Tipping in specialty dining

[serene56]

Was I charged a tip when I booked?   do I tip at each meal?

?

[George C]

We tip with every meal, many do not.

[CaroleSS]

You paid a tip when you booked. Additional tipping is at your discression.

[LMHSRN]

38 minutes ago, serene56 said:

Was I charged a tip when I booked?   do I tip at each meal?

?

You paid 20% when you booked the dinner..No need to tip additionally.

[serene56]

Yea  I thought i paid 20% on top of the price     Wasnt too sure 

 

[jelayne]

6 minutes ago, serene56 said:

Yea  I thought i paid 20% on top of the price     Wasnt too sure 

 

Keep in mind that the sommelier doesn't get any part of the tip, it goes to the wait staff.

We always tip the sommelier.

[PelicanLvr]

When a serving team works hard to make a meal an outstanding experience, I want to make sure they are rewarded for the effort.  In that instance, I tip over the X imposed tip amount collected when booking the specialty dinner.

 

I wonder how much of the 20% amount actually goes to the staff that waited on you.  A small amount extra means alot to those hard-working folks.

[keesar]

6 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Keep in mind that the sommelier doesn't get any part of the tip, it goes to the wait staff.

We always tip the sommelier.

 

If I buy a glass of wine for $10 and there is a 20% added gratuity, I believe that goes to the drink staff.  

 

20% is a fair tip for a meal.  If you want to add more, it is solely up to you.

[Jim_Iain]

I have to agree with others.    I use to tip extra at the Specialty Restaurants, but when they began adding 20% Gratuity to the price of my bill and 20% on bottles of wine, I consider that a reasonable tip and no longer tip additional.

 

Maybe others are more generous tippers than I, but at home when I go out to dinner I tip in the 18-20% range.   Now if I were having a large party where they have a mandatory tip of 20% tip for groups of 6 or more I also do not feel inclined to tip extra unless the experience was above an beyond to that would be normal.

 

 

[gcornell]

Tipping beyond 20%?  At some point this has to end.  

[Gordoncruickshank]

We started cruising with Celebrity in 2012 and the "fee" for the speciality restaurants always unclouded any tip due, I know that is some them ago but, unless we have had exceptional service our if we are not paying for the meal because we are in a RS or above, I don't feel inclined to leave much of a tip, despite waiters over the years trying to tell us that the fee didn't included a gratuity. 

 

Do they now add on a specific amount shown as a gratuity on the purchase? 

[markeb]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

Keep in mind that the sommelier doesn't get any part of the tip, it goes to the wait staff.

We always tip the sommelier.

 

Do you know that for sure? Not disagreeing, but that would be a major departure from most restaurants. I would assume they'd get the tip on wine sales and maybe some of the drink sales. With the packages, that would be whatever the percentage gets absorbed onto package "sales". I'm almost sure they get the gratuity from bottle sales.

[markeb]

4 minutes ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

We started cruising with Celebrity in 2012 and the "fee" for the speciality restaurants always unclouded any tip due, I know that is some them ago but, unless we have had exceptional service our if we are not paying for the meal because we are in a RS or above, I don't feel inclined to leave much of a tip, despite waiters over the years trying to tell us that the fee didn't included a gratuity. 

 

Do they now add on a specific amount shown as a gratuity on the purchase? 

 

20%. A relatively recent (post pandemic, I think?) change.

[Gordoncruickshank]

Ok Thanks. We usually cruise in February over our wedding anniversary and usually pre book Murano for that evening using OBC, which gets refunded if you are in a RS but it means that you have the booking for the time that suits us well before the cruise so I have probably not seen paperwork for one of these for some time as, if it is included in the room, they just give you a zero charge receipt.

 

Don't really do much other than that as we have been and seen all the other restaurants on S class too many times and have had far to many totally indifferent meals in Tuscan, Qsine as was, and the Lawn Club. Menus haven't changed much since 2012 if at all. 

 

I know Tuscan had a new menu a few years ago but it didn't make the consistency of the food quality any better but that is going miles off thread on a tangent.

[Gordoncruickshank]

10 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Do you know that for sure? Not disagreeing, but that would be a major departure from most restaurants. I would assume they'd get the tip on wine sales and maybe some of the drink sales. With the packages, that would be whatever the percentage gets absorbed onto package "sales". I'm almost sure they get the gratuity from bottle sales.

That is how the sommeliers make their money like most bar staff on cruise ships. 

[horseymike]

Call me a dinosaur, I remember when this specialty restaurant thing was getting started, the cruise lines took the position that the extra fee they charged was for the extra service you received. In those days , there was no mandatory gratuity added to the fee. After all the cost for your meals was supposed to be included in your cruise fare. Now in 2024 high prices and Mandatory gratuity charged on top of that …..at what point does the pay more and get less cycle end ?

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, markeb said:

Do you know that for sure?

You weren't asking me, but I know that for sure 100%. The sommelier works for the bar staff and is part of that pool, completely separate from the wait staff pool.

[RichYak]

34 minutes ago, horseymike said:

.at what point does the pay more and get less cycle end ?

When people stop paying more.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

We started cruising with Celebrity in 2012 and the "fee" for the speciality restaurants always unclouded any tip due, I know that is some them ago but, unless we have had exceptional service our if we are not paying for the meal because we are in a RS or above, I don't feel inclined to leave much of a tip, despite waiters over the years trying to tell us that the fee didn't included a gratuity. 

 

Do they now add on a specific amount shown as a gratuity on the purchase? 

When in a RS you don't receive a bill at all.    If you purchase a bottle of wind they show the price of the bottle less any CC discount and then add 20% of that amount as a line item on your invoice.

If you purchase Specialty OnLine prior to cruise they automatically add the 20% onto the price at checkout as a separate line.  If prepaid you also will not receive an invoice in the restaurant at the end of the meal.

If you book on the ship you will receive an Bill for the Meal minus any cc discount and the 20% will be shown as a separate line.   

[markeb]

48 minutes ago, RichYak said:

You weren't asking me, but I know that for sure 100%. The sommelier works for the bar staff and is part of that pool, completely separate from the wait staff pool.

 

No, they're not in the wait staff pool. But the bar staff, including the sommelier, shares the tips for bar (and wine) sales. That does make it more complicated in a specialty versus one of the dining rooms where the only tab (generally) would be for drink sales, but "real" restaurants manage to prorate tips to include bartenders and sommeliers based on alcohol sales. I have to believe cruise ships can do the same.

Edited January 9 by markeb

[markeb]

1 hour ago, horseymike said:

Call me a dinosaur, I remember when this specialty restaurant thing was getting started, the cruise lines took the position that the extra fee they charged was for the extra service you received. In those days , there was no mandatory gratuity added to the fee. After all the cost for your meals was supposed to be included in your cruise fare. Now in 2024 high prices and Mandatory gratuity charged on top of that …..at what point does the pay more and get less cycle end ?

 

I have a shorter history with Celebrity, but long ago on HAL and the cruises we did on Royal, the "service charge" included everything but drinks. I can't remember if there was an auto gratuity on bottle sales way back then like there is on Celebrity. But there wasn't a gratuity added on top of the service charge.

[Hawkstar33]

 The waitstaff fully understands that you already paid the 20%, that used to be 18%.  They know many people will no longer throw them THE EXTRA, due to the increase. But I give at least a $10,  most times a $20 if all goes well.. I'm usually happy with the service, as we dine regularly in Specialty.  I would otherwise just waste it at roulette, or a slot most likely anyway.    

[DaKahuna]

 I know that the Sommerlier's get credit when you purchase bottles as well as if you sign up for any of the paid tasting events.  We have stopped booking a lot of these pre-cruise in order to 'gain favor' with a favorite bartender or sommelier by purchasing these from them onboard.  

 

 If we dine in a specialty restaurant and receive over and above service, I'll leave a cash tip on the table when we leave in addition to any pre-paid gratuity we may pay as part of the fee for the meal. 

 

[billc23]

16 hours ago, horseymike said:

Call me a dinosaur, I remember when this specialty restaurant thing was getting started, the cruise lines took the position that the extra fee they charged was for the extra service you received. In those days , there was no mandatory gratuity added to the fee. After all the cost for your meals was supposed to be included in your cruise fare. 

Yes! $70 service fee for the old Olympic, Marano, etc. They were a true elevated dining experience! Real table side cooking including dessert... and the amazing cheese cart!!! Even off menu dishes that were prepared with items procured at the local port where the ship was docked. We were regulars, as in almost every evening, and the chef would greet us daily to plan the next days meal in case we were board with the usual menu. Those were the days! Now the "table side cooking" is more for show.

 

To keep on point:  Yes, I always tipped extra in cash nightly even though the charge was called a service charge.

[gizmodog]

We always use to tip extra but no more since the tip has been added on already