Prepay gratuities or not?!

[John&LaLa]

26 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

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

 

Awesome,  so your windfall can buy a martini 😇

[springfire]

We would never, ever prepay tips.  

[Biker19]

43 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

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

And those have a much higher risk of going down. 

[time4u2go]

50 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

And those have a much higher risk of going down. 

Not the ones I'm in.

[time4u2go]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Awesome,  so your windfall can buy a martini 😇

🍸

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Not the ones I'm in.

Oh good, then you can buy a real drink with your investment. For the majority who choose to pre pay their grats, that investment gain won’t overcome their psychological desire to be “paid off”. 

[time4u2go]

4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Oh good, then you can buy a real drink with your investment. For the majority who choose to pre pay their grats, that investment gain won’t overcome their psychological desire to be “paid off”. 

Obviously.

[molly361]

3 hours 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.

 

3 hours ago, time4u2go said:

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

OK then you can maybe add a shot of Jack to that Coke😇

[retiredgram]

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.

Never heard of this before.  I will be asking our cabin steward about this.  I would hate to find out that s/he had to share their extra tip with the group pool. I am not disputing that your steward told you this, would just like to know if this is what happens for real. Has anyone else been told this??

Edited July 20, 2019 by retiredgram

[Thorben-Hendrik]

58 minutes ago, retiredgram said:

Never heard of this before.  I will be asking our cabin steward about this

They all lie about their tips and any policies attached - they are obligated to do so! 🙄🥴

.... no need to make them lie to you again..! . 🙄 😱

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by Thorben-Hendrik

[retiredgram]

5 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

They all lie about their tips and any policies attached - they are obligated to do so! 🙄🥴

.... no need to make them lie to you again..! . 🙄 😱

 

I realize they "embellish" the truth, but was just wondering if anyone knew for certain. 

[Clarea]

1 hour ago, retiredgram said:

Never heard of this before.  I will be asking our cabin steward about this.  I would hate to find out that s/he had to share their extra tip with the group pool. I am not disputing that your steward told you this, would just like to know if this is what happens for real. Has anyone else been told this??

 

I believe that the stateroom attendant gets to keep anything you give them that exceeds the standard tip amount.

[taymorel1]

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.

Did not know this. We went on our first cruise on Royal last month and used the envelopes for extra tips.  Our room attendant was awesome. I will make sure to give the extra directly to the person next time. 

 

 

[biomedbob]

For those who have chosen to remove the prepaid tips from their account while on board and handle them individually with the crew direct,  what is the process and how involved is it?  Does the removed amount then show up as OBC or credited back to your cc account?

 

[jagsfan]

On 7/16/2019 at 10:18 AM, 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.

Thanks. I never thought to check. 

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, biomedbob said:

For those who have chosen to remove the prepaid tips from their account while on board and handle them individually with the crew direct,  what is the process and how involved is it?  Does the removed amount then show up as OBC or credited back to your cc account?

 

 

If you end automatic gratuities, any that have been charged are credited back to your onboard account.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I believe that the stateroom attendant gets to keep anything you give them that exceeds the standard tip amount.

That was my understanding too.

When I give my CS extra cash tips I generally do it in our cabin or leave the envelope with cash in it on the bed with a thank you written on it.

 

[Kruzer Zuker]

Prepay locks in the gratuities' rate which seems to be going up every year.   Otherwise it is only beneficial for those who have the need to budget for their cruises.  

 

 

 

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

1 hour ago, biomedbob said:

For those who have chosen to remove the prepaid tips from their account while on board

That is almost impossible - if pre-paid it is usually NOT possible to remove😱.......If you manage to actually get them to refund - it will be as an OBC on your account.....🙄

[Thorben-Hendrik]

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

If you end automatic gratuities, any that have been charged are credited back to your onboard account.

👍 you can do this until you leave the ship....

[springfire]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I believe that the stateroom attendant gets to keep anything you give them that exceeds the standard tip amount.

I have heard people say this before but I have heard many people deny as well .  I really wish Royal (and other cruise lines) would come clean on who gets to keep the gratuities. 

[not-enough-cruising]

51 minutes ago, springfire said:

I have heard people say this before but I have heard many people deny as well .  I really wish Royal (and other cruise lines) would come clean on who gets to keep the gratuities. 

The system thrives on the unknown and conjecture 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

53 minutes ago, springfire said:

I have heard people say this before but I have heard many people deny as well .  I really wish Royal (and other cruise lines) would come clean on who gets to keep the gratuities. 

That would be revealing the scam......no way will they do this!🙄

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

1 minute ago, not-enough-cruising said:

The system thrives on the unknown and conjecture 

Exactly!🙄🤑

[Mythbuster]

6 hours ago, biomedbob said:

For those who have chosen to remove the prepaid tips from their account while on board and handle them individually with the crew direct,  what is the process and how involved is it?  Does the removed amount then show up as OBC or credited back to your cc account?

 

Just be aware that what you propose will result in many behind the scenes support staff not receiving any tips from you.  The cabin stewards relies on many people to provide their excellent services such as their assistants (who you may never see), laundry and maintenance workers.  All these people share in the auto paid gratuities.