Room Service tip ?

[lg662]

Would those of you that have used room service share with me how the tipping works? How much do you give them?

[Pumbaamd]

Go with your gut and/or heart. It depends on your order. Did you order toast and coffee? OK, $2 is OK. Did you order eggs, bacon and potato's? $3-4. Did you order a complete dinner? $5+ or more.

Rick

[jimjamxx]

Why does the amount of food dictate the amout of the tip?

[sgttami]

Why does the amount of food dictate the amout of the tip?

 

I don't think the amount of food dictates the tip..(at least not for us)

 

We have asked for extra ice on many occasions and have had room service breakfast..our tips vary.

 

Minimum I've ever given is $1 for ice!!

 

 

 

 

Pam

[Oville]

Amount of food, weight of tray, yeah I think you should take that into account.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Why does the amount of food dictate the amout of the tip?

 

Because they have to carry more items - my opinion. When it is just the two of us we order room service for dinner on a daily basis. Our tips range from $5 to $15.

 

###

[sherry7]

I usually only order room service at breakfast, and I tip $2, which I thought was sufficient. But after reading the post above about tipping $5 to $15, I feel a bit cheap! :eek:

[cruisePRN]

I tip $1 for my morning room service coffee and they always are surprised so i don't think everyone tips since it is included.

[ccod]

I tip $1 for my morning room service coffee and they always are surprised so i don't think everyone tips since it is included.

 

I think they're surprised because it's only a lousy buck. At the bottom of the breakfast room service check-off slip in your cabin it says "Gratuity not included".

[critterchick]

I think they're surprised because it's only a lousy buck. At the bottom of the breakfast room service check-off slip in your cabin it says "Gratuity not included".

 

Now, now, play nice. Not everybody onboard is a lawyer who reads the fine print!

 

We usually give a couple of dollars for room service at breakfast. We haven't ordered lunch or dinner, so don't know what we'd do then.

[cb at sea]

I give between $2.00-$5.00 for breakfast, depending on how much we order.

I wouldn't order dinner from room service--too messy and difficult, unless you have a dining table! (Most regular cabins don't!!)

Just remember, the room service delivery people are NOT waitstaff--they are kitchen staff, so they don't share in the "tip pool".

[MikeNJ1109]

Yeah, a pot of coffee merits a couple of $$'s...a complete dinner with the works, I can see anywhere from $10 to $15...I'm not suggesting going overboard on this, by any means, but consider that the room service & food are free / included, a little extra to the hired help is appropriate.

 

Michael

[Mark_K]

I give between $2.00-$5.00 for breakfast, depending on how much we order.

I wouldn't order dinner from room service--too messy and difficult, unless you have a dining table! (Most regular cabins don't!!)

Just remember, the room service delivery people are NOT waitstaff--they are kitchen staff, so they don't share in the "tip pool".

What tip pool? The last I knew on RCI wait staff kept their own tips.

[MikeNJ1109]

Yeah, a pot of coffee merits a couple of $$'s...a complete dinner with the works, I can see anywhere from $10 to $15...I'm not suggesting going overboard on this, by any means, but consider that the room service & food are free / included, a little extra to the hired help is appropriate.

 

Michael

[nnzz]

not opposed to tipping, we always do, but food and room service free? I am paying for my cruise - it's certainly not free.

[critterchick]

That's probably why Mike said free/included.

 

My understanding from talking to the crew (I don't know why they want to tell me, it's certainly none of my business, but I'm curious & they like to talk about it) is that there is no tip pooling on RCI except for the automatic 15% that's added to drinks, sodas & wine. Bar servers get to keep any extra tip you might want to give them.

 

Room service people are waitstaff - our waiter on the Monarch had to leave the dining room at 10:30 to set up the WJ for the midnight buffet. Then he had room service duty until 5 am. At least they didn't make him work the breakfast shift!

[alcheme]

Here's a good Cruise Critic feature article on the subject. Obviously, some of you have different opinions, but the author says:

 

Room Service Stewards

I tip room service stewards $2/visit. It is no easier to deliver for one than for two, so the tip would be the same for two persons. Tip in cash each time he/she comes.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=132

[frudutx]

Here's a good Cruise Critic feature article on the subject. Obviously, some of you have different opinions, but the author says:

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=132

 

 

That's a very good article, thanks for posting it.

 

d

[Oville]

Here's a good Cruise Critic feature article on the subject. Obviously, some of you have different opinions, but the author says:

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=132

 

I'm not sure why we should take one CC contibutors word on tipping as good advise. Room service on a ship is similar to in a hotel, with the difference being no tip is included on the ship and a 17 to 18% is on a hotel tab. Do a quick calculation as to what you think you would have paid for the meal off ship and tip accordingly. As you recently wrote:

 

"Actually, all this "tipping is a personal matter" and "there is no right answer" is a bunch of crap. There are societal norms and expectations in each culture that drive this. Proper tipping for restaurant service in the US is generally considered to be 15-20% for good service. That's not something I made up. Check guides like Fodor's or Emily Post's etiquette or look it up in Wikipedia. I bet all will tell you about the same."

[MakinGold]

I agree that the article represents an opinion of one CC contributor, and it is not to be taken as definitive. RCI actually does not recommend tipping of room service staff, though. (I'm not saying that they recommend not tipping them.) They are very specific with their tipping guidelines and suggest that any other tipping is at your discretion. I could be wrong, but I would take that to mean that other staff are given a fair wage without the necessity of additional tipping. I'm not sure if the room service is delivered by kitchen staff as some have claimed or wait staff as others have claimed, but either way, I think it's likely that if they needed additional tips to supplement their income, such would be indicated in the RCI guidelines.

 

I think it's safe to assume, then, that unlike your room steward or dining room waiter, anything you give to the room service staff is a true "gratuity" to thank them for the service and not an essential part of their wages. I tend to agree with the assessment of the author of that article. A couple dollars should generally be sufficient. I don't think the amount of food makes much different to how much effort it is, but I would probably tip a closer to $4-5, if I had a particularly large room service order.

[Oville]

I agree that the article represents an opinion of one CC contributor, and it is not to be taken as definitive. RCI actually does not recommend tipping of room service staff, though. (I'm not saying that they recommend not tipping them.) They are very specific with their tipping guidelines and suggest that any other tipping is at your discretion. I could be wrong, but I would take that to mean that other staff are given a fair wage without the necessity of additional tipping. I'm not sure if the room service is delivered by kitchen staff as some have claimed or wait staff as others have claimed, but either way, I think it's likely that if they needed additional tips to supplement their income, such would be indicated in the RCI guidelines.

 

I think it's safe to assume, then, that unlike your room steward or dining room waiter, anything you give to the room service staff is a true "gratuity" to thank them for the service and not an essential part of their wages. I tend to agree with the assessment of the author of that article. A couple dollars should generally be sufficient. I don't think the amount of food makes much different to how much effort it is, but I would probably tip a closer to $4-5, if I had a particularly large room service order.

 

I have to disagree with your assessment that "RCI does not recommend tipping room service staff." They certainly are implying a tip is in order on the breakfast menu you hang on your door. It clearly states at the bottom that gratuities are not included. Hint, hint, tip your server.

 

On the first cruise we took which was last year we tipped on our first room service delivery. We had ordered a couple of beers with it so we had to sign for it and left a tip on bill. The next day we did not have any alcohol on our order. I asked for the bill but of course there was none as there was just food and the server left without a tip. I realized my error and made a mental note to rectify the situation the next day. Twenty minutes later we received a call from the room service manager asking why we not satisfied with our server. We explained what happened and all was fine. Again, a situation where RCI was encouraging tips on room service.

 

My tipping philosphy as I stated above is my opinion and I'm comfortable with it. Just wanted to share a different approach to handling this situation.

[Desperate housewife]

I Twenty minutes later we received a call from the room service manager asking why we not satisfied with our server. We explained what happened and all was fine. Again, a situation where RCI was encouraging tips on room service.

 

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that standard for them to ring is you have not tipped enough?

 

Nikki. xx

[MakinGold]

Well, that's a pretty awful system, if there is really an expectation of a tip, but no guideline of what's appropriate. I've never seen a room service slip like that, that specifically states "Gratuity not included," but that's probably because I don't generally order room service on a cruise.

[MakinGold]

I have to disagree with your assessment that "RCI does not recommend tipping room service staff." They certainly are implying a tip is in order on the breakfast menu you hang on your door. It clearly states at the bottom that gratuities are not included. Hint, hint, tip your server.

 

BTW, I was referring to their published gratuities guidelines, which does recommend specific tips for certain staff, plus mentions that 15% is automatically added to all bar bills and states that gratuities for "other service personnel" are at your discretion.

[BethV114]

DH and I generally consider ourselves pretty good tippers (always 20% or more if the service is acceptable or better and the minimum of 15% if the service is just okay or even bordering on bad). We realize that most servers out there on land do not make minimum wage and are actually taxed as though they earned a 15% tip on all of their checks, so we don't think it's fair to short change them unless it's extremely bad service.

Since you've already paid up front for most of your meals on a ship, the situation is a bit different because you don't really know what the going rate of that plate of toast or order of eggs is out at sea. That being said, we just went with our guts/hearts as one poster had mentioned. At breakfast, a few dollars (say $4) since we only order juice/coffee and some fruit, in the evening, perhaps only $2 because we only ordered a cup of tea and a cup of coffee to go with the cookies we had picked up at the promenade cafe. If that makes us cheap, so be it. But after all the money we paid for our cruise (and for that one we paid a lot!!) and the tips to every one else that we paid out over the week, we just didn't feel the need to pay more than $5 at any one time. Then again, we never ordered much. I supposed if you had a few people ordering full meals, that would be a different story. But when you're tipping $15 at a time, doesn't it really start to add up and feel as though you're paying extra for room service?