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Prepay Tips & cost??


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We will be going on the RCI Freedom in Jan 2018. I am looking to Prepay all tips this cruise. Is there a set rate you pay for each service - Housekeeping , Dinning ?? Just like to know correct amount per person.. Also if you Prepay do they pull the envelops out of your Cabin?? Thanks...

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We just tell our travel planner to add prepaid tips. If you booked through the cruise line, call customer service and ask for a breakdown. It's standard. Or you can just google it. They still put the envelopes in your stateroom in case you want to give a little extra to folks.

 

 

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So questions about the prepaid for the drink packages. Do you still tip when you get drinks? How does that work cause when you sign the receipt it has a line for you to write in a tip. If you don't tip you look an ass but they don't know you prepaid the tips.

I know last year when did the deluxe package it included the gratuity, however every time my husband got a drink he tipped. In the end I think we paid another $100+ in tips just for drinks. He was just getting whiskey on the rock - nothing fancy.

How does everyone else handle that?

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So questions about the prepaid for the drink packages. Do you still tip when you get drinks? How does that work cause when you sign the receipt it has a line for you to write in a tip. If you don't tip you look an ass but they don't know you prepaid the tips.

I know last year when did the deluxe package it included the gratuity, however every time my husband got a drink he tipped. In the end I think we paid another $100+ in tips just for drinks. He was just getting whiskey on the rock - nothing fancy.

How does everyone else handle that?

Through your cruise card, does the bartender know you have a package, therefore shouldn't charged? Or is there a wrist band you wear?

 

I'm looking into a package on my up-coming HAL cruise. Leaning towards not getting one, having a bottle of Jim Beam delivered to our cabin, to off-set some of the bar expense.

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So questions about the prepaid for the drink packages. Do you still tip when you get drinks? How does that work cause when you sign the receipt it has a line for you to write in a tip. If you don't tip you look an ass but they don't know you prepaid the tips.

I know last year when did the deluxe package it included the gratuity, however every time my husband got a drink he tipped. In the end I think we paid another $100+ in tips just for drinks. He was just getting whiskey on the rock - nothing fancy.

How does everyone else handle that?

RCCL adds 18% gratuities for each drink ordered. With that, I don't give additional tip for my ordered drink. Bar staff gets their added income from gratuities generated by the bar. They are not included in the daily gratuities charges according to bartenders I talked with.

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If you buy a drink package, 18% is added to the cost of the package, so no additional tip is needed. We don't tip additionally per drink, but if we sit at a bar for a long time, we will tip a couple bucks when we leave. An additional $1 for each drink is a bit of "overkill", IMO! (Remember, you've already tipped 18%!!)

 

That $13.50 pp per day covers your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiters.

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That's great info. I wasn't sure how the tipping worked. I think HAL is 15%. Is everything else above the same with HAL, as far as who gets the daily gratuity, etc?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but when I'm at the bar, I hand him my cruise card, and it gets charged to that? Would the drink package be embedded on it too?

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Yes. Your card is really all you need to buy anything on board, including shore excursions, spa, shopping from stores, non-included food/drink. People even use it in the casino. I use cash in the casino. It's acceptable.

 

 

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If you buy a drink package, 18% is added to the cost of the package, so no additional tip is needed. We don't tip additionally per drink, but if we sit at a bar for a long time, we will tip a couple bucks when we leave. An additional $1 for each drink is a bit of "overkill", IMO! (Remember, you've already tipped 18%!!)

 

That $13.50 pp per day covers your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiters.

 

I agree. We got in a bit of a fight about it while on board after like day 4 when I found out he had already tipped $83 ON TOP of what we already tipped with the 18% gratuity. By the end of the cruise we spent over $100 on additional drink tips. He said he feels rude if he doesnt add in a tip to the receipt he signs, and I get that to a degree. I know we are not the only ones not tipping (since we already tipped with the added 18% gratuity) but just wondering what most people do so I can tell him, lol. He adds a tip for every drink he orders even though he knows it was already paid when we got the package.

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So I'm getting that, unless you buy a drink package, tipping the bartender directly is the only way they get tips.

Then if you have a package, does a receipt even need to be printed out? Maybe a receipt that just shows me how many drinks I have left on my package? Is 15 usual allotment, per person, per day?

Edited by cruisePack842
clarity
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  • 4 weeks later...
Does the $13.50 cover room service? I always give a tip but am curious if the people bringing room service got part of the Gratuity pool.

 

 

 

No, the $13.50 does not cover food brought to your room. Tips for room service are usually done with cash.

 

 

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We will be going on the RCI Freedom in Jan 2018. I am looking to Prepay all tips this cruise. Is there a set rate you pay for each service - Housekeeping , Dinning ?? Just like to know correct amount per person.. Also if you Prepay do they pull the envelops out of your Cabin?? Thanks...

We are cruising Oasis of the Seas in January 2018...I've added my gratuities to my reservation and was told $94.50 for 7 days ($13.50 daily).

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  • 3 weeks later...
We are cruising Oasis of the Seas in January 2018...I've added my gratuities to my reservation and was told $94.50 for 7 days ($13.50 daily).

 

 

 

RCCL charges $13.50 pp/day in a regular cabin, $16.50 pp/day in a suite. It has been my experience recently that they are only leaving one or two envelopes, your room steward will give you more if you ask. Their website tells you the breakdown, there is also a list of employees that the tips go to on the cruise contract.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
RCCL charges $13.50 pp/day in a regular cabin, $16.50 pp/day in a suite. It has been my experience recently that they are only leaving one or two envelopes, your room steward will give you more if you ask. Their website tells you the breakdown, there is also a list of employees that the tips go to on the cruise contract.

 

 

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My HAL contract does not address tipping, but I did see elsewhere that the per day tip goes to room stewards, waitstaff, and all the rest of the crew we don't see or interact with. Does not include bartenders, but my drink package covers them.

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My HAL contract does not address tipping, but I did see elsewhere that the per day tip goes to room stewards, waitstaff, and all the rest of the crew we don't see or interact with. Does not include bartenders, but my drink package covers them.

Yes, the drink packages cover the minimum tips. If you are going to use one bar a lot, if you add an extra dollar or two, you will generally receive faster, better service.

 

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AFAIK RCI includes 18% in the per drink price also.

 

And room service, except continental breakfast, is not longer free unless you are in a suite (not Jr Suite). I am not sure if a tip is included in the $7.95 room service charge.

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