no more prepaid gratuities required with open dining

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Kirk, that's because there is no logic.

[az_tchr]

So if I have non-findable OBC and I don't use it, I am out? When did this begin? I didn't see any announcement regarding this change.

 

There is no OBC you cannot "find". OBC is either OBC-N and is not refundable (almost always from Celebrity) or OBC-R which if unused is refundable at the end of a cruise onto a credit card of given to you in cash if a cash account.

 

There is no announcement because apparently is is exactly as another suggested - a suggestion and probably being discussed as to a policy change. Time to move on as it is not likely to change for a week or two. I do hope the policy changes.

 

Originally Posted by SheriffJoe View Post

Refundable OBC is still fine to cash out or be put back on your CC - It has been verified on at least one ship this is not allowed except with promotional chips. Would guess we will see a formal poilcy change incorporating both no requirement to prepay gratuities for Select dining and no cash out of OBC-N in the casino at the same time,

Edited January 23, 2016 by az_tchr

[FLACRUISER99]

Simple. They would deduct gratuities daily and charge to your on board account. Should not be different for select since gratuities are shared no matter how you dine. Gratuities given on the last night to servers are in excess of standard gratuities for those who choose to give more. I have never understood why grTuities were paid in advance for select. You don't pay them in advance if you dine in blu or luminae which is really select but in a different venue

RCI, X''s sister did this quite a while ago. Edited January 23, 2016 by FLACRUISER99

[casper106]

HAL does not require paying gratuities in advance for their "open" dining.

[Giorgi-one]

Would it not provide for better service if the employees thought their gratuities had not been already paid? with Celebrity many opt out of the standard payment and pay in cash. Thus good service would provide tips!

 

I have always had fantastic service on every one of my 32 cruises. Remember when NCL hired all American crews for Hawaii cruises and half of the crew quit during the first week. Crew on a cruise ship work much harder than any comparable land job especially in the U.S. I have spoken the many waitstaff and they all told me that many passengers used to stiff them as far as tips are concerned before gratuities were automatic. $12 a day is a pittance for the services performed. We always tip more and that includes the Sommelier when we have a beverage package.. Really tired of hearing people on these boards make a big deal of this issue. I am certain some of them are looking to give nothing. If you are not going to stiff the crew then why do you care if they are prepaid or not.

[sandancer]

This will make no difference to us as we pre-paid tips long before Select dining was available. However, I can see why some people prefer to have the choice. The more we pay for upfront the better. I never did like that envelope arrangement. We usually tip extra if it is warranted and it almost always is.

[PatC]

IMHO seems to me that this coincides with the "rumors" about Celebrity going all "Select Dining". The lower sections of the dining rooms are empty so much of the time, after first seating that they have had to open that up to Select. Many more folks are doing Select than fixed dining times. I don't und erstand why they still have fixed times. If you like to dine at 5:30 or 6:00 or 8:30 then do it.

 

Let's see what happens.

 

Pat C

[LzyCruiser_NWA]

IMHO seems to me that this coincides with the "rumors" about Celebrity going all "Select Dining". The lower sections of the dining rooms are empty so much of the time, after first seating that they have had to open that up to Select. Many more folks are doing Select than fixed dining times. I don't und erstand why they still have fixed times. If you like to dine at 5:30 or 6:00 or 8:30 then do it.

 

Let's see what happens.

 

Pat C

 

If this rumor was true it would be great as it would open up a lot more tables.

[wallie5446]

We can get cash from the casino cashier any time we want. It does not matter if we do, or don't have OBC of any type on your account.

 

The advance will be posted as a line item charge. If there are any line item plus's, ie: OBC, the advance will reduce that credit. We never have to tell the cashier anything about OBC N or R.

 

It is not a big deal or hassle, well, except for the 5%:D but that's life on the high sea!

[ghstudio]

We can get cash from the casino cashier any time we want. It does not matter if we do, or don't have OBC of any type on your account.

 

The advance will be posted as a line item charge. If there are any line item plus's, ie: OBC, the advance will reduce that credit. We never have to tell the cashier anything about OBC N or R.

 

It is not a big deal or hassle, well, except for the 5%:D but that's life on the high sea!

 

For now, you're right...but it wouldn't take a computer programmer much time at all to handle casino advances differently and not allow any unspent OBCN to be applied to cover them. To date, Celebrity has chosen not to make that change...but at some point, they easily could.

 

Additionally, they are apparently moving to giving you promotional chips to use in the casino rather than just giving you cash. If you normally gamble, that's probably not a big problem, but for non gamblers...and I suspect that the majority are in this category...it is a problem because you have to find a way to convert those chips to regular chips so you can then cash them out for $'s.

[jagoffee]

IMHO seems to me that this coincides with the "rumors" about Celebrity going all "Select Dining". The lower sections of the dining rooms are empty so much of the time, after first seating that they have had to open that up to Select. Many more folks are doing Select than fixed dining times. I don't und erstand why they still have fixed times. If you like to dine at 5:30 or 6:00 or 8:30 then do it.

 

Let's see what happens.

 

Pat C

 

good idea.

[ghstudio]

IMHO seems to me that this coincides with the "rumors" about Celebrity going all "Select Dining". The lower sections of the dining rooms are empty so much of the time, after first seating that they have had to open that up to Select. Many more folks are doing Select than fixed dining times. I don't und erstand why they still have fixed times. If you like to dine at 5:30 or 6:00 or 8:30 then do it.

 

Pat C

 

You forget that there are some that like to dine at the same time every night (and not run a risk of having to wait for a table), they prefer the same wait staff each night and they prefer to dine with the same people each night. Having both select and fixed dining makes sense because they appeal to different folks.

[dkjretired]

You forget that there are some that like to dine at the same time every night (and not run a risk of having to wait for a table), they prefer the same wait staff each night and they prefer to dine with the same people each night. Having both select and fixed dining makes sense because they appeal to different folks.

 

Correct but since Select is so popular, I would guess that rather than eliminating Traditional, they may just switch locations.

[ghstudio]

Correct but since Select is so popular, I would guess that rather than eliminating Traditional, they may just switch locations.

 

That's very possible...they have already increased the space for select dining once, they can, and I suspect they will do it again. Switching locations makes a lot of sense.

[wwcruisers]

RCI, X''s sister did this quite a while ago.

 

That was my thought, too. It would be nice if "CelebrityCruises" could pop up right about now, and shed some light on this latest rumor. :cool:

[FrankinPA]

IMHO seems to me that this coincides with the "rumors" about Celebrity going all "Select Dining". The lower sections of the dining rooms are empty so much of the time, after first seating that they have had to open that up to Select. Many more folks are doing Select than fixed dining times. I don't und erstand why they still have fixed times. If you like to dine at 5:30 or 6:00 or 8:30 then do it.

 

Let's see what happens.

 

Pat C

 

We completely agree. I can't imagine having to dine with the same people every night on a cruise, especially a long one. Kay and I like to meet new people so we normally ask to be seated with others but the others change every night. Doing away with fixed time dining would be great for us. Like you say, it opens many new tables that are under-utilized now.

Edited January 23, 2016 by FrankinPA

[Cruise Junky]

That was my thought, too. It would be nice if "CelebrityCruises" could pop up right about now, and shed some light on this latest rumor. :cool:

 

I'm not sure it's a rumour anymore. I just saw it as breaking news on Facebook from a travel site.

[midwestchick]

We completely agree. I can't imagine having to dine with the same people every night on a cruise, especially a long one. Kay and I like to meet new people so we normally ask to be seated with others but the others change every night. Doing away with fixed time dining would be great for us. Like you say, it opens many new tables that are under-utilized now.

 

 

That's the reason we do select when we don't sail Aqua. We've sat near people and have overheard conversations we would not want to be a part of. We are quite content dining alone.

[emsachs]

Simple. They would deduct gratuities daily and charge to your on board account. Should not be different for select since gratuities are shared no matter how you dine. Gratuities given on the last night to servers are in excess of standard gratuities for those who choose to give more. I have never understood why grTuities were paid in advance for select. You don't pay them in advance if you dine in blu or luminae which is really select but in a different venue

 

We just upgraded to Aqua on Sept cruise from 1B fixed dining. We did not have to pay gratuities in advance for the fixed dining but were told that we DID need to prepay gratuities for Blu. We just used one of our perks for "paid gratuities" and we are done.

Can we still adjust these up/down at end of cruise depending on our service?

[schlimazel_traveler]

You forget that there are some that like to dine at the same time every night (and not run a risk of having to wait for a table), they prefer the same wait staff each night and they prefer to dine with the same people each night. Having both select and fixed dining makes sense because they appeal to different folks.

 

Our traveling party of six constituted a full table, so the issue of having the same dining companions each night was not a concern. However, we do like to eat at about the same time and have the same wait staff. We managed to accomplish this by making reservations for about the same time each night and letting the hostess know that we would like to be seated in the same section with the same wait staff. We had the same exact table every night but one, and always had the same staff. I'm not sure if they do this for everyone--it's possible they were willing to accommodate us particularly because we were traveling with someone who has special dietary needs and it's best to stick with the same wait staff rather than re-explaining each night.

 

For us, that made Select dining the best of both worlds and I'm so glad to hear of the change to pre-paying the tips!

Edited January 23, 2016 by schlimazel_traveler

[Cruise Raider]

Great info...thanks to the OP for posting this. I had a cruise that just hit final payment date last week but my TA is covering the gratuities. My payment amount was less than I thought it would be -- which equaled the balance but without gratuities. They usually requires you to pay the gratuities and get it back as refundable OBC while onboard. I never did think this made a lot of sense but always got the money back one way or another -- usually by spending it, though.

 

Also, we always choose select dining and when seated with others, have made some friends for life. However, there is nothing worse than their attempts to guilt you into sitting at a table with a group when you just don't feel like it. It hasn't happened as such on Celebrity but always get these comments on another line when you are just wanting a table for 2. Sometimes it is just not ok ... even though I know they are pressured into getting you to 'share'.

 

Service has almost always been impeccable and haven't noticed any reduction in service when my tips are paid in advance or automatically charged each day on my folio.

[ChucktownSteve]

I think we have to wait a few days....and let the fog clear as folks try to get their invoices changed. Otherwise, it's just a rumor...a very nice rumor...but let's not get our hopes up.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if "celebrity cruises" came here and gave us some official information. One can always hope...

 

Celebrity Cruises can't do that until the X website is changed so they can copy and past the paragraph here! They're not allowed to think or speak for themselves.

[Ma Bell]

We can get cash from the casino cashier any time we want. It does not matter if we do, or don't have OBC of any type on your account.

 

The advance will be posted as a line item charge. If there are any line item plus's, ie: OBC, the advance will reduce that credit. We never have to tell the cashier anything about OBC N or R.

 

It is not a big deal or hassle, well, except for the 5%:D but that's life on the high sea!

 

Wallie, making the change to giving promotional chips or credits on your card that would have to be used in machines is very easy. It works like that all the time in Las Vegas. For example if you have received what is called free play from a casino(similar to on board credit) it is loaded on your card and in order to play it you have to put money in the machine but it is not used until all your free play is gone. The only thing you can cash out is your winnings from what you have played. You need to use a code to play the credit. All they would have to do is load it on your card when you ask for money to play. They are already equipped to do this.

 

It seems that is the way they are heading for the casino so they can make sure it is used there.

[Ma Bell]

That's the reason we do select when we don't sail Aqua. We've sat near people and have overheard conversations we would not want to be a part of. We are quite content dining alone.

 

That may be true but we have met lots of wonderful people through the years that have become very close friends. I wouldn't have traded those great experiences for anything.

[Cruise Raider]

Wallie, making the change to giving promotional chips or credits on your card that would have to be used in machines is very easy. It works like that all the time in Las Vegas. For example if you have received what is called free play from a casino(similar to on board credit) it is loaded on your card and in order to play it you have to put money in the machine but it is not used until all your free play is gone. The only thing you can cash out is your winnings from what you have played. You need to use a code to play the credit. All they would have to do is load it on your card when you ask for money to play. They are already equipped to do this.

 

It seems that is the way they are heading for the casino so they can make sure it is used there.

 

I recently saw a post from a Connie passenger that included a picture of a billboard that Celebrity put up ... no cash given for onboard credits ... now, promotional play chips / play only.

I think the ability to get one's onboard credit and turning it into cash was being abused. The refundable credit will still be returned back to your credit card if there is any left over. Anyhow, the key word here is 'onboard' credit ... not cash that can be used anywhere.

You are so right, the machines in Vegas take promotional credit and free play credits all the time. As a matter of fact, on the Infinity a couple of months ago, they gave us a dollar amount of machine credits, which was based on our play, to be used before the end of the cruise. Their machines are already set up to take this type of credit in order to play. The only cash you could receive was from any winnings you may have had.