tips for waiter?
 

how much do you tip the waiter in chops?

Many feel different. I believe tips are included although some feel they should tip anyway. I think it is your choice. If service is excellent give a extra tip. Maybe 5 or 10 per person. But it does say the 25.00 pp includes gratuity so I don't feel guilty if you don't.

Tipping Waiter in Chops
 

We always leave a $20 tip ($10 per person). Have no idea how they split it up among all the people who wait on you. :shock:

If you figure a $70 check for the meal, it's probably less than you would pay for a similar experience on land. Well worth the price, whatever it is. :D

It is very clear in their literature and all adverts that tips are included for Chops and Portofino's therfore don't feel obligated to leave extra. That being said, it is your choice.

Except for once, we have always had outstanding service and have given an extra gratuity.

There was no Chops on the Explorer but we did go to Portofino's(2 people) which I guess would be similar.

When we got our receipt, if I remember the correctly the tip that was added was four dollars and change. This would have been over a one hundred dollar dinner at home so I added a twenty dollar tip.

You give 25% as a gratuity? Why do American's give so much?

As a rule of thumb and depending on the service we give 10% to 15%. I think anything over that is too much unless the service is exceptional.

Tipping Waiter in Chops
 

We tip what we feel is an appropriate amount. If we couldn't afford to do it, we wouldn't. Not to say we are wealthy (far from it), but realizing the wait staff is grossly underpaid, a 20% - 25% tip seems reasonable.

If someone is spending a couple of thousand $$ per person for a cruise, what's another twenty bucks? :roll:

$20.00 just seemed like a nice round number. I guess I could have went a little lower but the service was excellent and there was table side presentation. In New York the rule of thumb is double the tax which would be a little over 17 percent, 10 percent is very low.

Carnival Victory, 2003
Carnival Victory, 2004
RCI Explorer of the Seas, 2009
RCI Explorer of the Seas, January 2010

I suppose the fact that eating out in Canada is expensive has an effect as well.

Example - we like to eat at the Keg Steakhouse. In Florida especially there are several equivelent types of steakhouses. (Can't remember the names). For a steak dinner with a couple of drinks costs well over $100 here. We find the equivelent meal in the US at least 30% if not more, less than here. Since we usually leave about the same amount of grautity in either place it I suppose we are paying a higher % in the states than in Canada.

Although minimum wage for servers is less than regular minimum wage here, it's certainly way higher than it is in the states. I know that the average server here is making pretty darn good money and certainly isn't declaring it all on income tax.

That all being said, we still give a gratuity based on a combination of two things - service and cost. Good service - decent gratuity. It ranges all the way down to lousy service - no gratuity and also a complaint to management (which I've done a few times.)

I paid all of my gratuities up front when I booked the cruise. How they dibby it up, I don't have a clue. Maybe in hindsight I shouldn't have done this. Some, fortunately not many, can be jerks and don't deserve a dime and others much much more. Oh well live and learn.