WindJammer for all meals

[gowhitesox99]

How likely is it we could get a window seat? I think might like to try it for dinner on one night of our four-night cruise.

 

Thanks!

 

window seats at night are easier cuz most of the time you cant see anything except darkness depending on which side of the ship

 

window seats at breakfast and lunch are a bit tougher to get as its usually nice outside

 

I went with the wife so the best seats were along the thin aisle's. 1 side of the aisle is a window seat for 4, but across the aisle is a row of small 2 person tables which had regular openings

[Ocean Boy]

Secondly, RCI very well knows that everyone does not show up in the dining room. If it were expected that everyone would show up then there would be no need for either an evening Windjammer or a Chops or Portofino's.

 

I agree that RCCL expects you to use other venues for some of the evenings. We do Chops and Portofino every cruise and we pay the service charge plus we tip without giving it a second thought. We also tip the MDR staff the suggested amount even if we don't eat there. That is what we do but I would not flame someone that tipped only where they ate.

It is understandable that people tip for services rendered.

 

Also why hasn't anyone brought up the fact that on land we tip in restaurants for both breakfast and lunch. I don't see too many people tipping at breakfast or lunch.

 

Because we are not on land and on a ship traditionally it is the folks that serve you your evening meal that are considered to be "your" wait staff. Not everything that happens on land crosses over in the exact same way to a ship. Of course, things change. With more dining venues and options, My time Dining, etc., it does create issues.

 

However, everyone is entitled to look at this as they see fit and to act accordingly. I would not tell anyone that his/her viewpoint is wrong nor would I try to convince anyone that mine is right.

[aloha43]

The reason that we like to cruise is to be WAITED on! :o You are paying for a service. The servers are usually quite good at it and love doing it. As someone else stated, the servers in the DR also work in various other capacities on the ship. They get very little pay, work long hours, and live in shoe boxes. Personally, we think that if you can afford a cruise, you can afford the gratuities. That's our two cents worth. :D

 

 

This may be your reason for cruising....but it isn't that way for us. We like to cruise...to cruise out on the open water, and don't prefer to be waited on. Except for the room steward. :)

 

We don't eat in the MDR. (Actually, we did once. The waitress was not nice, quite rude actually. It wasn't a good first experience.)

 

Personally IMO....Royal Caribbean should be paying the wages of their employees, and tips should be extra for exemplary service. I do understand that a good share of their wages are dependent upon our gratuities, but they shouldn't be rewarded if they choose to not to give good service.

 

We tip very generously, to the staff that waits on us, and not for crappy service.

[Ocean Boy]

This may be your reason for cruising....but it isn't that way for us. We like to cruise...to cruise out on the open water, and don't prefer to be waited on. Except for the room steward. :)

 

We don't eat in the MDR. (Actually, we did once. The waitress was not nice, quite rude actually. It wasn't a good first experience.)

 

Personally IMO....Royal Caribbean should be paying the wages of their employees, and tips should be extra for exemplary service. I do understand that a good share of their wages are dependent upon our gratuities, but they shouldn't be rewarded if they choose to not to give good service.

 

We tip very generously, to the staff that waits on us, and not for crappy service.

You sound exactly like me!

[Bruins14]

I like to be waited on,and tip very well. If i receive bad service though why tip for bad service, luckily on my 2 cruises service was very good.

[aloha43]

You sound exactly like me!

 

And I thought we were the only ones.....LOL! :D

[jstweed]

We like to eat dinner in the main dinning room and dessert in the Windjammer - best of both worlds. Usually eat one night at Portafino's and one night totally in the Windjammer. Handle tipping by tipping the dinningroom the customary amount and consider the two nights we didn't eat there thier extra tip. Usually leave a couple bucks for the Windjammer folks if they have been helpful to. Try to take care of everyone a little bit.

[stanford's girl]

For those of you who do not know, a waiter on a RCCL ship is paid approximately $100 per month. They rely on tips and usually send all money they make back to their families in other countries. Working on a cruise ship is an up-at-dawn round-the-clock 7 day per week job for 3-4 months at a time and IS NOT AT ALL GLAMOROUS!!

Your info has to be wrong and I'm wondering where or who you got it from?? I did a little math and this figure just doesn't add up. Most of the waiters work anywhere from an 8 to 10 hour shift a day. There are 7 days in the week and there are 4 weeks in a month. So if you do the math, using the shorter 8 hour shift, these waiters are only making a measly 24 cents an hour from RCCL. And most contracts for cruise employees range from 6 months to 1 year.

[cruisecrasy]

Your info has to be wrong and I'm wondering where or who you got it from?? I did a little math and this figure just doesn't add up. Most of the waiters work anywhere from an 8 to 10 hour shift a day. There are 7 days in the week and there are 4 weeks in a month. So if you do the math' date=' using the shorter 8 hour shift, these waiters are only making a measly 24 cents an hour from RCCL. And most contracts for cruise employees range from 6 months to 1 year. [/color']

 

Plse read my post #55.. While doing some research I found some very interesting articles, one of which was regarding wages on cruise ships.

 

The other articles are well written & worth a look also, IMO anyway...& the author of same is obviously 'in the know' so to speak!!

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[baby girl]

Where talking about tipping. Do any of you tip the people when you go through the drive-

Through of a fast food places? . No. They rendering service to you, but you don’t see that as being the

same.

When I go on cruises, I don’t eat in the dinning room; I go to the W/J. or J/R.

The tip is already included in J/R. But why should I tip in the W/J, its self serve.

I do tip the people in the W/J at the end of the cruise that has waited on me, that’s because I want to, not

Because I have to. This people make more money than you think they do. The reason why I say this, one

of My jobs are making a living on tips.

AND THIS IS MORE THAN JUST MY TWO CENT

[gowhitesox99]

Where talking about tipping. Do any of you tip the people when you go through the drive-

Through of a fast food places? . No. They rendering service to you, but you don’t see that as being the

same.

When I go on cruises, I don’t eat in the dinning room; I go to the W/J. or J/R.

The tip is already included in J/R. But why should I tip in the W/J, its self serve.

I do tip the people in the W/J at the end of the cruise that has waited on me, that’s because I want to, not

Because I have to. This people make more money than you think they do. The reason why I say this, one

of My jobs are making a living on tips.

AND THIS IS MORE THAN JUST MY TWO CENT

 

 

well said baby girl, well said....

 

i sat in a diff spot everytime on the WJ, I dont know if I ever saw the same person twice or not as I never took anything from any of the people walking around, i just self served all my food, drinks and desserts.

[cruisecrasy]

well said baby girl, well said....

 

i sat in a diff spot everytime on the WJ, I dont know if I ever saw the same person twice or not as I never took anything from any of the people walking around, i just self served all my food, drinks and desserts.

 

I guess u also cooked your own meal, served yourself drinks & went to kitchen for your desserts, cleaned your table & and while u were at it took your dishes & trays to the sink & washed them also?

 

In the WJ - I have seen staff welcoming folks to the WJ, serving drinks with a cart or behind counters, taking orders for & making omelets, refilling containers on the buffet counters, making sandwiches & wraps, putting out desserts, putting out cutlery, napkins, plates, etc, clearing & cleaning tables ++. This is considered 'service'..

 

They all deserve a tip - so if anyone 'stiffs' the staff in the MDR, they are also 'stiffing' them.

IMO, this is not difficult to understand!

 

'BabyGirl' - its only 'self serve' in that u get to choose & put some of the stuff on your plate and go and get your drinks..it has all been prepared in advance for u & the cleanup will also be done for u when u leave!!

Probably a good idea these days to save your 2 cents.. :)

[Cymro1953]

Wow! This has been an interesting one to follow.

Surely the way it das developed from a "Where to eat" thread into a "What to Tip" thread enforces the argument for paying your tips upfront when you book as we have done.

[SeaCBear]

I read fascinating, and very well written book a few years ago on the history, and day to day conditions in the cruise ship industry:

 

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes, and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires by Kristoffer A. Garin. Plume (2006), Paperback, 384 pages

 

I don't remember the exact salaries, but I do recall that they are indeed very low. It's a very enlightening and occasionally disturbing look into the cruise ship business.

[captainannoyed!]

I guess u also cooked your own meal, served yourself drinks & went to kitchen for your desserts, cleaned your table & and while u were at it took your dishes & trays to the sink & washed them also?

 

Are you saying that if I eat in the WJ I should be tipping the kitchen staff also? Or, are you supposing that if I leave a tip on the table that the bus person is going to tip out the kitchen staff? I doubt it.

 

In the WJ - I have seen staff welcoming folks to the WJ, serving drinks with a cart or behind counters, taking orders for & making omelets, refilling containers on the buffet counters, making sandwiches & wraps, putting out desserts, putting out cutlery, napkins, plates, etc, clearing & cleaning tables ++. This is considered 'service'..

 

Are you saying that every person that works in the kitchen of the WJ is supposed to be tipped? If so, do you go to the kitchen in the MDR and tip all the cooks there also? I doubt it.

 

They all deserve a tip - so if anyone 'stiffs' the staff in the MDR, they are also 'stiffing' them.

 

"They all deserve a tip . . . " and how much, exactly, did you tip the cooks in the WJ on your last cruise? Apparently if I don't use the MDR you expect me to trudge down there on the last night of my cruise to hand out money for service I didn't use. You are entitled to your opinion, of course. But perhaps not everyone in the world feels like they are 'stiffing' someone if they don't use a service.

IMO, this is not difficult to understand!

 

IMO your logic is difficult to understand! Just curious, when you drive by a restaurant do you immediately pull over and tip the entire wait and kitchen staff even if you didn't eat there?

 

 

'BabyGirl' - its only 'self serve' in that u get to choose & put some of the stuff on your plate and go and get your drinks..it has all been prepared in advance for u & the cleanup will also be done for u when u leave!!

Probably a good idea these days to save your 2 cents.. :)

Self serve means that you serve yourself! When you are at a buffet and walk up, get your plate, put your food on your plate, pick up your silverware, get your drink from the counter, and walk back to your table you have served yourself! You seem to need an education on this: the meals on the cruise have ALWAYS been part of the ticket price.

 

Probably a good idea these days to understand that your 2 cents is not the only POV.:)

[Cymro1953]

Going back to the origina point of the thread, on our last cruise on another cruise line we ate in the MDR twice. All the other meals we took in their 24 hour buffet restaurant.

The menus were identical and it was lovely eating as and when you want, as quite often with us we would not be ready to sit down to eat at a specified time.

My wife has a gastric condition and so often cannot eat at a specified time "just because it is lunch or dinner time". And I work permanent night shifts so am eating meals at all sorts of odd times.

So the flexibility of the buffet suits us .

 

But looking at some of the "Dress Code" threads it is just as much of a "crime" to eat in the Windjammer on formal night as it is to turn up in the MDR in shorts and a Tee shirt

[DireMongoose]

Your info has to be wrong and I'm wondering where or who you got it from?? I did a little math and this figure just doesn't add up. Most of the waiters work anywhere from an 8 to 10 hour shift a day. There are 7 days in the week and there are 4 weeks in a month. So if you do the math' date=' using the shorter 8 hour shift, these waiters are only making a measly 24 cents an hour from RCCL. And most contracts for cruise employees range from 6 months to 1 year. [/color']

 

Uh... why do you think that can't be true?

 

They don't get American minimum wage. (Neither do American waiters and waitresses, for that matter.)

 

They make a relatively good living after tips; they'd make a terrible one if no one tipped.

[cruisePRN]

I guess u also cooked your own meal, served yourself drinks & went to kitchen for your desserts, cleaned your table & and while u were at it took your dishes & trays to the sink & washed them also?

 

In the WJ - I have seen staff welcoming folks to the WJ, serving drinks with a cart or behind counters, taking orders for & making omelets, refilling containers on the buffet counters, making sandwiches & wraps, putting out desserts, putting out cutlery, napkins, plates, etc, clearing & cleaning tables ++. This is considered 'service'..

 

They all deserve a tip - so if anyone 'stiffs' the staff in the MDR, they are also 'stiffing' them.

IMO, this is not difficult to understand!

 

'BabyGirl' - its only 'self serve' in that u get to choose & put some of the stuff on your plate and go and get your drinks..it has all been prepared in advance for u & the cleanup will also be done for u when u leave!!

Probably a good idea these days to save your 2 cents.. :)

 

That is your point of view and not everyone shares it. I believe that a buffet does not warrant the same tip as a full service sit down meal.

[aloha43]

Whatever their initial salary is - I totally agree that the staff shld all receive a tip (unless u had very bad &/or rude service and that is highly unlikely. Yes, indeed it is likely. I recieved VERY bad and rude service from our waitress on the Radiance.

 

In the WJ the staff puts out the food, plates, napkins etc, cleans tables, gets drinks when asked, clean up spills, serve pax at the 'stations' etc (and are the same folks who also serve in the MDR) & if this doesn't qualify as 'service' I don't know what does...!! But....that is the same as going to eat at an all you can eat buffett on land. A buffet is a buffet.....serve yourself, people don't usually tip for serving themselves.

 

I am still at odds as to people commenting on being waited on in the WJ. Only ONE time did someone come to us and ask if we wanted drinks. Once, during the 8 night trip....and we ate in the WJ all but two times. We didn't get waited on, spill anything, and sometimes cleaned our mess and "delivered" our dirties to a cart that they used for the dirty dishes. Why in the world should we have to tip for non service.....in both the MDR and WJ, if there is no service to us?

Sure wld if u were in a restaurant ashore...and the cruise fares are so low these days anyway, no one cld even imagine they include tips..!

 

Easiest way to solve the problem of tipping is having it automatically added to your SeaPass acct.

But this doesn't solve the problem. If tips are automatically added, they will go to the MDR staff. What about the WJ staff? It still doesn't solve the issue of tipping them also. Auto tips will go to the MDR staff whether you eat there or not, and if we tip WJ staff, then we are tipping twice. It doesn't make sense.

 

Putting it on the SeaPass means not having to remember to tip if u are the forgetful type.. :)

 

Have happy cruisin'!

 

I tip a LOT....but only for good service to me.:)

[cruisecrasy]

Probably a good idea these days to understand that your 2 cents is not the only POV.:)

 

Shld have made it simplier...If u eat in the MDR or WJ for any food/drinks at all, u receive 'service'..

 

If folks tip the MDR staff all share... U don't and they won't!

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[Debde]

Wow-this is why this tipping thing gets so confusing to some.

 

Some cann't even figure out the difference between paid kitchen staff and wait staff.

And again-people are trying to figure out wait staff wages-Never happen. When I worked in a verey nice restaurant as a waitress-my paycheck at the end of the week was $24.00!! Trust me-I made way more then that.

No one will ever figure the RCCL pay scale.

No one will ever really figure out wait the staff makes.

 

Just be good folks and tip the people that serve you.

[cruisePRN]

First of all if you never ate in the MDR you haven't stiffed anyone. The MDR does not share tips with the windjammer staff.

[nusail]

Hi Everyone,

I have cruised before on HAL and NCL where "service charges" are automatically added to your onboard account but my upcoming cruise in May will be my first on RCCI. I have read the 200-odd messages on this thread and am confused about how one would go about tipping regularly in a venue such as the Windjammer Buffet. For me, one of the pleasures of cruising is not having to carry cash around on the ship. I always tip appropriately for drinks and service in specialty restaurants but do so by adding the extra when I sign the bill. If I wanted to tip in the Windjammer, I assume I would have to carry cash. Do most people do this on RCCI ships?:confused:

[g8rmomx2]

Hi Everyone,

I have cruised before on HAL and NCL where "service charges" are automatically added to your onboard account but my upcoming cruise in May will be my first on RCCI. I have read the 200-odd messages on this thread and am confused about how one would go about tipping regularly in a venue such as the Windjammer Buffet. For me, one of the pleasures of cruising is not having to carry cash around on the ship. I always tip appropriately for drinks and service in specialty restaurants but do so by adding the extra when I sign the bill. If I wanted to tip in the Windjammer, I assume I would have to carry cash. Do most people do this on RCCI ships?:confused:

 

We've eaten many breakfast, lunches and dinners in the Windjammer, and I have never seen anyone give cash to anyone on the crew. Ever. It may happen, but I've never seen it. I've also never seen CASH being handed to bartenders, servers, concierges, etc. I have seen one tip box at the end of a cruise in the Windjammer, I don't know if it's a common practice across the line, but I'd never seen it before. We keep singles in our cabin to tip room service, but that is the only cash that we tip on the ship, the rest goes on our Seapass. We prepay our gratuities, which is much like paying the service charge on other lines. We tip those who serve us drinks by adding more, if we choose, on the reciept. All drinks served to us already have a 15% gratuity added. I just wanted to answer your question with what I have observed personally on 4 different Royal Caribbean ships over the last several years. Opinions may vary, but in my experience, cash is not necessary in the Windjammer.:)

[Debde]

Ocean boy ;)

I have finally come to the conclusion-I give up!!LOL

what everyone knows sometimes I just don't understand. But-I will draw the line for being responsible for tipping chefs, the head baking chef, dishwashers,salad prep and so on.

 

For those who asked the question;

the original topic was if you never eat in the MDR-should you tip them. I do bring cash for my evening servers-no matter where I eat because I feel I may never see them again prior to my ending my vacation. Be it the WJ-specialty restaurnat-Johnny rockets-they get my tip if they serve me. The MDR will get my tip if they serve me. So-yes-I do give cash.

I find breakfast and lunch very much self service more often then I find it that I am being served.

I actually bring a bunch of dollars if I plan on parking my sorry butt by the pool and some nice server will hand me my Coco-loco and the mass quantities of lava flows that I will consume!! :D Same thing in the evenings. Often-as I am sitting by a machine that takes my money I will usually hear a kind voice behind me that says-another coco loco. When they remember me-I feel cash is key!!!:D