Prepay gratuities....yes or no for us?

[jor689]

My wife and I are going on Oasis of the Seas and we have an option to prepay gratuities before the sail date. We are NOT going to main dining room at all and no specialty dining either. My wife wants to do Windjammer buffet for dinner. (My wife wants what she wants!)

 

Should we prepay gratuities?

[yuvraj]

Two different issues. First is whether to pre-pay gratuities, the second is whether to pay gratuities.

 

With regards to the first point, some like to get all payments out of the way so they don't have to worry about unexpected charges while on board. Personally, I like to not pre-pay but allow gratuities to be added my on board account. Just a personal preference.

 

The second point causes a fair amount of heated debate on these forums and I have chosen not to share my opinion on this occasion.

[Clarea]

My wife and I are going on Oasis of the Seas and we have an option to prepay gratuities before the sail date. We are NOT going to main dining room at all and no specialty dining either. My wife wants to do Windjammer buffet for dinner. (My wife wants what she wants!)

 

Should we prepay gratuities?

If you don't prepay, then automatic gratuites will be charged to your onboard account. These will be distributed to stateroom attendant and helpers and Windjammer crewmembers.

[Biker19]

Should we prepay gratuities?

Welcome to CC.

 

No.

[molly361]

You do not have to prepay. They will be charged daily onboard

 

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[reallyitsmema]

My wife and I are going on Oasis of the Seas and we have an option to prepay gratuities before the sail date. We are NOT going to main dining room at all and no specialty dining either. My wife wants to do Windjammer buffet for dinner. (My wife wants what she wants!)

 

Should we prepay gratuities?

 

Totally up to you. We prepay sometimes and other times we let them charge the gratuities daily on the cruise ship. If we have OBC we need to spend, we won't prepay gratuities.

[maryjaden]

Regardless of whether we eat in MDR, specialty restaurants or other dining establishments, I like to prepay gratuities. This is a personal preference as I like to have as much paid for ahead of time as possible and I find it more convenient not having to track down staff at the end of the cruise. I will tip additional to those I thought went above and beyond. Again..... personal preference. Have a great cruise.

[spookwife]

The daily gratuities covers every meal in included venues and the cabin attendants. We like to prepay so our on board bill at the end of the week isn't quite as painful

 

 

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[renza]

I never have to pay gratuities because the web sight I use always pays gratuities on royal. Plus they have cheaper prices being its booked in blocks of room.

It does not matter where u eat or if you don't eat at all, you still have to pay gratuities.

 

 

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[gerif]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Unless you have a lot of OBC to use up, I'd probably prepay as I like to get as many expenses paid before leaving, but it's totally your choice. If you don't prepay, the gratuities will be added daily to your onboard account.

[Slugsta]

Welcome to CC.

 

I think automatic gratuities (rather than cash in an envelope) are more important when eating in the buffet are 'anytime dining' (or whatever the particular line calls it) as, unlike those eating every night at the same table in the main dining room, you won't have the same waiting staff for each meal.

 

Whether to pre-pay gratuities is an individual preference. We like to do so as it we like to pre-pay as much as possible in order to reduce the eventual on-board bill.

[Tatka]

We never prepay unless gratuities go up. Just letting them charge our account as we go, sometimes from our OBC.

I don't see any other reason to prepay for us.

[birdylady]

This is all personal preference. We don't prepay. Why put more on my charge sooner than I need to. I just wait and let them add it daily and pay when the charge card bill is due.

 

Erika

[cb at sea]

The gratuities cover your cabin attendant, waiters, ass't waiters and head waiter...that includes those in the WJ, too! So yes...you should pay them...either in advance (then you don't have to worry about it) or it will be added daily to your account.

[geomancer]

I don't pre-pay because I don't buy anything on board. Since the OBC included with my bookings is non-refundable, I need something to use it up on.

 

But let's face it, your real question was should you pay gratuities at all. I think you know the answer to that one. FYI just in case you're one of the very few people who don't know, the staff who work the MDR are the same people who work the buffet, and they're not the only ones on ship who get a piece of that money.

[grapau27]

Being from the UK i have always prepaid gratuitys as it used to be a requirement for my time dining and it is paid in £ sterling.

[Cruzinbabe06]

I like to pay for everything now that the cruiselines are making it easier to prepay for services. :D

 

Since I'm the one who pays for our vacations, each pay I get something out the way. So far, for our upcoming Oasis cruise, we have the Beverage Package and Internet paid for.

 

Staying overnight in Cocoa Beach and I already paid for that.

 

I'm paying the Gratuities this payday on Friday and I'm not sure of a Dining Package.

 

If you're using credit, you might as well wait. We dont use credit for our vacations, everything is paid upfront in cash. Our Credit cards are for emergencies only, so for my family it's prepay.

 

Whatever u decide, enjoy your cruise.:)

Edited October 24, 2017 by Cruzinbabe06

[DISFANS3]

Yes..

[easyboy]

My wife and I are going on Oasis of the Seas and we have an option to prepay gratuities before the sail date. We are NOT going to main dining room at all and no specialty dining either. My wife wants to do Windjammer buffet for dinner. (My wife wants what she wants!)

 

 

 

Should we prepay gratuities?

 

 

 

We don’t prepay gratuities, unless there is an advantage for us to do so.

 

 

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[katiel53]

We don't eat in the MDR nightly as we have a 5 night specialty package. We tip in the specialty restaurants as the service is wonderful. We do eat 2 nights in the MDR, but do not reduce our tips in any way.

 

We still eat on the ship, mornings in the WJ, lunch at the Park Cafe or WJ and we know that the waiters from the MDR also work in the WJ.

 

As long as you eat somewhere on the ship, the tips should remain. Seems pretty simple to me.

[grapau27]

We don't eat in the MDR nightly as we have a 5 night specialty package. We tip in the specialty restaurants as the service is wonderful. We do eat 2 nights in the MDR, but do not reduce our tips in any way.

 

We still eat on the ship, mornings in the WJ, lunch at the Park Cafe or WJ and we know that the waiters from the MDR also work in the WJ.

 

As long as you eat somewhere on the ship, the tips should remain. Seems pretty simple to me.

Totally agree.

[fridaythe13th]

I never have to pay gratuities because the web sight I use always pays gratuities on royal. Plus they have cheaper prices being its booked in blocks of room.

It does not matter where u eat or if you don't eat at all, you still have to pay gratuities.

 

 

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Would that be Cru... dot com? I've been tempted but do use the site often just to look.

[welshy74]

I am British and work in France so tipping is not something I do well. In France tipping is even smaller than the U.K. which is considerably smaller than N.America.

By my own admission I am a terrible tipper so I pre pay the tips so they are forgotten about by the time I Cruise. I don’t tip on the cruise.

I read many a post from US cruisers who give a hefty tip to bar staff at the beginning of the cruise so they are ‘looked after’. Tipping bar staff is completely unheard of in Europe and I would expect we all get the same service on board.

 

 

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[molly361]

We don't eat in the MDR nightly as we have a 5 night specialty package. We tip in the specialty restaurants as the service is wonderful. We do eat 2 nights in the MDR, but do not reduce our tips in any way.

 

We still eat on the ship, mornings in the WJ, lunch at the Park Cafe or WJ and we know that the waiters from the MDR also work in the WJ.

 

As long as you eat somewhere on the ship, the tips should remain. Seems pretty simple to me.

 

I believe the OP was asking whether to pre-pay their tips or not, not whether to tip or not tip:)

[wilmingtech]

Here are some things to ponder....

 

In most parts of the world tipping is what you give to someone who goes out of their way to help you out or does a job better than expected. This is usually in addition to their regular salary or hourly wage and a very small amount. For example when we were in Australia the servers we interacted with there got a decent hourly wage and the few tips they received were above and beyond that. And that's just a cultural thing.

 

In the USA persons working in the service industry are paid the lowest wage possible (When I waited tables 20 years ago it was half of minimum wage, 2.13 an hour and that barely covered my tax deductions) and are reliant on tips to make up the remainder of their wage. Typically 15 - 20% of the cost of the dinner/drink is what is expected from bartenders and wait staff. This allows businesses to offer a product at a lower cost and offset the labor budget (typically the most expensive cost of any business) and also (in theory at least) puts pressure on the server/maid/concierge, to do a good job.

 

Cruising has adopted the latter North American culture for many reasons of which I wont get into here. But bottom line is that the persons working in a tipped position on the ship get the minimum wage allowed by law and have to rely on tips to make up the remainder of their salary.

 

Now that this is out of the way...

 

Here are some advantages and caveats to both.

1. Prepay tips now and when your cruise is over you wont have a bill at the end.

 

2. Instead of prepaying tips, put your 182.00 into an online investment account for 18 months, when the cruise comes you may have a few dollars more to spend on it. (Don't gamble it... invest)

 

3. If you prepay your tips now, there is a good chance that the reccomended tipping cost per day could go up and you could save the difference. For example, the current rate is 13.50 per day. Before April 14th of 2016 it was 12.95 per guest per day. Before that is was May 2015 @ 12.00 per guest per day. So if you book over 18 months in advance you may save more by prepaying instead of investing (unless you have a higher than 5% return on your investment)

 

4. While I don't reccomend this, you could tip your staff in cash and have your gratuities removed (would take a few weeks after your cruise) - In years gone by the method of tipping was that you were given an envelope for each tipped position on the cruise (Basically your cabin steward and your server) at the end of the cruise you would hand the tips to those people who served you. As Frommers puts it, it was an "]elaborately staged dance between the cruise guest and the staff". All part of the wonderous excitement of taking a ship across the open sea.

 

But all that has changed. Fewer people carry cash now then ever before. People want streamlined efficiency without the hassel of wads of cash and having to count it out and carry change everywhere. In addition for those "not it the know" it would be embarrasing to get to the end of your trip and have spent all that cash and have nothing left over for the hard working employ (again - whose wages are partially covered by tips)

 

Today the cruise industry has adopted the "Service Charge" method of accruing tips for the tipped positions. This allows the employees to make a reasonable wage without having to ask (beg?) with a hand out from cruise guests. Its easier for the guest as they don't have to interact with anyone about gratuities and they can focus on having fun and enjoy their vacation and not worry about how many dollars they have left at the end of the cruise.

 

So it is really up to the individual how they want to approach.

 

So take it for what it is, it will be up to you to decide.

 

-Sean

Edited October 25, 2017 by wilmingtech