Full Tipping or Not

[gonecruising]

I've always had this question asked of me..so I thought I'd throw it out here.

 

Since there are so many dining choices on cruises nowadays, may passengers are not in the main dining room for dinner all the time.. Specialty restaurant one night, casual dinner somewhere else..maybe 2 or 3 nights not in the main dining room...what about the following:

 

1. Do you usually tip the main dining room waiter/busyboy the full amount at the end of the week even though you weren't there the entire time?

2. Do you tip the waiters at the casual dining area separately?

3. Do you add an additional tip to the specialy dining waiter/busboy over and above the $30 cover fee?

[MrLee]

On my last cruise I only ate in the main dining room twice (I don't want to go into "why") but I left the full tip. They rely on tips for most of their income. As for your other question, I never eat in the spciality restaurants. I've already paid for food and get plenty of it (and it's good!) so I don't want to pay extra. Just my personal opinion.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

1. I believe that tipping the waiter and the assistant is a good idea even if you were only there 80% of the time. I think it is proper to make sure they are tipped the suggested amounts at the very least. They were ready for you in the dining room whether you were there or not.

 

2. I only tip the waiters in the food court if they have gone out of their way to be nice and take care of me on a consistent basis. Many times I/we will get to know a certain waiter or food server who then goes above and beyond the call of duty.

 

3. I only add an additional tip, at the specialty restaurants, if the service has been superb. The last specialty restaurant I ate at had service that was good but nothing I would have considered outstanding or even attentive. Since the tip was already included, I did not leave an extra tip. We once had dinner in the Wine Celler of the NORMANDIE RESTAURANT onboard the SUMMIT. The service was so good that we left a very nice tip for the waiters. It should always depend on the service. You should never have to tip extra if you feel the service was not attentive and certainly not when the service is less than expected. There are so many people that tip out of guilt for no reason. There are so many people who don't tip at all and that is even worse. If they were honest people they would tell the waiter before they were served that they do not tip.

 

ROSS

[MrLee]

On my last cruise I only ate in the main dining room twice (I don't want to go into "why") but I left the full tip. They rely on tips for most of their income. As for your other question, I never eat in the spciality restaurants. I've already paid for food and get plenty of it (and it's good!) so I don't want to pay extra. Just my personal opinion.

 

I probably should have added that was a 14 day cruise and I did tip the one waiter in the buffet who was attntive.

[superjerryw]

People seem to associate tipping the dining room staff with the service provided at dinner time. In theory, the tip you give to the waiter and asst. waiter is not just for the service they provide at dinner, it is forthe service they provide at all meals. Your waiter and asst waiter also serve breakfast and lunch, sometimes in the dining room and sometimes at the buffet. We normally eat breakfast and lunch in the buffet and we will always meet our waiter and asst. waiter there several times during the cruise. As I said, you are really tipping them for all the meal service they provide, not just dinner. However, I can understand how someone that never eats in the dining room at dinner time or only ate there once or twice would feel reluctant to give a large tip to someone he had little or no contact with.

[uktog]

If you have casual dining at night, there is a small per person charge which is effectively the tip for the server. You can of course give them more if you believe the service merited it.

I always tip the full amount to the dining room, regardless of where I have eaten IMHO the very small difference it would make to my pocket (and after all I have spend a sum at least 400 times the "tip value of missed nights" ) compared to the importance tips are to the crew...............

As regards the speciality restaurant the fee of $30 is in fact the tip though again you can add more

[OceanCruise]

We always tip the full amount to the dining room staff even if we eat a night or two at the speacialty restaurants. We give the specialty restaurant waiter an extra $10 for both of us.

[newmexicoNita]

We always tip the full amount to the dining room staff even if we eat a night or two at the speacialty restaurants. We give the specialty restaurant waiter an extra $10 for both of us.

We do exactly the same thing: $10 specialty restaurants, full tip in DR. I think many passengers do not realize the staff in the dining room also covers other areas of the ship from time to time. So while you may only eat in the dining room a couple of nights your wait staff has been available for breakfast at other tables, may have worked the buffet or may have waited somewhere else on the ship. You are not just tipping for your dinner service. NMnita

[tserface]

We always, at least, do the suggested tips for everyone they suggest. The tips are really cheap compared with land based restaurants imo. I've never had a bad server or room attendant so I guess I don't know what I'd do in that case. I hope I never have to consider that... :) We often tip extra to bar wait staff since we've had some great service and converstations with them. We just ask for extra envelopes then give them out on the last day with cash. It doesn't take much to get a smile from them. We also, try to remember people by name on our cruise evaluations.

 

Tom

[Ships R Great]

We always tip more than the full amount even tho we only eat in the DR at night and even if the service has not been as good as some other cruises. They work, no, they TOIL so hard! But, what I really cannot abide is people who do not tip at all. They never show up on the last night. One couple at our table last cruise, when they saw us with our envelopes said, "Oh, we left ours in the cabin." They did not go to get them and after dinner left and did not return even tho we were there for some time after they left. I had thought them very nice until then. And don't you always notice the several empty chairs on the last night? It is just a shame.

[Fang]

We always tip for the full amount to the wait staff even if we are not there the full time.

 

On our last cruise on the Infinity in January, my wife and I ate at the SS United States one night and the casual place one night.

 

We tipped the full amount to the main restaurant staff. We did not tip extra at the United States, but we did tip in the casual restaurant. Even though our service was not nearly as good as the main restaurant, the server really tried very hard. I think the suggested amount was to tip $2 per person we gave him $10, and told the Matre'D that one day our server will be very good with his attitude and work ethic.

 

When we left, our server actually ran to tell us thank you. It made both my wife and I feel very good about the extra tip.

[excitedofharpenden]

We always tip more than the full amount even tho we only eat in the DR at night and even if the service has not been as good as some other cruises. They work, no, they TOIL so hard! But, what I really cannot abide is people who do not tip at all. They never show up on the last night. One couple at our table last cruise, when they saw us with our envelopes said, "Oh, we left ours in the cabin." They did not go to get them and after dinner left and did not return even tho we were there for some time after they left. I had thought them very nice until then. And don't you always notice the several empty chairs on the last night? It is just a shame.

Ships, I've noticed that too and it makes me very sad. These people work so darn hard and I know the score as far as their pay is concerned and how much it affects them (not only monitarily, but in terms of their own self esteem) that I feel very bad for them. It's like a kick in the teeth if they get no tip. This is from someone where tipping is not perhaps so very part of every day.

 

I believe in towing the line and if I am in a country or environment that dictates that tipping is important, then for the sake of good order I will do it. If the service has been great (which most of the time it has) then I will always tip more than the minimum. As it happens, the last cruise I had a very average stateroom attendant and I did tip the minimum. I factor tips into my overall cruise cost.

 

As for the original question, then I would tip for the whole cruise even if I was not there on a particular day. To be honest, for the sake of working out the difference, I really can't be bothered. Just my opinion of ourse.

 

Phil

[cechase]

We have only been on C-class vessels, so I can't speak to tipping in the speciality restaurant [that comes in September on Infinity]. Since we always have a RS, we do have dinner in our suite one or two nights a cruise. However, except for our last cruise on Mercury, we tip the waiter and the asst. waiter at least the minimum recommend amount for the entire cruise. Unfortunately on Mercury, we had a very poor waiter and our asst. waiter had to be replaced at the request of our table mates to the asst. maitre'd, and the tips were well less than the recommended.

 

All of our butlers have been very good to outstanding, and our last butler on Mercury, Stanley was tipped almost three times the recommended - he was great.

 

We tip based on the level of service that we have received, and merely use the recommended amount as a starting guide.

[uktog]

We like to go to the Speciality Restaurant on the last night of the cruise always seeing our waiter and his assistant with the neccessary (and more if deserved) on the second last night. A few cruises ago, we met one of the couples at an adjacent table (with whom we had exchanged pleasantries every evening) at disembarkation. They were suddenly very very off with us and we put it down tothe fact they were stressed at having to go home. I now wonder - did they think we had avoided our lovely waiter on the last night:(

[gonecruising]

<<<But, what I really cannot abide is people who do not tip at all. >>>

 

 

 

That happened on one of our cruises of a table of 12 people from Sweden. For some reason, it was a X-mas cruise and very international. They actually SHOWED UP and didn't tip at all!!! After they left the table with no tips for the waiter or bus boy (this was before automatic coupon tipping) the waiter broike down crying and the maitre d' ran after them...don't know what happened, but it was really sad!!!

[Danno]

We always tip for the full amount to the wait staff even if we are not there the full time.

 

 

Absolutely, positively, without question...

 

Great system :rolleyes: a) pay the employee almost nothing so they work for tips b) make it easier for people to eat elsewhere and avoid tipping c) no longer have a policy in place to beat pax who skip out on tip night

 

What are the cruiselines going to do when their wait staff can't make a living....buffets, buffets, buffets....

[tserface]

This is another one of those things, like appropriate dress standards, that Celebrity could be a little more clear on in their descriptions. The FAQ for tipping uses the words:

 

"It is customary to offer gratuities to staff members you feel have given you exceptional service and personal attention. Celebrity suggests the following guidelines..."

 

Notice the words like "suggests" and "guidelines". And they go out of their way to say that tips are optional:

 

"gratuities, etc. will be at your discretion"

 

I fully believe in tipping and have always had good service and tend to give good tips (sometimes great tips), but I can understand how some might be confused and see it as optional. Perhaps if they said:

 

"We pay the staff a pittance and they rely heavily on your generasity to make ends meet..."

 

More people would be forthcoming... :)

 

I think some people have the attitude, "they get free room and board and they are paid - who really knows how much - and I'm broke after getting nickel and dimed all week for drinks and small stuff so ..."

 

Tom

[peanutter]

. . . . .there may be other reasons for not showing up on the final night of the cruise besides trying to get out of tipping. DH & I did not go to dinner in the dining room the final night because we had scheduled a consultation/class with the personal trainer. This was the only time he had available and we wanted the assesments and info.

 

HOWEVER, we did take our little envelopes to the waiter, assist waiter and maitre'd earlier in the evening with much more than the suggested tip in each. Please do not think if your tablemates do not show up on the final night that they are always skipping out on paying tips. I'm sure it happens, but it is not the only reason people don't show up on the final night. . . . .:)

[TEXASMUNK]

is the exception. Too many cruises under my belt to not know that folks that dump on the last night are 99% of the time, stiffing the crew.

 

Anyone who says, I eat in the buffet, so owe them nothing are also making excuses for poor manners and being CHEAP. Those guys working the buffet? They are your busboys, your junior waiters..the same guys that start their day at 4:30am and end it at 10:30p in the dining rooms.

 

Frankly, I find it disgusting that people will stand up for, and make excuses for, the cheapskates and bash those that have manners, good behavior and decent standards.

 

Peanutter is one of the rare exceptions...AND to be admired, they could have skipped out but took the time to do the right thing!

 

Stay home, go borrow your uncle Bubba's row boat and eat the carp you catch on your fishing trip if you can't afford a cruise or can't abide by decent expectations.

 

I now am off my soapbox. Thank you and have a nice day.

[Lsimon]

(1) I would definitely tip at least the full amount, and have always done so.

 

(2) I've been less certain of the specialty restuarant, and never quite sure what to do, although I think we've always tipped at least a little beyond the service charge.

 

(3) I too have eaten elsewhere on last night, but have sought out our waiter earlier with the tips. I think this was on an RCCL cruise that had so-so food in dining room and great food in the specialty restaurant Chops. We ate there several times including the last night, but still provided our waiter full tips.

 

(4) We too have noted that the wait staff work long hours in the cafe and in the dining room for breakfast, lunch, and other events.

 

Now a question: We've been in situations where we switched tables after the first night, and in situations where we've eaten at another table during the cruise as the "guest" of the people who normally sit there. Naturally we gave our main waiter full tips for the entire suggested amount, plus extra. But do you think that under these situations one should also seek out the waiter at the other table you dined with one night and give them a gratuity?

 

BTW - We've always tipped the waiter, asst. waiter and stewards AT LEAST the suggested amount, and generally a fair amount more. Fortunately we've never had a situation where we've had poor service that made us think they didn't earn it. Even in situations where the waiters were not that great it seemed they tried very hard and had a good attitude, although not much talent, but that only happened once and we still tipped above the suggested amount.

 

With the amount a money a cruise costs, and considering what we'd tip for equivalent meals & service at a land restaurant, the suggested amounts never seemed like that much.

[Ships R Great]

peanutter, to be fair---you are right. i should not auromatically assune they are not showing just to get out of tipping. but on the cruise i mentioned we were on the Zenith. No specialty restaurant and no night buffet.

[cruisePRN]

Now a question: We've been in situations where we switched tables after the first night, and in situations where we've eaten at another table during the cruise as the "guest" of the people who normally sit there. Naturally we gave our main waiter full tips for the entire suggested amount, plus extra. But do you think that under these situations one should also seek out the waiter at the other table you dined with one night and give them a gratuity?

 

I was told not to worry about the waiters other then your own because if EVERYONE takes care of their waiter (and assistant waiter) then all the wait staff would be compensated. I usually tip the suggested amount (never ever less) sometimes I add more if the service was exceptional. If everyone gave the suggested amount the staff would be very satisfied. I also am disgusted with people who skip out the last night to avoid tipping, shame on them.

[spearmint]

[quote=Lsimon

(2) I've been less certain of the specialty restuarant, and never quite sure what to do, although I think we've always tipped at least a little beyond the service charge.

 

I called Captain's Club a few years ago to find out what the Specialty Restaurant was all about, and was told that the $30 per person charge was a gratuity for the waiters. Therefore, I do not think that an extra tip is needed. If you were tipping in a normal restaurant on land, your bill would have to be $600 for a 10% tip or $400 for 15%. Sixty bucks is a pretty hefty tip, I think.

[SheilaNC]

We, too, don't always eat in the dining room on the final night...for instance, on our Med cruise, we went into Barcelona for the evening and ate at the Pasta Bar when we returned. However, we did tip well and spoke to our wait staff to let them know why we wouldn't be at dinner. AND the others at our table knew as well and reminded the staff. Although I know that some don't go because they don't tip, I wanted to make the point that not all 'no-shows' are non-tippers.

[Tatka]

[quote name=Lsimon

(2) I've been less certain of the specialty restuarant' date=' and never quite sure what to do, although I think we've always tipped at least a little beyond the service charge.

 

I called Captain's Club a few years ago to find out what the Specialty Restaurant was all about, and was told that the $30 per person charge was a gratuity for the waiters. Therefore, I do not think that an extra tip is needed. If you were tipping in a normal restaurant on land, your bill would have to be $600 for a 10% tip or $400 for 15%. Sixty bucks is a pretty hefty tip, I think.[/quote]

 

It's $25 charge + $5 tip I think .