Anyone eat in specialty restaurants everynight?

[logan1_2000]

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!! Eating at a specialty restaurant is a choice. Tipping in the dining room even if you never step foot in it is a MUST

 

I wonder if I am interpeting this statement more broadly than it was meant, since it was in response to a post wherein the children were eating in the dining room, but the parents were in chops or portofinos. But I wonder, was this meant in the absolute, as in, not a single member of the travelling party ate a single meal in the dining room?

 

When we take one or two nights to go to Portofino or Chops, and have dinner the other evenings in the dining room, we tip the full recommended amount, or more if the serving team was exceptional, for the full amount of passenger and the full number of evenings on the ship as if we had all of our dinners in the dining room.

 

DS (11) has actually been allowed in portofino or chops with us as we tend to have early-ish ressies, 6:30, FWIW.

 

On one cruise, however, we decided to either go to portofino or chops or otherwise just do casual dinner in the windjammer. we had a coveted early dining slot (this was a thanksgiving week cruise, lots of families w/ children looking to dine early) and so we went to the maitre d' on embarkation afternoon and gave up our table entirely so that they could accomodate some requests to change.

 

We contributed a generous amount for the week to the general Windjammer tip collection, as our dining habits did not end up translating into any one server in the windjammer taking care of us at our seats on repeated occasions. and we always add an additional tip to reflect the fine experience at portofino or chops. Under those circumstances, we did not feel we were obligated to go to the main dining room and tip anyone.

 

hope this approach is not offensive to too many.

[Sweetspot]

What is the Windjammer general tip collection? I don't remember a place to leave a tip there. Is this an option on all of the ships?

[trackstarsmom]

My post was meant that......NO matter if you eat evernight in a specialty restaurant or everynight at Ben and Jerry's, Everyone should give the waitstaff in the Dining room FULL tip.

[cruzobsessed]

yikes:eek: i didn't mean to start this. i actually brought up the whole tip thing to sort of "take care" of the subject because i've been grilled before on other threads for mentioning that we don't eat in the dining room and then not mentioning in the same post that we tip anyway:)

[sgttami]

Just wondering if anyone has ever heard of someone not going to the dining room?

 

On one cruise (Radiance), we went to the DR on the first night and decided we were not going back. Alternately, we did Chops, Portofino, Seaview, Windjammer, Room Service, port dining, no dinner (late lunch).

 

On another, Empress, we never went to the dining room at all. Again, various alternatives for eating.

 

At home, we don't eat a 5 course meal every night so I tend to find the structure of the dining room overwhelming every night. I can eat soup, salad, appetizer, entree and dessert all together maybe once!! (It's another reason we like a table for two..not feeling obligated to sit there and chat with others when we're not doing dessert or ordering every course)..of course it's easier when we travel with family and friends and sit together because they know our "routine."

 

Every cruise has been different. From the first when there was no alternative dinner, and I thought you HAD to eat all meals in the DR to the present when we plan a little but tend to "wing it" a bit more.!!

 

And yes, we tip regardless of where, when and if we eat. We tend to tip a bit more sometimes because we feel guilty that we didn't do the DR!!!

 

There are also the times that we've had a very intensive fun port day and simply don't feel like going to dinner at all at the last minute. We then might go to the Concierge Lounge, have a drink and some munchies and hang out in our cabin. If later on, we're hungry, we'll go in search of food or call room service..!!

 

One night this past October (Explorer) we had met some people at the pool bar and were having such a great time with them that we just skipped dinner and around 11Pm went to Johnny Rockets!!

[skandls]

If we have fun table mates - we will do the specialty restaurants once each. If we are not compatible we will do the alt restaurants twice.

[Shanafan]

I would eat in Chops every night in a heartbeat. Only if our kids are with us and it doubles the price would I think twice about it. We drop much more than $20 each going out to dinner several times a week. (one way to rack up those RCCL points!;)

[logan1_2000]

What is the Windjammer general tip collection? I don't remember a place to leave a tip there. Is this an option on all of the ships?

 

Don't know if it is on every ship since I haven't been on every ship, but we have seen this near the entry and the "host" stand to the windjammer on Radiance.

[Sweetspot]

Don't know if it is on every ship since I haven't been on every ship, but we have seen this near the entry and the "host" stand to the windjammer on Radiance.

 

Thank you. I will look the next time we are on the ship.

[lpjpane]

How are the tips distributed in the Windjammer?