Tipping on board celebrity infinity

A friend of mine has booked a holiday with a travel agent in England for the Canadian Rockies and Alaska cruise on Celebrity Infinity. The travel agent has taken payment for gratuities of £59 each as they said it had to be paid in advance plus when they rang Celebrity Cruises to arrange our cabin we were going to be put on deck 11 beneath the basket ball court, my friend asked for another level and in order for us to be given a cabin on deck 7 we have had to pay an extra £65. I have done cruises before but not with Celebrity. Can anyone tell me if this is normal as I have usually chosen which deck I want to be on at no extra cost and more importantly, the tips have been taken whilst onboard the ship and taken on the last day of the trip from my bank account. I look forward to reading any replies. Thank you in advance. Pat

It sounds like you were moved to a higher category cabin which costs more. Did you tell the TA that you wanted the SAME category? If deck 11 is the only deck with your original category cabin, then you can expect to pay more...

Most lines add the gratuities to your shipboard account on a daily basis...and your account is "paid" on the last day....the way they do things in the US are different from how they do it in the UK....

Thank you for your reply cb at sea, I did have a feeling that we must be in a higher grade cabin and you have just confirmed that. I have to admit I am more concerned with the tipping procedure as I have always paid from my onboard account. I am just finding it very odd that a travel agent is saying we have to pay it up front. Maybe I should contact Celebrity cruises direct to find out their policy on tipping even though I know other people have had it taken at the end of their cruise with them. I think I should also pose this question with the travel agent as well when I return to the UK. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has also had to pay the gratuities direct to the travel agent. Pat

On Celebrity, only those sailing with fixed dining are permitted to pay their gratuities at the end of the cruise. Passengers who select open dining usually must pre-pay their gratuities prior to sailing.

Many thanks cbr663, your reply has put my mind at rest. We are not on fixed dining so now understand why. You learn something new every day. Thanks to both of you who have replied to my question, I am grateful for your time.... Pat x

Different category and Anytime Dining I suspect explain both.