New gratuities by May 1st, 2016

[marci22]

Q: How is the automatic daily gratuity shared between members of the staff and crew?

 

A:

The automatic gratuity is $13.50 USD, or $16.50 USD for suite guests, applied to each guest's SeaPass® account on a daily basis. Here's how it is shared between your onboard service team:

Dining & Culinary Services: $8.30 USD

Stateroom Attendant: $3.85 USD OR Suite Attendant: $6.85 USD

Other Housekeeping Services: $1.35 USD OR Housekeeping and Suite Services: $1.35 USD

 

Culinary services? Other Housekeeping services?

 

They are using the gratuities to subsidize normal wages for many different people. This is why people are getting annoyed when they call it 'tips'.

[kirm]

Hi all

 

We are a party of 11 travelling for our first ever cruise in July. I've been reading this thread with interest.

 

We booked our cruise with a travel agent and have been told that we have to prepay our gratuities yet from reading some posts here it seems that we can pay our gratuities on board the ship which most seem to do and use their discretion as to whether the service was good or bad.

 

Can anyone clarify this for me please, or am I getting the wrong end of the stick? Thank you :)

[nelblu]

The food in the US is cheap. You don't have vat so tipping for good service I can live with. Royals pricing is obscene. 12 USD for a glass of wine plus 18%? Jog on..

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

Don't know what country you're from, but it is not cheap to dine at a decent US restaurant, unless you're referring to McDonalds. Also, your comment seems to relate to cost and not necessarily tipping, eg. vat, $12 glass of wine, cheap food, etc.

[FUN33]

We have no problem with the current tipping system but it's obvious many do not like it at all. The most sensible solution would be to simply inflate the price of ALL cruises by $25-$30 a day per person and advise all passengers that "any additional tipping is appreciated but not expected or required".

 

If implemented, the price of the cruising might have to increase more than $30. The reality is the cruise lines will have to pay a wage that is high enough to attract crew willing to work 12-15 hours every day, seven days a week for six to nine consecutive months and leave their families and loved ones at home.

 

What I really find obscene, in many of these posts, is the attitude of many posters that the crew is treated with utter disrespect. These people are not our slaves. In most cases they work far harder, and for substantially less pay than any of the passengers they care for.

 

For those of you who do not understand the concept of "if some pay no tips, it increases the price of cruising for all the rest of us". It is an extremely simple economic reality. Crew must receive a level of compensation that attracts them to the job. The more people who tip nothing the lower the pool of compensation for the entire crew. The only way to keep the pool money at a level that is acceptable to the crew is to increase the contributions from passengers who DO PAY THE TIPS.

[Clarea]

Hi all

 

We are a party of 11 travelling for our first ever cruise in July. I've been reading this thread with interest.

 

We booked our cruise with a travel agent and have been told that we have to prepay our gratuities yet from reading some posts here it seems that we can pay our gratuities on board the ship which most seem to do and use their discretion as to whether the service was good or bad.

 

Can anyone clarify this for me please, or am I getting the wrong end of the stick? Thank you :)

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

It's possible that if you booked My Time Dining, your travel agent did not know that Royal no longer requires prepaid gratuities for My Time. Contact your agent and ask them to remove prepaid grats and remind them that Royal changed the policy in June 2015.

Edited April 3, 2016 by clarea

[Expat Cruise]

Hi all

 

We are a party of 11 travelling for our first ever cruise in July. I've been reading this thread with interest.

 

We booked our cruise with a travel agent and have been told that we have to prepay our gratuities yet from reading some posts here it seems that we can pay our gratuities on board the ship which most seem to do and use their discretion as to whether the service was good or bad.

 

Can anyone clarify this for me please, or am I getting the wrong end of the stick? Thank you :)

 

I would have the gratuities removed, even if it means you need to cancel the cruise and re-book. Since still over 90 days away you can cancel and get 100% refund. And if the travel agent cannot fix this you need to change travel agents. If it was my booking I would be talking to Corporate guest resolution and making a claim of fraud in the booking of this cruise.

 

I would not take no for a answer, and if the agent gives you any issues I would give the manager once change to correct before I was filing with Better Business Agency, On line reviews, and a full dispute with my credit card company.

 

But it will not come to this. As soon as you inform Royal that you will cancel they will correct this. Others maybe will handle different but this is what I would and have done, when a problem.

[hapster85]

They are using the gratuities to subsidize normal wages for many different people. This is why people are getting annoyed when they call it 'tips'.

 

Which is exactly why I wish they would do away with the gratuity system, pay their staff and crew more, and just post higher cruise fares. I already know I'm on the hook for paying it, and I'm ok with it, or I wouldn't be there. So why break out this fee, or whatever one chooses to call it, as a separate item, and tell me I can pay it up front, or day to day?

 

Why not break it all down? List how much goes to the Captain, First Officer, Chief Engineer, Cruise Directory, shore-side sales staff, CEO and on and on and on? Because that would be absolutely absurd!

 

I don't need to know where the money goes. I don't care where the money goes. I just want to pay my fare, and enjoy my vacation.

[marci22]

These tipping threads just get so much momentum. It's astonishing.

[Clarea]

These tipping threads just get so much momentum. It's astonishing.

Would not be CC without them.:)

[marci22]

Which is exactly why I wish they would do away with the gratuity system, pay their staff and crew more, and just post higher cruise fares. I already know I'm on the hook for paying it, and I'm ok with it, or I wouldn't be there. So why break out this fee, or whatever one chooses to call it, as a separate item, and tell me I can pay it up front, or day to day?

 

Why not break it all down? List how much goes to the Captain, First Officer, Chief Engineer, Cruise Directory, shore-side sales staff, CEO and on and on and on? Because that would be absolutely absurd!

 

I don't need to know where the money goes. I don't care where the money goes. I just want to pay my fare, and enjoy my vacation.

 

Well if they are calling it a 'tip', we really should know where the money goes. At this rate, they can look for gaps in the budget, raise the daily gratuity, and use the money where they want to for culinary and housekeeping, which are the major services provided to the guests.

 

They don't want to increase the base price because then they lose customers. So they call it tips.

[marci22]

I think the tipping tide began to turn once they started introducing so many specialty restaurants. People were tipping MDR, and tipping again for specialty, and starting to question who was getting what.

 

It was much simpler when most people ate in the MDR and could tip the people they wanted to with their envelopes.

[Flyguy35]

I have walked out of restaurants when I read the menu and see at the bottom that a 18% tip will automatically charge. That is not a tip but a surcharge . If you refuse to pay the "tip" they call the cops. A tip is earned not just given. Do you "tip" at McDonalds? When you look at it, they are doing the same job, take your order and then bring you your food.

 

I work in the service industry and no one gives me a "tip". At the end of the year, is it written into your contract of employment that you get an 18% bonus? This tipping think is out of control. It is a North American thing. When I traveled in Europe, there is no such thing as a tip.

 

I do not remove the automatic "tip" like some people do right away but should service be less than par, I will make adjustments. I have only done this twice in the 12 cruises I have been on. After one of those cruises, the cruise line followed up with me to ask why I reduced the amount and I let them know exactly why and thanked me for the feed back as well as give me a $100 credit for a future cruise. Have also given extra to those that earn it.

 

A tip is earned not expected.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Flyguy35

[kirm]

Thank you so much Clarea and Expat Cruise for the reply.

 

We come from a country that does not have any gratuity system in place, so please forgive me if I'm confused on this issue.

 

I have no problem on earth paying the gratuities but would just like to be clear on the subject.

 

I thought that if we prepaid the gratuities in advance that it would be over and done with however, does that mean that if I go to the bar and order a drink or buy anything onboard that I'll have to pay another 18% there and then even though I've prepaid?

 

Sorry for any confusion that I'm conveying, this is totally new to us!

[Clarea]

Thank you so much Clarea and Expat Cruise for the reply.

 

We come from a country that does not have any gratuity system in place, so please forgive me if I'm confused on this issue.

 

I have no problem on earth paying the gratuities but would just like to be clear on the subject.

 

I thought that if we prepaid the gratuities in advance that it would be over and done with however, does that mean that if I go to the bar and order a drink or buy anything onboard that I'll have to pay another 18% there and then even though I've prepaid?

 

Sorry for any confusion that I'm conveying, this is totally new to us!

Your prepaid (or automatic) gratuities cover your dining staff and your stateroom attendant and helpers.

 

If you order a drink, the cruise line will automatically add 18% to the cost of the drink, and that will be charged to your onboard account.

[Paulxyz2004]

Thank you so much Clarea and Expat Cruise for the reply.

 

We come from a country that does not have any gratuity system in place, so please forgive me if I'm confused on this issue.

 

I have no problem on earth paying the gratuities but would just like to be clear on the subject.

 

I thought that if we prepaid the gratuities in advance that it would be over and done with however, does that mean that if I go to the bar and order a drink or buy anything onboard that I'll have to pay another 18% there and then even though I've prepaid?

 

Sorry for any confusion that I'm conveying, this is totally new to us!

 

This is two different animals. The prepaid tips cover the Housekeeping / cabin attendants and the waitteams (Dining venues). Regardless of the way you Chose to distribute your tips the 18% will be added onto your bar purchases.

[whyrlygig]

I really wish the cruise line would just add the $13 a day to the overall cost and forget about gratuity policies altogether. Then if those of us who appreciate good service chose to, we can leave more to those we think have earned it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Edited April 3, 2016 by whyrlygig

[Clarea]

I really wish the cruise line would just add the $13 a day to the overall cost and forget about gratuity policies altogether. Then if those of us who appreciate good service chose to, we can leave more to those we think have earned it.

But have you considered how the loss of tipping threads would affect Cruise Critic?:eek:;)

[kirm]

This is two different animals. The prepaid tips cover the Housekeeping / cabin attendants and the waitteams (Dining venues). Regardless of the way you Chose to distribute your tips the 18% will be added onto your bar purchases.

 

 

Thank you for that clarification, its much appreciated.

[Paulxyz2004]

Hi all

 

We are a party of 11 travelling for our first ever cruise in July. I've been reading this thread with interest.

 

We booked our cruise with a travel agent and have been told that we have to prepay our gratuities yet from reading some posts here it seems that we can pay our gratuities on board the ship which most seem to do and use their discretion as to whether the service was good or bad.

 

Can anyone clarify this for me please, or am I getting the wrong end of the stick? Thank you :)

 

I would have the gratuities removed, even if it means you need to cancel the cruise and re-book. Since still over 90 days away you can cancel and get 100% refund. And if the travel agent cannot fix this you need to change travel agents. If it was my booking I would be talking to Corporate guest resolution and making a claim of fraud in the booking of this cruise.

 

I would not take no for a answer, and if the agent gives you any issues I would give the manager once change to correct before I was filing with Better Business Agency, On line reviews, and a full dispute with my credit card company.

 

But it will not come to this. As soon as you inform Royal that you will cancel they will correct this. Others maybe will handle different but this is what I would and have done, when a problem.

 

I really don´t care about your tipping, but from reading your Posts on the topic I would say you seriously Need to seek some Anger Management.

 

A simple question was asked about if grats could be removed and you start a full blown rant, talking about cancelled Cruises, credit Card Disputes, BBB, fraud Claims, etc. ???

 

As Long as it´s a booking from a Country like the US where prepaid grats are optional it´s a simple call or email and it will be taken care of.

 

I don´t see why your blood keeps boiling that much on this Topic.

 

You don´t want to prepay or pay at all. So who is forcing you to? Certainly not RCI at this time, as they offer to have the grats removed.

 

BTW RCI has not stolen from me a single time. They always had my allowance to Charge from my credit Card.

 

I alway tip the recommended amount as the lowest and have just had my TA add grats to my booking. You milage varies, so be it. Just take a deep breath and save yourself a heart attack.

[Expat Cruise]

Thank you so much Clarea and Expat Cruise for the reply.

 

We come from a country that does not have any gratuity system in place, so please forgive me if I'm confused on this issue.

 

I have no problem on earth paying the gratuities but would just like to be clear on the subject.

 

I thought that if we prepaid the gratuities in advance that it would be over and done with however, does that mean that if I go to the bar and order a drink or buy anything onboard that I'll have to pay another 18% there and then even though I've prepaid?

 

Sorry for any confusion that I'm conveying, this is totally new to us!

 

Yes the Daily suggest gratuity is only for dinning staff and housing staff. Then your bar bills, all drinks and packages, and spa fees will be hit for 18% more. So with your drinks or a package these tips and services fees come up to hundreds of dollars per person.

 

If this was not enough you will also be told several times you can tip more and given the change to do so. For non USA guest this all must sound crazy but this is the brain washing that has taken place in the United States about tips. As another posted here Tips should be earned not excepted.

[Ocean Boy]

Royal does not want to operated under US Labor laws. They do everything they can to be able to operate with control from the US Labor Department. If you posters who keep saying how we should help these poor crew members really want to help them then get Royal to operate as a US staffed and paid crew.

 

What Royal and other cruise lines do is to want to be a US Operator when it comes to stealing money in the form of Auto gratuities which they then control and spread as they see fit. But they don't really want to help the crews they just want us to pay the crews.

 

RCCL has a corporation is not responsible for caring about the crews, they are responsible to the shareholders. And it makes prefect sense to con the passengers into paying extra money for staff wages.

 

Can you imagine having Union Room Stewards aboard our cruise ships? What a disaster! No one would tip these Union Stewards because service would be

horrible! Never let the US get involved with cruising personnel! Look at the

Veterans Administration. 80% union employees and a complete failure at the

VA! Imagine what it would be like on a cruise ship! This would not be a JOKE!

 

NCL tried this experiment with a ship that they had sailing around Hawaii as they did not want to have to make a stop at a foreign port. As I recall it was a total failure. I forget what the name of the ship was.

[Paulxyz2004]

Thank you for that clarification, its much appreciated.

 

You are welcome:)

 

I´m sure it´s overwhelming planning your first cruise and then you get confusing and some really Anger driven Responses.

 

As you have been indicating not being from a place where tipping is customary, you Need to take into account that the rules can be different from Country to Country.

 

So take everything said on the boards with a grain of salt and Keep in mind that many Posts are made from a US/Canada perspective. Not everything of that might apply to your booking.

[Livvie]

 

I thought that if we prepaid the gratuities in advance that it would be over and done with however, does that mean that if I go to the bar and order a drink or buy anything onboard that I'll have to pay another 18% there and then even though I've prepaid?

 

Sorry for any confusion that I'm conveying, this is totally new to us!

Yes, even though you have pre paid, you will still be charged an additional 18% for every drink order.

[Ocean Boy]

Yes, even though you have pre paid, you will still be charged an additional 18% for every drink order.

 

You will be charged an additional 18% on just about anything on the ship that has a price unless it is bought in one of the actual shops. This includes just about anything being hawked on the Promenade or pool deck.

[Livvie]

You will be charged an additional 18% on just about anything on the ship that has a price unless it is bought in one of the actual shops. This includes just about anything being hawked on the Promenade or pool deck.

Ugh. That I didn't know. I despise being nickel and dimed to death on vacation. And people wonder why I prefer all-inclusives in Mexico...

Edited April 3, 2016 by Livvie