Gratuities to Increase

Beginning on June 1, 2015 for all sailings beginning on or after July 1, 2015, gratuity rates will be increasing to the

following amounts:

· $12.95 per person per day in Staterooms

· $13.45 per person per day in Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms

· $16.45 per person per day in Suites

Guests who have prepaid their gratuities (or who have prepaid gratuities on their reservation as a result of a sales promotion) by May 31, 2015 will not be charged the incremental gratuity rate once onboard.

Any guest sailing prior to July 1, 2015 will be subject to the existing gratuity rates ($12.00/day/person for Staterooms, $12.50/day/person for Concierge Class & AquaClass, and $15.50/day/person for suites).

The new gratuity increase is effective for all individual and group bookings.

An 18% gratuity will continue to be added to all beverage, mini-bar purchases, and spa & salon purchases onboard.

Yeah.

Where was this information obtained? Thanks for posting!

Beginning on June 1, 2015 for all sailings beginning on or after July 1, 2015, gratuity rates will be increasing to the

following amounts:

 

· $12.95 per person per day in Staterooms

· $13.45 per person per day in Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms

· $16.45 per person per day in Suites

Guests who have prepaid their gratuities (or who have prepaid gratuities on their reservation as a result of a sales promotion) by May 31, 2015 will not be charged the incremental gratuity rate once onboard.

Any guest sailing prior to July 1, 2015 will be subject to the existing gratuity rates ($12.00/day/person for Staterooms, $12.50/day/person for Concierge Class & AquaClass, and $15.50/day/person for suites).

The new gratuity increase is effective for all individual and group bookings.

An 18% gratuity will continue to be added to all beverage, mini-bar purchases, and spa & salon purchases onboard.

Where was this information obtained? Thanks for posting!

My thoughts exactly. To the OP, would you please come back and provide a link to the source of your new found information on increasing the daily gratuity.

I shouldn't be surprised as other cruise lines are currently discussing similar types of changes that are occurring.

I have free gratuities on my next Celebrity cruise, so I'm not concerned. :)

If this is true, is anybody really surprised?? The bar staff got a raise, why shouldn't everybody else?

I am glad that the gratuities have been increased, but why not round up the numbers! Give the crew an extra nickel. :rolleyes: :D

I am also glad that are gratuities are comp'd for our cruises through 2017. :)

Who cares if you can afford an X cruise you can afford a slight tip increase.

Who cares if you can afford an X cruise you can afford a slight tip increase.

People actually do care about where their money goes - whether they can afford an X cruise - or not.

You may not care - and that's great for you.

Between beverage package increases, gratuity increases, and everything else, it really starts to add up. Even though we can afford this cruise, it doesn't mean we have unlimited funds.

Are they ready to make them mandatory for more than Select Dining yet? Maybe if everyone paid them, and couldn't remove them, the company wouldn't need to raise them. They need to stop being discretionary and simply be non-commissional service charges that all are required to pay.

Okay, here's one.

If you have a cruise booked that leaves after July 1, 2015, and have Select dining, which you will have to pay grats with final payment, then will it be the current pricing on the invoice or will they rerate your invoice and charge you the new amount?

The way that's worded I would say I would have to either pay them by May 31st, or pay an extra .95 a day for 7 days x 2 = $13.30. Since I have to pay them anyway I think I'll save the $13.30 and spend it on something else.

Are they ready to make them mandatory for more than Select Dining yet? Maybe if everyone paid them, and couldn't remove them, the company wouldn't need to raise them. They need to stop being discretionary and simply be non-commissional service charges that all are required to pay.

Add the cost of the gratuities to the employees salary and increase fares to cover them. Therefore the staff can rest assured that they are being paid correctly, passengers don't have to concern themselves with them and can get on with enjoying their holiday, and if anyone goes above and beyond and deserves anything extra they can be tipped in cash accordingly.

Beginning on June 1, 2015 for all sailings beginning on or after July 1, 2015, gratuity rates will be increasing to the

following amounts:

 

· $12.95 per person per day in Staterooms

· $13.45 per person per day in Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms

· $16.45 per person per day in Suites

Guests who have prepaid their gratuities (or who have prepaid gratuities on their reservation as a result of a sales promotion) by May 31, 2015 will not be charged the http://cuddlycavies.homestead.com/tuxside.jpg gratuity rate once onboard.

Any guest sailing prior to July 1, 2015 will be subject to the existing gratuity rates ($12.00/day/person for Staterooms, $12.50/day/person for Concierge Class & AquaClass, and $15.50/day/person for suites).

The new gratuity increase is effective for all individual and group bookings.

An 18% gratuity will continue to be added to all beverage, mini-bar purchases, and spa & salon purchases onboard.

Ok so working in the legal field has the wheels turning in my head. I booked a cruise in February for December. Grats were 12.00per day. Now they increase it. I know its only .95 more (per person per day times how many thousands of people...) however, i take issue to this change for those of us who already have cruises booked. The change should go into effect for anyone who books a cruise AFTER July 1st. Isnt X breaching its contract? I dont believe they can legally force those who already have cruises booked to pay that. And for those thinking im trying to get out of paying $13.30 extra...do the math. At minimum there are at LEAST 5 thousand people who have already booked a cruise for after July 1st. $6.65 extra per person for a 7 day cruise times 5 thousand is $33,250 in extra revenue....so its looking at the big picture and the principle.

One more thing, i looked at Celebritys website and scoured the web but see no notice of this change so OP please let us know where you got this information before we all start to speculate (not that any of us ever do that here :D)

I too would like to know the origin of this information. It appears to be a direct quote, but the OP never cites the source. :confused:

Perhaps our good friend, Celebrity Cruises, could shed some light on this, as well?

Ok so working in the legal field has the wheels turning in my head. I booked a cruise in February for December. Grats were 12.00per day. Now they increase it. I know its only .95 more (per person per day times how many thousands of people...) however, i take issue to this change for those of us who already have cruises booked. The change should go into effect for anyone who books a cruise AFTER July 1st. Isnt X breaching its contract? I dont believe they can legally force those who already have cruises booked to pay that. And for those thinking im trying to get out of paying $13.30 extra...do the math. At minimum there are at LEAST 5 thousand people who have already booked a cruise for after July 1st. $6.65 extra per person for a 7 day cruise times 5 thousand is $33,250 in extra revenue....so its looking at the big picture and the principle.

Since your cruise isn't until December, if you don't like the increase and don't wish to pay, you can always cancel now and get all your money/deposit back.;)

I'm curious as to what the breakdown in the extra 95 cents will be.

I have the same info as the OP. It came from my host for the business I am in.

Since your cruise isn't until December, if you don't like the increase and don't wish to pay, you can always cancel now and get all your money/deposit back.;)

 

I'm curious as to what the breakdown in the extra 95 cents will be.

Nevaaaaaaaa! I shall fight this charge till my death! (Warrior music playing in background) :)

Probably .95 for every person who successfully convinces me to cancel my cruise...:eek:

$12, $ 12.50, $15.50 a day or bust!!! - Not really that catchy.

Beginning on June 1, 2015 for all sailings beginning on or after July 1, 2015, gratuity rates will be increasing to the

following amounts:

 

· $12.95 per person per day in Staterooms

· $13.45 per person per day in Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms

· $16.45 per person per day in Suites

Guests who have prepaid their gratuities (or who have prepaid gratuities on their reservation as a result of a sales promotion) by May 31, 2015 will not be charged the incremental gratuity rate once onboard.

Any guest sailing prior to July 1, 2015 will be subject to the existing gratuity rates ($12.00/day/person for Staterooms, $12.50/day/person for Concierge Class & AquaClass, and $15.50/day/person for suites).

The new gratuity increase is effective for all individual and group bookings.

An 18% gratuity will continue to be added to all beverage, mini-bar purchases, and spa & salon purchases onboard.

Well we do have to provide for the staff who take good care of us. Just deal with it!

My info comes from a very reliable source but there is no link yet and I can't reveal the source. Now that someone else has confirmed on this thread we'll probably see official confirmation soon. By the way my name isn't OP.:)

Ok so working in the legal field has the wheels turning in my head. I booked a cruise in February for December. Grats were 12.00per day. Now they increase it. I know its only .95 more (per person per day times how many thousands of people...) however, i take issue to this change for those of us who already have cruises booked. The change should go into effect for anyone who books a cruise AFTER July 1st. Isnt X breaching its contract? I dont believe they can legally force those who already have cruises booked to pay that. And for those thinking im trying to get out of paying $13.30 extra...do the math. At minimum there are at LEAST 5 thousand people who have already booked a cruise for after July 1st. $6.65 extra per person for a 7 day cruise times 5 thousand is $33,250 in extra revenue....so its looking at the big picture and the principle.

Anyone who books before June 1, 2015 will be charged the current gratuity.

People actually do care about where their money goes - whether they can afford an X cruise - or not. You may not care - and that's great for you. Between beverage package increases, gratuity increases, and everything else, it really starts to add up. Even though we can afford this cruise, it doesn't mean we have unlimited funds.

keithm: Well we do have to provide for the staff who take good care of us. Just deal with it!

Agree strongly with above comments from DinaS. ALL of these various costs do add up. Not everyone is "made of money" and/or having unlimited financial resources. Cruise lines do' date=' like some retailers, claim great bargain, specials and super discounts. Then, they find lots of ways to [i']"nickel and dime"[/i] us with added fees, special charges, etc.

Contrary to keithm's dismissive statement of "Just deal with it!", a large portion of what you are funding with the cruise cost does or is supposed to go towards the staff salaries, costs and benefits. Yes, they deserve to be paid and gain reasonable compensation. There is not much transparency about how the cruise line tips are divided, who gets what, etc. AND, different cultures around the world handle "service charges" in a variety manners. Some include it in the sticker price. Others do not.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 198,953 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

The losers in this are the travel agents who added "prepaid gratuities" as an extra perk...that they cover with an OBC. I guess they'll have to eat the increase and give a larger OBC.

People actually do care about where their money goes - whether they can afford an X cruise - or not.

 

You may not care - and that's great for you.

 

Between beverage package increases, gratuity increases, and everything else, it really starts to add up. Even though we can afford this cruise, it doesn't mean we have unlimited funds.

The fact of the matter is that if you can't afford the entire package, don't cruise. I can't afford the insurance on a high powered Maserati sports car. Do I complain? Nope! I just don't buy Maseraties and instead buy cars I CAN afford. Simple as that.

It never fails to amuse me when people complain that they can't afford something, as if that is somehow the company's fault. Not being able to afford something is a fact of life for 99% of us.

As someone else said earlier: "Just deal with it."

Contrary to keithm's dismissive statement of "Just deal with it!", a large portion of what you are funding with the cruise cost does or is supposed to go towards the staff salaries, costs and benefits. Yes, they deserve to be paid and gain reasonable compensation. There is not much transparency about how the cruise line tips are divided, who gets what, etc. AND, different cultures around the world handle "service charges" in a variety manners. Some include it in the sticker price. Others do not.

So, your solution is to raise the price of a cruise to give the crew a "fair" wage? How is that not also adding to the final cost? We would still have to "Just deal with it".