Prepaid gratuities.

[zebra36]

13 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Want more confusion, pay them now and you would have an annualized return of  around 18.75%  on  your gratuity savings for your 8 month out cruise.

 

 

 

 

Pay them NOW (before 11/11) at the lower rate.

 

OR

 

Pay them at the higher rate anytime after 11/11. (on the ship or on the phone)

 

 

 

I will pay them with my OBC when I cruise. (See I told you I could add more confusion)

 

[zebra36]

13 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Want more confusion, pay them now and you would have an annualized return of  around 18.75%  on  your gratuity savings for your 8 month out cruise.

 

 

 

 

Pay them NOW (before 11/11) at the lower rate.

 

OR

 

Pay them at the higher rate anytime after 11/11. (on the ship or on the phone)

 

 

 

I will pay them with my OBC when I cruise. (See I told you I could add more confusion)

 

[zebra36]

I just plan to use OBC on cruise, not worth the bother to do otherwise for me.

[Beer Belly]

My understanding is that the increase is on the daily service gratuities, which is discretionary and can be raised or lowered depending on how you feel the level of service was. Also, my understanding is, if prepaid, that option goes away.....am I wrong ?. We always prepay grats on drink and dining package, and also tip all that serve on top of the grats, as far as the increase on the daily, we are on the fence, likely accept the increase, maybe lower it onboard to the original amount.

[marci22]

5 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

My understanding is that the increase is on the daily service gratuities, which is discretionary and can be raised or lowered depending on how you feel the level of service was...we are on the fence, likely accept the increase, maybe lower it onboard to the original amount.

You can't change the daily amount charged onboard, you can only leave tips on or remove. If you prepay you cannot remove.

[Beer Belly]

22 minutes ago, marci22 said:

You can't change the daily amount charged onboard, you can only leave tips on or remove. If you prepay you cannot remove.

So, it's all or nothing once onboard ?, this may not end well for some who deserve some compensation. I surprised you cannot raise or lower depending on level of service.

[not-enough-cruising]

2 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

So, it's all or nothing once onboard ?, this may not end well for some who deserve some compensation. I surprised you cannot raise or lower depending on level of service.

It is all or nothing with the daily "auto gratuity".  Just remove them and tip in cash as you see fit.

[grandrivergirl]

We’re sailing December 2nd.  I called this week to prepay and the charge is on my Visa as of today.

Last year we sailed with RCL and once again they raised the gratuity amount.  Is this something they do yearly?

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

Also, my understanding is, if prepaid, that option goes away.....am I wrong ?.

No.

[Tlbecker1]

20 hours ago, Coralc said:

We always add gratuities when we book the cruise. And they have always been added to and paid at final payment.  If you call and add them now, you will pay them at final payment. 

 

GTO-Girl's experience is not what others have experienced, for whatever reason. 

This is what my experience is also on all of my cruises.  When booking they weren’t always added at the start, but a phone call to add and they are added to final payment amount.

[pcur]

Just ask when you call, saying you want to be guaranteed to pay the pre-Nov 11 price.  I prepaid all my booked cruises, which extend out to Jan 2025, BUT I have already paid them all in full early (to get points and statement credits on my credit card).  I had to pay the tips immediately.

 

I saved $196

[cruiseguy1016]

If you have a cruise already booked, the gratuities do not have to be paid before Nov. 11th to get the old $16 rate. I just emailed my TA to verify this and his reponse was "As long as the booking was created prior to Nov 11th, 2023 gratuities can be added at the old rate up to 48 hours prior to sailing." 

[cruiseboy89130]

3 hours ago, pcur said:

I saved $196

You can save even more by removing them!

[keishashadow]

5 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

If you have a cruise already booked, the gratuities do not have to be paid before Nov. 11th to get the old $16 rate. I just emailed my TA to verify this and his reponse was "As long as the booking was created prior to Nov 11th, 2023 gratuities can be added at the old rate up to 48 hours prior to sailing." 

That wasn’t mentioned earlier when I booked a new cruise today and prepaid other gratuities 

 

since one sailing fell thru the cracks can take my time to prepay that one then vs calling back in before the 11th

[pcur]

7 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

You can save even more by removing them!

I would never do this.  This is how some of the crew get paid, and I would not want to jeopardize them or their families' financial security.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

3 hours ago, pcur said:

I would never do this.  This is how some of the crew get paid, and I would not want to jeopardize them or their families' financial security.

The crew get a basic wage and the Graturites are added on top. I am sure it must be illegal in most of the western world to work people hard, not pay them and expect others to pay their wages in un taxed Graturites. 🤔

[bretts173]

34 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

The crew get a basic wage and the Graturites are added on top. I am sure it must be illegal in most of the western world to work people hard, not pay them and expect others to pay their wages in un taxed Graturites. 🤔

I agree with what you are saying but this is the culture that has been around for years and it is very hard for change in most people and Americans are novdifferent. And to say it's not an American company is fine but thats a technicality more than anything.

 

In Australia it's all included in the fare and we still tip our waiter and steward if we are impressed enough. 

[zebra36]

22 hours ago, grandrivergirl said:

We’re sailing December 2nd.  I called this week to prepay and the charge is on my Visa as of today.

Last year we sailed with RCL and once again they raised the gratuity amount.  Is this something they do yearly?

Beginning to look that way!

[Mittens101]

We prepaid our gratuities for an upcoming cruise. They charged our credit card while I was on the phone. The charge has already hit my card. 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Mittens101 said:

We prepaid our gratuities for an upcoming cruise. They charged our credit card while I was on the phone. The charge has already hit my card. 

If you are inside final payment that makes sense - otherwise it should have just been added to the final payment amount.

[not-enough-cruising]

7 hours ago, pcur said:

I would never do this.  This is how some of the crew get paid, and I would not want to jeopardize them or their families' financial security.

If you are so concerned about the financial stability of the crew, why are you rushing to pay the lower rate.

Surely the crew are worth the extra money

[Rob-Bob]

Many different situations being described, and many are contradicting one another.  I do not cruise until November 2024 but booked several months ago.  It seems like maybe I have until 24 hours before my cruise to prepay gratuities at old rate.  I will go with that idea and deal with it 13 months from now. First world problems🙂

 

I can't wait to get back on the high seas. Happy cruising to all and thanks for all the replies and feedback.

[Rob-Bob]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

If you are so concerned about the financial stability of the crew, why are you rushing to pay the lower rate.

Surely the crew are worth the extra money

Good point.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Rob-Bob said:

Many different situations being described, and many are contradicting one another.  I do not cruise until November 2024 but booked several months ago.  It seems like maybe I have until 24 hours before my cruise to prepay gratuities at old rate.  I will go with that idea and deal with it 13 months from now. First world problems🙂

 

I can't wait to get back on the high seas. Happy cruising to all and thanks for all the replies and feedback.

You have until 48 hours prior.  24 is too late

[FamilyCruiserUK]

9 hours ago, bretts173 said:

I agree with what you are saying but this is the culture that has been around for years and it is very hard for change in most people and Americans are novdifferent. And to say it's not an American company is fine but thats a technicality more than anything.

 

In Australia it's all included in the fare and we still tip our waiter and steward if we are impressed enough. 

In the UK P&O and MSC its included in the fare and we also tip when we feel they have gone above and beyond. An example of this is when the chef in the main restaurant made my daughter mac and cheese with proper english mature cheese and not american orange cheese. 

Very true though it is based on culture and very hard to change.