Hi Janice,
Welcome back to planDisney! It's so exciting to hear that you are about to embark on your first Disney Cruise Line sailing. My guess is that this will be your first of many amazing cruises on Disney. It can be addictive!
Pre-paid gratuities are an easy way to acknowledge key people who take such good care of you on your Disney cruise -- your stateroom host or hostess and the dining staff who will be with you each night as you rotate through onboard restaurants. That includes the lead server and assistant server for your table and the head server who manages the serving team.
All meals are included on the Disney ships unless you opt to splurge on one of the adult-exclusive restaurants for an additional fee. The included locations include the buffets at breakfast and lunch; the quick-serve options for pizza, burgers and my favorite, Disney chicken tenders; the soft-serve ice cream; sodas, coffee and tea; and dinner in the restaurants in your rotational dining each night.
At dinner, you simply sit down and choose as much or as little as you want from the menu. You can even ask for two entrees! You will not receive a bill to sign unless you have ordered a specialty drink for an added fee.
Besides the adult-exclusive dining, the only food and drink items you need to pay extra for (and add a tip if you want) are alcoholic beverages, specialty coffees and a few other items served in the lounges.
On the last day of the cruise, you will find envelopes and vouchers for the tips in your stateroom. Each will be printed with an amount and the name of the server or host who will receive the gratuity. Because you have the same service team at dinner each night and the same host throughout the cruise, you likely will have gotten to know them and may want to add a little extra to what you pre-paid. You can do that in these envelopes and hand them to the staff on that last evening.
Your pre-paid gratuities do not include guides for your
Port Adventures, the people who take care of your luggage at the port, or those who provide other services on the ship, such as those in the salon or spa. I bring cash to tip luggage services and tour guides and to add to the pre-paid gratuities if I feel service was above and beyond.
You can add a tip for salon and spa services, adult-exclusive dining and alcoholic beverages to your charge slip at each location.
I hope that helps, Janice. Please let us know if you have any other questions as your cruise nears.
Happy sailing,
Wilma