Hi all,
I am going in September and have two food questions.
First, if a service charge is added to your restaurant bill, do you still tip if you got good service? (The "Alive" guide book says that service charges that are added to your bill do not go to the server but are used to cover costs.)
Second, I have read that cheese is very expensive on Bonaire. I have considered freezing some blocks of California cheese and bringing them with us. (we are staying 2 weeks)
Also on cheese, I found a great deal on little Gruyere wheels for $1 each and thought that if cheese is so expensive on Bonaire that the little cheese wheels (think Laughing Cow) might make good gifts for our maid or whomever might deserve it.
Can anyone comment on cheese prices?

Hey Joe...we purchased last July an entire wheel of Gouda at The Warehouse for approximately $26 US...not bad! Rog & Karen

Rog and Karen are right -- the prices on gouda are great. However, if you want more than gouda it can be a challenge to locate and then may be expensive. We just eat our fill of gouda while we are there and save other kinds of cheese for elsewhere!

We end up lugging home a couple of wheels of gouda cheese every year! Can't beat the taste or the price! If you can handle Gouda, you are all set!

We do tip over and above the service charge 99.9% of the time. It is an individual call, but we do it. Not ALL places add the surcharge, so be certain to look or ask if it is already included in the bill ahead of time, if necessary. Carole

Joe, eat the gouda, it's great, seemed pretty normally priced to me. I especially like the old gouda. I am unable to determine from your profile where you actually reside-Sacto?, but I'm in NYC for comparison.
Cheese tips are too weird an idea. I know some places things like sunglasses or lighters are hard to come by and appreciated, but I'm not aware of any similar need in Bonaire. Plus I keep imagining you putting little cheese medallions on your pillow for the maid when you go out, and it's a really disturbing image.

Ok, so I admit the idea sounds a little strange. I somehow had the impression that cheese was a precious commodity on Bonaire. Maybe it's just cheddar that's hard to find? Good guess on where I reside, Seb. I can roll a gouda and hit Sacto. (Another disturbing image? Perhaps a gouda race?). Every time I eat gouda it seems like I gain 5 lbs. I guess we'll have to at least try it out though. (mmmmmmm... gouuuuda)

On tipping, I guess an additional 5% beyond the service charge only if the service is excellent?

I have a pal who took us around out there a few years ago Joe. I had to say your profile location out loud a time or two to figure it out.
As far as cheese, they even have Bonaire made goat cheese on the island now!
Dead on on the tipping, be advised all establishments don't add a service charge, be sure and find out.

The oddest tip we ever left was a package of condoms for a virgin who worked on a liveaboard.

Some restaurants charge a 10% service charge, others 15%, and still others, none. A "service charge" is not to cover costs, unless it is used unethically by the restaurant. It is a form of a tip, that gets put into a collective pot, and is then portioned out according to an employee's "points" (more experience = more points, etc). It also insures that tips are spread more or less fairly, and can include all kitchen (behind the scenes) staff as well. Also important to note, a service charge and/or credit card tip is later added to an employee's wages, and taxed as income (paper trail). Cash left as a tip is divided up by the employee's themselves (usually) at the end of a shift. As I've stated before, it is basically a socialistic method of dealing with a capitalist income. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

The goat cheese is GREAT..pricey for me but a lovey.. (6,95 an More for Less). Why bring cheese..Holland is the cheese capital and man, do we have cheese here.

I always tip over the 10% which is often added..to make it 15-20%. I used to wait tables to appreciate a good waitperson. BUT I also do not love the collective pot thing..