Gratuities to be added to sea pass account daily.

[sparks1093]

I don't know how this is going to work. I don't see the staff going above and beyond. They will figure, I'm gonna get paid anyway so why do more then I have to. I perfer to give the tip to the person(s) that have made my cruise vacation special, not a person that I might not see or interact with. I know the "cash" thing is a blast in the past, but a person working for tips I'm sure they like to have that cash in hand at the end of every cruise.

 

Two things come to mind- 1) promotions and 2) contract renewals. Neither is likely to go to those crew members who perform at a substandard level. You are still free to give an extra tip to those you feel deserve it, just as you may still reduce a tip for substandard service. (And that person you may never see is working just as hard to make your vacation special as the person that you see.)

[cruisenfever]

It seems that not just the Brits disagree with this new policy as was mentioned on the other thread. Here are some comments from Folk already on this thread from the USA.

 

1) Well this ridiculous change of policy won't affect us as we are taking our business elsewhere.

Buh bye, Royal.

 

2)My problem with this is that we usually start putting away $10 or $20 bills when we book the cruise to go towards tips, parking, etc. and then pay cash (which we have always been told they prefer). It makes it easier on both us and the attendants.

Now I feel like we will look like cheap stiffers by asking to have it removed from the seapass bill to pay cash.

 

3) I don't know how this is going to work. I don't see the staff going above and beyond. They will figure, I'm gonna get paid anyway so why do more then I have to. I perfer to give the tip to the person(s) that have made my cruise vacation special, not a person that I might not see or interact with. I know the "cash" thing is a blast in the past, but a person working for tips I'm sure they like to have that cash in hand at the end of every cruise.

Absolutely. Not everyone is going to agree/has to agree with this new policy. It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree...........it's now a POLICY being put into effect beginning on March 1, 2013 for "all" guests. End of story.

 

Just remember that......."In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount by visiting Guest Services during their cruise".

[sparks1093]

It seems that not just the Brits disagree with this new policy as was mentioned on the other thread. Here are some comments from Folk already on this thread from the USA.

 

1) Well this ridiculous change of policy won't affect us as we are taking our business elsewhere.

Buh bye, Royal.

 

2)My problem with this is that we usually start putting away $10 or $20 bills when we book the cruise to go towards tips, parking, etc. and then pay cash (which we have always been told they prefer). It makes it easier on both us and the attendants.

Now I feel like we will look like cheap stiffers by asking to have it removed from the seapass bill to pay cash.

 

3) I don't know how this is going to work. I don't see the staff going above and beyond. They will figure, I'm gonna get paid anyway so why do more then I have to. I perfer to give the tip to the person(s) that have made my cruise vacation special, not a person that I might not see or interact with. I know the "cash" thing is a blast in the past, but a person working for tips I'm sure they like to have that cash in hand at the end of every cruise.

 

Yeah, three negative comments to 60 some odd positive ones;):).

[cruisenfever]

Yeah, three negative comments to 60 some odd positive ones;):).

LOL Thanks for counting.:D

[sparks1093]

LOL Thanks for counting.:D

 

Kind of easy when the poster I quoted had quoted all of them for me (which really is a good thing because for me that's like higher level math:eek:).

[caddie1]

no matter what is said or cried about----we must get over it. let's face it, it is over. RCCL has implemented "as of any sailings starting after March 1st 2013, the $12 per person per day surcharge will be added to your sea pass account".

It is final. so have all the hissy fits, crying jags, stomping up & down, crying in your beer, destroying your towel animals, complaining to the front desk, etc., etc., etc. you want to.

it is FINAL and it is OVER. so grin and bare it. you can't change RCCL policy. it is their ship and they make the rules. I for one am super happy to see it finally happen. i stick by my first thread (#28). HIP-HIP HOORAY

 

I will go along with their Policy and remove . See you at the desk.

[RealDeal]

Maybe someone can clarify b/c I'm really confused. In the past, if you selected MTD, you were charged gratuities upfront when making your reservation. Will that change?

[bigbillfromchicago]

I think it is necessary. When I asked wait staff whether they preferred traditional or my time, the respnse was always My Time because many traditional diners do not tip the recommended amount. That is just wrong. Now it will be clearer to some that the recommended tip is part of the cost of crusiong, not an option.

 

For those of you who object - good luck trying to find a cheaper alternative.

[cruisenfever]

Maybe someone can clarify b/c I'm really confused. In the past, if you selected MTD, you were charged gratuities upfront when making your reservation. Will that change?

You can still prepay your gratuities no matter what dining option you select.

 

Prior to the new policy you had to prepay if you signed up for MTD. Now, if you do MTD, you are not required to prepay. You can have the gratuities automatically added to your SeaPass account on a daily basis. The new policy will allow those that sign up for MTD and that do not prepay, the ability to use OBC to pay their gratuities with.

 

In the end, the amount paid is the same.

[Tommyg74]

Funny, I work in immigration and deal with crew members all the time, I ask them on a regular basis what they prefer. 90% prefer the cash. As far as the windjammer crew, they rotate out through the dining room alternating cruises. For others they have to get promoted up, so enough of all the BS on here with, fake sympathetic, "what about the other crew". Nothing has been stopping anyone from going and tipping the other crew members. Tips are earned, otherwise it is salary. You tip on the service provided. So lets see his many on here next year saying service went down hill. But please enough of the fake sympathy. Of you are all so concerned about the poor little crew that doesn't get any tips. Bring lots of money and walk through the ship and hand out $10 or $20 anytime you see a crewmember.

[boo214]

Well I asked my waiter and he said he preferred prepaid.

 

I don't assume that everyone likes prepaid, but he did.

 

Another point I want to make is that many posters report that MTD servers are supposedly the best workers of the group and that it is competitive to be assigned to MTD. I don't know why they would compete for a job that pays them less overall.

with mtd the grats are mandatory. so they cant get stiffed. thats why its so competitive.

[bigeck]

I live there!

 

Im sure we will meet one day. Take you live in Bridge of !!!

[orville99]

Absolutely. Not everyone is going to agree/has to agree with this new policy. It doesn't matter if you agree or disagree...........it's now a POLICY being put into effect beginning on March 1, 2013 for "all" guests. End of story.

 

Just remember that......."In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount by visiting Guest Services during their cruise".

 

While I can't picture the eventual discussions at GS without popping an eyeball out, I actually see this policy as a way to increase customer service quality(especially if you have to dispute each day's charge each day).

 

Let's say a guest is unhappy with dining room service on the third night, and goes down the next morning and requests that the previous day's MDR gratuity be removed. My guess is that GS will politely remove the charge, but then rip the guest's MDR team a new one off line for not performing to expectations.

 

Now if a guest waits until the last day and tries to have the entire week removed, I'm sure the conversation will go something like "which day did you have an unsatisfactory experience? We will be happy to adjust that day's charge." "Oh, they were all unsatisfactory? Can we inquire why you chose to wait until the last day to let us know? We wish you would have brought this to our attention the first time it happened so we could have rectified the situation, and are sorry that you were miserable for the entire week."

[RealDeal]

It makes sense that it should, but it would be nice if RCL would add a clarifying statement to their FAQ links about this. Since we always do MTD, we always pre-pay. I'd much rather use OBC once I am actually on the ship instead of my credit card 6-9 monts in advance.

 

Agree. Well, I'm all for the new policy. It really irritated to me prepay. I have no problem with them adding it once I'm onboard.

[RealDeal]

Now this brings me to a new question...If I've booked a cruise for next year, are they going to remove the prepaid gratuities before my final payment?

[orville99]

You can still prepay your gratuities no matter what dining option you select.

 

Prior to the new policy you had to prepay if you signed up for MTD. Now, if you do MTD, you are not required to prepay. You can have the gratuities automatically added to your SeaPass account on a daily basis. The new policy will allow those that sign up for MTD and that do not prepay, the ability to use OBC to pay their gratuities with.

 

In the end, the amount paid is the same.

 

Maybe someone can clarify b/c I'm really confused. In the past, if you selected MTD, you were charged gratuities upfront when making your reservation. Will that change?

 

It makes sense that it should, but it would be nice if RCL would add a clarifying statement to their FAQ links about this. Since we always do MTD, we always pre-pay. I'd much rather use OBC once I am actually on the ship instead of my credit card 6-9 monts in advance.

[Trekker954]

The title of this thread says for US pax, but in the details I didn't see mention of US. And other threads said only UK pax got the email. I'm wondering is this for US sailings only or across the fleet. Also, on Celebrity they do they same thing, however, you can go to guest services and sign a document and opt out. I wonder if the same thing will apply to this, if in fact it does affect US residents.

[Charles4515]

Seriously... ANOTHER thread?

 

I think another thread was a good idea. The other thread was more about certain nationalities because the first email was sent out to cruisers of one country. None had seen that it applied to all.

 

I think the change brings Royal Caribbean in line with how all the other cruise lines, all the other mainstream lines auto collect gratuities in these days of open seating and varied dining options. I think it was overdue and about time for Royal Caribbean to do the same.

[bigeagle12]

The title of this thread says for US pax, but in the details I didn't see mention of US. And other threads said only UK pax got the email. I'm wondering is this for US sailings only or across the fleet. Also, on Celebrity they do they same thing, however, you can go to guest services and sign a document and opt out. I wonder if the same thing will apply to this, if in fact it does affect US residents.

 

What she posted is off the U.S. website.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I LIKE it! Makes it easy and worry free! :)

 

***

[cruisenfever]

The title of this thread says for US pax, but in the details I didn't see mention of US. And other threads said only UK pax got the email. I'm wondering is this for US sailings only or across the fleet. Also, on Celebrity they do they same thing, however, you can go to guest services and sign a document and opt out. I wonder if the same thing will apply to this, if in fact it does affect US residents.

I took the link What is the Automatic Gratuity Program? off the US RCI website.:confused: Maybe I should have put U.S. in the title instead of US.:D

 

I titled the thread because it pertains to US passengers so that it would not be confused with the other thread that was started yesterday by someone over in the UK.

[wwcruisers]

People on the X boards had a few misgivings when Celebrity (RC's sister line) implemented this policy, a few years back. But now, it's working out well for most folks. You really don't hear about service suffering because the staff has already been tipped, or anything like that. The one thing that I always have to remember to do is swing by the GR desk to pick up some envelopes, before the last night. Although we always leave the "auto-tip" in place, we still like to tip extra for those who went "above and beyond". I understand that you can also do that through GR, but there is a cut-off date for making any adjustments to the auto-tip. :cool:

[Aquahound]

Prior to the new policy you had to prepay if you signed up for MTD. Now, if you do MTD, you are not required to prepay. You can have the gratuities automatically added to your SeaPass account on a daily basis. The new policy will allow those that sign up for MTD and that do not prepay, the ability to use OBC to pay their gratuities with.

 

Thank you for the clarification. That is good to know. Over the holidays, I took a cruise on another line that automatically added them daily. Unfortunately, that line's policy did not allow OBC to pay for gratuities. It was a stupid policy I was hoping RCI wouldn't follow.

[cruisenfever]

Thank you for the clarification. That is good to know. Over the holidays, I took a cruise on another line that automatically added them daily. Unfortunately, that line's policy did not allow OBC to pay for gratuities. It was a stupid policy I was hoping RCI wouldn't follow.

Nothing has been said about OBC not being able to be used. Of course, we all know how RCI likes to change things once a program is up and running.........and forget to tell us about it.

 

This link will blow my theory out the window Just Got Info on Gratuities & MTD

[Charles4515]

It makes sense that it should, but it would be nice if RCL would add a clarifying statement to their FAQ links about this. Since we always do MTD, we always pre-pay. I'd much rather use OBC once I am actually on the ship instead of my credit card 6-9 monts in advance.

 

On Celebrity which has the same policy Royal is now instituting if you have open seating gratuities have to be pre paid. So I would not assume they won't have the same policy on Royal. That you will still have to prepay with MTD.