Gratuity in Specialty Restaurant

[wongcruise]

Just became Platinum in NCL.  I will get a complimentary dinner at a Specialty Restaurant on my next sailing.  I am wondering if gratuity is included.

[wolft927]

I believe it is. 

[The Shrike]

Yes.  They'll bring you a receipt with a $0.00 charge (unless you had any upcharges, of course).  If you decide to tip more that's entirely up to you.

[phillygwm]

Your Platinum meals are entirely free of charge, so no tip is included.  This contrasts with the FAS meals, or additional meals which you might purchase, where you're charged a gratuity up front.

 

I always tip a bit additional at specialty meals, but that's just me.  There's no obligation (nor, I'm told, expectation) that you should.  I tip more on the Platinum meals since it's not otherwise included.

Edited September 9, 2022 by phillygwm

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

Your Platinum meals are entirely free of charge, so no tip is included.  This contrasts with the FAS meals, or additional meals which you might purchase, where you're charged a gratuity up front.

 

I always tip a bit additional at specialty meals, but that's just me.  There's no obligation (nor, I'm told, expectation) that you should.  I tip more on the Platinum meals since it's not otherwise included.

Good point!

[YVRteacher]

I tip cash in the specialty restaurants. This is a personal choice.  There is no right or wrong, just personal preference.

 

If you tip in cash it will go to the waiter and the back waiter. If you add the tip to the receipt the profit will go to NCL and the waiter will not receive it nor will his/her paycheque reflect the tip. 

[wolft927]

Daily gratuities that are charged pay the salaries of crew, each crew member signs a contract for x amount of money per month, any additional tips whether it be cash or signed for goes directly to that employee, same as if you were on land 

[YVRteacher]

Incorrect.

Crew members do not receive tips that are signed on the paper slips.

[wolft927]

Ok not going to argue as I worked on board NCL for 5 years. Signing an additional tip, receipt shows your server on it 

[thirstyman1]

A wee bit off topic but didn't see this listed. We Received two extra meals at Specialty restaurants, plus promotional 3 dinners @ same. Going with friends new to cruising so can we take them to dinner one night and use up credit for two dinners? 

[ColeThornton]

1 minute ago, thirstyman1 said:

A wee bit off topic but didn't see this listed. We Received two extra meals at Specialty restaurants, plus promotional 3 dinners @ same. Going with friends new to cruising so can we take them to dinner one night and use up credit for two dinners? 

 

 

Meals are not transferable.  

[thirstyman1]

Thank you

 

[YVRteacher]

53 minutes ago, wolft927 said:

Ok not going to argue as I worked on board NCL for 5 years. Signing an additional tip, receipt shows your server on it 

Cool.

What did you do on board?

[wolft927]

Started as cruise staff and eventually made CD, worked on the dream, dawn, star, sea, crown and even was an ACD on the Marco Polo when NCL owned orient lines 

[FlGoodShips]

We always tip on the 2 free dinners we receive as platinum guests. We just feel it is the right thing to do. Usually $20-$25 ...cash.

It is always soooo appreciated by the server. And with the FAS, we tip extra if service was exceptional, which is usually all the time. 

All the servers work hard. 

[wongcruise]

Thank you.  I just became Platinum but husband is not.  Does he just need to pay for his own meal?  How do I redeem the Platinum complimentary dinner?

[The Shrike]

5 minutes ago, wongcruise said:

Thank you.  I just became Platinum but husband is not.  Does he just need to pay for his own meal?  How do I redeem the Platinum complimentary dinner?

You'll receive certificates in your stateroom; they should already be there when you first get to your cabin.  You'll have the two dining certificates and one for a bag of laundry.  The dining ones cover dinner for two, so no worries that your husband is not platinum.

Edited September 10, 2022 by The Shrike

[MoCruiseFan]

On 9/9/2022 at 3:36 PM, wolft927 said:

Daily gratuities that are charged pay the salaries of crew, each crew member signs a contract for x amount of money per month, any additional tips whether it be cash or signed for goes directly to that employee, same as if you were on land 

 

There are no daily 'gratuities'.  There is a DSC (daily service charge).  Tipping is 100% optional and there is no right or wrong time/place/amount to tip.  It is a purely a matter of personal choice.

[wongcruise]

Thank you.

[latebloomer56]

On 9/9/2022 at 11:33 AM, phillygwm said:

Your Platinum meals are entirely free of charge, so no tip is included.  This contrasts with the FAS meals, or additional meals which you might purchase, where you're charged a gratuity up front.

 

I always tip a bit additional at specialty meals, but that's just me.  There's no obligation (nor, I'm told, expectation) that you should.  I tip more on the Platinum meals since it's not otherwise included.

Wow never gave it a thought our Platinum dinners didn't have tip include, I feel bad just never thought about it. Thank you for pointing that out have always enjoyed our extra loyalty perk and will bring cash to dinner going forward.

[phillygwm]

10 minutes ago, latebloomer56 said:

Wow never gave it a thought our Platinum dinners didn't have tip include, I feel bad just never thought about it. Thank you for pointing that out have always enjoyed our extra loyalty perk and will bring cash to dinner going forward.

Don't beat yourself up.  Lots of people don't realize it (myself included for a long time.)  I almost always tip a few bucks after any specialty meal but I'm sure I shorted them on these meals in the past.

[phillygwm]

16 hours ago, The Shrike said:

You'll receive certificates in your stateroom; they should already be there when you first get to your cabin.  You'll have the two dining certificates and one for a bag of laundry.  The dining ones cover dinner for two, so no worries that your husband is not platinum.

This.  On my first cruise post-COVID, I swore my certificate wasn't there.  It was near my bottle of sparkling wine.  Of course, I ignored both 🙂

[Landl cruiser]

On 9/9/2022 at 4:34 PM, thirstyman1 said:

A wee bit off topic but didn't see this listed. We Received two extra meals at Specialty restaurants, plus promotional 3 dinners @ same. Going with friends new to cruising so can we take them to dinner one night and use up credit for two dinners? 

 

We have taken friends to dinner using our Platinum certificates.  

[YVRteacher]

You can have someone join you with the Latitudes certificates but NCL usually won’t allow you to use a dining package meal with someone else as those are non-transferable.

[Beer Belly]

On 9/9/2022 at 3:45 PM, YVRteacher said:

Incorrect.

Crew members do not receive tips that are signed on the paper slips.

So, if I enjoy the meal / service at a specialty dining, and add an additional tip on the charge, it doesn't go to the server ?