Tipping in Specialty Restaurants

[Lash52]

Are tips a part of the fee you pay initially or are you supposed to tip at the end of the meal?

[Phxazzcruisers]

The fee is the tip, but if you receive excellent service, as we always do, we leave extra. The fee is waives for suites for two nights, so we alway leave an extra tip

[gergles]

Tips are included and there is no obligation whatsoever to even consider additional tipping.

[Gig103]

Tips are included and there is no obligation whatsoever to even consider additional tipping.

 

Exactly. Plus, on top of the fee you pay to the dining room, you're also making a daily gratuity on your shipboard account to the waiter pool even though you aren't in the MDR. So between the two you are more than covered.

[ECCruise]

Tips are included and there is no obligation whatsoever to even consider additional tipping.

 

At $25 for the meal, we would often leave an extra tip if the service was really good. (And frankly, the service was WAY better in Ocean Liners/Normandie/et. al. then than it is now).

 

At $50. thanks but no thanks.

[wallie5446]

Don't know, but we always leave a tad extra.

[hughdm]

I'm on vacation. I'm happy. I like those who serve us to be as happy as possible. I always tip a bit extra. I've never had service so bad I was tempted not to.

[keithm]

Are tips a part of the fee you pay initially or are you supposed to tip at the end of the meal?

The tip is included in the specialty rest. We leave xtra if the service was excellent. It always has been, but it's your choice.

[Wine-O]

Don't know if it is true or not, but was told by one server in the Tuscan Grill that if you leave extra tip on the "slip" they give you to sign, it goes to the Maitre'D. Best to leave cash.

[keesar]

We always leave an extra tip in addition to the cost of the meal. The service has always been excellent.

[happy 2 b cruising]

Don't know if it is true or not, but was told by one server in the Tuscan Grill that if you leave extra tip on the "slip" they give you to sign, it goes to the Maitre'D. Best to leave cash.

 

Tips get pooled if you leave it on the slip after dinner. If we have great service we always tip extra cash directly to our server.

[junetraveler2014]

Since we are in the Royal Suite we have unlimited specialty dining. We always tip the matre'd and the servers in cash. We never tip on the sea pass card. We do this because we are not charged for specialty dining and have no idea if the servers get gratuities under this situation. IMHO tipping is an option, not a necessity. We have never experienced lacking service on Celebrity and feel the tips are always deserved.

 

Victoria

[AnchorsAweigh2011]

Welcome to Cruise Critic Lash52!

 

I usually enjoy the speciality restaurant and tip a little extra to recognize excellent customer service!

[hcat]

We always tip...in cash....

[cb at sea]

The fee IS the tip...and remember, any drink you buy will have a tip already added to that cost...so don't go tipping more on top of that!

 

If you wish to tip more, then I would think $5-10 would be more than ample...certainly more than you would tip on land for the same meal, even if drinks were added to the land-based bill!

[Hlitner]

So let us think about this. If you are like most, you will pay a daily fee (added to your onboard account) for tips. You are also paying a portion of your cruise fare for food. And, if you go to an alternative restaurant you will pay more money (in addition to what you have already paid for daily tips and food) for the restaurants. And now, you want to pay more tips (on top of having paid twice for food and already paying for daily tips) to the staff in the alternative restaurant. My suggestion is that if you feel strongly about giving more tips consider being very generous and perhaps leaving another $100. It will be appreciated.

And to be really fair to the rest of the crew, you should carry a large roll of $5 and $10 bills around the ship and liberally hand it out to the folks who work hard cleaning the floors, railings, deck, etc. Like the wait staff in the alternative restaurants all of these crew members work very hard to provide you with a great cruise. So why not tip them all?

Hank

Edited July 10, 2015 by Hlitner

[basil's mom]

We always tip extra. If we went to an equivalent restaurant on land, we would pay at least $75.00 per person, so the $25 - $30 charge is a steal.

 

Yes, I know we pay for our meals on board, but if we stayed in a hotel and had meals equivalent to what we get on the ship, our vacation would cost a heck of a lot more. On our last cruise we ate in the specialty restaurants more than in the main dining room and still thought it was a bargain.

[MicCanberra]

An interesting point, we tip but we know we don't have to. I suggest you do what you feel comfortable with.:D

[Gordoncruickshank]

We do this because we are not charged for specialty dining and have no idea if the servers get gratuities under this situation.

 

Victoria

 

You have actually paid for the free specialties as part of the suite cost.

[Hapytocruise]

Just an update for basil's mom..the charge for specialty restaurants is now $45 - $50 per person unless you can get a discount, so now not so much a steal (past pricing I would agree with you). We always leave at least $10 cash to the waiter except on one occasion where the fellow was extremely pompous and seemed very uninterested in serving us.

[basil's mom]

Just an update for basil's mom..the charge for specialty restaurants is now $45 - $50 per person unless you can get a discount, so now not so much a steal (past pricing I would agree with you). We always leave at least $10 cash to the waiter except on one occasion where the fellow was extremely pompous and seemed very uninterested in serving us.

 

It is still a bargain at that price. When we go out to a local medium priced restaurant, out bill comes to $75.00 for the two of us. When we go to an upscale restaurant (the equivalent to Murano's), it goes up to around $175.00 plus tip, and that is without wine. The service at the specialty restaurants has always been exceptional and we want to show our appreciation by tipping extra. When I have good service in restaurants on land, I tip above the average there too.

 

I am lucky enough to live in an area with a lot of great (although expensive) restaurants, so maybe the cost of the specialty restaurants doesn't seem so bad.

[wallie5446]

Just an update for basil's mom..the charge for specialty restaurants is now $45 - $50 per person unless you can get a discount, so now not so much a steal (past pricing I would agree with you). We always leave at least $10 cash to the waiter except on one occasion where the fellow was extremely pompous and seemed very uninterested in serving us.

 

If you pre-book it is a lot less;

 

For the 3 night, Save 24% at $99 per person.

 

For the 5 night, Save 29% at $149 per person

 

We wait till on ship to use our OBC and it is $10 higher.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

You have actually paid for the free specialties as part of the suite cost.

 

Yes, but you haven't paid a gratuity. I always leave an extra tip when having free meals in the specialty restaurants.

 

Linda

 

[dmk]

I do not pay for extra tips in Speciality restaurants. I have always believed as per Celebrity site that price includes cover charge and dining gratuities.

 

As Hlitner said, you could go on infinitum with all this extra money.

Edited July 10, 2015 by dmk

[Fish Lover]

Other than the entertainers and officers, the employees on board the ship make very very little, and they work very long days with few breaks and a rare few hours off. They are held to a very high standard for service.

 

When you sign up for dining anytime, the tips are pooled and distributed to everyone (including your cabin steward). The amount is very little per person.

 

Many people sign up for the scheduled seating and then change when on board to avoid pre-payment of tips, because frankly they wind up stiffing their waiter, maitr'd, cabin steward etc. Even in the regular seating people often don't show in the MDR in order to avoid tipping. It's disgraceful.

 

If you can not afford to tip appropriately for good service, then you can not afford the vacation. These people depend upon tips as part of their compensation.

 

So, as to whether you should tip when specialty dining...most certainly. If you think the additional charge is not worth the experience...don't do it.