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Gratuities Are Going Up Again, Effective 11.11.2023

ace1zoe2

By ace1zoe2,
in Royal Caribbean International

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tottenhamfc

tottenhamfc

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

No one's talking about tipping "extra" or above and beyond.  At least, I'm not.  

Sorry if I misunderstood you but many do brag about the extra tips. If one doesnt attend MDR on final night and have pre paid their grats the the word stiffing does not apply.

Edited by tottenhamfc
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tottenhamfc

tottenhamfc

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 minute ago, cruise20233 said:

Grab a drink or unpack my suitcase if it’s at my door u?

Windjammer and then unpack. In all seriousness, what is your primary reason for grat removal? I am trying to come to terms with it.

Edited by tottenhamfc
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Engineroom Snipe Great Review Rare

Engineroom Snipe

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, tottenhamfc said:

Sorry if I misunderstood you but many do brag about the extra tips. If one doesnt attend MDR on final night and have pre paid their grats the the word stiffing does not apply.

In my earlier response about wait staff being visibly upset, it was a specific time period when pre-paid gratuities did not exist. Please look at the time period of years that I quoted in my post. I was immediately judged as being presumptive and assuming guests did not leave a tip or gratuity.

 

THERE WOULD BE NO REASON FOR ANY STAFF THAT WAS PAID GRATUITIES TO BE UPSET ON THE LAST NIGHT OF THE CRUISE IN MDR IF THEY WERE PAID EXPECTED OR ANTICIPATED GRATUITIES.

 

Heck, if the gratuities were already paid, the staff were being given "the night off" if guests were not present and should be very happy serving a reduced workload.

 

Why would I observe upset staff on the last night of MDR being noticeably dour, short, and otherwise unhappy if they were already compensated in the form of a tip or gratuity?

 

If I was a waiter who received my gratuities, I would celebrate my last night off without guests. Maybe that is why I might infer that guests did not pay their gratuities when they visibly look upset on the last night of MDR at a table where guests did not appear.

 

That would not be an unreasonable observation.

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HBE4

HBE4

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

A former CC poster who proudly made his grat removals known to everyone.

 

I miss Thor. He gave the tipping threads some character.  He set a very high standard I don't think anybody can exceed. 

🙂

 

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Husky1987

Husky1987

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

@Husky1987 I have witnessed this on MANY cruises long ago. There were many fuming wait staff and it was an uncomfortable environment on that last night. I mostly noticed this absentee last night  from about 2002 to 2010 before My Time Dining but after they started to do Windjammer breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

 

What were your time periods of observation?

Not sure I can give you an exact time period...but matching yours is probably a good guess.  I'd say my first ten or so cruises, so early 2010's maybe?

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keishashadow

keishashadow

Posted
Posted

Booked a new cruise today with rccl

 

agent asked if I wanted to prepay gratuities as ‘the price is going up’.  
 

surprised he actually mentioned it, referencing the price increase 

 

told him tO go ahead and prepay them for every upcoming cruise I have booked.  
 

somebow, one didn’t go thru.  
 

anyone know if I can just pay them online for a cruise that hasnt been paid in full?

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Engineroom Snipe Great Review Rare

Engineroom Snipe

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Husky1987 said:

Not sure I can give you an exact time period...but matching yours is probably a good guess.  I'd say my first ten or so cruises, so early 2010's maybe?

Ok. That was about the about the period of the My Time Dining test bed. If you picked an early or late standard MDR, there were no prepaid gratuities. Standard MDR practices were that the gratuities were presented on the last MDR night. I would only guess if one paid their gratuity prior to that, the waiters would be very happy.

 

Royal would not allow My Time Dining unless you prepaid gratuities because you might not have the same wait staff each night and they would split the pre-paid gratuity on a per meal basis.

 

RCI toyed with Dynamic Dining which still required sharing tips as again your wait staff was not always the same.

 

Again, my reasoning is that no wait staff should be dour, unhappy, or disappointed if they felt properly appreciated. If a table tipped earlier, they should be dancing about as they have a free night if guests do not show on the last night, not mope or grumble.

 

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ReRe71 Great Review Rare

ReRe71

Posted
Posted
On 11/1/2023 at 4:07 PM, njkruzer said:

I prepaid 2 cruises affer the last increase after final. But before boarding.  The increase was effective for cruises leaving before I paid.  The only thing was I had to prepay prior to sailing.

 

On another note some restaurants have added a service fee to the bill that was separate from the gratuity.  It went to the restaurants.  People have asked why the restaurants didn’t just raise their prices.

Just experienced this last weekend. Went to brunch at a restaurant (downtown DC) , food was very good (expensive but good) and there was a 20% service fee on the check. Server informed us that it was not a gratuity (which I’m sure most guests assume it is) and that it goes straight to the restaurant and we had to add the tip separately. Gotta admit that it didn’t sit well with us. 

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mek

mek

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, ReRe71 said:

Just experienced this last weekend. Went to brunch at a restaurant (downtown DC) , food was very good (expensive but good) and there was a 20% service fee on the check. Server informed us that it was not a gratuity (which I’m sure most guests assume it is) and that it goes straight to the restaurant and we had to add the tip separately. Gotta admit that it didn’t sit well with us. 

I live in the mid west and haven't experienced this. Perhaps it's a common in certain areas of the country? Did you happen to ask what the service fee covered?

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ReRe71 Great Review Rare

ReRe71

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, mek said:

I live in the mid west and haven't experienced this. Perhaps it's a common in certain areas of the country? Did you happen to ask what the service fee covered?


Our server (who was awesome) only said that it went to the restaurant and no specific reason is provided as to what is covered. We would’ve appreciated if it was mentioned on the menu, just felt blindsided when it was on the bill. 

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mek

mek

Posted
Posted
Just now, ReRe71 said:


Our server (who was awesome) only said that it went to the restaurant and no specific reason is provided as to what is covered. We would’ve appreciated if it was mentioned on the menu, just felt blindsided when it was on the bill. 

Well...... the day I have 20% automatically added to my bill and then have to tip an additional 20% is the day I stop dining out.

I guess I don't understand why they simply don't raise their prices 20%.

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cruise20233

cruise20233

Posted
Posted
37 minutes ago, mek said:

Well...... the day I have 20% automatically added to my bill and then have to tip an additional 20% is the day I stop dining out.

I guess I don't understand why they simPeggy raising the prices of specialty

They keep raising the prices of specialty restaurants and they usually include the tip with the bill why do we have to keep paying more tips on top of a For me I'm only tipping once and 15 per cent only if I know the person personally twenty per cent that's it

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HicksRA

HicksRA

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ReRe71 said:

Just experienced this last weekend. Went to brunch at a restaurant (downtown DC) , food was very good (expensive but good) and there was a 20% service fee on the check. Server informed us that it was not a gratuity (which I’m sure most guests assume it is) and that it goes straight to the restaurant and we had to add the tip separately. Gotta admit that it didn’t sit well with us. 

I would’ve told them to take it off since I wasn’t informed ahead of time. Sounds very unethical at the least and possibly illegal. 
What if they decided to charge 50%? 100%?  

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