YC dining tips question..Cash tips (in addition to auto grats)

[Fogfog]

Regarding cash tips in addition to those already charged to the onboard account...

 

Typically we tip the cabin staff and the bartenders, Maitre D and servers/bartenders, bus-ers/water/bev etc etc who have made our sailings special.

Since we'll be dining in the YC dining... how many staff should we expect to know over the course of several weeks?  

On our sailings in Sept (another line) we were able to secure the same tables in 2 venues for those weeks and got to know everyone well.

As far as our butler, we have the same stateroom for the sailings

 

Have to make a bank run for cash as part of the pre-trip packing/prep and want to gauge if we will be seated in the same area over all of that time or if the Maitre D moves folks around.

 

TYIA for thoughts

 

 

[Kmkub]

Just off the Divina today. As a guide, we had a main waiter and a main bread/beverage server. Others chipped in from time to time, but it was mostly the two of them.

[Fogfog]

36 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

Just off the Divina today. As a guide, we had a main waiter and a main bread/beverage server. Others chipped in from time to time, but it was mostly the two of them.

TY

Helpful! 

 

Sept sailing on another line

we had Maitre D., Asst Maitre D, Server, Asst Server, Wine Steward, Bus/Water each night just for dinner!

The joy and gratefulness of the bus/water man was humbling...truly humbling...😭 And reminded us about how a tip can be a days wage or more...

 

Cruising is always a privilege and I hope we are never so jaded to forget it

Generosity from the pax to appreciate those who work so hard can never be overstated

 

[Kmkub]

Oh, I wasn't counting those people. Yes, there was a hostess who seated us, and the manager who greeted us each day (and made the pasta dishes,) as well.

[lovemycruisetoo]

We were able to get the same table for 8 every breakfast, lunch and dinner. The maitre’d just requested that we let him know if we were dining elsewhere so he could sit others there. 

 

They always had a bottle of our wine ready by the table and knew each one’s drink.
We also had the same two servers each meal. We tipped extra to them as a table (chipped in same amount) and the maitre’d. These we tipped privately - the concierge, butler, assistant butler and a few of the bar servers in the lounge. 
 

 

[Fogfog]

@lovemycruisetoo

 

TY

Thats super helpful!

[reedprincess]

If you find a dining team you like, you can request to be sat there each evening..  or you can opt to move around and try different areas, your choice. 

 

There's main waiter, assistant waiter (often 2 working same section, one brining food/drinks, other serving bread, turning tables, other requests) sommelier, maitre'd (who may be seating you or managing or making pasta or dessert) and host/hostess aka assistant maitre'd doing some of before also..

There's also butler, junior butler, concierge (2 or 3), bar staff, pool deck staff, etc.  Who you may tip extra and how much is entirely discretionary.. some tip extra, some don't. It's not expected, but it is very appreciated..

Edited January 29, 2020 by reedprincess

[emmas gran]

When on Meraviglia in YC for NY to Miami we saw the Sommelier twice in 13 nights -apparently there are 2 for the whole ship. The assistant waiters served wine.

[Fogfog]

6 hours ago, emmas gran said:

When on Meraviglia in YC for NY to Miami we saw the Sommelier twice in 13 nights -apparently there are 2 for the whole ship. The assistant waiters served wine.

Unfortunate.

There is a big difference between one who holds the Som credential and "wine stewards" who just pour what has been designated for that evening. 

We have Prem + bev package for a reason. 

 

 

[Kmkub]

10 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

Unfortunate.

There is a big difference between one who holds the Som credential and "wine stewards" who just pour what has been designated for that evening. 

We have Prem + bev package for a reason. 

 

 

Interesting. If there was a Sommelier in Le Muse on Divina during our cruise last week, we never saw him or her.

 

[emmas gran]

Premium plus didn't make a difference to a lot of folks seeing the Sommelier!!

[Fogfog]

1 hour ago, emmas gran said:

Premium plus didn't make a difference to a lot of folks seeing the Sommelier!!

Why so angry??

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Prem +  does impact what you choose in your package...or if you are unlimited in your selection

[emmas gran]

4 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

Why so angry??

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Prem +  does impact what you choose in your package...or if you are unlimited in your selection

I am not angry just trying to advise you of the situation we encountered, won’t try to give you advice again

[reedprincess]

9 hours ago, emmas gran said:

When on Meraviglia in YC for NY to Miami we saw the Sommelier twice in 13 nights -apparently there are 2 for the whole ship. The assistant waiters served wine.

Thats unfortunate. You could have asked to see the sommelier.

We saw him every night of our 14 night cruise that we ate in the YC dining room on Seaside. Andrew - he was fantastic. And we had only regular YC drink package, he still helped us through the included wines, ans we did soring for a couple bottles off the oay menu 

He was excellent, and so personable..

YMMV 

[emmas gran]

5 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Thats unfortunate. You could have asked to see the sommelier.

We saw him every night of our 14 night cruise that we ate in the YC dining room on Seaside. Andrew - he was fantastic. And we had only regular YC drink package, he still helped us through the included wines, ans we did soring for a couple bottles off the oay menu 

He was excellent, and so personable..

YMMV 

Thank you it was disappointing after Preziosa and Splendida when we had a sommelier who was in the YC restaurant most of the time.

[Norwich Cruiser]

9 hours ago, Kmkub said:

Interesting. If there was a Sommelier in Le Muse on Divina during our cruise last week, we never saw him or her.

 

Same here.

We've had the premier + wine package but never saw the sommelier didn’t bother us one bit.

On other occasions had a regular package and the sommelier was around and helpful.

We've never found it makes any difference and so it shouldn’t.  

[Fogfog]

9 hours ago, emmas gran said:

I am not angry just trying to advise you of the situation we encountered, won’t try to give you advice again

What is your advice on the topic?

Cash grats on top of auto grats... and who did you feel warranted it?

[Fogfog]

Lets get back on track

The cash grats in YC... 

 

[eastoftheboston]

I individually tipped the assistant waiters in smaller bills at each meal, and gave the main waiter a lump-sum tip at the end of the cruise. The maitre'd (sp) I didn't tip because he said hi once or twice but really didn't do much for me otherwise. The bartenders/servers in topsail and on the One Deck i tipped a few dollars each time they brought me drinks, with the one or two outstanding ones getting a lump sum tip at the end of the week. 

Backing up what others said, they'll try to seat you in the same section each night so you'll have the same team serving you. You can definitely switch around if you want. One night our section was full so we opted to go to another section instead of waiting for one to open in our normal waiter's section. Wrong move. When you've got a good waitstaff team, stick with them! 

[frank808]

On 1/29/2020 at 11:39 AM, reedprincess said:

Thats unfortunate. You could have asked to see the sommelier.

We saw him every night of our 14 night cruise that we ate in the YC dining room on Seaside. Andrew - he was fantastic. And we had only regular YC drink package, he still helped us through the included wines, ans we did soring for a couple bottles off the oay menu 

He was excellent, and so personable..

YMMV 

No sommelier on our Seaside cruise July 2018 for 2 weeks.  Hope there is one to recommend wine pairings when we board this june on Seaside. 

[nednrom]

1 hour ago, frank808 said:

No sommelier on our Seaside cruise July 2018 for 2 weeks.  Hope there is one to recommend wine pairings when we board this june on Seaside. 

Although we saw the Som only one night on the Meraviglia, I appreciated that the YC menu actually included pairings under the title Som specials every night.  Not seeing the Som didn't bother us at all.

[phissy]

We were on Meraviglia YC last spring. European cruise and mostly European passengers.  Did not see tipping during cruise/dining room/YC Top Sail. We tipped when room service delivered morning meal. .  Our Butler was MIA for most of the cruise, except the last night. Our room Steward did all the heavy lifting during our cruise and we tipped him accordingly. When we disembarked, our room steward asked concierge if he could walk us out to our car service. We had incredible service. Did not tip individual waiters as we had a different one every night. Tipped concierges, YC Manager and Luigi, Restaurant Manager. Most importantly , we thanked each one who assisted us during our cruise in person. I think a heartfelt Thank You goes along way.

Edited February 2, 2020 by phissy

[Bossa Nova]

On 1/29/2020 at 8:41 AM, Kmkub said:

Interesting. If there was a Sommelier in Le Muse on Divina during our cruise last week, we never saw him or her.

Filippo was our very expert sommelier on the Jan 17-28 Divina cruise. He attended our Le Muse table lunch and dinner upon request, but he split time with the main dining rooms.