Are you still adding cash gratuity on top of the automatic gratuities?

[RoperDK]

I just got off the phone with Royal. Spent an hour total with wait times and a slow process to add the auto gratuities to our 4 booked cruises.  From now on, I will add auto gratuities at time of booking.  We consider the gratuities as part of the cruise price, but I am now wondering about where the money actually goes.  Seems like some fuzzy math to me.  I doubt we will ever remove the auto gratuities, but we have changed our onboard tipping since the last increase coupled with less service.  We may or may not tip our cabin steward or wait staff extra at the end of the cruise now.  We always used to add cash at the end, but now the extra cash goes to those whose service exceeded normal expectations.  Isn't that what gratuities are really supposed to be for?  I do feel though that the crew may not be seeing all of the additional gratuity money and Royal may be using it to their own benefit. There is no way to prove that, I guess.       

[iscruisingdunzo]

My mind continues to be blown. 

 

Gratuities are "optional" per everyone but RCI. What this means is that you can remove them completely ...which means you can REDUCE THEM. 

 

Why in the world would ANYONE waste any time on the phone to give a company free money with interest, when YOU DO NOT HAVE TO????

[S.A.M.J.R.]

11 minutes ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

My mind continues to be blown. 

 

Gratuities are "optional" per everyone but RCI. What this means is that you can remove them completely ...which means you can REDUCE THEM. 

 

Why in the world would ANYONE waste any time on the phone to give a company free money with interest, when YOU DO NOT HAVE TO????

Well, no one HAS to cruise. 

[mek]

13 hours ago, njdealguy said:

With the figures you gave think will stick to the auto gratuities, yours exceeded what the auto one would be!

I'm not sure exceeding the auto gratuity is an issue for many of us because some tip extra and for that reason we generally exceed the auto amount.

 

I think quite a few of us object to an auto increase with reduced services and also including "behind the scenes" staff.  Those people should be paid by the cruise line and not rely on tips to supplement their salaries.

 

I loved auto tipping when it first started because it was easy.  Unfortunately it has become part of the trend to tip everyone for everything and at some point I will draw a line in the sand and say, "no."

 

Just like Panera - I have no problem tapping on the "no tip" button - I have to stand in line to place my order, pick it up, and then clean my table, but there are those who would argue that people are preparing my food, washing dishes, etc.  Nope - won't do that. The tipping mentality has gotten out of control.

[travelberlin]

Just now, mek said:

The tipping mentality has gotten out of control.

Agree 100%

[PompeySailor]

11 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Agree 100%

I agree 18%

[HBE4]

22 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

I agree 18%

 

I automatically agree 18% + an additional 2%

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

My mind continues to be blown. 

 

Gratuities are "optional" per everyone but RCI. What this means is that you can remove them completely ...which means you can REDUCE THEM. 

 

Why in the world would ANYONE waste any time on the phone to give a company free money with interest, when YOU DO NOT HAVE TO????

You don't.  And you don't owe anyone on this forum an explanation or justification.  Because they wouldn't listen anyway.  Best thing is to do what is right and reasonable for you.

[RoperDK]

1 hour ago, iscruisingdunzo said:

My mind continues to be blown. 

 

Gratuities are "optional" per everyone but RCI. What this means is that you can remove them completely ...which means you can REDUCE THEM. 

 

Why in the world would ANYONE waste any time on the phone to give a company free money with interest, when YOU DO NOT HAVE TO????

I would rather waste a bit of time now on the phone then to spend my valuable cruise time standing at guest services trying to adjust my gratuities.  The only free money Royal has of mine is my deposit because gratuities are paid at final payment.  I will now take the extra dollars I saved today and distribute it as cash for good service onboard.  My plan. My choice. 

[Tree_skier]

I just added prepaid grats to 8 of my upcoming cruises.  Total of 55 nights x 2 people x $2 and I just saved $220.  

 

Last cruise, I tipped my cabin steward extra like I usually do even though it was only one service a day.  He came in and set up the trundle bed for my GS each evening while we were at dinner after tearing down in the morning service. For that I felt justified in maintaining my current tipping protocol.

 

The next few cruises it's just DW and I in the room.  We'll see how I feel about tipping after each one of these. I know that my tipping isn't going to change with bartenders since I know that that gets me a direct and immediate benefit and the dining room staff is still performing the same tasks that they have always performed so I feel to continue to do the same with them.  It'll just be the cabin steward that is on the bubble. 

 

[The Fun Researcher]

27 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I know that my tipping isn't going to change with bartenders since I know that that gets me a direct and immediate benefit and the dining room staff is still performing the same tasks that they have always performed so I feel to continue to do the same with them.  It'll just be the cabin steward that is on the bubble. 

 

Exactly how I feel. I’m sure we are not alone. Hopefully the room steward is making it up with the auto gratuities due to more rooms per steward.  With one a day service the stewards are doing more rooms per person now right?  I guess I’m not sure about that.

 

Royal has really put a lot on the shoulders of the room stewards.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Why does it matter what anyone ELSE does with their tips?  Whether they don't tip at all, do automatic gratuities, do automatic grats and then more, or remove automatic grats and tip in cash?  Multiple someones on your cruise and all other cruises are doing all of them.  

 

These tipping threads are nothing more than a way for people to brag.  They're either bragging how they're "fighting the man" and removing the automatic tips or bragging how much more over the automatic amount they're giving.  

[NightOne]

42 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

These tipping threads are nothing more than a way for people to brag.  They're either bragging how they're "fighting the man" and removing the automatic tips or bragging how much more over the automatic amount they're giving.  

 

I would not agree with that.

 

If your feathers are ruffled with tipping threads feel free to scroll past them. 🙂

[S.A.M.J.R.]

8 minutes ago, NightOne said:

 

I would not agree with that.

 

If your feathers are ruffled with tipping threads feel free to scroll past them. 🙂

Honestly, I read them for the entertainment.  But EVERY ONE has the "we ALWAYS remove our tips" and "we give $500 out daily in tips" (yes, exaggerating).  

[The Fun Researcher]

57 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Why does it matter what anyone ELSE does with their tips?  Whether they don't tip at all, do automatic gratuities, do automatic grats and then more, or remove automatic grats and tip in cash?  Multiple someones on your cruise and all other cruises are doing all of them.  

 

These tipping threads are nothing more than a way for people to brag.  They're either bragging how they're "fighting the man" and removing the automatic tips or bragging how much more over the automatic amount they're giving.  

I don’t disagree. I just look at it as discussion. Nothing more. I try not to judge one way or the other regarding gratuities.

[Tree_skier]

18 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

I don’t disagree. I just look at it as discussion. Nothing more. I try not to judge one way or the other regarding gratuities.

I don't care what anyone does... I just enjoy discussions about all things cruising.  For those who are bothered by tipping threads there is a little red x up in the top corner of the screen.  It is discussions like these that helped establish the baseline for my tipping practice and it threads like this that will go a long way towards changing it should it change.

[marci22]

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I know that my tipping isn't going to change with bartenders since I know that that gets me a direct and immediate benefit...

 

We consistently tipped bartenders $2-$5 cash per round and we didn't notice any better service. Maybe my service would have been horrible otherwise?

[Ret MP]

3 hours ago, marci22 said:

We consistently tipped bartenders $2-$5 cash per round and we didn't notice any better service. Maybe my service would have been horrible otherwise?

My experience is quite the opposite, MOSTLY.  On my first trip to the casino bar (my favorite bar), I give a rather large tip and my card and ordered my Screwdriver or Hot Bloody Mary.  The bartender comes back and says, "Thank you very much, Jay) < that's me.  He asks if the drink I ordered is my usual and I say I don't care which shows up as long as it is a Screwdriver or Hot Bloody Mary.  After that and the bartender is on duty on subsequent visits, my drink came in just a minute or two without asking and ahead of some folks that were there before me, and with a very sincere (I believe) it is great to see you again, Jay.  Obviously, other cruises and other bartenders are a little different.  But, for the most part, I get friendly and superior service.  

[mek]

6 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Why does it matter what anyone ELSE does with their tips?  Whether they don't tip at all, do automatic gratuities, do automatic grats and then more, or remove automatic grats and tip in cash?  Multiple someones on your cruise and all other cruises are doing all of them.  

 

These tipping threads are nothing more than a way for people to brag.  They're either bragging how they're "fighting the man" and removing the automatic tips or bragging how much more over the automatic amount they're giving.  

I think they can be helpful.  Right now I'm on a crusing leave of absence and I'm not as active as in the past.  My grandson and his wife are on Adventure, so I have been paying more attention to these boards this past week.

I really need to visit more often to keep up even if I'm not currently planning any cruises.

 

[Coast To Coasters]

We always pre pay gratuities prior to getting onboard and then take some cash for any outstanding service we receive and for our steward. We tend to leave a few dollars a day for our steward, we keep our room tidy but generally as there is four of us and they usually are very friendly and helpful, we consider it a small personal thank you.

 

We then tend to tip any dining or bar staff that provides great service! On our last cruise we had a bartended in Central Park learn our names on day 1, then the next day in CocoCay he remembered us, our names, who we were travelling with and our drink preferences! This continued throughout the cruise and at the end, we thought it be nice to give an extra tip as a small token of our thanks. Everyones different, generally it seems most people give cash or extra if the service is particularly good but its interesting to read everyone's perspectives on it!

[SoFlaCruzer]

I decided that for our next cruises (2 booked in 2024) I will remove the prepaid tips from my account, and pay in cash an amount larger than the 'recommended' tips in hand to my room stewards, waiter, assistant waiter, and head waiter (if he provides service). Bartenders already have 18%, but a buck or 2 here and there is possible.

 

Last cruise not only did we leave the tips on the onboard account, but I tipped an extra couple hundred in cash just for 2 of us. Tipping is out of control, so I will control it myself.

[RedIguana]

20 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Why does it matter what anyone ELSE does with their tips?  Whether they don't tip at all, do automatic gratuities, do automatic grats and then more, or remove automatic grats and tip in cash?  Multiple someones on your cruise and all other cruises are doing all of them.

For regular cruisers from the US it probably does not matter much, although in this case of how much grats have gone up over the last few years it is not unrealistic to see if a change in "extra" tipping is happening. For cruisers from non-tipping or less tip happy than US countries it can be informational. Although I am from the US, I do try to find discussions on tipping for any new country I may be visiting so as to fit it with the cultural norms. I also have no problem asking the waiter at a restaurant, cab driver, etc. when in a new country about their tipping culture. 

[vjmatty]

On 10/31/2023 at 5:33 PM, BirdTravels said:

Yes. unless there is a serious issue, we always tip our room steward $10-$20 per day ($100 for a 7-night cruise) and our dining room waiter and assistant waiters $10 per day. 

 

Is this specifically for exemplary service, or does it also include perfunctory, going-through-the-motions type service as well?

[mkmaj]

Yes. I don't see any reason to penalize staff for Royal's crappy decisions. 

 

I always tip our room steward $20 on the first day with requests and then the amount at the end depends on service throughout the week. That end of week tip has been anywhere from $20-$150. 

 

Dinner is usually $10/night and more at the end for great service.

 

Bars, typically a buck or two a drink.

[not-enough-cruising]

28 minutes ago, mkmaj said:

Yes. I don't see any reason to penalize staff for Royal's crappy decisions. 

 

I always tip our room steward $20 on the first day with requests and then the amount at the end depends on service throughout the week. That end of week tip has been anywhere from $20-$150. 

 

Dinner is usually $10/night and more at the end for great service.

 

Bars, typically a buck or two a drink.

You are incredibly generous