Free Drinks in Casino... Do I tip?

I know when you purchase drinks in the casino, or anywhere for that matter, gratuity is already included. What about when you get comp drinks? I am going on an upcoming Carnival cruise and have my drinks comped, I just need to know if I need to tip or not... :confused:

I know when you purchase drinks in the casino, or anywhere for that matter, gratuity is already included. What about when you get comp drinks? I am going on an upcoming Carnival cruise and have my drinks comped, I just need to know if I need to tip or not... :confused:

No you do not need to tip. The waiter/waitress still get there 15% gratuity.

I got the Drinks On Us card a few weeks ago and asked this same question to the wait staff and the casino manager. The wait staff still gets the 15%. Have fun.

No you do not need to tip. The waiter/waitress still get there 15% gratuity.

 

I got the Drinks On Us card a few weeks ago and asked this same question to the wait staff and the casino manager. The wait staff still gets the 15%. Have fun.

Wow, well that is good to know. That is a pretty good deal for them, they will probably try shoving drinks down my throat then.

I got free drinks but always tipped an extra buck and they were all over me i had the best service as other guests waited

Wow, well that is good to know. That is a pretty good deal for them, they will probably try shoving drinks down my throat then.

Morrow, if your going on the Miracle just let Lindon (casino waiter) know and he will be your personal waiter the entire cruise.:D

We always tip $1 per drink for comped drinks. On NCL, I don't think the bar/wait staff get any gratuity from the free drinks, as they don't ring anything up or make you sign a tab. Carnival may be different.

On NCL, I don't think the bar/wait staff get any gratuity from the free drinks, as they don't ring anything up or make you sign a tab. Carnival may be different.

On Carnival you still have to sign a receipt that prints out 15% gratuity, cost zero.

We've been getting all our drinks comped lately in the casinos on NCL and Carnival. We almost always tip $1 per drink

Morrow, if your going on the Miracle just let Lindon (casino waiter) know and he will be your personal waiter the entire cruise.:D

I am going on the Magic next weekend. I am sure Lindon's brother from another mother will be there to take care of me. Well at least I hope so...

On Norwegian if you use a players card and get up to 1500 points on the card you can get free drinks in the casino. Also if you are a regular the pit boss will usually get you drinks for free.

Dicenator

Even if the casino paid the 15% to the server for the free drink (which I do not think is usually the case...I have no idea about Carnival)...I would still tip at least $1.00 for each drink. It's good karma, and will help keep the drinks flowing quickly and smoothly.

We Always Tip $1.00 per Drink and the Servers are Happy and seem to be there even before We need another one.....:D

I'm going to turn this question around a bit. I don't think it matters if the casino is picking up the drink or whether a small portion of that goes to the server or not. If you think you got service and want to tip the server, then go ahead (in my thinking you should). I don't ever really consider that if someone else is getting compensated for serving me that that will be "my" tip that covers it. A tip is a personal thing from me to someone else for their service to me. If the drinks are gratis because of someone else, I'm still tipping the person who served me because i appreciated the service.

We had our drinks comped on Carnival over Thanksgiving and asked multiple people if they still received the 15% auto tip. We got multiple answers - both yes and no. Ask the casino host when you get there and see what they say.

By the way, I agree that a tip should be based on service and we did get great service so tipped $1 on almost every drink. I actually placed a bet for one of the waiters at Craps one night and he won $16.

On RCL they track comp drinks per rated player .You can over drink your comps so tipping is good sometimes there is no reciept

You need to tip as you would in any other casino. Gratuitiy is not included in complimentary drinks on all lines.

On Norwegian if you use a players card and get up to 1500 points on the card you can get free drinks in the casino. Also if you are a regular the pit boss will usually get you drinks for free.

Dicenator

Years a go we used the player tracking system to give free drinks on slots for the players that had a high bet on slots, free house cocktails. The system had a floor map that showed the slots in colors based on the bet played, if passed a certain level on a played slot machine (for example turned red) than we called the waitress and give free drinks without looking for points.

Another thing....We always Tip atleast $1.00 per Free Drink and sometimes even when were paying for the drinks while We Cruise also....We Always get Better and Faster Service.....

Last year on a NCL Cruise the Long Island Ice Teas were alittle weak the first few...:(

I asked the Server if he could ask the Bartender to Spice it up....And threw him a $5.00 chip....WOW the Rest of the Long Islands during the WHOLE CRUISE were Super Good and Strong...:D.....And I went over alittle later and had one at the bar and Thanked the Bartender for making them SOOOO GOODDD.....Gave him a $5.00 Chip as well.....(He said He was also putting in the Top Shelf Booze instead of the Well/House stuff..

Tips go a long way and these Servers/Bartenders arent making that great of money and do appreciate it....

I always tip the drink servers an extra dollar or so on comped drinks - when the casino host used to buy them, and now that Carnival has the Drinks On Us program. As someone said earlier, good karma, and the drink service was magically faster...:D

I got free drinks but always tipped an extra buck and they were all over me i had the best service as other guests waited

T.I.P.S. To Insure Proper Service! Always tip, you will get better service.

What's the "drinks on us program" that Carnival has?

Have'nt cruised with Carnival in a while, going March

25th on the Miracle. Please fill me in.

What's the "drinks on us program" that Carnival has?

Have'nt cruised with Carnival in a while, going March

25th on the Miracle. Please fill me in.

Its similar to the Free Drink Card on NCL....If you get enough points while gambling they'll give you Free Drinks in the Casino....

I've read that Some People whove already cruised with Carnival and Gambled alot were given this for their next cruise already as a comp...

You might want to check out the Carnival Site or Carnival Boards here and Search "Drinks on Us" for more info....

I JUST WENT AND FOUND THE CARNIVAL POST FOR YOU....ITS http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1489634&highlight=drinks+on+us

LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED TO GET 1,500 POINTS AND THEN THE DRINKS ARE FREE....

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN...:D

So now I know why the waitress was coming over to me to offer me free drinks, it is because I spent 4 days glued to a hot shots machine, to this day I don't even look at those. I figured they tracked you somehow because after me wondering how she knew my name the light went off - yes duh! This trip was a weekend girls getaway and believe me we didn't see much of the ship due to these "Hot shots". We all got a good laugh at dinner each night when the free bottle of wine from the casino came - only losers get that right??? After all of this apparently we didn't spend enough ($1100.00 3 day sailing??? me only) I didn't get any special invites.

So I am soon sailing on RCCL Liberty do I need to sign up to something to get perks for playing in the casino? I won't be losing that much this time DH will be with me and he is not a slot lover-but do have a substantial play money bucket to donate for a free drink or two..;)

And based off of what some else posted, for every $2.50 you spend in the casino you receive 1 Point. So it's going to take you $2500 spent in the casino to get the Drinks on Us card.

Wow..I plan on playing in the ship...but not that much.

I stand corrected. You need 1500 points..not 1000.

You need to spend $3750 to get the Drinks on us card.

Wow!