First Time Celebrity Cruiser - Select Dining and Prepaid Gratuities

[dkjretired]

We use the same travel agency and I have never paid "pre-paid" gratuities before final payment (we always have select dining). I think the problem is the travel agency's invoice which doesn't list the individual charges, but just the total price less deposit. I think if you call them you will see you did not pre-pay them.

Also I would see if you can get one of the promotions that Celebrity is always running that includes gratuities (depending on the type of cabin).

 

Disregard my post....

Edited May 22, 2015 by dkjretired

[Riverwatcher]

It may be a method of stopping someone from enjoying select dining then removing the gratuities at the end of the cruise and only tipping their cabin stewards, thereby the dining room staff do not get any tip.

[NoWhiners]

 

Yes, our TA does pay our grats but it still shows on our invoice and I know she doesn't pay until final is due. When we booked we were given the option of set or select dining and chose select, just our preference. I am among those who question why only select is given as an option when a cruise is booked so far out, as yours is....can't possibly be that set dining is all full. In the past, we've booked cruises almost two years out and had the choice but it seems lately that bookings all have to take Select if they're booked far out. Does seem strange. Our upcoming Alaska cruise in September was booked onboard the Silhouette last June so that's 15 months and we were offered set or select.

 

Hope you don't cancel just because of this issue. Celebrity does have it's quirks on the website but once onboard I'm sure you'd find a very enjoyable holiday. Good luck with all the planning...should be exciting but sometimes can be frustrating too!

 

That's good to know--about select being the only choice when you book "too far" out. It's all new to us, so we have no clue how it usually works!

 

If we cancel it will be because we can actually take a longer cruise on HAL in a similar cabin and to more ports in SA. The one we are looking at also ends in San Diego, so one long flight home averted (from Santiago, Chile). And I have to admit that the more I read about Celebrity, the less enthusiastic I am. We did book one of the Sweet 16 for our B2B, and they are offering the all in package for a CC cabin. But the difference in price is quite a lot, so when we did the math, it didn't seem like a great deal. Our TA is giving us very decent OBC, which will cover most of our needs, if not all.

 

I am discouraged by the higher drink prices, the higher drink gratuity, the $15 charge to watch a movie in your cabin (our friends who always do X told us this yesterday!), and the whole 'different dining rooms for different cabins' thing. (Note: I am comparing to HAL, which is the only other cruise line we have used). It might be good but this seems like a step back to Titanic days--the rich and steerage!! I'm sure it isn't nearly that bad but it makes me a little uncomfortable. We would like to try X but maybe a different sailing.

 

Anyway, we have plenty of time to decide and have been going back and forth on whether to go on the sailings we booked (2 weeks Carnaval around/in Rio, then another 2 weeks around the Cape). This week we are leaning a little against, 2 weeks ago we were leaning for!! Tough life when these are the decisions we have to make :)

 

ML

[luv2cruisecats]

We are also first-time cruisers on X, booked for Feb/Mar 2017 (!!). Since it is so far out, our only choice for dining was select, which required the pre-paid grats. After reading this thread, I am now concerned that if we cancel the cruise before the final payment date, we will lose the pre-paid grats. Is that true or I am just reading non-refundable wrong? Is it non-refundable after you board or non-refundable at any time?

 

I also think it's odd that X charges these in advance--aren't these the tips for room steward, dining personnel and other ship crew? Why do I have to pay all of this in advance when only a portion goes to the dining staff? I have no problem paying it (as long as it is refunded if we cancel before final payment) but it does seem odd to make me pay the full grats upfront just so the dining staff is covered.

 

Thanks for any help

ML

 

We refuse to pay gratuities other than the end of the cruise (last day). Why give them control of your money that far in advance?

[NoWhiners]

We use the same travel agency and I have never paid "pre-paid" gratuities before final payment (we always have select dining). I think the problem is the travel agency's invoice which doesn't list the individual charges, but just the total price less deposit. I think if you call them you will see you did not pre-pay them.

Also I would see if you can get one of the promotions that Celebrity is always running that includes gratuities (depending on the type of cabin).

 

This is very interesting. After I read this, I did a fake booking on Celebrity to see what the deposit would be. Then I looked at my invoices from TA. You're right, we were only charged $900 for each cruise (we booked 2 B2B)! There is a note on our invoice under "Special Requests" that says Gratuities. Do you have the same note? i will have to check the credit card bill when it comes in but when I was talking to TA, she said we had to pay the $168 each (or whatever) upfront for grats since only Select dining was being offered at this time. I wonder if she was confused? Seems odd that the total deposit doesn't show $900 plus 168 x 2 if she was right.

 

Thanks for the info and explanation, really helpful. It won't really matter since we always pay the auto charges but this did force me to pay more attention to the invoice!! Duh...

 

ML

[NoWhiners]

We use the same travel agency and I have never paid "pre-paid" gratuities before final payment (we always have select dining). I think the problem is the travel agency's invoice which doesn't list the individual charges, but just the total price less deposit. I think if you call them you will see you did not pre-pay them.

Also I would see if you can get one of the promotions that Celebrity is always running that includes gratuities (depending on the type of cabin).

 

I love a good math mystery!! I went back and looked at fares, totals and deposits. I added bolding to your post. I see that what they have done is add the grats to the total fare but only charged us the normal deposit. Thanks again for your post, especially now that I really understand what X is doing! Very sneaky the way they (the TA) do that.

 

I can rest now that I know the answer :)!!

 

ML

[Go-Bucks!]

But . . . the question still remains --> why does RCCL and Celebrity charge only the Select diners the gratuities at final payment instead of during the cruise?? I haven't been able to get a straight, definitive answer yet and I can't figure it out. Why don't they charge the traditional diners upfront too? And why don't any other cruiselines charge their Anytime diners upfront??

 

I've been on a number of Princess cruises and they manage to do their Anytime dining just fine without getting tips paid at final payment. Very puzzling. :confused:

[Adidas4fun]

But . . . the question still remains --> why does RCCL and Celebrity charge only the Select diners the gratuities at final payment instead of during the cruise?? I haven't been able to get a straight, definitive answer yet and I can't figure it out. Why don't they charge the traditional diners upfront too? And why don't any other cruiselines charge their Anytime diners upfront??

 

I've been on a number of Princess cruises and they manage to do their Anytime dining just fine without getting tips paid at final payment. Very puzzling. :confused:

 

I think it is historical (not to be confused with hysterical but you may if you wish). Please understand that this is all conjecture on my part.

 

So, traditionally fixed dining time, only one restaurant. Always served by same waiter server etc. Thus final night give them all their respective tips.

 

Now add in multiple restaurants and anytime dining. So some cruisers felt that their MDR server, waiter etc should be tipped a lesser amount. After all they didnt eat there that often. Let alone those that deliberately chose to avoid the MDR on the final night.

 

So to combat this was the introduction of a daily gratuity automatically added to the bill. Now comes the hysterical part (if you wish). Many cruisers stubbornly believe that withholding the tip until the final night gave them much better service and they could reward that service (or lack of service) much more transparently. So the cruise lines allowed this to occur for those that were so insistent.

 

However (I believe) it became clear that those most likely to stiff their servers were using anytime dining etc and the previously mentioned excuses. So to penalise these people, and to make it obvious for the front desk staff when someone asked to stop their daily grats being added to their account (ie prepaid = no daily grats!), celebrity insisted on up front payment.

[dkjretired]

I think it is historical (not to be confused with hysterical but you may if you wish). Please understand that this is all conjecture on my part.

 

So, traditionally fixed dining time, only one restaurant. Always served by same waiter server etc. Thus final night give them all their respective tips.

 

Now add in multiple restaurants and anytime dining. So some cruisers felt that their MDR server, waiter etc should be tipped a lesser amount. After all they didnt eat there that often. Let alone those that deliberately chose to avoid the MDR on the final night.

 

So to combat this was the introduction of a daily gratuity automatically added to the bill. Now comes the hysterical part (if you wish). Many cruisers stubbornly believe that withholding the tip until the final night gave them much better service and they could reward that service (or lack of service) much more transparently. So the cruise lines allowed this to occur for those that were so insistent.

 

However (I believe) it became clear that those most likely to stiff their servers were using anytime dining etc and the previously mentioned excuses. So to penalise these people, and to make it obvious for the front desk staff when someone asked to stop their daily grats being added to their account (ie prepaid = no daily grats!), celebrity insisted on up front payment.

 

The only problem with your thinking is the last paragraph, Celebrity required prepaid tips from the beginning, it was in the Press release announcing Select Dining. Unfortunately, the Celebrity web site will not allow me to run up any press releases from anything other than this year.

[Host Jazzbeau]

It's kind of funny. On the forums for the all-inclusive lines (ocean and rivers), all-inclusive fans proclaim how much they like paying everything at final payment so that there are no charges at disembarkation. Yet here, people are upset about prepaying gratuities at final payment. Think outside the box! It's not a bug, it's a feature!

[Adidas4fun]

The only problem with your thinking is the last paragraph, Celebrity required prepaid tips from the beginning, it was in the Press release announcing Select Dining. Unfortunately, the Celebrity web site will not allow me to run up any press releases from anything other than this year.

 

okay, so they didnt wait for people to stiff the servers, they acted first. the end result and likely reasoning still stands.

 

Have you got any better logic?

[dkjretired]

okay, so they didnt wait for people to stiff the servers, they acted first. the end result and likely reasoning still stands.

 

Have you got any better logic?

 

Just passing on the facts....

[dkjretired]

It's kind of funny. On the forums for the all-inclusive lines (ocean and rivers), all-inclusive fans proclaim how much they like paying everything at final payment so that there are no charges at disembarkation. Yet here, people are upset about prepaying gratuities at final payment. Think outside the box! It's not a bug, it's a feature!

 

One of the big reasons that people complain is because they would like the ability to pay the gratuities out of their OBCs. With Select Dining and prepaying, you can't do that. This is seen in many posts and threads on this board.

[cruisestitch]

Traditional dining servers who establish positive relationships with their passengers traditionally got extra tips. When Select Dining was introduced, waiters feared that if they were assigned to that section, that relationship factor would disappear and passengers would not tip even the recommended amounts. In order to get servers to work Select, they had to get a system for them whereby they would not get stiffed, thus the required gratuities for Select Dining.

[G&G]

One of the big reasons that people complain is because they would like the ability to pay the gratuities out of their OBCs. With Select Dining and prepaying, you can't do that. This is seen in many posts and threads on this board.

 

That was one of my points.

[G&G]

Traditional dining servers who establish positive relationships with their passengers traditionally got extra tips. When Select Dining was introduced, waiters feared that if they were assigned to that section, that relationship factor would disappear and passengers would not tip even the recommended amounts. In order to get servers to work Select, they had to get a system for them whereby they would not get stiffed, thus the required gratuities for Select Dining.

 

I really do not understand your analysis or others concerning pooling the tips or a system so servers at Select will get tips. For example if there are 2,800 passenger on board, 1400 at fixed dining and 1,400 at Select, Celebrity can collect the per day tip for 1,400 passengers at Select and distribute through a pool.

 

It does not matter if you have different wait staff at Select. Celebrity collects the same amount for tips.

 

I am Select dining in November on the Eclipse because fixed was booked. It is a 13 day cruise. Whether I pay $162.50 per person at final payment for tips or $162.50 on Day 1 of the cruise or $12.50 per day, Celebrity collects the money and can place in a Select pool for the servers. The money still goes to the correct place.

[KaththeTaff]

We are happy to pay the gratuities up front. As we consider them to be part of the overall fare, it makes sense to us to pay them in advance. But, of course, we have never had reason to remove or reduce the daily charge for poor service, and we can easily spend all of the OBC we might have at the bar!

[Can'tstopcruising]

I, too, have not been satisfied with any answers and I have been trying to figure this out.

 

Maybe..At the start of Select Dining, we were still giving tips in envelopes, so then it was logical to collect (and not refund)for the different waiters. Now, they just kept it that way. But why not collect (and not refund) for the waiters in Traditional?

 

Maybe..Don't laugh! Celebrity, in its wisdom, does not want to lose pax who do not believe in tipping, so leave them an "out" if they chose Traditional.

 

My early Saturday morning thoughts!

[cruisestitch]

G&G wrote:

 

"I really do not understand your analysis or others concerning pooling the tips or a system so servers at Select will get tips. For example if there are 2,800 passenger on board, 1400 at fixed dining and 1,400 at Select, Celebrity can collect the per day tip for 1,400 passengers at Select and distribute through a pool.

 

It does not matter if you have different wait staff at Select. Celebrity collects the same amount for tips."

 

You are assuming that no one goes to Guest Relations and removes their auto-tips. If that were the case, then your conclusion would be correct.

 

Unfortunately, that is not the case. And Celebrity wanted to protect those servers who were assigned to Select, figuring that it was much more likely that diners in Select would remove the auto-tips because they had different waiters each night and never got to know any of them.

Edited May 23, 2015 by cruisestitch

[cruisestitch]

cantstopcruising wrote:

 

"But why not collect (and not refund) for the waiters in Traditional?"

 

That is the question -- really -- why allow anyone the option of stopping the auto tip? Why not make it required, and thus a part of the cruise fare and always collect it up front?

 

Well, that has been tried on other lines and it didn't work.

Edited May 23, 2015 by cruisestitch

[G&G]

G&G wrote:

 

"I really do not understand your analysis or others concerning pooling the tips or a system so servers at Select will get tips. For example if there are 2,800 passenger on board, 1400 at fixed dining and 1,400 at Select, Celebrity can collect the per day tip for 1,400 passengers at Select and distribute through a pool.

 

It does not matter if you have different wait staff at Select. Celebrity collects the same amount for tips."

 

You are assuming that no one goes to Guest Relations and removes their auto-tips. If that were the case, then your conclusion would be correct.

 

Unfortunately, that is not the case. And Celebrity wanted to protect those servers who were assigned to Select, figuring that it was much more likely that diners in Select would remove the auto-tips because they had different waiters each night and never got to know any of them.

 

How do you know how many people would go to Guest Relations and remove their auto-tips? Do you have a number.

 

We have cruised on Holland America for years. HAL has had fixed vs select seating for approximately 10 years. HAL charges your OBA $12/day for fixed or select. There has never been an issue or discussions on their CC concerning a large group of people removing their auto-tips. Same with Princess

[cruisestitch]

The number of people who remove auto=tips varies by itinerary and by the makeup of the passengers. Read Cruise Critic and you will see many, many posts from passengers who state that they remove the auto-tips for a variety of reasons.

[G&G]

The number of people who remove auto=tips varies by itinerary and by the makeup of the passengers. Read Cruise Critic and you will see many, many posts from passengers who state that they remove the auto-tips for a variety of reasons.

 

Thanks

 

I do not think I would ever remove our auto tip. We have been very fortunate to have had many wonderful cruise experiences for the past 37 years.

[jackieo]

We are also new to X but have cruised with Princess and P&O previously.

 

Does Select Dining have a separate dining room or do traditional and select share. I can't seem to understand how this works.

 

Thanks

Edited June 28, 2015 by jackieo

[A1A]

Select dining is in a portion of the main dining room, it does not have it's own separate dining room.