Select Dining with Travel Agent Prepaid Gratuities

[Brentngigi]

We got a great deal from an online TA that includes an OBC plus gratuities. However, I was told today that the OBC and gratuities will show up on our shipboard account sometime around the 2nd day of our cruise. How will this affect if we decide to go with Select Dining? We currently have the early seating, but I would prefer not to have a fixed dining time. Has anyone encountered this and what did you do? Thanks!

[3418ahl]

While our OBC has not shown up until after we are on board, our prepaid gratuities are always there.

[dkjretired]

We got a great deal from an online TA that includes an OBC plus gratuities. However, I was told today that the OBC and gratuities will show up on our shipboard account sometime around the 2nd day of our cruise. How will this affect if we decide to go with Select Dining? We currently have the early seating, but I would prefer not to have a fixed dining time. Has anyone encountered this and what did you do? Thanks!

 

OBC credit will show up but if you choose Select dining there will be nothing on your account re: gratuities either way. They are just paid prior to the cruise and do not show up. Just make sure you get the OBC and Prepaid gratuities on your receipt from the TA

Edited December 31, 2013 by dkjretired

[bigbenboys]

If your dining in Select Dining you must prepay your gratuities. Gratuities will be paid at final payment. If your TA is paying your gratuities with OBC. It will be credited back to your credit card at the end of the cruise.

 

Your next cruise we are in Select Dining and Celebrity is paying the gratuities. We got a credit back to our credit card after final payment. Richard

[fleckle]

We got a great deal from an online TA that includes an OBC plus gratuities. However, I was told today that the OBC and gratuities will show up on our shipboard account sometime around the 2nd day of our cruise. How will this affect if we decide to go with Select Dining? We currently have the early seating, but I would prefer not to have a fixed dining time. Has anyone encountered this and what did you do? Thanks!

Whenever we received gratuities from a TA and we wanted Select dining, the gratuities were prepaid by the TA and we were listed for Select dining. The gratuities did not appear on our shipboard account. We just showed up at Select dining and there was never a problem.

 

The first time we ever did it that way, when we saw no charges for gratuities on our shipboard account, we went down to check with Guest Relations.

They looked up our account and assured us that no gratuities were appearing on our shipboard account because they had already been prepaid.

 

[Hlitner]

We just went through this situation with a future cruise booking we transferred back to a TA. The TA does pay the gratuities, but since we had requested Select Dining it made everything more complicated. Our TA said they could usually get the value of the pre paid gratuities applied as an OBC...but we do not need that much OBC since we have the drink package plus some other OBCs. So our TA suggested we just switch our dining to the fixed late sitting (we never dine before 8). If we later decide we want to change it back to Select we can normally do that onboard.

 

Hank

[tunaman2011]

Greetings

 

Our upcoming cruise was booked where Celebrity provided the beverage package and the TA added free gratuities. Since we opted for Select dining, the gratuities were prepaid and the TA will credit us OBC for the same amount. Any remaining OBC will be refunded to my card at the end of the cruise. We have advanced the amount of the gratuities, but that is of no concern to us. Others may not like to tie up the money for the 90 days or so.

 

Waiting till on board to switch to Select may not be the best option. Select has become very popular and may be full prior to sailing.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[jcrandle]

Greetings

 

Our upcoming cruise was booked where Celebrity provided the beverage package and the TA added free gratuities. Since we opted for Select dining, the gratuities were prepaid and the TA will credit us OBC for the same amount. Any remaining OBC will be refunded to my card at the end of the cruise. We have advanced the amount of the gratuities, but that is of no concern to us. Others may not like to tie up the money for the 90 days or so.

 

Waiting till on board to switch to Select may not be the best option. Select has become very popular and may be full prior to sailing.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

 

As you said in your post, on our recent sailing we were awarded prepaid gratuities, yet when we opted for select dining, we were required to pay gratuities at final payment. When we boarded, we had a card that indicated we were assigned to fixed dining. I went to the dining room manager to get the seating changed, and he told me that I would have to prepay the gratuities.

 

I told him that I had requested Select, and had already prepaid the gratuities. He then went to a computer terminal and checked, and made the change immediately. Our prepaid gratuities were added to our account as a refundable OBC, and we received a credit a couple of days after the cruise ended.

[Nubia]

When you pre-paid your select dining tips do you also pre-pay your other tips for your room steward too? Or do they separate them out?

thanks

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

When you pre-paid your select dining tips do you also pre-pay your other tips for your room steward too? Or do they separate them out?

thanks

 

When you pre-pay gratuities, you pre-pay all gratuities.

[upwarduk]

When you pre-paid your select dining tips do you also pre-pay your other tips for your room steward too? Or do they separate them out?

thanks

 

Yes.

[clementine]

Yes, all gratuities are paid.

[Brentngigi]

Thanks to all for your helpful and very accurate answers. Once we got our edocs at 45 days out, it stated on them that our gratuities are prepaid. A quick email to the TA and we are switched to Select. No problem, just as you all said :)

[smk730]

i just booked last night and although i wanted select dining i did not want to prepay gratuities as i planned to pay them with obc. therefore i switched to late seating. why does celebrity do this? it really makes no sense to me. seems like either all gratuities should get paid in advance or none do.