tipping in specialty restaurants

[killsport]

What is the generally accepted practice for tipping in specialty restaurants on HAL (assuming you have the auto-gratuity)?

I'm all for saving money, but I know these folks work pretty doggone hard. If a good portion of the cover charge for the restaurants goes to the staff, then I feel ok. But if not, I feel I should tip. Thoughts/feedback?

[Hflors]

dh and I always leave a $20 bill on the table after our meal.  We feel the staff work very hard and deserve a bit extra.  I don't know what other people do.  But this is what we do.

[catl331]

I believe none of the surcharge goes directly to staff.  We leave $10 or $15 in the PG or Tamarind, $5 or sometimes $10 in the Canaletto.

[a.madruga]

being that the service has always been superb, so a gesture on our part is probably well appreciated by them....

[cbr663]

The daily Hotel Service Charge (HSC) includes all servers in specialty restaurants.  As long as you keep your daily HSC in place, there is no requirement to leave an additional tip when you dine in speciality restaurants, as you have already paid the tip with the HSC.

[DaveOKC]

17 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

The daily Hotel Service Charge (HSC) includes all servers in specialty restaurants.  As long as you keep your daily HSC in place, there is no requirement to leave an additional tip when you dine in speciality restaurants, as you have already paid the tip with the HSC.

 

We tip much like we do in the MDR - if the service warrants it.  So, most times we do (HAL service is generally very good), but sometimes we do not.

[Krazy Kruizers]

None of the fee that you pay to dine in the specialty restaurants goes to the staff.

 

The staff in all the specialty restaurants do get a bit of the Hotel Service Charge.  Keep in mind the Hotel Service Charge is divided among many people -- cabin stewards, laundry people, kitchen staff, those you see cleaning and working around the ship, etc.  -- so it is not much that the specialty restaurant staff get.  The Hotel Service Charge is not divided among the bar staff -- they share the 15% gratuity that is added onto all bar bills.

 

We do tip at the end of the meals in the specialty restaurants and since we keep the Hotel Service Charge in place, we know that they are allowed to keep those tips.

[killsport]

Thanks for the varied input. It really helps. Looks like the tipping in the specialties isn't fully expected but very much appreciated. Again, thanks @Hflors  @catl331 @a.madruga @cbr663 @DaveOKC and @Krazy Kruizers for your feedback!

[Himself]

The only Specialty Restaurant I eat in is the Pinnacle Grill and I leave a ten dollar tip.  I eat alone.

[doublebzz]

2 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

We do tip at the end of the meals in the specialty restaurants and since we keep the Hotel Service Charge in place, we know that they are allowed to keep those tips.

Do they share their tips with other staff in the specialty restaurant or does all of the tip go to one's individual server?

[Vict0riann]

We usually tip towards the end of the cruise and  for the specialty restaurants, DH puts the tip in an envelope and takes it to the manager of the restaurant to divide up among the servers.  We do eat in the specialty restaurants on a regular basis, and actually, we forget about tipping when we go, so it is much easier just to do it at the end.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, doublebzz said:

Do they share their tips with other staff in the specialty restaurant or does all of the tip go to one's individual server?

They share - at least that is how it has worked on the cruises.

 

They have their own "pool".

 

 

[OlsSalt]

One wonders where the specialty surcharge actually gets spent - of late it certainly has not gone into better quality food. MDR dinner have been equal or better in our own experience. The concept needs a serious re-working because there is nothing wrong with up-charging and specialty tipping when it also means value added. We continue to think the Tamarind is value added more for the novelty of the menu than any extra quality of the food.

 

I have not been moved to feel that way about our own recent specialty dining experiences. Just the opposite. Maybe this is a chicken-egg situation - we have not tipped extra in the past, and maybe our own experiences now reflect this if so noted when making future reservations.  Which would be pretty unconscionable, if true. But the jungle drums of onboard rumors have stated as much

Edited November 28, 2018 by OlsSalt

[Stratheden]

We have been to the Pinnacle Grill twice.  On the first occasion our medium rare steak was overdone at one end and blue at the other end.  By the time someone came back to see if we were enjoying our meal I had finished my main course and DH had eaten the middle of his steak and it was 9.30pm.

We stupidly decided to give them another try on our next cruise.  The air of indifference and rudeness of the waiters had not improved so I doubt we will ever try them again.  

If we ever do try them again, we can't complain as we know what to expect, but I guess we can always hope.

So no, we have not tipped them extra as we haven't enjoyed the experience. 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Stratheden said:

We have been to the Pinnacle Grill twice.  On the first occasion our medium rare steak was overdone at one end and blue at the other end.  By the time someone came back to see if we were enjoying our meal I had finished my main course and DH had eaten the middle of his steak and it was 9.30pm.

We stupidly decided to give them another try on our next cruise.  The air of indifference and rudeness of the waiters had not improved so I doubt we will ever try them again.  

If we ever do try them again, we can't complain as we know what to expect, but I guess we can always hope.

So no, we have not tipped them extra as we haven't enjoyed the experience. 

 

It's the inconsistency of one's experience at the Pinnacle Grill that is maddening!  

 

If the PG's Manager is doing his/her job properly, if the PG's Chef is properly doing his/her job properly, if the ship's Executive Chef and Culinary Operations Manager are doing the proper job of overseeing the PG, a guest's experience at the PG ought to be an excellent one.

[aotmc]

I found this thread interesting. I am curious where to find this information- things like servers pooling tips? Does that include kitchen staff too? Where is the information about what the surcharge is or isn't used for? Is this info just gathered from talking directly to staff or is it information that HAL has given out? I am truly curious,  and am not trying to be argumentative. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by aotmc
added info

[avian777]

We always tip at the specialty restaurants because the service we have received there has always been exceptional.  Our tipping ranges (in US Dollars) are:  $2 - $3.50 pp in our party at Canaletto; $3 - $4.50 pp at Tamarind;  $4 - $5.50 pp at Pinnacle Grill; and $5 - $7.50 pp at Sel de Mer and the "pop-up" restaurants.

🥩🥗🍗🥣🥐

[kazu]

1 hour ago, aotmc said:

I found this thread interesting. I am curious where to find this information- things like servers pooling tips? Does that include kitchen staff too? Where is the information about what the surcharge is or isn't used for? Is this info just gathered from talking directly to staff or is it information that HAL has given out? I am truly curious,  and am not trying to be argumentative. 

 

 

 

 

 

No, not shared with kitchen staff.  

 

It's shared with the servers at the PG.

 

there is nothing on the HAL site.  This is info that those of us that have been there and tipped have been told on board and shared here.  

ie -a tip on one dinner and Clifford said thank you, we'll be sharing this.  A tip at the end of the cruise and the PG manager said thank you, the staff will share this.

 

It makes sense as there is usually more than one waiter taking care of you whether you are there for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

[Krazy Kruizers]

1 hour ago, aotmc said:

I found this thread interesting. I am curious where to find this information- things like servers pooling tips? Does that include kitchen staff too? Where is the information about what the surcharge is or isn't used for? Is this info just gathered from talking directly to staff or is it information that HAL has given out? I am truly curious,  and am not trying to be argumentative. 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a time when the cruise director had a talk in the show lounge explaining who all the tips went and the amounts that went to your cabins stewards and dining room stewards -- they got the largest amounts of the Hotel Service Charge.  Then he explained how the rest of the tip money was divided among the "behind the scenes staff" which I explained in post #7.

[Krazy Kruizers]

8 hours ago, doublebzz said:

Do they share their tips with other staff in the specialty restaurant or does all of the tip go to one's individual server?

 

I asked a couple of the servers in the Pinnacle Grill and the Tamarind -- they told me that whatever tips they are given personally -- they get to keep -- not put into a pool.

[DaveOKC]

12 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

It's the inconsistency of one's experience at the Pinnacle Grill that is maddening!  

 

If the PG's Manager is doing his/her job properly, if the PG's Chef is properly doing his/her job properly, if the ship's Executive Chef and Culinary Operations Manager are doing the proper job of overseeing the PG, a guest's experience at the PG ought to be an excellent one.

I agree 100%.  The Pinnacle Grill varies so much by ship (IMO) that it makes it less likely for us to dine there now.

[doublebzz]

Given the bad experiences that some posters have reported, has anybody ever requested their surcharge refunded?

[DaveOKC]

54 minutes ago, doublebzz said:

Given the bad experiences that some posters have reported, has anybody ever requested their surcharge refunded?

Interesting idea!  While I have been disappointed in some of my Pinnacle experiences, it has never been THAT bad (just not worth the surcharge IMO), so I never tried that.

 

 

[OlsSalt]

One of the problems with the Pinnacle may be they are now giving away too many free dinners - either as Mariner perks or as travel agent perks. Back to the question - how does the dinner surcharge get spent?  

 

Does each individual ship have a budget based upon how many free dinners have been given out and how many free Mariner dinners will be offered - the more onboard the less money available to higher quality ingredients and/or numbers of kitchen staff and dining stewards?  Or is there a set fleet wide budget regardless of individual ship surcharge revenues?

Edited November 29, 2018 by OlsSalt

[cbr663]

19 hours ago, aotmc said:

 

tried to fix and decided to delete instead

Quote

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by cbr663