Biker19 Posted September 20, 2018 #76 Share Posted September 20, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Researcher Posted September 20, 2018 #77 Share Posted September 20, 2018 I am not sure if it affects the level of service (because we leave auto tips in place) but there is a list available to staff of the cabins that have opted out of the auto tips. We actually saw this list on an all access behind the scenes tour a few years ago. If this is truly what that list was for, that's excellent IMO. What did the list look like and how did you recognize it as a list of those who have opted out? Full disclosure we have always prepaid our tips prior to the cruise, leave them in place, and tip extra for those who stand out. I've wondered if the staff knows that we prepaid, or are getting charged daily, have cancelled tips, or whatever... Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Researcher Posted September 20, 2018 #78 Share Posted September 20, 2018 It never ceases to amaze me that every single day I have to endure another gratuity thread complaining. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Don't click into them then. New cruisers set sail every day so questions like these will continue to exist if the process for gratuities stays the same. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted September 20, 2018 #79 Share Posted September 20, 2018 If this is truly what that list was for, that's excellent IMO. What did the list look like and how did you recognize it as a list of those who have opted out? Full disclosure we have always prepaid our tips prior to the cruise, leave them in place, and tip extra for those who stand out. I've wondered if the staff knows that we prepaid, or are getting charged daily, have cancelled tips, or whatever... Dan Several years ago this list was posted on Cruise Critic by someone who saw it on a "behind the scenes tour." It was quickly removed. The cruise line (I think it was Carnival) did not deny the list existed, but they said the list was for the week before. Also, I have read of people who stated they were asked by the crew what they did wrong, since they were questioned by their superiors as to why cabin xxx removed their tips. We usually tip extra, leaving the automatic gratuity in place. We tell the staff it is extra, however, they all seem to know this anyway.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Researcher Posted September 20, 2018 #80 Share Posted September 20, 2018 Several years ago this list was posted on Cruise Critic by someone who saw it on a "behind the scenes tour." It was quickly removed. The cruise line (I think it was Carnival) did not deny the list existed, but they said the list was for the week before. Also, I have read of people who stated they were asked by the crew what they did wrong, since they were questioned by their superiors as to why cabin xxx removed their tips. We usually tip extra, leaving the automatic gratuity in place. We tell the staff it is extra, however, they all seem to know this anyway.;) Ah, thank you for the reply. I don't think we'll ever get the straight story. So many people contradict each other and they all think they're right. :) Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted September 20, 2018 #81 Share Posted September 20, 2018 The way I look at it is if I went out to bfast, lunch and dinner all in one day here in NY, combined would be alot more than $13.50/day in tips and that's just dining out that doesn't include the service of someone who cleans your room twice a day. As far as i'm concerned i'm ahead of the game in terms of tipping with the auto grat in place as opposed to tipping people individually. $14.50 a day but agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTO-Girl Posted September 20, 2018 #82 Share Posted September 20, 2018 We always prepay our tips and then give extra to those who go above and beyond. My only opinion for those who choose to remove their tips after boarding...... **Be up front and go early in the week to remove your tips so the staff knows you do not intend to tip. **Don’t let them bust their behinds all week thinking they are getting tipped only to find out you went the very last night and removed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma Dazzles Posted September 20, 2018 #83 Share Posted September 20, 2018 Can someone help me please. I am so confused. I have booked to go on a Royal Carribean cruise and opted for My Time dining. The documentation sent to me by RCL states under SERVICE CHARGE states that "service charge for dining attendanrs and stateroom attendants are included in your voyage fare" My TA informed me thst in spite of this being factored into my cruise fare my partner and i will still have to pay a mandatory gratuity of USD 14.50 pp per day for the whole 26 days of the cruise. This will automatically be added to my seapass account dail I usually prefer to tip waiters and room attendants myself but will accept the extra cost factored into my cruisefare and still give them a little extra individually but to gave to also pay the mandatory gratuity is very objectionable. For tjose of you who have been affected by RCLs new gratuity policy and have experienced this please advise me as to whether i can ask for this to be reimbursed before i disembark or will i be left with no choice but to pay it. In previous cruises i could ask for the daily grats notbto be added but i cant now according to my TA. Adding an extra few hundred USD to my fare is not funny when i could be giving it to individuals whom i choose to You need to ask your travel agent to see if they have already included your gratuities. A long time ago when you booked My Time Dining you were required to prepay your gratuities. Some TA may still be working from old rules/brochures. You do not have to prepay your gratuities. Your gratuities are now billed per person per day to your Seapass account. If you prefer you can prepay and include with the price of your cruise. If you choose not to pay the standard gratuities you can request guest services to remove. I would strongly recommend not doing this. If you try to tip people individually you make it more difficult for yourself trying to track people down, carry cash and so on. The standard billed gratuities include your room steward and all dining areas plus behind the scenes staff. All the staff work very hard to make your vacation a wonderful experience and deserve the standard gratuities. If you choose to tip extra you can do so - usually at the end of the cruise to people you feel are deserving. You need to ask your TA if you have prepaid or not. Otherwise you will be billed daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galavant3 Posted September 20, 2018 #84 Share Posted September 20, 2018 I can't believe anyone would want to not pay gratuities everyone on the ship works really hard to make sure you have a good time they deserve every penny Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app Agree! People pay thousands of dollars to vacation but take issue with the $100 to pay the staff that bends over backwards all week. Even if they eliminated tipping, the fare would just go up by $100. We prefer to prepay and not give it another thought. It’s incredibly liberating and I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WST Posted September 20, 2018 #85 Share Posted September 20, 2018 Thanks All for your replies. I have no objection at all to prepaying which is what i thought was indicated by RCCL in their Guest Copy doc to me but what confuses me is that i will also have to pay daily compulsory grats when i get onboard . I have called RCCL myself but have been told the policy is unclear and to call back i:eek:n 2 days almost as if the haze will miraculously clear by then ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicstress Posted September 21, 2018 #86 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Thanks All for your replies. I have no objection at all to prepaying which is what i thought was indicated by RCCL in their Guest Copy doc to me but what confuses me is that i will also have to pay daily compulsory grats when i get onboard . I have called RCCL myself but have been told the policy is unclear and to call back i:eek:n 2 days almost as if the haze will miraculously clear by then !If you prepay you will not be charged AGAIN on the ship. You already paid. You can then pay anyone you want in cash if you feel like it. Sent from my PH-1 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BekkaW Posted September 21, 2018 #87 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Can someone help me please. I am so confused. I have booked to go on a Royal Carribean cruise and opted for My Time dining. The documentation sent to me by RCL states under SERVICE CHARGE states that "service charge for dining attendanrs and stateroom attendants are included in your voyage fare" My TA informed me thst in spite of this being factored into my cruise fare my partner and i will still have to pay a mandatory gratuity of USD 14.50 pp per day for the whole 26 days of the cruise. This will automatically be added to my seapass account dail I usually prefer to tip waiters and room attendants myself but will accept the extra cost factored into my cruisefare and still give them a little extra individually but to gave to also pay the mandatory gratuity is very objectionable. For tjose of you who have been affected by RCLs new gratuity policy and have experienced this please advise me as to whether i can ask for this to be reimbursed before i disembark or will i be left with no choice but to pay it. In previous cruises i could ask for the daily grats notbto be added but i cant now according to my TA. Adding an extra few hundred USD to my fare is not funny when i could be giving it to individuals whom i choose to Did you book in Australia? Our invoices say that because fares include gratuity. Nothing further is added onboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamcruzin Posted September 21, 2018 #88 Share Posted September 21, 2018 This is an unfair statement. Gratuities haven't been going up "almost every year." But even so, it's more likely to keep up with cost of living, not to make up for those who don't tip. Automatic Gratuities were added to lessen the event of "skipping out" on tips and to make sure MTD waiters were tipped. But I remember the days before MTD and Automatic Tips when, on the last night, TIP Night, people would eat at other venues and skip out on tipping the wait staff. Cheap people have been around for years. Yep, I remember that 30yrs ago. Only traditional early and late seating, no specialty restaurants and no buffet like they have now. On the last night the MDR was empty. In those days you could order the MDR food through room service. I'm sure they didn't tip them either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted September 21, 2018 #89 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Yep, I remember that 30yrs ago. Only traditional early and late seating, no specialty restaurants and no buffet like they have now. On the last night the MDR was empty. In those days you could order the MDR food through room service. I'm sure they didn't tip them either.We started cruising in 2003 and remember we all remarked how many people were missing on the last night In MDR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorben-Hendrik Posted September 22, 2018 #90 Share Posted September 22, 2018 We always prepay our tips and then give extra to those who go above and beyond. My only opinion for those who choose to remove their tips after boarding...... **Be up front and go early in the week to remove your tips so the staff knows you do not intend to tip. **Don’t let them bust their behinds all week thinking they are getting tipped only to find out you went the very last night and removed them. It is much easier to remove when you close your account - that way you can avoid having to go again to GS because they put wrong charges on your acount.... After all the cruise line advertised top service... so you already paid for that - gratuities are a scam:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamtown1 Posted October 5, 2018 #91 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Awe so sad that you would consider opting out of prepaid these people work hard for their money and also deserve every extra penny they get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted October 5, 2018 #92 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Awe so sad that you would consider opting out of prepaid these people work hard for their money and also deserve every extra penny they getI agree,we prepay and always give plenty of cash tips too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorben-Hendrik Posted October 5, 2018 #93 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Awe so sad that you would consider opting out of prepaid these people work hard for their money and also deserve every extra penny they get It is up to RCI to pay their emloyees! Gratuities are a scam:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted October 5, 2018 #94 Share Posted October 5, 2018 It is up to RCI to pay their emloyees!Gratuities are a scam:rolleyes: You should book P&O from next May.No gratuities will make you happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenofKrakatoa Posted October 5, 2018 #95 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Okay, so here's a question for everyone that's saying, "The cruise line just needs to pay them more so we don't have to.": are you the same kind of person that loses their mind when someone suggests raising the minimum wage? Are you the same kind of boss that denies raising their employees wages to adjust for inflation because you feel like you'd be taking a hit to your business? If so, you have exactly no business whining about the cruise line not raising their wages to account for tips. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDC1 Posted October 5, 2018 #96 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I don't mind tipping for good service. I suspect that the automatic tipping is a hidden charge for the customers who already paid to go on the cruise to subsidise the company's wage bill. Also if staff are chastised for receiving cash, why do all the posts advocate tipping over and above the automatic gratuities for good service? I am not trying to get out of tipping, I would like to be convinced that the automatic charge actually gets passed on to the crew?? if a passenger removes tips they have to report money received. if the tips are left in place and they receive extra they get to keep the surplus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDC1 Posted October 5, 2018 #97 Share Posted October 5, 2018 It is much easier to remove when you close your account - that way you can avoid having to go again to GS because they put wrong charges on your acount....After all the cruise line advertised top service... so you already paid for that - gratuities are a scam:rolleyes: why wait for the cruise line to change. just assume that your cruise fare was higher by the tip amount, which it would be if the cruise lines did what you are advocating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniDanielle Posted October 5, 2018 #98 Share Posted October 5, 2018 We think the automatic tipping is a good thing. Actually, we would tip more if it wasn’t in place. Although, I guess we do because we always tip extra for good service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time4u2go Posted October 5, 2018 #99 Share Posted October 5, 2018 if a passenger removes tips they have to report money received. if the tips are left in place and they receive extra they get to keep the surplus. Report to whom? For what purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammu2 Posted October 6, 2018 #100 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Report to whom? For what purpose?All tips are pooled. If someone gets a cash tip it is not automatic they can keep it. If the passenger giving the tip has opted out, the tip goes into the pool. If the passenger has not opted out, the employee may keep the tip for him or her self. There is a daily list that is distributed that notes the auto gratuity status. Sent from my LG-US998 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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