Gratuities

[goodshiplollypop]

I have been advised that the Payment of gratuities is not mandatory if you are at a fixed dinner sitting but cannot be removed if you are Freestyle Dining. Can anyone clarify if this is correct.

[bobsfamily]

I have been advised that the Payment of gratuities is not mandatory if you are at a fixed dinner sitting but cannot be removed if you are Freestyle Dining. Can anyone clarify if this is correct.

That is correct, at least for the US booking I have. I am not sure about other countries.

Straight from the website:

 

Offering the option to be seated any time the Main Dining Room is open, Celebrity Select Dining means there is no schedule to follow, only your heart and appetite. (Prepaid gratuities will automatically be included in your reservation.)

Celebrity Select Dining requires prepayment of all dining and stateroom gratuities. { USD} will be added to your reservation.

 

 

I do have one question... is this a Celebrity cruise as FreeStyle Dining is a NCL term.

[ECCruise]

I have been advised that the Payment of gratuities is not mandatory if you are at a fixed dinner sitting but cannot be removed if you are Freestyle Dining. Can anyone clarify if this is correct.

 

You have the "legality" of it correct. They cannot be removed if you are in Select Dining. And no, payment of gratuities is not mandatory but will, however, be added to your onboard account on a daily basis.

 

The removal of said gratuities, though, is a different story. I don't know if you are aware that gratuities, save for a $50 per month salary, is the ONLY income that all service based employees have access to. Some say that they remove the gratuities and then tip in cash but by doing that you eliminate people that you do not have direct contact with. And, in practice, we have watched people say that and they find a way to NOT hand out the gratuities.

 

In my mind, daily gratuities are sacrosanct.

[sprockie]

We have been told we have to pay the gratuities with our final payment because we chose select (open) dining. I really like to pay our gratuities on board with cash, but I guess this is not an option?

[boogs]

You have the "legality" of it correct. They cannot be removed if you are in Select Dining. And no, payment of gratuities is not mandatory but will, however, be added to your onboard account on a daily basis.

 

The removal of said gratuities, though, is a different story. I don't know if you are aware that gratuities, save for a $50 per month salary, is the ONLY income that all service based employees have access to. Some say that they remove the gratuities and then tip in cash but by doing that you eliminate people that you do not have direct contact with. And, in practice, we have watched people say that and they find a way to NOT hand out the gratuities.

 

In my mind, daily gratuities are sacrosanct.

 

To be more accurate, if auto gratuities are removed and a cash tip is given in it's place, anyone in the normal tipping pool - room attendant, MDR wait staff. etc. - will be required to turn over any cash tip so that it can be distributed properly. The person you went through all that trouble to reward personally is not allowed to keep that tip, and has to turn it in to be shared. If they are discovered to have not surrendered a tip, they risk being disciplined or fired, or at the least, ostracized by the rest of the crew for stealing from them. This process has been well documented in hundreds of past threads on this topic.

 

People should keep it simple and leave the auto gratuities alone. Then, if you feel that someone deserves extra consideration, personally give them an extra tip ABOVE the amount in the auto gratuities. Any amount above the auto tips can be kept by the person you are rewarding. If you insist on removing the auto tips, you have done no one any favors, including yourself.

Edited September 13, 2014 by boogs

[NLH Arizona]

I think it is just easier to leave the auto-tips in place (I actually like to pre-pay even though I'm in fixed dining, then I don't have to think about it again) and then tip addition in cash where needed. This way, I'm sure that those who are in the pool are getting their share and then those that go above and beyond are getting a little extra.

[Lsimon]

I have been advised that the Payment of gratuities is not mandatory if you are at a fixed dinner sitting but cannot be removed if you are Freestyle Dining. Can anyone clarify if this is correct.

 

We have been told we have to pay the gratuities with our final payment because we chose select (open) dining. I really like to pay our gratuities on board with cash, but I guess this is not an option?

 

It is correct that prepayment of gratuities is mandatory for those in select (anytime) dining. Payment on board is not an option unless you switch to traditional dining and hope, with no assurance, that you can switch back after boarding.

 

Why? Because this is Celebrity's policy and their rules and they don't allow exceptions. There has been a lot of speculation here on Cruise Critic as to why but Celebrity has never felt the need to explain which makes sense for them as to do so would only spark debate and complaints.

 

My speculation as to why: I have two areas I've heard, or thought of, which sound the most plausible. Keep in mind that the gratuities are really more in the nature of a service charge and not a tip as they provide the vast majority of the compensation of the wait staff on the ship not only for their time in the dining room (which is only a portion of their job) but also for the many hours then devote to serving breakfast and lunch in the buffet and cleaning the buffet, dining room and kitchens. First, when Celebrity switched from cash tipping to automatic tipping charges they allowed cruisers to have the auto charges removed if they preferred to tip under the older end of cruise cash system and they've never changed this for traditional diners. With select dining this would be impractical as few would tip nightly and it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to track down each of the wait staff who served you during the cruise to hand envelopes to on the last night. Second, I've heard (no idea if it was accurate or not) that when Celebrity started planning the select dining there was some resistance from the wait staff who feared they'd lose tips in that area and Celebrity made the tipping mandatory in order to eliminate this fear and make the select dining room service positions more desirable to their wait staff. Again this is all speculation and the bottom line is that you have to do it because they said so and it is their ship.

 

I agree with others that I find leaving any prepaid, or auto, tips in place is the most convenient for me. I also know the staff prefer it that way as well. I consider the basic tips they do this with as the minimum level of tipping and as more of a service charge that is just part of the basic cruise cost. If I receive exceptional service I tip extra in cash at the end of the cruise but that is my own personal choice.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Lsimon

[wwcruisers]

I think it is just easier to leave the auto-tips in place (I actually like to pre-pay even though I'm in fixed dining, then I don't have to think about it again) and then tip addition in cash where needed. This way, I'm sure that those who are in the pool are getting their share and then those that go above and beyond are getting a little extra.

 

My thoughts exactly. Although, we usually do traditional seating, and have found that the daily gratuity charges are less of a problem, if you have OBC that you need to use. :cool:

[wwcruisers]

People should keep it simple and leave the auto gratuities alone. Then, if you feel that someone deserves extra consideration, personally give them an extra tip ABOVE the amount in the auto gratuities. Any amount above the auto tips can be kept by the person you are rewarding. If you insist on removing the auto tips, you have done no one any favors, including yourself.

 

Absolutely! It has also been reported here (by more than one source) that the staff receives lists of folks who remove the auto-tip. Sometimes a rooms steward will even be questioned by the Head of Housekeeping about why the auto-tip was removed (was the guest unhappy, etc?).

[sandancer]

We were told by the Guest Relations Manager on our last X cruise that in fact you CAN request to have your gratuities cancelled and returned to your credit card if you are in Select Dining. However, if you do this you have to move to traditional dining at any time and any table available when you change. You cannot cancel gratuities and remain in Select Dining.

I can just imagine the wonderful location and most popular dining time you would be allocated. NOT.

[Shake]

We were told by the Guest Relations Manager on our last X cruise that in fact you CAN request to have your gratuities cancelled and returned to your credit card if you are in Select Dining. However, if you do this you have to move to traditional dining at any time and any table available when you change. You cannot cancel gratuities and remain in Select Dining.

I can just imagine the wonderful location and most popular dining time you would be allocated. NOT.

 

Let's just say you're not going to be seated at the Captains Table. :D More than likely seated next to the clanging and banging waiters area.

 

If it was me, "when in Rome do as the Romans do". If you choose to sail on an American ship, "join in", try not to become obvious island standing alone. :(

[Sloop-JohnB]

To be more accurate, if auto gratuities are removed and a cash tip is given in it's place, anyone in the normal tipping pool - room attendant, MDR wait staff. etc. - will be required to turn over any cash tip so that it can be distributed properly. The person you went through all that trouble to reward personally is not allowed to keep that tip, and has to turn it in to be shared. If they are discovered to have not surrendered a tip, they risk being disciplined or fired, or at the least, ostracized by the rest of the crew for stealing from them. This process has been well documented in hundreds of past threads on this topic.

 

People should keep it simple and leave the auto gratuities alone. Then, if you feel that someone deserves extra consideration, personally give them an extra tip ABOVE the amount in the auto gratuities. Any amount above the auto tips can be kept by the person you are rewarding. If you insist on removing the auto tips, you have done no one any favors, including yourself.

 

Absolutely! It has also been reported here (by more than one source) that the staff receives lists of folks who remove the auto-tip. Sometimes a rooms steward will even be questioned by the Head of Housekeeping about why the auto-tip was removed (was the guest unhappy, etc?).

 

We were told this on our first cruise by our very excellent Cabin Steward...

 

This is so that the Service Crew (Stateroom & Dining) knows which Pax have already paid their Grats... And who hasn't so that the Crew is aware of which cash tips they must declare / turn in to the Service Tip Pool (different from the Bar Tip Pool that is covered by the auto tip 15% that is charged on every Bevvy)

 

Based on the various convos we had with Service & Bar Staff on our first cruise Mr Sloop & I learned a lot... Their jobs are tough, and living conditions quite rustic / minimal, but they are a hard working, dedicated and kind group. They get room & board from the cruise line, and very few other benefits on their contracts (some medical while onboard, and flights home and back to the ship if they have multiple contracts with RCCL). But no real cash compensation for their 10 to 14 hour days, with little time off. Promotions & Perks (like phone calls home paid by the cruise line, or extra days off) come as a result of performance and Customer Feedback... Post Cruise Surves & Comment Cards. They truly work for tips.

 

Mr Sloop and I have vowed to never remove our Grats... If there is a problem will we handle it immediately first by trying to talk it out with the crew member to see if it is just a misunderstanding (can happen... Or maybe a bit of a language issue... Also possible). If the situation doesn't improve / issue not resolved then we will elevate it. But we will never cut the Grat... As we believe in Extra Tipping. So it just means that Crew Member won't get anything extra (how much we give extra depends on how blown away we were by the service we got, not just tasks but it also could be just attitude / friendliness etc... As we see these as valuable aspects of Customer Service / Interaction... Making sure we have a good vacation / memorable cruise)

 

We also are not one to Extra Tip to "grease a wheel"... We Extra Tip at the end of the cruise rewarding those who have shone for us.

 

I can tell you that Crew Members talk... They might not exchange actual info on amount tipped, but they are very aware when they have missed out on something extra (human nature I suppose)

 

Especially so in light of the fact that they know the Daily Grats are paid, and this Extra Tip is theirs to keep.

 

Personally, I'd like to see Celebrity do away with the method that they currently use for Daily Grats (for both Select & Traditional Dining) and just make the Grats part of the cost of cruising... Have a line item if need be that says Grats / Service Charge and a fixed amount. In the same way that Tips are a fixed line item on a Drink Chit, or Taxes & Fees appears on the basic cruise fare. Done... No one can not pay it.

 

Cheers!

[cynbar]

My understanding is that if you remove the gratuities, crew members must turn in the total cash amount given, even if more than the recommended amount. However, if you leave the gratuity on, crew can keep any additional cash tips received. So, that seems like the best way to reward exceptional service. Plus, how can anyone find all the staff who have served them during the cruise -- waiters in the buffet, breakfast or lunch in the dining room, and so on? The most straightforward plan is to leave gratuities in place, unless of course someone's goal is to spend less while claiming to want to tip personally.

[diligaf51]

You have the "legality" of it correct. They cannot be removed if you are in Select Dining. And no, payment of gratuities is not mandatory but will, however, be added to your onboard account on a daily basis.

 

The removal of said gratuities, though, is a different story. I don't know if you are aware that gratuities, save for a $50 per month salary, is the ONLY income that all service based employees have access to. Some say that they remove the gratuities and then tip in cash but by doing that you eliminate people that you do not have direct contact with. And, in practice, we have watched people say that and they find a way to NOT hand out the gratuities.

 

In my mind, daily gratuities are sacrosanct.

 

 

To me, removing or not paying gratuities is in the same class as booking a handicapped cabin just because you desire the extra space or parking in a handicapped parking space using someone else's permit.

[42CruiseCrazy]

Why bother? Why not leave it on your onboard account and let the cruise line distribute it in a way that is deemed fair. I will sometimes give additional cash tips to those who do something extra for me or provide exceptional service.

 

 

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