New email about using drink vouchers

[frank808]

17 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

This is completely the opposite of what we experienced on the Navigator 2 weeks ago.  We are Diamond + and each time they told us exactly how many drinks we had left.  It was never an issue.

We were on Navigator a couple weeks ago also. We got this a few times "you want to use your D drink for a milkshake?".  On our few cruises this past month on Nav, it was more the exception when the bartender mentioned how many drinks I had left. Noticed the 7 night cruise was a lot busier than the shorter 5 night cruises. But could have been because of school fall break in Oct?

 

I kept track of our drinks via app. Quiet a few days we only used one or two vouchers.

[brillohead]

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

I have never had a voucher used for a specialty coffee, they always use my refreshment package for coffees, water, juice, etc.  I also say to use a diamond voucher when I want to use one or say I have a refreshment package when I am ordering something covered by that.  It really is not a big deal.  I am also able to remember how many vouchers I have left, if I couldn't, I think I would have a much bigger issue than a mischarged drink.

Exactly this.  It's not that hard to do if you're in the minority of people who have a package plus D vouchers.  

As for people saying they had a soda charged to their voucher when they had the soda package, I have to wonder.... HOW?  I've never had any server ever actually take my card for a soda when I had the soda package, because once they see the "soda package" or the Coke symbol on the card, they just give you a fountain drink without taking your card or room number or anything.

 

[brillohead]

10 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Did a server tell you that they get absolutely NOTHING when they serve you a Diamond drink?

Yes, that is what more than one server told me on Explorer last month.

[Gardener5b]

I kind of dislike having to deal with receipts again.   On Adventure in August, I used to just tell the bartender I didn't want to use a voucher and never had an issue.  The bartenders were really good about telling us how many vouchers we had left.    By day 2, the bartender in the Windjammer knew to charge me for my fresh squeezed orange juice and saying it was better to save the vouchers for wine, etc.   But, it's still a great benefit so we'll do whatever is needed to keep it as such.

[DaKahuna]

17 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Agree, app worked fine and easy to track. Just got off B4B with $0.00 showing every time I PU a drink

 

 I agree that you would get charged $0.00 for each vouchered drink but at the end of the day I would have a dozen or so $0.00 on my account, most of which came from Coastal Kitchen and no idea what each represented.  I knew between us my wife and I never had that many drinks that were covered by the voucher. 

 

[BND]

7 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

It will be interesting to see what happens in the show rooms, servers show up with 6 -8 drinks on their tray. It is hard for them to even reach out and give you your drink. 

They've always dropped off the drinks and either dropped the receipt then with a pen to return later to get the signed copy or dropped off drinks and returned with the receipt to be signed.   It really shouldn't be that big an issue.  A lot less people in shows have "free drinks" than drink packages which don't require signatures.  I think people are just trying too hard to find problems.

[Seville2Cabo]

Never had an issue.  Just told the bar tender or waiter each drink if we wanted to use a voucher or not.  I can count  to five, no matter how many drinks I've had, so no problem there.  

I don't understand the issue with carrying money in my pocket for tips.  Will not put tip on receipt., Always leave cash tips everywhere (not just on ship) This seams like a problem for causes by a few.  

 

[Zou Bisou Bisou]

I want no issues on my cruise. We are D+ but always get the drink package ever since it has been offered. Makes life onboard so much more relaxing. I like to drink cocktails and wine , but also like many bottles of water per day. My husband drinks cocktails and beer, but also drinks specialty coffees and the occasional soda.  Some days we come out ahead money wise, some days the cruise line comes out ahead. All I know is we find it worth it. Do what is best for you.

[leisuretraveler223]

This is so unnecessarily complicated.  If Royal actually had any interest in rewarding their top tier guests, and really wanted to simplify the system, they would just apply the vouchers retroactively to the appropriate drinks.  If the vouchers are valid up until a certain value, it could simply credit that number of purchases to the maximum allowable value each day.  Don't use a voucher on a coffee instead of an Old Fashioned.  It would take no effort by the on board staff and not waste the time of the bar staff with silly chits.  Simple computer programming could do this.

But the reality is they are still basically disincentivizing people from getting the most out of their vouchers.  And it works- they win. I still buy the beverage package because I simply don't want to think about it.

[lovesthebeach2]

20 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

Odd, I have never had a problem keeping track of the drinks in my head. It's not like there is 37 of them per day... at the most it is 6.

 

It's not that hard to say.. "Please use my loyalty coupon for this drink" or "Please do not use my loyalty coupon for this drink." I have yet to have any issue with this working out on every sailing.

 

Wouldn't the guest have known the voucher was being used if they did not get a receipt for a drink they intended to pay for? Why not leave the accountability where it should be... on the guest?

 

Just my thoughts.

True, but on more than one occasion somehow my seapass was charged for someone else’s drink. 

[SRF]

On 11/3/2022 at 8:56 PM, 3yorkies said:

I will always continue to tip in cash, as I want that person to be the one who gets the entire tip---not have it "split" in a pool.    What's so hard about sticking 10 dollar bills in your pocket or bag each day?  

 

Many bars pool the cash tips.  They have a bucket and all cash tips go into the bucket.

[yogimax]

We've had problems, mostly in the dining room with charges being wrongly assigned to either myself or my wife.  Then spent time at Guest Services trying to explain that one card was charged for 6 and the other for 4 (as D+).  Once, the agent spent ten to fifteen minutes printing out receipts for every drink.

[not-enough-cruising]

4 hours ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

This is so unnecessarily complicated.  If Royal actually had any interest in rewarding their top tier guests, and really wanted to simplify the system, they would just apply the vouchers retroactively to the appropriate drinks.  If the vouchers are valid up until a certain value, it could simply credit that number of purchases to the maximum allowable value each day.  Don't use a voucher on a coffee instead of an Old Fashioned.  It would take no effort by the on board staff and not waste the time of the bar staff with silly chits.  Simple computer programming could do this.

But the reality is they are still basically disincentivizing people from getting the most out of their vouchers.  And it works- they win. I still buy the beverage package because I simply don't want to think about it.

So you are proposing a flat credit ($70 in the case of D+) daily to your folio?

 

That is an excellent, very simple idea!!

[3yorkies]

On 11/3/2022 at 6:17 PM, locksley10 said:

Don’t worry about the tipping they will ad the automatic 18% gratuity to your tab.

 

[3yorkies]

Just now, 3yorkies said:

there is no automatic tip added to diamond drinks!   18% of free is nothing.  I sat in a bar in September on Allure and watched over a dozen people come up to the bartender and get a free drink.  NOT ONE LEFT A SINGLE PENNY.  Shameful!    If you can't afford to give the hard-working bartenders and servers a tip you should not be on a cruise.  JMHO.

 

[Ocean Boy]

3 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

So you are proposing a flat credit ($70 in the case of D+) daily to your folio?

 

That is an excellent, very simple idea!!

I'm sure RCI doesn't see it that way. Someone who spends their vouchers on water, coffee, and soda uses far less that $70.00. 

[not-enough-cruising]

3 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm sure RCI doesn't see it that way. Someone who spends their vouchers on water, coffee, and soda uses far less that $70.00. 

No doubt about it

[Bruin Steve]

2 hours ago, 3yorkies said:

there is no automatic tip added to diamond drinks!   18% of free is nothing.  I sat in a bar in September on Allure and watched over a dozen people come up to the bartender and get a free drink.  NOT ONE LEFT A SINGLE PENNY.  Shameful!    If you can't afford to give the hard-working bartenders and servers a tip you should not be on a cruise.  JMHO.

Actually, you are WRONG.  RCCL imputes a value and generates a payment to the waiter.  They (and Celebrity) also did this back in the pre-voucher days when all the drinks in the Diamond Club were "free".  You think they could have gotten ANY bar waiter to cheerfully serve people in the Diamond Club if they were getting NOTHING for it?

 

There really is NO real reason to hand out extra tips on voucher drinks.  Really, a cruise is supposed to be a "cashless" system.  Part of the idea is that one doesn't have to carry their wallet around with them while onboard.  You think the people not handing out ADDITIONAL tips are "shameful"?  They likely think you are foolish.

 

I wouldn't claim the bar waiters are "well" compensated, but they ARE compensated.  And the payments are coming from two sources:  1)  The 18% added to every paid drink and to each purchased drink package and 2)  an imputed amount added to the pot by the cruise line, taken out of overall revenues.

 

In fact, they are better compensated than the dining room waiters.  Think about what they get as that approximately $15 per person per day is split up amongst your waiter, your assistant waiter, the Headwaiter and Maitre d' as well as the cabin steward.  Compare it to what, say 15-20% of your dining room bill would have been worth if you compared what you ordered to what it would cost if you ordered it at an equivalent restraurant back home...

 

I will NEVER walk around a cruise ship carrying my wallet and pulling out dollar bills to hand out as ADDITIONAL tips.  As always, on the last night of a cruise, I will get envelopes from the Guest Reltions desk...and put in larger to additional tips to hand to those specific individual cew members--whether they be the Diamond Club waiters, the MDR waiter or assistant waiters...or others in service jobs...who I believe went above and beyond in providing extra or exceptional service.  I do not "buy favors" by hitting people with a dollar at a time while I'm being served a drink.  Tat is NOT how they are compensated and NT how the system is designed.

Edited November 5, 2022 by Bruin Steve

[Merion_Mom]

39 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Actually, you are WRONG.  RCCL imputes a value and generates a payment to the waiter.  They (and Celebrity) also did this back in the pre-voucher days when all the drinks in the Diamond Club were "free".  You think they could have gotten ANY bar waiter to cheerfully serve people in the Diamond Club if they were getting NOTHING for it?

 

There really is NO real reason to hand out extra tips on voucher drinks.  Really, a cruise is supposed to be a "cashless" system.  Part of the idea is that one doesn't have to carry their wallet around with them while onboard.  You think the people not handing out ADDITIONAL tips are "shameful"?  They likely think you are foolish.

 

I wouldn't claim the bar waiters are "well" compensated, but they ARE compensated.  And the payments are coming from two sources:  1)  The 18% added to every paid drink and to each purchased drink package and 2)  an imputed amount added to the pot by the cruise line, taken out of overall revenues.

 

In fact, they are better compensated than the dining room waiters.  Think about what they get as that approximately $15 per person per day is split up amongst your waiter, your assistant waiter, the Headwaiter and Maitre d' as well as the cabin steward.  Compare it to what, say 15-20% of your dining room bill would have been worth if you compared what you ordered to what it would cost if you ordered it at an equivalent restraurant back home...

 

I will NEVER walk around a cruise ship carrying my wallet and pulling out dollar bills to hand out as ADDITIONAL tips.  As always, on the last night of a cruise, I will get envelopes from the Guest Reltions desk...and put in larger to additional tips to hand to those specific individual cew members--whether they be the Diamond Club waiters, the MDR waiter or assistant waiters...or others in service jobs...who I believe went above and beyond in providing extra or exceptional service.  I do not "buy favors" by hitting people with a dollar at a time while I'm being served a drink.  Tat is NOT how they are compensated and NT how the system is designed.

 

Please share the proof that an "imputed value" of every free drink generates a gratuity for staff.

[Bruin Steve]

56 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Please share the proof that an "imputed value" of every free drink generates a gratuity for staff.

I dont possess "proof" of it...just as no one else here can present "proof" of anything they post.  But that doesn't mean I don't have extremely good sources.  Unlike many who got their information from some random conversation they had on a cruise with their bar waiter,  I've gone into detail with people who I would consider excellent sources.  I live not far from the Princess Cruise Line corporate headquarters in Santa Clarita, Califiornia...and many of the executives live near me...A few execs and former execs at Princess are friends of mine...and a couple of these guys had previously worked for Royal Caribbean/Celebrity and others.  I used to participate in a weekly breakfast with a small group of former corporate executives that included a couple of these guys...and you can imagine how many times we discussed cruise line operations. 

 

Do you really think that all of those years when the D/D+ and Celebrity Elite was giving out free drinks in the Diamond Club/Celebrity Elite Drinking Hours that those bar waiters dedicated to those lounges were doing all of that serving for FREE...just hoping people would tip them?...while, if they were in the ordinary bars, they would have pulled in 18% on evey drink?  Gee, you couldn't have begged me to be a server in the Diamond Club were that the case.  Yes, they were paid for it...and they are still paid to serve those voucher drinks.  

[DaKahuna]

6 hours ago, 3yorkies said:

there is no automatic tip added to diamond drinks!   18% of free is nothing.  I sat in a bar in September on Allure and watched over a dozen people come up to the bartender and get a free drink.  NOT ONE LEFT A SINGLE PENNY.  Shameful!    If you can't afford to give the hard-working bartenders and servers a tip you should not be on a cruise.  JMHO.

 

 If I am sitting at the bar and having a couple of drinks, or in the lounge, instead of tipping per drink, I leave a tip when I finish a drink.  When sitting at a table and being served by the wait staff, I tip per drink.  If I walk up to the bar and get a single drink, I tip at time of service.  

 

 

[3yorkies]

18 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 If I am sitting at the bar and having a couple of drinks, or in the lounge, instead of tipping per drink, I leave a tip when I finish a drink.  When sitting at a table and being served by the wait staff, I tip per drink.  If I walk up to the bar and get a single drink, I tip at time of service.  

 

 

And the latter was what I was watching, as I almost always sit AT the bar instead of a table.   Actually I usually stand at the bar.   

[brillohead]

Had to sign my first receipt today on Oasis in the Schooner Bar.  I forgot that the pens don't write on that stupid shiny paper, so I put my folded cash under the receipt and then the pen worked.  Then I left the stupid shiny receipt and cash clipped together with the pen on the bar for the server.  

It was arduous, but somehow I managed to persevere through the process.  

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

It was arduous, but somehow I managed to persevere through the process.  

 

Thank you for being the guinea pig for this sailing..I guess I will have something to look forward to.

[little britain]

11.55pm;

I have not used any vouchers today so I ordered 6 Diet Coke to go… I had to sign ✍️ six separate invoices for these. What a complete joke for a cruise line claiming it’s green credentials.