gratuities, this is how they are officially spread out

[luckyinpa]

as opposed to NCLs secret division. i'm glad to see RCI being up front who gets what.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=415&faqSubjectName=Gratuities&faqId=5523

 

 

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:

Standard Staterooms:

• $6.35 - Dining Services
  
• $3.45 - Stateroom Attendant
  
• $3.70 - Other Hotel Services
  

Suites:

• $6.35 - Dining Services
  
• $6.10 - Suite Attendant
  
• $4.05 - Other Hotel Services
  

[leinhto]

Thanks for the info. That was helpful.

[Grandma Dazzles]

Thank you! I would add to that, although it says each persons' SeaPass account, the tips are per person, per day. This means a family of four, for example, regardless of the ages, pays tips for four guests, even if they are all on one Seapass account.

 

Have talked to some people who think tips are per cabin, based on double occupancy, just like cruise pricing.

[Roce48]

I find it interesting that so many of us are concerned about the living wage of cruise line employees. Apparently many of us feel the cruise lines themselves are not too concerned about them.

 

Perhaps before the Automatic Prepaid System was enacted, many cruisers either did not leave enough or any at all. Due to this failure of some cruisers to tip, the cruise lines are trying to ensure that they receive a gratuity. They have set what they feel is a fair amount.

 

I also wonder what percentage of hotel guests truly leave a tip for the room attendant?

[cb at sea]

We always tip the hotel housekeeper, unless it's a 1 nighter....

 

And yes....it's much easier to have the tips added to your bill....apparently, some folks don't know how to tip, and are totally flustered by extending tips in person on the last evening.

[luckyinpa]

on my oct cruise i tipped the haven steward 100 bucks. he was fantastic. helped make the trip what it was. went again in december and had to hunt him down as apparently when he came back from his month off he was moved one floor down. he remembered me and we had a very nice discussion which included the fact that he now had his wife on board. then he went to his stash and got me a bottle of bubbly, which was very nice. they do appreciate the extra $$ and being treated civilly for what literally is a 7 day a week job for months on end. not many of us can say we work that much nor deal with the variety of people on a daily basis.

 

i wouldnt do a stewards job for even 100K a year.

[Roce48]

on my oct cruise i tipped the haven steward 100 bucks. he was fantastic. helped make the trip what it was. went again in december and had to hunt him down as apparently when he came back from his month off he was moved one floor down. he remembered me and we had a very nice discussion which included the fact that he now had his wife on board. then he went to his stash and got me a bottle of bubbly, which was very nice. they do appreciate the extra $$ and being treated civilly for what literally is a 7 day a week job for months on end. not many of us can say we work that much nor deal with the variety of people on a daily basis.

 

i wouldnt do a stewards job for even 100K a year.

 

Wow, Haven Suites are extremely expensive and out of reach for most of us! The cheapest 7 night cruise price I could get for one of those cabins was above $6,000. Considering the level of your cabin, I imagine that a tip of $100 may have been low. lol

[dorts]

I know all too well about gratuities and appreciate the low wages that the cruise lines get away with paying their staff...But being from the UK and with all the 18% already added and auto-gratuities I am slightly apprehensive about tipping too much or too little above the prices already charged...We don't tip here at all unless it's a few pounds when we get the receipt. I will be taking $ bills with me on my med cruise but think tipping some of the amounts people are talking about here seems pretty excessive (in my opinion)...Though I will top appropriately to those that deserve it :)

 

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[funship freddy]

Maybe it is just me but I far prefer the old "envelope" days. I like directly appreciating those who serve me. We are just off Silhouette and we left LOTS of ones and fives behind. I don't trust the bean counters.

 

 

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[Grandma Dazzles]

I know all too well about gratuities and appreciate the low wages that the cruise lines get away with paying their staff...But being from the UK and with all the 18% already added and auto-gratuities I am slightly apprehensive about tipping too much or too little above the prices already charged...We don't tip here at all unless it's a few pounds when we get the receipt. I will be taking $ bills with me on my med cruise but think tipping some of the amounts people are talking about here seems pretty excessive (in my opinion)...Though I will top appropriately to those that deserve it :)

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Forums mobile app

 

That's what is so good and easy to leave the automatic gratuities in place - you don't need to worry about anything! If you choose to tip extra, it is appreciated, but not necessary; other than a couple of dollars for room service delivery.

[luckyinpa]

Wow, Haven Suites are extremely expensive and out of reach for most of us! The cheapest 7 night cruise price I could get for one of those cabins was above $6,000. Considering the level of your cabin, I imagine that a tip of $100 may have been low. lol

 

was 1st cruise ever and i had no idea when id be going again. some people tip the concierge and i thought he did nothing so he got nothing. it's all relative. i paid under 6K for mine.

[bobmacliberty]

Anyone know if a JS is considered a suite for auto tipping purposes, i.e. is it $13.50 or $16.50 for a JS?

[PeterPan]

Anyone know if a JS is considered a suite for auto tipping purposes, i.e. is it $13.50 or $16.50 for a JS?

 

Junior suites pay the lower tip rate. They aren't really a suite.

[Clarea]

Anyone know if a JS is considered a suite for auto tipping purposes, i.e. is it $13.50 or $16.50 for a JS?

JS is $13.50.

[Hoopster95]

Just an fyi to this discussion, supposedly the 18% auto-grats make up 100% of their wages. Any cash tip given to anyone personally (ie. or added to a bill in specialty the waiter gets, added to bar bill that server gets it, etc) is supposedly 90% kept by that individual, the remaining 10% pooled within that individual's team

[johnjen]

You can use OBC for tipping, is that correct? Someone had asked me that earlier at work, she's going on a cruise March. I've just always settled that on the card.

[Clarea]

You can use OBC for tipping, is that correct? Someone had asked me that earlier at work, she's going on a cruise March. I've just always settled that on the card.

 

Correct.

[yogimax]

Maybe it is just me but I far prefer the old "envelope" days. I like directly appreciating those who serve me. We are just off Silhouette and we left LOTS of ones and fives behind. I don't trust the bean counters.

 

I certainly hope that was in ADDITION to the automatic tips!

 

It would be sad indeed if you canceled your tips and left "LOTS of ones and fives"

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing the info.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

On the German version of the morning show they just had a special on how to get your auto-gratuities returned to you and save money on your vacation.... :D

 

Tipping is a cultural thing and I think the US is so much overdoing this that is why there is auto-gratuities - that way the cruise-line is getting more money - the auto-grats plus the extra that everybody is bragging about.

 

I personally do not believe that current service levels require any gratuities at all.....the service has become so basic and the the cruise-fares so inflated there is no need to spend any extra $

The bottom line of the cruise lines show that result - record profits because they maximise the way they milk the passengers...

Edited February 16, 2017 by germanfflyer

[leinhto]

Junior suites pay the lower tip rate. They aren't really a suite.

What!! [emoji33] [emoji33] [emoji33]

 

And here I was thinking I was living the suite life....

 

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[KnightsFan]

On the German version of the morning show they just had a special on how to get your auto-gratuities returned to you and save money on your vacation.... :D

 

Tipping is a cultural thing and I think the US is so much overdoing this that is why there is auto-gratuities - that way the cruise-line is getting more money - the auto-grats plus the extra that everybody is bragging about.

 

I personally do not believe that current service levels require any gratuities at all.....the service has become so basic and the the cruise-fares so inflated there is no need to spend any extra $

The bottom line of the cruise lines show that result - record profits because they maximise the way they milk the passengers...

 

I think you have a misunderstanding of what tips are in the US. They're no longer a gratuity for excellent service, they're a direct paycheck from the customer to the employee. And from what I've read that's the way the cruise lines use them.

 

Rather than charge everybody a hidden extra $15 per passenger per day so they can pay a higher wage, they openly tell us that we're being charged $15/passenger per day so the employees can get a higher wage.

[tserface]

This is interesting information. Thanks for sharing. I don't really lose sleep over who gets what, but I find it interesting none the less.

 

I'm surprised to see that the dining room staff get so much more than stateroom attendants, but maybe that's because they have assistant waiters so it gets split among them.

 

So, for two people that would mean average tip for the waitstaff is between $12-13. That seems more reasonable than I'd thought.

 

Tom

[dreadpirate3]

Maybe it is just me but I far prefer the old "envelope" days. I like directly appreciating those who serve me. We are just off Silhouette and we left LOTS of ones and fives behind. I don't trust the bean counters.

 

 

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Which is why we left our auto gratuities on and then tipped extra using the envelopes and remembered those people by name in our review with RCCL.

[fletch1027]

I think you have a misunderstanding of what tips are in the US. They're no longer a gratuity for excellent service, they're a direct paycheck from the customer to the employee. And from what I've read that's the way the cruise lines use them.

 

Rather than charge everybody a hidden extra $15 per passenger per day so they can pay a higher wage, they openly tell us that we're being charged $15/passenger per day so the employees can get a higher wage.

 

It also lets the cruise lines advertise lower fares "before gratuities, port fees, etc"... ;)