Tipping in Specialty Restaurants?

[Guest]

I was just looking into signing up for the Murano on Silhouette and noticed in the verbage that gratuities were not included.

If gratuities are covered in your trip and you are paying extra to eat in a restaurant, what amount would be appropriate to

leave?  I can see leaving your nightly waiter, waitress, butler and room attendant extra for their services at the end of the trip but a one night dinner I found a little surprising. Don’t want to disappoint any employees but found this strange.

[LGW59]

9 minutes ago, Guest said:

I was just looking into signing up for the Murano on Silhouette and noticed in the verbage that gratuities were not included.

If gratuities are covered in your trip and you are paying extra to eat in a restaurant, what amount would be appropriate to

leave?  I can see leaving your nightly waiter, waitress, butler and room attendant extra for their services at the end of the trip but a one night dinner I found a little surprising. Don’t want to disappoint any employees but found this strange.

Do you live in the US or in another country?

 

[jelayne]

In our experience there is no gratuity added to the cost of the specialty dinner, unlike a beverage, salon or spa service where they automatically add the 20%.  A few years ago they used to give you a bill with a $0.00 charge so you could add a tip if you chose.  Lately we haven't got that either.  We always tip the waiter and sommelier in cash.

[Denny01]

The gratuities that are ‘covered’ by the Always Included are not for the specialty restaurants. 

 

Den

[Cg52]

15 minutes ago, Guest said:

I was just looking into signing up for the Murano on Silhouette and noticed in the verbage that gratuities were not included.

If gratuities are covered in your trip and you are paying extra to eat in a restaurant, what amount would be appropriate to

leave?  I can see leaving your nightly waiter, waitress, butler and room attendant extra for their services at the end of the trip but a one night dinner I found a little surprising. Don’t want to disappoint any employees but found this strange.

We always leave a tip in these restaurants. Apparently, and according to our waiter in one of them, they do not get to keep the gratuity. We still leave one and hope that they eventually get their share.

[Ken the cruiser]

We are currently on the Edge and added a $25 tip to the bill at Raw On 5 which is a specialty restaurant. Then we found out from the maitre d any tip added to the bill will go into the ship-wide server tip fund rather than being dispersed to the servers in the specific SR. Not sure what happens if you slide them some cash under the table, but this is what happens when you add it to the bill. At least here on the Edge. 😎

 

[39august]

I thought the prices in specialty restaurants supposedly included gratuity. But we always slip some cash to the servers. However, we did ask one last cruise and were advised that even the cash was to be added to the community "pot". 

[RICCruisers]

I’m not sure this is my problem to solve. If I add a tip to the check I receive in a Specialty Restaurant and Celebrity decides not to give it to the server, then that is between the staff and management. 
 

I might also add that paying an additional $50 per person to eat in Murano should be more than enough to cover a gratuity to the staff in that restaurant. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by RICCruisers

[m8zenblue]

Ofcourse ,I tip in Tuscan Grille each time we eat there !

Never had a bad meal, service is always superior, why not tip !

[mom says]

5 minutes ago, RICCruisers said:

I’m not sure this is my problem to solve. If I add a tip to the check I receive in a Specialty Restaurant and Celebrity decides not to give it to the server, then that is between the staff and management. 

While it is true that what happens to your tip is not your problem, it isn't a question of Celebrity not giving it to your server. He will get a portion of it. Tips go into a shared pool, which is common practice in many places.

[PTC DAWG]

7 minutes ago, RICCruisers said:
 

I might also add that paying an additional $50 per person to eat in Murano should be more than enough to cover a gratuity to the staff in that restaurant. 

That’s one take..I always leave them at least 20% CASH tip. 

[schittenden]

Now I feel like I undertipped at Qsine last night. This is only our second celebrity cruise, and on the other lines gratuity was typically included in the specialty restaurant charge. I did not realize celebrity did not, especially given that the upcharge is more than I’ve typically seen on other lines. 

[ambrtonj]

I feel as though whatever the experience you receive in a restaurant is achieved by the culmination of many different individuals/groups. The way the facility looks, to the cleanliness of the utensils, to the quality of the food, all play a vital role in the overall experience. If your meal comes out quickly and hot, of course we want to applaud the server because that is the face of the organization. We all realize there are many others contribute to the outcome of the experience. So for that reason I don't have a problem with the money I provide in a gratuity goes to all those that made the entire experience memorable.

[PTC DAWG]

6 minutes ago, ambrtonj said:

I feel as though whatever the experience you receive in a restaurant is achieved by the culmination of many different individuals/groups. The way the facility looks, to the cleanliness of the utensils, to the quality of the food, all play a vital role in the overall experience. If your meal comes out quickly and hot, of course we want to applaud the server because that is the face of the organization. We all realize there are many others contribute to the outcome of the experience. So for that reason I don't have a problem with the money I provide in a gratuity goes to all those that made the entire experience memorable.

I too have no issue with “pooled” tips..

[Guest]

So if you are on a cruise from Southampton, England  going to euro countries do you leave euro? Can’t imagine USD.

Can you use onboard credit? 

 

[RICCruisers]

Here’s a question for everyone. Celebrity is quick to add a gratuity on the Spa Treatments, Drinks at the bars, Drink Packages, Bottles of wine and the automatic gratuities to our cruise price. Why then do they leave Specialty Restaurants up to the guest to figure out what is the right thing to do???  Could it be that part of the extra charge is actually a gratuity?  I’m going to have to reread the description on Specialty Restaurants but my recollection is the gratuity mentioned in it refers to any drinks you get at the restaurant. 

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Guest said:

So if you are on a cruise from Southampton, England  going to euro countries do you leave euro? Can’t imagine USD.

Can you use onboard credit? 

 

USD is the ships currency no matter where it is sailing, so we tip in USD. I’m sure the staff welcome a tip regardless of currency.

[NMTraveller]

So if the tips are pooled is there any advantage to tipping in cash vs charging it to the room?

 

When in foreign countries I tip in the local currency.  Though I don't think it matters that much as it can be changed.

[Pinboy]

We have been to Murano, Tuscan Grill , Lawn Grill, etc , and in every Specialty Restaurant  this is what we were told on more than one occasion :

If you add a tip onto the bottom of the bill where it says " Additional Gratuity " , it goes into the pool.

If you hand cash directly to whomever serves you, he/she keeps it for themselves .

( Only $US are acceptable )

 

 

[dkjretired]

The se

3 hours ago, 39august said:

I thought the prices in specialty restaurants supposedly included gratuity. But we always slip some cash to the servers. However, we did ask one last cruise and were advised that even the cash was to be added to the community "pot". 

The service charge in the specialties has ALWAYS been considered the tip from day 1 of Specialties.  Anything else is a personal choice.

[keesar]

4 hours ago, Guest said:

I was just looking into signing up for the Murano on Silhouette and noticed in the verbage that gratuities were not included.

If gratuities are covered in your trip and you are paying extra to eat in a restaurant, what amount would be appropriate to

leave?  I can see leaving your nightly waiter, waitress, butler and room attendant extra for their services at the end of the trip but a one night dinner I found a little surprising. Don’t want to disappoint any employees but found this strange.

 

A gratuity has been included in the  amount you pay for the specialty restaurant.  That is stated at the bottom of the charge you receive at the end of the meal.  You can leave an additional tip either in cash or by charging it to your room.  Murano is worth the uncharge.  

[sanger727]

14 hours ago, Guest said:

So if you are on a cruise from Southampton, England  going to euro countries do you leave euro? Can’t imagine USD.

Can you use onboard credit? 

 

yes, you can leave cash or charge it to your on board account. People will leave USD and/or local denomination. I don’t think the wait staff really care. 
 

as far as whether or not part of the specialty restaurant fee is inclusive of the tip, can you post the wording that says it isn’t? I always through it was.

[bikerunner]

If I add a tip I charge it to the room, I only carry my sea pass card around on the ship and wallet and money stays in there until we hit a port or leaving.  I know if I start carrying cash it would be going very quickly by the enjoyment of the Casino

[oneputt18]

15 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

Here’s a question for everyone. Celebrity is quick to add a gratuity on the Spa Treatments, Drinks at the bars, Drink Packages, Bottles of wine and the automatic gratuities to our cruise price. Why then do they leave Specialty Restaurants up to the guest to figure out what is the right thing to do???  Could it be that part of the extra charge is actually a gratuity?  I’m going to have to reread the description on Specialty Restaurants but my recollection is the gratuity mentioned in it refers to any drinks you get at the restaurant. 

From additional term: All cover charges are per person. Restaurant reservations are subject to availability, and reservations are non-transferable. Additional items such as beverages, menu supplements, food and wine pairings and gratuities are not included.

[dkjretired]

17 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

I’m not sure this is my problem to solve. If I add a tip to the check I receive in a Specialty Restaurant and Celebrity decides not to give it to the server, then that is between the staff and management. 
 

I might also add that paying an additional $50 per person to eat in Murano should be more than enough to cover a gratuity to the staff in that restaurant. 

 

Since the first day that Celebrity had Specialty restaurants, the service charge has always been the tip, anything else is up to the cruiser.   If you buy a drink and don't have a drink package which of course now is rare, then you pay the price of the drink and a tip which last I saw was 18%, no different than if you went to one of the bars to get a drink.