18% Tip — How Distributed?

[lcand1923]

I know that 18% is automatically added to Bar and Speciality Dining bills.

 

My question is, how is that 18% Distributed?

 

Does the Server get the full 18%, or does a portion go to the Runner (person who brings food to the table), Busser (person

who cleans the table), etc. get a portion from the Specialty Restaurant Dining Bills?

If I add an Additional Tip, does that go to the Server?

 

The same question regarding Bar bills.  Are these 18% Tips pooled among all the Bar Staff at a particular bar, or are they pooled 

among ALL bar staff on the ship, or the person who poured/made the drink, or the person who served the drink?

If I add an Additional Tip, who gets that?

 

I’m sure someone on this board has researched this and has the answer.  I tried searching and couldn’t find it anywhere.

[IAcruising]

54 minutes ago, lcand1923 said:

I’m sure someone on this board has researched this and has the answer.

 

I'm going to guess you are wrong. 😆

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

1 hour ago, lcand1923 said:

I know that 18% is automatically added to Bar and Speciality Dining bills.

 

My question is, how is that 18% Distributed?

 

Does the Server get the full 18%, or does a portion go to the Runner (person who brings food to the table), Busser (person

who cleans the table), etc. get a portion from the Specialty Restaurant Dining Bills?

If I add an Additional Tip, does that go to the Server?

 

The same question regarding Bar bills.  Are these 18% Tips pooled among all the Bar Staff at a particular bar, or are they pooled 

among ALL bar staff on the ship, or the person who poured/made the drink, or the person who served the drink?

If I add an Additional Tip, who gets that?

 

I’m sure someone on this board has researched this and has the answer.  I tried searching and couldn’t find it anywhere.

Based on a few discussions, I was told by some bar staff that the 18% is pooled,  How the pool is distributed - I didn't find out.

[CruiserBruce]

Actually, it has been discussed a number of times.

 

The 18% bar tip is put into a pool, the bartenders get (IIRC) 12%, the waiters get 5%, the remaining goes to an employee welfare fund. Before anybody says anything about the company taking that money, we have friends that work for HAL in the beverage department...they have regular "parties". I have seen pictures...they are pretty nice.

 

The restaurant 18% is divided amongst the staff in that restaurant...I don't know the breakdown.

 

You could search for previous discussions.

[Blackduck59]

I really don't think anyone on this forum knows the secret formula as to how the gratuities are distributed and we never will. Frankly it's none of our business. Do you enquire at your local eatery how the gratuities are distributed? And if you did would you get an acounting?

Edited Saturday at 01:43 AM by Blackduck59
typo

[Skorpora]

I was told by one of our cabana attendants back in March that the tips are pooled. How it is distributed once the "pot" is divided up I don't know. We had this discussion when one of our cabana attendants was reassigned to the MDR midway through the cruise, and I was concerned that he was not going to get his fair share.  I managed to track him down in the MDR one evening so I handed his tip to him there.

[Live4cruises]

We know the fixed tips are distributed, but we often have a favorite drink waiter who knows us and our preferences, and is always a delight. The last occasion, I asked to ensure that the “extra” tips added to a receipt go straight to the waiter’s pocket. They do, and he was grateful. 

[Catlover54]

I had previously read on the HAL forum that the 18% is pooled (and somehow distributed ), but if you tip an individual server *in cash*, he can keep it for himself.

I have no way of knowing if that is accurate, however in some cases (e.g., where one server is repeatedly very good and the other quite poor, though this is not common), it gave me an incentive to give cash to individuals.  

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Not everyone likes to talk about money.

In some cultures it is like disguising sex.

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Not everyone likes to talk about money.

In some cultures it is like disguising sex.

Disguising sex?

[Shmoo here]

4 hours ago, lcand1923 said:

I know that 18% is automatically added to Bar and Speciality Dining bills.

 

My question is, how is that 18% Distributed?

 

Does the Server get the full 18%, or does a portion go to the Runner (person who brings food to the table), Busser (person

who cleans the table), etc. get a portion from the Specialty Restaurant Dining Bills?

If I add an Additional Tip, does that go to the Server?

 

The same question regarding Bar bills.  Are these 18% Tips pooled among all the Bar Staff at a particular bar, or are they pooled 

among ALL bar staff on the ship, or the person who poured/made the drink, or the person who served the drink?

If I add an Additional Tip, who gets that?

 

I’m sure someone on this board has researched this and has the answer.  I tried searching and couldn’t find it anywhere.

Only response I can come up with is a link to a portion of the HAL Employee Handbook, Tipping Not Required portion (post #50 on this thread):

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2597164-tipping/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-56025003

[Shmoo here]

I also have a copy of a letter someone received from HAL asking about the gratuities, but it's a PDF and I don't know how to post it here. These are the answers to the questions they asked:

 

Question:  If someone has automatic gratuities removed from their account, and choses to tip staff at their own discretion, are those cash tips to be shared with other staff or kept by the employee who receives them?

 

ANSWER:  The recipient is required to hand the gratuities to the Purser so this can be added to the pool and shared with the other staff.

 

Question:  If someone maintains their automatic gratuities and choses to tip the staff in addition to that, are those tips to be shared with other staff or kept by the employee who receives them?

 

ANSWER:  The employee can keep the gratuities in this situation.

 

[VMax1700]

Bar staff have told me that if I add an amount to the 'gratuity' line of the bar bill, then they get that amount.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We have asked several staff members over the years of Cruising. If they are happy with the financial situation and most say yes. 

[ToBe]

Last cruise we used the laundry almost every day for 28 days. We have free laundry and the work was always excellent. I sent a tip to be shared by the laundry staff via their supervisor at Customer Service. We never see these wonder workers but they should be lauded!

[Roz]

OP, why do you want to know?

Edited Saturday at 02:17 PM by Roz

[lcand1923]

7 minutes ago, Roz said:

OP, why do you want to know?

 

I have relatives and friends who work bar/restaurant jobs on land.  I know how their establishments handle gratuities.  I was curious how it was handled on HAL.