Tips increasing

[wineoclock]

My friends mum was on P&O

recently & they were told expressly not required to tip extra. She found it refreshing & one less thing for her to be concerned about. 

[Cruise Junky]

17 minutes ago, weregoingcruising said:

That's sounds like being at home with a different view to look at. You do the cooking,cleaning and serve all the meals .  I tried it once many years ago and decided I would pay someone else to do those things for us. But everyone has choices but its not ours anymore.

Different strokes.  I’m happier in a pair of shorts watching the sunset with my French cheese plate than in a dining room on a ship.  But it’s not for everyone. 

[kathyr]

2 hours ago, Cruzinram said:

I cannot find anywhere on my reservation where I can prepay. I used the link and I looked under reservation details and see no place to prepay. Can anyone help me out. I would like to use OBC for this. Is that possible.

HI Cruzinram,

I tried that as well to pre-pay with your OBC- and I couldn't so I did some research and found out it they will take it out during your cruise- you will get billed each day for your tips, then they will take it out money out of your expense account.  I believe they do this as they are hoping we will find something to buy on the ship with our OBC 😉

[wrk2cruise]

If you booked via a TA I'm pretty sure you have to contact them to prepay gratuities.   If you booked direct the email implies that you can go to Manage Reservation and add them there.   I do wish you could pre-pay with OBC on Cruise Planner.

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

If you booked via a TA I'm pretty sure you have to contact them to prepay gratuities.   If you booked direct the email implies that you can go to Manage Reservation and add them there.   I do wish you could pre-pay with OBC on Cruise Planner.

 

I don't see the option at all for an EXISTING booking, may need to call

[SusieAV8R]

On 10/3/2022 at 3:28 PM, dlh015 said:

I'm kind of surprised about folks being so concerned if they are affected. It's a $2 a day hike across the board.

 

So for a 14 day cruise you will pay a total of $28 more for your cruise...if you tip. Big deal IMO. I, for one, think they deserve.

 

And I think it would be in poor taste to reduce the amount you normally tip extra in order to make up for such a small amount.

 

But, hey, it's your money...

 

ETA: Note that the last hike was Jan. 6th, 2020...

dlh,  I love it when you post my thoughts.......but more succinctly  🙂

[DingoMom]

Here is how Celebrity’s email said I could pre-pay my gratuities:

 

To pre-pay your gratuities before your sailing at the current rate, please go to https://www.celebritycruises.com/account, sign in to your account, select Reservations Details, and add gratuities.

 

Also, my reading of the email is that if you DO NOT do this by Oct 17, you will be charged the ‘new’ rates effective on that day. Some people on this thread seem to think your current bookings will not be charged an increase, but I think that is a misinterpretation.

 

When I checked my ‘future’ bookings, when I have booked a fare that is AI — or one that has pre-paid gratuities, there is not an option for me to confirm anything, so those appear to be fine.

I sincerely hope to meet some of you on future cruises…so far I have only met Den 😊

 

Dawn

 

[Dancing Shoes]

47 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I don't see the option at all for an EXISTING booking, may need to call

It's there. But watch out. I went in and tried to add them, and it changed the price of my cruise!!! I canceled. 

[DingoMom]

Oops…I forgot to add that once you are in ‘Reservation Details,’ you have to scroll down until you see the option to pre-pay the gratuities. I did NOT have the unfortunate experience that Dancing Shoes just had. Also, I was adding this to a cruise that was already ‘paid in full’ and sailing in early January.

 

Dawn

[Denny01]

Why is anyone ‘stressed’ over tipping? Especially when auto-gratuities have been set up. If it’s part of the All Included (or whatever its called) or if it’s automatically added to the customer’s OBC, or if we can find the pre-paid gratuities and pay it at final payment, then all is well.

 

If….IF..you want to add to the gratuities by giving cash on your own, do it. If you don’t want to….Dont. If you come from a culture that doesnt tip beyond the actual bill where its added into or part of the cost, and you dont want to, Dont. 

 

None of the staff is standing there waiting for extra tips or expecting it. Enjoy your cruise and quit adding unneeded stress. Celebrity, as many other Lines, have added gratuities in ways that dont require any action from us. 

 

Den

[NutsAboutGolf]

I still don't have the option.  Am booked through the BCC/Casino and it wouldn't be surprising if the BCC is like a TA where you can only call in.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

 

4 hours ago, DingoMom said:

Also, my reading of the email is that if you DO NOT do this by Oct 17, you will be charged the ‘new’ rates effective on that day. Some people on this thread seem to think your current bookings will not be charged an increase, but I think that is a misinterpretation.

Unfortunately, I think you've misunderstood. Royal just raised their gratuities and it's the same deal that if you prepay at least the day before your sailing, you pay the old rate.

 

The deadline to lock in the old gratuity rate for NEW bookings is Oct 17. 

 

"If you would like to pre-pay your gratuities at the current rate before your sailing, we are happy to extend this opportunity to you."

On 10/3/2022 at 2:23 PM, MarinerAlex said:

Here's a link to the flyer when gratuities were increased in 2020 explaining how they do things.

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/17059991_CEL_PCP_Gratuities.pdf

Edited October 5, 2022 by NorthStarStateCruiser

[wineoclock]

I will not be pre paying gratuities for my upcoming May cruise. We will pay the new amount at the time. For my October cruise we will be tipping the extra amount personally as the cruise starts on 17/10. 

[dritan]

5 hours ago, DingoMom said:

Here is how Celebrity’s email said I could pre-pay my gratuities:

 

To pre-pay your gratuities before your sailing at the current rate, please go to https://www.celebritycruises.com/account, sign in to your account, select Reservations Details, and add gratuities.

 

Also, my reading of the email is that if you DO NOT do this by Oct 17, you will be charged the ‘new’ rates effective on that day. Some people on this thread seem to think your current bookings will not be charged an increase, but I think that is a misinterpretation.

 

When I checked my ‘future’ bookings, when I have booked a fare that is AI — or one that has pre-paid gratuities, there is not an option for me to confirm anything, so those appear to be fine.

I sincerely hope to meet some of you on future cruises…so far I have only met Den 😊

 

Dawn

 

Many thanks - I was able to go in this morning and pre pay the gratuities.  Actually was pleasantly surprised by the amount I had to pay ( which was converted into ££) as it seems to be based on an old exchange rate rather than the most recent ones which have been painful for Brits.  

[cw2go]

9 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

It's there. But watch out. I went in and tried to add them, and it changed the price of my cruise!!! I canceled. 

 

This has been the case for many months. I've tried on serveral occasions and the system would change the cruise price so I plan to pay them when I call to pay the cruise balance. 

 

Patty

[Retired888]

I managed to get to the place where I added gratuities.  You kind of have to get to manage your reservation in different ways and after several attempts, I found the page which enabled me to edit and add gratuities.  It says it is due 3 months before my cruise.  

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

17 hours ago, Retired888 said:

I managed to get to the place where I added gratuities.  You kind of have to get to manage your reservation in different ways and after several attempts, I found the page which enabled me to edit and add gratuities.  It says it is due 3 months before my cruise.  

I think you found the final payment window, not the add gratuities window.  Here's where you should find the pre-pay gratuities option on the Celebrity website

Then

[NutsAboutGolf]

My BCC booking wasn't there yet I had a bunch of sailings, called reg X customer service (not the BCC) gave them my credit card and every booking number and it's done.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

Just an FYI on these increased gratuities.  I went to pre-pay the gratuities at the previous rate for my upcoming December sailing and noticed on the "Manage Reservation" page when I clicked on the Add Gratuities link it showed the total using the new rate. 

 

I called and asked why the new rate is showing because I booked the cruise prior to the increase announcement.  The agent initially said the increased gratuities applied to all bookings (no matter the booking date) as of October 17th.  I explained this wasn't the previous policy and that guests were offered up until the date of the sailing to pre-pay gratuities at the rate that was existed on the booking date.  She then opened the add gratuities window on her system and it showed the total due using the old rate.  I was able to give her my card and everything was done.

 

The main point is that if you'd like to pay the gratuities at the old rate (if you booked your cruise prior to this month), you have to call in and pay them rather than doing it on the "Manage Reservation" page because the page will display your total using the new rate.

 

I get that it's only a minor difference between the old and new rate, but I prefer tipping crew in person.

[SusieAV8R]

1 hour ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Just an FYI on these increased gratuities.  I went to pre-pay the gratuities at the previous rate for my upcoming December sailing and noticed on the "Manage Reservation" page when I clicked on the Add Gratuities link it showed the total using the new rate. 

 

I called and asked why the new rate is showing because I booked the cruise prior to the increase announcement.  The agent initially said the increased gratuities applied to all bookings (no matter the booking date) as of October 17th.  I explained this wasn't the previous policy and that guests were offered up until the date of the sailing to pre-pay gratuities at the rate that was existed on the booking date.  She then opened the add gratuities window on her system and it showed the total due using the old rate.  I was able to give her my card and everything was done.

 

The main point is that if you'd like to pay the gratuities at the old rate (if you booked your cruise prior to this month), you have to call in and pay them rather than doing it on the "Manage Reservation" page because the page will display your total using the new rate.

 

I get that it's only a minor difference between the old and new rate, but I prefer tipping crew in person.

Don't forget, you may be tipping "in person", but it all goes into a pool. 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

16 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

Don't forget, you may be tipping "in person", but it all goes into a pool. 

Interesting. So if I give my stateroom attendant a $20, they aren't allowed to pocket it? I thought the pooling was just for the wait staff and the bartenders.

[SusieAV8R]

18 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Interesting. So if I give my stateroom attendant a $20, they aren't allowed to pocket it? I thought the pooling was just for the wait staff and the bartenders.

My understanding with stateroom staff is that they can keep it.  I thought you said "crew" which to my mind refers to wait staff in MDR, Luminae or speciality  restaurants. Not sure if there is a pool for tips given to Al Baccio or various bars (i.e. martini bar, et al) staff, but from my observation, there appears to be such a pool.

[Guppy99]

On 10/3/2022 at 1:57 PM, Orator said:

I favor this if it helps the crew, but I think it might result in the reduction of “extra” tips that might result in the crew getting fewer $$. In the past some waiters have said that only stateroom attendance received the increases. Only time will tell.

That doesn't make sense

 

[Guppy99]

3 hours ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Just an FYI on these increased gratuities.  I went to pre-pay the gratuities at the previous rate for my upcoming December sailing and noticed on the "Manage Reservation" page when I clicked on the Add Gratuities link it showed the total using the new rate. 

 

I called and asked why the new rate is showing because I booked the cruise prior to the increase announcement.  The agent initially said the increased gratuities applied to all bookings (no matter the booking date) as of October 17th.  I explained this wasn't the previous policy and that guests were offered up until the date of the sailing to pre-pay gratuities at the rate that was existed on the booking date.  She then opened the add gratuities window on her system and it showed the total due using the old rate.  I was able to give her my card and everything was done.

 

The main point is that if you'd like to pay the gratuities at the old rate (if you booked your cruise prior to this month), you have to call in and pay them rather than doing it on the "Manage Reservation" page because the page will display your total using the new rate.

 

I get that it's only a minor difference between the old and new rate, but I prefer tipping crew in person.

Unfortunately you don't actually come into contact with most of the service people that actually provide you services and are part of the group that benefits from the gratuity system. 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

1 hour ago, Guppy99 said:

Unfortunately you don't actually come into contact with most of the service people that actually provide you services and are part of the group that benefits from the gratuity system. 

Fair enough. I'm okay with paying the auto gratuities program. That makes it more fair for the back of house crew.  I just like to be able to tip cash as I go too. It's nice being able to do that in person.  Everyone appreciates a cash tip 😁