Pinnicle Grill tips

[Ziggy7]

Do the pooled tips cover specialty resturants too ????

[RuthC]

A pittance of the $10/day service charge does filter down to the Pinnacle staff, but it does not seem to cover what I want to tip.

 

Of course, many, many of those "pittances" are from passengers who do not dine at the Pinnacle, either.

Maybe it all balances out? I tip extra.

[peaches from georgia]

I don't know if it 'balances out' or not, but we would much rather tip as we go for the service provided in the Pinnacle and know our stewards are getting what their service was worth to us, based on what we would have paid for the same meal and service in a land restaurant. We don't base our tip on the $20pp charge, which is much lower than what we would normally pay for the same meal at home. :)

[1stMate]

Theirjob is to serve and to serve exceedingly well. If they exceed that standard, a gratuity may be awarded.

[sail7seas]

A gratuity always MAY be extended.

 

 

We have always chosen to tip additional each time we have dined in Pinnacle.

[ekerr19]

We always tip the Pinnacle staff (Maitre d', Steward, Assistant Steward and Wine Steward) individually - each and every night we are there.

 

I do not know for sure whether the auto tip covers Pinnacle, so we tip based upon what we would pay for the full price of the meal here in downtown Denver.

[stanford's girl]

We always tip the Pinnacle staff (Maitre d', Steward, Assistant Steward and Wine Steward) individually - each and every night we are there.

Do they get to keep the individual tips themselves or do they have to put that in the pool? Also, if food is included with your cruise, then what does the $20 cover? Is it because the steak is of a higher quality? I'm assuming that the service would be just as good as in the dining room. I haven't been to the Pinnacle yet as our HAL cruise isn't until Oct. so any help would be appreciated.:)

[stanford's girl]

It seems to me that they are very clear on other tipping policies. 15% added to your bar bill, room service tipped on delivery, and an auto tip added to your account. Why would they be so vague on the Pinnacle? :confused:

[Tarkus]

how do you decide what to tip? i mean, in a fine restaurant it'd be 15% to 20% of the bill - except here you only see the $20 surcharge plus any alcohol you drink - are you tipping a percentage of that or do you just pull a number out of the air?

[cruzincurt]

We usually tip $20 to the waiter, based on the meal cost equivalent of say $50 pp, that's more than 15%. IMO the Maitre d' is management, no tip, he gets a salary accordingly. We are also automatically tipping to the dining room waiter where we are not eating that night.

[sail7seas]

It seems to me that they are very clear on other tipping policies. 15% added to your bar bill' date=' room service tipped on delivery, and an auto tip added to your account. Why would they be so vague on the Pinnacle? :confused: [/size']

 

 

They are not vague re: Pinnacle IMO

Prior to Pinnacle restaurants on HAL ships, some of the ships had Odyssey and Marco Polo Restaurants. There was no additional charge to dine in those spots. We always chose to tip the stewards (and almost always the Maitre d' as well). The dinner was very fine and the service exceeded that which is possible in the dining room. It was a lovely evening, great service and our pleasure to tip additional. This was prior to Automatic Tipping and each passenger tipped independently.

 

 

Now that there are Pinncle Restaurants and there is autmatic tipping, we continue to tip additional when we dine in Pinnacle. The quality of the food is superior to what is possible for any middle range cruiseline to be able to serve in the dining room included in the price of our cruises. The dinners in Pinncle cost in the range of $75 per person in land restaurants in the Boston area. When we dine out in our area and have a similar meal, along with a comparable wine, our check is never less than $200. While it is true that a percentage of the automatic tip trickles down to Pinnacle workers, it is such a paltry amount that we do not feel it adequate compensation for the superior dining experience and would not dream of dining there and not leaving additional tips. The $20 pp does not barely cover the additional price of the meal we are enjoying. It does not go at all to the stewards.

 

However....the one thing that we have changed is the amount we tip the wine stewards both in the dining room and in Pinnacle. We have wine every night and we always tip the wine stewards an additional amount but it is less than we used to tip before automatic tipping as we know the steward IS getting a portion of the 15% that is now added to price of all beverages. We tip him/her but we tip less.

 

This is how WE see it. Perhaps others see it differently but no one yet has posted any message here that has changed my view of it.

[Ziggy7]

Ok this may open a can of worms, but I have to ask.

So let me first say I always leave the auto tipping in place. I dont change it, and we always tip extra to those who we feel are deserving :) That said, Why tip the Maitre d' , he is the boss and in a bosses position and just walks around and chats with the guests and makes seating arrangements. I know thats alot but he gets paid a higher wage than those running back and forth to the kitchen ????? :)

[ekerr19]

We tip the Maitre d' at least once during the cruise - we usually always have interaction with him on our Pinnacle visits, even if it's just chatting for a few minutes - he (especially on the last cruise) assured us that he is the "go to" person if we need anything or something is lacking. He also knew our preference for the dining pace and made certain we were accomodated.

 

This is just a personal choice for us - we have tipped the Maitre d' in the D/R on various occasions as well - especially if they accomodate a special request.

 

I agree with Sail - a meal at a fine restaurant here in town can easily run $150 - $200 and we tip according to that amount. We also tip the wine steward less in cash being that 15% is now added to the total wine/beverage bill. If we feel the wine steward has done an exception job, our extra tip will reflect that.

[dakrewser]

If the maitre d' has done us a service which we appreciate, I'll tip accordingly. If he's simply taken the reservation, shown us to a table and wished us "good evening," then no, I wouldn't tip.

 

Ziggy: it has nothing to do with "labor vs. mgmt" - we're all labor, even the CEO.

The wine steward is one I have the most trouble with. For a $20 btl, the auto-tip is $3. For a $60 btl it's $9. The wine steward does exactly the same amount for either - why should there be this difference? I would much prefer to tip based on the service rather than the price of the bottle.

[cruzincurt]

Some people would probably try to tip the captain if they could. I agree with dakrewser about the wine steward but doesn't the same apply to the waiter? Regardless of the price of the meal, he delivers the plates to the table. Why is his tip proportional to the cost of the meal?

[dakrewser]

Some people would probably try to tip the captain if they could. I agree with dakrewser about the wine steward but doesn't the same apply to the waiter? Regardless of the price of the meal, he delivers the plates to the table. Why is his tip proportional to the cost of the meal?

 

Generally, though, in a given restaurant the difference in cost of a meal is directly proportional to the amount of work needed. But I still adjust the tip based on things besides a strict percentage rate.

[Tarkus]

...Why tip the Maitre d' , he is the boss and in a bosses position and just walks around and chats with the guests and makes seating arrangements. I know thats alot but he gets paid a higher wage than those running back and forth to the kitchen ????? :)

no argument from me... in my seven cruises to date, i've only had personal interaction once with the maitre d' - he actually got involved with a problem, fixed it, and received a tip at the end of the cruise; otherwise, they've done nothing more than show up on the first night, introduce themselves as the maitre d', then never be heard-from again. in that regard, they didn't know me or my party from the next guest, and if they did anything for us it was a well-kept secret. consequently, none of them were ever tipped.

[PRINSENDAM]

The only problem with tipping comes when you get to know someone, like a Maitr'd very well over several years. Sometimes what we do is buy a gift for the individual from the on board shops. Something possibly for him, or perhaps his children. If he doesn't want the gift he can easily take it back to the shop for a credit.

 

We have been on cruises where we have even received gifts from some of the guys. Talk about feel special!!!!!

 

Stephen

[Brad1185]

This one simple, the tip is the $20 pp entrance fee. Its not included in the other regular tips. If the meal was worth $200 in a land based restaurant, and you wanted to tip 20%, you have $40 for a couple works out to be exactly the fee to get into the restaurant. Before they started charging the $20 I agree, I would leave a tip.

[dakrewser]

This one simple, the tip is the $20 pp entrance fee. Its not included in the other regular tips. If the meal was worth $200 in a land based restaurant, and you wanted to tip 20%, you have $40 for a couple works out to be exactly the fee to get into the restaurant. Before they started charging the $20 I agree, I would leave a tip.

 

But none of the $20 cover charge goes to the wait staff...

[Brad1185]

Sounds like something HAL and the wait staff needs to work out.

[PRINSENDAM]

This one simple, the tip is the $20 pp entrance fee. Its not included in the other regular tips. If the meal was worth $200 in a land based restaurant, and you wanted to tip 20%, you have $40 for a couple works out to be exactly the fee to get into the restaurant. Before they started charging the $20 I agree, I would leave a tip.

 

 

Brad,

 

A few years ago when Pinnacle Grills first started I checked with HAL in Seattle regarding the $20 charge for using the restaurant. The answer was quite clear on the the matter, the $20 is not a tip, it is a charge for the food. The tips, if you wish to tip, is extra.

 

I would prefer to make the charge $25 and say that the gratuity is included. You know a lot of people just won't tip in Pinnacle Grill. $5 pp is more than enough tip for dinner in Pinnacle Grill.... but there is usually more than one waiter serving!

 

Stephen

[kryos]

A pittance of the $10/day service charge does filter down to the Pinnacle staff, but it does not seem to cover what I want to tip.

 

Of course, many, many of those "pittances" are from passengers who do not dine at the Pinnacle, either.

Maybe it all balances out? I tip extra.

It is very easy to "forget" about tipping at the Pinnacle. You don't tip each night in the dining room, do you?

 

I think many people may not tip simply because they assume that the cover charge for the Pinnacle covers the tip.

 

I think some sort of "discrete" announcement needs to be made by HAL ... perhaps in the daily program ... clarifying this issue.

 

No, on the two times (in the same cruise) that I ate at the Pinnacle, I did NOT tip. But that was because I had no idea I was supposed to. It wasn't until coming home and reading these boards that I realized my mistake. I won't make it again.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sail7seas]

How would you feel about HAL printing a notice on both the reservation confirmation card for Pinnacle and on the menu language something like.....

 

"Gratuity is not included in the Per Person Cover Charge" Is that too subtle to 'hint' to folks a tip would be welcomed?

Is it too 'in your face' and some folks would be offended?

How about just inside the Pinnacle entry they had a stand with a small notice stating gratuities are not included?

What do you think would be a suitable way to suggest to people tipping might be something they would like to consider?

[Time2sail]

If I had not been reading these CC posts, I would have thought the tip was included in the $20 per person charge. I think a note on the menu would be appreciated by those who do not get information here. Actually, I would not have reservations for two nights in the Pinnacle had I not read the reviews on the HAL board.

 

If a reminder is offensive to some, that just means they didn't want to tip extra and need a reason to be upset. This is just my opinion, of course.

 

Thanks to all of you for letting me know:)