Tipping in CK

[Krazyfuntimes]

Do you tip every night you eat there or just add extras at the end?

[Cigar King]

I do every night. We didn't always have the same staff.

[topnole]

Do you tip every night you eat there or just add extras at the end?

 

Every meal for us. Nothing too crazy. But a dinner for four and we would do 20. So 5 per person for dinner. Since lunch is quicker and easier maybe half that much. Just depends on service level, etc. For breakfast we do the same as lunch. It isn’t required and I have noticed some that don’t tip. However, if you tip a little bit they sure seem to appreciate it and our servers have treated us so well that I continue doing as described above.

 

At the end if we have a typical server we may leave extra on the last night. Again it just depends. We also tip the SL bartenders per order. So I leave a dollar if I order a couple of beers. Maybe two bucks if I order two mixed drinks.

 

Sometime I don’t have or forget cash (for breakfast or a drink) and they never blink an eye and realize I’ll catch them later. So don’t stress if you want to tip but forget to bring cash.

[Lmm79]

On our first cruise we ate almost exclusively at CK (6 of 7 nights). We gave some money to our favorite CK staff at the end but nothing close to a big portion of our automatic tips which I presume went to MDR staff we never used. When we got home I wondered if I should have gone through gone through the hassle of removing the tips and giving half that money to CK staff and the other half to our room attendant. We have 2 kids in our suite so our prepaid tips are pretty substantial.

[DShock]

We tip each night as well ($10.00 for two, $20-25 for 4) because you do move around and get different servers. We had our favorite and tried to get table in his area but it wasn't always possible. For the bar servers, as we had drinks before dinner, it depended. There were many Pinnacles on our b2b and the bar staff tended to focus on them, literally, and often I had to get up, walk to the bar, and either order a drink there or ask them to send one over, so on those occasions I did not tip. We tipped the head guy but did not tip his assistant...she always acted like we were a pain because we pushed getting a certain table. So like everything, if you are happy with service reward, if not don't.

[Merion_Mom]

The ship knows that you are eating dinners in Coastal Kitchen. A portion of your daily gratuities goes there.

 

As to the original question: I leave a large lump sum in an envelope with the manager and ask him/her to distribute it.

[truffles2]

That is what we do also.

[hgiles]

We did the Allure two weeks ago. I tipped some for drinks in the Coastal Kitchen and left $20 every evening with dinner.

We also left the maitre'd a tip at the end.

[John&LaLa]

Oasis has 7 waiters, 1 hostess, and a manager. We tip at the end and everyone gets an envelope. Depending on who we liked or waited on us the most determines the amount.

 

Pay as you go for SL staff, but they pool the cash.

 

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[jamesr3939]

I tipped a couple of staff who had been attentive on the third day. Then tipped at the end of the cruise. I never tipped after each meal.

[SeaTeach]

I do every night. We didn't always have the same staff.

Ditto

[Muushka]

Do you tip every night you eat there or just add extras at the end?

 

I'm rather new to RCI. We will be dining pretty much every meal at CK. We have already paid for the gratuities prior to boarding next week. Does everyone tip the amounts mentioned in addition to the auto grats?

[Krazyfuntimes]

Thank you everyone.

[ATG]

I'm rather new to RCI. We will be dining pretty much every meal at CK. We have already paid for the gratuities prior to boarding next week. Does everyone tip the amounts mentioned in addition to the auto grats?

 

We were told that CK should be considered our MDR by our genie. They always ask your cabin number, so they know where you eat. I took that to mean the dining room portion of the tip would go to CK. If service is extraordinary I will tip extra, but usually not.

[yuvraj]

I'm rather new to RCI. We will be dining pretty much every meal at CK. We have already paid for the gratuities prior to boarding next week. Does everyone tip the amounts mentioned in addition to the auto grats?

 

No I don't. I tip only in appreciation of exceptional service. The rest I expect to be covered by the auto gratuities.

 

Unlike some, I don't deliberate who gets what, feel obliged to tip for someone simply serving me a drink etc. I do tip if I ask for something special and server goes out of their way to make it special. Whether it is a question of serving a drink that is not generally available or making sure that special dinning requests are handled with care, attention and diligence.

 

I don't pre-tip in anticipation of better service. Always at the end and as a thank you and only to those who have earned it. I don't get hung up about whether they keep the money for themselves or pool it.

 

Finally, I try not to pass judgement on what others do but get slightly annoyed when other people who live by different standards seem to set a different norm to what I am comfortable with. Tipping in CK and DL are examples where CC contributors sometimes create a convention which make me uncomfortable and goes beyond respecting individual discretion.

[topnole]

We were told that CK should be considered our MDR by our genie. They always ask your cabin number, so they know where you eat. I took that to mean the dining room portion of the tip would go to CK. If service is extraordinary I will tip extra, but usually not.

 

Not sure this is true? I’m very curious. You have some type of mdr assignment so what happens to that? We had early last time but never went.

[topnole]

No I don't. I tip only in appreciation of exceptional service. The rest I expect to be covered by the auto gratuities.

 

Unlike some, I don't deliberate who gets what, feel obliged to tip for someone simply serving me a drink etc. I do tip if I ask for something special and server goes out of their way to make it special. Whether it is a question of serving a drink that is not generally available or making sure that special dinning requests are handled with care, attention and diligence.

 

I don't pre-tip in anticipation of better service. Always at the end and as a thank you and only to those who have earned it. I don't get hung up about whether they keep the money for themselves or pool it.

 

Finally, I try not to pass judgement on what others do but get slightly annoyed when other people who live by different standards seem to set a different norm to what I am comfortable with. Tipping in CK and DL are examples where CC contributors sometimes create a convention which make me uncomfortable and goes beyond respecting individual discretion.

 

I’m curious, where are you from?

[cb at sea]

Your daily tips cover those who serve you. If you feel the need to tip additionally, that's fine. It's not expected or required.

[Dan1973]

No I don't. I tip only in appreciation of exceptional service. The rest I expect to be covered by the auto gratuities.

 

Unlike some, I don't deliberate who gets what, feel obliged to tip for someone simply serving me a drink etc. I do tip if I ask for something special and server goes out of their way to make it special. Whether it is a question of serving a drink that is not generally available or making sure that special dinning requests are handled with care, attention and diligence.

 

I don't pre-tip in anticipation of better service. Always at the end and as a thank you and only to those who have earned it. I don't get hung up about whether they keep the money for themselves or pool it.

 

Finally, I try not to pass judgement on what others do but get slightly annoyed when other people who live by different standards seem to set a different norm to what I am comfortable with. Tipping in CK and DL are examples where CC contributors sometimes create a convention which make me uncomfortable and goes beyond respecting individual discretion.

 

 

Totally agree with this. As I have pre-paid my gratuities I would only tip extra for exceptional service. Using the CL lounge as an example the service we received there was outstanding and the 2 waiters and Concierge got a healthy tip on our last night.

 

As I'm from the UK tipping isn't the norm and certainly not in the amounts that they expect in the US, but tipping on top of paying gratuities for normal service does seem a bit much.

[yuvraj]

I’m curious, where are you from?

 

UK.

 

My posting perhaps presents a more extreme position than reality. I usually go with my heart and how I feel. I have in the past over tipped and recently tried to find a right balance where I am not pushed into a guilt trip of conforming with others.

[gerif]

Not sure this is true? I’m very curious. You have some type of mdr assignment so what happens to that? We had early last time but never went.

If you knew you were not going to use it, it would have been courteous to inform the Maitre D so that someone else wanting that time slot could be accommodated. MTD might be a better dining choice next time.

[topnole]

If you knew you were not going to use it, it would have been courteous to inform the Maitre D so that someone else wanting that time slot could be accommodated. MTD might be a better dining choice next time.

 

Well we wanted the option to go to the mdr and we had our 2 year with us. There were zero early MTD times available and with a 23 month old you eat early, period. I don’t think it was rude at all to keep my options open given we had no guarantees on our CK dining times. We had a few nights where they couldnt promise us a dining time we needed in the CK. So not to keep our mdr options open would’ve been stupid. And since I paid for a suite and the privilege of using the SL/CK and the mdr that is what I did.

 

I’m sure lots do this when they eat at specialty restaurants all week.

 

So hence my curiosity on the auto tipping in this situation.

[Muushka]

No I don't. I tip only in appreciation of exceptional service. The rest I expect to be covered by the auto gratuities.

 

Unlike some, I don't deliberate who gets what, feel obliged to tip for someone simply serving me a drink etc. I do tip if I ask for something special and server goes out of their way to make it special. Whether it is a question of serving a drink that is not generally available or making sure that special dinning requests are handled with care, attention and diligence.

 

I don't pre-tip in anticipation of better service. Always at the end and as a thank you and only to those who have earned it. I don't get hung up about whether they keep the money for themselves or pool it.

 

Finally, I try not to pass judgement on what others do but get slightly annoyed when other people who live by different standards seem to set a different norm to what I am comfortable with. Tipping in CK and DL are examples where CC contributors sometimes create a convention which make me uncomfortable and goes beyond respecting individual discretion.

 

Thank you for sharing. And I agree 100%. We usually cruise on Celebrity. While gratuities are automatic, we usually tipped extra to those who gave excellent service. But after reading some of the tip amounts here on this thread, I wasn't sure what was expected on RCI.

 

One thing I did notice on X is that when in a cocktail provided situation, in order to get good service, giving a tip really made the experience much better.

[yuvraj]

Well we wanted the option to go to the mdr and we had our 2 year with us. There were zero early MTD times available and with a 23 month old you eat early, period. I don’t think it was rude at all to keep my options open given we had no guarantees on our CK dining times. We had a few nights where they couldnt promise us a dining time we needed in the CK. So not to keep our mdr options open would’ve been stupid. And since I paid for a suite and the privilege of using the SL/CK and the mdr that is what I did.

 

I’m sure lots do this when they eat at specialty restaurants all week.

 

So hence my curiosity on the auto tipping in this situation.

 

If you are in a suite, you have priority access to MDR (on oasis class) if you are on MTD. You don't need to join the line or pre-book your dinning slot. There is a separate desk at the entrance for suite guests and you are seated immediately.

 

We were automatically put on MTD and believed that was normal for all guests as many are expected to eat in CK.

 

Only other class that has CK is Quantum. Probably works differently on these ships so I would agree that you would want to secure your slots. I often find that if slots are not available to book, concierge can help to get what you want.

[goodboy]

We sailed OASIS OTS 02/04/18. We asked guest relations if dining gratuities that were pre-paid or placed on ship account daily covered servers in the Coastal Kitchen. We were told NO! They were very definite that Coastal Kitchen servers etc. did not receive any portion of the automatic gratuities. We were surprised by this as we were previously told they did.

Sue