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Gratuities Are Going Up Again, Effective 11.11.2023

ace1zoe2

By ace1zoe2,
in Royal Caribbean International

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orville99 "Live from...." Rare

orville99

Posted
Posted
Just now, ace1zoe2 said:

I wish they would just make it a mandatory service fee so everyone paid the same. If you want to give more give it. I just see all the people that say they take off gratuities... period... and tip nothing. However, there are a lot that say they remove and tip only the people that they see. We do both. Pre-pay tips and tip extra to room steward and anyone that goes above and beyond to help us.

I would prefer they adopted the same approach that Disney was using the last time we sailed with them. They gave each of us a sheet that could be separated by service and we had the choice whether to increase, decrease, or eliminate gratuities from the services we never used. 

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taglovestocruise

taglovestocruise

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, FionaMG said:

Email just received:

 

Dear Guest,

We are excited to welcome you onboard for your upcoming Royal Caribbean sailing!

As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of an update to our daily gratuity charges. As of November 11th, 2023, the automatic daily gratuity charge will increase from $16.00 to $18.00 per guest, per day for non-suite staterooms and from $18.50 to $20.50 per guest, per day for suites. The daily gratuity is shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants, and other hotel services teams.

If you’d like to pre-pay your gratuities at the current rate before your sailing, we’re happy to extend this opportunity to you. If you’d prefer to pay onboard, your gratuity charge will be applied to your onboard account at the new rate.

Other onboard gratuity policies remain the same – an 18% gratuity will be automatically added to purchases for beverages, spa & salon services, room service, and mini bar items. These will be itemized on your receipt at the end of each purchase.

To pre-pay your gratuities before your sailing at the current rate, or if you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor or contact us at:

  • 1 866 562 7625 in the U.S.
  • 1800 754 500 in Australia / 0800 102 123 in New Zealand
  • In the UK only, by using our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005
  • All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number.

We thank you for your understanding and can’t wait to welcome you onboard!

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International

Guests op out, grats go up... pretty simple..

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firefly333

firefly333

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, yogimax said:

No explanation was offered.  As cusromers, we deserve to know why it was necessary.

I can write the letter if you want one. I was teasing @OCSC Mike .. about his change in itinerary they always write it's to enhance your experience.  ...all changes are to enhance your experience. Every email I get with changes says that. 

 

Even I'm a bit tired of the tacked on costs. This might be my first and last 3 weeks onboard a ship. My bookings are down, and tips and prices only up. Booking less. 

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tottenhamfc

tottenhamfc

Posted
Posted
Just now, taglovestocruise said:

Guests op out, grats go up... pretty simple..

Precisely. I actually went to guest services to discuss this. What bothers me is that we are subsidizing the ones who remove. Very wrong model IMHO. I am not even sure when they remove tips that they payout to their cabin steward and waiters. The model should be 50% to al and the other 50% you allocate. Extra tips is not the correct model now.

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orville99 "Live from...." Rare

orville99

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

VIrgin really isn't competing with Royal, Carnival or NCL, its a completely different demographic.  Virgin obviously isn't concerned about posting a rock bottom fare to their website to entice bookings. 

Not sure what constitutes a “rock bottom” fare, because every cruise we have booked between now an April 2025 (18 in all) has more than doubled in price since we booked - and some have more than tripled. I.e for what we paid for an 8-night southern in a GS when we booked, we could only get a Promenade view interior today.

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not-enough-cruising

not-enough-cruising

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, orville99 said:

Not sure what constitutes a “rock bottom” fare, because every cruise we have booked between now an April 2025 (18 in all) has more than doubled in price since we booked - and some have more than tripled. I.e for what we paid for an 8-night southern in a GS when we booked, we could only get a Promenade view interior today.

Same as all the other lines, that is the point.

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iscruisingdunzo Great Review Rare

iscruisingdunzo

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Nolefan95 said:

Ridiculous. Cut room service in half and increase prices. Insane. Beyond greedy. The $1B in profit wasn't enough. 

Just another blatant sign that they are a greedy unethical company. They made billions but don't even want to pay their employees accordingly, and require their customers to subsidize their employee's salaries. Hilarious stuff. 

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not-enough-cruising

not-enough-cruising

Posted
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4 minutes ago, tottenhamfc said:

Precisely. I actually went to guest services to discuss this. What bothers me is that we are subsidizing the ones who remove. Very wrong model IMHO. I am not even sure when they remove tips that they payout to their cabin steward and waiters. The model should be 50% to al and the other 50% you allocate. Extra tips is not the correct model now.

You aren't subsidizing anyone.  Gratuities are going up because enough passive passengers just suck it up and go along.  You want it to change?  Do something about it, put your foot down and refuse to participate.

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HicksRA

HicksRA

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

Just another blatant sign that they are a greedy unethical company. They made billions but don't even want to pay their employees accordingly, and require their customers to subsidize their employee's salaries. Hilarious stuff. 

Jason Liberty is sinking the ship….

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ngrund

ngrund

Posted
Posted

My cruise is not until next June, do I have to call and pay before the 11th, or can I just pre-pay before getting on board (that is how some other lines work it).

 

If I added the grats at thee time of booking, would that show as a separate item on my invoice, or is it included in taxes and fees.

 

Experienced cruiser, but have only sailed one RCL once before, so I defer to those with more knowlege

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