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Prepay gratuities or not?!


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Last time we sailed with Royal, we had the old school "envelope" system. Our past few cruises on NCL were all the prepaid gratuity system. So what do most of you do? I am tempted to prepay and get it over with on one hand, but then don't want to give the cruise line my money ahead of time on the other hand. Thoughts?

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Always pre-pay gratuities and consider it a part of the cruise cost...just like port and tax fees.  I hated the old envelope system of tipping in person on the last night.  Was thrilled then they began the pre-paid system.  We only use envelopes for last night tips to the concierge and usually our room steward.  

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Just a word of caution.  Don’t use the envelopes they leave on the bed on the last day to provide extra tips as they don’t go to the person you want them to go to.  They’re added to the group tips.  A Room Steward explained this to us a couple of years ago.  We always hand cash to the person we want to tip.

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Purely personal choice and there are various reasons for and against, but we always pre-pay and consider it a part of the cruise cost, just like port fees and tax.

Again, it's one less expense to think about and your onboard account doesn't swell daily. 

 

It is referred to more as a service charge rather than a gratuity, our invoices even list it as such, but either way it is expected to be paid.

 

You only pre-pay with the final balance so not really that far ahead of time, with the possibility of adding them up to a week before sailing.

Edited by icsys
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15 minutes ago, sellwingri said:

Just a word of caution.  Don’t use the envelopes they leave on the bed on the last day to provide extra tips as they don’t go to the person you want them to go to.  They’re added to the group tips.  A Room Steward explained this to us a couple of years ago.  We always hand cash to the person we want to tip.

Good tip from your CS.

We always prepay gratuities and I give cash in the hand of whoever deserves it.

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We prefer to prepay and not have to worry about it (I remember the days of filling our own envelopes at home with the suggested amounts and then adding to them toward the end of the cruise). With prepaying, we just need to hand out extra cash as we see fit. 

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Always prepay.  Do not like to waste paper/trees by putting money in envelope.  If they can't accept my extra cash from my hand I can always put it back in my pocket.  I want my $$$ to go to the person who provided extra service.  As has been posted consider the prepay as a service charge and part of cost of cruise.  Strictly your personal choice.  Happy Sails

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I prepaid on NCL, but I don't with Royal, and here's why.  On NCL, if I prepaid, it didn't change the cost of my travel insurance (don't ask why....I honestly don't know).  On Royal, I have to pay more for insurance because the booking has a higher dollar value.  You're going to pay the same amount whether you do it early or at the end of the cruise, but check your insurance before making a decision (assuming you purchased travel insurance) because it could change your costs there.

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2 hours ago, cruiselover19811981 said:

Last time we sailed with Royal, we had the old school "envelope" system. Our past few cruises on NCL were all the prepaid gratuity system. So what do most of you do? I am tempted to prepay and get it over with on one hand, but then don't want to give the cruise line my money ahead of time on the other hand. Thoughts?

1) Prepay

2) I like to have the majority of my expenses paid upfront. I consider the gratuities part of the vacation (sort of like I expect a $50 dinner and drinks at my regular spot to cost me $63 (6% tax and 20% tip).

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53 minutes ago, icsys said:

Purely personal choice and there are various reasons for and against, but we always pre-pay and consider it a part of the cruise cost, just like port fees and tax. Again, it's one less expense to think about and your onboard account doesn't swell daily. It is referred to more as a service charge rather than a gratuity, our invoices even list it as such, but either way it is expected to be paid.

 

You only pre-pay with the final balance so not really that far ahead of time, with the possibility of adding them up to a week before sailing.

We pre-pay for the reasons here, as well as, we pre-pay at the time of booking, which is sometimes 2 years before the cruise because, once you pre-pay, you do not have to pay any increases in gratuities; you are locked in for that amount to pay at final payment! For those reasons, we always pre-pay grats and tip extra cash for service over and above (and in the DL to our wonderful waiters)!😘

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10 minutes ago, BensonFan711 said:

I prepaid on NCL, but I don't with Royal, and here's why.  On NCL, if I prepaid, it didn't change the cost of my travel insurance (don't ask why....I honestly don't know).  On Royal, I have to pay more for insurance because the booking has a higher dollar value.  You're going to pay the same amount whether you do it early or at the end of the cruise, but check your insurance before making a decision (assuming you purchased travel insurance) because it could change your costs there.

Is that insurance through the cruiseline?

 

 I always purchase through a 3rd party so I put in the dollar amount I want to insure. Plus I add gratuities after I purchase insurance. 

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6 minutes ago, dcgrumpy said:

Is that insurance through the cruiseline?

 

 I always purchase through a 3rd party so I put in the dollar amount I want to insure. Plus I add gratuities after I purchase insurance. 

 

No, I only deal with my travel agent.  I'm skeptical of insurance offered through the cruise line because they lack neutrality, and they are more likely to side with the cruise line that me.  If I book through a third party, the third party is loyal to me, not the individual cruise line, so it's a bit safer from that perspective.

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We always pre-pay. 

We almost always get to talk to our waiters and room steward and find out if and when they are getting time off and if they are getting off the ship. A $10 or $20 dollar bill often is well appreciated for them to spend off the ship.

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I prepay drink packages and maybe dining and excursions only because of the fake sales.  Unless the cruise line or a TA is paying the grattuity I pay day to day. I know what the charge will be so I plan for it by either bringing enough cash to cover it or by prepaying the credit card that it will be charged to. No need to give the cruise line more money up front for service that hasn't been provided. 

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5 hours ago, cruiselover19811981 said:

Last time we sailed with Royal, we had the old school "envelope" system. Our past few cruises on NCL were all the prepaid gratuity system. So what do most of you do? I am tempted to prepay and get it over with on one hand, but then don't want to give the cruise line my money ahead of time on the other hand. Thoughts?

 

We let the automatic gratuity charge our account and use OBC.

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