Yacht Club Tipping

[MAMA "B"]

Who do you normally tip in the Yacht club?  And approximately how much?  I know everyone has different amounts, I am just looking for a ballpark.

Want to make sure we have adequate cash on hand.

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, MAMA "B" said:

Who do you normally tip in the Yacht club?  And approximately how much?  I know everyone has different amounts, I am just looking for a ballpark.

Want to make sure we have adequate cash on hand.

LOL, be prepared for the whole spectrum of answers...there is no "ballpark"...

[Two Wheels Only]

Tip whomever you want to tip and however much you want to tip. 

 

Nobody on the forum can give you an answer that is best for you. 

[rusky123]

So difficult to give a ballpark figure when so many nationalities on board. Some countries tip a lot, other nations do not. 
Just go with what you feel appropriate, all tips will be appreciated.

[carlmm]

Listen to MSC, here from their website:

"MSC does not recommend tipping individual members of staff."

 

Just pay the suggested, and conveniently added to your bill, service charge:

"During your cruise, you will meet staff throughout the ship who provide you with excellent service. They are supported by just as many staff and crew who work hard behind the scenes to ensure you enjoy every moment on board. For your convenience, MSC Cruises will automatically add a daily Hotel Service Charge to your shipboard account, based on your chosen itinerary and the number of days for which the services are actually provided."

Edited April 12, 2022 by carlmm

[morpheusofthesea]

The problem with tipping in advance is basing your tip on the assumption that the service provider will be your service provider for the entire trip. Did not know our maitre d' was a 'temp' or waiter is repositioned to another venue, or steward is quarantined. Find tipping invaluable in the beginning for tour guides and bus drivers. I tip the same whether the gratuities are included or not included. The gratuities, DSC (discretionary service charges) are the $$ going to all those 'behind the scenes' like chefs and those cleaning the railings, etc that one would not tip or come 'in contact with'. I find tipping those I come in contact with very easy. I just put myself in the role of the service provider providing me the service and the amount I think I am worth for the service I provided. I generally tip myself $100-$200, one time I was only worth $20 for the weeks cruise.

[no1talks]

9 hours ago, MAMA "B" said:

Who do you normally tip in the Yacht club?

Holy cow! Who didn't I tip???

As mentioned by others, your mileage will vary. However, we had multiple special requests for the staff, all of which were carried out with near-flawlessness. From Maître d', Sommelier, and Concierge, down through servers, bar staff, and butlers, we must have handed out about a dozen envelopes during the penultimate day of the cruise.

Some of our requests...

 

We asked that all our dinners begin with an amuse bouche & apéritif and conclude with a post-dessert mignardise & digestif. Rudy, our somm, was especially skilled in selecting the before- and after-dinner beverages, as well as our wines by the glass.

 

As suggested on this message board, we asked for a special entry a day early and it was delicious.
 

 

Even though afternoon tea service by butler was advertised for only one at-sea day, we let the Top Sail staff know we would like to take tea every afternoon. We planned our days to allow for time to return to the ship and freshen up for 4 o'clock tea. Jay took such good care of us, tea-wise. Two of the tea services, she prepared blended tea for us as she herself takes it, when she goes back home. It was steeped in hot milk instead of water and I'd never had tea in this manner. Very tasty!

 

Since we had no intention of getting through a full 750 ml bottle of booze (minis are cancelled from the minibar. Pick one bottle of liquor, wine, or bubbly for the cruise) we asked our butler, Alexis, to choose a suitable bottle for use as a souvenir, to collect signatures from all the people who made the cruise great. He picked a lovely bottle of Bombay Sapphire, which made a great keepsake. (Jay signed, "Tea makes life better.") 

 

 

Next March, in case the YC service on Seascape is equal or better to what we enjoyed on Mera, we'll be ready to take our envelope game to the next level.

[miataman19]

Here is my ballpark for a 7 day sailing. Again, as stated in earlier posts, it depends on how much you utilize the services of each individual. I'll bring an extra $200 - $300 for these tips.

Butler - $40

Assistant Butler - $20

Sommelier - $50 -$75 (I utilize him alot..lol)

Maitre d' - $25 (If he does something special for you)

Concierge - $25 (If you utilize he or she. If you don't utilize them, no tip)

Server, DR +Top Sail (if you get the same one's throughout the cruise) $20 each

DR Hostess - $20 (you see her everyday)

Favorite Bartender in Top Sail - $20

Top Sail Musician - $20

 

I know I'm forgetting someone.

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by miataman19

[MAMA "B"]

2 hours ago, miataman19 said:

Here is my ballpark for a 7 day sailing. Again, as stated in earlier posts, it depends on how much you utilize the services of each individual. I'll bring an extra $200 - $300 for these tips.

Butler - $40

Assistant Butler - $20

Sommelier - $50 -$75 (I utilize him alot..lol)

Maitre d' - $25 (If he does something special for you)

Concierge - $25 (If you utilize he or she. If you don't utilize them, no tip)

Server, DR +Top Sail (if you get the same one's throughout the cruise) $20 each

DR Hostess - $20 (you see her everyday)

Favorite Bartender in Top Sail - $20

Top Sail Musician - $20

 

I know I'm forgetting someone.

 

Thank you very much for a breakdown.

[JAGR]

3 hours ago, miataman19 said:

Here is my ballpark for a 7 day sailing. Again, as stated in earlier posts, it depends on how much you utilize the services of each individual. I'll bring an extra $200 - $300 for these tips.

Butler - $40

Assistant Butler - $20

Sommelier - $50 -$75 (I utilize him alot..lol)

Maitre d' - $25 (If he does something special for you)

Concierge - $25 (If you utilize he or she. If you don't utilize them, no tip)

Server, DR +Top Sail (if you get the same one's throughout the cruise) $20 each

DR Hostess - $20 (you see her everyday)

Favorite Bartender in Top Sail - $20

Top Sail Musician - $20

 

I know I'm forgetting someone.

 

I would only add for DW and I, the pool attendants and YC bar butlers.  The pool folks set up our favorite seating areas with towels every morning and regularly checked in on us with offers of water or other drinks.  The YC bar butlers are fantastic.  They have no room assignments, and can work miracles in the pre-dinner rush for drinks.  They also take care of you on the pool deck.  We did tip the Pool Deck bartender on our last B2B on Seashore, but the limit on seating didn't allow for much interaction with the Top Sail Lounge bartender.

 

Everyone has an idea of expected and exceptional service.  If my wife and I have had contacts with employees who really impressed us.  Those who stand out deserve more.  We have, honestly, left larger gratuities to the Junior Butler over the assigned Butler for just that reason.  Friendly service above the norm.

[Morgsmom]

13 hours ago, no1talks said:

We asked that all our dinners begin with an amuse bouche & apéritif and conclude with a post-dessert mignardise & digestif. Rudy, our somm, was especially skilled in selecting the before- and after-dinner beverages, as well as our wines by the glass.

Making notes.....!  Our Somm was HORRIBLE (and kinda mean if I do say so myself.)  You have given us hope for the future.

[JAGR]

6 minutes ago, Morgsmom said:

Making notes.....!  Our Somm was HORRIBLE (and kinda mean if I do say so myself.)  You have given us hope for the future.

There are some good ones, thankfully!  We had Belinda on Seashore, and although relatively new to MSC, she was very knowledgeable and proficient.  Kind of scared my DW on our second week when Belinda would appear at the table and pour DW a glass of wine she thought we would find amusing; but my wife was in shock, because she had just mentioned that particular wine when we were in the Top Sail  Nice to see a Sommelier read people so well.

 

[perakcruiser]

On 4/13/2022 at 8:38 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

The gratuities, DSC (discretionary service charges) are the $$ going to all those 'behind the scenes' like chefs and those cleaning the railings, etc that one would not tip or come 'in contact with'.

That maybe is true on MSCs US sailings, where there is probably a lot of tipping going on with the "frontliners". The cruise line have to find a way to make it more even and fair, difficult. 

 

But on all other sailings certainly all the restaurant waiters and room stewards also get their fair share of the DSC because tipping is quite minimal with the lack of US pax. Usually we don´t give any tips above the DSC, but in special occasions we also tipped the room steward or MDR waiter with € 10 on the last day of the cruise. 

[JAGR]

9 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

That maybe is true on MSCs US sailings, where there is probably a lot of tipping going on with the "frontliners". The cruise line have to find a way to make it more even and fair, difficult. 

 

But on all other sailings certainly all the restaurant waiters and room stewards also get their fair share of the DSC because tipping is quite minimal with the lack of US pax. Usually we don´t give any tips above the DSC, but in special occasions we also tipped the room steward or MDR waiter with € 10 on the last day of the cruise. 

This may be one area where Morpheousofthesea and I may disagree.  It is my understanding that even on US-based cruises, the "Hotel Service charge" is intended for distribution to all service crew, both customer facing and behind the scenes, which is why MSC recommends not tipping individuals.  That doesn't mean we still don't tip servers anyway.

[mmbcater]

On 4/13/2022 at 9:27 AM, MAMA "B" said:

 

Here's what we did (as a side note we have been in the service industry our entire careers in mgmt. so we typically tip heavy)

Butler $150

Asst Butler $100

Sommelier $50

Waiters in DR $25/Asst $20

Pool Attendant/Bartenders $25

Concierge $25 

Maitre D $20 

Musician $20

 

If we ordered room service $5 for the butler that brought it to us.... It's up to you! 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by mmbcater

[morpheusofthesea]

On 4/12/2022 at 9:34 PM, no1talks said:

Next March, in case the YC service on Seascape is equal or better to what we enjoyed on Mera, we'll be ready to take our envelope game to the next level.

Never seen a more 'classy' couple !

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Hi Mama B,  I just wrote you a detailed blurb but the editor would not allow it.  The bottom line is…tip what you feel is right in the amounts you are comfortable with.  We give out our tips in the envelopes provided with short notes of thanks.

 

[no1talks]

6 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Never seen a more 'classy' couple !

Thanks, Morpheus!

[MAMA "B"]

17 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Hi Mama B,  I just wrote you a detailed blurb but the editor would not allow it.  The bottom line is…tip what you feel is right in the amounts you are comfortable with.  We give out our tips in the envelopes provided with short notes of thanks.

 

Thank you CGTNORMANDIE.  I appreciate the response.

[rkacruiser]

Based on the amounts posted above, my gratuities that I gave were rather small.  But, I was satisfied with the amounts.  I based my gratuities on my past cruise experiences and the service that I received from the various Hotel staff members.  Since my YC guest experience on MSC Meraviglia was my 60th cruise, I think I had an appropriate knowledge of what was an appropriate extra gratuity for the services that I received and by whom.  

[morpheusofthesea]

Since we travel in the Yacht Club we see no reason to dine anywhere else. We request the same waiter/ assistant for the entire week. We tip in the YC restaurant as if it were any fine restaurant on land. If we were to go to the "Pancake House" for breakfast we would tip $5 for a breakfast for two. Lunch at "Gianni's Italian Restaurant", $10 for two. Dinner at the "New York Prime", $20 for two. (Just as a rule of thumb). Since sometimes our waiters are delegated to other duties on port days we tip the relief waiter these amounts after the meal. So it rounds out to $200 for each waiter/assistant for the 7 day cruise. The sommelier, in our case, should not 'suffer' because DW and I drink only bottled water so we tip them $20 for their effort. On the pool deck your personal butler can be elusive (attending to the other 12 cabin prima donnas, like ourselves) so the pool attendants are instrumental to ones enjoyment on the one pool deck, (a pocket of $5's is advised and does 'miracles'). 

  Sometimes one just has to 'prime the pump' in order to get the water to start flowing in the right direction.

   

[CGTNORMANDIE]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Since we travel in the Yacht Club we see no reason to dine anywhere else. We request the same waiter/ assistant for the entire week. We tip in the YC restaurant as if it were any fine restaurant on land. If we were to go to the "Pancake House" for breakfast we would tip $5 for a breakfast for two. Lunch at "Gianni's Italian Restaurant", $10 for two. Dinner at the "New York Prime", $20 for two. (Just as a rule of thumb). Since sometimes our waiters are delegated to other duties on port days we tip the relief waiter these amounts after the meal. So it rounds out to $200 for each waiter/assistant for the 7 day cruise. The sommelier, in our case, should not 'suffer' because DW and I drink only bottled water so we tip them $20 for their effort. On the pool deck your personal butler can be elusive (attending to the other 12 cabin prima donnas, like ourselves) so the pool attendants are instrumental to ones enjoyment on the one pool deck, (a pocket of $5's is advised and does 'miracles'). 

  Sometimes one just has to 'prime the pump' in order to get the water to start flowing in the right direction.

   

Are you sure that is water flowing in the right direction??

[morpheusofthesea]

8 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Are you sure that is water flowing in the right direction??

I use the word "water" as a euphemism for "service".

 

P.S. But you already knew that.....

P.S.S. Yes, towards us.

Edited April 17, 2022 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

38 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I use the word "water" as a euphemism for "service".

 

P.S. But you already knew that.....

P.S.S. Yes, towards us.

LOL LOL LOL

[perakcruiser]

On 4/14/2022 at 9:24 PM, JAGR said:

This may be one area where Morpheousofthesea and I may disagree.  It is my understanding that even on US-based cruises, the "Hotel Service charge" is intended for distribution to all service crew, both customer facing and behind the scenes, which is why MSC recommends not tipping individuals.  That doesn't mean we still don't tip servers anyway.

I also disagree because that what you write is official MSC policy and it is not true that waiters, room stewards and butlers not get their share of the DSC.

 

BUT! 

 

If MSC not adopts this to the US market then they will get no other staff anymore except waiters, room stewards and butlers. Because with this exorbitant tips @mmbcater and other posted they earn 100 times more than the others on board. Just for the privilege to be directly confronted with the guests. On non-US based cruises with very little tipping this was a different thing.