Who gets the tip???

[Willowmina]

We have the UBP which I understand includes gratuities. My question is, when you leave an additional gratuity on the check to bartenders/waitresses, etc, does the individual receive the money? Or is it pooled among the staff?

 

Should we leave the gratuity in cash to insure that the money goes to our server?

 

Thanks in advance for your response!

[perditax]

No one knows, and the cruise lines aren't saying.

[phoenix2mn]

No one knows, and the cruise lines aren't saying.

 

 

This. You'll hear all different answers and theories but the bottom line is no one knows.

[Jane Don]

Anywhere, but especially at sea, if you want to reward excellent service, the only way to ensure the right person gets it is to put cash in their hand.

[Leavethekidswithmom]

The check clearly says the servers name and number on it so they do get that money that you signed for and allocated on the receipt.

[LMaxwell]

Write ins are pooled. If you want to make sure your server receives your monetary thank you cash is king.

[rvsullivan]

Every single answer you have been given thus far has all been speculation. Not a single member here has any first hand information on how tips are distributed. Give the server a cash tip if you feel it's deserved.

Many love to speculate on all this, the reality is, the crew keep coming back for contract after contract, so someone appears to be happy with whatever the deal is!

[rochelle_s]

When it is written on the receipt it goes into the pool. How it is divided up after that is anyone's guess.

 

 

Rochelle

[mickev99]

We were on royal carib last summer and asked the waiter point blank. Write in gets pooled. Cash they get to keep personally.

[spidybabe]

Every single answer you have been given thus far has all been speculation. Not a single member here has any first hand information on how tips are distributed. Give the server a cash tip if you feel it's deserved.

Many love to speculate on all this, the reality is, the crew keep coming back for contract after contract, so someone appears to be happy with whatever the deal is!

 

 

Very true, their contracts/deals can't be so horrible if soo many of the staff return year after year.

One cruise(before all the changes) two different waiters told us two different "stories". One told us all tips (cash) gets pooled, another told us not pooled????? Some staff will try to play on your sympathies. We tip as we feel apprioate, up to the company what they have their staff do with it. We never worry in a land restaurant, how the tips are distributed, or if the staff is happy and well paid, so why should we on a cruise?

Bottom line, no one knows

Safe sailing

[Va. Plumber]

I asked our waiter in one of the specialties if he got tips that were added to the check. He said he receives payment for his tips once a week.

 

If that hadn't been the case, I was prepared to leave cash.

[cruzsnooze]

Nobody knows how NCL distributes these extra tips if they even distribute them at all. For all we know NCL might keep them for incentive programs or employee of the month programs.

[luddite]

Fred Johnson.

He lives in San Antonio.

He gets that money. It all goes to him.

Obviously, it's good to be Fred.

Edited October 1, 2015 by luddite

[bbryan5]

Very strange.. I asked a drink server by the pool in May on the Breakaway if he preferred cash tips or a write in on the slip, and he said it made no difference because either way it goes to him.. :confused::confused:

[NLH Arizona]

All of the different answers just shows that no one has a clue what happens to the tips (or cash given) or how they are distributed. That is between NCL and their employees and that is how it should stay. We can all speculate on whether NCL distributes the tips or not, but I would say, if the crew wasn't happy with the arrangement they have between them and NCL, then NCL would not be keeping some of the excellent staff who have been with them for years.

[Willowmina]

Very true that I never think about who gets the tip on land restaurants/bars. It's kinda funny that I'm so worried about who gets the gratuity on the cruise. I should probably pay just as much attention to who actually gets the tips at my favorite local restaurant.

 

It would make sense if tips are pooled and distributed accordingly. The dishwasher / waitress / hostess / chef, etc all work together as a team.

[zqvol]

Anywhere, but especially at sea, if you want to reward excellent service, the only way to ensure the right person gets it is to put cash in their hand.

 

 

and no one knows if this is true or not either because it is reported that all cash tips are pooled too

[zqvol]

Very true that I never think about who gets the tip on land restaurants/bars. It's kinda funny that I'm so worried about who gets the gratuity on the cruise. I should probably pay just as much attention to who actually gets the tips at my favorite local restaurant.

 

It would make sense if tips are pooled and distributed accordingly. The dishwasher / waitress / hostess / chef, etc all work together as a team.

 

 

Just an FYI about at home. Every restaurant is different. You will find that in most places servers have to provide a portion of their gratuity to among others, bar tenders, bus boys, and food runners. Generally chefs, dishwashers, hosts, are not part of that distribution, but they are paid at or above the "real minimum wage", whereas people receiving gratuities are paid the lower allowed minimum wage.

[swedish weave]

The cruise lines have no valid way to track cash tips.

[mypleasure]

I am quite happy not to have a clue. NCL tells me it expects a Daily Service Charge from me and a service charge of 18% added to drinks etc and that I have no other obligation. I see no need for me to agonise over who gets what out of these amounts, that is for NCL management and the crew and I think those crew who are not happy are free to not ask for their contracts to be renewed. I don't see a lot of servers who seem unhappy with this. What I do see is a lot of them many times over the years on different ships that remember me from 4, 5, even 6 years. I just don't get all of this angst over who gets what and I doubt if I ever will. It is between NCL and their employees and I'm good with that as it really is not any of my business.

[pieshops]

I am quite happy not to have a clue. NCL tells me it expects a Daily Service Charge from me and a service charge of 18% added to drinks etc and that I have no other obligation. I see no need for me to agonise over who gets what out of these amounts, that is for NCL management and the crew and I think those crew who are not happy are free to not ask for their contracts to be renewed. I don't see a lot of servers who seem unhappy with this. What I do see is a lot of them many times over the years on different ships that remember me from 4, 5, even 6 years. I just don't get all of this angst over who gets what and I doubt if I ever will. It is between NCL and their employees and I'm good with that as it really is not any of my business.

 

you beat me to it. I do not understand the fascination on who gets what and how much they make. Do all these people consider how much the servers in the restaurants in their area make and eat at specific ones based on this? Or when purchasing a tv, how much money does the salesman at best buy make? Really it is a vacation, sit back and relax

[Bluetail48]

Just an FYI about at home. Every restaurant is different. You will find that in most places servers have to provide a portion of their gratuity to among others, bar tenders, bus boys, and food runners. Generally chefs, dishwashers, hosts, are not part of that distribution, but they are paid at or above the "real minimum wage", whereas people receiving gratuities are paid the lower allowed minimum wage.

 

A little off-topic here, but not all state's server minimum wages are created equal. Washington state does not allow for "tip credit", so all servers are paid minimum wage (currently $9.47/hour) plus tips, and some localities (remember Seattle minimum wage hike drama?) are even higher than that. Start doing the math on this one, and a server can make quite a decent living and not have to report a fair amount of it (cash tips) to the IRS, even though they're supposed to do so.

[cb at sea]

The tips included in your package go to all the servers. Their way...you just go with the flow!

[Moby0215]

Very true that I never think about who gets the tip on land restaurants/bars. It's kinda funny that I'm so worried about who gets the gratuity on the cruise. I should probably pay just as much attention to who actually gets the tips at my favorite local restaurant.

 

 

 

It would make sense if tips are pooled and distributed accordingly. The dishwasher / waitress / hostess / chef, etc all work together as a team.

 

 

Most of the time in land based bars even cash tips for bartenders are pooled. Waiters may be a different story.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[newmexicoNita]

We have the UBP which I understand includes gratuities. My question is, when you leave an additional gratuity on the check to bartenders/waitresses, etc, does the individual receive the money? Or is it pooled among the staff?

 

Should we leave the gratuity in cash to insure that the money goes to our server?

 

Thanks in advance for your response!

 

To be sure it goes where you want it to, leave cash.