Tipping at Palo Question

[Tass]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere, but I've been doing some reading about Palo on several boards and have read different information. One website said the Palo surcharge covers the tip, but you may leave extra and another said the surcharge covers a portion of the tip. If we're paying a $40 surcharge for 2 people - how much of that goes towards the tip and can someone give me a ballpark figure on the cost of the dinner to figure out how much additional tip we need to leave? And to further complicate matters, if you order alcohol at Palo is the 15% gratuity already included like other places on the ship? Thanks!

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere, but I've been doing some reading about Palo on several boards and have read different information. One website said the Palo surcharge covers the tip, but you may leave extra and another said the surcharge covers a portion of the tip. If we're paying a $40 surcharge for 2 people - how much of that goes towards the tip and can someone give me a ballpark figure on the cost of the dinner to figure out how much additional tip we need to leave? And to further complicate matters, if you order alcohol at Palo is the 15% gratuity already included like other places on the ship? Thanks!

When we done brunch we left a tip of 5 bucks each, it was only 15 then,it is included but still. the service was amazing. We doner high tea a few years ago and service was at best bad, but also in your face annoying,no tip.
Yes, 15 % was added on.

 

[UK-Simon]

Out of the surcharge, $5 is a tip. $4 of that gets split between all the servers working, (so they all make the same base wage for the night), and the remaining $1 goes to the restaurant manager. Any additional tip you leave goes directly to your server.

I would estimate the value of the meal (without drinks) at around $120-$150 for a couple. On land you would tip around $25-$30 for that meal.

Make of that what you will.

Alcohol always gets an auto gratuity added.

 

[FJS961]

I tipped our Palo server $40 and $50 for the 2 nights we went, he earned it

 

[Tass]

Out of the surcharge, $5 is a tip. $4 of that gets split between all the servers working, (so they all make the same base wage for the night), and the remaining $1 goes to the restaurant manager. Any additional tip you leave goes directly to your server.

I would estimate the value of the meal (without drinks) at around $120-$150 for a couple. On land you would tip around $25-$30 for that meal.

Make of that what you will.

Alcohol always gets an auto gratuity added.

Thank you! That's exactly the info I was trying to find.

 

[mainegal]

Hijacking the thread...

What about a tip at Remy when the surcharge is $75?

 

[kcashner]

No one has been able to get a "for sure" answer about Remy. The DCL web site does not say whether the gratuity is included or not (it is automatically added if you do the wine pairing--to the wine part, I mean). One person on the boards reported asking at Remy and being either told directly or implied that the surcharge did not include the tip. Personally, I find that odd, but it would be nice if DCL would give a clear statement on this issue!

In Palo, most people add some additional gratuity...you'll see everything under the sun as the suggested amount. Yes, again, the 15% is automatically added to any bar items.

 

[UK-Simon]

Thank you! That's exactly the info I was trying to find.

My pleasure, glad I could help!

 

[makaylee]

We leave an extra $15 for brunch and $20 for dinner.

 

[lenshanem]

Can you just leave the extra tip on the table?

 

[FlynnRider]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere, but I've been doing some reading about Palo on several boards and have read different information. One website said the Palo surcharge covers the tip, but you may leave extra and another said the surcharge covers a portion of the tip. If we're paying a $40 surcharge for 2 people - how much of that goes towards the tip and can someone give me a ballpark figure on the cost of the dinner to figure out how much additional tip we need to leave? And to further complicate matters, if you order alcohol at Palo is the 15% gratuity already included like other places on the ship? Thanks!

The faq on the Disney cruise website says that the tip is included in the service charge. I've done Palo a couple times and typically will still add about 50% of what the service charge is.

 

[yogibigdog]

Breakdown of Palo service charge

$20.00 service charge

Of which……..

$15.00 goes back to the ship towards the cost of the food.

$ 1.00 goes to the Palo’s dinning manger

$4.00 is then pooled and split between the Palo’s servers.

Additional gratuities would go directly to your server.

I usually tip an additional $20 -$25.00 per person

We tried to get the breakdown on Remy but no one was willing to give out that information.

 

[FJS961]

Breakdown of Palo service charge

$20.00 service charge

Of which……..

$15.00 goes back to the ship towards the cost of the food.

$ 1.00 goes to the Palo’s dinning manger

$4.00 is then pooled and split between the Palo’s servers.

Additional gratuities would go directly to your server.

I usually tip an additional $20 -$25.00 per person

We tried to get the breakdown on Remy but no one was willing to give out that information.

without any other more definitive guidelines - I did the above for BOTH Palo and Remy

 

[shelbell77]

We generally leave an extra $20 per person for Palo dinner or brunch and $10 per person for tea. You will have to give them your card to run the service charge and you can add the additional gratuity right to that when you are signing it.

 

[mainegal]

From Disney Cruise Line
Question
What about gratuities?
Answer
It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. As a guideline, we suggest the following


http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/onboard-services/gratuities/

Palo - Gratuity included

Per Guest per cruise 3-Night 4-Night 7-Night
Dining Room Server $12.00 $16.00 $28.00
Dining Room Asst. Server $9.00 $12.00 $21.00
Dining Room Head Server $3.00 $4.00 $7.00


I know that Palo is labor intensive, but...

The regular three servers get combined $8.00 per day in gratuities. For this, they serve dinner and also work at breakfast and lunch.

A Palo server gets $20 or more per meal?!

 

[FJS961]

From Disney Cruise Line
Question
What about gratuities?
Answer
It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. As a guideline, we suggest the following


http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faqs/onboard-services/gratuities/

Palo - Gratuity included

Per Guest per cruise 3-Night 4-Night 7-Night
Dining Room Server $12.00 $16.00 $28.00
Dining Room Asst. Server $9.00 $12.00 $21.00
Dining Room Head Server $3.00 $4.00 $7.00


I know that Palo is labor intensive, but...

The regular three servers get combined $8.00 per day in gratuities. For this, they serve dinner and also work at breakfast and lunch.

A Palo server gets $20 or more per meal?!

Serving in Palo is a promotion, isn't it?

I wonder how many tables a Palo server will have during a cruise compared to a MDR server

I think because of the better quality food, enhanced atmosphere and quiet, non hustle bustle of the MDRs guests start to think about what this meal would cost at restaurant on land and base tips on that. If you base it on the tips suggested for the regular servers, a $10 tip would be more than reasonable for one meal.

 

[carmie3377]

Serving in Palo is a promotion, isn't it?

I don't know if it is or not but our service in the main dining rooms topped our service from our one night in Palo each and every time (22 total nights cruising). Not that our service was bad in Palo, but it didn't wow me like it did in the main dining rooms. Perhaps our service there has just been exceptionally good

 

[rtkane]

From Disney Cruise Line
I know that Palo is labor intensive, but...

The regular three servers get combined $8.00 per day in gratuities. For this, they serve dinner and also work at breakfast and lunch.

A Palo server gets $20 or more per meal?!

It's a combined $8 per day per person. If your server is getting $4 per person of that $8 and has three tables of an average of 6 people each (and I'm guesstimating how many tables they have--I've never really looked on any of the 5 cruises) x 2 seatings, that's a total of 36 people or $144 per day in tips. Then many folks add in a bit extra, which should more than offset the cheapskates, so they may end up with slightly more.

It's still not a lot for the hours these folks work, but may be in comparison to job opportunities in their native countries. And definitely more than $8 per day. Anyone know how many folks on average each waiter has?

 

[mainegal]

I wasn't sure if I was geting the math right.
Just shows the confusion we all have.

I like the guidelines DCL provieds for tipping the different people that provide guest service.

I am just confused why DCL says gratuity included in the Palo charge, yet people tip a considerable amount. Yes, I did tip extra when I ate at Palo.
For the chance for great tips, I think working the Palo shift must be very coveted.

 

[kcashner]

It's a combined $8 per day per person. If your server is getting $4 per person of that $8 and has three tables of an average of 6 people each (and I'm guesstimating how many tables they have--I've never really looked on any of the 5 cruises) x 2 seatings, that's a total of 36 people or $144 per day in tips. Then many folks add in a bit extra, which should more than offset the cheapskates, so they may end up with slightly more.

It's still not a lot for the hours these folks work, but may be in comparison to job opportunities in their native countries. And definitely more than $8 per day. Anyone know how many folks on average each waiter has?

The "normal" serving team on a full ship will have 18 guests at each dinner seating. Of course, there are cruises that aren't full, etc. Each team will normally have a 4 top, a 6 top, and an 8 top.

FYI, Palo servers do work other food outlets on the ship. They also serve at things like the "Art of Entertainment" series. Granted, it is a better job than the regular dining rooms and is a promotion, but it's not like they work 4 hours a day while others work 16!

One question I've never been able to get an answer on--we are Platinum, so we get one Palo dinner comped on each cruise. We always tip extra (and you can tip either by charging to your KTTW card or leaving cash), but does the server still get their money from DCL since DCL comped us?