I think you know the answer to that one. So take it for what it is, it will be up to you to decide. Bottom Line: In general, we opt to prepay gratuities on a cruise simply because we like not having to worry about them creating a higher bill once on the ship. You can prepay your gratuities (tips) at the time of booking your cruise, either with your travel agent or with the cruise line if you booked directly. And third, prepaying gratuities is a nice way to show your appreciation for the staff. I tip everyone in cash along the way, baristas, bartenders, etc. In the USA persons working in the service industry are paid the lowest wage possible (When I waited tables 20 years ago it was half of minimum wage, 2.13 an hour and that barely covered my tax deductions) and are reliant on tips to make up the remainder of their wage. CC Help Jenn Plus they have cheaper prices being its booked in blocks of room. The lump sum is added to passengers' onboard accounts, and can vary depending on the type of cabin in. People want streamlined efficiency without the hassel of wads of cash and having to count it out and carry change everywhere. From checking with friends and family members who are cruise ship employees, they earn around $1,250 every 2 weeks (that is USD). If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. This is all personal preference. Theme: News Way by Themeansar. You can post now and register later. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. A For most sailings, beverage package gratuities of 18% are added at final checkout and not included in the initial cost. Welcome to Cruise Critic. I will tip additional to those I thought went above and beyond. Still, do the numbers. For guests booked through travel advisors, their advisor may add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing*. I do not know about pre paid gratuities, but with respect to the daily charge on Royal Caribbean we were told on Allure of the Seas that if one wants to remove the tips, it has to be done on the first day. In addition for those "not it the know" it would be embarrasing to get to the end of your trip and have spent all that cash and have nothing left over for the hard working employ (again - whose wages are partially covered by tips). Pre-paid gratuities means just that. Some people prefer to prepay gratuities because it ensures that the gratuities will be paid and they dont have to worry about it during their cruise. This is from the Royal Caribbean website: Q What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? If Royal bundles it in but Carnival does not then on the surface Carnival can advertise a cruise at what appears to be a lower cost. However, to do so, you must go to Guest Services, before the last evening of the cruise and request that the gratuities be removed. True you are not obligated to produce an extra tip. On 1/21/2022 at 1:02 PM, AshleyDillo said: In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure.". A: Pre-paying gratuities is easy with Royal Caribbean! Insert the bill into a machine and head to the cashier. (My wife wants what she wants!) Now, gratuities on a cruise are often automatically added to your bill. Jacobwlynn, Contact Us Get support by Phone or Email 866-562-7625 Email Your Questions With regards to the first point, some like to get all payments out of the way so they don't have to worry about unexpected charges while on board. But all that has changed. On average, cruise gratuities amount to about $210 USD per couple per cabin for a one-week cruise; more for a suite. ", https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense. so I never have really thought about where those daily grats really go. Prepaying gratuities is easy to do. There's a better chance the tips in cash is shared with just the bar staff, - mandatory tips (famous 18%) are shared amongentire food and bar division, - cash tips (in the jar) are shared among particular bar stuff, - additional tip on the receipt goes directly to the person who serves you. This allows the employees to make a reasonable wage without having to ask (beg?) 7. Now that I know this, I will make a better effort to visit my favorite bartenders more frequently. A: There is no definitive answer to this question. I had always wondered how that worked when we buy a package. You cannot paste images directly. A: If you dont pay gratuities on a cruise, you may be subject to a penalty fee. A: There is no official policy regarding gratuities on Royal Caribbean, but it is generally expected that you will leave a tip for good service. $15.99 $16.50 per person, per day for guests in suites. We are NOT going to main dining room at all and no specialty dining either. Our first cruise was the cheapest 3 night cruise that we could afford when my wife and I were still in grad school. For me, I pre-pay to help avoid a giant bill at the end of the cruise. Carnival Cruise Line also increased . How to prepay gratuities on royal caribbean? If you prepay more than 30 days before your cruise, youll save 10%. I believe the OP was asking whether to pre-pay their tips or not, not whether to tip or not tip:). A. The daily gratuities covers every meal in included venues and the cabin attendants. I am British and work in France so tipping is not something I do well. Beverage gratuities 4. Your link has been automatically embedded. OMG! Save. You can prepay your gratuities at any time, but the sooner you do it, the better. If you prepay your tips now, there is a good chance that the reccomended tipping cost per day could go up and you could save the difference. You can always go to Guest Services and have the prepaid gratuities or the daily gratuities taken off your account. jor689, October 24, 2017 in Royal Caribbean International, My wife and I are going on Oasis of the Seas and we have an option to prepay gratuities before the sail date. Instead of prepaying tips, put your 182.00 into an online investment account for 18 months, when the cruise comes you may have a few dollars more to spend on it. We're on Oasis of the Seas in April. Seems pretty simple to me. You cannot do it on day 2 forward. These will be distributed to stateroom attendant and helpers and Windjammer crewmembers. We don't eat in the MDR nightly as we have a 5 night specialty package. If you tip over and above, you'll probably be drunk by noon. Then you can give gratuities to whomever you want. Guests can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 or logging into www.royalcaribbean.com before* their sailing. Gratuities are included with the drink package. I hope that most of us are kind and generous people, but some are NOT. How do I know if I prepaid gratuities? Two different issues. When I was working as a line cook, the tips were always appreciated. Our Credit cards are for emergencies only, so for my family it's prepay. If you wait to pay gratuities onboard and Royal raises the gratuity rate, you would pay higher rate. Does anyone know if this is true? 3. Just a personal preference. It's all about making one resort look cheaper than the competition. If you booked directly with Royal Caribbean, you can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 or logging into Royal Caribbean's website before the sailing. I usually bring a large amount of 1's and 5's with me on the boat. Pre-paid gratuities can be added to an individual reservation at any time outside of 48 hours of the sail date. I've been tempted but do use the site often just to look. Started June 21, 2021, By A: If you do not prepay gratuities, you will be charged the standard gratuity rate automatically at the end of your cruise. You have done your part as a consumer. If gratuities are not prepaid prior to sailing, they will be automatically added to the guests . How to prepay gratuities on royal caribbean? Can gratuities be pre-paid? Guests that booked directly with Royal Caribbean can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 or logging into www.royalcaribbean.com before their sailing. 2. For example when we were in Australia the servers we interacted with there got a decent hourly wage and the few tips they received were above and beyond that. Fewer people carry cash now then ever before. Being from the UK i have always prepaid gratuitys as it used to be a requirement for my time dining and it is paid in sterling. We tip in the specialty restaurants as the service is wonderful. You can prepay your gratuities at any time, but the sooner you do it, the better. If youre planning on spending a lot on tips, then prepaying gratuities can help you budget for that ahead of time. This is a personal preference as I like to have as much paid for ahead of time as possible and I find it more convenient not having to track down staff at the end of the cruise. They work hard to make sure you have a great cruise, and gratuities are one way to say thank you. Royal Caribbean offers guests the choice of prepaying gratuities for select crew members on its ships. But let's face it, your real question was should you pay gratuities at all. The bar service personnel still gets their 15% tips from each bar sale. Your email address will not be published. Pre-paying gratuities is a simple process. Copyright 19952022 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos, LOGIN ISSUES PLEASE READ Updated -- November 3, 2022 7:20 AM EDT, Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Policy regarding COVID related Discussions, F97AEA45-0709-4B40-8932-FFED132839A3.jpeg, Originally Eastern Europe, now Boston Suburbs, USA. Thank you so much for the responses. I think automatic gratuities (rather than cash in an envelope) are more important when eating in the buffet are 'anytime dining' (or whatever the particular line calls it) as, unlike those eating every night at the same table in the main dining room, you won't have the same waiting staff for each meal. 2. I just wait and let them add it daily and pay when the charge card bill is due. By Extra tipping was not really an option. Required fields are marked *. Heres everything you need to know about prepaying gratuities on Royal Caribbean. Tipping bar staff is completely unheard of in Europe and I would expect we all get the same service on board. Guests can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 or logging into www.royalcaribbean.com before* their sailing. One will always try to look the lowest by excluding the daily service fees and then the other's have to follow or else they'll appear to have a higher price. Then, over and above all this, just yesterday I was charged another pre-paid tip package for beverages. But I generally tip them with cash when I order one and/or catch them at the end of the cruise to give them one lump tip. Can you take off gratuities on Royal Caribbean? I never have to pay gratuities because the web sight I use always pays gratuities on royal. Cruise employees also wear many hats. You can remove the charges whenever you want during your cruise. And if you prepay within 7 days of your cruise, youll pay the full gratuity rate. Anything you want to give above and beyond that is welcome and will always be accepted but it is not required. It's mostly caf promenade for my coffees, but with the new drink menus with more "mocktails" I've been in more of the bars, than usual. Please note that your gratuities cover more than the crew members that you personally interact with i.e. Your email address will not be published. Before April 14th of 2016 it was 12.95 per guest per day. By I'm paying the Gratuities this payday on Friday and I'm not sure of a Dining Package. How do I know if Ive prepaid my gratuities? Just a few thoughts on the tipping issue: 1. It is better to tip bartenders, waiters, etcextra in real money instead of adding on the drink ticket. And no ATMs were working on Rhapsody last week. What is Royal Caribbeans gratuity price and policy? Do the staff members know when you prepay gratuities? Should You Prepay Gratuities on a Cruise or Pay Onboard? But bottom line is that the persons working in a tipped position on the ship get the minimum wage allowed by law and have to rely on tips to make up the remainder of their salary. Paste as plain text instead, Which ones looks cheaper? My wife and I are going on Oasis of the Seas and we have an option to prepay gratuities before the sail date. Most of the large ship cruise lines (such as Celebrity Cruises, Holland America, Princess, Royal Caribbean and others) have a policy of automatically adding a set gratuity amount to your onboard account. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Is the MDR wait staff? The reason why it is not rolled into your cost is to give you the freedom to choose the way you handle gratuities. The amount of gratuities varies by cruise line, but on Royal Caribbean, the current rate is $14.50 per person, per day. Should you prepay gratuities for a Royal Caribbean cruise? That said, there's no harm in opting to wait as the gratuities will be charged automatically once on the ship. I'm not familiar with how that works. Everybody I've talked to about this, has their own idea of how the tip packages work, but seldom do any two people understand it the same, including employees on a ship. For guests booked through travel advisers, their adviser may add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing*. Cruise employees typically work 14 hour days and consecutive work days before getting a day off. A 18% gratuity is automatically added to all beverages, mini bar items, and spa & salon purchases. On certain cruises, Royal Caribbean requires that gratuities are prepaid to be able to request MyTime dining. Housekeeping, other than your steward. Or at the very least why not just have it be one price instead of charging it daily. Say the cruise has $1000 in service fee money for the beverage packages. I spoke to a bartender about it last week on Rhapsody. If you prepay more than 30 days before your cruise, you'll save 10%. If not does specialty restaurant staff share in general pool of pre paid gratuities? Guests can pre-pay tips by calling 1800 754 500 (AU) or 0800 102 123 (NZ) or logging into www.royalcaribbean.com before* their sailing. If the bartenders are required to put the tips into a tip jar is it really more advantageous to tip them in cash? We still eat on the ship, mornings in the WJ, lunch at the Park Cafe or WJ and we know that the waiters from the MDR also work in the WJ. Question about Prepaid Gratuities and tipping. First, as we mentioned, youll save money if you prepay ahead of time. I've seen alot of contradicting information on gratuities and tipping. We always pre-pay the gratuities - I like having it already paid for ahead of time. Before that is was May 2015 @ 12.00 per guest per day. There once was a time when you tipped crew members if they were especially helpful. Staying overnight in Cocoa Beach and I already paid for that. Should you prepay gratuities for a Royal Caribbean cruise. I don't pre-pay because I don't buy anything on board. Yes, you can. Share Followers 4. "Cruise from $149*" versus "Cruise from $199*". Started August 27, 2021, By Bartenders at sea are the same as on land. The gratuities cover your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiterthat includes those in the WJ, too! It's good to know that more than just the waiters, bartenders, and stateroom attendants get a piece of that pie. I did notice that my drinks got progressively more and more pale as the days wore on. A: Yes, it is good to pre pay gratuities on a cruise. In order to remove them, you would have to go to guest services. You can do it online, through the Royal Caribbean app, or by calling customer service. I usually bring a large amount of 1's and 5's with me on the boat. I personally give them cash tips for drinks. There are a few reasons to prepay your gratuities. Are gratuities included in the Royal Caribbean beverage package cost? If you do not prepay the gratuities, they will be charged daily to your seapass account. Can you use carnival onboard credit for cheers, Disney cruise onboard credit for booking online. BeGoneSee, If you don't prepay, the gratuities will be added daily to your onboard account. Yes, I've been doing that, and the tip goes higher if the brand of alcohol is better! Royal Caribbean last increased gratuities in 2018 and, before that, was in 2016. There are a few things to consider when deciding whether or not to prepay gratuities on a cruise. It depends on you. The only time you will be charged anything when using the package is if you are getting a drink that has a menu price more than the package limit ($13 on most ships, but the older ships the limit is $12). As Frommers puts it, it was an "]elaborately staged dance between the cruise guest and the staff". That means a family of four sailing for a week would owe $406 in gratuities at the end of their cruise. Apr 10, 2022, 6:42 PM. Quote Broons77 Members 62 LocationThe Woo, MA USA Posted January 15, 2019 Full disclosure - I used to work in the restaurant biz and as such have a soft spot in my heart for waitstaff, or anyone that has to deal with feeding or cleaning up after the general public. Some people feel that the gratuities are too high and that they should only be paid if the service is exceptional. Ultimately, whether or not you prepay gratuities on a cruise is up to you. How To Prepay Gratuities On Royal Caribbean Website Guests can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 or logging into www.royalcaribbean.com before* their sailing. The option to prepay gratuities means locking in the current gratuity rate, along with spreading out the overall cost of the cruise by integrating it into the cost of the cruise. If the bartenders are required to put the tips into a tip jar is it really more advantageous to tip them in cash? Cruise employees are serving us cruisers all day and night. Envelopes were left in your guest room for cash tips you wanted to leave. For guests booked through travel advisors, their advisor may add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing*. There are pros and cons to doing so, and you should weigh them carefully before making a decision. I tip very well my food servers, my drink servers, my cabin attendant, and anybody that provides a service. Again.. personal preference. I'm assuming the room steward is getting some of this? We always prepay and then add a little at the end of the cruise, and I get anxious that the waiters/stewards think we're stiffing them. We don't prepay. "Resort fees" when booking hotels are similar. We like to do so as it we like to pre-pay as much as possible in order to reduce the eventual on-board bill. It is not required. We dont prepay gratuities, unless there is an advantage for us to do so. We have prepaid the gratuities on our next cruise however if we decide to for example not eat in the main dining room at all during the cruise is it possible to get refined all or part of our prepay to OBC or is it just gone for good at that point? Finally, you should also consider whether or not you think the gratuities are fair. I have every intention on tipping the cabin atte. Does Diamond dinks mean lesser quality alcohol or are the high end included? In most parts of the world tipping is what you give to someone who goes out of their way to help you out or does a job better than expected. For guests booked through travel advisors, their advisor may add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing*. (My wife wants what she wants!). When you prepay by phone, you can use a credit or debit card, or you can give customer service your cruise reservation number and they can bill your gratuities to your onboard account. So even if you do not dine in MDR, those same employees are likely serving you elsewhere in some other capacity. If we have OBC we need to spend, we won't prepay gratuities. Clear editor. Prepaid gratuities on most non-luxury cruises range upwards of $20 per person, per day. Personally, I like to not pre-pay but allow gratuities to be added my on board account. January 20 in Royal Caribbean Discussion. What is Royal Caribbean's gratuity price and policy? RCCL currently applies an automatic gratuity amount on your onboard account, on a daily basis. The latest increase was in 2018 when gratuities went up by $1 per person, per day. A Guests can pre-pay gratuities by calling (UK) 0344 493 4005 or (Ireland) 1800 555 604 or logging into www.royalcaribbean.co.uk before* their sailing. He told me that they see money from the prepaid gratuities but didn't go into detail and I didn't press. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. This next cruise alone we are at over $500 in gratuities before stepping on board. We have found that an extra gratuity at the beginning to the bartender and room attendant has served us well on many a cruise. The first is whether or not you think the service will be good. Theme: News Way by Themeansar. Display as a link instead, Prepay tips now and when your cruise is over you wont have a bill at the end. A waiter from breakfast may be a bartender at lunch and something else at night. I like to pay for everything now that the cruiselines are making it easier to prepay for services. You can add gratuities to your sail away account balance online, or by calling our Guest Services team. A: There is no definitive answer to this question, as it can vary depending on the cruise line and the specific sailing. These are international waters' ship and crews. If you prepay between 8 and 29 days before your cruise, you'll save 5%. Should you prepay gratuities for a Royal Caribbean cruise. Regardless of whether we eat in MDR, specialty restaurants or other dining establishments, I like to prepay gratuities. It is better to tip bartenders, waiters, etcextra in real money instead of adding on the drink ticket. Your husband paid 18% on the cost of the package which covers the gratuities. Article about pre-paying gratuities:Should you prepay gratuities for a Royal Caribbean cruise? , Tips on the receipt might be distributed among all ship employees. Re: Royal Caribbean Gratuities. I do not know about pre paid gratuities, but with respect to the daily charge on Royal Caribbean we were told on Allure of the Seas that if one wants to remove the tips, it has to be done on the first day. Typically 15 - 20% of the cost of the dinner/drink is what is expected from bartenders and wait staff. No, prepaying gratuities doesn't negatively affect the service onboard. Last cruise I tipped the room attendant and the concierge with a little something extra, other than that.left it at pre-paid on everything. They will be charged daily onboard, Sent from my BG2-W09 using Forums mobile app. My wife wants to do Windjammer buffet for dinner. The automatic tip is USD 16.00 USD, or USD 18.50 USD for suite guests, applied to each guest's SeaPass account on a daily basis. This is not true. Why put more on my charge sooner than I need to. By (Don't gamble it invest), 3. This allows businesses to offer a product at a lower cost and offset the labor budget (typically the most expensive cost of any business) and also (in theory at least) puts pressure on the server/maid/concierge, to do a good job. Gratuities are tips for the staff on a cruise ship. This amounts to about $30,000 a year. There will be an 18% GRATUITY on any drinks you order. However, in general, prepaying gratuities is often cheaper than paying them onboard, so it is definitely worth considering. My wife wants to do Windjammer buffet for dinner. So I tend to tip well. If youve been on a cruise before and had good service, then prepaying gratuities is a good way to ensure that youll get good service again. It all comes down to personal preference. You cannot do it on day 2 forward. Required fields are marked *. Casino on the ship can break larger bills. People on CC and in America especially seem to LOVE to tip people copious amounts of. Ultimately, I like to prepay for budget reasons. If desired, guests may pay additional gratuities once onboard. Below, we've listed the current tip amounts charged by major cruise lines as of the time of this writing: Carnival : $13.99 $14.50 per person, per day. You can post now and register later. If you prepay online or through the app, youll need to use a credit or debit card. For those few bad apple cruisers, cruise employees have to serve them throughout the trips. I thought I read somewhere that bartenders are required to put cash tips into a "tip jar" to be shared. Every order they take, they get a bigger piece of the pie of gratuities for that day. if its required and isnt dependent on what you do for the day why isnt it just rolled into your cost? Pre-paid gratuities has you covered. Is a portion of my gratuities still going to them? Unrelated but useful tip, the bartenders can break bigger bills with the tip jar money upon request. No doubt that the cruise employees are grateful. Should You Prepay Gratuities on a Cruise? A nice big tip with the first drink insures the follow-ups will be stronger and he/she may "forget" to charge you for one or two during your time at the bar. At the end of the day, it is dependent on what you choose to do. I'd rather go back to the old days when cash tips were given for every service received. Some people prefer to prepay gratuities because it ensures that the gratuities will be paid and they don't have to worry about it during their cruise. It's easy! I was also curious about this and found details on Royal's website: "As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining,bar& culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience. Then you can give gratuities to whomever you want. They are typically charged at the end of your cruise, and the amount is based on the number of people in your cabin. Look, I work in the service industry part-time, so I know how it is, and I am a firm believer in tipping. Your email address will not be published. If youre sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise, chances are youre wondering how to prepay gratuities. The first one. So it is really up to the individual how they want to approach. How to get onboard credit on royal caribbean? Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952022 The Independent Traveler, Inc. On the other hand, if youre not planning on spending much on tips, then you might not want to prepay gratuities. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The longer this is discussed, the further I'm confused. Just letting them charge our account as we go, sometimes from our OBC. Upload or insert images from URL. Proudly powered by WordPress If you're talking about the gratuities on the drink package, you will pay 18% gratuity added onto each drink when you don't have a package so for some people it's a cost savings in gratuities alone depending on the value of the drinks they are consuming with the package. What time does royal caribbean disembark? :D. Since I'm the one who pays for our vacations, each pay I get something out the way. Does that mean they only still pull from that $1000? Cruise ship personnel are professionals and recognize that most cruisers don't remove the recommended gratuities. with a hand out from cruise guests. Plus, pre-paying locks in gratuities at the current rate. Every order they take, they get a bigger piece of the pie of gratuities for that day MicDay , RCIfan1912 and MattyDubz11 2 1 Quote If I had a bartender or attendant that didn't seem to care much, I probably wouldn't tip them any extra, but I haven't run into that situation. Proudly powered by WordPress 19952022, The Independent Traveler, Inc. Just for comparison, by the old RCCL tipping guidelines, the Royal Caribbean suggested tips/gratuities were a total of USD 11,65 per day per passenger (respectively USD 13,90 for suite passengers) and also guests could pay onboard either in cash or via their shipboard account. The only folks that know for sure if they're being tipped, are the folks that receive cash in their hand. And that's just a cultural thing. Today the cruise industry has adopted the "Service Charge" method of accruing tips for the tipped positions. I have prepaid my gratuities but some people say I should still tip. Yes, you can prepay gratuities on Royal Caribbean. I have no problem with the cost and tipping but if its required and isnt dependent on what you do for the day why isnt it just rolled into your cost? January 13, 2019 in Royal Caribbean Discussion. | 5. I don't see any other reason to prepay for us. Have a great cruise. The prepaid option is added for the guest's convenience. Until the government requires all cruise lines to include it it will always be about comparing prices between cruise lines. My understanding is that the pre-paid gratuities are global tips and shared equally amongst the employees. Who, when, and how much should I tip people? Full disclosure - I used to work in the restaurant biz and as such have a soft spot in my heart for waitstaff, or anyone that has to deal with feeding or cleaning up after the general public. In addition, I still tip in cash, over and above this, as I do not know who receives a portion of the pre-paid gratuities, or how much they receive. You may even choose not to tip at all. By So that cruise lines can market cruises with lower numbers.
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