tipping in specialty restaurants

[tommy47]

when everyone eats in a specialty restaurant what is your opinion on tipping? they bring you a slip to sign and the waiter stands there while you sign and there is a spot on the slip for a tip so you definetly feel guilty if you don't tip. what does everyone do? thank you

[Eagle_and_hawk]

We usually leave a $20 cash tip when we eat dinner in the speciality restaurants. The service we have always enjoyed is worth the extra cost of dining in there.

[weedpindle]

delete

Edited January 30, 2017 by weedpindle

[XBGuy]

I'll be darned. We dine in the specialty restaurants quite often, and I don't think I've ever had a server hover over me while I sign the check. Then again, when he/she delivers the check to me, as often as not, I ask for a refill of my coffee and he/she scurries off.

 

But I guess that doesn't answer your question. I always leave a tip. Sometimes I just add it to the check. Sometimes I leave cash. Either way works.

[f-mattox]

I always leave a cash tip instead of adding it to the bill; I think they appreciate this.

[mdgary]

I don't believe a tip is expected but I do leave a $20 cash tip as well.

 

 

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[f-mattox]

I don't believe a tip is expected but I do leave a $20 cash tip as well.

 

 

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The "Service Charge" you pay for the dinner is technically the "tip;" but like you, I always leave at least a $20. When you figure what a meal like that would cost in a restaurant on land the service charge plus a 20 barely seems like enough.

[seapals2]

We always thought the extra payment to dine in these restaurants covered the service charge as the waiters would not be included in the daily gratuity charge.

Having paid the cruise cost which includes all meals and then pay on top to eat in the speciality restaurant and then to pay more service charge when you have already paid a daily gratuity and not dining in the MDR is going a step too far.

Last cruise on HAL was $50 per person. I think that should include the tip!!!

[compozer]

We have had many waiters in the specialty restaurants tell us they don't want us to tip.

 

We wait to leave something until the last night because we do eat there often.

[LARGIN]

If you tip in cash it goes directly to the waiter. If you add it to the bill, it goes into the pool..

[sunsetbeachgal]

We leave a cash tip so it goes directly to the server

 

 

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[dickinson]

We always thought the extra payment to dine in these restaurants covered the service charge as the waiters would not be included in the daily gratuity charge.

Having paid the cruise cost which includes all meals and then pay on top to eat in the speciality restaurant and then to pay more service charge when you have already paid a daily gratuity and not dining in the MDR is going a step too far.

Last cruise on HAL was $50 per person. I think that should include the tip!!!

 

My understanding is that all waiters are part of the tip pool (daily gratuity).

[Colo Cruiser]

$20, they work their tail off.

 

Have NEVER had a waiter hover either. :rolleyes:

[pris993]

on our last cruise, 10 days we eat at the Crown Grill the entire trip... doing so we only order a salad and main dish...coffee and a scope of ice cream for dessert. We tipped at the end of the cruise 10%. That would be a lot less than $20 a night but we thought it was a fair.

[OCruisers]

We leave a ca$h tip. Normally, $20.

[cb at sea]

The fee you pay INCLUDES the tip. It's totally up to you if you want to leave more.

[St Paul Girl]

We have always assumed that the fee for the specialty restaurant covered the "tip" and have NEVER tipped additional funds. What ever you feel comfortable with should guide your discretion. We have always received the same service in the MDR, and we do NOT leave additional tips until the end of the cruise if warranted.

We are booked in Club Class for our next 14 night South American cruise and we have NO plans to visit the "so-called" specialty restaurants.

Happy Cruising

[vmom]

Leaving a tip at the specialty restaurants vs land restaurants is not really a fair comparison.

 

In land restaurants in the US, servers rely on the tips for their pay. There is no service charge included in the meal cost.

 

On the cruise ship, the cover charge includes a tip, so any extra tip is purely up to the diners, the servers are still receiving a tip.

[dtb55]

We usually leave a $20 cash tip when we eat dinner in the speciality restaurants. The service we have always enjoyed is worth the extra cost of dining in there.

 

 

 

Ditto

 

 

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[AVCruzers]

I am glad that someone asked this question as I wondered about tipping. Once we added a tip. but it was never taken out of our account.

[compozer]

I haven't noticed many people tipping. I really think most people think it is included in the cost of the dinner.

[riclop]

when everyone eats in a specialty restaurant what is your opinion on tipping? they bring you a slip to sign and the waiter stands there while you sign and there is a spot on the slip for a tip so you definetly feel guilty if you don't tip. what does everyone do? thank you

 

We tip extra if we get very good service.

[caribill]

a) The waitstaff in the specialty restaurants are included in the tipping pool that the "auto-tip" goes into.

 

b) No part of the charge for the specialty restaurant goes to the waitstaff as a gratuity. This is per financial supervisory personnel on Princess ships.

 

c) Just as you might give an extra tip to your cabin steward or main dining room staff, you are also able to give an extra tip to the specialty restaurant staff who serve you.

[seapals2]

Similar to the spa treatment prices ... should you tip over and above the additional service charge added ... not sure if that's an extra 15%. Personally I don't but know many who do. Adding an automatic service charge for a spa treatment is certainly not the norm in land based spas in the UK. Neither is an automatic restaurant service charge other than for larger groups. If a restaurant said that service charge was included at home it's unlikely we would tip more. Perhaps it's a culture thing that we haven't been accustomed to.

We have never cruised on ships that say all gratuities are included but guess on those there will be passengers that still give extra tips.

Having worked in a hospital environment until retirement and been happy just to see patients smile after treatment and maybe get tipped the odd sweetie or card I find the whole service tipping thing alien.

[Grego]

Here's another vote for leaving a cash tip, usually at least $20 depending on the performance.