rukkian Posted December 26, 2017 #151 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I got the email and it said i can prepay at the current rate through the cruise planner but I don't see where to do it in there. What is it under? Thanks Roy I couldn't find it, so I called. TA had to do it with rcci. Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soremekun Posted December 26, 2017 #152 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I got the email and it said i can prepay at the current rate through the cruise planner but I don't see where to do it in there. What is it under? Thanks Roy "To pre-pay your gratuities, please log onto http://www.RoyalCaribbean.com, contact your travel agent, or call 1-866-562-7625." I can't find it either. Would be interesting if they soon allowed adding and removing. _______________________ Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked) Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean Boy Posted December 26, 2017 #153 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I just got the e-mail 5 minutes ago. I wonder how long ago RCI made the decision to increase them verses the decision to send out a 5 day notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dett Posted December 26, 2017 #154 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I talked to two different agents at Royal this morning and both denied there was an increase. Then I get the email this afternoon.:o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted December 26, 2017 #155 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I just got the e-mail 5 minutes ago. I wonder how long ago RCI made the decision to increase them verses the decision to send out a 5 day notice. Well, they don't want to give folks too much time to prepay, now would they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitecap Posted December 26, 2017 #156 Share Posted December 26, 2017 You kids stop it right now or I'M GONNA TURN THIS BOAT AROUND AND WE ARE GOING HOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soremekun Posted December 26, 2017 #157 Share Posted December 26, 2017 You kids stop it right now or I'M GONNA TURN THIS BOAT AROUND AND WE ARE GOING HOME! But daaaad.... can I at least remove auto grats before we get to shore? _______________________ Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked) Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keishashadow Posted December 26, 2017 #158 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Remember, you can go to the casino and get a cahs advance against your onboard account for a 5% fee. One way to get 95% of your non-refundable OBC. Nice to read! Perhaps it was another forum but thot i read this 'loophole' was closed. We received several different OBCs for upcoming cruise booked thru an online TA. Going to guess all are non-ref ($100from RCCL via booking promo, rest from the TA-loyalty, military, prepaid gratuities & TA's matching $100). Re prepaid gratuties, just out of curiousity do wonder if the TAs who did offer it will cover the increased amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitecap Posted December 26, 2017 #159 Share Posted December 26, 2017 But daaaad.... can I at least remove auto grats before we get to shore? _______________________ Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked) Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked) Yes, yes you may but don't forget to tip those who have provided you good service and go to the potty before getting back onboard, I don't want to have to keep stopping at the rest stops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted December 26, 2017 #160 Share Posted December 26, 2017 A bit surprised. I paid over the phone and it was at most a 5-minute call. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelMagnolia9 Posted December 26, 2017 #161 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I received an email today regarding this with an opportunity to prepay the gratuities now at current rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddylover Posted December 26, 2017 #162 Share Posted December 26, 2017 We are a little confused....I called RCI about our Jan 27th 2018 cruise and was told we had one week to 'pre pay' or grats would go up. My son also called RCI 866 tel no. and was told we were not affected on our Jan 27th cruise, that we were grandfathered in, and the raise would not take affect for us??? Who is correct? The way my email reads, it makes me think ALL 2018 cruises after Jan 2nd are affected?? Can anyone clear this up?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soremekun Posted December 26, 2017 #163 Share Posted December 26, 2017 We are a little confused....I called RCI about our Jan 27th 2018 cruise and was told we had one week to 'pre pay' or grats would go up. My son also called RCI 866 tel no. and was told we were not affected on our Jan 27th cruise, that we were grandfathered in, and the raise would not take affect for us??? Who is correct? The way my email reads, it makes me think ALL 2018 cruises after Jan 2nd are affected?? Can anyone clear this up?? For reservations made before Jan 1: As I understand it, you have until your travel day to prepay to lock in current rates. If you board after Jan 1 and don't prepay, you will be billed daily at the new rate. "We’d like to extend the opportunity to pre-pay your gratuities before your sail date at the current rate. If you’d like to pay onboard, your gratuity charge applied will be at the new rate." _______________________ Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked) Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soremekun Posted December 26, 2017 #164 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I am not removing my prepaid gratuities. A question I have is: If someone prepaid gratuities, can s/he still remove gratuities while onboard at guest services? _______________________ Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked) Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddylover Posted December 26, 2017 #165 Share Posted December 26, 2017 For reservations made before Jan 1:As I understand it, you have until your travel day to prepay to lock in current rates. If you board after Jan 1 and don't prepay, you will be billed daily at the new rate. "We’d like to extend the opportunity to pre-pay your gratuities before your sail date at the current rate. If you’d like to pay onboard, your gratuity charge applied will be at the new rate." _______________________ Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked) Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked) Thanks for the response. Right, that is how I read the email as well, that ANY sailing AFTER January 2nd would be at the new higher rates......but the rep at RCI told my son that the booking date 'grandfathered' us vs. the 'sailing date' as per the letter. I think I will prepay now (was just waiting as we have OBC to cover the gratuities, and was planning to use some of it....ugghhh). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted December 26, 2017 #166 Share Posted December 26, 2017 If someone prepaid gratuities, can s/he still remove gratuities while onboard at guest services? Unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springaussie Posted December 26, 2017 #167 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I am not removing my prepaid gratuities.A question I have is: If someone prepaid gratuities, can s/he still remove gratuities while onboard at guest services? _______________________ Carnival Paradise - August 2015 - 5 nights Carnival Splendor - August 2016 - 6 nights Carnival Magic - August 2017 - 8 nights Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas - August 2018 - 7 nights (booked) Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - August 2019 - 9 nights (booked) Yes you can. But refund comes from your travel agent. You will not see this money while onboard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugtech Posted December 26, 2017 #168 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Exactly, so ask yourself why won't they be more transparent. Unless you know someone in the business and CHOOSE to believe them as I do , you'll get different answers to the same questions of who gets what. The average weekly income in the Phillipines that I could find on goggle for a service industry job was $145 US (after conversion of Phillipino pesos). That is the reason ALL the cruise lines use crew from lower waged countries and we Americans tend to think in terms of what we would earn and need to live in the USA not in the countries of the crew. And if you want to make that kind of money in the Philippines you need to work long hours at a call center, speak good English. School teachers don't make much more than $150/week and the strong US dollar is killing the exchange rate. It costs less to live in the Philippines if you are willing to live like a Filipino, eat plenty of white rice and fruits, use public transportation. Many working the cruise lines support a family at home, are happy to work so hard for so little, the tips make a big difference in their lives.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted December 26, 2017 #169 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I am not removing my prepaid gratuities.A question I have is: If someone prepaid gratuities, can s/he still remove gratuities while onboard at guest services? It's not usually allowed, though I have read that accounts of people who were able to do it with much hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrannyK Posted December 26, 2017 #170 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Just got this email from RCCL regarding our upcoming January Indy cruise: We are excited to welcome you onboard for your upcoming Royal Caribbean vacation! As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of an update to our daily gratuity charges. As of January 2, 2018, Royal Caribbean will be increasing the automatic daily gratuity charge from $13.50 to $14.50 per guest, per day for regular staterooms and from $16.50 to $17.50 per guest, per day for suites. The daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams. We’d like to extend the opportunity to pre-pay your gratuities before your sail date at the current rate. If you’d like to pay onboard, your gratuity charge applied will be at the new rate. Other onboard gratuity policies remain the same: an 18% gratuity is automatically added to bar service beverages, spa services, room service and mini bar items, and will be itemized on your receipt. To pre-pay your gratuities, please log onto www.RoyalCaribbean.com, contact your travel agent, or call 1-866-562-7625. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard. Sincerely, Royal Caribbean International Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrannyK Posted December 26, 2017 #171 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Just got this email from RCCL regarding our upcoming January Indy cruise: We are excited to welcome you onboard for your upcoming Royal Caribbean vacation! As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of an update to our daily gratuity charges. As of January 2, 2018, Royal Caribbean will be increasing the automatic daily gratuity charge from $13.50 to $14.50 per guest, per day for regular staterooms and from $16.50 to $17.50 per guest, per day for suites. The daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams. We’d like to extend the opportunity to pre-pay your gratuities before your sail date at the current rate. If you’d like to pay onboard, your gratuity charge applied will be at the new rate. Other onboard gratuity policies remain the same: an 18% gratuity is automatically added to bar service beverages, spa services, room service and mini bar items, and will be itemized on your receipt. To pre-pay your gratuities, please log onto www.RoyalCaribbean.com, contact your travel agent, or call 1-866-562-7625. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard. Sincerely, Royal Caribbean International Regarding the above, we are in a junior suite this cruise. Will we be paying regular or suite rates for gratuities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyGirl Posted December 26, 2017 #172 Share Posted December 26, 2017 I talked to two different agents at Royal this morning and both denied there was an increase. Then I get the email this afternoon.:o I talked to two different agents at RCCL Saturday and received conflicting info as well, including that they had to be prepaid by January 2 to be grandfathered in (which is not what the blog post said). Called back this morning and agent said no official word out yet so I prepaid 23 night gratuities for 4 for a late April cruise just in case and also made sure invoice amount didn't mess up (had paid the cruise in full previously). I also asked this morning if they were open January 1 and they are not, so plan accordingly if needing to call. Email came out several hours later but as of Saturday morning there was already a phone option about gratuities questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamar Cheeks Posted December 26, 2017 #173 Share Posted December 26, 2017 The email seemed to indicate we can to it anytime before our sail date ... here's what I got: We are excited to welcome you onboard for your upcoming Royal Caribbean vacation! As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of an update to our daily gratuity charges. As of January 2, 2018, Royal Caribbean will be increasing the automatic daily gratuity charge from $13.50 to $14.50 per guest, per day for regular staterooms and from $16.50 to $17.50 per guest, per day for suites. The daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams.We’d like to extend the opportunity to pre-pay your gratuities before your sail date at the current rate. If you’d like to pay onboard, your gratuity charge applied will be at the new rate.Other onboard gratuity policies remain the same: an 18% gratuity is automatically added to bar service beverages, spa services, room service and mini bar items, and will be itemized on your receipt.To pre-pay your gratuities, please log into royalcaribbean.com or call 1-866-562-7625. We can’t wait to welcome you onboard. Sincerely, Royal Caribbean International Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingNole Posted December 26, 2017 #174 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Instead of spending time on the phone trying to "sort it out" why not just pay the increased auto-grat and then subtract the difference from the amount you'd normally add on top in cash? I couldn't imagine calling and dealing with the cruise line to nickel and dime over the gratuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreadpirate3 Posted December 26, 2017 #175 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Regarding the above, we are in a junior suite this cruise. Will we be paying regular or suite rates for gratuities? Regular rate. I have no issue with the increase. It is something I factor in to the price of the cruise when I book it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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