Beverage Package Gratuities Update: 15% to 18%

[huskerc]

Assuming they're being above the board about the fact that this is a gratuity (i.e. going to staff), it's probably an adjustment in response to staff not making as much with drink packages being very widespread. I think most people are pretty amenable to paying 3% more for the staff to get an increase.

 

As for people coming from cultures where tipping isn't the custom--so what. In the US, this is the custom.

[wallie5446]

Hello, we are taking a cruise in May and new to cruising. We received the Classic Beverage Package as part of the 123Go promotion. Do we pay the gratuity on the beverage package that we received? How do the tips get paid for the beverage package? I thought we were charged per person, per day, for our tips and that we paid the tips at the end of the cruise, but are there additional tips for the beverages? I have no problem paying the tips, I just want to make sure that I understand the protocol and what is expected. Thank you

 

You will not need to do anything when ordering a drink, yes, it is all included in the Bev pkg. The daily amount is added as you go to your account so there is no longer a need to do anything at the end of the cruise.

 

Now the exception would be if you wanted to give someone an "additional" Gratuatie. Nothing additional is expected, that is the protocol.:D

[belasea]

Your Beverage Package received under 123go is unaffected, Celebrity paid the Grats included. If you upgrade you now pay the daily rate (think $10.00) plus 18% = $11.80. Previously upgrade would have cost you $11.50 ($10.00 + 15%).

Of course upgrading is optional as is tipping extra to Bar Staff, keeping in mind that you have in affect already paid 15% courtesy of Celebrity. As for other gratuities , for non bar staff, a daily amount is added. That is unless you also have free grats as part of 123go.

If you have selected "any time dining" you would have had to pay the daily grats up-front, so they will not be added daily.

Depending on your view or tradition of tipping, you can add or give additional at any stage

Thanks so much, Jveevers and Wallie5446!!

Edited January 29, 2015 by belasea

[wallie5446]

Reading some of the comments brings a chuckle. Ever since our first cruise in 1987 everyone of the 7 different lines we have sailed has added a 15% grat to a drink chit. We signed the chit and off the server went.

 

So here we are with the advent of an included beverage pkg acting like having a grat added to the chit we no longer sign let alone see, is something new:eek:

 

It has always been there folks! So dont get a drink pkg, take control of your chit back, so you can scratch off the stinkin $1.08 grat on a $6 beer.

[delondin]

I am in the UK and after reading this thread thought I would upgrade my drinks package on a cruise in May and pay for premium package for cruise next year now before the rate goes up to 18%. However on the UK Celebrity website it says that an 18% service charge will be added at checkout. It's not the 1st of February yet. What's going on?

[Pfeilm]

I know this is a very old theme but why do we have to "tip" extra for being served? I suggest 95% of the people reading this do not expect a gratuity for doing their job. Do you, yes you reader, expect to receive a gratuity?

 

I'm not trying to deny the cruise staff a decent wage. I'm simply suggesting that's what they should get in the first place and then "tips" for extra special service are just that. Some cruise lines understand this. Sadly most of those also include free booze as well as a living wage so it gets complicated.

 

Put-up the prices and pay the crew properly so they aren't reliant on charity - even if it is added automatically.

 

Maybe this is a subject for the United Nation's committee on ... sorry, I forgot UN stands for Usually Not-interested.

 

I do not disagree with you on the whole but a few waitresses taught me a thing or two of late. Upon starting employment with their company they were given a choice of $2.35 an hour plus tips or guaranteed the minimum security wage. When I heard the $2.35 I had a heart attack. Turns out that they all take the $2.35 plus tips because even splitting the tips with the bus boys/girls they make far more money than by accepting minimum wage. If a company also helps to subsidize medical insurance (as some states require) then they make out far better than by a straight salary. Makes you wonder.

 

I've always thought the same -- set a price that is reasonable and pays the employees a fair wage for their job and then let me decide on whether or not I wish to pay that price. Any additional would be for out of this world service... or a really fun wait person. I've been told by business owners that that would mean they'd have to raise the menu prices. My .02... so be it. I'm paying it now anyway by the business expecting me to subsidize the wait staff's income via tips... especially since I'm an over-tipper. Another reason I love Europe -- my leaving change on the bar/table is not expected... it's appreciated.

 

As for cruising, we normally have a beverage package (yea 123Go!), I do not tip during the cruise but will go back with envelopes for those "made my cruise extra fun" staff. Loved my Molecular bartenders, Blu wait staff and cabin attendant on the most recent Equinox cruise. Included or not, they deserved the extra and I didn't mind giving it. For the upcoming TA cruise I do not currently have a beverage package.... I wonder how much that will make a difference for me. Or if it will at all. Hummmm..........

[chamima]

[/uAssuming they're being above the board about the fact that this is a gratuity (i.e. going to staff), ]it's probably an adjustment in response to staff not making as much with drink packages being very widespread. I think most people are pretty amenable to paying 3% more for the staff to get an increase.

.

 

Reading some of the comments brings a chuckle. Ever since our first cruise in 1987 everyone of the 7 different lines we have sailed has added a 15% grat to a drink chit. We signed the chit and off the server went.

 

So here we are with the advent of an included beverage pkg acting like having a grat added to the chit we no longer sign let alone see, is something new:eek:

 

It has always been there folks! So dont get a drink pkg, take control of your chit back, so you can scratch off the stinkin $1.08 grat on a $6 beer.

 

 

Wallie and huskerc - people are talking about the increased "gratuity" on the upgrade, not on the included beverage package. (Which shouldn't be affected but absorbed by Celebrity.)

And I can't speak for everyone but I, for one, have absolutely no problem with an increased gratuity really going to servers. I think it's the perception that that's not where it will go that's upsetting .

Edited January 29, 2015 by chamima

[Pfeilm]

I know this is a very old theme but why do we have to "tip" extra for being served? I suggest 95% of the people reading this do not expect a gratuity for doing their job. Do you, yes you reader, expect to receive a gratuity?

 

Luckily I'm supposedly not in an industry that relies on tips to subsidize my income. However, I am in one that has the ability to give end of year bonuses and yearly raises. Once upon a time both were "expected" and happened. In today's era neither is a guarantee with the bonus non-existent for anyone at all for years and the raises tenuous at best. More of a humor them type raise than one which comes anywhere near covering the inflation rate gap.

 

Do I expect to receive a gratuity for doing my job? I guess that depends on your definition of gratuity -- yes, I do if you consider a salary increase that covers the inflation costs as a tip.

[LunaSeaRetreat]

What happens to the limits on the packages when the tip is included in the price of the drink? (UK and Australia) We are leaving for an Australian cruise on the Solstice next week. The wine limits are now $10.50 for classic and $15 for premium. Unless you change these limits, many wines that are available within the packages this week will not be within the limit next week when they go up 3% unless you either adjust the individual prices or raise the limits.

 

Please advise.

 

 

Cynthia

[bananawindnj]

Do you NOT tip your waiter or waitress in a restaurant? Do you NOT tip your bartender when you go out for a drink after work?

 

An accountant shouldn't expect a tip for doing your taxes, since you are paying the full amount for their time.

 

Bartenders, waiters, waitresses, etc all COUNT ON TIPS TO SURVIVE.

 

I don't expect to receive a gratuity because I am not in an industry that depends on tips to survive.

 

Please! Do not get so dramatic with the "survival" comment.

I am tired of getting increases on board ever cruise . Doesn't the tip increase if the price of the drinks increase also?

 

 

from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Edited January 29, 2015 by bananawindnj

[Celebrity Cruises]

Funny how we only ever hear from "official Celebrity" when it is negative news. Impossible to get responce when we have issues, like it took 6 weeks of emails and phone calls to find out that our cruise 2016 was cancelled due to chartering.

 

Hi there,

 

Cruise Critic is a two way street. People will be upset if we only post good news, or they will be upset if we make changes like this one, and aren't told. At the end of the day, we are a messenger, simply trying to keep everyone updated on any changes, and trying to assist any issues when they arise.

[Celebrity Cruises]

What happens to the limits on the packages when the tip is included in the price of the drink? (UK and Australia) We are leaving for an Australian cruise on the Solstice next week. The wine limits are now $10.50 for classic and $15 for premium. Unless you change these limits, many wines that are available within the packages this week will not be within the limit next week when they go up 3% unless you either adjust the individual prices or raise the limits.

 

Please advise.

 

 

Cynthia

 

Hi there,

 

We are looking into this, and will advise.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Hi there,

 

Cruise Critic is a two way street. People will be upset if we only post good news, or they will be upset if we make changes like this one, and aren't told. At the end of the day, we are a messenger, simply trying to keep everyone updated on any changes, and trying to assist any issues when they arise.

 

I appreciate being updated on changes. Thank you.

 

Mary Lou

[LunaSeaRetreat]

Hi there,

 

We are looking into this, and will advise.

 

Thanks for your efforts.

 

Cynthia

[DinaS]

Hi there,

 

Cruise Critic is a two way street. People will be upset if we only post good news, or they will be upset if we make changes like this one, and aren't told. At the end of the day, we are a messenger, simply trying to keep everyone updated on any changes, and trying to assist any issues when they arise.

 

 

I, personally, appreciate ALL the news you report directly from Celebrity Cruises.

 

Thank you for being the liaison, and for assisting when needed.

[Big Chief]

First I want to state clearly that those in the service industry work hard and deserve fair compensation.

But......Why is it always a percentage? At a restaurant one couple order chicken and soft drinks, another order steak and wine; one check is $60, while the other is $90. Did not the server work equally as hard for both couples? Why should one gratuity be $11 while the other is $16? Serving a Coke, a beer, or a scotch on the rocks, all take about the same effort; why different gratuities?

I agree that the practice is a little antiquated and perhaps need to be refined. In some cases, stock brokerages have gone to a flat fee concept (never made any sense to me for the selling/buying fee on a $100 stock should be twice that of a $50 stock) Perhaps a flat rate service charge is more appropriate.

Now, I will attract all the flamers! Why is the travel agent commission on a suite so much more than an inside cabin; is it that much more work?

[laslomas]

First I want to state clearly that those in the service industry work hard and deserve fair compensation.

But......Why is it always a percentage? At a restaurant one couple order chicken and soft drinks, another order steak and wine; one check is $60, while the other is $90. Did not the server work equally as hard for both couples? Why should one gratuity be $11 while the other is $16? Serving a Coke, a beer, or a scotch on the rocks, all take about the same effort; why different gratuities?

I agree that the practice is a little antiquated and perhaps need to be refined. In some cases, stock brokerages have gone to a flat fee concept (never made any sense to me for the selling/buying fee on a $100 stock should be twice that of a $50 stock) Perhaps a flat rate service charge is more appropriate.

Now, I will attract all the flamers! Why is the travel agent commission on a suite so much more than an inside cabin; is it that much more work?

 

I wholeheartedly agree. The same amount of effort is required to complete the service, whatever the order totals in $. Flat rate service charge would be so much fairer. But it would be even fairer to pay a living wage in the service industry to start with and allow us to tip for extra effort and exceptional service.

[Adidas4fun]

First I want to state clearly that those in the service industry work hard and deserve fair compensation.

But......Why is it always a percentage? At a restaurant one couple order chicken and soft drinks, another order steak and wine; one check is $60, while the other is $90. Did not the server work equally as hard for both couples? Why should one gratuity be $11 while the other is $16? Serving a Coke, a beer, or a scotch on the rocks, all take about the same effort; why different gratuities?

 

This is what I have been saying for years. But never fear, you wont get a logical response - only flames and abuse.

[JezzaC]

18% sounds ridiculous if customer gets the drink from the counter themselves. If it is served to table, sounds fine.

Edited January 29, 2015 by JezzaC

[K.T.B.]

Let's really look at the hard numbers here:

 

For an $8 drink, with tip, it was $9.20 with the old 15%. With the new increased 18% it's now $9.44.

 

That's what people are actually complaining about. Twenty-four cents.

 

If you can pay an additional flippin' twenty-four cents, then that's a huge problem.

[BILLP1]

18 percent tip to hand me a bottle of water? A $25 bottle of wine or a $100 bottle same tip percentage?

 

Does this mean the crew will be getting a 3 percent raise on February 1. I got a bridge to sell you..

[OuiOnboard]

Maybe with the increased gratuity %, waiters and bar staff can be more plentiful.

Edited January 29, 2015 by OuiOnboard

[K.T.B.]

18 percent tip to hand me a bottle of water? A $25 bottle of wine or a $100 bottle same tip percentage?

 

Does this mean the crew will be getting a 3 percent raise on February 1. I got a bridge to sell you..

 

That's who gets the tip, not the cruise line.

[sdnich]

I am going to upgrade now because I prefer to bring extra ones and five and tip extra to anyone who gives me great service.I am probably a 20 percent or more server!! :)

[A Sixth?]

 

Does this mean the crew will be getting a 3 percent raise on February 1. I got a bridge to sell you..

 

Not to harp on it but increasing the tip from 15% to 18% is a 20% increase