Gratuities Are Going Up Again, Effective 11.11.2023

[not-enough-cruising]

40 minutes ago, marci22 said:

As I said:  Once you know you can do it, it's easy. I just don't think they make it obvious.

Of course they don’t make it obvious, they (cruise line) wants your money 

[bucfan2]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Of course they don’t make it obvious, they (cruise line) wants your money 

So, now that we're 37 pages into this discussion, would you care to give your opinion?  It seems as though you may be 'on the fence'....  🙃

Edited November 9, 2023 by bucfan2

[not-enough-cruising]

14 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

So, now that we're 37 pages into this discussion, would you care to give your opinion?  It seems as though you may be 'on the fence'....  🙃

Yes, I am having a real internal struggle 

[crazyank]

2 hours ago, marci22 said:

Are the standard gratuities optional - yes.

Does Royal Caribbean make it easy to choose to remove them - not really.

Not true, it's extremely easy to remove them. One phone call or a short visit to guest services is all it takes

[broberts]

42 minutes ago, crazyank said:

short visit to guest services

 

😂🤣😂🤣😂 You forgot to add at 4am. Rarely is there even a short wait during the day.

 

[Scottdalfonso]

3 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

😂🤣😂🤣😂 You forgot to add at 4am. Rarely is there even a short wait during the day.

 

Especially at the end of the trip when a bunch of cheapskates want to remove them all at the same time

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, Scottdalfonso said:

Especially at the end of the trip when a bunch of cheapskates want to remove them all at the same time

Once again, proving that when one has run out of useful information in a discussion, one resorts to insults.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, broberts said:

 

😂🤣😂🤣😂 You forgot to add at 4am. Rarely is there even a short wait during the day.

 

I have never had to wait more than a few minutes when calling from my stateroom.

 

Another quick way to do it is to approach the I-Pad holding GS staffer that is roaming up and down the line.

[iscruisingdunzo]

If automatically billed gratuities were optional you would not have to demand they be removed from your bill in the first place. 

 

And yes, I have had to demand they be removed, been questioned about why, and had to speak to a supervisor to remove them. 

 

Luckily, I will be demanding that the automatically billed gratuities be removed from my bill again next week and will happily report the experience along with the gratuity vibe from the ship. 

[time4u2go]

4 minutes ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

If automatically billed gratuities were optional you would not have to demand they be removed from your bill in the first place. 

You can choose to remove them, or you can choose to leave them in place.  That is the definition of optional...being able to choose.

[UNCFanatik]

2 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

Especially at the end of the trip when a bunch of cheapskates want to remove them all at the same time

 

In your world a cheapskate = someone who pays over $5000 for their family to cruise. 

 

In my world, removing auto gratuities that have increased while service has decreased is the only smart thing to do. I would rather be considered to be a cheapskate than a gullible rube

[iscruisingdunzo]

19 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

You can choose to remove them, or you can choose to leave them in place.  That is the definition of optional...being able to choose.

They are not OPTIONAL. 

 

When I book a cruise Royal Caribbean tells me this:

Tip-tip hooray!

You can pre-pay gratuities now to show your appreciation for 24/7 service from your room attendants, culinary and service staff. Or assign gratuities once onboard through your SeaPass account.

 

When I research gratuities on the website here  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense

Royal Caribbean tells me that the gratuities will be automatic and will be billed unless they are prepaid. 

 

When I call Royal Caribbean to express my choice with the option you are telling me I have, they tell me there is no option and gratuities will be billed daily on my sailing. 

 

THERE IS NO OPTION!

[time4u2go]

26 minutes ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

They are not OPTIONAL. 

 

When I book a cruise Royal Caribbean tells me this:

Tip-tip hooray!

You can pre-pay gratuities now to show your appreciation for 24/7 service from your room attendants, culinary and service staff. Or assign gratuities once onboard through your SeaPass account.

 

When I research gratuities on the website here  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense

Royal Caribbean tells me that the gratuities will be automatic and will be billed unless they are prepaid. 

 

When I call Royal Caribbean to express my choice with the option you are telling me I have, they tell me there is no option and gratuities will be billed daily on my sailing. 

 

THERE IS NO OPTION!

Yes there is.  From that same website comes this:

 

"the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services"

 

I'm guessing you didn't see that part?

 

You cannot remove the gratuities before your sailing, but you most certainly can remove them during the sailing, as stated on the website you provided.  You have a choice...they are optional.

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by time4u2go

[Pink.paper.heart]

6 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Why do you say this?  All one has to do is ask guest services to remove them.

You are referring to passengers who have cruised before. It is not clear that the option is even there to remove gratuities or even WHERE/HOW to go about doing so to those who are first time cruisers or haven't cruised with RCL.

 

It is all vague and hidden to prevent customers from the choice of having it removed or not.

[yogimax]

 

 

38 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

In my world, removing auto gratuities that have increased while service has decreased is the only smart thing to do. I would rather be considered to be a cheapskate than a gullible rube

As a self-admitted cheapskate do you not tip anyone?

 

BTW, I confess to being a cheapskate who leaves the tips in place.  Am I a gullible rube in your words?   No, I understand the importance of financially saying “thank you” to those who have made my experience so much better by their exceptional service.

[time4u2go]

6 minutes ago, Pink.paper.heart said:

You are referring to passengers who have cruised before. It is not clear that the option is even there to remove gratuities or even WHERE/HOW to go about doing so to those who are first time cruisers or haven't cruised with RCL.

 

It is all vague and hidden to prevent customers from the choice of having it removed or not.

I agree with everything you said.  However, I was responding to this statement:

 

"Does Royal Caribbean make it easy to choose to remove them - not really."

 

This statement wasn't about whether it was easy to discover that they can be removed.  It was about whether or not it was easy for someone who has chosen to remove them to do so (which it is).

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by time4u2go

[LHARTWICK]

I see this thread has taken a turn, however, I just finished adding our gratuities to our upcoming RCCL cruise.  Hold time was 25 minutes. They REALLY need to make this doable via the cruise reservation page!  😡 Anyway, will I receive a receipt via e-mail reflecting our gratuities payment?  

 

Update:  just received the receipt.  Sorry - the call dropped before I could ask the rep about the receipt.

Edited November 9, 2023 by LHARTWICK

[Pink.paper.heart]

32 minutes ago, yogimax said:

 

 

As a self-admitted cheapskate do you not tip anyone?

 

BTW, I confess to being a cheapskate who leaves the tips in place.  Am I a gullible rube in your words?   No, I understand the importance of financially saying “thank you” to those who have made my experience so much better by their exceptional service.

You are also questioning whether I remove gratuities and not tip. Which that is not the case.

 

Coming from a country that only tips when a service is rendered good, I do not understand why the burden has to be on the paying customer to 'support' the livelihoods of another company's employees. 

 

I am not someone who drinks more than 1 drink a day therefore I did not subscribe to any packages. When tip is already included automatically on each drink I buy including the speciality restaurants, I believe auto daily gratuities as excessive tipping. 

 

Again, I would like to reinterate that this does not mean that I have removed daily gratuities as I know that I am on an american ship.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Pink.paper.heart

[icsys]

6 hours ago, Lakelife4me said:

Is there any real information on the breakdown of the daily gratuities as to how they are actually disbursed? Example - 10% to MDR personnel, 10% to cabin stewards, 10% to those preparing meals behind the scenes, etc? I would be extremely curios to see how that works. 

 

Here is MY calculated breakdown based on this slip if it helps:

 

  

 

SR Attendant : $3.05 (19%)

Other Hotel    : $7.00 (43.75%)

Main Waiter   : $3.05 (19%)        

Ass Waiter     : $2.00 (12.5%)     

Head Waiter  : $0.90 (5.75%)   

----------------------------------------

Total per day : $16.00 (100%)

 

The Main, Assistant and Head waiters combined at $5.95 is 37.25% of the total.

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

You can choose to remove them, or you can choose to leave them in place.  That is the definition of optional...being able to choose.

Remember when autograts were first introduced and you had to opt in instead of opting out?

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

They are not OPTIONAL. 

 

When I book a cruise Royal Caribbean tells me this:

Tip-tip hooray!

You can pre-pay gratuities now to show your appreciation for 24/7 service from your room attendants, culinary and service staff. Or assign gratuities once onboard through your SeaPass account.

 

When I research gratuities on the website here  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense

Royal Caribbean tells me that the gratuities will be automatic and will be billed unless they are prepaid. 

 

When I call Royal Caribbean to express my choice with the option you are telling me I have, they tell me there is no option and gratuities will be billed daily on my sailing. 

 

THERE IS NO OPTION!

If there was no option then we would be having a meaningless discussion.

[UNCFanatik]

1 hour ago, yogimax said:

 

 

As a self-admitted cheapskate do you not tip anyone?

 

BTW, I confess to being a cheapskate who leaves the tips in place.  Am I a gullible rube in your words?   No, I understand the importance of financially saying “thank you” to those who have made my experience so much better by their exceptional service.

 

On every drink I purchase, Royal deems it necessary to tip for me by adding a mandatory 18% gratuity. Whether I get a craft cocktail that takes time and skill for bartender to prepare or if they just hand me a beer. What sense does that make? So, my $8 beer is now $9.44? Someone handing me a beer is worth 18% of the cost of beer? 

 

AND where is the incentive for "exception service" when their is a mandatory gratuity already added? AND why if I purchase a drink packager pre-cruise, am I charge for service that is yet to be delivered? Where is the incentive for "exceptional service"

 

Why dont you expect "exceptional service" to be the minimum base line for the level of service that a crew member is paid by the cruise line to do? Handing me a beer, doesnt made my experience "so much better" 

 

 

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

They are not OPTIONAL. 

 

When I book a cruise Royal Caribbean tells me this:

Tip-tip hooray!

You can pre-pay gratuities now to show your appreciation for 24/7 service from your room attendants, culinary and service staff. Or assign gratuities once onboard through your SeaPass account.

 

When I research gratuities on the website here  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense

Royal Caribbean tells me that the gratuities will be automatic and will be billed unless they are prepaid. 

 

When I call Royal Caribbean to express my choice with the option you are telling me I have, they tell me there is no option and gratuities will be billed daily on my sailing. 

 

THERE IS NO OPTION!

Give it up man; they are OPTIONAL, and I call BS on your need to speak to a supervisor to get it done. 

[yogimax]

27 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

 

 

Why dont you expect "exceptional service" to be the minimum base line for the level of service that a crew member is paid by the cruise line to do? Handing me a beer, doesnt made my experience "so much better" 

 

 

I agree with you that there’s no need to tip for someone handing you a beer but making “exceptional service” the new minimum base line means you see no need to tip anyone.

 

Are you really saying this?

[Lakelife4me]

1 hour ago, icsys said:

 

Here is MY calculated breakdown based on this slip if it helps:

 

  

 

SR Attendant : $3.05 (19%)

Other Hotel    : $7.00 (43.75%)

Main Waiter   : $3.05 (19%)        

Ass Waiter     : $2.00 (12.5%)     

Head Waiter  : $0.90 (5.75%)   

----------------------------------------

Total per day : $16.00 (100%)

 

The Main, Assistant and Head waiters combined at $5.95 is 37.25% of the total.

I'm not sure I want to interact with the ass waiter. 😁🙃😁😇🍻