Heads Up - Substantive change in Gratuity wording

[orville99]

We booked. On board for a June 2025 cruise, and when I looked at the invoice I saw that RCL has completely changed the language on daily gratuities:

 

Except where expressly prohibited by law, guests who have not prepaid gratuities will be assessed a daily gratuity amount which shall be charged to each guest’s SeaPass account on a per person, per day basis. Additionally, all pre-cruise and onboard purchases of spa and salon services, beverage and beverage packages, specialty dining and specialty dining packages, and mini bar purchases will be assessed a gratuity charge. Gratuity charges assessed will be at the rate(s) in effect at the time of purchase as published on https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense.
Gratuities may be modified in the guest’s sole discretion by visiting the Guest Relations desk onboard at any time prior to the morning of disembarkation.
The booking is currently subject to USD 750.00 cancellation penalties at time of this booking invoice 05 JUL 2024. This amount may increase based on the cruise penalty

[Mapleleafforever]

So what's the change?

[PhillyFan33579]

What changed? There is nothing new in the wording you posted. 

[cruisegirl1]

I generally don't prepay and am charged $18 pp/day (more when is a suite) to my account. Grats are always charged for the other activities/purchases mentioned above.  Perhaps they want to be sure the info is up front and not buried.  

M

[HicksRA]

If you’re “assessed” a gratuity, is it a gratuity??  

[time4u2go]

What's different?  How was it worded previously?

[Anton]

Wording from one of my Utopia invoices for October:

 

A gratuity of US$16.00 per person per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or US$18.50 per person per day for guests in Suites, will be automatically applied to each guest’s SeaPass® account on a daily basis.* These gratuities are distributed to the crew, such as dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams, and others who work to enhance the overall cruise experience.

Guests who booked Star Class Suites or who prepaid gratuities prior to boarding their cruise will not see a daily charge applied onboard. An 18% gratuity will be automatically added to beverage package,specialty dining, spa and salon purchases.

[Mapleleafforever]

19 minutes ago, Anton said:

Wording from one of my Utopia invoices for October:

 

A gratuity of US$16.00 per person per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or US$18.50 per person per day for guests in Suites, will be automatically applied to each guest’s SeaPass® account on a daily basis.* These gratuities are distributed to the crew, such as dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams, and others who work to enhance the overall cruise experience.

Guests who booked Star Class Suites or who prepaid gratuities prior to boarding their cruise will not see a daily charge applied onboard. An 18% gratuity will be automatically added to beverage package,specialty dining, spa and salon purchases.

So it's just yet another price increase? 

[Another_Critic]

9 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

So it's just yet another price increase? 

It's been $18 for a while.

 

About Your Upcoming Travels

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

 

 

Edited July 25 by Another_Critic

[Another_Critic]

Seems like the change is "Gratuity charges assessed will be at the rate(s) in effect at the time of purchase" vs. the rate at sailing (if not prepaid).

[Anton]

"Time of purchase" is not wording normally used to refer to making a booking so I think they are talking about cruise planner sales and not the daily gratuities.  One thing for sure is that RCI never revises the wording of a policy such that it benefits the guests, especially when it involves money.

[fishin' musician]

33 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

If you’re “assessed” a gratuity, is it a gratuity??  

Good point!  Unfortunately the customer must pay the crew's wages. They could do away with it, but the cruise price would look much less attractive.  And stiffing someone who works 12 hour days for 6 months with no days off is not in my DNA.  So we grin and bare it.

[goldfish65]

The wording makes it sound like you can modify the beverage gratuity at guest services. 

[cruisegirl1]

35 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Seems like the change is "Gratuity charges assessed will be at the rate(s) in effect at the time of purchase" vs. the rate at sailing (if not prepaid).

Hasn't that been the prior policy?  When they announce a gratuity increase there is a short time one can  pre pay for existing sailings at the old rate. 

 

or

 

Does it mean if gratuities go up after one books a cruise,  Royal can't charge more?

 

 

M

 

Edited July 25 by cruisegirl1

[Another_Critic]

9 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Hasn't that been the prior policy?  When they announce a gratuity increase there is a short time one can  pre pay for existing sailings at the old rate. 

 

or

 

Does it mean if gratuities go up after one books a cruise,  Royal can't charge more?

 

A is what has been the past policy.  I don't know if B is the change or not.

[Mapleleafforever]

13 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Hasn't that been the prior policy?  When they announce a gratuity increase there is a short time one can  pre pay for existing sailings at the old rate. 

 

or

 

Does it mean if gratuities go up after one books a cruise,  Royal can't charge more?

 

 

M

 

Good catch. So no benefit to pre paying gratuities anymore?

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Good catch. So no benefit to pre paying gratuities anymore?

No one here knows.  And it's doubtful that Royal customer service knows at this point.  

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, Anton said:

Wording from one of my Utopia invoices for October:

 

A gratuity of US$16.00 per person per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or US$18.50 per person per day for guests in Suites, will be automatically applied to each guest’s SeaPass® account on a daily basis.* These gratuities are distributed to the crew, such as dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams, and others who work to enhance the overall cruise experience.

Guests who booked Star Class Suites or who prepaid gratuities prior to boarding their cruise will not see a daily charge applied onboard. An 18% gratuity will be automatically added to beverage package,specialty dining, spa and salon purchases.

That would be last October, not this year.

[Anton]

14 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

That would be last October, not this year.

I wasn't clear.  The point is it doesn't matter what the invoice says, because they increased the daily gratuities after I booked the Utopia so I was on the hook for the new rate unless I prepaid within the window they gave before the new rate was effective.  Now the invoices don't list a specific amount.

[orville99]

1 hour ago, Mapleleafforever said:

So what's the change?

It no longer quotes a price per day, This was the old wording:

 

To facilitate the crew recognition process, a $16.00 USD gratuity ($18.50 USD for Suite guests) is added to each guest’s SeaPass account daily. This gratuity is shared amongst the dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams.

[time4u2go]

2 minutes ago, orville99 said:

It no longer quotes a price per day, This was the old wording:

 

To facilitate the crew recognition process, a $16.00 USD gratuity ($18.50 USD for Suite guests) is added to each guest’s SeaPass account daily. This gratuity is shared amongst the dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams.

The link that is embedded in what you posted has the per-day prices.

[orville99]

56 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

The link that is embedded in what you posted has the per-day prices.

True, but you now have to drill down to find out what the current rates are. If you don’t, and the rates change somewhere down the road, you would never know you missed the opportunity to pay less. The old wording was transparent and specific. Now it is hidden.

 

to me, that is disingenuous at best

 

[smokeybandit]

2 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:

So no benefit to pre paying gratuities anymore?

There really wasn't any benefit, except for a brief window when you could opt to pre-pay at the old rate when they announce a new rate.

Edited July 25 by smokeybandit

[ngrund]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

True, but you now have to drill down to find out what the current rates are. If you don’t, and the rates change somewhere down the road, you would never know you missed the opportunity to pay less. The old wording was transparent and specific. Now it is hidden.

 

to me, that is disingenuous at best

 

Gratuity charges assessed will be at the rate(s) in effect at the time of purchase

 

no missed opportunity to pay less since the charge should be the one in effect when cruise is booked (I think)

 

Edited July 26 by ngrund

[not-enough-cruising]

I know how to avoid this wording from being an issue...........................