Tipping

[it398]

I know there are a lot of opinions on the amounts people tip and I apologise in advance for another discussion on the topic but…

We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises usually around 7 nights each time, but only ever see or speak with the head server on the first evening (when it’s just a greeting) and the last night. I know they’re there to deal with issues and make sure that everything runs smoothly but if I’m honest giving them a tip always frustrates me. I have longer conversations with staff in the gift shop but don’t tip them. And there are so many positions on board needed to make the ship run who are not tipped. There are many services onboard which we choose not to use, we pay a high cost to cruise with Disney and part of the reason is the range of services on offer, so we’re happy to pay for services even if we choose not to use them. I just really struggle with the idea of paying a specific additional amount for a service which we don’t use.

Sorry for the rant but I don’t understand why it’s right that Disney/the industry believe that because someone has the title of server in their job description it requires tipping, in my opinion they should be providing me with a direct service or be included in the operating costs.

I know we can reduce/remove the automatic amounts and I should probably state that we do always leave the recommended gratuity regardless but it does frustrate us.

Curious if I’m on my own with this opinion or if there are others who agree?

 

[Marc D]

The basis of your rant is one the great fallacies of the cruising industry. ‘Tips’ in the context of a cruise should not be seen as such. Any tipped position receives a lower base salary than non-tip positions and the rest is made up by the amount charged to guests. I view the amount requested as me paying the CMs salary and any additional amount I add as the true ‘gratuity’, based on the service I received.

At first, the system was created to lower the initial cost of the cruise - a marketing ploy - and transfer it to the onboard account, while giving the guests a sense of control and giving an incentive to employees directly impacting the guest experience to go ‘above and beyond’. But some of them were not always getting a living wage at the end of the day, so they started billing the gratuities automatically.

The system was put in place at a time where the gratuities were a more significant percentage of the total cruise cost. With the current cruise prices, it seems illogical not to include their amount in the total cruise price and remove the system entirely, and many cruiselines are going in that direction by either dropping the concept or systematically including them in the cruise package , but they would lose the ‘carrot and stick’ approach.

That system is one of the major problems with the cruise industry, because it gives guests the opportunity to lower some of their employees’ salary to a level where it is not a living wage. It also perpetuates the idea that they are there to serve you instead of them doing a job. Of course, in most cases, CM’s receive the proper amount and the extra tips some leave more than make up for those removed or lowered.

 

[Dug720]

While I've always seen the head server come around every night, understand if you don't see them, it is BECAUSE they are doing their job - keeping everything running smoothly for everyone in their section. Generally when you do see them other than their greetings (again, mine have always been nightly), it's because something is going wrong with a service team in some way and the head server is having to step in. Otherwise they are coordinating behind the scenes so that things run smoothly for all the diners in their section. If the head server was not doing their job, you would most definitely know it.

(Granted, some are stronger than others - and some are accustomed to main servers they don't have to supervise as closely. I did have one experience where the final night our main server was on 24-hour medical (he was back for the last morning - this was well before COVID) and we learned just how effective he was. Really he should have been a head server. In his place, we had a sub - someone from Cabanas when it was the training ground and this kid was NOT ready for Prime Time. Well, from my seat I could observe a large table in our area and watch them and their antics. They ran our assistant server ragged - after the first round of drinks, the adults would literally get one refill at a time. Someone would order one, and he would check with everyone else and even those with maybe one sip left would say no but when he came back, guess what they needed. Then when the food arrived, the kids would pitch a fit every time their ketchup wasn't Mickey-shaped. So every time they swiped a fry they'd demand that their ketchup be redone. And they were dominating both the server and assistant. JUST that night. My family's table and the one next to us suffered and the Head Server had to stop doing his supervision of the whole area to step in to actually serve us because the Assistant and the Sub let the other table get far out of control too quickly - just like kids taking advantage of a substitute teacher. Our primary server had kept them in check the rest of the time. And no, other sections didn't really see the Head Server that evening because he was dealing with the cluster going on in our section. But that's because the Head Server was doing what they do - keeping things running smoothly for everyone - and sometimes that means jumping in and serving tables that aren't getting the attention they need because another is being uber demanding.)

 

[Calantha]

I would never take the tip away, but if I don't see them all cruise, I don't add anything extra. The Head Servers who do interact (we had our best Head Server on the Wonder in Alaska last June) get an extra tip.

 

[happycamper47]

The basis of your rant is one the great fallacies of the cruising industry. ‘Tips’ in the context of a cruise should not be seen as such. Any tipped position receives a lower base salary than non-tip positions and the rest is made up by the amount charged to guests. I view the amount requested as me paying the CMs salary and any additional amount I add as the true ‘gratuity’, based on the service I received.

At first, the system was created to lower the initial cost of the cruise - a marketing ploy - and transfer it to the onboard account, while giving the guests a sense of control and giving an incentive to employees directly impacting the guest experience to go ‘above and beyond’. But some of them were not always getting a living wage at the end of the day, so they started billing the gratuities automatically.

The system was put in place at a time where the gratuities were a more significant percentage of the total cruise cost. With the current cruise prices, it seems illogical not to include their amount in the total cruise price and remove the system entirely, and many cruiselines are going in that direction by either dropping the concept or systematically including them in the cruise package , but they would lose the ‘carrot and stick’ approach.

That system is one of the major problems with the cruise industry, because it gives guests the opportunity to lower some of their employees’ salary to a level where it is not a living wage. It also perpetuates the idea that they are there to serve you instead of them doing a job. Of course, in most cases, CM’s receive the proper amount and the extra tips some leave more than make up for those removed or lowered.

DCL's system is also different than most other cruise lines. The 4 gratuity categories are for those 4 specific persons, whereas on many other lines the gratuity is shared with a slew of positiions. You will find this wording on RCCL and others. (my bold for emphasis)

As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

 

[EddieK76]

Ahhh the head server thing...I struggled with it as well. On the Wish we saw ours the first night and last night. If they are able to do those nights they can do the other nights and because of that it makes me feel like they are just fishing for additional tips. They do get less of a tip automatically from Disney so that's an indication that they are a higher pay level than the regular server and assistant server. With that being said I did give an extra cash tip to the head server but it certainly wasn't to the percentage of the other servers or stateroom attendant.

 

[happycamper47]

Ahhh the head server thing...I struggled with it as well. On the Wish we saw ours the first night and last night. If they are able to do those nights they can do the other nights and because of that it makes me feel like they are just fishing for additional tips. They do get less of a tip automatically from Disney so that's an indication that they are a higher pay level than the regular server and assistant server. With that being said I did give an extra cash tip to the head server but it certainly wasn't to the percentage of the other servers or stateroom attendant.

Granted their base may be higher, but their gratuity is also lower since they cover more tables/staterooms than the Server and Asst. Server which actually gives them a much higher amount at the end of the cruise.

 

[Geomom]

Interesting, we've been on 3 7nt cruises, 3 different ships and saw our head server every night on all 3 cruises. (And we don't have any allergies or anything.). If they didn't come by nightly, I'd probably just leave the standard tip vs adding more.

 

[scrappinginontario]

While it's the only tip I don't add to, I would never decrease/remove it. We've been on 3 7-night cruises and a 5-night and have always had our head server visit our table each night of our cruise.

 

[TRTRguy]

Only time I've ever tipped extra to the head server was when we had Witt as our head server.

 

[kiford]

We've had cruises where we don't see them other than the occasional visit to the table but others where they fixed issues (had to replace the assistant server on our Baltic cruise because he just couldn't seem to do the job) or made changes to our dining (B2B re-did our seating assignment for us on the second leg and seated us with people we'd sailed with before and gave us the same servers as requested). I've seen them at breakfast going around and making sure the servers are prompt, refilling coffee, etc. My view is that if you don't interact with them much it's because they are behind the scenes making sure you don't have issues but they're available if you do. So it's worth $1-2 per day to make sure my dining experience goes well.

 

[disnygirl55]

So interesting to hear of everyone's experiences. I, too, must confess that on some cruises I wondered why one greeting at the start of the cruise warranted a gratuity. On our cruise last month, however, we interacted with the head server even more than the assistant server - and also saw him around the ship in various roles - he always greeted us and made us feel important to him. I feel he was "stepping in" for others and keeping any staff shortage or bottleneck in the process hidden from the guests. I appreciated having him there. Like most people in management can tell you, sometimes the primary role of a manager is getting down in the trenches with their employees to protect the guest experience. Sometimes it is to be invisible and provide support behind the scenes. My opinion of the head server role is 100% changed after seeing ours in action when it was needed. Thanks for a great discussion!

 

[lscrivan18]

I know there are a lot of opinions on the amounts people tip and I apologise in advance for another discussion on the topic but…

We’ve been on 7 Disney cruises usually around 7 nights each time, but only ever see or speak with the head server on the first evening (when it’s just a greeting) and the last night. I know they’re there to deal with issues and make sure that everything runs smoothly but if I’m honest giving them a tip always frustrates me. I have longer conversations with staff in the gift shop but don’t tip them. And there are so many positions on board needed to make the ship run who are not tipped. There are many services onboard which we choose not to use, we pay a high cost to cruise with Disney and part of the reason is the range of services on offer, so we’re happy to pay for services even if we choose not to use them. I just really struggle with the idea of paying a specific additional amount for a service which we don’t use.

Sorry for the rant but I don’t understand why it’s right that Disney/the industry believe that because someone has the title of server in their job description it requires tipping, in my opinion they should be providing me with a direct service or be included in the operating costs.

I know we can reduce/remove the automatic amounts and I should probably state that we do always leave the recommended gratuity regardless but it does frustrate us.

Curious if I’m on my own with this opinion or if there are others who agree?

Funny enough, I watched on Youtube just last night a DCL Fan video (I believe it was Pete's Dream review) and Pete actually talks about this same issue with his head servers. He had an outstanding one this time and does mention in the past it felt like a cash grab and has removed the tip. So you are definitely not alone in feeling the way you feel.

 

[Dug720]

Ahhh the head server thing...I struggled with it as well. On the Wish we saw ours the first night and last night. If they are able to do those nights they can do the other nights and because of that it makes me feel like they are just fishing for additional tips. They do get less of a tip automatically from Disney so that's an indication that they are a higher pay level than the regular server and assistant server. With that being said I did give an extra cash tip to the head server but it certainly wasn't to the percentage of the other servers or stateroom attendant.

Again, when you don't see them, they are doing their job by helping to make you - and everyone's - dinner seamless.

 

[it398]

Again, when you don't see them, they are doing their job by helping to make you - and everyone's - dinner seamless.

Totally understand and appreciate the work of a head server in making the system run smoothly. My point is simply I don’t tip the chef, or the cleaners or the technicians, or the provisioners or schedulers etc who also contribute to the overall experience. The tips are generally limited to those with whom you have a personal interaction. Hence why it can feel frustrating to be “suggested” to tip someone who’s role is more often a behind the scenes or indirect one.

But as I said previously we do tip the suggested amount as for whatever their reason it’s clear that Disney expect it and the head server’s salary presumably reflects this.

 

[EddieK76]

Again, when you don't see them, they are doing their job by helping to make you - and everyone's - dinner seamless.

See I could be on board with that if....they didn't come around coincidentally on the last night and chatting it up. The first night I will give a pass on because they do want to introduce themselves but when the last night comes and they sat at my table to talk to us for over 15 minutes when we never saw them any other time it is very coincidental.

 

[n2mm]

When I first started cruising I questioned this issue, but over the years I have found that the head servers, on the fantasy, seem to do so much more than 10-15 years ago and are especially helpful to the teams handling food and clearing dishes. Our head servers greet us whenever we see them in other locations. They have taken care of issues that have arisen and even moved us away from a bad pairing with a server. We’ve been cruising more often then most and have come to know the head servers. Our encounters have been a nightly greeting from the head servers. Believe me, when things go sideways they really can work some magic. I now find myself tipping extra on many cruises now For a job well-done.

 

[EddieK76]

When I first started cruising I questioned this issue, but over the years I have found that the head servers, on the fantasy, seem to do so much more than 10-15 years ago and are especially helpful to the teams handling food and clearing dishes. Our head servers greet us whenever we see them in other locations. They have taken care of issues that have arisen and ever moved us away from a bad pairing with a server. We’ve been cruising more often then most and have come to know the head servers. Our encounters have been a nightly greeting from the head servers. Believe me, when things go sideways they really can work some magic. I now find myself tipping extra on many cruises now For a job well-done.

I would have no problem doing so if that was the scenario presented. We shall see how everything looks in 11 days when we set sail on the Dream

 

[n2mm]

I would have no problem doing so if that was the scenario presented. We shall see how everything looks in 11 days when we set sail on the Dream

I agree, I hope you have a good experience. Even to this day we still get a team that doesn’t fit. On my Oct/Nov 2022 b2b cruises the head dining room server called us on our last night and asked us if we wanted to stay with our current dining team as we did our switch over, and I managed to say “I guess so” Which also included a long hesitation. Obviously that wasn’t a good answer and we ended up with a fantastic new team. She must’ve heard it in my voice. Believe me, I’ve had some teams that don’t get extra tips, but it is rare.

 

[tvguy]

That system is one of the major problems with the cruise industry, because it gives guests the opportunity to lower some of their employees’ salary to a level where it is not a living wage.

Just remember, you can't apply Western standards to the nations many cruise ship staff come from. For many, WITHOUT tips, the minimal salary the cruise line pays them is more than they could ever hope to make in their homelands.
Our server on HAL was from Indonesia. He had been working on ships for 8 years and planned on working 2 more years and retiring at age 31. He says there is a reason that people wait 2 or 3 years go get jobs on ships, it is a gold mine.