Celebrity REFLECTION drinks gratuities

[brammers]

Hi, please can somebody advise me when you have the classic drinks package, do they charge you gratuities on top for every drink consumed. Or does the package include the gratuities? The drinks package we received was free when booking. TIA:)

[Miaminice]

No extra charge, the service charge is included.

[brammers]

Thank you..:)

[skoeper]

Hi, please can somebody advise me when you have the classic drinks package, do they charge you gratuities on top for every drink consumed. Or does the package include the gratuities? The drinks package we received was free when booking. TIA:)

 

No tips added, BUT....we always tipped a dollar or two for the great bartenders. Especially if they made a drink a certain way or even made up some drinks....just for you :) They work HARD for extra tips and you will be remembered :)

[DYKWIA]

No tips added, BUT....we always tipped a dollar or two for the great bartenders. Especially if they made a drink a certain way or even made up some drinks....just for you :) They work HARD for extra tips and you will be remembered :)

 

And the tipping debate starts again....:rolleyes:

[jg51]

Hi, please can somebody advise me when you have the classic drinks package, do they charge you gratuities on top for every drink consumed. Or does the package include the gratuities? The drinks package we received was free when booking. TIA

Good day, "brammers."

 

We wish to correct one word that you used -- and many readers here may also benefit from this correction, because they may have been making the same mistake, even for decades. You used the word, "gratuities." A gratuity is a tip -- a free-will gesture to show your appreciation for an action performed for you. A gratuity (which comes from the Latin word, "gratis," which means "free [will]") can be granted by you, or it could be withheld if it is not deserved.

 

Intentional, personal TIPPING is the ONLY situation in which anyone ought to use the word, "gratuity." If you agree to have daily gratuities added (e.g., $13.50) to your fare in advance, then you will have the freedom to increase or decrease that amount later on, based on your (dis)satisfaction with the quality of the services you received. That is a genuine GRATUITY.

 

You may think that your "drink package ... was free," but, in cruising, NOTHING is "free" -- except when a fellow passenger may buy us a drink to celebrate something, etc.. Otherwise, we pay for everything, even if it may appear to be free. Cruise lines are in business to make a profit, so they NEVER give away anything for "free."

 

But let's talk about people who actually order a beverage package. Let's say that it is advertised at $50 per day. To that a $9 SERVICE CHARGE (18%) will be added. That is NOT a "gratuity," because (1) it is charged in advance [without you having any ability to judge whether the service is good or not], and (2) you cannot have even one penny of the charge removed from what you pay!

 

We have always considered it TOTALLY IMPROPER for a cruise line to forcibly extort any amount -- even the former 15% -- as a service charge. The current 18% is an even greater outrage! On our first Celebrity cruise (some years ago), there was NO service charge at all when we ordered drinks in bars. Instead, we gave genuine gratuities -- 15% or more -- when we thought it right to do so. We believe that cruise lines ought to simply state how much they demand for a given drink (or specialty restaurant meal), and that amount ought to include payment for the food as well as the service. That is the way things have ALWAYS been done in land-based restaurants, and that is what ought to be restored to cruise ships.

 

Don't ever feel sorry for the cruise lines. They are making ZILLIONS of dollars, which is how -- and why -- they keep building new ships.

.

[Tommy3putts]

And the tipping debate starts again....:rolleyes:

 

 

[emoji897][emoji897][emoji897][emoji897]

 

Just when I thought things were getting a little boring in the Celebrity forum! Been a while since we've had a good deck chair or flip flop thread. I also miss formal nights and the dress code debates.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Tommy3putts

[dkjretired]

Good day, "brammers."

 

We wish to correct one word that you used -- and many readers here may also benefit from this correction, because they may have been making the same mistake, even for decades. You used the word, "gratuities." A gratuity is a tip -- a free-will gesture to show your appreciation for an action performed for you. A gratuity (which comes from the Latin word, "gratis," which means "free [will]") can be granted by you, or it could be withheld if it is not deserved.

 

Intentional, personal TIPPING is the ONLY situation in which anyone ought to use the word, "gratuity." If you agree to have daily gratuities added (e.g., $13.50) to your fare in advance, then you will have the freedom to increase or decrease that amount later on, based on your (dis)satisfaction with the quality of the services you received. That is a genuine GRATUITY.

 

You may think that your "drink package ... was free," but, in cruising, NOTHING is "free" -- except when a fellow passenger may buy us a drink to celebrate something, etc.. Otherwise, we pay for everything, even if it may appear to be free. Cruise lines are in business to make a profit, so they NEVER give away anything for "free."

 

But let's talk about people who actually order a beverage package. Let's say that it is advertised at $50 per day. To that a $9 SERVICE CHARGE (18%) will be added. That is NOT a "gratuity," because (1) it is charged in advance [without you having any ability to judge whether the service is good or not], and (2) you cannot have even one penny of the charge removed from what you pay!

 

We have always considered it TOTALLY IMPROPER for a cruise line to forcibly extort any amount -- even the former 15% -- as a service charge. The current 18% is an even greater outrage! On our first Celebrity cruise (some years ago), there was NO service charge at all when we ordered drinks in bars. Instead, we gave genuine gratuities -- 15% or more -- when we thought it right to do so. We believe that cruise lines ought to simply state how much they demand for a given drink (or specialty restaurant meal), and that amount ought to include payment for the food as well as the service. That is the way things have ALWAYS been done in land-based restaurants, and that is what ought to be restored to cruise ships.

 

Don't ever feel sorry for the cruise lines. They are making ZILLIONS of dollars, which is how -- and why -- they keep building new ships.

.

 

I don't know when your first cruise was on Celebrity but I have sailed with them for over 20 years and they have always charged a service fee whether it was 15 or 18%. The only exception was the Eclipse the last couple of years home-ported in Southhampton but that's a whole different story.

 

You don't like it there are other options.

[skoeper]

And the tipping debate starts again....:rolleyes:

 

LOL. I never said you HAD to, or even SHOULD give an extra tip, I just said that's what WE do. :p

[okiehokiepokie]

Hi, please can somebody advise me when you have the classic drinks package, do they charge you gratuities on top for every drink consumed. Or does the package include the gratuities? The drinks package we received was free when booking. TIA:)

 

You may notice on your cruise receipt or, if you use it, your MyCelebrity account the code BEVCLINGRAT. It was explained to me that is the code they use for the Classic Package and the understanding that the 18% service charge is included. We booked a cruise months and months ago and I forgot which perks we signed up for. When I first revisited the code I thought the GRAT part of the code was for the $13.50 per day charge...knew I won't pick that so I got clarification from the service desk.

 

Cheers,

OHP