Prepaid gratuities

[WinterSolider]

But I do have a followup question for everyone - say you need to break a $20. Is there somewhere other than guest services that you could potentially get singles from on DCL?

I sail with $200 in American fives and that's usually more than enough to cover me for a week.

 

[starvenger]

I literally brought 50 dollars in ones and 50 dollars in fives. My husband thought I was insane, until we ended up actually using the smaller bills for various tip add ons

That's sort of what I was thinking of in terms of usage. For example if a taxi in a port costs you $30, you don't want to get caught with only twenties, and it can be a hassle to ask for change from a driver. Or the bag porter at a cruise terminal.

 

[kiford]

I never prepay - why give Disney my money before it's due? Everything goes on the credit card. We pay it off when we return, but it gives us a month or so float, and why would I give that up? We always tip at least the minimum. If I want to tip more for the four positions, I go to Guest Services to add to the amount and have them reprint the form/ticket. Everyone else (bar, etc.) I just add to the autogratuity on the chit. The only cash I carry is some $1 bills for tipping bus drivers going back to hotel/airport to take my luggage out and a few $5/10 for tipping excursion hosts assuming I do one. We've been carrying around the same wad of US cash for about 6-7 years. When we whittle it down, we go to the bank to exchange it for more US cash or get some at a bank machine while there and then carry it around for years and repeat.

 

[loislane]

We pre-pay just because it's nice to have the option to pay that in advance. Helps with budgeting.

We will add extra in cash to the envelopes of those we feel are deserving before we hand them out at the end of the cruise.

 

[loislane]

I literally brought 50 dollars in ones and 50 dollars in fives. My husband thought I was insane, until we ended up actually using the smaller bills for various tip add ons

This!
We just cruised a few weeks ago (another line) and I had my big stack of $1s and $5s for tipping. Places I wanted cash for tipping included at the port for our shuttle driver and the porters. For any room service we ordered on board the ship. Excursions where you will want to tip your driver and/or the excursion guide. One we did had both a driver as it was a bus and a guide, so we tipped both proportionately. I didn't see anyone else tip the bus driver actually, but that man was there by the steps at every stop holding my arm to help me off the bus and earned a tip for that alone!

 

[lanejudy]

But I do have a followup question for everyone - say you need to break a $20. Is there somewhere other than guest services that you could potentially get singles from on DCL?

Onboard? Only at Guest Services because the ship is a cashless system (meaning everything is charged to the stateroom).

You may be able to break a $20 in port. But I suggest doing it ahead of time - even if that means buying a pack of gum at the airport.

 

[starvenger]

Onboard? Only at Guest Services because the ship is a cashless system (meaning everything is charged to the stateroom).

You may be able to break a $20 in port. But I suggest doing it ahead of time - even if that means buying a pack of gum at the airport.

Thanks. It's pretty much what I figured, but it's worth asking since I'm sure others might be wondering about that. With other cruise lines, you have the option of the casino cashier, but that is obviously not an option on DCL.

 

[sadiecatie]

I never prepay - why give Disney my money before it's due?

We pre-pay just because it's nice to have the option to pay that in advance. Helps with budgeting.

I get the whole "why give Disney your money early?" mentality, but for us it's also about budgeting. Yes, we can budget the same amount monthly and just have that lump sum ready to pay when the vacation comes (and we do that for other incidentals of the trip), but it's also helpful to just say "the majority is paid for and now we only have to think about our incidental spending in ports and before/after the cruise." We also pick up Disney gift cards along the way to pay for our balance, gratuities, and on-board spending, because I can either get money off depending on where they are purchased, or fuel points that can add up to additional savings

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We always prepay, then add extra at Guest Services and get reprinted tip slips for the envelopes. I only use cash onboard to tip for room service, since anything else where we would tip an additional amount can be taken care of on the charge slips. I usually increase the 18% autogratuities for Palo food and all beverage services, since I believe those are pooled while anything extra goes to the servers who provided the service.

Our primary need for cash while traveling is for porters, bell services, and sometimes taxis. It’s amazing how many taxi drivers I have encountered who claim their credit card scanner is not working. I’ve simply resigned myself to paying cash for taxi fares, since they never tell you there’s an issue until you are settling up at the end of the trip. I’ve seen this in both Miami and San Diego on multiple occasions when going to the airport at the end of a cruise. The first time it happened in Miami when there was still a flat rate taxi fare, so the meter was not running. I was short of cash and made the driver wait with my DW and our luggage while I sought out an ATM inside the building so I could pay him. I’m sure the lost time cost him more than the extra amount he netted by taking cash rather than paying the credit card fees, etc.

 

[loislane]

I get the whole "why give Disney your money early?" mentality, but for us it's also about budgeting. Yes, we can budget the same amount monthly and just have that lump sum ready to pay when the vacation comes (and we do that for other incidentals of the trip), but it's also helpful to just say "the majority is paid for and now we only have to think about our incidental spending in ports and before/after the cruise." We also pick up Disney gift cards along the way to pay for our balance, gratuities, and on-board spending, because I can either get money off depending on where they are purchased, or fuel points that can add up to additional savings

I'm with you. I like to stock up on GCs through Target, too. Every little bit helps!
I don't worry too much about what anyone else does. I do what I know works for us. Sometimes boards like this can be helpful. Other times it's so full of 'my opinion is the only right one' that I run for cover.

 

[Husker Mike]

I prepaid our gratuities because I was following a rebate strategy. I prepaid the gratuities on my Costco Visa, which nets me a 3% rebate. But for my onboard charges, I will be using the Disney Visa to get discounts on various things. Now, I'll probably stop down at the main desk to settle up my charges a couple of times with my Costco Visa, but because there were several charges during my first cruise that went straight to the Disney Visa before I had a chance to use the Costco Visa, I only got 1% back instead of 3%.

I'm going to pay everyone the suggested tips, and then add more in cash afterwards based on their service. (On my first cruise last year, I didn't give the head server anything extra because she never engaged with us. I'm not sure what her role was supposed to be, other than act snooty.)

 

[beaglefan]

I guess I am the exception. I just went to the bank today to get cash for the gratuities for the cruise later this week. I've been told by cast members they appreciate the cash vs the pre-paid gratuities, as they get to decide if and how much they report on their taxes. If it is paid through Disney, it will all be accounted for.

I have also found it beneficial to tip midway through the cruise if I have found the service to be just excellent. Especially if you are tipping a few dollars more than the minimum recommended, you will be surprised at times the extra attention you might get from the stateroom attendant or the servers. I just tell them "in case we get busy at the end of the cruise, I wanted to make sure and thank you now for the excellent service" - I have never seen service levels drop off from this point forward, and you can always get the envelopes early from Guest Services if you want to put them in the envelope.

 

[beaglefan]

(On my first cruise last year, I didn't give the head server anything extra because she never engaged with us. I'm not sure what her role was supposed to be, other than act snooty.)

I have requested two things from head servers in the past. At times I have a favorite menu being served in a different dining room or wanted to have food being prepped for cast members (local food) and they have been able to make this happen. We also asked for a cheese platter to be waiting for us when we arrive since it is the late seating and our kids were hungry.

Agree that certain times the head server hardly made an appearance, though they manage a lot of tables.

 

[Husker Mike]

I have requested two things from head servers in the past. At times I have a favorite menu being served in a different dining room or wanted to have food being prepped for cast members (local food) and they have been able to make this happen.

My server handled that for us. Didn't need the head server for that.

 

[kiford]

I'm not sure what her role was supposed to be, other than act snooty.)

The Head Server's role is to make sure everything runs smoothly. So often, you may not interact with them or interact much, but if everything is going as it should, then they are doing their job. When you have a complaint or an issue, then that's who you need to talk to for resolution. If you have breakfast or lunch in the MDR, you'll often see them managing staff - pointing out who needs more coffee (me!!!!), sometimes helping with delivering dishes if it gets really busy, directing staff to clear tables if they're not doing it fast enough, etc. While it's definitely nice to see and talk to them, they are often just doing a lot of work somewhat behind the scenes. Basically, if you're not getting what you expect from your servers or have issues, they are the person to escalate to.

We had an absolutely terrible assistant server on our Baltic cruise. I won't go into details about what wasn't working, but we complained to our Head Server after the first night. He got some extra help for him on the second night. Just as bad. We complained again, and on the third night, he was replaced with someone that they brought up temporarily from the back areas who turned out to be excellent (and who, we were told, was promoted afterwards). That's what you should expect a Head Server to do for you. He also brought us platters of berries and seafood to apologize but we were just happy that they found a replacement who could do the job and do it well.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I was able to see how hard it can be for head servers on our last cruise. There were people showing up for main dinner seating (starts at 5:45) at 7pm and wanted dinner. He had to turn them away. Some came at 6:30 and he had to get them caught up to the rest of the dining room/kitchen. And it wasn't just once or twice but almost every day of the cruise. Unbelievable that people can be that rude.