Gratuities when dining in Windjammer only ???

[CruzieSue]

Hubby and I took our first cruise this past March (Voyager). We had My Time Dining which entailed prepaid gratuities. We had dinner in the MDR the first two nights and breakfast one time. Then tried Windjammer and for our personal tastes and reasons, we ate all other meals there other than 2 trips to Johnny Rockets - never went back to our assigned MDR. I felt like I wasted the prepaid gratuities but didn't know how to handle it. We did add gratuities to the ticket when eating at JR's.

 

If you know up front that you prefer not to eat in the MDR at all, how do you handle gratuities for the staff in the Windjammer? Also, we did not always sit in the same area in Windjammer so no one person waited on us most of the time. I have no idea how it works or even if there is sharing of gratuities among the wait staff in different venues. Anyone have any experience with this?

[Loonbeam]

The windjammer crew is part of the tip pool, so in effect you were tipping the people who helped you there as well as at any of the other dining venues.

 

Hubby and I took our first cruise this past March (Voyager). We had My Time Dining which entailed prepaid gratuities. We had dinner in the MDR the first two nights and breakfast one time. Then tried Windjammer and for our personal tastes and reasons, we ate all other meals there other than 2 trips to Johnny Rockets - never went back to our assigned MDR. I felt like I wasted the prepaid gratuities but didn't know how to handle it. We did add gratuities to the ticket when eating at JR's.

 

If you know up front that you prefer not to eat in the MDR at all, how do you handle gratuities for the staff in the Windjammer? Also, we did not always sit in the same area in Windjammer so no one person waited on us most of the time. I have no idea how it works or even if there is sharing of gratuities among the wait staff in different venues. Anyone have any experience with this?

[silentbob007]

I've done two different things ... I've tipped cash individually to those that helped me each day, and I've also just paid the regular tips.

[XLRATION]

On our last cruise aboard Ex, we opted to not dine in the MDR because our seating was too late for the kiddies. Since we ate in WindJammer we decided to tip the waiter/waitress we had daily.

But to answer your question, the tipping you prepaid for MTD is pooled for all wait staff so in effect you did tip your Windjammer staff.

[Debde]

If you know up front that you prefer not to eat in the MDR at all, how do you handle gratuities for the staff in the Windjammer? Also, we did not always sit in the same area in Windjammer so no one person waited on us most of the time. I have no idea how it works or even if there is sharing of gratuities among the wait staff in different venues. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

If it were me, I'd release my table in the MDR and if you eat all your meals in the WJ-you will find in the evenings, if you sit in the same section, you will get to know the servers as well as you do in the MDR and can tip them on the last day-just like you would in the MDR.

I have done this and let me tell you they are happy campers when you do this!!!:D

[kc320]

I may be wrong, but as far as I know tips are NOT pooled among all the wait staff...the servers who work dinner in the WJ are not tipped the week they are there...or so we were told by our waiter there one evening...we asked..he did not volunteer the information...he was a joy & we made sure to sit in his section each night & tipped him at the end of the cruise...we HAD released our table in the MDR so someone else could switch if they wanted...

[Debde]

I may be wrong, but as far as I know tips are NOT pooled among all the wait staff...the servers who work dinner in the WJ are not tipped the week they are there...or so we were told by our waiter there one evening...we asked..he did not volunteer the information

 

I have also heard the same.

[Puffinater]

I may be wrong, but as far as I know tips are NOT pooled among all the wait staff...the servers who work dinner in the WJ are not tipped the week they are there...or so we were told by our waiter there one evening...we asked..he did not volunteer the information...he was a joy & we made sure to sit in his section each night & tipped him at the end of the cruise...we HAD released our table in the MDR so someone else could switch if they wanted...

 

I have also heard the same.

 

This is true. If a server is in the WJ for dinner they are not part of the tip pool. This is a rotated duty.

[TEXASMUNK]

if you do not tip then the guys in the MDR, get stiffed and since they rotated through the Windjammer...they get nailed twice?

[kc320]

if you do not tip then the guys in the MDR, get stiffed and since they rotated through the Windjammer...they get nailed twice?

 

No, because they are rotated on a weekly basis not daily...so if someone eats & tips in the WJ they get a tip they normally would not...

[SPacificbound]

Also keep in mind that the pre-paid that you did for MTD is not just for the wait staff.

[cb at sea]

As long as EVERYONE pays the tips to the waitstaff in the dining room, everyone who serves you is covered for ALL meals.

 

If you pay tips to the dining room, but eat in the WJ, you're covered. No worries.

[Cruisin' On A Dime!]

We choose to not eat in the MDR for our last cruise. We were booked for "Main Dining." And on embarkation day I went to the Maitre' D and told him that we would not be using the MDR for this cruise, and that we would like to release our table to someone who might need "Main Dining." He took down our table number and necessary information...and then thanked us for letting them know our plans for the cruise. For the cruise...where ever we ate...we left a tip.

 

 

Crystal

[Langley Cruisers]

I felt like I wasted the prepaid gratuities but didn't know how to handle it..... Anyone have any experience with this?

 

 

First of all, you pre-paid your tips and they were absolutely not "wasted". Your pre-paid tips cover 4 people: waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter, cabin steward. Your wait team, all of them, work in other venues of the ship at different times. We have seen all of our wait team in the Windjammer, for instance. Thus, when you pay your tips (pre-paid or not), you are paying your wait team for working in other venues even though you may not necessarily have taken dinner in the dining room. They do not need to be tipped again if you dine in the WJ, but many people feel they want to tip and do so by leaving something on the table. Personal choice.

 

Last cruise, we did what you did: we had pre-paid our tips but actually chose never to dine in the MDR. Not once did we go to dinner there. We ate in the Windjammer as they have outdoor aft seating on Brilliance, and it was fabulous. Having said that, our tips weren't wasted - our wait team still got paid even though they did not serve us in the MDR. For all we know, we met each one of our wait team in the WJ. It's entirely possible!

 

Pre-paying tips is a good way for us to do it because the amount is added to the final bill and paid before we even leave home. No adding it to the Sea Pass account, no worrying about having the correct amount of cash to put into envelopes... it just makes sense to us. I know some don't like it and are very vocal about it. To each his own, I suppose. Just wanted to let you know that your tips were dispersed to the deserving staff who made your cruise wonderful, even if you didn't take dinner where you had initially thought you would.

 

Hope this helps. :)

[Sh1035]

Well said....if you cant afford 15 a day for tips

you already lost the game. Stay home. Just like wj staff and room staff if they stand out tip them a few bucks.

[Debde]

Well said....if you cant afford 15 a day for tips

you already lost the game. Stay home. Just like wj staff and room staff if they stand out tip them a few bucks.

 

That's not the discussion.

The discussion is who to tip not how much or not to.

As small as this thread is for now!!;) Not one person has said they are not tipping.

[lady_cruiser]

My sister and I have sailed on The Voyagers 5 times and have gotten to know many of the staff members. We even ask to have Harry and Noel as our waitstaff whether we eat MTD or Traditional everytime we have sailed. We have had Harry show up at our cabin during the breakfast hours when we order room service even though he waited on us the night before. And we always saw Noel cleaning the tables in the Windjammer during the lunch hour. So as you can tell the hard-working men and women in the dining room can always be the same people working throughout the day in room service and the Windjammer.

[ksadonnab]

We eat according to our plans or activities of that day. If time or energy allows we eat in the MDR, if not we do the WJ. The nights we have dinner in the WJ we always leave a cash tip behind. :)

[DonnaK]

I wish RCI had clearcut guidelines for tipping in this situation.

 

It seems that autotips are the recommended way to go, however I would want to tip the WJ wait team instead of the MDR wait team, especially if I had the same WJ servers every night.

 

People who have traditional MDR dining should speak to the maitre-d and relinquish their table to someone on the waiting list if they don't plan to eat in the MDR at all. (Even if you have MTD, some people may have been turned away from this option because it was "full", so relinquishing your table there might be a good idea too)

[brfan]

I wish RCI had clearcut guidelines for tipping in this situation.

 

It seems that autotips are the recommended way to go, however I would want to tip the WJ wait team instead of the MDR wait team, especially if I had the same WJ servers every night.

 

People who have traditional MDR dining should speak to the maitre-d and relinquish their table to someone on the waiting list if they don't plan to eat in the MDR at all. (Even if you have MTD, some people may have been turned away from this option because it was "full", so relinquishing your table there might be a good idea too)

 

Not sure the problem, Royal does not do autotips, so tip who you want? Just remember to do it after each meal, since the daily dining tip covers all dining service throughout the day. The Main Dining Room staff work those venues for breakfast and lunch. The only issue is if you have chosen my time dining and had to prepay. But then if you want to have the dining tip go somewhere else for dinner, it would only be the dinner portion of the tip (eg. 1/3), which really doesn't amount to that much. Perhaps, Royal should give the option for a 1/3 of the tip to go to the Windjammer for dinner for those who relinquish their spot in the dining room?

[Let'sGo!]

We ate strictly in the WJ or the specialty restaurants on our most recent cruise. We did not pre-pay our tips, AND I left message with the Maitre D that we would not be eating in the MDR.

 

After a couple of nights in the WJ, we did see the same waiters working in their same areas... so on the last day/night, we tipped those servers who were always there to get us drinks, clear the table, etc.

 

To us, it seemed a good plan. Really, the only person who didn't get a tip was the Maitre D, as we covered the day shift servers and the dinner servers in the WJ.

 

Ann

[Langley Cruisers]

Really, the only person who didn't get a tip was the Maitre D, as we covered the day shift servers and the dinner servers in the WJ.

 

Normally, one would not tip the maitre 'd. He is in a salaried position. Did you mean the Head Waiter? The HW is in charge of the waiters and assistant waiters in his section and is supposed to be tipped, according to the guidelines. Just asking. :)

[CruzieSue]

First of all, you pre-paid your tips and they were absolutely not "wasted". Your pre-paid tips cover 4 people: waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter, cabin steward. Your wait team, all of them, work in other venues of the ship at different times. We have seen all of our wait team in the Windjammer, for instance. Thus, when you pay your tips (pre-paid or not), you are paying your wait team for working in other venues even though you may not necessarily have taken dinner in the dining room. They do not need to be tipped again if you dine in the WJ, but many people feel they want to tip and do so by leaving something on the table. Personal choice.

 

Last cruise, we did what you did: we had pre-paid our tips but actually chose never to dine in the MDR. Not once did we go to dinner there. We ate in the Windjammer as they have outdoor aft seating on Brilliance, and it was fabulous. Having said that, our tips weren't wasted - our wait team still got paid even though they did not serve us in the MDR. For all we know, we met each one of our wait team in the WJ. It's entirely possible!

 

Pre-paying tips is a good way for us to do it because the amount is added to the final bill and paid before we even leave home. No adding it to the Sea Pass account, no worrying about having the correct amount of cash to put into envelopes... it just makes sense to us. I know some don't like it and are very vocal about it. To each his own, I suppose. Just wanted to let you know that your tips were dispersed to the deserving staff who made your cruise wonderful, even if you didn't take dinner where you had initially thought you would.

 

Hope this helps. :)

 

Your response was very helpful. I did not know if the tips were shared among ALL wait staff or not. Glad to know they apparently are shared. We never did see the same waiters we had in the MDR at the Windjammer or anywhere else (would not have forgotten them, but that is a different matter), but did see some folks from Johnny Rockets working in the Promenade Cafe a day or two later. Also, most people seem to post that they almost always had the same staff in the Windjammer. I really don't believe we did. And we had very little service anytime we ate there. Maybe 2 or 3 times someone asked if they could refill our drinks but not every single time. So I'm not sure who you would leave the tip to at the end of the trip. Also, saw many suggestions not to tip with cash along the way so that was confusing also. We did add tips anytime we had drink orders. There's a lot to learn when you're a newbie to cruising!! Almost everyone has been extremely helpful. :)

[CruzieSue]

That's not the discussion.

The discussion is who to tip not how much or not to.

As small as this thread is for now!!;) Not one person has said they are not tipping.

 

Thanks for saying that !! We certainly never tried to withhold tips from much deserving people. It was just a question of how to tip properly when we (personally) preferred not to eat in the MDR.

 

Not pertaining to dining staff, but our stateroom attendant was superb and we enjoyed little chats with him all week. We left him the "required" tip and almost double that for the entire week for his hard work and always smiling face !! :)

[Paulxyz2004]

I wish RCI had clearcut guidelines for tipping in this situation.

 

It seems that autotips are the recommended way to go, however I would want to tip the WJ wait team instead of the MDR wait team, especially if I had the same WJ servers every night.

 

People who have traditional MDR dining should speak to the maitre-d and relinquish their table to someone on the waiting list if they don't plan to eat in the MDR at all. (Even if you have MTD, some people may have been turned away from this option because it was "full", so relinquishing your table there might be a good idea too)

 

RCI has clearcut guidelines for the tipping situation. They have recommended tips for cabin attendant, waiter, assitant waiter and head waiter. They figure the system how to rotate people crew between MDR and WJ. So if you follow their recommendation all is well.

Your wish to rather tip the WJ wait team is your personal preference in sort of a disagreement with the system RCI has set up. You can´t blame RCI for your personal preference by stating you wish they would set up a clearcut guideline, when they already have one.