advice on tipping in Diamond loung please

[Grandma Dazzles]

I don't tip the concierge, as I never ask them to do anything.

 

I always tip the waiters around $20 each at the end of the cruise. I also make sure I mention them by name on my survey if they have been exceedingly nice (which is almost always). I don't tip $1 per drink in the lounge as I am a wine drinker, and find the servers often just keep my glass filled, rather than bringing an individual drink, they just top it off! I do tip $1 when using a voucher at the bars around the ship.

 

By the way, if you like a particular staff member, take a picture of their name tag. A long-time cruiser told me this, and it is very helpful when filling out your survey. Easier than trying to remember a hard to spell name.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Grandma Dazzles

[yuvraj]

I sometimes feel Americans go too far with tipping and confuses it for everyone else. Not my business what others do but I am troubled when it becomes "customary".

 

I saw a programme recently where Richard E Grant went round the top hotels in Venice where celebrities stay. He asked a waiter who were the best tippers. The answer was Americans. Always Americans. Next he asked, who are the worst? The answer was Italians.

 

Here lies the cultural divide between USA and Europe.

[yuvraj]

Looks like I have stirred up strong feelings judging from one or two replies to my post.

 

I can see why people avoid getting into a discussion about tipping. Sensitive subject. I will now go and hide :)

[Yorkvillain]

Looks like I have stirred up strong feelings judging from one or two replies to my post.

 

 

 

I can see why people avoid getting into a discussion about tipping. Sensitive subject. I will now go and hide :)

 

 

Ha. This thread is actually pretty tame compared to some other tipping threads.

[parrotfeathers]

On last year's cruise I tried something different. Instead of waiting until the last night I tipped $5 per night for my sis and me. We usually have 2 drinks each.

 

To the OP just fold the bill and hand it to the server when he/she puts the drink down. No one will notice [or care].

 

I didn't notice any difference in service doing it this way or on the last night but I think I like it better doing it on a nightly basis.

[PSCruiser]

I used to tip in the DL at the end of the cruise, but now with the vouchers etc., I've changed to $1 per drink when served, no matter where I got the free drink.

To OP, it won't be awkward to hand your server a folded bill, these guys are pros at this!

My pet peeve: people that order ice water from a server, and then don't tip - for that trip the server earned nothing!

[Thetrail]

I'm American and used to tipping but I too always feel a bit awkward handing cash out in person on cruises. I love the auto gratuity because it eliminated the old tradition of handing out tip envelopes on the final evening...hated that.

 

But to your question about the DL. Our first cruise as Diamond was last December and we did enjoy the DL! We used our drink coupons in the Schooner bar most nights, but did visit the DL on about half the nights. We didn't have any special request of the Concierge but found him always friendly. We got tip envelopes from Guest Services and gave $40 to the concierge and $20 each to the two servers in the lounge. I'm curious what others do and will check back for more responses. Thanks for asking the question!

Actually the Concierge has envelops at his or her desk and will gladly provide them for you. I tip the waitstaff daily and the Concierge at the end of the week....K.O....:)

[ptf2009]

Looks like I have stirred up strong feelings judging from one or two replies to my post.

 

I can see why people avoid getting into a discussion about tipping. Sensitive subject. I will now go and hide :)

 

I used to tip in the DL at the end of the cruise, but now with the vouchers etc., I've changed to $1 per drink when served, no matter where I got the free drink.

To OP, it won't be awkward to hand your server a folded bill, these guys are pros at this!

My pet peeve: people that order ice water from a server, and then don't tip - for that trip the server earned nothing!

 

okay, now I feel really stupid. We were new diamonds on our last cruise and we didn't even think of tipping in the lounge. I guess because we just walked in 10 minutes before we had to go to dinner to get our glass of wine for dinner. We were very disappointed in the appetizers that we saw. We aren't really big drinkers so sometimes we went to a bar after dinner for another drink and did tip a dollar if they gave us a receipt. If they didn't, we didn't have any cash on us. On our next cruise we will have some bills on us.

Thanks for the good idea!

[Beachin2]

I prefer to tip the servers every night that we visit the DL/CL. We don't go every night (but do on most) and this way if we decide not to go on the last night we don't stiff anyone. If the Concierge has really done some things for us we will usually make a special stop by with an envelope for him/her.

[knittinggirl]

If the Concierge does something extra, like help us with reservations, then we tip him. For example, we wanted to cancel a shore excursion, and we decided on cancelling after shore excursions desk had closed. To get it w/in the 24 hours, we had to get our Concierge (early the next morning) handle the cancellation.

 

Other idea of tipping is rather out there. If we have several hundred diamonds and up, and can find a place to sit (or he finds us one), during cocktail hour, we tip him. But if we have to walk in, and out again because there's no where to sit, then zip.

 

On Legend, we would have overflowed the Diamond Lounge, so Sasha set us up in one of the larger bars instead on deck six. That's worth a tip!

 

We usually tip the waiters in dollar bills. Those waiters are slick at palming the tips.

Edited March 4, 2016 by knittinggirl

[cruisegirl1]

Can we get canned sodas and bottled water "to go" from the lounger or bars?

 

On two most recent cruises, November and December 2015, bar servers would not give us a bottled water as one of the three drink coupons. A glass of water was no problem. Soda or beer were allowed. We were told that bottled water is not part of the nightly cocktail list and therefore not available to go, or from any of the bars when using coupons. We thought we were given bottled water a few times, but then after we reviewed the bill, we saw we were charged for it.

 

You may have a different experience.

 

M

[MitzSea]

What drinks may we order when in the lounge and at any other bar on the ship?

[cruisegirl1]

Basic cocktails with non premium liquor, wine beer, soda . Think Bloody Mary, gin and tonic, Cosmo etc. Some bartenders may provide a few more exotic options.

 

There is a list at all the bars as well as in the CL or DL.

 

enjoy

M

[knittinggirl]

I had a waitress in the coffee bar on Celebrity completely ignore me and wait on the people around me because I wasn't holding a dollar. Forgotten to bring it, and I'd planned to tip next time. But, instead, I never went back, and the coffee bar got a bad score from us.

Edited March 4, 2016 by knittinggirl

[marci22]

I sometimes feel Americans go too far with tipping and confuses it for everyone else. Not my business what others do but I am troubled when it becomes "customary".

 

I saw a programme recently where Richard E Grant went round the top hotels in Venice where celebrities stay. He asked a waiter who were the best tippers. The answer was Americans. Always Americans. Next he asked, who are the worst? The answer was Italians.

 

Here lies the cultural divide between USA and Europe.

 

I didn't tip in Europe so you can leave me off that list. (well, I rounded up to the nearest dollar)

 

I don't know about other cruise lines, but on RC, tipping bar servers is customary. On sailings out of some other countries, I have heard that they add extra to the drink's base price, because they know you will not tip.

 

I don't think you are a 'bad tipper' if you do not tip where it isn't customary, but if you don't tip where it is customary, you are just a cheapskate.

 

ps this advice doesn't apply when service has auto gratuities applied. If you buy a drink at a bar, and the gratuity is automatically added, no need to tip additional.

Edited March 4, 2016 by marci22

[CruiseTobey]

Since we may have a different server from night to night, we (my wife and I) hand $5.00 - $10.00 a night to whoever provided the service. Funny, after the first couple of nights we seem to get the same server... ;)

 

The important thing is to give these folks something. After all, the drinks would have cost $8.00 to $10.00 each if you got them at a bar.

[tserface]

I agree with this sentiment. There's a line, somewhere, between getting a benefit from the loyalty program (I.E., it ought to be a good deal), but getting drinks for $1/each or so is still a really good deal. Even the gratuity on an $8 drink would be something like $1.40 so tipping a $1 per drink is still less than that. It's super convenient to have $1 bills in your pocket so that's why we do it that's why and we just give extra at the end (if the service was good) to make up the difference.

 

So far, the service in the Diamond Club has always been super duper.

 

Tom

 

The important thing is to give these folks something. After all, the drinks would have cost $8.00 to $10.00 each if you got them at a bar.

Edited March 4, 2016 by tserface

[tserface]

To be honest, we've been doing the $1 thing for some time and the drinks have gotten more expensive and the gratuity increased in the last couple of years so it may be time to rethink each tip just being a $1. But, we think the drinks are overpriced with some of the recent increases. And, of course, when they increase the price of the drinks the gratuity goes up incrementally.

 

Tom

 

I agree with this sentiment. There's a line, somewhere, between getting a benefit from the loyalty program (I.E., it ought to be a good deal), but getting drinks for $1/each or so is still a really good deal. Even the gratuity on an $8 drink would be something like $1.40 so tipping a $1 per drink is still less than that. It's super convenient to have $1 bills in your pocket so that's why we do it that's why and we just give extra at the end (if the service was good) to make up the difference.

 

So far, the service in the Diamond Club has always been super duper.

 

Tom

[CntPAcruiser]

I had a waitress in the coffee bar on Celebrity completely ignore me and wait on the people around me because I wasn't holding a dollar. Forgotten to bring it, and I'd planned to tip next time. But, instead, I never went back, and the coffee bar got a bad score from us.

 

The first time we tried to get our voucher drinks on our January 2016 Vision cruise, at the R Bar, the bartender poured small glasses of wine, plunked them in front of me, and didn't even wait for the tip I had ready in my hand for him. That was also the last time we went to the R Bar for drinks--service with a snarl! :)

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

We always tip at time of service. By the 2nd night, the waitress brought us our drinks before she even went to anyone's table to get their orders. As soon as we were getting low she brought us a fresh drink. They appreciate the tips, and the service is always good when they know they are getting tipped on the spot. This is why we don't wait till the end of the cruise.

[packedandready]

When getting the drinks (soda) could DH take my card and just grab 2 to go or will I have to be there?

 

Asking about both DL and the bars.

Edited March 4, 2016 by packedandready

[Baron Barracuda]

On most ships the dl have a staff of two or three who provide excellent service. They quickly learn what their regulars drink and bring them right over as soon as we sit down. We always tip at the end of the cruise. On Quantum last April there were a lot of diamonds and more than a half dozen servers who varied from night to night. Some were attentive while others would walk right by you. At the end of the cruise we put our tip in one envelope, wrote "diamond lounge staff" on it and deposited it in the extra gratuities box at guest services. Might think about switching to $1/drink for next sailing though.

[marci22]

Since we may have a different server from night to night, we (my wife and I) hand $5.00 - $10.00 a night to whoever provided the service. Funny, after the first couple of nights we seem to get the same server...

 

I have asked them about who gets the tip as we usually tip nightly and they said it doesn't matter, they share the tip pool. (for the lounge)

Edited March 4, 2016 by marci22

[CruisinCat31]

After our cruise in March on Voyager, we will be Diamond members for our next cruise. As we will be newbies to Diamond lounge, I was wondering what is the "norm" regarding tipping the staff in this lounge. Being Australian we are a bit shy when it comes to tipping - that why I love the daily auto grats so I don't have to hand anyone actual money as I find it embarrassing, yet I know it is so much part of the American culture that most of you would be fine with doing this. I really would like to tip the staff in DL though as I have read that they are fantastic. Not keen to give small tips every night so any suggestions on how much to slip the staff once only towards the end of the cruise?

 

Hey Korky, you would be better to ask this question on the Australia board if it is an Australian cruise. Very different. As you would know, a gratuity is automatically added to drinks when you purchase them in cruises out of Aus. In the Diamond Lounge you could tip if you want to or if you receive exceptional service. You don't have to tip, the staff know it is not customary in Australia, but they still always appreciate it if you do. You will still get the same level of service whether you do or don't.

 

I have read some comments on this thread that the staff must hate working in countries outside of the US where it isn't customary to tip. I had just that conversation with one of the Diamond lounge bartenders on my last cruise and he said he was dreading getting moved to Australian cruises as he thought he would earn less, but he loves it as the passengers are friendly and easy going, and much less demanding. Plus he gets guaranteed gratuities for purchased drinks.

 

Congrats on becoming Diamond, have fun in the lounge :)

[kernow]

I have read some comments on this thread that the staff must hate working in countries outside of the US where it isn't customary to tip. I had just that conversation with one of the Diamond lounge bartenders on my last cruise and he said he was dreading getting moved to Australian cruises as he thought he would earn less, but he loves it as the passengers are friendly and easy going, and much less demanding. Plus he gets guaranteed gratuities for purchased drinks.

 

)

 

We've had similar conversations with staff on European cruises and heard the same, plus they've said that there are plenty of Americans that don't tip and quite a few of other nationalities that do!

 

Julie