Gratuity

[beachbum53]

I always pre-pay tips. I also always slip my steward a $20 spot the first time I see him or her. They are more than happy and slip it right in their pocket. Always good service and extra towels.

 

I don't get paid at my place of employment before I've done anything, and I don't give my cabin steward any money before he / she does anything. I've never understood why someone feels the need to give their cabin steward cash in advance to have something done. Wouldn't that be considered a bribe, as opposed to a gratuity? What do you do if you're not happy with the service you've paid cash for in advance? Do you complain and ask for your money back?

[grandmarnnurse]

I don't get paid at my place of employment before I've done anything, and I don't give my cabin steward any money before he / she does anything. I've never understood why someone feels the need to give their cabin steward cash in advance to have something done. Wouldn't that be considered a bribe, as opposed to a gratuity? What do you do if you're not happy with the service you've paid cash for in advance? Do you complain and ask for your money back?

 

 

 

Actually, we do the same even in hotels. We find we recieve better service. We usually leave a $20 on day 1, and leave more on last day. This is in addition to the prepay gratuities that we always pay in advance. I can’t think of a single reason to not pay these, no matter how you felt your service was. These gratuities are for staff ship wide, some you don’t see, and they work their butt off. I just couldn’t imagine holding out to see if they perform. I repeat, if you can’t afford to pay them, you shouldn’t be cruising. Don’t be stingy with these hard workers.

 

 

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[Jerseygirl1416]

I don’t see anywhere on my booking to pre-pay gratuities. Where do you find this? I think it asked about it when I first booked but declined as I didn’t know if I was keeping the booking. Now I can’t find where to pre-pay.

[teknoge3k]

I don’t see anywhere on my booking to pre-pay gratuities. Where do you find this? I think it asked about it when I first booked but declined as I didn’t know if I was keeping the booking. Now I can’t find where to pre-pay.

 

You can call your PVP or Carnival and have them add it.

[Jerseygirl1416]

You can call your PVP or Carnival and have them add it.

 

Ok thank you. Now if I want to use AARP Carnival gift cards can I use them to pay if I call Carnival or would it be easier to just purchase cruise cash and let the gratuity charges hit my account on board and use up the cruise cash?

[salty dingo]

I don't get paid at my place of employment before I've done anything...

You must not be a congressman.

[grandmarnnurse]

I don’t see anywhere on my booking to pre-pay gratuities. Where do you find this? I think it asked about it when I first booked but declined as I didn’t know if I was keeping the booking. Now I can’t find where to pre-pay.

I don’t know as I always pay at booking.

[CheapieD]

It makes sense to not prepay the tips years or multi months ahead of time. You are giving carnival an interest fee loan not to mention the opportunity cost of that money. A few weeks ahead of time is fine if you want to get them out of the way.

 

 

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[cruisekmc]

We were going on a tour of Spain, we had travel insurance. As we were boarding the plane, my husband had a panic attack (fear of flying) and couldn't get on the plane. The insurance didn't cover it, because they didn't feel it was a "health" issue. We pre-booked the excursions at $500 and lost that too. It was an unusual circumstance, but has scared me with pre-paying anything. I wonder how pre-paid gratuities would be handled if a trip was cancelled. Do you think they would be refunded or lost?

 

 

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[summersigh]

We don't pre-pay grats .... not because we plan on pulling them but because they are put on our S&S account along with anything else we "buy" on board with the S&S card (like drinks or photos). Any OBC we have is put on it as a credit. At the end of the cruise our credit card is charged with the grats & charges minus the OBC.

When we get home I go to the credit card web site and pay my balance avoiding any interest,

It works for me. :)

[teknoge3k]

Ok thank you. Now if I want to use AARP Carnival gift cards can I use them to pay if I call Carnival or would it be easier to just purchase cruise cash and let the gratuity charges hit my account on board and use up the cruise cash?

 

I add the gratuities to my cruise balance then pay the whole thing off with gift cards. That way I get the 10% off everything. You can pay them off yourself in your cruise manager. :)

[bury me at sea]

I add the gratuities to my cruise balance then pay the whole thing off with gift cards. That way I get the 10% off everything. You can pay them off yourself in your cruise manager. :)

 

That's what I do, although through a TA. I also have been taking them with me to fund my S&S account.

 

I will be paying attention to see if they are limiting use of gift cards on board.

[n6uqqq]

It makes sense to not prepay the tips years or multi months ahead of time. You are giving carnival an interest fee loan not to mention the opportunity cost of that money. A few weeks ahead of time is fine if you want to get them out of the way.

 

 

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I typically book a year plus away and check the box to prepay. This locks in the current rate. The good news is that payment for this is not due until final payment so Carnival is only holding my funds for about 75 days in advance not the whole year plus. To me this is a fair trade off. My savings accounts pay just above zero for interest.

[riclop]

Hi. We are first time cruisers and wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing the gratuity package ahead of time or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service and I don't know if one versus the other (paying ahead or not) makes a difference. Thanks!

They will collect auto grats on your sail card, and you may tip extra if you wish.

[ProgRockCruiser]

I don't get paid at my place of employment before I've done anything, and I don't give my cabin steward any money before he / she does anything. I've never understood why someone feels the need to give their cabin steward cash in advance to have something done. Wouldn't that be considered a bribe, as opposed to a gratuity?

Basically, some folks operate on the (undoubtedly backronym) of T.I.P.S. To Insure Prompt Service.

 

i.e., I pays youz a little upfront, hey, and youz takes care o' me a little later, ifyaknowwhatimean.

[RWolver672]

It makes sense to not prepay the tips years or multi months ahead of time. You are giving carnival an interest fee loan not to mention the opportunity cost of that money. A few weeks ahead of time is fine if you want to get them out of the way. Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

This is the way I look at it. We have a savings account that is strictly used for cruising that we add to every month automatically. Right now, we are just shy of $3000. On our last statement, we got 23 cents in interest.

 

We booked our next cruise back in April for February of 2019. Our final payment is due December of this year. So that means that they will be getting my money for two months. If my figures are right, they will be getting 46 cents of my hard earned interest money. For the 20 months since we booked the cruise, I have gotten roughly $4.60 in interest. That means that I'm ahead by $4.14. If I can't afford to give them 46 cents, I'd better quit cruising.

 

It's one less thing on our S&S account at the end of the cruise.

[sparks1093]

This is the way I look at it. We have a savings account that is strictly used for cruising that we add to every month automatically. Right now, we are just shy of $3000. On our last statement, we got 23 cents in interest.

 

We booked our next cruise back in April for February of 2019. Our final payment is due December of this year. So that means that they will be getting my money for two months. If my figures are right, they will be getting 46 cents of my hard earned interest money. For the 20 months since we booked the cruise, I have gotten roughly $4.60 in interest. That means that I'm ahead by $4.14. If I can't afford to give them 46 cents, I'd better quit cruising.

 

It's one less thing on our S&S account at the end of the cruise.

 

Actually the interest on the amount of the gratuities wouldn't be that high since it's less than $200 for 2 on a 7 day cruise.;)

[salty dingo]

If I can't afford to give them 46 cents, I'd better quit cruising.

 

It's one less thing on our S&S account at the end of the cruise.

Exactly my thoughts. What opportunity cost? What sort of earnings can you get in six months from $250 in prepaid gratuities? Something south of a postage stamp, I believe.

[mistycruiser]

We were going on a tour of Spain, we had travel insurance. As we were boarding the plane, my husband had a panic attack (fear of flying) and couldn't get on the plane. The insurance didn't cover it, because they didn't feel it was a "health" issue. We pre-booked the excursions at $500 and lost that too. It was an unusual circumstance, but has scared me with pre-paying anything. I wonder how pre-paid gratuities would be handled if a trip was cancelled. Do you think they would be refunded or lost?

 

 

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If you cancel your cruise your prepaid gratuities, prepaid shore excursions and port taxes and fees are automatically refunded by Carnival. The cruise fare would not be once you are in the 100%b cancelation period unless it was a covered reason under your travel insurance and that would be refunded from the insurance provider not Carnival.

Edited February 1, 2018 by mistycruiser
additional information

[Elaine5715]

I don't get paid at my place of employment before I've done anything, and I don't give my cabin steward any money before he / she does anything. I've never understood why someone feels the need to give their cabin steward cash in advance to have something done. Wouldn't that be considered a bribe, as opposed to a gratuity? What do you do if you're not happy with the service you've paid cash for in advance? Do you complain and ask for your money back?

No one who works in the service industry calls it a "bribe". It signals that the guests will be make requests and and there will be something extra for meeting those requests. And most people who are handing out cash when meeting the steward is ALSO telling them they need an ice bucket, ice, bathrobes, extra towels, extra hangers, etc. and since they have no desire to wait for those tasks to be completed, they tip now.

[Elaine5715]

Basically, some folks operate on the (undoubtedly backronym) of T.I.P.S. To Insure Prompt Service.

 

i.e., I pays youz a little upfront, hey, and youz takes care o' me a little later, ifyaknowwhatimean.

The thought that this "inequality" exists drives the cheapos nuts....like the people who complain the buxon 26 yr old gets drinks first...

[Elaine5715]

Hi. We are first time cruisers and wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing the gratuity package ahead of time or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service and I don't know if one versus the other (paying ahead or not) makes a difference. Thanks!

In answer to your question, tipping at each meal is improbable because menus don't have prices. You will get good service as a first time cruiser by being nice. Prepaying or paying on board just depends on your preference. Crew does not get paid until after your cruise and they do know who prepays. who pays onboard and who pulls out.

[TnomadX]

I don't think I'm going to say anything different than anyone else. I just wanted to add that I do prepay the gratuities because while they do say who the gratuities are going to, I feel like it doesn't really work that way. There are so many people who work on the ships that are not recognized for what they do, and I believe our tips are dispersed accordingly. I honestly just wish they include that in the total price so no one has to worry about it.

 

I have tried the tipping in advance thing, and that hasn't really gotten me any service that was different. I've tried that a few times and the service was still the same. I didn't get any better treatment than if I hadn't tipped in the beginning. There have been times when I've gotten bad service, but I talked with the individual directly and the problem was corrected. I've never had to go higher than that (so far).

 

Whichever decision you make, I know you'll have a great time. Happy Sailing!!

 

--

Zay

[elles5]

Gratuities are not an option. You can either prepay now, or have it added to your bill daily once onboard. I choose to prepay ahead, to get it out of the way, and then leave extra cash in room for room steward, and tip bartenders an extra buck every time I get a drink. Now some people will argue that you can remove gratuities from your bill, but that’s a pretty crappy thing to do to all these hard workers. If you can’t afford to pay them, then you shouldn’t even be cruising.

 

 

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Had to come back and read that final remark again. Wow!

[CruiseHealing]

We never prepay. I like getting that charged to my S&S account. We have had a couple of cruises (3 nighters) where the tips were the only thing on the account. And on other cruise the tips are just part of a +$2,000 bill.