Is it just me??? Tipping??

[JPAJ]

And did you tip the Lido Staff??? Even when you eat in a buffet, any buffet, there are people who clean the tables, clear the dirty dishes, etc., etc.. As far as Carnival is concerned, the weekly tip is to cover your dining service, regardless of whether you eat in the dining room or the buffet.

Yes I did!!!! It's funny how some people leave their opinion on here, just to get flamed for it!!! You responded as if you know everything we did on our cruise, and our situation! So here you go!! We had late seating...two children that would rather be in Camp Carnival..and the time interfered with several things...(in case you didnt know, if they're under a certain age a parent has to sign them in and out). The whole show the waiters put on was just a bit corny to us and we felt we would rather use that two hours doing something else. We didnt eat in the lido ALL 3 meals!!! Although their menu was pretty much the same as the main dinning room. I just feel like no one should be made to feel as if they are not as good as anyone else on this board or a cruise. We had the money to tip..we simply didnt eat in THAT dinning room and felt a like tipping for four people was too much that didnt even eat in there. I was wondering... do you tip the pizza, hamburger,..sushi,..ice cream bars also?????

[peterv]

Hi Peter,

Sorry, I didn't see you where you were from. Can I assume that the usual standards for tipping are much lower in the UK than in the US?

Regards,

Yogi

 

Yes, the staff are normally paid to do the work they are in. A high tip is in the 10% range, and that is with excellent service, normal service is tipped as they wish, if at all.

 

In a buffet, there is normally no need to tip servers, as they do not serve.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[peterv]

Peter, I'm curious about the "pay for" ice cream. I've seen the specialty dessert/coffee bars, but not ice cream.:confused: Is this some type special ice cream? Which ships?

 

Not Carnival, but Princess does, and I think NCL does as well, but it has been a while since I set foot on an NCL ship.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[Cotton]

....... Oh and Cotton, just to let you know, I let Carnival take my tips out plus I tipped my waiter $40.00 because he was that good. ........Also gave my cabin Stewart an exta $20.00 on the first day and and extra $10.00 on the last day. Hope you tip as well....

 

:confused: Not sure why you singled me out, but ok..... Yep, I tip well, leaving all auto tips in place, plus extra for my waiters and cabin stewarD.

[jcs56]

I disagree that the weekly tip is to cover the Lido staff too. Well, maybe they pool their tips, I have no idea. BUT....people forget that a tip is for service well done. If you don't like the service and you don't tip...that makes them do better for the next people. On my last cruise I had the tips removed from the dining room because our experience in there was awful!!! I am a big tipper when the service is what it should be. I, too gave my steward $20 the first day and $40 at the end....she was terrific. I also gave 2 of my favorite bartenders $20 on the last day and I wrote great reviews for them (I asked for their full names on the last day) ... But a tip is a tip....for a job well done ABOVE AND BEYOND what is expected.:D

[Leo Jay]

I have always had excellent service and have never reduced the tips. My question is do you people who say that you should tip in the buffett do you also tip at buffetts at home or say when in Vegas? And if you are tipping them to clean your table what about the local Mcdonalds?

 

Heh.

[yogimax]

It really amazes me how people can pay big bucks to go on a cruise, then eat dinner in the Lido buffet. Not that there's anything wrong with the food there, but a big part of the whole Cruise Experience is dinner in the dining room. They can go to a local buffet at home. The suggested tip is such a small amount compared to the entire cruise, if someone has to stand in line to get $25 back they shouldn't be going in the first place. We never eat breakfast or lunch in the dining room, but we've NEVER thought about reducing the tip because we didn't eat there. You figure your waiter is there, waiting for you to show up so he can serve you, and just because you decide to eat somewhere else means he doesn't get paid that week? That's ridiculous.

 

I always thought it was a disgrace back in the days of paying in cash how so many people didn't show up in the dining room on the last night so they didn't have to leave the tip. I guess they figured if they didn't have to face the guy in person empty handed they could get away with it.

 

At least these hard working people are getting substantially more now than they used to in the past.

 

AN EXCELLENT RESPONSE!

[4yanx]

... But a tip is a tip....for a job well done ABOVE AND BEYOND what is expected.:D

 

I disagree with this part of what you say. Everyone knows, or should know, that service staff like waiters, porters, stewards, etc. obtain a good deal of their income in tips. Base wages are, for the most part, obscenely low. As such, and unless time has really passed me by, a basic tip (e.g. 15% of a restaurant tab) is expected for service that is adequate. Any larger tip is for the ABOVE AND BEYOND expected portion of said service. So, suggested tipping amounts that the cruise lines recommend (which I think are more than reasonable) should always be left if the service is just adequate. More for more. Less for less. I apologize if I mischaracterize what you are saying, but it reads to me as though you are of the opinion that tips are only for above and beyond call of duty efforts.

[PrincessJen]

IMHO, a tip is for service above and beyond what is expected. However, I'm way too lazy to stand on line to get a refund. If the service is poor then that's a different story but I'd rather spend my time doing fun stuff on the boat.

[sotadragon]

Not Carnival, but Princess does, and I think NCL does as well, but it has been a while since I set foot on an NCL ship.

 

Cheers,

Peter

Actually, Carnival does have "pay for" ice cream available at the spcialty coffee/desert place.

[yogimax]

IMHO, a tip is for service above and beyond what is expected. However, I'm way too lazy to stand on line to get a refund. If the service is poor then that's a different story but I'd rather spend my time doing fun stuff on the boat.

 

Princess, are you saying that service which is "expected," should not be tipped? Seems to be a good excuse to stiff the wait staff!

[PrincessJen]

Princess, are you saying that service which is "expected," should not be tipped? Seems to be a good excuse to stiff the wait staff!

 

I never stiff wait staff except in cases where the service is absolutely horrible and then it is followed up with a conversation with the manager. Usually my boyfriend and I tip between 10 - 15% depending on where we go & the service. Perhaps it's just me however, when I go out to eat the only thing I "expect" is for my food to arrive correctly. If my person waiting (is this the correct term?) on me fills my water glass consistently, can recommend drinks, inform me of good vs. bad food, and other stuff along with a good attitude then it is a well earned tip. I have been to restaurants where the only thing the person did was bring my food & we didn't see them the rest of the meal & had to flag down other people for water, drink refills & other information. For me that is unacceptable & the people that actually helped received the tip. As I stated above though, I would not stiff the wait staff on the boat unless I truely felt it was bad service and after speaking with them or their supervisor that it wasn't rectified.

[yogimax]

I never stiff wait staff except in cases where the service is absolutely horrible and then it is followed up with a conversation with the manager. Usually my boyfriend and I tip between 10 - 15% depending on where we go & the service. Perhaps it's just me however, when I go out to eat the only thing I "expect" is for my food to arrive correctly. If my person waiting (is this the correct term?) on me fills my water glass consistently, can recommend drinks, inform me of good vs. bad food, and other stuff along with a good attitude then it is a well earned tip. I have been to restaurants where the only thing the person did was bring my food & we didn't see them the rest of the meal & had to flag down other people for water, drink refills & other information. For me that is unacceptable & the people that actually helped received the tip. As I stated above though, I would not stiff the wait staff on the boat unless I truely felt it was bad service and after speaking with them or their supervisor that it wasn't rectified.

 

Thanks for clarifying your position. I agree with you 100%

[jcs56]

I removed tips on a cruise on the Triumph last year (dining room) because of horrible service. We are not snobby, upper class people but, I expect to be treated well on a cruise when they are getting an automatic tip. On this particular cruise we were one of the first to get to the the d.r. and the last to leave because they were slow. We asked for steak and were told we couldn't have it unless we ordered it the night before. Everyone on the ship said that was crazy....i ordered one and got it. Many steaks went past us night after night but our waiter refused us not once but twice. I asked for the matre'd and he never came...I said ask the chef and he still said no. Our waiters never returned to ask what else we may have wanted. And to make it worse they had B.O!!! As I said before I tipped my room steward well beyond what most would and a few of the bartenders. I am a good tipper and appreciate good service. We just didn't get it in the d.r. On my upcoming cruise if the service is good I will tip well beyond the usual on the last night. Just didn't happen for us last time around and I make no apologies for feeling they didn't deserve a tip. Because I stand by my belief that a tip is not supposed to be automatic, it is supposed to be because they deserved it for good service.

[yogimax]

And to make it worse they had B.O!!! .

 

Seems like you are looking for any excuse to remove a tip!!!

[jcs56]

I disagree with this part of what you say. Everyone knows, or should know, that service staff like waiters, porters, stewards, etc. obtain a good deal of their income in tips. Base wages are, for the most part, obscenely low. As such, and unless time has really passed me by, a basic tip (e.g. 15% of a restaurant tab) is expected for service that is adequate. Any larger tip is for the ABOVE AND BEYOND expected portion of said service. So, suggested tipping amounts that the cruise lines recommend (which I think are more than reasonable) should always be left if the service is just adequate. More for more. Less for less. I apologize if I mischaracterize what you are saying, but it reads to me as though you are of the opinion that tips are only for above and beyond call of duty efforts.

 

No I don't mean to say that a tip is for ONLY above and beyond. What I am saying is that when your service is horrible I don't apologize for taking the tips off totally. I paid alot of money for a cruise and part of that is to be pampered. I just expect to get a steak if I ask for it....I expect to be served promptly...not last every night....I expect them to ask if everything is ok and if its not to fix it. I really am not picky. I just firmly believe that a tip should be something that is EXTRA. Also, don't misunderstand. I have no problem with tips being automatic ... but I do think you have that right to remove them if you feel service was horrible. And I have. But to those that I felt were great I probably spent alot more on their extra tips that what I took off the dining room tips.

[Hebejeebe]

I hate when people on this board ty and get high and mighty.

 

 

Yes, the replies were interesting. I'd never heard the comment before that bad service was the fault of the customer. :rolleyes:

[jcs56]

Yogi....No, the fact that he had B.O. was not an excuse for me not to tip. If you read my post there were many factors in that decision, many more that I didn't list. I even tried to go beyond him for help and that didn't work either. This was our first cruise so I didn't know any better, but if I had known I would have asked for a different table or time as to have different waiters.

[sotadragon]

Seems like you are looking for any excuse to remove a tip!!!

Did you even READ the rest of the post??? :rolleyes:

[taillon]

We do have our tips adjusted if we dont eat in the dinning room. Our last cruise we ate in the dinning room twice, and we tipped for those two nights. But for the next 5 days we ate in the lido we didnt tip for dinning room service. Just like I wouldnt walk past a restaurant and walk in the door, leave a tip on the table, turn around and walk out. JMHO

 

We just got back from our first cruise on the Elation. The service was excellent!! I think the servers deserve every bit of that tip. We ate in the dining room every night but our oldest son skipped one night and our youngest only ate in there twice. I never ever thought to take some of the tip money away...actually, I made sure to give some extra!!

[JPAJ]

Not everyone is going to agree with how to tip, or what to tip, that is why it is at the discretion of the tipper. I cant believe how some of the people on here are so judgemental on the way other people choose to do things. I dont feel the need to explain myself to anyone. Again, it is to each his/her own, and frankly noones business on who they tip or how much. I think this thread has become much more judgemental than the OP had expected.

[big_duck]

Not everyone is going to agree with how to tip, or what to tip, that is why it is at the discretion of the tipper. I cant believe how some of the people on here are so judgemental on the way other people choose to do things. I dont feel the need to explain myself to anyone. Again, it is to each his/her own, and frankly noones business on who they tip or how much. I think this thread has become much more judgemental than the OP had expected.

 

Then why did you bring it up?

[JPAJ]

taking part of conversation:rolleyes:

[dan40]

JPAJ,

Earlier you said you wouldn't go into a restaurant, leave a tip and walk back out. Neither would I, but that's got nothing to do with a cruise ship. On the ship you have an assigned table w/a captive waitstaff. If your table is empty, they can't just serve the next party to come in the door. There is no next customer, you were it. Plus your waiters also work the buffet area when they aren't working a dinner seating.

 

You might want to rethink your attitude?

 

Dan

[JPAJ]

as they say....as long as my a$$ is getting chewed on...you're leaving someone elses alone.....oh well...:D I still love ya!!