Forced to pre-pay gratuities??

[Coralc]

There is pre-pay at booking, and then there is pre-pay at final payment for MTD.

 

We have always pre-payed at final payment. I think it was on our cruise coming up, (booked about 14 months ago) where the RC reservationist wanted us to pay the tips along with our deposit.

 

I was a little taken aback. It might have been something they were trying out. :rolleyes:I politely declined and said we would pay them at final payment. She readily agreed to let us do so. :)

[Aquahound]

How is it different when paying the automatic $12/day? You still don't know which server you're paying and all servers get the same amount anyways.

 

That's actually a good question. Since they started the automatic $12/day charge, I don't know why they still pre-charge for MTD. :confused:

[SamFritz]

That's actually a good question. Since they started the automatic $12/day charge, I don't know why they still pre-charge for MTD. :confused:

 

Are you allowed to remove gratuities if you have MTD? Maybe that's the difference.

[Coralc]

Are you allowed to remove gratuities if you have MTD? Maybe that's the difference.

 

Nope.

 

And we don't even eat in the main dining room (unless I go in for a shrimp cocktail) ..but we have fulfilled our obligation. :D:):D

[04cruises]

New to RCI, and I booked the Vision out of Colon, Panama next April. I can't wait! However, the rep on the phone advised that I must pre-pay gratuities because the only dining option left at this time is your time dining. I went along with it, but it just sounded odd. Is this the norm?

 

I noticed a couple of cruises back which we booked far in advance that only MTD was available. So when I booked our cruise for Feb.,

when I was told only MTD was open, I politely said that unless we could get a firm early dining that we would not book. After a couple of minutes on hold, we were given a early dining time. As a salesman for 30+ years, they must be using dining times to "close" last minute buyers.

[Tucker in Texas]

That's actually a good question. Since they started the automatic $12/day charge, I don't know why they still pre-charge for MTD. :confused:

 

Could be because "they say" that tips with traditional dining go to the actual waiter/busboy who serves you every night while in MTD, the tips are spread among all the waiters/busboys since you don't have the same ones every time.

 

I, too, smell a rat when they tell you months out traditional dining is booked and you have to do MTD and pre-pay your tips. Even if you are wait listed and then get traditional dining, how many people do you think ask that the pre-paid tips be removed either before final payment or after final payment but before embarkation? I'll bet not a whole lot. People figure it is pay now or pay later so they don't bother. A lot of "float" (pun intended) for RCCL.

 

If you have OBC, it can be used for tips if they are not pre-paid. If the tips have been pre-paid, then you can't use the OBC for tips as the OBC is not credited to your account until after embarkation. That's my main objection to pre-paying the tips.

 

Tucker in Texas

[satxdiver]

I am glad the envelope has gone away. We have just been throwing them away since we always paid the standard gratuity which until a few years ago and MTD they added onto our ship board bill. Other than getting more money up front before pax sails, I am not sure what the purpose of prepaying it if you have MTD particularly since it cannot be removed anyway. I would rather have it added onto my ship board account and paid at the end on my cc. Another cruise line that I frequently sail on adds it onto my shipboard account daily and I pay it at the end with all the other charges.

 

While most of the discussion I read here is about the MDR and food service gratuity, most of the $12/day goes to the room attendant that cleans your room twice daily.

[phabric]

I think RC is the only cruise line that charges in advance the gratuities for anytime dining.

 

I have taken many Princess cruises, The gratuities for anytime dining and regular dining is charged each night on your account.

 

Another thing I like about Princess is, you only reserve your excursions and they are charged to your account once onboard.

[Mark_K]

I think RC is the only cruise line that charges in advance the gratuities for anytime dining.

 

I have taken many Princess cruises, The gratuities for anytime dining and regular dining is charged each night on your account.

 

Another thing I like about Princess is, you only reserve your excursions and they are charged to your account once onboard.

All the cruise lines which say gratuities are included in your fare are charging you in advance.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[boo214]

Could be because "they say" that tips with traditional dining go to the actual waiter/busboy who serves you every night while in MTD, the tips are spread among all the waiters/busboys since you don't have the same ones every time.

 

I, too, smell a rat when they tell you months out traditional dining is booked and you have to do MTD and pre-pay your tips. Even if you are wait listed and then get traditional dining, how many people do you think ask that the pre-paid tips be removed either before final payment or after final payment but before embarkation? I'll bet not a whole lot. People figure it is pay now or pay later so they don't bother. A lot of "float" (pun intended) for RCCL.

If you have OBC, it can be used for tips if they are not pre-paid. If the tips have been pre-paid, then you can't use the OBC for tips as the OBC is not credited to your account until after embarkation. That's my main objection to pre-paying the tips.

 

Tucker in Texas

as i understand it, the prepaid tips with mtd can be paid at final payment. you do not neccisarily need to pay them at the time of booking.

[NeoVega]

If you have OBC, it can be used for tips if they are not pre-paid. If the tips have been pre-paid, then you can't use the OBC for tips as the OBC is not credited to your account until after embarkation. That's my main objection to pre-paying the tips.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

Tucker

I am with you. I think RCI requires prepaid tips for MTD so that OBC can't be used for tips, and then has to be spent somewhere else, very profitably...

[DonnaK]

Tucker

I am with you. I think RCI requires prepaid tips for MTD so that OBC can't be used for tips, and then has to be spent somewhere else, very profitably...

 

Also, this way they have gratuity money 2-3 months in advance, which can be earning bank interest for them (instead of for you).

[wwcruisers]

Also, this way they have gratuity money 2-3 months in advance, which can be earning bank interest for them (instead of for you).

 

I read somewhere that this is called "the float", in the cruise industry.

And, if they can convince you to pay full tips at the time of booking (as opposed to final payment), it's definitely in their best interest to do so. :rolleyes:

[Aquahound]

Tucker

I am with you. I think RCI requires prepaid tips for MTD so that OBC can't be used for tips, and then has to be spent somewhere else, very profitably...

 

Like anything this is all policy driven, and RCI can tweak it any way they want. NCL, for example, charges auto gratuities per day while on board, yet OBC cannot be used to pay it. At least, that's how it was last year.

 

Are you allowed to remove gratuities if you have MTD? Maybe that's the difference.

 

Sam, I think you're right. However, that's just the way RCI chooses to do it. It doesn't have to be that way. They could just as easily charge you on board and still not allow you to remove them if on MTD.

[bankofdad]

How is it different when paying the automatic $12/day? You still don't know which server you're paying and all servers get the same amount anyways.

 

My question exactly. We booked last night with MTD, and not that I have a huge issue with it, but really thought it was odd to have to prepay by the time final payment was due and services were yet to be rendered. Call me a knucklehead (please nothing worse tho LOL!) but I don't get it. Have done freestyle/anytime dining on other lines previously and paid on my onbaord account at the end of the cruise and/or with extra cash for jobs well done!

[Tucker in Texas]

I've never had to pay the pre-paid tips prior to final payment, sorry if it appeared that I paid when I booked.

 

As I mentioned, my biggest "gripe" is that any OBC that I have coming to me is not given until after embarkation. Hence, I cannot offset the tips against it if they were being charged per day.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Barb Nahoumi]

Are you allowed to remove gratuities if you have MTD? Maybe that's the difference.

 

From what I've read-----no.

[Ocean Boy]

I've never had to pay the pre-paid tips prior to final payment, sorry if it appeared that I paid when I booked.

 

As I mentioned, my biggest "gripe" is that any OBC that I have coming to me is not given until after embarkation. Hence, I cannot offset the tips against it if they were being charged per day.

Tucker in Texas

 

Did you mean to say that you cannot offset tips against the OBC if you prepay? You can use OBC to pay the tips if they are being charged to your seapass daily.:confused:

[NeoVega]

Did you mean to say that you cannot offset tips against the OBC if you prepay? You can use OBC to pay the tips if they are being charged to your seapass daily.

 

With My Time Dining, tips are prepaid and not charged daily. With MTD, OBC can not be applied to tips.

 

With fixed time dining in the MDR, tips are charged to your Seapass card, and OBC when it shows up on you account can be applied to those tips.

 

It is all a game of timing. With MTD, RCI benefits from getting the Prepaid gratuities early, anywhere from the time of booking to the Final Payment and the "float" of getting those funds early. Plus they prevent OBC from applied to the gratuities.

 

It does not matter when you earn or learn of your OBC. You can not apply it to anything until the 2nd day of your cruise.

[dreadpirate3]

I try to prepay anything I can related to the cruise, just to ensure there are no hidden surprises.

[MrsPete]

You have to recognize that you're not being FORCED to do anything.

 

- No one is making you take a cruise. If you genuinely feel that pre-paying tips is an absolute line in the sand for you, you can choose another vacation.

 

- You can choose traditional dining instead of My Time. This'll allow you to pay at the end of your cruise.

 

 

Having said that, I personally have no problem whatsoever with pre-paying. I'm going to owe the money at the end of the cruise anyway, and holding onto it (or not holding onto it) doesn't really affect my life in any significant way. This is, for me, not a line in the sand.

[Ocean Boy]

You have to recognize that you're not being FORCED to do anything.

 

- No one is making you take a cruise. If you genuinely feel that pre-paying tips is an absolute line in the sand for you, you can choose another vacation.

 

- You can choose traditional dining instead of My Time. This'll allow you to pay at the end of your cruise.

 

 

Having said that, I personally have no problem whatsoever with pre-paying. I'm going to owe the money at the end of the cruise anyway, and holding onto it (or not holding onto it) doesn't really affect my life in any significant way. This is, for me, not a line in the sand.

 

Pretty hard to argue with that statement.

[tserface]

I certainly understand your point and I used to feel the same way, but the most we've ever received in OBC was a few hundred dollars and we always end up paying that in excursions, drinks, specialty restaurants, etc. so we've always been able to use up the OBC with no trouble.

 

I suppose you could go on a cruise and do nothing, but then it didn't cost anything for the OBC either so it's just like gravy (free $$$).

 

FWIW, I think OBC is typically intended to give you cash to use to do things on the cruise, not to offset the costs you already have. We consider the tips just a "service fee" and part of the cost of the cruise. Any OBC we've received just gives us some freedom to try things we may not have chose to pay for on our own.

 

MTD is worth the hassle of prepaying IMO.

 

Tom

 

I've never had to pay the pre-paid tips prior to final payment, sorry if it appeared that I paid when I booked.

 

As I mentioned, my biggest "gripe" is that any OBC that I have coming to me is not given until after embarkation. Hence, I cannot offset the tips against it if they were being charged per day.

 

Tucker in Texas

[attilamom1217]

Thanks guys for letting me know this. I have no problem pre-paying, I just didn't want to be forced if that's not the rule. Just getting used to the little nuances between RCI and Carnival.

 

We had anytime dining on Carnival and had to pre-pay our gratituities. I believe it is industry wide for anytime/mytime whatever it is called on a cruise line - not just RCI.

[steveru621]

You have to recognize that you're not being FORCED to do anything.

 

- No one is making you take a cruise. If you genuinely feel that pre-paying tips is an absolute line in the sand for you, you can choose another vacation.

 

- You can choose traditional dining instead of My Time. This'll allow you to pay at the end of your cruise.

 

 

Having said that, I personally have no problem whatsoever with pre-paying. I'm going to owe the money at the end of the cruise anyway, and holding onto it (or not holding onto it) doesn't really affect my life in any significant way. This is, for me, not a line in the sand.

 

The major problem is only MTD is available 9-12 months out. RCI wants you to jump thru a few hoops and then Maybe they will give you traditional seating. People are finding only MTD is available until after final payment with gratuities has already been made.