Extra tipping for bartenders

[Jay Bee]

I'm sure this is posted somewhere, but I can't find it.

 

We have drink packages on an upcoming cruise so I understand that drinks (and gratuities in specialty restaurants) are included. But if we want to tip a little extra and we've run out of small bills, is it possible to add a tip to the receipt even though the bill is $0?

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Possible but might be a PITN for the bartender. You can always go to guest relations and get ones.

[miched]

If you put in on a receipt it goes to that server, or BT.   If you put in on a general extra gratuity form it gets pooled 

 

If you give a BT cash some with share with the other personel at that bar.   You can witness that at the Martini Bar where they ring a bell and put it into a container 

 

I also seen it at the WCB, and Eden Bar where they have a container with tips in it.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, Jay Bee said:

is it possible to add a tip to the receipt even though the bill is $0?

Possible, but I wouldn't bother as that tip would go into the shipwide bartender pool, so likely not worth your particular bartender's effort. Go to the casino or guest services and get more small bills.

[Jay Bee]

Thank you. So there's no problem getting small bills in the casino even if you're not playing?

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, Jay Bee said:

Thank you. So there's no problem getting small bills in the casino even if you're not playing?

I prefer GS. 

[Jay Bee]

13 minutes ago, miched said:

If you put in on a receipt it goes to that server, or BT.   If you put in on a general extra gratuity form it gets pooled 

 

If you give a BT cash some with share with the other personel at that bar.   You can witness that at the Martini Bar where they ring a bell and put it into a container 

 

I also seen it at the WCB, and Eden Bar where they have a container with tips in it.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

In reading the responses it seems unclear whether a tip on the receipt goes to the BT or to a pool. And what is a general extra gratuity form??

[Jay Bee]

Getting $1 bills from Guest Services (or the Casino) seems better than trying to figure out where the money goes if you add it to a receipt or form. Thank you.

[davekathy]

15 minutes ago, Jay Bee said:

In reading the responses it seems unclear whether a tip on the receipt goes to the BT or to a pool. And what is a general extra gratuity form??

I prefer to hand a cash tip directly to the server and hopefully that's only between us. 

Edited November 27, 2022 by davekathy

[mugwood]

Used the premium package last week, and was never offered a receipt, so couldn’t add a tip in that manner. Just slipped paper money over with the room cards and small bills were available.
It may be with the classic package, there would be the odd time that an extra charge resulted in the signing of a receipt.

[CNSfromHI]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

I prefer to hand a cash tip directly to the server and hopefully that's only between us. 

This is how I handle it.

 

Given Celebrity's "tips included" thing, offering anything more was up to me and, when I chose to tip more, I wanted it to go to each person whose attentive service I appreciated. Therefore, I always handed him/her a cash tip and said "This is for you; thank you."

 

I'm certain that some servers will still share that cash with others on their shift, but some don't. At the very least, I've overtly expressed my appreciation for exemplary service.

 

cjr

 

[Mango Tango]

We used to add an extra tip on the signed slip but stopped doing that when we heard from one of our favorite bartenders on Royal Caribbean that if you put $1 extra tip on the slip, the bartender only gets 7 cents out of that dollar.  RC gets the rest.  We only give cash tips to bartenders now and they are very appreciative of it.

[ggo85]

Bring your singles.  On a recent cruise (RCCL), I could only get 5 one-dollar bills at a time in the casino or GS. I suppose I could have visited many times but it wasn’t a case of: give the casino a 20 and get 20 ones.  

[markeb]

Buy a glass of wine over the limit and add an extra tip. Problem solved. If it's the same bartender (I assume) and you have cash, just drop a 20 for the week. Don't worry about whether they keep it or not. It's either going to be pooled (cash or room charge) by Celebrity or they'll tip out their helpers. Bartenders may split tips with each other if they're all working the bar at the same time (sharing customers). They'll share in the pool if it exists (and it clearly does) on some formula. And they'll tip out the bussers and helpers if there's no pool.

 

The bartender who pockets a fiver and doesn't remember the guy washing his glasses doesn't get clean glasses.

 

And I can't imagine any circumstance where the cruise line would keep 93% of the tip! Or that the bartender's share of the pool would only be 7%. I'm not saying the bartender didn't say that, and if it's true, the same would largely be true of cash tips. The only thing that's unclear is whether the tip pool for extra tips is all bar staff on the ship or just that bar. But it's the tip pool they agreed to when they accepted employment.

[Wineaux007]

35 minutes ago, Mango Tango said:

We used to add an extra tip on the signed slip but stopped doing that when we heard from one of our favorite bartenders on Royal Caribbean that if you put $1 extra tip on the slip, the bartender only gets 7 cents out of that dollar.  RC gets the rest.  We only give cash tips to bartenders now and they are very appreciative of it.

I find that hard to believe.  I was always under the impression that if you added it to the slip, that bartender got it.  Having said that, I always tip extra giving a $1 when I hand them my seapass (having the drink package).  What they do with that, pool, share, whatever, I could care less.

[cruzzzinma]

8 hours ago, Jay Bee said:

We have drink packages on an upcoming cruise so I understand that drinks (and gratuities in specialty restaurants) are included.

Just to clarify, the with a drink package, the gratuities on drinks are included on drinks. In the speciality restaurants, there is a gratuity on the meal that is not included. The drinks are covered.

 

The advice you’ve been given for tipping on drinks is right on. Give cash, either by the drink or a larger tip to the tip jar at the bar. In my limited experience, the bartenders pool cash tips at the bar. When we frequented the martini bar we always offered at least one $20 during the cruise for the tip container.

[Arizona Wildcat]

26 minutes ago, markeb said:

Buy a glass of wine over the limit and add an extra tip. Problem solved. If it's the same bartender (I assume) and you have cash, just drop a 20 for the week. Don't worry about whether they keep it or not. It's either going to be pooled (cash or room charge) by Celebrity or they'll tip out their helpers. Bartenders may split tips with each other if they're all working the bar at the same time (sharing customers). They'll share in the pool if it exists (and it clearly does) on some formula. And they'll tip out the bussers and helpers if there's no pool.

 

The bartender who pockets a fiver and doesn't remember the guy washing his glasses doesn't get clean glasses.

 

And I can't imagine any circumstance where the cruise line would keep 93% of the tip! Or that the bartender's share of the pool would only be 7%. I'm not saying the bartender didn't say that, and if it's true, the same would largely be true of cash tips. The only thing that's unclear is whether the tip pool for extra tips is all bar staff on the ship or just that bar. But it's the tip pool they agreed to when they accepted employment.

Absolutely.  The helper who keeps things stocked is just as important as the one that serves you.  Cannot imagine a crew working a bar would not pool their tips.

I do know a few $$ to a server who works my handy bar gets me recognized and quickly served.

How they share those tips is none of my business

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, Jay Bee said:

In reading the responses it seems unclear whether a tip on the receipt goes to the BT or to a pool. And what is a general extra gratuity form??

I'm sure you will hear many opinion.   I am basing my response on what the Murano Maitre'd told me.   We were in a RS and had free specialty.   I asked for a receipt so I could leave a tip.   He told me if I left a tip in cash it goes to the Murano Dining Room Pool, If I left it on a room charge it went to the General Restaurant  Pool for all workers.

 

He assured us our tip was already included in our Free Dining.   The next time we ate there we remembered to bring cash.

[GottaKnowWhen]

8 hours ago, Jay Bee said:

I'm sure this is posted somewhere, but I can't find it.

 

We have drink packages on an upcoming cruise so I understand that drinks (and gratuities in specialty restaurants) are included. But if we want to tip a little extra and we've run out of small bills, is it possible to add a tip to the receipt even though the bill is $0?

With a drinks package, you won’t have a $0.00 receipt. They swipe your card, and done. And to the large4 question, I often tip (cash) favorite bar tenders during and/or at the end of a cruise. But not on every drink.

[ETHTrader]

I usually make my way across the different bars on the ship, find my go-to bartenders and then tip them a day before the last in an envelope. This would be in addition to any tips that I would write in on the receipt (if the price of the drink exceeds the threshold covered by the drink package)

[beerme1]

I have always done the dollar deal. Tips included yea, but leave the guy an extra buck each drink so he gets it.

Love your servers. Tip well for good service. The gratuities included thing I think is a bit of a scam. So cash to your bartender is always desirable. If you don't have it, you don't have it and just write a $1 tip on the receipt. They will always appreciate it. And remember you as well. Do it!

[20165]

18 hours ago, Jay Bee said:

Getting $1 bills from Guest Services (or the Casino) seems better than trying to figure out where the money goes if you add it to a receipt or form. Thank you.

Just a heads up, Guest Services on our Silhouette cruise a couple weeks ago did not have change. I thought this to be very odd, and tried several time.  By the third time, they knew i was getting frustrated and they went drawer to drawer to find me some.  

Casino sounds like a much better option, not sure why they didnt point me in that direction.  

[DaKahuna]

We normally take a quantity of $1.00, $5.00, and $10.00 bills specifically for tips.  
 

Since I do gamble, I normally will ask for some amount in small bills when I cash out at the casino.  I find slot machines a lot easier to have a payout that will include $1.00 bills. 

 

[dazey]

This is a tip question but unrelated to this discussion.  We are Elite and have free drinks from 5-7 PM.  I usually give $5 to the bartender when he/she serves us two drinks.  Does that sound like an acceptable amount?

[Mark_K]

15 hours ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

With a drinks package, you won’t have a $0.00 receipt. They swipe your card, and done. And to the large4 question, I often tip (cash) favorite bar tenders during and/or at the end of a cruise. But not on every drink.

If you tell the bartender you want a receipt so you can add a gratuity, they’re happy to give you a $0.00 one.