**Any Changes to the Gratuities Rules??**

[Langley Cruisers]

Removing AUTO_ gratuities does not= Cheapskate. Please refrain from calling names...

 

Agreed, not always.

 

Requesting a price drop is not the same as removing gratuities...

 

However, agreed! Hardly the same thing. I have monitored a cruise and received a price drop before. It's awesome. :p

[EmpressofPurple]

Yeah, this is actually "leftover" from when they first introduced MTD, and before the institution of the auto-gratuity. It is because you may very well have a different wait team on some of the nights in MTD, and this was the company's way of making sure each crew member was tipped and so you wouldn't have to go racing around the dining room on the last night trying to remember who served you on Night 1. Before the auto-tip, MTD was the place to be as wait staff were assured of getting paid their tips. Now, it's a step backward, in my opinion. If every passenger is subject to the auto-tip, then don't make us pay grats in advance for MTD.

 

~Whew! I guess that was inside me for a long time! LOL ~

 

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I have felt this for a long time, too... thank you for articulating it so clearly.

 

I don't mind having the OPTION to pre-pay tips... but I don't think i should be MANDATORY for MTD... some people prefer to use OBC for any onboard charges, including gratuities... some people prefer to have a zero balance (at least when they board!) so they want to pre-pay everything...

 

I agree, this is a holdover from a previous policy of paying in person at the end of the cruise, which the development of MTD interrupted by changing up dining staff. I generally prefer traditional dining, and have enjoyed the tradition of thanking my wait staff in person by handing them a gratuity... sometimes I have removed tips and paid the whole thing in cash (just the recommended amount)... sometimes I have done what MM recommends, and left the auto tip in place but added a bit extra in cash... before the auto-tip, I sometimes utilized the slips which allowed you to charge the gratuities to your onboard account, but still let you put something into the staff's hand at the end of the cruise (I guess that symbolism didn't outweigh the waste of paper; that option no longer exists since they implemented the auto-tip).

 

It's interesting how paying on/for service on cruises has changed over the years. I'm fascinated to read about those who started cruising way before I did (in the 1990s) about paying (or tipping) per drink at the bar before there were seapasses... I used to tip the fitness center staff at the end of a cruise (I spent hours there every day, and they used to be around to help gymgoers, not just lead classes and sales pitches... and those classes didn't add an "auto-tip" either!!)...

 

But to answer the OP: RIGHT NOW, if you have MTD tips must be prepaid (before you board, in addition to your cruise); if you have traditional dining, the auto-tip will be added to your onboard account on a daily basis.

 

I sincerely hope RCI will make the second method (i.e., daily account billing of the auto-tip) consistent for all... unless someone CHOOSES to pre-pay before boarding... and continue to provide envelopes for those who might like to add something extra (or remove their tips and pay them all in cash).

[Alaskalovr]

Requesting a price drop is not the same as removing gratuities. IMHO anyone who would stiff the hardworking staff to save a few bucks is...a cheapskate...or worse.

 

But you are assuming that removing gratuities is equivalent to stiffing the staff. It is that basic premise that I have a problem with. That could be like someone else assuming that if you ask for a price drop, then that could affect the wages of all the underpaid staff on any cruiseline. I just read an article somewhere that was about certain cruiselines cutting compensation for employees who get hurt because revenue was low. Therefore, I could assume that anyone who asks for a price drop was contributing to that. As it is, I don't make that assumption and I don't make the assumption that removing gratuities means you are a cheapskate. I also don't make the assumption that my opinions on auto gratuities are necessarily fact. I have read in other places where cruiselines are being accused of using the auto-gratuities as a way to keep some of the crews money and to use that money to pay some salaries that the cruiseline is otherwise responsible for. If that is true, then auto-gratuities actually hurt some crew members, not help. Since I don't know anyone who is familiar with the wage laws concerning cruiselines I don't know the true answer and I would guess no one else on here knows either, . Typically I would just refrain from responding to this thread, but I really wanted to find the truth because I do care about the workers and would like to do what's best. Also, I just kind of felt like there is a bully mentality going on here that I don't find to this degree on other threads. And I have a real problem with anything that even gets close to bullying. Sorry, I will step off my soapbox now and hopefully be able to ignore this thread from now on. Hope you all have a great day!

[Guest maddycat]

Here is something for everyone to think about. We are booked on both the Quantum and the Anthem. Both ships will have what RCI is calling "dynamic dining". There will not be any traditional dining. All passengers must prepay their tips at final payment. I'm assuming that, just like with MTD's prepaid tips, you will not be allowed to have your tips removed. It's fine with us since we have done MTD for years and have prepaid our tips.

[Harooni]

Requesting a price drop is not the same as removing gratuities. IMHO anyone who would stiff the hardworking staff to save a few bucks is...a cheapskate...or worse.

removing auto grat doeant mean you are going to stiff them, in many cases they get more. now stiffing them i agree is not cool.

[beshears]

Just in case someone may not know, once you are in your room, you can go to your TV, and it will have everything listed that you have bought on the cruise and paid on your credit card, as well as your tip for each day. This way, you know what is on your credit card, and at the end of the trip, unless you want to pay it off by cash, you know exactly what your credit card bill will be. I understand they send your bill to the room, but as far as I know, we never received one, but we were OK with what we seen on TV.

[summersigh]

removing auto grat doeant mean you are going to stiff them, in many cases they get more. now stiffing them i agree is not cool.

 

Because we leave the auto grat in place and then tip extra for superior service the really good ones do get more than they might otherwise.

 

I'm skeptical that the folks that rant about how they're going to remove the auto-grats will actually tip even the amount that would be equal to the auto-grats from other comments they make on the posting. ..... but that's just me :)