Speciality Restaurants - Tipping

Hi - just wondering if this is common practice on Viking Cruises?

Thanks!

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Hi - just wondering if this is common practice on Viking Cruises?

Thanks!

 

 

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I can't speak for anyone else, but we did not. We don't tip in the dining room as that is included in the tips that we pay at the end of the cruise and don't feel any compunction to do so in the specialty restaurants.

I asked that same question before we cruised. We ended up not tipping in the specialty restaurants BUT we did get to know a couple of them that took great care of us both in the specialty restaurant and also during breakfast and lunch in the buffet. We ended up giving them an extra tip at the end of our cruise.

Peregrina is right. You do not need to go above and beyond the included tips billed to your cabin at the end of your cruise.

However, if someone goes above and beyond the normal high standards of Viking service, you may want to supplement the customary amount. We had an exceptional waiter at the Chef's Table when we were on the Star in 2015. After our first dinner there he said that we could request to be seated at one of his tables for any other nights that we would be eating there.

We took him up on his offer and had wonderful times dining there each subsequent time. He made excellent suggestions for alternate wine pairings, suggested and got seconds for us on courses we particularly like and was very informative and entertaining throughout our meals. On our last night aboard, I went by the dining room and thanked him again for his superior service and gave him a well deserved €20 note.

Long story short, additional tipping is totally at your discretion.

We tipped $5 to our waiter and $5 to our asst waiter on each visit to Manfredi's. I know it is not required, but we enjoyed our visits so much that we did so. Our friends did not, they stated it was included in our tips.

Peregrina is right. You do not need to go above and beyond the included tips billed to your cabin at the end of your cruise.

 

 

However, if someone goes above and beyond the normal high standards of Viking service, you may want to supplement the customary amount. We had an exceptional waiter at the Chef's Table when we were on the Star in 2015. After our first dinner there he said that we could request to be seated at one of his tables for any other nights that we would be eating there.

 

We took him up on his offer and had wonderful times dining there each subsequent time. He made excellent suggestions for alternate wine pairings, suggested and got seconds for us on courses we particularly like and was very informative and entertaining throughout our meals. On our last night aboard, I went by the dining room and thanked him again for his superior service and gave him a well deserved €20 note.

 

Long story short, additional tipping is totally at your discretion.

Agreed. Tipping is discretionary and we had a similar story to yours where there was one waiter who was assigned to watch over my allergies at dinner time. Each night, he tracked me down to deliver the next day's menu so I could choose my meal for the next night. If he didn't find me, he would leave the menu on our door. He is the only person on the ship that we personally thanked with an added gratuity. They do the allergy watch a bit differently now and I have to admit that I missed the personal attention and extra effort.

I agree, additional tipping is totally discretionary. I guess my husband and I are over tippers...we just figure that everyone onboard does not make much money and they would appreciate something extra. We did tip the head waiter at Manfredi's on our last night as well (many others did, too...he was palming it). We also gave our room steward and our assistant room steward 100 Euros apiece as an additional gratuity. We felt that they were so great...we never asked for anything extra but our room was always very clean and they were so pleasant and greeted us by name. Again, totally our choice, but we are fortunate enough to be able to save our money for a vacation like this and so we do tend to (over) tip. As an aside, we are not rich people. We are skipping a vacation next year so that we can do Viking's Auckland to Bali 2019. I need to work a lot of overtime and will so that we can do this trip. Maybe this is why we have this attitude toward tipping...I work a lot to pay for trips and my nephews and niece are in food service? Don't know, but this is what we do and we realize it is not required in any way.

Agreed. Tipping is discretionary and we had a similar story to yours where there was one waiter who was assigned to watch over my allergies at dinner time. Each night, he tracked me down to deliver the next day's menu so I could choose my meal for the next night. If he didn't find me, he would leave the menu on our door. He is the only person on the ship that we personally thanked with an added gratuity. They do the allergy watch a bit differently now and I have to admit that I missed the personal attention and extra effort.

I'm deviating from the original topic but would be interested to know how Viking deal with food allergies? My partner is coeliac and therefore gluten free food is a necessity. How well versed are the waiters and will the kitchen staff simply adapt an item on the menu to make it gluten free? Thank you

I'm deviating from the original topic but would be interested to know how Viking deal with food allergies? My partner is coeliac and therefore gluten free food is a necessity. How well versed are the waiters and will the kitchen staff simply adapt an item on the menu to make it gluten free? Thank you

Write them at TellUs@vikingcruises.com and inform them of your particular situation and they will address you personally about the way this can be handled. I've already done this and got a quick response.

We left the auto grats in place, and tipped our cabin steward and his assistant very nicely, room service delivery, guides and drivers. We had excellent service all over the ship. I think because the service was so good everywhere, no one stood out. I don't think we ever had the same waiters anywhere.

Write them at TellUs@vikingcruises.com and inform them of your particular situation and they will address you personally about the way this can be handled. I've already done this and got a quick response.

Thank you I have send them an E-mail.

I can't speak for anyone else, but we did not. We don't tip in the dining room as that is included in the tips that we pay at the end of the cruise and don't feel any compunction to do so in the specialty restaurants.

I believe I read in FAQ section on MVJ that you could adjust auto tipping if you prefer to give cash to employees. Did anyone see this as well?

I believe I read in FAQ section on MVJ that you could adjust auto tipping if you prefer to give cash to employees. Did anyone see this as well?

And it is also addressed in the Gratuities section of the booklet that comes in your docs package.

And it is also addressed in the Gratuities section of the booklet that comes in your docs package.

I knew that read this. Thank you! :)

We left our auto gratuities in place. This is how they make their living. We gave extra on top. I can't imagine taking the auto tip off. On the mainstream cruiselines that we have been on if the auto was taken off the crew member was responsible for paying it back as they assumed he had received it from the passengers in cash. 50 cruises ago this was not the case as we all tipped in cash, but now with the autotip things have changed.

I don't know how Viking treats it if passengers take off the auto tip. This was my first upscale cruise...and not my last!!

I think that it is terrible that a cruise line would punish an employee because a passenger was a boor! I certainly hope Viking does not do that! Perhaps all cruise lines should start including gratuities in the fare! It should NOT be up to the passengers to assure employees are compensated fairly for their work.

Perhaps all cruise lines should start including gratuities in the fare! It should NOT be up to the passengers to assure employees are compensated fairly for their work.

I'll agree with you on that. It is already done that way in other Viking markets (UK, NZ, etc), why not in US and Canada as well?

I totally agree!!

Gratuities are included in our package. I've noticed this becoming more common for UK and Australian bookings. Tipping is not the way of life it seems to be for Americans. We're used to people having a living wage that doesn't have to be supplemented by tips.

That said we'll most likely leave something for our steward and possibly if there's an especially helpful waiter.

We left our auto gratuities in place. This is how they make their living. We gave extra on top. I can't imagine taking the auto tip off. On the mainstream cruiselines that we have been on if the auto was taken off the crew member was responsible for paying it back as they assumed he had received it from the passengers in cash. 50 cruises ago this was not the case as we all tipped in cash, but now with the autotip things have changed.

I don't know how Viking treats it if passengers take off the auto tip. This was my first upscale cruise...and not my last!!

Totally agree with you!