Tipping in specialty dining

[MISTER 67]

2 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Old time cruising was the best.   We used to get 2nd seating in MDR.   What a great evening.   Usually there was a combo playing dance standards somewhere and so you could enjoy a cocktail (yes you paid for it, no drink packages then) before dinner.   At dinner you were welcomed by wait staff that knew your name, you were seated at a table that wasn't 6 inches from somebody else and could then choose a 5 course dinner.   And you get get 2nds or 3rds.  The term "upcharge" was not heard of.   You could then go to the late show and then retire for the evening.  

Yep, those were great days, some meals included caviar and champagne. The cruise lines were there to give you a memorable time and not fleece you at every chance they could get. 

[RichYak]

11 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I am trying to figure out how the sommelier is not getting paid here?

 

20% tip on the Premium drink package.

20% tip on Specialty dining dinner

20% tip on anything over $17 on the wine list.  Most good wines will be an upcharge and a tip.

While I agree with your point, the sommelier does not get a piece of the 20% tip on specialty dining.

[Gordoncruickshank]

12 minutes ago, RichYak said:

While I agree with your point, the sommelier does not get a piece of the 20% tip on specialty dining.

But he does get all the drink 20% and the pool add on for the beverage package drinks up to $17.

[RichYak]

1 minute ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

But he does get all the drink 20% and the pool add on for the beverage package drinks up to $17.

Yes, that's why I didn't highlight those in the quoted portion of my post above. He doesn't get "all" as it's divided among the beverage staff using various methods, but he gets his share. They also get some of the tip added to beverage tastings if you purchase through them.

[Gordoncruickshank]

Just now, RichYak said:

They also get some of the tip added to beverage tastings if you purchase through them.

I wouldn’t be surprises if the sommeliers who sold the tasting event got the bulk of the add on tip for these things. Only signed up once and the sommelier was on our back every time we passed her to make sure we went, leading me to think that it is a big deal for the seller.

 

In the end we cancelled it (I did tell the sommelier that we would only be going if the sun wasn’t out, this was February in the Caribbean)

[Alsmez]

I must say this is the kind of mental math I did not miss doing when we sailed Virgin for the first time a couple of weeks ago. The no-tipping policy removes a significant source of stress that I didn't even realize existed until it was gone. Since Celebrity is already adding a non-negotiable 20% gratuity to drinks/specialty dining, they are halfway there - IMO they should just go no-tipping and be done with it. Build the cost of paying your staff fairly into the cruise fare and cost of drinks/meals and take the mental burden of figuring out who's getting what from whom off your passengers.

[Hawkstar33]

53 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Old time cruising was the best.   We used to get 2nd seating in MDR.   What a great evening.   Usually there was a combo playing dance standards somewhere and so you could enjoy a cocktail (yes you paid for it, no drink packages then) before dinner.   At dinner you were welcomed by wait staff that knew your name, you were seated at a table that wasn't 6 inches from somebody else and could then choose a 5 course dinner.   And you get get 2nds or 3rds.  The term "upcharge" was not heard of.   You could then go to the late show and then retire for the evening.  

Those were the days.   Glad you have good memories, cause those days are gone

 

[NMTraveller]

12 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I am trying to figure out how the sommelier is not getting paid here?

 

20% tip on the Premium drink package.

20% tip on anything over $17 on the wine list.  Most good wines will be an upcharge and a tip.

Add to this the 20% tip on the wine pairing for the Chef's table dinner.

 

I removed the 20% tip for the specialty dinner.

 

Edited January 11 by NMTraveller

[RichYak]

42 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

I must say this is the kind of mental math I did not miss doing when we sailed Virgin for the first time a couple of weeks ago. The no-tipping policy removes a significant source of stress that I didn't even realize existed until it was gone. Since Celebrity is already adding a non-negotiable 20% gratuity to drinks/specialty dining, they are halfway there - IMO they should just go no-tipping and be done with it. Build the cost of paying your staff fairly into the cruise fare and cost of drinks/meals and take the mental burden of figuring out who's getting what from whom off your passengers.

There's no mental math required nor anything to figure out. All (not half) of the appropriate tips are added automatically. There's nothing you need to think about.

[RichYak]

36 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I removed the 20% tip for the specialty dinner.

 

FYI, if read quickly without earlier context, this can be interpreted as stiffing the waitstaff.

[Alsmez]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

There's no mental math required nor anything to figure out. All (not half) of the appropriate tips are added automatically. There's nothing you need to think about.

The existence of this thread clearly indicates otherwise :). I didn't mean math in the literal sense. Of course I know, and you know, that the 20% grat is added automatically, but obviously many people are unaware, resulting in them leaving an additional tip when they have already tipped. Add this to the prevailing idea promoted by X that the shipwide auto-gratuities (which used to be included in the all-inclusive package but suddenly are no longer) are the bare minimum required and that additional tipping is encouraged if not expected, there is indeed a lot of mental gymnastics going on around tipping. I didn't think I wasted too much mental energy on it until I sailed VV and realized how nice it was not to have to think about it at all.

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, CruiseRQA said:

I have eaten at many nice restaurants around the US and in Europe.   I still say that the best dinner I have ever had was at the Olympic.   I had Dover Sole and my wife Steak Diane.   I remember that cheese cart, yum.  I forget what we had for dessert but I do remember being confused about what, if anything, to tip. 

Those were the days....    People were outraged that thy charged a Surcharge of $25.  It was a crime that Celebrity took Olympic off the ship and turned have the restaurant into rooms.

[NMTraveller]

5 hours ago, RichYak said:

FYI, if read quickly without earlier context, this can be interpreted as stiffing the waitstaff.

Oh no I would not remove tips.  I removed it from the list of tips that the sommelier received that I earlier posted as you suggested.  Can you remove tips for specialty dining?  I doubt it.

Edited January 11 by NMTraveller

[billc23]

20 hours ago, CruiseRQA said:

I have eaten at many nice restaurants around the US and in Europe.   I still say that the best dinner I have ever had was at the Olympic.   I had Dover Sole and my wife Steak Diane.   I remember that cheese cart, yum.  I forget what we had for dessert but I do remember being confused about what, if anything, to tip. 

Reminds me of the French restaurants in Quebec City - the ones that bring a cart around to display the dishes prior to deciding what to order. The most memorable dessert at the Olympic was the table side preparation of Zabaglione. Took about 6 to 8 minutes to whisk the egg yokes by hand while they were gently heated. Even if you didn't care for the dish, the table side prep was incredibly complex and a joy to watch. Marano now does table side finishing and plating, not the same.