US tipping culture is insane. Should 100% be up to the employer to pay the staff, not the customer. Having to tip EVERYONE is frustrating...

With cruises being an all inclusive type of experience, I appreciate the auto gratuity added to a total price. While there are some things that should warrant an additional tip, part of the appeal of a cruise is not taking your wallet out for every little thing you do.

I am generally a good tipper for good service however It would also be nice for Disney and other lines as well to simply pay their people more. So tips can truly be an extra and not a mainstay for their compensation

The tipping culture in America is mindboggling. Coming from Europe where tips aren’t the norm, it seems unfathomable that the employer doesn’t pay their staff a sufficient salary and the onus is on the customer. I’ve worked in plenty of customer service jobs and it was my job to provide excellent customer service, I didn’t expect extra from the customer for just doing my job.😂 Tipping in America is an anxiety inducing mind field!

We only sail for 3 nights with Disney cuz that’s all we can afford. We keep our room clean because I hate mess. We only ask for fresh towels and we keep the DND on our door for the entire cruise. We make no special requests in the MDR becuz we are not picky eaters and we dine more at the buffet. We never order RS. When we sail concierge, the same thing applies. One of the nights, we do eat in our room and we tip them at that time. So in our case, the prepaid tips are suffice. We love Disney but the services we receive are part of the cost for the cruise. No one is going out of their way to do any extra services for us. And frankly, we don’t need it.

Cash is queen when it comes to tipping - I want to ensure the server gets it!!

I hate tipping cash too. I just don’t use it and I feel super flustered when there’s a service that tipping would be nice, so I usually end up avoiding anything that needs a tip.

The extra tipping should be considered when planning the expense of your cruise. I automatically do the pre-pay mandatory tipping. I never remove. But, what I also do is make daily server tip envelopes (1 per server) for every meal. I have daytime room attendant tip envelopes and evening attendant tip envelopes. I have a big envelope that contains 10s, 5s, and 1s that will cover bartenders and room service throughout the day. Does it add up? Yes - but it doesn't hurt if you already planned for it. Yes, extra tipping gets you better service🙂. This was a terrific episode!

Thank you so much for doing this because I relied on a cruise group question and read the answers and we got our cash before we embarked for our first cruise based on the answers we read, this video was way more informative with your breakdowns especially for concierge because no one in the group answered that part. I wish this video existed before our first cruise which was a month ago 😩. But now I feel prepared for the next cruise in February! Thank you so much for this video!

In all the times I’ve been I h ave never felt the need to tip more than 10% and won’t tip if service is poor

Ohhh Pete tips well? Only told us that 1,0000 times…..relax bro we get it…

Love you guys!

What does "really really heavily tip our stateroom attendant" mean? How much is a good tip for the stateroom attendant? $50/day per state room for the concierge team and the couple dollars for room service is very helpful, but I wish there was more speicifics like that for everything. How much for the porters? How much for the spa?

I'm not tripping anymore than I have too. $2 is fine. If they don't like their job quit and get a new one.

I struggle with tipping the stateroom attendant! I don’t like anyone being in my room when I am not there. I don’t need the bed remade all I need is clean towels if I run out.

"Where do you get cash at?" "...an ATM?" 🤣😂

Loved this one! We have concierge coming up, so I took extra notes on that. We always tip generously but on the Podcast cruise that main dining server guy never stopped at our table! It was the one time we didn’t add extra, but I mean not even a hello? I was stunned! Our table was near Pete so perhaps that was the same person he referenced?!?

My first cruise is on celebrity in Feb. Going aqua class where tips are included but I wanted to tip on top of that for good service! So grateful for the tipping info as I know nothing about cruising except for what I’m learning here on you tube. Thank you so much.

Love drinking stories, and also love tipping stories! Thanks gang

Great podcast on by looking at the questions I’m still unsure with stuff is there a way to do another one or have it on one of your sites a better breakdown I wrote everything down but it’s still like is it the 1315 and then split among the service team and then with the cabana to is that was likes like she said if that was something just because he just first started cruising in or is it back to the proper staffing but you guys do an awesome job but would like if it’s possible better break down

I'd like to add.....We mostly sail Concierge as well. We always tip the Bartender (pretty heavily) and the staff who bring all the little food items out too!!

Another awesome show! I’d love to hear your opinions about the wifi options changing on DCL. In addition, rumors are circulating with the cruise ships changing home ports to make room for the Wish, there might be a potential for Australian cruises. Thoughts? I know these rumors have been going on for many years but I’d love you hear y’all talk about them!

Totally fail to understand why these apparently compulsory extras are not included and why businesses fail to pay their staff a decent wage. Obviously businesses do not value their staff enough to pay good wages Will happily tip exceptionally excellent service

Coming from the UK tipping is not a standard thing, I expect fewer people tip on the European cruises, especially last years staycation cruises out of the UK!

Will will contact your travel service next time we book a Disney cruise, but we are looking to stay the night before we go on the Wish in September and want to stay in a hotel in Cocoa Beach, do you have any recommendations?

They're absolutely right that the standard of service on DCL is unlike anything else at Disney, or any other hotel or cruise line I've personally experienced.

We have had cabana attendants that were not concierge hosts. Especially on Serenity Bay. We always tip those people extra. If a concierge host is the attendant then we include more in our tip for them at the end of the cruise because the hosts pool the tips anyway.

I don’t need 3 servers. I just need one. If they give you three then each server is doing 1/3 of the work and deserves 1/3 of the tip. I shouldn’t have to pay 3x the tip just because they added two additional, often unnecessary, people. I never pay gratuities to the cruise ships. I hand cash directly to my server.

We were confused about tipping. I definitely gave my stateroom attendant more than anyone else. Having only cruised on Carnival and Royal before, I was shocked by how clean my stateroom was every day.

Heya! Thanks for your videos, I have been enjoying them as we gear up for our upcoming cruise this August :) Just an FYI -- as someone resident in the EU -- venmo is definitely not universal!

Hi everyone I am here in Toronto Canada. I love you guys. I have traveled on many DIsney cruises 11 to be honest. I Have a big question . When I do the stancarded tipping Disney sets up. Do the employees get taxed and have to claim this by the tax man. I give the employees cash in the envelopes not the standard amount lots more they deserve so much .. This way they will not have to pay the tax man. Thank you.

Wow I can barely afford my cruise there no way I paying more then bare minimum for tipping

Whattttttt The effff!!!!! I literally had a panic attack when we went last October on a 7 night fantasy concierge. Couldn't find ANY information on what to tip for my family for 4. I gave them $1500 and she was like thank you for the generous tip. 😅 I effing bet it was🙄 I was effing STRESSED 😢

On the concierge amount is that in addition to the pre set tipping amounts ? Tia

You don't need to bring cash for room service. Since restart, just after the room service is delivered, you have a notification that you can tip in the app. Previously, you could just sign the slip and add a tip there. Now, the app tipping function only stays active for a certain amount of time so tip as soon as you get the order. It's kind of like tipping on the starbucks app for a mobile order.

Venmo isn't really global, we don't have it in Australia since we can just direct bank transfer easily on our phones. I think it's mostly american and since a lot of DCL cast are international I don't think it would apply.

very important comment at 11:00 many people pre tip your main cabin attendant; works amazingly as Pete and Craig said 11:00-22:00.

How much do you tip at Palo? Is it different for Brunch vs Dinner?

I haven’t been on a cruise since the year before pandemic but I would go to reception and ask them to take gratuity off and I was gonna pay on my own cash. Is this not possible anymore and any extra you want to give would be envelopes? Thanks to any answers I get

How do you figure tipping more at dinner? I don't think each of those three people would want a huge amount over but I'm not sure

If you do a tasting, you can ask for a $0 ticket. Then you can tip the server using your room charge. (If you don't have cash.)

I appreciate tipping the persons involved direct. Las Vegas went to tip pooling and service nose dived. I'm all for gratuities for anyone that makes my experience good.

Hilton recommends tipping $1-$5 per night for maid service in their hotels. Staterooms are much smaller but Disney automatically charges $18/night for a family of 4 for cleaning your room?!

does disney take a cut of the tip you leave for the staff on credit card

Pete's got me ordering double captain and cokes now when I go out. 🤭

We're doing an Australian cruise on the Wonder next year. Tipping isn't a standard for us and I'm trying to get my head around how to do it, what's expected and those envelopes at the end... We generally just leave the change or round up here in Australia is someone is genuinely wonderful or simply walk away which really is the norm. Regarding tipping in cash throughout the cruise, should we exchange $$ into USD prior? I don't know about that Verdo(?) you mentioned. We just transfer to other people by phone numbers. And do we tip crew at kids clubs etc? Just trying to wrap my head around this. And what about the kitchen staff preparing my fussy eater dinner or the dude in the laundry making my sheets smooth and crisp and towels fluffy (I hope)?

Can we get an update on current tipping amounts?

Just to let you know, Venmo is totally not universal!! Its not available in Canada so I'm pretty sure its not available in many countries :)

Also, at MDR when you constantly ask for special things at dinner (off menu, stuff from other locations, special orders, etc)...PLEASE ADD EXTRA

One of the reasons I go to the parks instead of the cruises. I do not want mandatory tipping and I do not want to be a dick for not tipping so I just stay away from situations like this. Just 13.50 per person perday for a family of 4 on a six day cruise is over $300. A couple of time each trip we go to a "fancy" restaurant at Disney world and tip well. I think I am just a park guy.

Question: So when you say an extra $300 for concierge that is per passenger and total for the concierge team? so do you divide it up equally in the break down or do you just allot it to the whole team? Also what about the servers in the lounge that make the coffee's and the drinks that aren't the main hosts?

So, bring an additional 500 for tips.

Question for the team : can I prepay a custom amount for my service team Vs standard recommended?

I really struggled with this on the Podcast cruise - it was our first Disney cruise, and I love rewarding good service, so I brought cash, but I also bought say a drink at dinner and then tipped $20. Every time I asked the room attendant for something I tipped him in cash. Then the last day we tipped 80 each for the server, assistant server, and room attendant plus 40 for the head server....really wondering if we under or over did it...going again over Thanksgiving with family and want to be sure I budget in advance :)...

My stateroom attendant Shiela from the Phillipines always seemed to know when I qas coming and going all hours of the day. She was amazing. My server and assistant server were also amazing. Agus from Indonesia knew origami and made me a cute animal each night. My assistant server Natasha from Brazil saw me eating lunch at Castaway Cay and greeted me by name!

our first cruise is in August on board the Wish and I'm a little confused about the tipping is it $13.50 per person in your stateroom or the figures DCL give on there website . The difference being quite a large amount

I don't like strong drinks. I want them with the proper amount of alcohol for taste.

Venmo is not universal/international, it won't work for most non-americans

FYI Venmo is required to send IRS forms starting end of this year so it is no longer a way around reporting tips or income

I don't carry cash ever. We use our credit cards for everything.. even $1 if we can. We earn points for free travel. Every time I'm going on a trip I have to remember to go to the bank and bring cash for tips!!

They have to be US citizens to use some of those apps. The dollar is not inclusive beyond these boarders. We have privileges as the reserve currency. They will likely prefer cash or better bitcoin.

Or if you are dumb and don’t pay attention and you just add 20% to whatever bill they set in front of you, you can spend a lot in tips.

So if you have paid up front, why do you need to bring the slips of paper on the last night?

Stupid question that I assume won't get answered because this video is 9 months old: Are you saying $150 for the entire concierge staff or $150 per person on the concierge staff?

Premium booze at the DCL bars. Even the well is good.

I was looking into booking the Star Trek cruise last year that uses Royal Caribbean, but Dreams couldn't book it. Is there a reason why? I always assumed a travel agent could book anything. As Pete just said, you name it we book it. So a little confused.

I would be happier if the mandatory tipping was just in the price … also if tipping wasn’t paying their wage and was a true tip and we could tip what we wanted and felt was worthy instead of what is expected as a tip which starts seeming like a price. On luggage I was told we have to let them have them and they take to our rooms but that’s also a tip and how much is that expected per bag. Room service people say is $1/$2 per item. But why not just be a set amount per trip. We would like to do $5 each time they come no matter what they brought. One or 10. It’s still the same trip. Don’t get me wrong we like to tip just wish it was a tip.

Never go on a Disney cruise or watch anything from them.

Craig, seriously, if you genuinely don’t know how to get cash, as Pete would say, “You fell on your head!”…35 year olds did NOT grow up in anything Close to a fully digital economy!

I must be stupid...I didn't understand this video at all.

To the person who keeps bringing up her panties: maybe consider not doing that. Mentions of your vomit is also something that wasn’t on my list of things I needed to hear today.

Disney=multi billion dollar company. Also Disney=please tip to pay the salary of our employees so we dont have to pay them.

Teresa comes off as a downer. I'm sure she is a sweet person but gloomy.

You can order cash for travel at your bank branch, or nearest branch. Many banks you can order it in online banking for later pickup. Most branches you can get common denominations just at walk up. You can also request specific values (say 30 x $1s, 10 x $5s, etc. for cash tips) Venmo isn't international. Ask the crew what they prefer. We've always been told US cash or Canadian cash (in Alaska). Our family tipping guidelines; • $2-3 US per checked bag at the beginning of boarding • Did you mention tipping excursion staff? We *always* tip excursion staff/locals. $5-10 in the cashbox for a tender (for our family of 4), or $5-10 for a bus driver, and more for a tour guide - especially the great ones (we had an amazing guide in Mexico, he had so much cultural expertise - he got $40 from our family) • We typically double the Stateroom Attendant's "standard" tip (in added US cash in the envelope), sometimes more. If they offer us unique towel animals, extra tidying, extra touches, extra towels, fold up dry swimsuits, learn our names immediately, etc, we notice & tip • We also usually double our DR Servers tips, especially for extra service • We put an envelope of US $1 on the back of our door for RS tips - usually $5-$8. If it's a BIG early morning RS breakfast before an excursion we'll tip $10-15 • I have given servers in a pub/bar extra if they're great, for example if they bring munchies unasked for, ice water, make recommendations, chat, tell me "secret menu" items... Usually an extra "round up" a couple dollars up • My now adult kids - both artists - typically also make personalized drawing cards with caricatures to say "thank you" for "above & beyond" staff. We had a CM who remembered us 2-3 cruises past because she still had the card & drawing in her cabin. She ran out of Cabanas, on day 1 to hug us all ❤️ • We *rarely* ever tip the DR Supervisor above the standard. On our last cruise he was (unfortunately) awful - stuck us at an inaccessible table for our member in a WC, for the entire cruise. By the end we REFUSED to go to dinner at all and told the CS Desk why - it was just too humiliating and cruel, and disturbed the other guests who had to stand up and move chairs so we could be squeezed in the very back, center. He only finally came by to apologize at the farewell breakfast, which was far too late and looked... well, like it was just for the tip.