15% drinks charge rccl

[lewje]

is the 15% charge still applied on rccl if sailing in europe from southampton !!!

[billsgal]

Yes, it's a service charge (or tip) for the server.

[SamFritz]

Yes, it's a service charge (or tip) for the server.

 

I think the OP is talking about VAT that is also added to beverage purchases (and just about everything else.) I don't know about sailing from the UK. It was charged on the Navigator out of Rome this summer.

[lewje]

i heard from someone that the gratuity on drinkks if sailing from southampton to the med was waivered :confused:

[gedam]

This is an interesting one that we had a chat about last night. In the Uk you have to pre-pay the tips. Fine no problem with that or tipping extra.

 

But a thought came up last night. We have tp pre-pay the tips which we then put in an envelope (at the end of the cruise) to give to the staff concerned.

 

Hubby said last night if the enveopes are not handed out to the recipients at the end who actually then recieves the money? As has already been paid by us?

 

To go back to OP I really don't think we are bad tippers in the UK but yes the extra 15% stings a bit

[mgg42]

This is an interesting one that we had a chat about last night. In the Uk you have to pre-pay the tips. Fine no problem with that or tipping extra.

 

But a thought came up last night. We have tp pre-pay the tips which we then put in an envelope (at the end of the cruise) to give to the staff concerned.

 

Hubby said last night if the enveopes are not handed out to the recipients at the end who actually then recieves the money? As has already been paid by us?

 

To go back to OP I really don't think we are bad tippers in the UK but yes the extra 15% stings a bit

 

 

All tips are pooled, regardless of how it's given (prepaid on sign and sail or cash in envelope). All tips are pooled across the entire group (i.e. waiters pool, room stewards pool, etc...)

[gedam]

Thanks for the clarification, however i have a question;

 

If these tips are all pooled, then why not ask for a ship-wide tip instead of specific role tips? all the prepaid gratuitaries are specific to the staff they are given to (cabin attendants, waiters etc). it was my impression that the tips we gave on the prepaid envelopes went directly to the staff who had been looking after us on the cruise.

 

If all these tips are pooled , in some ways i feel this actually lowers extra tipping by guests, as with the prepaid envelopes less people are inclined to tip extra. if this "prepaid gratuitary", was simply included in the price of the cruise, surely more people would be inclined to tip a little extra? We always give extras to our cabin attendants, and anyone who we feel has made our cruise experience more enjoyable, but we would like to think our prepaid envelopes are going to the people who helped us directly.

[BrusselsGirl07]

On the Rhapsody 2009 Christmas cruise in Australia the 15% was charged on drinks. On their Christmas cruise 2010 in Australia, it was not. We asked about it, and they said it was a new thing, that they had included the cost of the tips in the drink price. But the drinks were the same price as the Christmas before. The menu still said that a 15% tip would be charged.

 

In Australia on RCI we still get the option of choosing to pre-pay our gratuities or not. We always pre-pay as it is less hassle, and always put a little extra cash in the envelope if they did an excellent job (and they usually always do!). But I am sure there were lots of people who did not pre-pay and who did not pay any gratuities at all, since tipping is not a custom in Australia.

[BeeBerry]

This is an interesting one that we had a chat about last night. In the Uk you have to pre-pay the tips. Fine no problem with that or tipping extra.

 

But a thought came up last night. We have tp pre-pay the tips which we then put in an envelope (at the end of the cruise) to give to the staff concerned.

 

Hubby said last night if the enveopes are not handed out to the recipients at the end who actually then recieves the money? As has already been paid by us?

 

To go back to OP I really don't think we are bad tippers in the UK but yes the extra 15% stings a bit

 

Gedam - We don't have to pre-pay tips in the UK, unless you have selected My Time Dining. The default on RC's site is to pre-pay but there is an option to remove this if you want to. I book with a UK travel agent online as well and they have the same option. However, we always pre-pay as we like to take My Time Dining. You don't need to hand out the vouchers as the staff will be told at some point you pre-paid and of course all the dining room staff in the MTD section know this as well.

 

To the OP - From what I've read, the Independence drink prices when sailing from Southampton include the 15% - they have probably had special drinks menu's printed up for this. No extra tax if the ship hits a non EU port either and I think all sailings over 11 nights hit either the Canaries or Gibraltar.

[chucknmarilyn]

Thanks for the clarification, however i have a question;

 

If these tips are all pooled, then why not ask for a ship-wide tip instead of specific role tips? all the prepaid gratuitaries are specific to the staff they are given to (cabin attendants, waiters etc). it was my impression that the tips we gave on the prepaid envelopes went directly to the staff who had been looking after us on the cruise.

 

If all these tips are pooled , in some ways i feel this actually lowers extra tipping by guests, as with the prepaid envelopes less people are inclined to tip extra. if this "prepaid gratuitary", was simply included in the price of the cruise, surely more people would be inclined to tip a little extra? We always give extras to our cabin attendants, and anyone who we feel has made our cruise experience more enjoyable, but we would like to think our prepaid envelopes are going to the people who helped us directly.

 

My understanding is that the tips do get paid to your specific room steward but the one for wait staff are applied across the board if you use MTD. If you use traditional dining, they go directly to your wait staff.