Gratuities in Specialty Restaurants?

[cjdixon4]

Should gratuities be paid in the Specialty restaurants? I've been told by some that it's part of the fee for the meal, others have said it's not. What do you do? Will be eating in Sabors on my upcoming sailing.

[Ourusualbeach]

Gratuities are included in the cost of the specialty restaurant, however many do tip over and above that included amount.

[cjdixon4]

Thanks, I'd heard that and it certainly makes sense. I just want to do the right thing by the servers.

[Thetrail]

Should gratuities be paid in the Specialty restaurants? I've been told by some that it's part of the fee for the meal, others have said it's not. What do you do? Will be eating in Sabors on my upcoming sailing.

For myself I treat it as any land based restaurant and always tip after the meal....K.O.:)

[cruiseguy1016]

While I agree it's always nice to tip the wait staff wherever I eat, I struggle with tipping in this situation. We pay gratuities on board that cover your wait staff in the dining venues. Then you pay a fee to dine at the specialty restaurant and that fee covers tips. So, if you choose to dine in a specialty restaurant, you will have tipped the wait staff twice already before you even sit down. Then you are supposed to tip them again after the meal? I know the post meal tip is not required but I find it difficult to walk out of a restaurant without leaving a tip.

[Clarea]

While I agree it's always nice to tip the wait staff wherever I eat, I struggle with tipping in this situation. We pay gratuities on board that cover your wait staff in the dining venues. Then you pay a fee to dine at the specialty restaurant and that fee covers tips. So, if you choose to dine in a specialty restaurant, you will have tipped the wait staff twice already before you even sit down. Then you are supposed to tip them again after the meal? I know the post meal tip is not required but I find it difficult to walk out of a restaurant without leaving a tip.

I don't believe the wait staff in specialty restaurants receive any tips from the MDR pool.

[cb at sea]

The waiters in the "specialty" restaurants are covered by the FEE you pay..not by your daily gratuities....

 

If you order drinks in the specialties, then you PAY for those drinks, and tip is included in the price.

 

There is no need to tip more, although folks seem to forget how much they've already tipped! You can tip more, if you feel it's needed.

 

This is NOT a "land-based" restaurant...it's a cruiseship, which is supposed to be "cashless"!

[minn0315]

When we were dining at Chops in March, there was a statement at the bottom of our guest check, something to this effect: "Your waiter receives a small gratuity for your service. Please feel free to add a gratuity to show your appreciation for the service you received this evening".

 

We also tip as if we were land based, because, like Bob, in our opinion these specialty waiters don't get the shared pool tips like MDR.

 

I tip 20% of the bill. I enjoy the experience and the service.

[nbsjcruiser]

For myself I treat it as any land based restaurant and always tip after the meal....K.O.:)

 

Well, there's a key difference between a land based restaurant and the specialty restaurant on a ship. When they first brought these specialty restaurants in for a fee of $20, the cruise line was very clear. That $20 (or was it originally $25?) was a tip to the waiters. We never tipped above that because it made no sense to tip the tip. Now however it seems things have changed. Some feel a need to add additional tip - there is no need to do so. If you get exceptional service and you want to do so then go ahead but its not required since the money you pay for that specialty restaurant has been designed to go directly to the waiters anyway.

[leisuretraveler223]

While I agree it's always nice to tip the wait staff wherever I eat, I struggle with tipping in this situation.

 

Definitely not worth a "struggle". Not even really worth discussing. Do it. Don't do it. No matter. Since they're already included supposedly, you can do whatever makes you comfortable. But no need to "struggle".

[gerif]

Well, there's a key difference between a land based restaurant and the specialty restaurant on a ship. When they first brought these specialty restaurants in for a fee of $20, the cruise line was very clear. That $20 (or was it originally $25?) was a tip to the waiters. We never tipped above that because it made no sense to tip the tip. Now however it seems things have changed. Some feel a need to add additional tip - there is no need to do so. If you get exceptional service and you want to do so then go ahead but its not required since the money you pay for that specialty restaurant has been designed to go directly to the waiters anyway.

 

The fee to eat in a specialty restaurant has NEVER been the tip. Seriously? Even cb eventually figured that out. Why would anyone believe that the surcharge for all those upscale ingredients cooked to order would be a tip? Makes absolutely no sense at all. Now, there always has been a built in tip in that surcharge, but I'd venture to say it's no more than a few dollars. As long as service is good, which it almost always is, we tip extra.

[George C]

We normally tip, 5 to 20 depending on service (per couple)

[tgloersen]

So my question is, if the fee covers the tip, how much of the fee in % does the waitstaff get?

 

This would help me as i plan on dining at Chops on the next cruise, i want to be sure i leave what i feel the service is worth which could be more than what the fee supplies.

 

TG

[Clarea]

So my question is, if the fee covers the tip, how much of the fee in % does the waitstaff get?...

Not disclosed by the cruise line.

[widallas]

For a $20 fee pp a 20%tip would only be $4....I would pay that for good service and a bit more for great service, but I only eat a few times at specialty places. If I felt the service was terrible I would not feel bad about not tipping, but we've been lucky with great service so far.

 

 

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[Pratique]

We normally tip, 5 to 20 depending on service (per couple)

 

This seems like a simple and reasonable way to figure the additional tip.

[leisuretraveler223]

So my question is, if the fee covers the tip, how much of the fee in % does the waitstaff get?

 

This question comes up in a variety of fashions. People wonder how the tips are pooled, shared, etc... And I always have the same answer. Frankly, it's none of your business.

 

I own a business and employ a number of people. If someone doing business with me was about to pay for services and stopped to ask "How much of this goes to that nice receptionist who helped me?", I'd think they were an idiot.

 

These people have all chosen to do this job. Tipping is YOUR opportunity to offer a token of appreciation for the service provided. What you DO NOT get to do is dictate the policy the establishment uses to determine how that expression is distributed.

[cruiseguy1016]

I don't believe the wait staff in specialty restaurants receive any tips from the MDR pool.

 

Back in the day, when you used to hand your server an envelope at the end of the cruise, my understanding that was that tips were not pooled and the money went directly to your server. People were told to tip the Windjammer staff because they didn't share the MDR tips. Since RCI has initiated "mandatory" tipping, I was lead to believe that gratuities for the dining staff is shared by ALL dining staff in ALL dining venues. Maybe I'm wrong?

[tgloersen]

This question comes up in a variety of fashions. People wonder how the tips are pooled, shared, etc... And I always have the same answer. Frankly, it's none of your business.

 

I own a business and employ a number of people. If someone doing business with me was about to pay for services and stopped to ask "How much of this goes to that nice receptionist who helped me?", I'd think they were an idiot.

 

These people have all chosen to do this job. Tipping is YOUR opportunity to offer a token of appreciation for the service provided. What you DO NOT get to do is dictate the policy the establishment uses to determine how that expression is distributed.

 

Frankly replying, this is not your business for starters. Secondly i ask because maybe i think $4,00 is not enough or $10 is too much, i don't see anything wrong with the question.

 

My thing is to is to make sure the servers get tipped what they deserve, not what businesses (Possibly yours) think they should get.

 

The person getting the service should decide what the tip shall be not the business that is just allot of BS and a way for the business to pocket more money for there stupid BMW's. However this does not excuse the real idiots that think servers deserve no tip at all!

 

TG

[spookwife]

While I agree it's always nice to tip the wait staff wherever I eat, I struggle with tipping in this situation. We pay gratuities on board that cover your wait staff in the dining venues. Then you pay a fee to dine at the specialty restaurant and that fee covers tips. So, if you choose to dine in a specialty restaurant, you will have tipped the wait staff twice already before you even sit down. Then you are supposed to tip them again after the meal? I know the post meal tip is not required but I find it difficult to walk out of a restaurant without leaving a tip.

 

the daily gratuities covers meals in INCLUDED venues: Buffet, MDR, Park Cafe, etc. NOT any specialty dining. think about it: have you ever seen the waitstaff of Chops anywhere else during the day? nope. but you have seen your assistant waiter squirting hand sanitizer at you as you enter the buffet and your waiter pouring your OJ at breakfast in the MDR.

 

a few years ago someone posted a breakdown of where the fee in specialty goes, and IIRC about $5 or so went to the servers. we always tipped based on what we feel the cost of a similar meal on land would be and tip based on 15% of that cost.

[readytogo2]

Obviously every person has a different take on tipping. Seems there is a great deal of speculation of who is included in the tipping pool and I'm pretty sure nobody outside of the cruise industry really knows. So I say tip the way that you individually feel you should.

[leisuretraveler223]

Frankly replying, this is not your business for starters. Secondly i ask because maybe i think $4,00 is not enough or $10 is too much, i don't see anything wrong with the question.

 

My thing is to is to make sure the servers get tipped what they deserve, not what businesses (Possibly yours) think they should get.

 

The person getting the service should decide what the tip shall be not the business that is just allot of BS and a way for the business to pocket more money for there stupid BMW's. However this does not excuse the real idiots that think servers deserve no tip at all!

 

TG

 

So, when you go out to eat, do you inquire how they handle the tips? Do you ask if they are pooled? What percentage do they give the runners, the kitchen staff, the host or hostess, the bartenders?

 

My point isn't an antagonizing "none of your business". If the business was truly handling this in an unjust way, it is less probable the workers would put up with it. If I don't make it worthwhile for that lovely receptionist to do her job, she'll bolt. Perhaps I do it through an excellent wage. Maybe I have outstanding benefits available. Or maybe there is an attractive and incentivizing bonus structure.

 

How staff members on cruise ships are paid is more or less a mystery. There are a lot of people around here who claim to "know", yet they all tell different stories. So it's unlikely any answer you get will have a high degree of confidence. So rather than try and figure it out, just look at the experience and give whatever amount seems appropriate.

 

Oh, and I drive a GMC, not a BMW!:p

[tinkertwo]

The waiters in the "specialty" restaurants are covered by the FEE you pay..not by your daily gratuities....

 

If you order drinks in the specialties, then you PAY for those drinks, and tip is included in the price.

 

There is no need to tip more, although folks seem to forget how much they've already tipped! You can tip more, if you feel it's needed.

 

This is NOT a "land-based" restaurant...it's a cruiseship, which is supposed to be "cashless"!

Does your drink package not cover what you order in the restaurants? I'm new to RCL so I want to make sure I have it right.

Thanks.

[Clarea]

Does your drink package not cover what you order in the restaurants? I'm new to RCL so I want to make sure I have it right.

Thanks.

Yes, drink packages are honored in restaurants.

[maryjaden]

I always tip extra in a specialty restaurant. About 25% if I paid for it myself. However if it is a comp dinner (from casino or TA, etc) I will tip more as the actual dinner was free to me. Just a personal preference.