded restaurant available to suite guests is a big part of the appeal of sailing in suites on NCL. The service there has almost always been excellent and the servers have usually been very eager to please, generally remembering our preferences from meal to meal, including which color Jello my kids like from the buffet! We generally have had the same servers every day at breakfast, but that hasn't always been the case at lunch.

 

I usually say goodbye to the servers at the last breakfast and then give the host(ess) an envelope for the staff, ideally in the presence of one of the servers I'd just been thanking, normally with about $25 per person in our party for a 7-day cruise, which works out to about $2.50/meal (we always miss some lunches because of excursions). My feeling is that the experience is the result of a team effort, that I might not fully understand who contributes what to that experience, so I'll let them sort out how to distribute the money.