Mandatory Prepaid Gratuities for My Time Dining

[gerif]

ALLWe have traditional dining but have prepaid evry time we cruise (that way we know the total cost of the cruise) we have only once withheld tips from one Maître de, as he was very rude on several occasions (i may say that is the only problem we have ever had with RCI :) ) Anyway we went to guest services and we were refunded.

 

That's odd - the maitre 'd is not one of the people in the tipping pool.

[JetsFanCruiser]

Give us a break please. Your beef is paying the same amount of tips for young children as adults. That alone is your beef. The other is just an excuse, your cruise has not even taken place yet. :rolleyes:

 

Like, I have been forced to pay tips for poor service that I have not received yet

 

Why don't you try just listening to what the OP has to say before assuming you know what their "beef" is....

 

Be nice.....stop with this crap that you know everything....

 

The OP's argument is not unreasonable.....it doesn't impact me so I won't comment, but damn, don't act like you know everything.....

[ticktoneer]

Why don't you try just listening to what the OP has to say before assuming you know what their "beef" is....

 

Be nice.....stop with this crap that you know everything....

 

The OP's argument is not unreasonable.....it doesn't impact me so I won't comment, but damn, don't act like you know everything.....

Well said !!!

[BeachChik]

Give us a break please. Your beef is paying the same amount of tips for young children as adults. That alone is your beef. The other is just an excuse, your cruise has not even taken place yet. :rolleyes:

 

Like, I have been forced to pay tips for poor service that I have not received yet

 

Wow. It must be amazing to know what a random person posting on a message board is thinking.

 

Isn't it wonderful that you can be as rude as you want while hiding behind a computer.

[ARCruisinNana]

We are looking very forward to our upcoming cruise -- my 3 year old is looking forward to his first trip by sea. I expect no issues and that will hopefully come to fruition. Actually, the one advantage about prepaying for gratuities is that it actually makes you feel better that the shipboard account will be that much lower!

 

Be sure to check out Adventure Ocean. My granddaughters both started going to AO when they were 3. They are now 5 and 6 and still LOVE it. (5 cruises each)

[Langley Cruisers]

That's odd - the maitre 'd is not one of the people in the tipping pool.

 

I'm sure s/he meant the Head Waiter.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Wow, I know I shouldn't be, but I'm shocked at the harshness of some of the responses you've gotten. But tipping and dress do tend to bring out the worst in some CCers.

 

Anyway, if you do have any problems with any of the service on the ship, as others have said, just go to guest services. They will try to fix it if they can, and they will credit your account for prepaid tips that you feel should not be given.

[orville99]

A) we always do mtd.

B) we rarely encounter poor service, but

C) on the rare occasion we did, guest services had no problem with removing the gratuity.

Edited March 30, 2013 by orville99

[woehwdy]

Not at all. My real issue is that passengers without MTD are able to adjust their gratuities if warranted. MTD passengers cannot. Not very equitable. FYI: I am not assuming that I will have substandard service. Cruise lines generally go above and beyond in the customer service area. Also, I understand the replies re: kids' service, but that is not my issue (aside from the fact that we will not leave ANY diapers in a small stateroom -- self explanatory). It just isn't right that the MTD passengers do not have the right to adjust gratuities, if necessary, while non-MTD can. That is essentially my beef.

 

 

So your children, I think you said an infant and toddler if I'm not mistaken, will not drop food on the floor or dirty the high chair, spit up and some of it hits the floor or the furniture and yourself and the Mrs. have perfect table manners. You should be assured your children will have all the attention from the staff its part of the service.

[dplusd]

Cruise lines should just add gratuities to the cruise fare or call them a resort fee. It is just part of the cost of cruising. As for the daily charge of $12 for adults and children...also fair in my opinion. I guarantee you little ones require a lot more work on the part of the staff than a normal adult!

 

Don't give gratuities another thought...it's just part of the cost of cruising.

[Scribbles77]

I'm sure s/he meant the Head Waiter.

 

That's odd - the maitre 'd is not one of the people in the tipping pool.

 

Yes my mistake. I had just finished watching a video of a the maitre d introducing the singing on in the dining room. I did mean the head waiter.

[kingsgirl]

Just another note to you...your tips for my time dining also include your room attendant as well. The new policy of 12 per day per person, as i read my email from rccl states that any adjustment would require seeing guest services. While I am under the impression they would investigate why you would wish to change the amount, it was unclear if they could be removed totally. I understand where you are coming from with charges for a baby and small children but just check with guest services when you board.

 

I hope you are able to enjoy your cruise.

 

We just returned from the Adventure two weeks ago. Monday Morning first thing, my friends and I walked straight to customer service and had our pre-paid gratuities removed. No questions were asked. Customer Service gladly removed everything. At the end of the cruise we handed our dining staff and cabin steward their tips. Our waiter and cabin steward both told us, tips hand directly they get to keep. Automatic gratuities are put in a pool for everyone to share.

 

Angela

 

OP, this is true. Just go to the Guest Relations/Services desk and ask to have them removed. The people I saw that did this were not asked WHY they wanted them removed.

[P&C4/16/67]

With the new policy in place, do they still leave envelopes in your cabin on the last night?

[NorbertsNiece]

With the new policy in place, do they still leave envelopes in your cabin on the last night?

 

I got them in my room on Freedom but they also had them at Guest Services.

[kingsgirl]

With the new policy in place, do they still leave envelopes in your cabin on the last night?

 

No, they don't. The only envelope we got was from our cabin attendant with her name on it (even though we'd prepaid...).

 

The television said you can get them at Guest Services.

[NorbertsNiece]

No, they don't. The only envelope we got was from our cabin attendant with her name on it (even though we'd prepaid...).

 

The television said you can get them at Guest Services.

 

Hah! Yes..... my room steward brought the envelopes and left them on the bed..... with his name on one and he would have known I had prepaid.....

[katiel53]

We just returned from the Adventure two weeks ago. Our waiter and cabin steward both told us, tips hand directly they get to keep. Automatic gratuities are put in a pool for everyone to share.Angela

 

I have no doubt that your steward and waiter told you what they did, but that makes absolutely no sense to me. If the tips are added to the bill, the tips for both of these are shared with all others who are in the same capacity. So, assuming that 90% of the people tipped the full amount on the bill, they get to share 90% of the full amount as that was what was collected. The cruise line will know who took off the amounts so which stewards and waiter would/should have been tipping personally by the guest.

 

If they get to keep what they are given they certainly wouldn't be sharing the full pool amount as well. Royal Caribbean has to have a formula as to how to pay the person who gets some tips removed and then supposedly paid in cash. So, it's possible they will be getting a lot less. I'm sure they would have to advise RCCL the amount of money they received when someone has removed the tips.

 

I believe what they both were saying to you is that they share in the pool, but anything EXTRA they get to keep. As with other lines where tips are added to the bill, crew prefer cash as they get their money sooner than waiting for it to be paid two weeks or so later.

 

This makes more sense to me.

[P&OMAN]

Not at all. My real issue is that passengers without MTD are able to adjust their gratuities if warranted. MTD passengers cannot. Not very equitable. FYI: I am not assuming that I will have substandard service. Cruise lines generally go above and beyond in the customer service area. Also, I understand the replies re: kids' service, but that is not my issue (aside from the fact that we will not leave ANY diapers in a small stateroom -- self explanatory). It just isn't right that the MTD passengers do not have the right to adjust gratuities, if necessary, while non-MTD can. That is essentially my beef.

 

Totally agree with you.

[Debde]

We just returned from the Adventure two weeks ago. Monday Morning first thing, my friends and I walked straight to customer service and had our pre-paid gratuities removed. No questions were asked. Customer Service gladly removed everything. At the end of the cruise we handed our dining staff and cabin steward their tips. Our waiter and cabin steward both told us, tips hand directly they get to keep. Automatic gratuities are put in a pool for everyone to share.

 

Angela

 

I'm glad to read this. I really feel a TIP should come from me and in cash to the people that took care of me. Now that tips are added to your seapass daily if you do not pre-pay-I'm thrilled there will be no problem removing them.

 

Now, did you encounter the CC posters that were going to set up chairs, watch all the people removing the tips and heckle you for stiffing the staff??:p:D

[gaechann]

With the new policy in place, do they still leave envelopes in your cabin on the last night?

 

Hi there!

 

Though we had pre-paid via MTD option on our recent Rhapsody cruise, we still received envelopes in our cabin on the second-last day so put a little extra cash in each and handed them out on the last night!

 

It seems they want it BOTH ways!:confused:

 

Gae

[crusinpeg]

Hi there!

 

Though we had pre-paid via MTD option on our recent Rhapsody cruise, we still received envelopes in our cabin on the second-last day so put a little extra cash in each and handed them out on the last night!

 

It seems they want it BOTH ways!:confused:

 

Gae

 

No one forced you to put extra in the envelopes..if you thought the service warrented it then whats the big deal?

[kingsgirl]

Hi there!

 

Though we had pre-paid via MTD option on our recent Rhapsody cruise, we still received envelopes in our cabin on the second-last day so put a little extra cash in each and handed them out on the last night!

 

It seems they want it BOTH ways!:confused:

 

Gae

 

If they were plain envelopes, I don't think it's really a big deal. But you know what we received? A solitary envelope with our stateroom attendant's information on it. THAT is being pushy...in my opinion.

Edited March 30, 2013 by kingsgirl
Still learning how to spell....

[Charles4515]

OP, this is true. Just go to the Guest Relations/Services desk and ask to have them removed. The people I saw that did this were not asked WHY they wanted them removed.

 

Prepay tips are not on your bill. You pay them when you make your final payment before the cruise. So how does removing them work? Are you sure you are not confusing the automatic gratuities with the prepaid?

[kingsgirl]

Prepay tips are not on your bill. You pay them when you make your final payment before the cruise. So how does removing them work? Are you sure you are not confusing the automatic gratuities with the prepaid?

 

I said, if you don't do prepay and they are automatically added to your seapass, you can get them removed.

[Charles4515]

I said, if you don't do prepay and they are automatically added to your seapass, you can get them removed.

 

As I understood the OP is doing the prepay tips. Are we talking about a different OP?