Different Tipping for Different type of Stateroom?

[negc]

If you are in a JS on any RCI ship and choose to prepay your tips or elect to have them added to your onboard account once you board, the tip amount to vw charged for your stateroom attendant should be $3.50 per person per day, the same amount that all standard rooms are charged. If you were or are charged the higher amount that applies to guests booked in a GS or above, it is not correct and you should request that it be corrected. Since we usually get great service from our room attendant and usually add cash to the tip vouchers, what we end up tipping is usually as much as or more than what suite attendants receive. However that is our decision and the only amount that RCI should charge you is the standard tip amount.

[Aprille]

For example, a JS on a Voyager class ship is 299 sq. ft. while a JS on a Freedom class ship is only 227 sq. ft.

Just curious where you got 227 sf for Freedom class JS size. Per RCCL's website it is 317 sf. CruiseDeckPlans shows avg JS size at 287 sf.

 

ETA: Oh, and to get back on topic, we are just off the 2/24 sailing of Voyager in a JS. We pre-paid tips and were charged $3.50 p/p per day for the cabin steward (same as any other non-suite).

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Hmmm, I need to check with DH, but on our 12 night holiday cruise this past December we had a JS and attached D1 Balcony. I dont think Im mistaken I remember DH Saying how the JS tips were more than the D1...

[Cuizer2]

Just curious where you got 227 sf for Freedom class JS size. Per RCCL's website it is 317 sf. CruiseDeckPlans shows avg JS size at 287 sf.

 

ETA: Oh, and to get back on topic, we are just off the 2/24 sailing of Voyager in a JS. We pre-paid tips and were charged $3.50 p/p per day for the cabin steward (same as any other non-suite).

Junior suite with balcony

Square footage: 227 sq ft

Balcony square footage: 69 sq ft

Occupancy: Up to 3 guests (some sleep 4)

Amenities: Private balcony, sitting area (some with sofa beds), two twin beds that convert to a queen-size bed, private bathroom with shower (some with bathtubs and showers), vanity area, hair dryer, closed-circuit TV, radio, telephone, and complimentary concierge service.

 

Now here is the problem. The above comes from an online travel agency. Last time I mentioned it, the reference was censored because of the rule against recommending any travel agency. So, I can say that it is a large, well known online travel agency owned by Microsoft. But I can't mentioned its name.

[Aprille]

Junior suite with balcony

Square footage: 227 sq ft

Balcony square footage: 69 sq ft

Occupancy: Up to 3 guests (some sleep 4)

Amenities: Private balcony, sitting area (some with sofa beds), two twin beds that convert to a queen-size bed, private bathroom with shower (some with bathtubs and showers), vanity area, hair dryer, closed-circuit TV, radio, telephone, and complimentary concierge service.

 

Now here is the problem. The above comes from an online travel agency. Last time I mentioned it, the reference was censored because of the rule against recommending any travel agency. So, I can say that it is a large, well known online travel agency owned by Microsoft. But I can't mentioned its name.

That is quite a descrepancy between 227 and 317! Also the balcony size is way off. Both RCCL and CruiseDeckPlans show it at 101 sf.

 

Since I just booked a JS on Independence, I am hoping RCCL's website is more accurate than Ex...er...that online travel agency website. ;)

[TPKeller]

The TA site is clearly wrong. Start at http://www.royalcaribbean.com/

 

Click on the "Plan A Cruise" drop down.

 

Select "Staterooms"

 

Click on "Suite/Deluxe"

 

Click on "Junior Suite" second row to the right.

 

That is page one of several pages of descriptions of Junior Suites on the different ships.

 

Freedom is the bottom of the first page and it says a JS is 317 sq. ft, with 101 sq. ft for the balcony. Liberty and Independence list the same sizes as well.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Theron

[Cuizer2]

The TA site is clearly wrong.

It wouldn't be the first time. Someone should send a note to Bill Gates.

[pmshirl]

I wrote to RC after poster's in this thread stated I got ripped off, for being charged Suite rates for a JS when I pre-paid my tips. Here is the response from RC.........................................................................................

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Recommended gratuities are the same in each suite, be it a Junior Suite or the Presidential Suite, and is not mandatory in any case.

 

Unfortunately, without a booking number or the name of the ship you'll be sailing on, we cannot determine if you purchased prepaid gratuities. We apologize for any inconvenience.

 

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International.

 

Merlin Reynolds

Customer Service Representative

[negc]

No one should be too surprised that Merlin is wrong. :rolleyes: CSR's have been known to make mistakes in the past, but usually they don't put it in writing. Not that long ago and for more than a year, the RCI brochures incorrectly indicated that guests in Junior Suites would receive concierge lounge access even though that was not RCI's policy. When the recommended tip level for suite attendants was increased from $3.50 pp per day, JS guests were specifically exempted from the increase and, as of last month, when we were on Legend of the Seas in a JS, and authorized RCI to place our tips on our onboard accounts, we were charged (correctly) $3.50 pp per day for our stateroom attendant. Total tips per person were $68.25 or $9.75 per day.

[TPKeller]

I wrote to RC after poster's in this thread stated I got ripped off, for being charged Suite rates for a JS when I pre-paid my tips. Here is the response from RC.........................................................................................

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Recommended gratuities are the same in each suite, be it a Junior Suite or the Presidential Suite, and is not mandatory in any case.

 

Unfortunately, without a booking number or the name of the ship you'll be sailing on, we cannot determine if you purchased prepaid gratuities. We apologize for any inconvenience.

 

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International.

 

Merlin Reynolds

Customer Service Representative

No further proof is needed that this particular CSR did not have a clue what you were talking about. (See red bold above.) He clearly thought you were writing to inquire about a future cruise for which you have already paid the gratuities, not asking about a past cruise from which you have already returned.

 

Sounds like you need to escalate your inquiry...

 

Theron

[pmshirl]

In my email I stated I was on a prior cruise and was inquiring about tipping charges for suites.. See Below

 

Issue: I would like to know if the tipping guidelines for the cabin steward is the same for a Junior Suite as it is for a GS, RS, FS. I was charged for Suite Rates, I prepaid my tips for a Junior Suite. Does a Junior Suite have the same tipping guidelines as the other suites for the cabin steward?

 

I will be sending a reply back with my res number and Ship name, maybe they can see I was charged a Suite rate. If this person (who you claim is giving wrong info) has anything to do with trying to rectify the charges, I guess I am SOL..since s/he claims it's the same tip!:D

[TPKeller]

In my email I stated I was on a prior cruise and was inquiring about tipping charges for suites.. See Below

 

Issue: I would like to know if the tipping guidelines for the cabin steward is the same for a Junior Suite as it is for a GS, RS, FS. I was charged for Suite Rates, I prepaid my tips for a Junior Suite. Does a Junior Suite have the same tipping guidelines as the other suites for the cabin steward?

 

I will be sending a reply back with my res number and Ship name, maybe they can see I was charged a Suite rate. If this person (who you claim is giving wrong info) has anything to do with trying to rectify the charges, I guess I am SOL..since s/he claims it's the same tip!:D

:)

 

Well, if it were me, I'd just start all over, and try to skip this guy altogether. For starters, he does apparently have a problem with basic English... RCCL is kind of like the IRS in this regard. If you ask them the same question 5 times, you will likely get 5 different answers. But this case is pretty sad, as it is well documented among the thousands of us here on Cruise Critic that JS tip recommendations are indeed different than the other "real" suites.

 

I understand it's a hard thing to accept, that the supposedly professional Customer Service Rep on the other end of the 800 number could be wrong, but there are nearly countless examples of it here on these boards... the longer you read, the easier it is to believe. :)

 

Theron