Specialty Restaurants Tipping

How much is generally tipped in the specialty restaurants? And do you leave cash? We've sailed many times, but have never eaten in them. Hoping to have a few dinners on the Silhouette in April.

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The tip is included in the dinner charge. No additional tipping is required. If you prefer, you can always leave more if you felt the service was above and beyond. You can either include it on the "bill" that you sign at the end of the meal, or leave cash, whatever you feel most comfortable with.

The tip is included in the dinner charge. No additional tipping is required. If you prefer, you can always leave more if you felt the service was above and beyond. You can either include it on the "bill" that you sign at the end of the meal, or leave cash, whatever you feel most comfortable with.

Agreed. Additional tips are not expected, but are appreciated if you decide to do so. My level of expectation regarding the quality of food and service in a specialty restaurant is quite high. I leave an additional tip when the service is very personal and outstanding rather than merely excellent. On average this probably occurs about 30% to 40% of the time. But that's just me - do whatever you yourself feel appropriate.

I wouldn't worry too much about extra tipping in Specialty Restaurants, a Service Charge is automatically added to your bill at 18%. If you pay $45 per head then that's about $8 per head you've already tipped (plus the 18% on any drinks you buy)

At an additional 5$ per person your tip works out at about 29%

At an additional 10$ per person your tip works out at 40%

18% seems reasonable - prices in Tuscan Grill have already gone up by I think 50% in just 3 years from $30 and the service charge increased as well from 15% - meaning your service charge on the standard meal has almost doubled from about $4.50 to $8

Thank you everyone. I didn't realize gratuity was included in the surcharge.

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I wouldn't worry too much about extra tipping in Specialty Restaurants, a Service Charge is automatically added to your bill at 18%. If you pay $45 per head then that's about $8 per head you've already tipped (plus the 18% on any drinks you buy)

 

At an additional 5$ per person your tip works out at about 29%

At an additional 10$ per person your tip works out at 40%

 

18% seems reasonable - prices in Tuscan Grill have already gone up by I think 50% in just 3 years from $30 and the service charge increased as well from 15% - meaning your service charge on the standard meal has almost doubled from about $4.50 to $8

This is completely false information. While a gratuity is included within the surcharge itself, no extra amount is added to the surcharge. The exact amount of the surcharge that goes to staff as gratuity is unknown, but $5 has been speculated (as Celebrity has previously recommended leaving a $5 per/person gratuity when people received complimentary meals in speciality venues).

No one knows HOW much of the "fee" is tip...but I DO know the tip is included in the fare. Their rules, their game...we just go along with it!

I'm a little confused about what you are actually charged so please someone clarify because this is going to be my first Celebrity cruise. If my wife & I eat at a specialty restaurant that has a $45 cover charge, are we billed $90 or are we billed $90 plus 18% which equals $106.20? When I was on Royal Caribbean I always left an extra tip for the waiter but they didn't charge anything for gratuities, just the actual cover charge for the specialty dining.

I'm a little confused about what you are actually charged so please someone clarify because this is going to be my first Celebrity cruise. If my wife & I eat at a specialty restaurant that has a $45 cover charge, are we billed $90 or are we billed $90 plus 18% which equals $106.20? When I was on Royal Caribbean I always left an extra tip for the waiter but they didn't charge anything for gratuities, just the actual cover charge for the specialty dining.

You will be billed $90 total.

You should ask for a discount.

Depending on the cruise you can get up to BOGO depending on the night

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You will be billed $90 total.

You should ask for a discount.

Depending on the cruise you can get up to BOGO depending on the night

 

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Thanks, if BOGO means buy one get one free who would you ask for the discount? I'll be on the Equinox in December.

I'm a little confused about what you are actually charged so please someone clarify because this is going to be my first Celebrity cruise. If my wife & I eat at a specialty restaurant that has a $45 cover charge, are we billed $90 or are we billed $90 plus 18% which equals $106.20? When I was on Royal Caribbean I always left an extra tip for the waiter but they didn't charge anything for gratuities, just the actual cover charge for the specialty dining.

When you get your check at the restaurant, you will see a printed note on the bottom that an 18% tip has already been included in the cost of the meal. So if you paid $45 per person, your total bill would be $90 and a tip would have been already included. We typically give an additional $10 or $15 on top of that to the check.

I always tips - typically 20% above any 'included' gratuities at any speciality restaurants we've eaten at. Very much a personal choice though.

I've always tipped at specialty restaurants in the past because they didn't add the tip on top of the service charge. It's no different than eating out at home. My kids worked in restaurants so I always like to leave a good tip but when the tip is added to the check I feel a little insulted so I never leave anything extra if they decide to do that. Last year we chose a dining package on Norwegian & they added 18% on top of the total cost of the package so I tipped less than I normally would but we got a deal to begin with so I felt it was fair. I have noticed that when I first cruised about 15 years ago the service was definitely better before they started adding standard gratuities to the bill & just gave envelopes at the end of the cruise.

How much is generally tipped in the specialty restaurants? And do you leave cash? We've sailed many times, but have never eaten in them. Hoping to have a few dinners on the Silhouette in April.

Celebrity discontinued their Ultimate Dining Package earlier this year and introduced a new sliding scale of charges dependant of the number on Dinners you choose - see www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=7423

14night package costs $24/pp/pn - 18% gratuity would be less than $5 !

Normal costs are - Murano -$50/pp : Tuscan Grille - $45/pp

We had a BOGO on the first night on Eclipse in February. Usually, the best we have gotten is 30% on the 7-night cruises in the Caribbean.

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There is usually a computer and staff member outside the buffet around lunch hours, booking specialty dining. If there are spaces they aren't filling, you might be offered up to 30% off. Be sure to ask if there are any "specials". There isn't any sure thing as far as discounts. Times and dates and restaurant choice are all dependent on availibility. Generally, if you want earliest or latest times, chances improve.

The specialty restaurants are not busy on the embarkation night. Good opportunity for discounts that first night.

When you get your check at the restaurant, you will see a printed note on the bottom that an 18% tip has already been included in the cost of the meal. So if you paid $45 per person, your total bill would be $90 and a tip would have been already included. We typically give an additional $10 or $15 on top of that to the check.

Not quite correct; the 18% is added to beverages one is charged for - while the cover charge includes a gratuity it is not specified by Celebrity what dollar amount or percentage of the cover charge is passed on to staff as gratuity.

Thanks, if BOGO means buy one get one free who would you ask for the discount? I'll be on the Equinox in December.

We ask the specialty restaurant manager who is normally standing at the entrance.

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We ask the specialty restaurant manager who is normally standing at the entrance.

 

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Ask near the beginning of the cruise, something like "which night can you give me the best discount on".

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I'm a little confused about what you are actually charged so please someone clarify because this is going to be my first Celebrity cruise. If my wife & I eat at a specialty restaurant that has a $45 cover charge, are we billed $90 or are we billed $90 plus 18% which equals $106.20? When I was on Royal Caribbean I always left an extra tip for the waiter but they didn't charge anything for gratuities, just the actual cover charge for the specialty dining.

The tip is automatically part of the $45. You may wish to add more at your discretion. You should also be able to get discounts. You'll see the reps. from the rest. outside the buffet area or when you come back from an excursion down on the lower deck. If you see them when you're about to go ashore, it's likely there will be NO discounts at that time. You'll see them when you reboard & at that time you'll see the discounts. We chose a 4 restaurant package. We chose Murano(2nights)Tuscan(1 night) & Qsine(1night) The package cost us about $31pp per night. A good deal we thought.

I always tips - typically 20% above any 'included' gratuities at any speciality restaurants we've eaten at. Very much a personal choice though.

Wow so 38%.

Wow so 38%.

In my opinion, defining gratuities as a percentage of the specialty restaurant fee is not really fair. The specialty restaurant fee is an up charge and does not reflect the full value of the experience. Meals that we've had in Murano, for example, were worth MUCH more than $45 per person. Considering an 18% built-in gratuity (not sure that's exactly what is done) would mean a $38 dinner with a $7 tip. Choosing to add 20% of the $45 would add $9. A $16 total tip is not unreasonable for a meal that could easily run $100/person on land.

That said, I know that extra gratuities are not required- just adding a perspective.

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We enjoy eating a few meals in the special restaurants. We enjoy getting that special waiter/waitress who spends a few extra moments with us and makes our night more enjoyable. When this happens we always leave an extra tip. We also notice when we tip extra, they are aware on our next visit as we always get great tables and service. I agree that you should not have to leave an additional tip but for us it has led to much better experiences.

In my opinion, defining gratuities as a percentage of the specialty restaurant fee is not really fair. The specialty restaurant fee is an up charge and does not reflect the full value of the experience. Meals that we've had in Murano, for example, were worth MUCH more than $45 per person. Considering an 18% built-in gratuity (not sure that's exactly what is done) would mean a $38 dinner with a $7 tip. Choosing to add 20% of the $45 would add $9. A $16 total tip is not unreasonable for a meal that could easily run $100/person on land.

 

That said, I know that extra gratuities are not required- just adding a perspective.

 

 

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More perspective,

You are not paying $45 or $50 for the meal. You are paying $45 or $50 additional over the meal you already paid for in the MDR or where ever your dining room was. I'm not sure what that cost would be. But if you value that meal at say $30, a meal in Murano is actually costing $80. I can get a pretty spectacular meal for $80 here in SoCal.

More perspective,

 

 

 

You are not paying $45 or $50 for the meal. You are paying $45 or $50 additional over the meal you already paid for in the MDR or where ever your dining room was. I'm not sure what that cost would be. But if you value that meal at say $30, a meal in Murano is actually costing $80. I can get a pretty spectacular meal for $80 here in SoCal.

Exactly. Good interpretation. Then I guess the debate would be whether one should tip on the full value or not...at $80, I would usually tip $16.

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