Prepaid Gratuities

[CynBeth6]

We just got our cruise documents at 30 days before the cruise and noticed it said we did not prepay gratuities even though we thought we did there was a lot of confusion when booking using FCC from a few years ago so there might have been a miscommunication. I went on the website to add this and am not seeing an option. Is it possible to do this on the website and if so where would I go or do I have to call?

[OHagan]

If you have a copy of your Booking that confirms your free gratuities, then take it to the service desk as soon as you have boarded the ship, and they will sort it out for you. You don't need to do anything prior to boarding. We have done this before.

[OHagan]

...also...if you don't want to pay gratuities, then the cruise line can not enforce this. Many Australians cancel their gratuities onboard as we are not used to paying tips or such.

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, CynBeth6 said:

We just got our cruise documents at 30 days before the cruise and noticed it said we did not prepay gratuities even though we thought we did there was a lot of confusion when booking using FCC from a few years ago so there might have been a miscommunication. I went on the website to add this and am not seeing an option. Is it possible to do this on the website and if so where would I go or do I have to call?

Call whomever you booked with. If you want to prepay that's the only way. 

 

If it says you did not prepay then you need proof you did and since you dont know, I'd call and sort it out. You cant prepay except by calling. Cant do it yourself online. 

[CynBeth6]

Thank you so much!

[moposh]

10 hours ago, OHagan said:

...also...if you don't want to pay gratuities, then the cruise line can not enforce this. Many Australians cancel their gratuities onboard as we are not used to paying tips or such.

I hope you do pay gratuities as they deserve it, used to it or not.

[Another_Critic]

10 hours ago, OHagan said:

...also...if you don't want to pay gratuities, then the cruise line can not enforce this. Many Australians cancel their gratuities onboard as we are not used to paying tips or such.

Would it be acceptable for Americans to come to Australia and drive on the right side of the road because we're not used to driving on the left?

[Ret MP]

Tipping in Australia is totally voluntary and suggested if you choose to tip at all, to tip 10%.  It is not frowned upon like some people would like you to believe.  If you tip on a Credit Card, the owner of the business is "expected" to pass the tip on to the service provider (server).  Also, the employees or I should say, the business owner "usually" gets a tacked-on "Service Charge" that is used to help pay their employees their higher minimum wage or better.   The link below is just a couple of many many articles that explain or offer suggestions about tipping etiquette in Australia:

 

https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/en/article/should-we-leave-a-tip-australias-tipping-culture-explained/5nub7yae7

 

https://www.tripsavvy.com/is-tipping-mandatory-in-australia-1464392

 

EDITED IN:  BTW, tipping in the U.S.A. is totally voluntary, too.  It's just customary.  I'm not advocating using that voluntary to not tip.  I do live by my signature below.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Ret MP

[topnole]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

Would it be acceptable for Americans to come to Australia and drive on the right side of the road because we're not used to driving on the left?

It always amazes me how Americans are considered to be so ethnocentric.  But yet those visiting America from other countries seemingly never try to acclimate to our norms.  Tipping is obviously optional and they are entitled to tip as they like.  But the cutting in line?   This is the norm for some cultures, but it is an extremely rude behavior in America.  Can’t tell you the amount of times someone from another country has tried to cut in front of me over the years here in the US.  On a cruise last year a healthy (40ish women with a 12-15 year old daughter) tried to cut in front of my wife for the tram back to the ship on coco cay.  She literally sat under my wife as she was in the motion is sitting.  We were waiting in the line with many others.  That lady came up at the last second from the other side of the tram.  My wife was going to the back row facing towards the rear.   So it was easy for this lady to try to sneak in.  
 

The kicker is my wife was holding our 1 year old and all of us in line were making room for each other (we would’ve walked if not for the baby).  So I was separated by a row from my wife and sat with my other two kids.  I got up and gave her a mouthful until she got her butt up and moved.  Felt bad doing it due to her daughter.  But too bad, wasn’t letting her steal my wife’s seat.  She pretended not to understand English.  Later we heard her speaking English.  Of course.  And it’s Americans who are ethnocentric and rude.  Give me a break.  

[Hutcha]

15 hours ago, OHagan said:

...also...if you don't want to pay gratuities, then the cruise line can not enforce this. Many Australians cancel their gratuities onboard as we are not used to paying tips or such.

Finally! Someone honest about why they remove the gratuities. It's refreshing.

 

 

...in b4 the lock

[kruzgal]

Royal Caribbean should just pay their staff properly. Tips should be an extra for good service not what the staff need to live. 

[Another_Critic]

21 minutes ago, kruzgal said:

Royal Caribbean should just pay their staff properly. Tips should be an extra for good service not what the staff need to live. 

That won't happen until the US land-based tipping culture is extinct.

[Ret MP]

17 hours ago, kruzgal said:

Royal Caribbean should just pay their staff properly. Tips should be an extra for good service not what the staff need to live. 

And you can do exactly that, <tip for good service that is. Here in the U.S. we don't have any obligation to pay one cent of gratuities to Royal Caribbean, either pre-cruise or during the cruise.  Good employees get extra compensation while the poor ones aren't rewarded for their poor service.   If an employee isn't happy with their wage, they are free to leave the service industry as they probably aren't suited for a career in the service industry OR move on to a much better/higher-end establishment.    

[Ret MP]

17 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

That won't happen until the US land-based tipping culture is extinct.

I don't think and I hope that won't happen!

[steveru621]

17 hours ago, kruzgal said:

Royal Caribbean should just pay their staff properly. Tips should be an extra for good service not what the staff need to live. 

 

RCI doesn't pay their employees, you do with your cruise fare.  Any salaries at any merchant are paid by their customers.  It's a business expense.

[Cigar King]

Personally I would be in favor of just rolling the tips into the cruise fare.

 

If you're going to break out the tip cost, then why not break out other costs and allow me to choose what I want to pay for?  Cafeteria style pricing would be chaos.  Royal has no problem raising prices, and judging by their passenger numbers, people have no problem paying them.  End this nonsense.

[Ret MP]

2 hours ago, Cigar King said:

Personally I would be in favor of just rolling the tips into the cruise fare.

It is already like that, here in the U.S.  However, you have the option to remove the pre-paid Gratuity.

2 hours ago, Cigar King said:

 

If you're going to break out the tip cost, then why not break out other costs and allow me to choose what I want to pay for?  Cafeteria style pricing would be chaos.  Royal has no problem raising prices, and judging by their passenger numbers, people have no problem paying them.  End this nonsense.

I'll never be agreeable to mandatory tipping (just like I don't like pooling tips with all other service providers).  That means that a subpar/lazy/dumb server gets paid just as much as the super server.  I don't reward bad behavior/laziness/non-compliant (customary standards of service)/incapable service providers (servers), but I do reward good service.  

[Another_Critic]

20 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

It is already like that, here in the U.S.  However, you have the option to remove the pre-paid Gratuity.

Gratuity is not rolled into the cruise fare, however you have an option to prepay.

 

It is charged daily (if not prepaid), so yeah, basically part of the cruise fare unless you remove it.

[taglovestocruise]

3 hours ago, Cigar King said:

Personally I would be in favor of just rolling the tips into the cruise fare.  End this nonsense.

Big +1..

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, Another_Critic said:

Gratuity is not rolled into the cruise fare, however you have an option to prepay.

You're splitting hairs.  It is just another line item on the invoice IF you keep that line item on the invoice.  

1 minute ago, Another_Critic said:

 

It is charged daily (if not prepaid), so yeah, basically part of the cruise fare unless you remove it.

Exactly!

[jean87510]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:03 AM, moposh said:

I hope you do pay gratuities as they deserve it, used to it or not.

The OP was asking about how to prepay and how to check to see if they had.  There are gratuity posts almost daily on whether or how much.  This isn't one of those.

[moposh]

2 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

The OP was asking about how to prepay and how to check to see if they had.  There are gratuity posts almost daily on whether or how much.  This isn't one of those.

I wasn't replying to OP.  I was replying to that post.  Sometimes threads deviate from original post.  

[Another_Critic]

4 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

You're splitting hairs.  It is just another line item on the invoice IF you keep that line item on the invoice.  

Exactly!

But, but, Mr. I only go by the cruise line documents, where's the document that says it's rolled into the cruise fare?  😛  😄

[kruzgal]

3 hours ago, Cigar King said:

Personally I would be in favor of just rolling the tips into the cruise fare.

 

 

Agreed. P&O UK have done this and I feel so much more comfortable with this arrangement. I feel sorry for Royal staff as when ships sail from the UK there are queues of people at guest services lining up to remove ‘gratuities’. We just don’t have the same tipping culture and it all feels so awkward. I really hate it. 

[Ret MP]

21 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

But, but, Mr. I only go by the cruise line documents, where's the document that says it's rolled into the cruise fare?  😛  😄

LOL, me too!

 

 

BTW:  Your mileage may vary but to me, the cruise fare is the Bottom Line, the Total Charges.  But, there are certain options, of course.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Ret MP