Jump to content

Tipping in specialty restaurants


myr seashell

Recommended Posts

In Tuscan Grill there was a line item for an extra tip for both the waiter and bar server. Service was so good, I left an extra tip for the waiter. I did this both times we ate there on the Equinox.

 

There's a line item for an extra tip in the Martini Bar. I always thought the extra fee for specialty restaurants was for the service/tip. Of course, you could always leave extra.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is usually full of misinformation and differing "facts" on this board.

 

The Celebrity info on the specialty restaurant says, or said, that the service charge includes a gratuity. Some people think the service charge is ALL gratuity. I do not believe this is the case. I believe that only a small portion of the service charge goes to the staff and the rest goes to the cruise line for costs and profit. This applies to the basic service charge for food - any special beverages you order do have a 15% service charge added so that amount is clearly set out.

 

We do tip extra as we've always thought the service and experience in the specialty restaurants is outstanding. My personal opinion is that this is appropriate and should be the custom for all. But whether to tip extra, or how much, is a personal decision and there is no right or wrong answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is usually full of misinformation and differing "facts" on this board.

 

The Celebrity info on the specialty restaurant says, or said, that the service charge includes a gratuity. Some people think the service charge is ALL gratuity. I do not believe this is the case. I believe that only a small portion of the service charge goes to the staff and the rest goes to the cruise line for costs and profit. This applies to the basic service charge for food - any special beverages you order do have a 15% service charge added so that amount is clearly set out.

 

We do tip extra as we've always thought the service and experience in the specialty restaurants is outstanding. My personal opinion is that this is appropriate and should be the custom for all. But whether to tip extra, or how much, is a personal decision and there is no right or wrong answer.

 

 

Wonderfully said! We also tip extra, but it's because the service is always excellent and we want to!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Tuscan Grill there was a line item for an extra tip for both the waiter and bar server. Service was so good, I left an extra tip for the waiter. I did this both times we ate there on the Equinox.

 

Oh boy...enough already.

 

Celebrity...call the dining fee a surcharge for the upgrade and ADD the tips for the staff to the check too. Celebrity, YOU DOLL THEM OUT TO YOUR STAFF, I am sick and tired of doing your work for you beyond the prepaid tips :cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tipped $5 to $10 extra per person at specialty restaurants. Although a portion of the cover charge goes to the servers as a gratuity, a lot of it goes to the cruise line to cover the cost of higher end food, increased costs of operating the specialty restaurant, and profit.

 

Suite guests on Solstice class ships receive a couple of complimentary dinners at specialty restaurants; they are told that the recommended gratuity is $5 per person when they enjoy their free meal. As such it can be surmised that probably $5 of the surcharge goes to the servers as gratuity and the rest goes into the cruise line's pockets.

 

One certainly does not have to tip extra beyond the cover charge, but I have been highly impressed with the service and overall experience in the specialty restaurants and have therefore gladly tipped extra.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I

 

Suite guests on Solstice class ships receive a couple of complimentary dinners at specialty restaurants; they are told that the recommended gratuity is $5 per person when they enjoy their free meal. As such it can be surmised that probably $5 of the surcharge goes to the servers as gratuity and the rest goes into the cruise line's pockets.

 

 

Gonzo this is a good clarification. I have never heard this before and I'd like to ask you how you found this information and if you can delineate better, who told who about the suggested amount.

 

Thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never heard this before and I'd like to ask you how you found this information and if you can delineate better, who told who about the suggested amount.

 

I am not Gonzo, but the info was inside the tab binder along with the "no charge" for the specialty restaurant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Celebrity has published tipping guidelines. I've never seen any published/recommended tipping guidelines for the specialty restaurants, and just assume that the tip is included in the extra $60.00 you pay to dine there.

 

I can understand if the Suite people eat in there for free that they pay a $5 tip -- They also pay the $5 tip for eating in Blu.

 

Of course, you can always leave extra anywhere you go on the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not trying to stop people from tipping extra but EVERYTHING on the ship you get a bill for ALREADY includes the tip. Maybe many of you add additional tips to evreything but I sign the bill they give me, tip included. Call me cheap! :)

I do not disagree with your personal self-assessment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always wonder about this. If I want to give a particular person an extra tip, is it better to give them the cash directly. I wonder how much of your extra gratuity they actually get when you add it to the check. Does the employee get the whole thing or does it go into the pool, in which case the person you intended it for gets only a per centage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Must be nice to have enough money to freely give it away

unnecessarily. I can give you my address if you're in the mood to give away some more.

By the way, you invited us to call you cheap. I did not disparage you, I simply stated that I did not disagree with your personal self-assessment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Must be nice to have enough money to freely give it away

unnecessarily. I can give you my address if you're in the mood to give away some more.

 

I do not think that most people who tip extra in the specialty restaurants enjoy freely giving money away. They simply believe that they received an outstanding experience and felt that the servers who helped make the evening special deserve a bit more than the small portion of the cover charge that makes its way into their pockets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not trying to stop people from tipping extra but EVERYTHING on the ship you get a bill for ALREADY includes the tip. Maybe many of you add additional tips to evreything but I sign the bill they give me, tip included. Call me cheap! :)

 

I think many do this too. At least you don't try to take tips away! The issue these days is now that people are wide awake they are no longer mindlessly giving their money away.

 

To be brutally honest, I think the cruise line has taken advantage of our good nature to some extent. Anywhere along the way they could have mentioned on their menu in Specialty that gratuities are included for the staff and no other tip is necessary.

 

I think with this $5.oo pp amount that is being discussed now there are quite a few who will be surprised at leaving so much more than this and out of confusion. The though process something akin to well, if I had this meal at home it would have easily cost us -x-. So if it were -x-, the tip would need to be....

 

Too bad that to some extent that kind of idea continued to occur freely with a nod and a wink. I am not sure if I give it some more thought that I might not feel like I was a fool rather than generous or taken advantage of for my own ignorance.

 

In any event, the baseline is now established and we can make educated and thoughful decisions about what we do in these venues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please remember the statement the Vice President of Royal Caribbean Lines made; she stated that the service charge at the various restaurant was in lieu of a tip and would be shared by the service staff.

 

Unless the service is extraordinary and the food outstanding, NO EXTRA TIP!

 

catalina56

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that may not really be the way it is in practice --that's what we have gathered over the yrs...

 

we always leave an "extra" tip because we have always had great meals & excellent service in specialty restaurants.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...