Tipping?

[marlyn]

I have never been on a cruise and I am curious about who we tip and how much. I am going on a 7 day cruise next year (the Mexican Riviera). Trying to budget and this is one thing I wasn't sure of.

Also I am curious how far ahead they send the shore excursion lists etc out.

Thanks

[ElenitaB]

You can easily start budgeting for tipping now, as Disney has established a chart for that (having worked as a waitress in grad school, I did tip well over what they said according to the person and the service they gave us... but everyone got more than DCL's suggested amount):

Dining Room Server: $3.75 per night / $25.75 per 7 nights
Dining Room Asst Server: $2.75 per night / $18.75 per 7 nights
Dining Room Head Server: $1.00 per night / $6.50 per 7 nights
Stateroom host/hostess: $10.75 for 3-night / $25.25 for 7-night
Room service: $1 to $2 per item(s) ordered

These are per person. Also, not on Disney's list, but keep in mind:
Club/Lab counselors: They're not allowed to take cash so you have to be creative here... sometimes people will give candy (we brought a huge bag of candy with us). A nice thank you card to the counselor and a note of appreciation to their supervisor would definitely be in order if your boys have a great time.
Palo's Server: at your discretion (huge debate on this based on whether you'd be tipping 15% of what a comparable meal on shore would cost)
Shore Excursion guides
Baggage porters at terminal: $1 to $2 a bag
DCL bus drivers (I know this doesn't apply to you taking a West Coast cruise, but it did apply to us going from WDW to port and back)

I made up a spreadsheet and envelopes and started socking away cash long before we cruised.

As for your excursions, keep an eye on the DCL site. They'll post them there first before anything printed can go out. You can create a "wish list" and even book them online once your window opens up.

[Tinkermom]

Thanks Ellen for that breakdown! How much is suggested for the room attendant?

Another tipping question...

I was reading about lunch right after boarding. The people that I was reading about ate at Parrot Cay and were wondering if they should tip. If you do tip, can you leave cash on the table since there is no check that comes at the end of your meal??

Also, do you tip room service servers cash? I guess what I find confusing is that since everything is included there are no checks/receipts to sign so you cannot leave a tip on your stateroom charge.

What about at the bars on board? Do you leave a cash tip when you are done with your drinks? I assume at this time you can leave the tip on your stateroom card, correct?

Thanks!

[ElenitaB]

Thanks for reminding me!

Stateroom host/hostess: $10.75 for 3-night / $25.25 for 7-night

For all bar, beverage, wine and deck service, you are given a slip to sign which automatically includes a 15% gratuity. Once you board, most everything tends to run off your KTTW room card. You can add more if you wish.

As for tipping in cash or not, tip envelopes are left in your cabin the day before debarkation. You can either put in cash, or you can go to the Guest Services desk, charge the amounts you wish to tip to your account and you're given a slip to place in those envelopes.

As for lunch at Parrot Cay, I've never heard of tipping the servers at seated breakfasts or lunches.

[marlyn]

Wow, thanks Ellen! This helps immensely. My boys are going to be teens (13) when we go. They will be too old for the kids clubs. Will they have counsellors in the teen lounge, or is this generally just a hang out?

Thanks again!

[tarzan_rocks]

Dining Room Server: $3.75 per night / $25.75 per 7 nights
Dining Room Asst Server: $2.75 per night / $18.75 per 7 nights
Dining Room Head Server: $1.00 per night / $6.50 per 7 nights

You have to tip for meals? I assumed gratuity worked like the Disney Dining Plan at WDW. Since the meals are included in the package the gratuity would also be included.

According to my calculations, a family of four would tip $30 per meal. Assuming the traditional 15%, that would mean that the bill would be $200. I’ve never been anywhere that costs $200 for a single meal.

The room service and porter tips seem reasonable. Is stateroom host/hostess the same as mousekeeping? At WDW, we usually tip $2/night plus some candy and a nice note.

tr

[FatCat]

You have to take into account that the waitstaff also services you at breakfast and lunch. You will see your waitstaff in different uniforms throughout the ship. Although they may not be your assigned waitstaff at breakfast and lunch it you will be serviced.

So yes $204 for the whole trip for a family of 4 is the recommended. I myself went into my first disney cruise budgeting to tip the recommened amount. I found the service to be so over the top I ended up tipping more than the norm.

[FatCat]

Your stateroom host will also be tipped at end of trip with a tip envelope.

The stateroom host comes at least twice a day. Once for cleaning and the other for turndown service. Turndown service on a cruise ship actually has a need as they will prepare the beds for you. Either the pull out sofa or the ceiling bed. Also the room steward will place ice in your room at your request.

You can charge the tips to your onboard account at guest services. This means for points mongers like me I can tip the crew and get credit card points.

[marlyn]

This is all very helpful, and a little bit confusing. LOL I am sure I will figure it all out.

Thank you so much for all your help.

So...for my family of 3 (myself and 2 boys) I just multiply the amounts that Ellen gave by 3?

[ariel03]

I was wondering do you have to tip the listed price for the servers. I don't want to have to tip for a meal if I decided not to make one night. For example if I do palo or just get a burger do I still have to tip my regular server for that night I was not there?

[TammiMcMan]

I don't want to have to tip for a meal if I decided not to make one night. For example if I do palo or just get a burger do I still have to tip my regular server for that night I was not there?

Technically yes and I'll try to explain it. Your servers don't only serve dinner to you in the evenings. They are also assigned to restaurants at breakfast, lunch and even the midnight buffets. So, while you may skip a dinner, the recommended tip covers any other time you have sit down service. At breakfast or lunch, you wouldn't leave a tip on the table. It sort of just gets all factored in and if everyone pays at least the recommended amount, then the servers are compensated fairly. Hope that makes sense.

As an example, my husband and I did a 4 night cruise where we were able to eat at Palo every night and skip our regular rotation. We still had breakfast and lunch on board the ship however. We tipped nightly in Palo and at the end of our cruise, also left tips for our assigned dining staff.

[ariel03]

Just curious but if you don't have them serve you at all that one day do you still have to tip them for that day? If you do the buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Do you still have to tip them for that day?

[ElenitaB]

If you decide not to go one night to eat at your rotational dining room, I feel (and this is my personal opinion) that you do need to tip them for that night... the logic being: it's like being a no show for a reservation. The difference is that no one will be walking in off the street to take my place when I don't show for my "reservation." By my not showing, I've deprived them of the opportunity to have earned the tip money for that meal.

On our three night cruise, an entire (large) table decided not to show up in the dining room until the last night. They even tried to skip out on our servers at the end of the meal without tipping at all (I know you're not planning on doing that, but the situation made me sad). I've said it before and I'll say it again, I worked as a waitress while in grad school, so I'm overly sensitive to these issues.

[TammiMcMan]

Ariel, in regards to tipping on the Disney Cruise Line, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. They're one of the only cruise lines where the tips aren't factored into the price of the cruise. If you feel that strongly, you can certainly deduct a total of $6.50 from the tip envelopes (Ellen posted above what the daily tip breakdown is per person).

Ellen, just curious as to how you knew that they were skipping out on giving the servers their tips? I know it's traditional to give them at dinner on your last night, but I've also seen them given at breakfast on departure morning and we've left ours with the concierge staff on occassion. That would have been disappointing for the servers, but unfortunately, I'm sure it does happen to a certain degree on every cruise. In some countries, tipping is not allowed, so you'd have certain people who probably follow the customs of their own country and bypass tipping all together.

[ariel03]

Thank you for the replys. My mom and I did the 3 night cruise before and my mom wasn't sure if she wanted to tip for the day we did not table dine. We did but I wanted to know what everyone here thought. Thanks!

[ElenitaB]

Ellen, just curious as to how you knew that they were skipping out on giving the servers their tips? I know it's traditional to give them at dinner on your last night, but I've also seen them given at breakfast on departure morning and we've left ours with the concierge staff on occassion. That would have been disappointing for the servers, but unfortunately, I'm sure it does happen to a certain degree on every cruise. In some countries, tipping is not allowed, so you'd have certain people who probably follow the customs of their own country and bypass tipping all together.

No, the people at the other table seemed to be most definitely from the U.S. (something about them wearing tank tops, t-shirts and denim cut-offs to formal night gave me that impression, though I could be wrong). The big clue was both the look on our servers' faces when they left after dinner and then the Head Waiter (Simone) running after them. One member of their party did return around 15 minutes later and he talked with our waiters, and an envelope was given to them. I was not the only person to notice all of this, and it was the talk of not only our table but the table next to ours (which was not being handled by our servers).

[TammiMcMan]

Wow Ellen, that is just awkward. I would have just assumed that they would bring the envelopes down to breakfast the next morning. I know the servers sort of make a big deal out of getting them at the final dinner, but I do know cruisers who wait until breakfast.