First Timer - Pre paid tipping?

[newcruiser30]

So, I'm going on my first cruise on March 15th and I'm a little confused about the tipping. How does the Pre-paid tipping option work if I select that. Will my room steward and maitre d' know that I did tip them already? Is it split between all of them? Obviously I would tip extra if I felt they were really good.

Otherwise, i understand the 'standard' is $3.95/day per person for the room, right?

Sorry for all the questions! Thank you for your help!!!:)

[JanineM]

Here's how it works UNLESS you are doing My-Time Dining (which I haven't experienced, so can't comment).

 

Here are the recommended figures, directly from Royal Caribbean's website:

So that you can thank those who have made your cruise vacation better than you could have imagined, we've developed these gratuity guidelines:

Suite attendant: $5.75 USD a day per guest

Stateroom attendant: $3.50 USD a day per guest

Dining Room Waiter: $3.50 USD a day per guest

Assistant Waiter: $2.00 USD a day per guest

Headwaiter: $.75 USD a day per guest

Note: These gratuities apply to guests of all ages.

Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served.

 

Notice to Guests: Gratuities may be shared with other crew members depending on the particular service requirement.

 

Envelopes for gratuities will be provided in your stateroom on the last night of the cruise. Gratuities may be paid in the following ways:

Pre paid by having them added to your reservation by your booking agent.

Added to your onboard SeaPass account.

Paid in cash at the end of the cruise

 

Midway through the cruise you will receive a questionnaire asking you if you want to put your tips on your Seapass card. If you submit that form then the recommended amount for tips for ALL of your servers (not just your Stateroom Attendant) will be charged to your Seapass card and you will receive little vouchers and envelopes to hand out on the last evening. Your servers will be told that you have tipped this way, so you can choose to give them the vouchers with a little thank you note, or not. You could also throw some extra cash in the envelope for those that you think deserve an extra tip.

 

If you don't do this then you'll have to put cash in the envelopes (which will still be provided to you, or you can pick them up at Guest Relations).

 

Just so we don't need to bring a bunch of cash, we always do the tips on the Seapass bit, then throw in extra cash for those who have gone above and beyond.

[ecmcm]

If you pre-pay your tips before the cruise, envelopes with paid vouchers in them will be left in your cabin to pass to the crew on the last night. You can add more cash if you like at that time. I like the idea of pre-paying so the tips are paid at final payment and I don't have to worry about keeping that amount of cash available.

 

em

[jpg1747]

I've gotten used to pre-paying my tips, since that's the way I've done it on Carnival and Princess. I will give something extra to those who go above and beyond, and also mention their name on my comments to the cruiseline. That way they get something extra and their employer knows they've done something to deserve it.