Question re: prepaid gratuities??

[divaofdisney]

Sorry if this has been asked before but I was just wondering how the pre-paid gratuities work?? I have read that some of the staff , if they know they are getting this beforehand the service is not as good- but I don't see how they could know this - don't they give you the slip to put in the envelopes the last night of the cruise?? Or has this changed. We are doing this for the first time for our cruise in December and just would like to know how this works. Thanks in advance and once again you guys are the best!!

[isujim]

We did not pre pay.......but charged them to our sea pass card once we were on the ship.........you may want to do this as an alternative. The staff won't know you have charged your tips. The last day of the cruise you will get a voucher in the late afternoon to put in your envelopes. You may choose to add addtional money if you think service has been outstanding. Put the voucher in the envelopes and pass them out just like you would cash..........while not pre paid before the cruise.......it is a good alternative if you dont' want to distribute cash.

[Trevoli]

First, let's be clear what kind of tipping you're talking about.

 

Prepaid means that the tips are included in your cruise fare.

 

Auto-tip means that tips for the dining room and cabin staff are added to your shipboard account each day, generally about $10 per day, per passenger.

 

Some cruiselines, including Royal Caribbean, give you vouchers and envelopes on the last day so that you can give them to your cabin steward and your dining room waiter.

 

I don't know how/if the crew is notified as to which passengers have chosen auto-tipping, because even if you did, you could always remove/change it by going to the purser's desk at any time. And of course, just because a passenger removes the auto-tip, doesn't mean they don't plan to tip. Maybe they want to give the crewmember(s) cash instead. It's the people who do neither (no auto tipping and no cash tipping) that drive me crazy.

 

Personally, I always request the auto-tips. It's one less thing I have to think about, and I've always gotten great service from my cabin and dining room staff.

 

Please remember also that neither pre-paid tips, nor auto-tips, include room service, so if you take advantage of that, you should tip a few $$ in cash to whoever delivers your food because you'll probably never see that individual again.

 

T

[kittyg]

We found out if you want to put the tips on the sea pass card and hence your cc, that you had to tip the recommended amount. While I wanted to tip our waiters the full amount, we never saw the head waiter and one of my son's ate in the dining room only 2 times.

 

So I wanted to pay the kid's tips to the waiters at adult rates but to the head waiter at the kid rate. I couldn't do this when I went to put it on the seapass card, so I just paid the head waiter the entire adult amount for the kids.

 

I'm not sure if they would have allowed me to add extra, but they wouldn't let me tip under the adult rate.

[BearySweet2Cruise]

We found out if you want to put the tips on the sea pass card and hence your cc, that you had to tip the recommended amount. While I wanted to tip our waiters the full amount, we never saw the head waiter and one of my son's ate in the dining room only 2 times.

 

So I wanted to pay the kid's tips to the waiters at adult rates but to the head waiter at the kid rate. I couldn't do this when I went to put it on the seapass card, so I just paid the head waiter the entire adult amount for the kids.

 

I'm not sure if they would have allowed me to add extra, but they wouldn't let me tip under the adult rate.

 

They will always allow more.. the never turn down those $$$$ :D

[WECoyote]

We did not pre pay.......but charged them to our sea pass card once we were on the ship.........you may want to do this as an alternative. The staff won't know you have charged your tips. The last day of the cruise you will get a voucher in the late afternoon to put in your envelopes. You may choose to add addtional money if you think service has been outstanding. Put the voucher in the envelopes and pass them out just like you would cash..........while not pre paid before the cruise.......it is a good alternative if you dont' want to distribute cash.

 

We usually put our tips on our sea pass by filling out the sheet that is available on board. Does the crew know it? I doubt it. But, the "oldtimers" could have a network set up that gives them that information. (Heck, I have set up those kind of business networks in my organizations during the last 31 years to keep abreast of the daily goings on!) If we receive service that is above and beyond, we slip a little green into the envelope in addition. We do not pretip per say, but we have given the extraordinary individual an international calling card ($5 or $10 card for as many as 200 minutes) on the second day (I will admit that this is becoming habit due to the fantastic individuals we come across lately). Once we did this, the service escalated beyond our wildest dreams. These are usually the individuals that also get the green added to their envelopes along with their vouchers.

[birdergal]

On our 4-night cruise which we took last month, I was able to prepay the gratuities when I booked our cruise on-line. I was never given that option on previous cruises when I booked through a TA. It basically worked a lot like filling out the sheet while onboard. You received the vouchers the last day. Worked great for me!

[Trevoli]

I have read posts from people who say they have gone to the purser's desk and have reduced the amount of the auto-tip either because they didn't eat in the dining room every night (an approach I REALLY disagree with, BTW) or because they felt like they got less than stellar service (not going there).

 

So, to now hear that you can only outright cancel or increase (but not reduce) the daily amount surprises me.

 

I am SO in agreement with not wanting to tip the head waiter or the maitre d'. Since I hardly even SEE those people, let alone get anything extraordinary from them, I resent having to tip them. However, I've heard that all tips (except those above and beyond the recommended amount, whether pre-paid, auto-tipped, or cash) are pooled and shared among all four people (waiter, assistant waiter, head waiter and maitre d), so I don't know how to avoid it.

 

T

[WECoyote]

On our 4-night cruise which we took last month, I was able to prepay the gratuities when I booked our cruise on-line. I was never given that option on previous cruises when I booked through a TA. It basically worked a lot like filling out the sheet while onboard. You received the vouchers the last day. Worked great for me!

 

I have considerd this, but what happens when you do get the underachiever? I normally can spot them in the first day or two. If I have one of "those" (very rare by the way) then I prefer to tip in cash and give the bum what they earned. Otherwise I elect to put the tips on my sea pass and then slip extra green into the overachiever's envelopes.

 

If you are short of cash you can go to the casino and get cash on your sea pass. No ATM fees or cash withdrawl charges. It is placed on your credit card as if it was a purchase.

[birdergal]

I have considerd this, but what happens when you do get the underachiever?

 

I guess I didn't give this much thought because I've always been happy with the staff that has taken care of me. I usually give extra if I think they've been exceptionally good. I suppose you could go to the purser's desk and see about lowering the tip. I would think they'd credit your SeaPass account but don't know for sure. I would normally have to agree with others about not liking to tip the head waiter when you never see him, but on our last cruise we actually had a good one. He came over every evening and chatted with us. If we needed something and our waiters were busy, he got it for us. I also noticed him helping his staff out on numerous occasions. This is one time I thought the head waiter earned his tip.

[WECoyote]

I guess I didn't give this much thought because I've always been happy with the staff that has taken care of me. I usually give extra if I think they've been exceptionally good. I suppose you could go to the purser's desk and see about lowering the tip. I would think they'd credit your SeaPass account but don't know for sure. I would normally have to agree with others about not liking to tip the head waiter when you never see him, but on our last cruise we actually had a good one. He came over every evening and chatted with us. If we needed something and our waiters were busy, he got it for us. I also noticed him helping his staff out on numerous occasions. This is one time I thought the head waiter earned his tip.

 

On RCI, if you put your tips on your Sea Pass card, you will pay the "recommended amount". You cannot adjust the amount like you can on cruise lines that automatically charge your account. You receive a voucher and when your server/attendent turns in that voucher, they are paid the recommended amount. They receive the monies about two weeks after they turn the voucher in. You will receive a voucher, and pay for it, for your head waiter whether you give it to him/her or not, and whether he/she has earned it or not. That is why I wait for a couple of days to decide if I am going to put the tips on my account. You can always put the tips on your acount until a couple of days before you disembark. The forms and drop boxes are available all over the dining room decks and pursers areas. Your room attendent will even leave a form in your room. You will always have the option to put it on your Sea Pass right up to the last couple of days. If you have a RCI Visa, you get double points for it too.

[romy835]

 

Please remember also that neither pre-paid tips, nor auto-tips, include room service, so if you take advantage of that, you should tip a few $$ in cash to whoever delivers your food because you'll probably never see that individual again.

 

T

 

How much should I tip for room service? I'm going on my first ever cruise soon and I don't have much information about tips, so any help will be appreciated.

[Sea and Me]

I am a little confused. Haven't sailed RCCL for a few years. We are going in Oct. the question is: The tipping on the seapass card do we have to authorize it or is it automatic?? The vouchers do they tell the staff that we tipped them by the seapass card?? On other cruiselines we did the auto tip and then tipped additional when we felt the service deserved it. I liked the old way of cash at the end!! Thanks for your replies:)

[constantcruiser]

We were on a 10-night sailing of the Jewel a couple of months ago, and you could tip any way you wanted. We like to give each person a little cash each day, along with a personal note or small gift. We've had occasions when our cabin attendant or assistant waiter has changed at some point during the cruise, and I always wondered who got the tip we gave at the end.

[birdergal]

How much should I tip for room service? I'm going on my first ever cruise soon and I don't have much information about tips, so any help will be appreciated.

 

I don't use room service much but had read on a previous board that $2-$3 is the norm. I tipped $3 for a breakfast that we had delivered for two people.

[Bell Ringer]

Wecoyote: Where do you get these International Calling cards? Is there a certain kind that we can be assurred are good anywhere? I have heard that only some are useful for certain islands.

[WECoyote]

How much should I tip for room service? I'm going on my first ever cruise soon and I don't have much information about tips, so any help will be appreciated.

 

Here is the recommended tipping guide for the Americas. they do vary slightly for other areas of the world, but a re easily looked up on your cuiseline's web site.

 

Tipping Guidelines Waiter, $3.50 per person/day. Asst. waiter, $2 per person/day. Maitre'D, $.75 per person/day. Cabin steward, $3.50 per person/day. 15% tip included on beverage orders.

Figure $9.75 per traveler per day. The crew will actually earn this amount and most of the time more. The tips are a significant portion of their income and as they make you feel like royalty, you will understand. The recommendations above are the amounts that will be charged to your account if you chose to do so.

[WECoyote]

I am a little confused. Haven't sailed RCCL for a few years. We are going in Oct. the question is: The tipping on the seapass card do we have to authorize it or is it automatic?? The vouchers do they tell the staff that we tipped them by the seapass card?? On other cruiselines we did the auto tip and then tipped additional when we felt the service deserved it. I liked the old way of cash at the end!! Thanks for your replies:)

 

It will only be charged to your account if you authorize it. I usually wait a couple of days to insure that we don't have an underachiever in the group serving us. Then I opt to put it on the account and slip a little extra green into the envelopes of the overachievers....and there are usually a number of those!

[WECoyote]

Wecoyote: Where do you get these International Calling cards? Is there a certain kind that we can be assurred are good anywhere? I have heard that only some are useful for certain islands.

 

Lately, I have just been going to WalMart and buying the 150 minute AT&T card for $12.88. I have not heard of it being restricted by location, ever. I have picked various cards up all over the country, but this is what I have been buying lately. The $5 card with 100 minutes disappeared off the shelves a week or so ago and I heard that there were too many complaints about it with the FCC. So I am glad I haven't passed that one out for about two years.

[WECoyote]

How much should I tip for room service? I'm going on my first ever cruise soon and I don't have much information about tips, so any help will be appreciated.

 

FIRST EVER CRUISE!!!! Congratulations!!!

 

As far as tipping room service, I think you will find $2-$3 is adequate.

 

Now as for tips for new cruisers, here is a link to a list that members of this board suggested. http://mysite.verizon.net/vzepx5q3/ The ones I disagree with, totally, is pre-tipping. Beyond the phone card, a little cash to really good bartenders, and room service, I do not tip the stateroom attendent or dining room servers until the last night.

[TPKeller]

...and it wouldn't be a real "tipping thread" if I didn't drop in a link to the tip calculator! :D

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

Theron

[Sea and Me]

It will only be charged to your account if you authorize it. I usually wait a couple of days to insure that we don't have an underachiever in the group serving us. Then I opt to put it on the account and slip a little extra green into the envelopes of the overachievers....and there are usually a number of those!

 

Thanks for your reply!! I think I'll take your advice about waiting a couple of days before authorization. We have been very fortunate to have great staff on all our cruises. They work hard for their money and appreciate a kind word from passengers. Of course tips are what they are working towards and that is why they are there. Thanks again.