Tipping etiquite in the "Specialty" resturants

[FinelyCruising]

I'd ignore the *cheap* comments. ;)

[bobbyleduck]

I was totally prepared to do a long-winded rant about this subject, but those who know me or have followed my previous rants are well familiar with my thoughts and don't need any reminder.

 

I've done a little computing of the subject, and taking all things into account, the average waiter aboard a Celebrity cruise ship earns more on an annual basis than my wife does as a Registered Nurse.

 

I am a full-time, volunteer financial educator with Consumer Credit Counseling Services.

 

Neither of us has ever been tipped for our services, so you'll understand when we completely agree with Lee Anne, and tip the recommended amount.

 

One additional thought: I don't find the food in the specialty dining rooms to be all that special, so we are now quite satisfied to dine in the main dining room each night. I, just as is the case with a previous poster, don't have a palate that is sufficiently sophisticated as to warrant the use of the specialty restaurants. That may be because of the fact that I was born with a significantly cleft palate.

 

Happy cruising to all who can still afford to cruise (and fly)!

 

Bob

 

P.S. On our one visit to the specialty restaurant, I made the mistake of tipping extra (above and beyond the $30 per person charge that included the tip).

[FinelyCruising]

You know....threads like this often get out of hand when people post waaaaayyyy too much personal information.

 

I think its unfortunate the way some of this gets characterized, but tipping is a personal choice and really no ones business, yet every time TMI is spread around on these kinds of topics they go haywire and people are insulting and insulted.

 

Hopefully the OP has an idea of what they want to do and understands what the costs are that are associated with the experience and level of service that these venues provide. I think that information did come across.

[Leejnd4]

You know....threads like this often get out of hand when people post waaaaayyyy too much personal information.

 

I think its unfortunate the way some of this gets characterized, but tipping is a personal choice and really no ones business, yet every time TMI is spread around on these kinds of topics they go haywire and people are insulting and insulted.

 

Hopefully the OP has an idea of what they want to do and understands what the costs are that are associated with the experience and level of service that these venues provide. I think that information did come across.

 

Y'know what it is, Finely? It's that people generally don't like to get insulted. And in these tipping threads, someone always jumps in and calls those of us who don't throw our money around indescriminately "cheap" (or some other derogatory term). This gets people's hackles up, and they start defending themselves, sometimes emotionally. I find it completely understandable, as getting insulted tends to stir up some pretty uncomfortable emotions. I know *I* sure don't like it. I try to keep my responses unemotional and fact-based, but I've been attacked on these boards a few too many times myself (IMO completely unreasonably) and I've lost it a few times.

 

I try to remember that the people who do the insulting are only doing so because they are anonymous and can get away with it without consequences. But they ignore the fact that there are real people behind these posts, and it does NOT feel good to be called "cheap" (or any other insulting term).

 

Bruce - garsh - thanks for the kind words! Your comment about single-malt Scotch cracked me up - because that's the one liquor that I WILL smuggle aboard, since I can never find the good stuff on a ship! ;) If I ever encounter you on a cruise, I'll let you try mine if you let me try yours! :D

[Friscorays]

I've done a little computing of the subject, and taking all things into account, the average waiter aboard a Celebrity cruise ship earns more on an annual basis than my wife does as a Registered Nurse.

 

Maybe you have done the math correctly and maybe you haven't.

 

I will say the waitstaff on every single cruise I have been on worked exceedingly hard and long hours. It should also be factored in that many are sacrificing their family lives for months at a time in order to provide for their loved ones. The ship's staff earns every penny they make in my opinion, no matter what the final total.

 

Are nurses undercompensated? Probably so. But that is a different topic isn't it?

[Leejnd4]

I will say the waitstaff on every single cruise I have been on worked exceedingly hard and long hours. It should also be factored in that many are sacrificing their family lives for months at a time in order to provide for their loved ones. The ship's staff earns every penny they make in my opinion, no matter what the final total.

 

These are the types of statements that inspired me to mention that I personally do not consider a cruise to be an opportunity to increase my charitable contributions. Doling out extra money to service staff because they work long, hard hours, leave their families, and make personal sacrifices, is a charitable donation, not a tip.

 

I disagree with the statement that the waitstaff's personal sacrifices should "be factored in" when we are making decisions on how much to tip. Tipping is paying for a service - nothing more - and should be based on the service received, not the lifestyles, deprivations, or challenging circumstances of the individuals providing this service. This is their job - I am their customer. I will pay appropriately for the services recieved, not to ameliorate the life situations of the people providing these services.

 

I also don't hand extra cash out to the gal who does a great job for me at the grocery store, even if she IS a single mother with a disabled child. I support people with challenging life situations in ways other than handing out cash in the guise of "tips".

[Friscorays]

These are the types of statements that inspired me to mention that I personally do not consider a cruise to be an opportunity to increase my charitable contributions. Doling out extra money to service staff because they work long, hard hours, leave their families, and make personal sacrifices, is a charitable donation, not a tip.

 

I disagree with the statement that the waitstaff's personal sacrifices should "be factored in" when we are making decisions on how much to tip. Tipping is paying for a service - nothing more - and should be based on the service received, not the lifestyles, deprivations, or challenging circumstances of the individuals providing this service. This is their job - I am their customer. I will pay appropriately for the services recieved, not to ameliorate the life situations of the people providing these services.

 

I also don't hand extra cash out to the gal who does a great job for me at the grocery store, even if she IS a single mother with a disabled child. I support people with challenging life situations in ways other than handing out cash in the guise of "tips".

 

Leeanne,

 

To clarify, I tip the suggested amount with some additional to those that clearly have gone out of their way to be helpful (as I think you probably do).

 

I was simply trying to say that the staff work hard and I feel they deserve whatever their final salary turns out to be. From what I understand, like most in the service industry, the baseline salary is quite low and not enough to support oneself on without the tips which the employer assumes the employee will garner.

 

I think we would all agree that our cruise experiences would be a lot less enjoyable without these hard working individuals. Maybe I'm a little biased on their behalf as I was a busboy a long long time ago (but not so long ago to have forgotten how difficult the work was and how little I was given for it).

 

I think personal sacrifice does have to factor into salary in general though. I've been watching a lot of Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel recently. Those people are compensated with a lot of money for putting their lives on the line each trip. If their wasn't a chance they would die each time they went out, they would make a lot less.

 

Someone has to pay the waitstaff a liveable salary and ultimately that someone is us, the customers. Celebrity could raise the base salaries of their employees and establish a tip included policy like Regent or leave the system as is.

 

As to the question which started the thread, I do what Celebrity advises as far as tipping at the Specialty restaurant

 

John

[Orator]

Many years ago I had a discussion with young people in the service business in another country. They said they thought Americans rude because they only throw money at them (a tip), but never say "thank you." Since then I make it a point to thank those who provide service. I also include a tip when appropriate. Tipping is a personal manner, politeness demonstrates your character.

[Leejnd4]

Leeanne,

 

To clarify, I tip the suggested amount with some additional to those that clearly have gone out of their way to be helpful (as I think you probably do).

 

[snip]

 

As to the question which started the thread, I do what Celebrity advises as far as tipping at the Specialty restaurant

 

John

 

 

John,

 

Excellent clarification, and I agree with all you said. :)

 

Orator - good point. I too try to fight the ol' "ugly American" stereotype when I travel abroad.

[Gonzo70]

Does that make me cheap because I believe that $30.00 per person is adequate compensation for the staff that served me? If $30.00 is not enough, how much should I tip? I have seen previous posters say they tipped an extra $50.00. I can not imagine a restaurant experience where I would feel like I should tip $80.00 per person for my service.

 

The $30 per person is not a tip. The majority of that money goes to Celebrity to pay for the higher quality food and cost of preparation. Only a piece of that $30 goes to the servers for a tip. One certainly is not required to tip at specialty restaurants but you do have to take into account that the servers are only getting a limited chunk of the $30 cover charge when making your decision whether to tip additional or not. If the $30 cover was truly a $30 gratuity I certainly would be reluctant to tip more, but that is just not the case.

[Orator]

If I am correct, and I might not be, isn't there a line on the dinner receipt to add a tip? Seems like some of my fellow posters are guessing about how much of the extra fee goes where. I wonder if anyone has accurate information from a well placed, reliable source within the line. Difficult for me to judge the accuracy of comments without knowing sources.

 

John:

Looking forward to meeting you on the 11/30 Solstice sailing.

[Friscorays]

I assume Celebrity has established an appropriate salary for their crew and that this is how they determine the suggested tips and the specialty restaurant fee. In other words, if you do as suggested by Celebrity, the server will be compensated fairly.

 

Aren't the Specialty restaurant positions filled with the best and the brightest? I assume that they are in the specialty restaurant rather than in the main dining room because they are compensated more, even without depending on anyone to go above and beyond what is suggested by Celebrity.

[Friscorays]

John:

Looking forward to meeting you on the 11/30 Solstice sailing.

 

Hi Orator,

 

I didn't realize you would be on that sailing also. I'll look for you at the Cruise Critic party.

 

I'll use this as an opportunity to agree with you on the politeness issue which you raised. My girlfriend and I say thank you A LOT throughout each meal. I think this also goes back to my days as a busboy.

 

John (and Denise)

[Leejnd4]

The $30 per person is not a tip. The majority of that money goes to Celebrity to pay for the higher quality food and cost of preparation. Only a piece of that $30 goes to the servers for a tip. One certainly is not required to tip at specialty restaurants but you do have to take into account that the servers are only getting a limited chunk of the $30 cover charge when making your decision whether to tip additional or not. If the $30 cover was truly a $30 gratuity I certainly would be reluctant to tip more, but that is just not the case.

 

I disagree with the above statement that I highlighted in red. I do not beleive that we need to take into account whatever Celebrity does with that 30 bucks when we decide whether or not to tip more. They tell us unequivicably that the $30 covers gratuity. I see no reason to question that, or to give any thought whatsoever to who gets what portion of that money.

 

I base my decision solely on the level of service recieved, not the salary issues that, I feel, are solely between Celebrity and their employees.

[Gonzo70]

I disagree with the above statement that I highlighted in red. I do not beleive that we need to take into account whatever Celebrity does with that 30 bucks when we decide whether or not to tip more. They tell us unequivicably that the $30 covers gratuity. I see no reason to question that, or to give any thought whatsoever to who gets what portion of that money.

 

I base my decision solely on the level of service recieved, not the salary issues that, I feel, are solely between Celebrity and their employees.

 

I think your approach is 100% fine. What I was emphasizing in my previous post is that it is wrong to think that you are tipping the server $30 per person by virtue of paying the cover charge. If someone thought the servers went beyond expectation but did not tip extra because they felt that $30 was already an extremely generous tip, that IMHO would be a mistake. But feeling that the cover charge adequately covers the tip is perfectly reasonable; Celebrity themself says that that is the case.

[Leejnd4]

I think your approach is 100% fine. What I was emphasizing in my previous post is that it is wrong to think that you are tipping the server $30 per person by virtue of paying the cover charge. If someone thought the servers went beyond expectation but did not tip extra because they felt that $30 was already an extremely generous tip, that IMHO would be a mistake. But feeling that the cover charge adequately covers the tip is perfectly reasonable; Celebrity themself says that that is the case.

 

Excellent point, and thanks for clarifying.

[Brucen]

The $30 per person is not a tip. The majority of that money goes to Celebrity to pay for the higher quality food and cost of preparation. Only a piece of that $30 goes to the servers for a tip. One certainly is not required to tip at specialty restaurants but you do have to take into account that the servers are only getting a limited chunk of the $30 cover charge when making your decision whether to tip additional or not. If the $30 cover was truly a $30 gratuity I certainly would be reluctant to tip more, but that is just not the case.

 

 

I do not know how you can say it is not a tip. From reading other posts on this thread there are enough different people with the true "facts" of how the $30.00 gets split up that I can not accept any of them. The Celebrity web site says that it covers the gratuity and for that $30.00 I will receive exceptional service. I really do not think the "hard costs" to Celebrity for the food in the specialty restaurants is very different from the costs for the main dining room which I already paid for but am not using. I would also guess that the percentage of people that buy wine is far higher in the specialty restaurant than the main dining room. Celebrity make lots of money on wine.

 

I guess the way I see it is this: If I am passing the pool bar on my way somewhere and I ask for a quick beer and walk away with it, Celebrity tacks on a 15% tip. The bartender did very little to earn that tip, but I happily pay it because that is how the system is set up. If I am spend an hour or so at the Martini bar and the bartender is visiting with us, suggesting drinks we might like, making the drinks in a flashy, entertaining way, etc. That bartender gets tipped over and above the required 15%. In the specialty restaurant Celebrity promises an exceptional experience. If I get it, I happily pay the $30.00 (very much like the beer at the pool bar - I got what was promised to me). If somehow, the experience is more than exceptional, I will again happily give the extra tip.

 

Best,

Bruce

[Brucen]

 

Bruce - garsh - thanks for the kind words! Your comment about single-malt Scotch cracked me up - because that's the one liquor that I WILL smuggle aboard, since I can never find the good stuff on a ship! ;) If I ever encounter you on a cruise, I'll let you try mine if you let me try yours! :D

 

Best offer I have had in a long time! You have a deal!

 

Best,

Bruce

[Gonzo70]

I do not know how you can say it is not a tip.

 

Because it is not a tip. It is a cover charge. The majority of it goes to Celebrity, not to the servers. A portion does go to the servers. There is no need to tip more, but do not make your decision not to tip more on the erroneous assumption that the $30 cover charge is a $30 tip. If you do not believe myself and everybody else on the boards who have pointed this out, ask the Maitre D' next time you go to one of Celebrity's speciality restaurants.

[richsea]

Here's my take on specialty restaurant tipping:

 

Celebrity says that the $30 PP charge includes gratuities. To me that means that it includes gratuities.

 

Celebrity is not shy about adding gratuities where they deem necessary, & they're not shy about advising you how much to tip waiters, cabin stewards, etc., so they will not be shy about asking one to tip the wait staff in the specialty restaurants. They say that it's included.

 

That being said, there is no reason not to tip extra if you feel that you want to, or if you feel that service warrants, be it a bar server, waiter, cabin attendant, or whoever. What difference does it make how much the person makes; if you feel that they deserve extra, so be it. It's up to the individual.

 

Plain & simple; it's a personal choice.

[Friscorays]

Here's my take on specialty restaurant tipping:

 

Celebrity says that the $30 PP charge includes gratuities. To me that means that it includes gratuities.

 

I think I understand.:D

[Leejnd4]

Here's my take on specialty restaurant tipping:

 

Celebrity says that the $30 PP charge includes gratuities. To me that means that it includes gratuities.

 

Celebrity is not shy about adding gratuities where they deem necessary, & they're not shy about advising you how much to tip waiters, cabin stewards, etc., so they will not be shy about asking one to tip the wait staff in the specialty restaurants. They say that it's included.

 

That being said, there is no reason not to tip extra if you feel that you want to, or if you feel that service warrants, be it a bar server, waiter, cabin attendant, or whoever. What difference does it make how much the person makes; if you feel that they deserve extra, so be it. It's up to the individual.

 

Plain & simple; it's a personal choice.

 

This is the clearest post on this subject in this thread. (And I include my own posts in this statement!) :D

[diboja]

Here's my take on specialty restaurant tipping:

 

Celebrity says that the $30 PP charge includes gratuities. To me that means that it includes gratuities.

 

Celebrity is not shy about adding gratuities where they deem necessary, & they're not shy about advising you how much to tip waiters, cabin stewards, etc., so they will not be shy about asking one to tip the wait staff in the specialty restaurants. They say that it's included.

 

That being said, there is no reason not to tip extra if you feel that you want to, or if you feel that service warrants, be it a bar server, waiter, cabin attendant, or whoever. What difference does it make how much the person makes; if you feel that they deserve extra, so be it. It's up to the individual.

 

Plain & simple; it's a personal choice.

 

Thank you Richsea..... I agree with you completely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FinelyCruising]

Here's my take on specialty restaurant tipping:

 

Celebrity says that the $30 PP charge includes gratuities. To me that means that it includes gratuities.

 

Celebrity is not shy about adding gratuities where they deem necessary, & they're not shy about advising you how much to tip waiters, cabin stewards, etc., so they will not be shy about asking one to tip the wait staff in the specialty restaurants. They say that it's included.

 

That being said, there is no reason not to tip extra if you feel that you want to, or if you feel that service warrants, be it a bar server, waiter, cabin attendant, or whoever. What difference does it make how much the person makes; if you feel that they deserve extra, so be it. It's up to the individual.

 

 

Plain & simple; it's a personal choice.

 

Yes it is!!! :D

[Leejnd4]

Yes it is!!! :D

 

Hey! We agree on something!

 

I much prefer agreeing with you. :) :) :)