Help with gratuity!!!!!

[lcurtis87]

OK, im trying to actually budget for this....

 

if you Pre Pay your gratuity what is the cost for a 7 day RCI cruise? not a suite just an outside cabin.

 

Then if you decide to do it yourself I see that the total ends up being like over $15 a day if you go by RCI guidelines.

 

What do you guys normally do when it comes to gratuity on RCI? I have only done 3 and 5 day cruises on carnival and the cost is like $10 a day and they automatically add it to your sail and sign card unless you go to the pursers deck and tell them you will tip the people yourself.

 

Honestly id rather tip on the very first day cause I know the service is always sooo much better when I do that.

So normally what I do is let them charge the normal $10 per day to my card and then the first day I get there I give my room attendent an extra $10 or $20, every single time ive cruised this has caused me to receive the most amazing service in my room. They always leave us a couple extra buckets of ice and always always keep them full cause they know we have wine and other stuff in our room and everything we ask for is there within minutes.

 

should I do the same with RCI? just let them do the pre paid gratuity and then give some extra in the begining? or just pay everyone the first day anyway or at least my room attendant because I wunna make sure that person knows on the first day I want good service and Im willing to pay for it.

[thelion]

The total is not $15 a day. It is $9.75 a day. Do not include tips to BOTH a suite attendant AND a stateroom steward. Logic says you cannot have both (you are either in a suite or a stateroom) therefore need not tip both.

 

Prepaid grats for 1 person in a standard stateroom for 7 nights is $68.25

[constable145]

If you tip on the very first day, then the servers could go on cruise control ( no pun intended) and not do anything. They already have their tip.

 

Give them their gratuity on the last day. Either with the vouchers, or cash. I prefer cash. I don't like prepaying gratuities as I want the ability to pick and choose who gets tipped.

 

If I don't eat in the MDR and eat in the WJ for dinner one night, I prefer to tip those servers in cash. The MDR staff don't deserve my tip when they don't serve me.

 

People will most likely flame me for this post, but I could careless.

 

Bottom line- tip at the end of the cruise so the staff have something to look forward too.

[jking917]

I always prepay mine before I board. I have never had bad service and have always been very happy with all the staff. If someone goes above and beyond without me asking for anything additional, we always give extra at the end. I have given extra to a head waiter and my room steward. In the extra tip, I always write a note of appreciation to let them know we noticed thier extra care they gave us.

[Wilda]

OP- One of the first things we do when we board (after having a celebatory drink poolside :D) is find our cabin attendant and give him/her $20 up front. We have two requests; replace the balcony chairs with lounge chairs and a full ice bucket around 4:00 in the afternoon, every day. We have not been disappointed yet.

 

I am also a fan of giving the bartender at the pool a generous tip on day one. They remember you during the cruise and are typically more generous.

 

We also prepay our gratuities. There are some posters that do not believe you should tip before service is received...to each his own!

[silentbob007]

On RCCL, if you do not want to pay your gratuities up front, there is a form you can fill out during the first few days of the cruise that allows you to add the set gratuities to your SeaPass card.

[stretch44]

:D

OP- One of the first things we do when we board (after having a celebatory drink poolside :D) is find our cabin attendant and give him/her $20 up front. We have two requests; replace the balcony chairs with lounge chairs and a full ice bucket around 4:00 in the afternoon, every day. We have not been disappointed yet.

 

I am also a fan of giving the bartender at the pool a generous tip on day one. They remember you during the cruise and are typically more generous.

 

We also prepay our gratuities. There are some posters that do not believe you should tip before service is received...to each his own!

 

 

I can see this happening soon

 

Before they provide any service, good or bad, the staff will have meetings at the beginning of every cruise and discuss who has pre-tipped and who has not. I can hear it now, this guy gave me $20 while this guy only gave me $10 but this guy gave me $50 so I guess I'll clean his room first, then the guy who gave me $20 then the guy....................

 

Maybe they should have an auction to see who gets the best service. Highest bidder wins!:D

[cb at sea]

Even when you "pre-pay", the servers do NOT get the tip in advance...they actually have to wait until their next paycheck to get your tips.

 

We've never had anything but super service and we don't tip anything in advance. We tip with cash on the last evening.

 

You should expect ice twice daily in your cabin, and "johnny on the spot" service from all of the ship's employees. You should not have to bribe them to take care of you.

[lcurtis87]

Thank you guys, This info is helpful.

 

I would rather tip in advance to make our on ship expenses less, we are emptying out our pockets daily and putting all the loose change and dollars in a jar, right before we sail I will set up the pre pay thing.

 

So the amount if you do Pre Pay is $9.75 per person per day correct?

 

That was my main question.

I personally have like I said only given $10 and $20 on the first day and never felt like someone who gave them more on the first night would be treated better then me.

 

But I do like the option

[akcruz]

Thank you guys, This info is helpful.

 

I would rather tip in advance to make our on ship expenses less, we are emptying out our pockets daily and putting all the loose change and dollars in a jar, right before we sail I will set up the pre pay thing.

 

So the amount if you do Pre Pay is $9.75 per person per day correct?

 

That was my main question.

I personally have like I said only given $10 and $20 on the first day and never felt like someone who gave them more on the first night would be treated better then me.

 

But I do like the option

 

Here is a great site by one of the CC members here that you plug in your info (cruise line and length of cruise) and it gives you the 'standard' tip amounts for your cruise. It is a guideline, but does match what the cruise lines suggest.

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

If you pre-pay on royal these are the amounts that will be applied.

[Wilda]

Even when you "pre-pay", the servers do NOT get the tip in advance...they actually have to wait until their next paycheck to get your tips.

 

We've never had anything but super service and we don't tip anything in advance. We tip with cash on the last evening.

 

You should expect ice twice daily in your cabin, and "johnny on the spot" service from all of the ship's employees. You should not have to bribe them to take care of you.

 

No bribe. Just our way of saying thank you in advance for a great experience.

[negc]

No bribe. Just our way of saying thank you in advance for a great experience.

Unless you have proof that it gets you better service, why tip in advance before you can even begin to evaluate the service you receive? I have yet to find anyone who can prove that the advance tip resulted in better service. Will you adjust the final tip downward if the service is not up to par and, if so, how do you know that the person receiving the reduced tip will get the message. If service is subpar, the best remedy, if you have complained to the ship's staff during the cruise, is to note the fact on your guest satisfaction form.:)

[tinkerfenwick]

I'm about to do my 1st cruise with RCI this weekend - TIPS are turning into a nightmare for us.

 

We have not prepaid - and don't want to be dictated to by RCI as to what to pay - we will pay as we feel that the service has been delivered. We have cruised previously but not with RCI.

 

So - can I just clarify when I get on board on Sat, do I go to the pursers desk and make sure that I'm not being charged TIPs and pay at the end....

[lcurtis87]

Unless you have proof that it gets you better service, why tip in advance before you can even begin to evaluate the service you receive? I have yet to find anyone who can prove that the advance tip resulted in better service. Will you adjust the final tip downward if the service is not up to par and, if so, how do you know that the person receiving the reduced tip will get the message. If service is subpar, the best remedy, if you have complained to the ship's staff during the cruise, is to note the fact on your guest satisfaction form.:)

 

 

It doesnt have to be proven that the person gives better service when you do this.... I am not hurting that badly by spending $10-$20 to tip a person the first night. These people leave their families for months at a time and give me WAY better service then ive ever received on land. Its amazing that they all remember our names and clean our room twice a day and give us whatever we want. We are spoiled on these cruises, and Its just happened so far that I give a tiny little first day tip and we end up becoming like friends with these people.

 

My Aunt went on a NCL cruise and said she barely ever saw her room attendent and didnt know their name, she didnt tip any extra then what was due directly to the cruise line and also didnt get any type of personal service. I was like really? we joke around and become friends with our peeps, I just like it that way!

we are very social people.

[lcurtis87]

Unless you have proof that it gets you better service, why tip in advance before you can even begin to evaluate the service you receive? I have yet to find anyone who can prove that the advance tip resulted in better service. Will you adjust the final tip downward if the service is not up to par and, if so, how do you know that the person receiving the reduced tip will get the message. If service is subpar, the best remedy, if you have complained to the ship's staff during the cruise, is to note the fact on your guest satisfaction form.:)

 

Here is a great site by one of the CC members here that you plug in your info (cruise line and length of cruise) and it gives you the 'standard' tip amounts for your cruise. It is a guideline, but does match what the cruise lines suggest.

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

If you pre-pay on royal these are the amounts that will be applied.

 

 

OMG! that is so cool. I love it. cute idea.

That is what I thought, that the $10 a day was a good idea to have. So Ive made my decision....

 

Give a $20 to the room attendent on the first night, pre pay gratuity before hand, then on the last night give some extra to anyone that did a great job!

 

I will probably give a couple of the bartenders some extra the first day also, and the cocktail waitresses in the casino! lmao I like good service. haha

[Wilda]

Unless you have proof that it gets you better service, why tip in advance before you can even begin to evaluate the service you receive? I have yet to find anyone who can prove that the advance tip resulted in better service. Will you adjust the final tip downward if the service is not up to par and, if so, how do you know that the person receiving the reduced tip will get the message. If service is subpar, the best remedy, if you have complained to the ship's staff during the cruise, is to note the fact on your guest satisfaction form.:)

 

Honestly, I'm not looking to prove anything. And I'm not going to worry about subpar service because that has only happened to us once on a cruise in the dining room. And yes, we did complain. The only group that we do not tip in advance is the AO staff. They get an envelope from us on the last night.

we enjoy giving a little something extra to others :-)

[critterchick]

I'm about to do my 1st cruise with RCI this weekend - TIPS are turning into a nightmare for us.

 

We have not prepaid - and don't want to be dictated to by RCI as to what to pay - we will pay as we feel that the service has been delivered. We have cruised previously but not with RCI.

 

So - can I just clarify when I get on board on Sat, do I go to the pursers desk and make sure that I'm not being charged TIPs and pay at the end....

 

If you haven't paid the tips before you travel (check the invoice you received from your TA or Royal Caribbean) and you don't fill out the form that they leave in your stateroom about halfway through your cruise, then you won't be charged tips on your account. RCI is just about the last mainstream line not to charge some kind of daily service charge. On the last day of the cruise you will receive envelopes in which you can put cash, along with a suggested guideline which you are free to adjust upward or downward as you see fit. If, however, you selected My Time Dining instead of a fixed seating, you would already have been charged gratutities, and you're stuck with paying them.

 

And on most ships there's no need to stand in line at Guest Services to check your account - you can do it on your cabin TV.:)

[ksadonnab]

If you tip on the very first day, then the servers could go on cruise control ( no pun intended) and not do anything. They already have their tip.

 

Give them their gratuity on the last day. Either with the vouchers, or cash. I prefer cash. I don't like prepaying gratuities as I want the ability to pick and choose who gets tipped.

 

If I don't eat in the MDR and eat in the WJ for dinner one night, I prefer to tip those servers in cash. The MDR staff don't deserve my tip when they don't serve me.

 

People will most likely flame me for this post, but I could careless.

 

Bottom line- tip at the end of the cruise so the staff have something to look forward too.

 

 

 

Yep - I agree with you. :D

[tinkerfenwick]

Thanks - we are on fixed dining - so undertsand that TIP's are not charged direct.

 

We will tip and use RCI guidelines but don't feel that we should be decitated to.

 

Thanks for all your help....

[yahootelemundo]

 

People will most likely flame me for this post, but I could careless.

 

.

 

these people have the flame , but dont know who to use it , dont worry :D

[TPKeller]

I'm about to do my 1st cruise with RCI this weekend - TIPS are turning into a nightmare for us.

 

We have not prepaid - and don't want to be dictated to by RCI as to what to pay - we will pay as we feel that the service has been delivered. We have cruised previously but not with RCI.

 

So - can I just clarify when I get on board on Sat, do I go to the pursers desk and make sure that I'm not being charged TIPs and pay at the end....

Tips shouldn't be a nightmare, and that is a big part of why I wrote the Cruise Tip Calculator.

 

You can go put in the numbers for your situation, and it will spell out how much is recommended by the cruise line for each position. Then it will break it down and tell you how many bills you need for each of the envelopes (after a little bit of rounding up to the next whole dollar.) You can actually go to the bank before you leave, and get all the exact change you will need for the tips at the end of your cruise... then just stick it away somewhere you won't forget about, and you'll be all ready for it.

 

As mentioned, you can also have the exact amounts (or more if you like) added to your shipboard account.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Theron

[PrincesScuba]

That is what I thought, that the $10 a day was a good idea to have. So Ive made my decision....

 

Give a $20 to the room attendent on the first night, pre pay gratuity before hand, then on the last night give some extra to anyone that did a great job!

 

I will probably give a couple of the bartenders some extra the first day also, and the cocktail waitresses in the casino! lmao I like good service. haha

 

An excellent approach.

[dmdiver]

Okay, now I'm really confused. My cruise is paid in full, tips were not pre-paid. When I go on my cruise is the $9.75 per day not put onto the onboard account? I've only sailed CCL so far & it is always put on your account. If you want to give over that amount, you may do so in cash. If you want to adjust the amount down (not sure why that would ever be necessary) you would go to the customer service desk.

 

So what actually happens on RCCL? We don't typically take tons of cash with us.

[shellito1012]

I don't prepay and I do like to give cash on the last night.....on the two cruises that I gave extra money up front to our room steward, I received a bottle of wine from him. I thought it was pretty nice. Do I feel I got "better" service...No. But the extra wine was really nice!

[harryfat1]

Okay, now I'm really confused. My cruise is paid in full, tips were not pre-paid. When I go on my cruise is the $9.75 per day not put onto the onboard account? I've only sailed CCL so far & it is always put on your account. If you want to give over that amount, you may do so in cash. If you want to adjust the amount down (not sure why that would ever be necessary) you would go to the customer service desk.

 

So what actually happens on RCCL? We don't typically take tons of cash with us.

 

I am in the same camp in coming over from other cruise lines where they add the tip automatically to your account. They did this even on our Celebrity cruise last year at $11.50 per person/day added to our account automatically. So RCI’s $9.75/day is a bargain by comparison, believe Carnival is still at $10/pp. Personally I don’t think Celebrity deserves the extra premium compared to the other cruises I have taken, but that’s not the topic of discussion here.

 

Here is the link to RCI web site on tipping:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do;jsessionid=00005Fzi_goDuOwMm_m7KfR02-w:12hbiodf7;jsessionid=0000YM9g4o9RsZGdNzuNrxuulkQ:12hbioe0u?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Extras&faqId=263&faqSubjectId=337&faqType=faq

 

Sounds like they can add the gratuities amount to your sea pass account so you don’t have to carry the cash. From the discussion here, does that mean if you want to have the tips added to your sea pass account, you need to talk to guest relations while on board and then give vouchers to the servers so they know you didn't stiff them?

 

With the other cruise lines, the “default” is the gratuities are added automatically for everyone. You can adjust it with guest relations on last day. Sounds like with RCI, the default is not to charge to sea pass account, but they will change it if you asked for it?

 

One last wrinkle to the discussion is if you opt for my time dining, the tips are included in your final cruise payment. So you will have prepaid this couple months before sailing.