Pinnacle Grill Tipping

[Jo-Bob]

Where is SwissMyst in this conversation? She usually likes this kind of thing. Haven't heard or seen her in awhile...maybe she is travelling?

[FrankNJ]

Unusual response from me , since I am a big tipping fan , but ... I just don't see the point of tipping in Pinnacle . The people there are doing their job just like the people in the main dining room . They are sharing in the same tip pool . And .... you are paying extra to go to the Pinnacle ! Being a Pinnacle waiter is a plum job for the crew and I wonder if Hal shares any of that extra fee with them ? Who knows . No , I really don't see the need to tip in the Pinnacle unless someone has gone above and beyond in some way , but I can't imagine how , you're paying for excellent service already .

[dag144]

I tip the waiter and the wine steward as well. The same is true of Canaletto.

[sail7seas]

Unusual response from me , since I am a big tipping fan , but ... I just don't see the point of tipping in Pinnacle . The people there are doing their job just like the people in the main dining room . They are sharing in the same tip pool . And .... you are paying extra to go to the Pinnacle ! Being a Pinnacle waiter is a plum job for the crew and I wonder if Hal shares any of that extra fee with them ? Who knows . No , I really don't see the need to tip in the Pinnacle unless someone has gone above and beyond in some way , but I can't imagine how , you're paying for excellent service already .

 

 

When we have a fine steward in the MDR, which we almost always do, we tip additional to him and his assistant.

 

We do the same in Pinnacle. We have been told repeatedly the upcharge for PInnacle is not shared with the stewards as additional tip. The upcharge doesn't barely cover the additional cost of the high quality menu. I can't have that dinner at any restaurant ashore for anything near that price.

 

The daily food budget pp on the ships is something in the $8 - $10 range so they certainly are not saving a ton by not serving us dinner in MDR the night we go to Pinnacle. Actually, given the menu changes in recent years, I suspect the pp food budget may be lower but then again, food costs have risen to perhaps it's a wash?

 

It's easy........ tip if you want; don't if you don't want.

We Always tip Pinnacle stewards every cruise. We have our breakfast there many mornings and a number of dinners throughout the cruise and we would not dream of not saying thank you in the universally accepted manner.

 

 

[magandab]

I have always tipped the Pinnacle servers a bit extra, as I do my room stewards. We have used open dining so we don't have the same servers every night, but if someone has gone out of their way, again, a bit extra. We made a habit of stopping for a pre-dinner cocktail at the Pinnacle bar on our last cruise, and had the same bartended each evening. A bit extra there.

 

Why? Because I am happy and having the time of my life. These people added extra joy to the experience. It made me happier to share that joy in a way that is meaningful to them. I do this at home as well. We have a favorite waitress at a favorite restaurant. When we are served by her, she gets a little extra from us and appreciates it.

 

My husband once said, "If you can make someone that happy for a few dollars, why would you not give it?"

[serendipity1499]

The HAL surcharge IMO only goes to offset the price of the Prime/Choice cuts of meat & the special sides...

I've also been told that the waiters do not share in the Surcharge for the specialty restaurants, but do share in the tipping pool of $11 - $12 per day pp...

We normally cruise with friends & we all do leave a little extra for the Pinnacle waiters...

Only time we did not was when the four of us thought it would be nice to ask the remaining couple at our table to join us years ago..The extra couple gave us a lecture & declared it was unnecessary to give them a tip..:( We & our Friends bowed to the pressure, but always regretted it..

Even though we don't have to tip, this is our personal choice & no ones business except ours..We certainly don't need a lecture about tipping...

Cheers & Happy Spring Everyone..:)

Betty

[PathfinderEss]

On our last Amsterdam cruise, instead of having Deluxe Suite passengers eating the in the King's Room like we had done on previous cruises -- they had us eating on the upper level of the dining room. The service was poor so we ate there only a couple of times our of 14 days. And for once we did not tip anyone.

 

On the Amsterdam the King's Room is now a storage room.

 

On the R class ships the Pinnacle has never been used the last number of years for breakfast.

So where do suite people eat breakfast on the Amsterdam the upper dinning room? What about the S class ships?

[Wyoming2010]

This is too funny -- I just contacted HAL today about this. Here is the answer I received:

 

"Gratuities are added to your onboard account. No need to tip at dinner. We create a cashless society on board which includes the Pinnacle Grill".

 

I will, however, bring some cash in case I see others tipping. Otherwise I am going to assume they get the fee we paid.

[Jade13]

We did tip at Tuscan Grille on X Solstice as the food and service were amazingly FAR superior to their MDR. I'm just not sure what is expected so any advice is appreciated.

 

We went to Tuscan Grille on Eclipse and it was so bad that DH walked out. It was by far the worst meal we have ever had on any ship. Btw, I tried all 3 of his courses and the food was not edible. We would never go back (We are going back on Celebrity Solstice class ship but not to Tuscan Grille).

[Jade13]

This is too funny -- I just contacted HAL today about this. Here is the answer I received:

 

"Gratuities are added to your onboard account. No need to tip at dinner. We create a cashless society on board which includes the Pinnacle Grill".

 

I will, however, bring some cash in case I see others tipping. Otherwise I am going to assume they get the fee we paid.

 

They don't call them gratuities but "Hotel charges". Even the CD said they were included but to feel free to give extra to anyone that went well beyond in service.

[Jade13]

On our last Amsterdam cruise, instead of having Deluxe Suite passengers eating the in the King's Room like we had done on previous cruises -- they had us eating on the upper level of the dining room. The service was poor so we ate there only a couple of times our of 14 days. And for once we did not tip anyone.

 

On the Amsterdam the King's Room is now a storage room.

 

On the R class ships the Pinnacle has never been used the last number of years for breakfast.

 

We had breakfast in Pinnacle on an S class ship, ms Veendam.

[sail7seas]

This is too funny -- I just contacted HAL today about this. Here is the answer I received:

 

"Gratuities are added to your onboard account. No need to tip at dinner. We create a cashless society on board which includes the Pinnacle Grill".

 

I will, however, bring some cash in case I see others tipping. Otherwise I am going to assume they get the fee we paid.

 

 

Please do not decide whether to tip or not based upon whether you see others tipping.

 

You would not have seen my DH tip at the four dinners we enjoyed in Pinnacle on our recent cruise. He passed the tip to the steward and it is highly unlikely you would have known. Many folks tip by placing cash in the folio in which your bill is brought IF one is even brought to you. Often they just run the Pinnacle charge through without actually bringing you a bill.

 

The wine steward will bring a bill for any soft drinks or liquor/wine you ordered.

 

If you wish to tip do so because it is your choice IMO

But you probably won't know who else is tipping. ;)

 

[jtl513]

The Pinnacle staff get only pennies from that Hotel Service charge of $11.50/$12. Most of the money -- roughly around $7 - $8 is divided among your cabin stewards and the dining room staff. The remaining monies are divided among the Pinnacle staff, kitchen help, deck crew, polishing crew, lifeboat handlers, laundry people -- basicall everyone behind the scenes. The wine stewards do not get any of this money as they the 15% gratuity that is added onto all the bar bills.

You like to use that "only pennies" phrase for PG waiters, but actually it's much more than that because every passenger on the ship is contributing to what they get, whether they eat at the PG or not.

 

Let's do some math here:

 

If $7.50 out of $11.50 goes to the MDR and cabin stewards, then $4 is left for everybody else.

 

On a Signature ship the 2106 passengers then create a pool of $8424 plus an extra $.50/day for each of the 224 Superior and Deluxe Suite passengers, for a total of $8536/day.

 

We know that only the Hotel Department shares in this pool (excluding the bar staff, MDR stewards, and room stewards), which means that about 600 people are splitting the $8536. IF the pool is divided exactly evenly among the those 600, from PG waiters on down to the lowest laundry worker or railing polisher, then everyone would get $14.23 per day. However, I believe that the PG staff get a much larger share than the lowest workers.

 

On the small S-class ships there are just 2/3 the number of passengers contributing to the pool, but there are also just 2/3 the number of crew that are sharing it, so the end result is roughly the same.

 

Please do not misconstrue this as an argument against tipping in the PG. I do tip.

[Ray in NH]

On our last Amsterdam cruise, instead of having Deluxe Suite passengers eating the in the King's Room like we had done on previous cruises -- they had us eating on the upper level of the dining room. The service was poor so we ate there only a couple of times our of 14 days. And for once we did not tip anyone.

 

On the Amsterdam the King's Room is now a storage room.

 

On the R class ships the Pinnacle has never been used the last number of years for breakfast.

 

Pinnacle Grill was used for breakfast during our recent Hawaii/Polynesia Cruise on the Rotterdam; the upper level of the MDR was used for the "open seating" breakfast.

Ray in NH

[sail7seas]

Pinnacle Grill was used for breakfast during our recent Hawaii/Polynesia Cruise on the Rotterdam; the upper level of the MDR was used for the "open seating" breakfast.

 

Ray in NH

 

That is what is done on most of the ships, most of the time.

There are a few exceptions.

 

[sail7seas]

So where do suite people eat breakfast on the Amsterdam the upper dinning room? What about the S class ships?

 

 

Suite breakfast on "S" Class ships is in Pinnacle.

[kazu]

You like to use that "only pennies" phrase for PG waiters, but actually it's much more than that because every passenger on the ship is contributing to what they get, whether they eat at the PG or not.

 

Let's do some math here:

 

If $7.50 out of $11.50 goes to the MDR and cabin stewards, then $4 is left for everybody else.

 

On a Signature ship the 2106 passengers then create a pool of $8424 plus an extra $.50/day for each of the 224 Superior and Deluxe Suite passengers, for a total of $8536/day.

 

We know that only the Hotel Department shares in this pool (excluding the bar staff, MDR stewards, and room stewards), which means that about 600 people are splitting the $8536. IF the pool is divided exactly evenly among the those 600, from PG waiters on down to the lowest laundry worker or railing polisher, then everyone would get $14.23 per day. However, I believe that the PG staff get a much larger share than the lowest workers.

 

On the small S-class ships there are just 2/3 the number of passengers contributing to the pool, but there are also just 2/3 the number of crew that are sharing it, so the end result is roughly the same.

 

Please do not misconstrue this as an argument against tipping in the PG. I do tip.

 

Now you've got me thinking John - I wonder if that 50 cents per day per deluxe verandah &/or PH is having some of it directed to the PG staff since they are obviously providing a service to those passengers?

 

I could be wrong, but i understood from many that this was a job that a lot of the crew aspire to which would make me think that they are either (a) paid more or (b) get better tips than 'pennies per day'.

 

Thanks for the thoughts:D

 

and by the way, we tip too.;)

[sail7seas]

Not exactly, Kazu, I don't think.

 

Some of the ladies who work Pinnacle are from Indonesia. No female Indonesians are dining stewards other than Tamarind and Pinnacle. Some of the Pinnacle Managers are from Eastern Europe.

 

There are special staff hired for the specialty restaurants.

 

[Typhoon1]

Ten to Twenty in an additional tip is most appropriate.

[kazu]

Not exactly, Kazu, I don't think.

 

Some of the ladies who work Pinnacle are from Indonesia. No female Indonesians are dining stewards other than Tamarind and Pinnacle. Some of the Pinnacle Managers are from Eastern Europe.

 

There are special staff hired for the specialty restaurants.

 

 

thanks Sail - the two PG managers that impressed me were not from Eastern Europe - but you are far more knowledgeable than I;) But it does beg the question if some of that extra money now goes to them ( I would like to think so). But who knows:confused:

[sail7seas]

Oh yes, you are right.

Not ALL of the Pinnacle Managers are from Eastern Europe but some are.

Seems to me the Manager on Nieuw Amsterdam when we were there was a lovely woman from maybe Great Britain.

 

[Hawaiidan]

Tips are normaly calculated off the net bill 15% to 18%, At $25pp, thats 50 total or at 15%= $7.50 to $9.00 Leaving $20 is like leaving a 40% tip!. Tip if you feel the service was outstanding, but if you just received very good tipping $10 is 20% is over the top:o. Is that ok with you?

[Monsoonalblue]

Tips are normaly calculated off the net bill 15% to 18%, At $25pp, thats 50 total or at 15%= $7.50 to $9.00 Leaving $20 is like leaving a 40% tip!. Tip if you feel the service was outstanding, but if you just received very good tipping $10 is 20% is over the top:o. Is that ok with you?

 

Thanks for this - we sure have a lot to learn when it comes to tipping! On our last cruise my sister and our husbands ate at the Pinnacle for one dinner. We were about to leave and hadn't even thought about tipping when we noticed the table next to us leave and place a note on the table. We tried to glimpse the amount but were unable to see the note clearly without physically walking over to it (we didn't want to go up to the table as there were too many people around- embarrassing!).

 

Anyway, much discussion took place about the amount to tip ( we kind of had the hang of normal tipping), but this was a curve ball (fantastic food, low fee), we were trying hard to guess what to do in that situation. We finally left $20 per person - $40 per couple and beat a very hasty exit as we were so sure this was too low! Now sitting at home reading your quote, I realize that we gave way too much thought and over complicated the whole tipping scene and whilst the food and service was good it certainly wasn't exceptional enough for us to go overboard:D:D

 

Reading these boards is so helpful to people like me who live in countries where tipping is not the normal thing to do. Thanks so much:)

[jtl513]

... but this was a curve ball (fantastic food, low fee), we were trying hard to guess what to do in that situation.

I believe that you should tip on the value of the food and service you receive, not the price paid, and as you said the PG has "(fantastic food, low fee)," and excellent service normally. I think of what I would have paid for an excellent meal and excellent service in an equivalent land restaurant, and tip according to that. In the PG I usually leave $20 (for two people), but may cut that down a little if there was some aspect of the service that was lacking.

[samnewbie]

Hi all,

 

Interesting thread and some great points made.

 

On our Med cruise last summer on the N.A. (our first HAL cruise) we tipped in both the Pinnacle and the Tamarind.

 

We did not even consider the surcharge we had paid (we felt the food alone justified that) we just based our tip on the exceptional service we received.

 

In both venues they looked after my husband who has Coeliacs particularly well and in the Tamarind they were ever so impressed we had provided our own Gluten Free Soy Sauce :D

 

We were made to feel very special in the Pinnacle, like we were the only diners in the room (when in fact we were not, the Captain and his family were on the next table) - some may argue that extra effort was because the captain was there, we would not agree.

 

They were just very attentive to our needs ,not just one member of staff but all of those that served our table and that is exceptional service in our opinion. We had the most wonderful evening.

 

The MD also came over at the end of our meal to ask how we had enjoyed it and questioned the food quality and choice for my husband as he wanted to make sure he had had as good an experience as my daughter and I who are Non Gluten Free. - We did suggest more dessert GF choices would be appreciated (as the limited choice could easily grow stale after a few visits) which he agreed with so we will see.

 

In Tamarind again the service was incredible, this is what we tip for, an overall experience and one where we are made to feel special. We had the same level of service and attention at lunch as well as dinner here.

 

We came away from both venues with wonderful memories which were well worth any surcharge and tip :D

 

Oh and other diners would not of been able to tell if we tipped, we are adept at that ;)

 

We did leave a smaller tip in Canaletto also but we had a couple of dining issues there, not with food quality just inaccuracy for my husband which let the service down a little, so although we had a lovely meal and evening it did not warrant the same 'outstanding' merit we gave the other venues.

 

I will also add we tip generously at home also if we have good service...I know some of our friends think we over tip (being in the UK) but we always like to show our appreciation.

 

Sam :)