Gratuities

[Ariel35]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know what the current recommended daily gratuities are? I know they have gone up in price, but would like to make sure...

 

Thanks!

[mcca2]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know what the current recommended daily gratuities are? I know they have gone up in price, but would like to make sure...

 

Thanks!

 

My cruise in August went up from $68.25 RCCL cabin to $81.55. That was a regular cabin not a suite. I guess TP Kellar needs to update his guide. ( Which was very helpful) :)

[uksimonusa]

My cruise in August went up from $68.25 RCCL cabin to $81.55. That was a regular cabin not a suite. I guess TP Kellar needs to update his guide. ( Which was very helpful) :)

 

thought prices went up on July 1st.

[Clarea]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know what the current recommended daily gratuities are? I know they have gone up in price, but would like to make sure...

 

Thanks!

As of July 1, $11.65 per day for staterooms that are Junior Suite and below.

[griffy116]

Sailing after July 1, tips are $81.55 for 7-night cruise. Most significant increase is for cabin stewards. I believe it increases to $5 per day.

[cruisenfever]

Effective July 1, 2011 the recommended gratuities have increased to $11.65 pp per day for those booked in cabins up to and including JS. $13.90 for guests booked in GS and above cabins.

 

$5.00 - Housekeeping Staff ($7.25 for GS and above)

$3.75 - Waiter

$2.15 - Assistant Waiter

$0.75 - Head Waiter

 

$11.65 - per person per day ($13.90 for GS and above)

[ScottC4746]

The best thing cruises do is pre-paid gratuities. No need to worry about making sure you have the extra cash at the end.

[MikeNJ1109]

I seem to remember a post from some weeks ago that for those who reserved "prior" to the increase are grandfathered in under the old rate? Can anyone confirm that?

 

Michael

 

PS Lest there are those that would think the worst of us ... yes, we always tip more than the minimum. :)

[cruisenfever]

I seem to remember a post from some weeks ago that for those who reserved "prior" to the increase are grandfathered in under the old rate? Can anyone confirm that?

 

Michael

 

PS Lest there are those that would think the worst of us ... yes, we always tip more than the minimum. :)

From the RCI website regarding the increase in the recommended gratuities:

 

 

Q: I booked my cruise before this adjustment. Do the new guidelines apply to my cruise?

 

A: Royal Caribbean will not change the gratuities for any bookings that set sail before July 1, 2011.

 

Pre-existing bookings for sail dates on or after July 1, 2011 will not have increased gratuity guidelines as long as they meet at least one of the following requirements:

• The booking shows that prepaid gratuities were selected before 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on 12/11/10
  
• The booking shows that My Time Dining was selected before 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on 12/11/10
  

 

[Clarea]

I seem to remember a post from some weeks ago that for those who reserved "prior" to the increase are grandfathered in under the old rate? Can anyone confirm that?

 

Michael

 

PS Lest there are those that would think the worst of us ... yes, we always tip more than the minimum. :)

I believe Royal said that the cruise had to be reserved, and pre-paid gratuities had to be selected before the announcement date of the gratuity increase in order to be grandfathered. I believe the announcement date was around Jan 1, 2011, but Patti would know for sure.

 

EDIT: Just saw that you beat me to it Patti.

[MikeNJ1109]

From the RCI website regarding the increase in the recommended gratuities:

 

 

Q: I booked my cruise before this adjustment. Do the new guidelines apply to my cruise?

 

A: Royal Caribbean will not change the gratuities for any bookings that set sail before July 1, 2011.

 

Pre-existing bookings for sail dates on or after July 1, 2011 will not have increased gratuity guidelines as long as they meet at least one of the following requirements:

• The booking shows that prepaid gratuities were selected before 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on 12/11/10
  
• The booking shows that My Time Dining was selected before 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on 12/11/10
  

 

 

Thanks for the link ...

[cruisenfever]

I believe Royal said that the cruise had to be reserved, and pre-paid gratuities had to be selected before the announcement date of the gratuity increase in order to be grandfathered. I believe the announcement date was around Jan 1, 2011, but Patti would know for sure.

 

EDIT: Just saw that you beat me to it Patti.

I originally included this link in my post http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/p...34287/1?csp=34 which I got from the initial thread that is now closed.

 

Then I decided to do a search on RCI and found a better explanation.

[yogimax]

From the RCI website regarding the increase in the recommended gratuities:

 

 

 

Pre-existing bookings for sail dates on or after July 1, 2011 will not have increased gratuity guidelines as long as they meet at least one of the following requirements:

• The booking shows that prepaid gratuities were selected before 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on 12/11/10
  
• The booking shows that My Time Dining was selected before 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern time on 12/11/10
  

 

 

The lawyers must have been working overtime to figure out an exclusion thaat would probably apply to less than 1% of bookings.

[MikeNJ1109]

The lawyers must have been working overtime to figure out an exclusion thaat would probably apply to less than 1% of bookings.

 

In our case, my wife and I booked our 11/2011 Freedom cruise in February 2010 (with MTD / tips prepaid) ... sometimes better to be lucky than good, though as mentioned before we normally tip more than the required minimum anyway.

 

Again, thanks for the info ...

 

Michael