Tipping the team in Reserve Class dining

[sweetalyssum]

Tonight our head waiter at the Reserve Class restaurant on Princess mentioned that tipping is optional, but we could tip his team.  I’m sure he meant additional tipping is optional since we already have automatic gratuities.  We had two groups who served us on alternating nights, plus the hostess and the head waiter, which is about 10 people on his team!  I’m not exactly sure how to do this when we go for our last dinner, and do we tip all 10?!  Help! 

[antsp]

How tacky of the head waiter to even mention tipping. With auto tip in place that would stop me with any additional tipping 

[Hop77]

How frightfully boisterous and distasteful of the crews to mention tipping to serve as a reminder. 

[david63]

If I was even considering tipping in Reserve Class, which I would not anyway, that would be a definite no from me, and would be considering reporting him to higher authorities.

[seagunthera]

I used to wait until the last night to give an additional tip but since the restart, I started leaving a $20 on the table after supper and a $10 after lunch (we typically don't do breaky that early, but would prob leave a $10 as well).

 

I feel good about my new system and I know the team SO appreciates it. The service has always been great in Club (ahem, Reserve) Class but I feel like they do the extra little bits when they know you are tipping nightly. Just my two cents (ha!).

 

P.S. having the head waiter mention tipping is something I've never encountered on my 20+ cruises and would be a bit off-putting IMHO. 

Edited June 23, 2023 by seagunthera

[MissP22]

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[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

I used to wait until the last night to give an additional tip but since the restart, I started leaving a $20 on the table after supper and a $10 after lunch (we typically don't do breaky that early, but would prob leave a $10 as well).

 

I feel good about my new system and I know the team SO appreciates it. The service has always been great in Club (ahem, Reserve) Class but I feel like they do the extra little bits when they know you are tipping nightly. Just my two cents (ha!).

 

P.S. having the head waiter mention tipping is something I've never encountered on my 20+ cruises and would be a bit off-putting IMHO. 

I am thinking this post has tipped the scales towards a prediction of a long thread.

[Doug R.]

...and away we go!!! 🙄

[CGinMTL]

I too would report it.

His asking is a huge turnoff and in the end is probably penalizing the entire team

[Fa-Li]

I wonder if he meant something less pushy and more supportive of the team?  I didn't really think of the host in club class as the "head waiter" but more as an overall concierge of our experience.  He expertly managed the flow of the dining area, made sure the wait staff catered to our every whim, and still managed to cook specialty dishes every night.  It was a perfectly orchestrated symphony of service.  I can see a scenario in which he humbly declined to be tipped in favor of spreading the love around to his team, who worked so hard.  

 

We did tip the whole team on the last night, with the highest amounts going to this concierge and to the head waiter of our table (we had the same set of waiters every night and for the three lunches we enjoyed in club class), and then slightly smaller sums to the constellation of waiters who assisted.  We also tipped the greeter/hostess, who somehow made sure our preferred table and wait team was waiting for us no matter what time we showed up.  We were a group that required some extra attention, due to allergies and preferences that all conflicted, and we had a truly bespoke experience starting with embarkation lunch and going perfectly through ten nights, so we felt this was well worth tipping.  

[SargassoPirate]

Whom is one expected to tip extra if you have purchased the Plus? 

 

Asking for a friend.

[david63]

1 hour ago, seagunthera said:

I used to wait until the last night to give an additional tip but since the restart, I started leaving a $20 on the table after supper and a $10 after lunch (we typically don't do breaky that early, but would prob leave a $10 as well).

Not wishing to fuel the debate/argument around tipping but on my recent cruise on Sky I did not see anyone (be they American or any other nationality) leaving a tip in the Reserve class area of the restaurant.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

7 hours ago, sweetalyssum said:

Tonight our head waiter at the Reserve Class restaurant on Princess mentioned that tipping is optional, but we could tip his team.  I’m sure he meant additional tipping is optional since we already have automatic gratuities.  We had two groups who served us on alternating nights, plus the hostess and the head waiter, which is about 10 people on his team!  I’m not exactly sure how to do this when we go for our last dinner, and do we tip all 10?!  

 

To answer your question, when I have felt an additional tip was warranted in Reserve Class I have asked the head waiter how they handle this. I have been told that the team pools all the tips and splits up the total. When this is the case I give an envelope with $ and a thank you card  to the head waiter on the last night. There’s a smaller team in RC & they really do all seem to fill in and help all tables as needed. Now on different ships with different teams this may not be the case. That’s just been my experience.  
 

If I may ask, how did the topic of tipping come up?  If HW brought it up with no prompt from you I would be disinclined to leave an additional tip. 

[c-boy]

🤨  so uh, obviously we have more questions for you than answers .  So please expand on this issue so as to educate us...

[PMGS247]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

Whom is one expected to tip extra if you have purchased the Plus? 

 

Asking for a friend.

 

Expected? By the letter of the law? Literally nobody.

 

In practice, fairly common.

 

As for the head waiter bringing it up? If it's that simple, then I would probably cringe a little but I'm probably over it as soon as he's moved onto the next topic.  My guess is trying to preemptively answer a question once that he knows he will get many times over if he doesn't say anything, but he will probably learn it's prudent to just handle those questions as they're asked and answer as often as he has to rather than inevitably trigger some Karens who will create bigger problems for him.

[cruzsnooze]

My next cruise the price difference between a regular mini and a reserve mini is $110 Per Person Per day. That's more then enough extra for Princess to handle tipping. Tipping has gotten out of hand and it's usually we Americans that have caused other countries and crew to expect more and more tipping. 

[nattie]

The upcoming Enchanted cruise will be our first in Reserve Class. In the regular dining room we normally settle on the waiter team we like buy the second night and ask to be seated with them nightly. Subsequently at the end we give additional tips to the waiter, assistant, host/hostess and Manager (the team we interact with on daily/consistent basis).

Looks like Reserve class is done differently? The idea of giving one large tip to the Manager sounds good. Is that what is customary?

[memoak]

42 minutes ago, nattie said:

The upcoming Enchanted cruise will be our first in Reserve Class. In the regular dining room we normally settle on the waiter team we like buy the second night and ask to be seated with them nightly. Subsequently at the end we give additional tips to the waiter, assistant, host/hostess and Manager (the team we interact with on daily/consistent basis).

Looks like Reserve class is done differently? The idea of giving one large tip to the Manager sounds good. Is that what is customary?

No it is pretty much the same. We usually find servers we like and arrange to be in their area every night. We then tip them extra on the last night. If we can’t get the Danes servers then we leave a tip with the manager for the team. Same with breakfast  team in Sabatini’s 

[seagunthera]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

Not wishing to fuel the debate/argument around tipping but on my recent cruise on Sky I did not see anyone (be they American or any other nationality) leaving a tip in the Reserve class area of the restaurant.

I have seen plenty during my dozen or so CC bookings (which is what gave me the idea). 

[Purple Gallinule]

We get off Majestic tomorrow morning. We have had a great RC team for the past two weeks and we would not be averse to leaving something beyond the Princess Plus amount. I would appreciate an idea of what a fair amount would be for the waiter, asst. waiter, and hostess. They have really treated us well. Thanks in advance.

[voljeep]

we don't 'extra tip' in the mdr - reserve or not. unless requesting a baked potato, extra butter, is special - we are a very easy couple to serve. also don't tip household in our pre-cruise stay, but it's only one night and again nothing special requested

 

us being us

 

we are, good tippers to our room steward, Vines, room service, 

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, Fa-Li said:

I wonder if he meant something less pushy and more supportive of the team?  I didn't really think of the host in club class as the "head waiter" but more as an overall concierge of our experience.  He expertly managed the flow of the dining area, made sure the wait staff catered to our every whim, and still managed to cook specialty dishes every night.  It was a perfectly orchestrated symphony of service.  I can see a scenario in which he humbly declined to be tipped in favor of spreading the love around to his team, who worked so hard.  

 

We did tip the whole team on the last night, with the highest amounts going to this concierge and to the head waiter of our table (we had the same set of waiters every night and for the three lunches we enjoyed in club class), and then slightly smaller sums to the constellation of waiters who assisted.  We also tipped the greeter/hostess, who somehow made sure our preferred table and wait team was waiting for us no matter what time we showed up.  We were a group that required some extra attention, due to allergies and preferences that all conflicted, and we had a truly bespoke experience starting with embarkation lunch and going perfectly through ten nights, so we felt this was well worth tipping.  

People in Reserve Class should be expected to tip above and beyond the ordinary amount included in the standard gratuities. They get special treatment in all aspects of the dining room from entrance to special meals being prepared each night.  

[Yowman]

7 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

People in Reserve Class should be expected to tip above and beyond the ordinary amount included in the standard gratuities. They get special treatment in all aspects of the dining room from entrance to special meals being prepared each night.  

 

I disagree.  People in RC have paid for the privilege along with paying higher gratuities per day.  Why should they be expected to tip even more?

[LACruiser88]

4 hours ago, seagunthera said:

having the head waiter mention tipping is something I've never encountered on my 20+ cruises

Same for us, we have never experienced this on a cruise.

[MissP22]

4 minutes ago, Yowman said:

 

I disagree.  People in RC have paid for the privilege along with paying higher gratuities per day.  Why should they be expected to tip even more?

Simply because they're being catered to and it's customary.