Prepay gratuities or not?!

[WeighAnchor]

The only advantage I see to prepay is if they are raising the gratuity amounts, as they do from time to time. You can then lock in the gratuities at the old rate before cruising. They usually announce this ahead of time so you can add them in before the date the new rate kicks in. Otherwise, we like to use OBC to reduce the amount or simply pay it with our credit card along with the rest of our Sea Pass account if not. This lets us hold onto our funds longer and also splits up part of the cost of the cruise as well. 

[icsys]

9 hours ago, George C said:

Problem is rccl should either not allow tips to be removed or better yet just include price in fare , people removing tips should be forced to inform staff that on day 1 😁😁😁

 

The problem is that if the 'tips' or 'gratuities' are not allowed to be removed then they become mandatory and RCI clearly states that gratuities are voluntary .

 

Also RCI are confusing guests in that they refer to this discretionary charge as 'tips', 'gratuities' and 'service charges' in the same sentence/paragraph. They are not the same.

 

Back to the OP:

We always pay the service charge upfront (it is labelled as service charge on the invoice), unless it is included as a perk, that is my choice.

RCI can add it into the base fare if they like, I don't mind either way, but I suspect the crew might.

 

Edited July 17, 2019 by icsys

[icsys]

13 hours ago, Sailor Taylor said:

I don't have a preference either way but I also don't understand not wanting a bill at the end of the cruise.  Unless you have zero spending on board you will still get a credit card bill anyway and will still go through the same trouble to pay that credit card bill.  Does it matter you pay it later instead of earlier? 

 

 

Again its personal choice.

I'd rather have a smaller credit card bill post cruise. Smaller bill = less interest.

[Iamcruzin]

22 hours ago, BensonFan711 said:

 

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.

Plus you get more insurance for the money. Also I'm still young enough to benefit from the lower rate of the 3rd party. It cost more through the cruise line.

[Marie51]

On 7/16/2019 at 9:22 AM, 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.

So what are you saying ......if we leave the money in the envelopes in the cabin on the last night the cabin attendant has to turn it in instead of just pocketing the money? How would anyone know?

 We always leave our tips in place on our account but tip the cabin attendant extra in cash on the last night handing it to him in person. 

[mikenbon]

We prefer paying the gratuities ahead of time, just as we do for excursions, so that we never have anything owing on our cruise statement. For us, it's great having a zero balance when we leave the ship. 

[Giorgi-one]

16 hours ago, maddycat said:

We always buy third party travel insurance through the trip insurance store.  The insurance is calculated on the non-refundable costs of the cruise.  So, taxes, fees and port expenses and travel insurance are not included when calculating the cost of the cruise.

I seriously doubt that those costs are considered refundable by the insurance company.  I read about the case of a woman who purchased $4500 policy. Turned out the actual non-refundable cost was just a few dollars more and the insurance company refused to pay anything for a claim with a pre-existing condition.  I once attended a seminar given by an insurance rep.  His opening statement was "Always remember that insurance companies DO NOT WANT TO PAY CLAIMS SO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE POLICY RULES EXACTLY!

[Sailor Taylor]

4 hours ago, icsys said:

Again its personal choice.

I'd rather have a smaller credit card bill post cruise. Smaller bill = less interest.

Aha interest.  That actually makes practical sense, not just a preference that has no tangible consequences.  The way it's talked about here it sounded almost like something psychological.  Like wanting to get the longer flight out of the way when doing one way Alaska cruise.  

[Biker19]

Just now, Sailor Taylor said:

  The way it's talked about here it sounded almost like something psychological.  

For many it is, as financially, it makes no diff.

[melodyrn]

We prepay.  It gives me piece of mind on disembark day and I don’t have a big bill on my cc.  Last cruise I owed maybe 50.00 on things we bought on board.  We get prepayed drinks, special dining etc.

[icsys]

5 hours ago, Sailor Taylor said:

Aha interest.  That actually makes practical sense, not just a preference that has no tangible consequences. The way it's talked about here it sounded almost like something psychological.  Like wanting to get the longer flight out of the way when doing one way Alaska cruise.  

 

5 hours ago, Biker19 said:

For many it is, as financially, it makes no diff.

 

A larger post cruise bill on the credit card = more interest, so quite clearly it does make 'some' difference.

Unless of course you clear it off in full every month.

Edited July 17, 2019 by icsys

[Tree_skier]

I prepay drinks, specialty dining and excursions but oddly I have never considered prepaying the autograts.  I guess I figured there is no advantage to prepaying like there is with the other things when you catch their "sales" so why bother.  I pay my CC off every month no matter what so interest isn't of a concern to me.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, icsys said:

 

A larger post cruise bill on the credit card = more interest, so quite clearly it does make 'some' difference.

Unless of course you clear it off in full every month.

If one has the money to prepay the grats I would assume you have the money to pay the bill after the cruise. If you prepay with a card but don’t have the money to pay off in full, then there’s even more interest accrued. 

[renza]

I don’t remember the last time I paid gratuities, my travel agency always has gratuities paid. First two people in the cabin at least, and we always get two cabins for our kids and us. In over 20 cruises with Royal I do not think I ever paid them once. 

[grandgeezer]

13 hours ago, icsys said:

Again its personal choice.

I'd rather have a smaller credit card bill post cruise. Smaller bill = less interest.

 

I charge everything I can on my credit cards. My credit cards pay a minimum of 2%, with some categories paying 5% in different quarters of the year. That’s better than most banks pay. It amounts to over $800 per year. As far as interest, I haven’t paid any interest of any kind since 1984.

[cmich068]

I prepay when my reservation is in Canadian Dollars and the exchange rate offered by RCCL pre-cruise is better than the prevailing market rate. Otherwise, I don't see the point.

[motheroftwocats814]

Most of the time we pre-pay and then tip extra to those who have served us regularly. We just find it easier for us. Do what you think is best for you.

Edited July 18, 2019 by motheroftwocats814

[MajorDad]

If we have obc we let them charge us on the ship. Otherwise we usually pre-pay to have it done. As they say, 6 of one half dozen of another, either way it’s the same amount.

[fdthird]

Pre pay. 

[Mythbuster]

We have done it both ways and I see no financial benefit either way.  Either way it shows up on my credit card.  So I either pay it now or pay it later.  However, if you are not paying the full balance after making your final payment, then you will be paying interest on the gratuities for an extra 2 months or more if you include pre-paid gratuities at time of final payment.

 

It also has nothing to do with paying extra in cash to those who deserve it.  It also should have nothing to do with insurance.  Pre-paying should not increase the price of your insurance since gratuities are fully refundable by the cruise line if the trip is canceled, even if it is canceled the day before sailing just like the port fees and pre-paid excursions.

[Bookworm1985]

We always prepay as we consider it part of the cruise price. I rather save the space on my credit card for drinks, excursions etc while on board. we then tip more in cash for those we interact with that deserve it.

[time4u2go]

On 7/17/2019 at 12:57 PM, Biker19 said:

For many it is, as financially, it makes no diff.

Actually it does.  If I wait, it's longer that I have that money invested.

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

 If I wait, it's longer that I have that money invested.

For the most common 7 day sailing, the grats are $203 for a couple. Assuming you keep that in a CD for a year before the cruise at maybe 2%, you make enough interest to buy a can of Coke on board.

[time4u2go]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

For the most common 7 day sailing, the grats are $203 for a couple. Assuming you keep that in a CD for a year before the cruise at maybe 2%, you make enough interest to buy a can of Coke on board.

I invest in things that earn far more than 2%.

[deliver42]

I always pre pay. To me, it makes no monetary difference, since the yield is so low anyway. Sounds like the OP is trying to rectify not paying.