Pre pay your gratuities now!!!!

[happy cruzin]

it is my understanding that yet it is going up however it isn't effective until Dec. 1..

 

Next how do I pre-pay??

 

Call the 1-800 number for Carnival. BUT.....you would have had to pre-pay BEFORE today to avoid the increase.

If you call to pre-pay today - which you can still do - the recommended fee you will be charged is $11.50 per person/per day.

[H82seaUgo]

May I ask why you hate him so much ?

 

hate him? i think he's a great cruise director.

[happy cruzin]

And the breakdown from Carnival's FAQs:

 

What is the tipping policy onboard?

Service Gratuities

For your convenience, we automatically charge the gratuities for dining and stateroom staff to your onboard Sail & Sign account. The total amount is $11.50 per guest, per day (our recommended guideline) as follows:

$ 3.70 - Per Day Stateroom Services

$ 5.80 - Per Day Dining Room Services

$ 2.00 - Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to kitchen, entertainment, guest services and other hotel staff members.

For Cruises-To-Nowhere, gratuities of $11.50 per guest, per day must be prepaid.

Our Staff is totally committed to exceed your expectations in every way possible. If you are not satisfied with the service you receive, we encourage you to contact the Guest Services desk while onboard. This will allow us to address your concerns in a timely and appropriate fashion. At your discretion, you may adjust the gratuities at any time while onboard. Gratuities will be deemed undisputed unless a request to modify is received prior to disembarking the ship.

For beverage purchases, fifteen percent of the bill is automatically added to the Sail & Sign charge. Room Service staff may be tipped as service is rendered.

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466

 

Having never taken a Cruise -To-Nowhere, I wonder have they always had to prepay the tips??:confused:

[H82seaUgo]

Call the 1-800 number for Carnival. BUT.....you would have had to pre-pay BEFORE today to avoid the increase.

 

If you call to pre-pay today - which you can still do - the recommended fee youwill be charged is $11.50 per person/per day.

 

if you pre pay, do you have to prepay the recommended amount? :confused:

[H82seaUgo]

Having never taken a Cruise -To-Nowhere, I wonder have the always had to prepay the tips??:confused:

 

everyone is either drunk or hanging over the sides.

 

tipping is not on their mind.

[happy cruzin]

everyone is either drunk or hanging over the sides.

 

tipping is not on their mind.

 

Agreed!

I just wondered if that was something "new" with this revision to the tip structure - or if its been that way all along and I just never noticed because it did not effect me...;)

[elcuchio24]

Thats it, I'm never cruising again!:)

[happy cruzin]

if you pre pay, do you have to prepay the recommended amount? :confused:

 

I thought so - but again I have never done it.

I just let them put the tips on our S&S account and don't give it another thought! There is no "benefit" to pre-pay other than a lower S&S bill on the last day, that I know of ;).

[H82seaUgo]

Agreed!

 

I just wondered if that was something "new" with this revision to the tip structure - or if its been that way all along and I just never noticed because it did not effect me...;)

 

 

we only did one almost 10 years ago. yes, we had to pre tip, and carry our bags on and off.

[Will in sunny FL]

Thank you to the original OP as well as other posters who brought this to our attention !!

Late last night we prepaid tips on our six booked cruises thru 4/13 & saved about $115.00.

That is not alot of $$, but is far better off in our pocket than Carnivals !

THANKS AGAIN !!

 

Bill in FL

[H82seaUgo]

Thank you to the original OP as well as other posters who brought this to our attention !!

Late last night we prepaid tips on our six booked cruises thru 4/13 & saved about $115.00.

That is not alot of $$, but is far better off in our pocket than Carnivals !

THANKS AGAIN !!

 

Bill in FL

 

you better duck and hide. the only thing carnival gets is interest off your money. all the rest goes to your servants.

[crdtrnr]

Thank you to the original OP as well as other posters who brought this to our attention !!

Late last night we prepaid tips on our six booked cruises thru 4/13 & saved about $115.00.

That is not alot of $$, but is far better off in our pocket than Carnivals !

THANKS AGAIN !!

 

Bill in FL

 

It is good that you saved some extra $$....but it doesn't go into Carnival's pocket, it goes into the employees'. Just setting the record straight.

 

I for one, did not prepay for our December cruise, I do not mind giving an extra $21 to the staff...and I still will be tipping extra!

[rlkubi]

I didn't prepay for my two upcoming either! Don't want to "stiff" the crew!

[Cruise Organizer]

$10.50 more for a 7 day cruise. This is distributed among various service personel. How much would you tip in a restaurant? Do you ever tip housekeeping in a hotel? Cruiselines are following the US service industry with the tipping policy. That is how it is done in the US and I do not see it changing. Try booking Atlantis - there are 3 different service charges before the restaurants. Yes, with tipping you are paying the waiters/servers/stewarts of the world, but you have choice with what you pay.

If you feel that service decreased with the auto tip, just think what would happen with no tipping. No cruiseline is going to raise their fare and have no tipping if the other lines maintain the standard. This would make their fare seem higher.

Restaurants have a mandatory 18% tip for parties of 8 or more. No one wants to pay more, but cruise fares are lower that 5years ago. Carnival sells a product. If Carnival loses money, they will cease to exist.

Auto tipping came about because the dinning room was sparsely attended the last night of the cruise. Having to wait on the pursers line to change large bills, I was surprised to see so many people removing the tips. I saw the people from the table next to us, and yes, they did not attend the MDR the last night.

Should we be griping about VAT when we travel to Europe? Yet, even with VAT, servers expect to be tipped. It is a lower %, but added to the VAT, overall could be higher.

Autotipping to me is a conveinence - I can tip extra to whom I choose.

I prefer that the bar bill has the tip calculated - 15%. This usually makes the tip less and I would round up.

Enjoy your cruise

[momof3cruisers]

So how does this work for the crew? Let's say I had my tips prepaid at the lower rate, but the cabin next door does not? So, Carnival gives my folks only a total of 10.50 but my neighbors folks get 11.50? That seems like a headache. An additional $1.50 seems reasonable to me. I have noticed that Celebrity is $12 per day.

[Raven Days]

I read all the responses and still havent pre-paid my tips. And I wont...yet. I always wait till right before I pay off my cruise to pay my tips. I figure they deserve the increase, and its not going to break me. If I cant afford to pay this extra amount, then I might need to rethink my choice of vacations. Heck I spend more going out to eat for lunch during the week!

 

I do have a problem...not a big one...just an annoyance. I have an issue with how Carnival has not been very upfront with this change. I have seen for myself the sometimes lack of communication from them and have yet to be impressed. I think they do an awesome job when its something they want to put out (2.0 changes/updates) but it seems that when its something that might cause a bit of issue, they are more quiet about it. Lack of communication is my biggest gripe with Carnival. Othen then that, I think they do a great job.

[H82seaUgo]

I read all the responses and still havent pre-paid my tips. And I wont...yet. I always wait till right before I pay off my cruise to pay my tips.

 

it's too late anyway. they announced today that you had to prepay by yesterday.

 

some applaud this! :rolleyes:

[Froufie]

As already mentioned unless you already 'prepaid' them you are SOOL.

 

Here is the response I just received from my PVP in answer to this question:

 

Yes, we were told yesterday that pre-paid gratuities would be increased on sailings after the New Year from $10 to $11.50 per person per day. I made a reservation this morning first thing for a sailing in May and the gratuities already showed up as $11.50. So unless they were already paid for, the gratuities will be charged at $11.50. So it won’t make a difference if you add them on now or not. I thought the same thing this morning, but it looks like the update went through last night. If you need anything else, please let me know. Thanks!!

 

 

Looks like the PVPs did not get much warning about the new policy!

[reggierail]

The breakdown is 20 cents for cabin steward, 30 cents for dining room staff and now 1 dollar for kitchen, entertainment and guest service staff. All figures are per person per day.

[reggierail]

FYI....I guess this makes it "official" - this is the posting on John's fb page:

 

 

John Heald

Morning everyone. Yesterday quite a few of you saw on our travel agent site that today we would be announcing an increase to our gratuity amounts as of December 1st. The amount is raised from $10 per person per day to $11.50 per person per day which is the first increase in gratuity amounts since 2001.Guests that have pre paid gratuities will not be affected by this increase. Now I will be writing... more about this in the blog today but wanted to make sure you all knew and to thank you for all you do for our wonderful crew.

 

Bullpucky, I checked the TA website late last night and there was no notice there. The notice this morning was dated today, Nov. 1, 2011.

[italianfemmy]

The cruise lines don't want to advertise a higher price because it will drive some people away. If you go to a store and see an item for $99 psychologically it seems a lot less than $100 even though it's just a dollar.

 

So what should they get paid? $8.00 an hour? Just asking, what do you think is an honest wage?

 

Bill

 

Personally, I don't think anyone should only make 8 dollars per hour. I think minimum wage should be at least 11 bucks per hour.

[bookpage]

the only thing carnival gets is interest off your money. all the rest goes to your servants.

 

And how do we 'know' that the servants/staff get all/part of this pre-paid gratuity :confused:

 

Because Carnival tells us they do :confused:

 

I had rather just give it to them myself. Now remember folks, I have never been on a cruise, so I don't know anything about these things. Just wondering.

[italianfemmy]

Just got the email from Carnival about the gratuities so they are letting people know!

[sunsetme]

we deserve some kind of notice and given the option to prepay if final payment had been made. My PVP was worthless with this one.

[firefly333]

And how do we 'know' that the servants/staff get all/part of this pre-paid gratuity :confused:

 

Because Carnival tells us they do :confused:

 

I had rather just give it to them myself. Now remember folks, I have never been on a cruise, so I don't know anything about these things. Just wondering.

 

I hope once you see the service you will change you mind and leave the auto tips on.

 

People who remove the tips go on a list and to me it would be embarrassing to go and ask to have them removed. Dont be cheap by removing tips. they are on to folks who say "oh I want to hand them out myself"

 

go on your first cruise, and hopefully you will change your mind. John and others have said the money goes to the employees designated. If you remove the tips to hand it to them .. then they have to turn it in.. you will defeat your own so called purpose.