Tips Being Added

[tugboat]

Did I miss something I was looking at cruises next year and if you go thru the booking process on RCCL website the tips are added to the price of the cruise. No more stiffing the staff:)

[Merion_Mom]

Did I miss something I was looking at cruises next year and if you go thru the booking process on RCCL website the tips are added to the price of the cruise. No more stiffing the staff:)

 

I just went to the website to see what you are talking about.

 

It lists the gratuities as an option that you can check.

[39august]

I just priced a cruise for 2012 and tips were definitely NOT added to my cruise price. Nor did I see any place to request tips to be added. I did not select MTD.

[tugboat]

I just priced a cruise for 2012 and tips were definitely NOT added to my cruise price. Nor did I see any place to request tips to be added. I did not select MTD.

 

This is what I get no matter what cruise I look up.:confused:

 

Under Summary of Charges

 

Guest 1 Guest 2

Cruise Fare: $639.00 $639.00

Prepaid Gratuities: $81.55 $81.55

Taxes/Fees: $94.73 $94.73

Per Person Total: $815.28 $815.28

[jennat]

Can you adjust or remove the tips?

I know I am going to start something but I feel a tip is just that....a tip. If you charge me for it then it is a charge. We chose my time dining because we wanted to eat at the other venues and not the dining room but also didn't want to stiff the dining room waiters (by not sitting there and not allowing them to have anyone else sit there).

We always tip and tip well but I want the tips I leave to go to the people serving me. I had the opportunity to speak with Ken Taylor ( he happened to be on our last cruise) and he said unequivocally that the tips were included with the extra charge restaurants. I always leave extra but that is a personal thing....you may not tip and the waiters still receive some money.

My problem is, I am paying for dinner for 4 in my family ($100 total) tipping extra on this $20 and still leaving $23 for the dining room staff or someone else that did nothing for me. I have a problem with this.

Tips mean "to insure prompt service" They are becoming much to expected and commonplace. I don't want to tip the person scooping my icecream....that is their job....

I know that the staff on the ships don't make a lot of money but honestly that is a different discussion. The point (for me) here is, if you take away my right to chose where and when I pay, it is no longer a tip but a charge.

[tugboat]

Can you adjust or remove the tips?

I know I am going to start something but I feel a tip is just that....a tip. If you charge me for it then it is a charge. We chose my time dining because we wanted to eat at the other venues and not the dining room but also didn't want to stiff the dining room waiters (by not sitting there and not allowing them to have anyone else sit there).

We always tip and tip well but I want the tips I leave to go to the people serving me. I had the opportunity to speak with Ken Taylor ( he happened to be on our last cruise) and he said unequivocally that the tips were included with the extra charge restaurants. I always leave extra but that is a personal thing....you may not tip and the waiters still receive some money.

My problem is, I am paying for dinner for 4 in my family ($100 total) tipping extra on this $20 and still leaving $23 for the dining room staff or someone else that did nothing for me. I have a problem with this.

Tips mean "to insure prompt service" They are becoming much to expected and commonplace. I don't want to tip the person scooping my icecream....that is their job....

I know that the staff on the ships don't make a lot of money but honestly that is a different discussion. The point (for me) here is, if you take away my right to chose where and when I pay, it is no longer a tip but a charge.

 

We have found with MTD we always get some of the best staff on the ship.

[OGCFreddie]

Tips mean "to insure prompt service"

 

There are common inaccurate claims that "tip" (or "tips") is an acronym for a phrase such as "To Insure Prompt Service", "To Insure Proper Service", "To Improve Performance", "To Inspire Promptness" or "To Insure Promptness." These false backronyms contradict the verifiable etymology, as follows.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word tip originated as a slang term, and its etymology is unclear. The term in the sense of "to give a gratuity" first appeared in the 18th century. It derived from an earlier sense of tip, meaning "to give; to hand, pass", which originated in the rougues' cant in the 17th century. This sense may have derived from the 16th-century tip meaning "to strike or hit smartly but lightly" (which may have derived from the Low German tippen, "to tap"), but this derivation is "very uncertain".

[brfan]

This is what I get no matter what cruise I look up.:confused:

 

Under Summary of Charges

 

Guest 1 Guest 2

Cruise Fare: $639.00 $639.00

Prepaid Gratuities: $81.55 $81.55

Taxes/Fees: $94.73 $94.73

Per Person Total: $815.28 $815.28

 

What dining did you select? You have to prepay tips if you have chosen MTD. Is this the case for you?

[brfan]

Can you adjust or remove the tips?

I know I am going to start something but I feel a tip is just that....a tip. If you charge me for it then it is a charge. We chose my time dining because we wanted to eat at the other venues and not the dining room but also didn't want to stiff the dining room waiters (by not sitting there and not allowing them to have anyone else sit there).

We always tip and tip well but I want the tips I leave to go to the people serving me. I had the opportunity to speak with Ken Taylor ( he happened to be on our last cruise) and he said unequivocally that the tips were included with the extra charge restaurants. I always leave extra but that is a personal thing....you may not tip and the waiters still receive some money.

My problem is, I am paying for dinner for 4 in my family ($100 total) tipping extra on this $20 and still leaving $23 for the dining room staff or someone else that did nothing for me. I have a problem with this.

Tips mean "to insure prompt service" They are becoming much to expected and commonplace. I don't want to tip the person scooping my icecream....that is their job....

I know that the staff on the ships don't make a lot of money but honestly that is a different discussion. The point (for me) here is, if you take away my right to chose where and when I pay, it is no longer a tip but a charge.

 

The tip you pay for dining covers the service you receive for all meals during the day, not just dinner. The crew in the dining room work the other venues for breakfast, lunch, tea (if it is served), special events (eg. fruit carving, cooking demos) and any late night pool parties, etc. So you do receive the service, however I agree all cruise lines should refer to it as a service charge, which is what it really is.

[tugboat]

What dining did you select? You have to prepay tips if you have chosen MTD. Is this the case for you?

 

I didn't select any dinning just checking the price of the cruise. I never get to the point of selecting anything but cabin number or cabin type.:confused:

[EVALUATOR]

I didn't select any dinning just checking the price of the cruise. I never get to the point of selecting anything but cabin number or cabin type.:confused:

 

Maybe that particular sailing only has MTD left as an option and RCI's highly advanced website adjusted the information accordingly.:rolleyes:

[tugboat]

Maybe that particular sailing only has MTD left as an option and RCI's highly advanced website adjusted the information accordingly.:rolleyes:

 

I have try 10 or so different sailings it dosen't matter I was just wondering if anyone else was seeing what I was. It may be a good thing sense we always pre-pay out tips.

[Gonzo70]

Tips mean "to insure prompt service"

 

No it doesn't, surely you are aware that is an old wive's tale. One insures their car, their house, their health but I have never heard of somebody insuring service. Perhaps you means ensure? Then it would be TEPS. Tips are generally given AFTER service is rendered, so even TEPS would not make sense. FYI "tips" on cruise lines are more of a service charge. The staff that receive the "tips" earn $50 per/month in salary, so the "tips" is how they are paid. Think of the suggested gratuities as the minimum gratuity for basic, expected service and then give an extra cash tip to any workers at the end of the cruise you feel went above and beyond expectations.

[Ocean Boy]

No it doesn't, surely you are aware that is an old wive's tale. One insures their car, their house, their health but I have never heard of somebody insuring service. Perhaps you means ensure? Then it would be TEPS. Tips are generally given AFTER service is rendered, so even TEPS would not make sense. FYI "tips" on cruise lines are more of a service charge. The staff that receive the "tips" earn $50 per/month in salary, so the "tips" is how they are paid. Think of the suggested gratuities as the minimum gratuity for basic, expected service and then give an extra cash tip to any workers at the end of the cruise you feel went above and beyond expectations.

 

So if the cruise line feels that "tip" is the same as "salary" why can't everyone else make up their own definitions for the word too?;)

[39august]

I just did another mock booking on a different ship and date and I still do NOT see tips added. My detail screen shows only cost of cruise and tax. Exactly what ship and date are you seeing gratuities added into your price, please?

[tugboat]

I just did another mock booking on a different ship and date and I still do NOT see tips added. My detail screen shows only cost of cruise and tax. Exactly what ship and date are you seeing gratuities added into your price, please?

 

I got it found out what was wrong, if you look in the upper right hand corner of RCL web page you see Change Country..........Mine was set on India,...............Change it back to the good old U S of A all is good. I was thinking I was in the Twilight Zone:eek::)

[Clarea]

Did I miss something I was looking at cruises next year and if you go thru the booking process on RCCL website the tips are added to the price of the cruise. No more stiffing the staff:)

Curtis, I just checked a TA I have booked next year, and the tips were optional, and unchecked on my test. Maybe, like someone else has mentioned, MTD is the only available option on the cruise, or you have some cookie stored in your browser that's making the selection for you.

 

Bob

[Tucker in Texas]

Royal Caribbean only collects gratuities up front (or automatically) if you are in MTD (or, apparently, from India(lol). I have heard that there is a "waiting list" for crew members wanting to serve MTD because they know they won't get stiffed so I'm not surprised that the better ones are serving that shift. While we have only done MTD a couple of times, we found that generally we were seated in the same section with the same waiter most of the time which I think is because we have a standing reservation at 7:00. Therefore, at the end of the cruise, we have tipped out the servers extra if they are the same ones most of the time.

 

If you don't have MTD, Royal gives you the option of signing up for putting gratuities on your S&S card. However, they cannot be adjusted and includes a tip for the head waiter and I understand head housekeeper now. You can't say "My room steward was great but my waiter was not" and take a portion of the waiter's gratuity and put it over to the room steward's column.

 

Tucker in Texas

[cruisinquestions]

There are common inaccurate claims that "tip" (or "tips") is an acronym for a phrase such as "To Insure Prompt Service", "To Insure Proper Service", "To Improve Performance", "To Inspire Promptness" or "To Insure Promptness." These false backronyms contradict the verifiable etymology, as follows.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word tip originated as a slang term, and its etymology is unclear. The term in the sense of "to give a gratuity" first appeared in the 18th century. It derived from an earlier sense of tip, meaning "to give; to hand, pass", which originated in the rougues' cant in the 17th century. This sense may have derived from the 16th-century tip meaning "to strike or hit smartly but lightly" (which may have derived from the Low German tippen, "to tap"), but this derivation is "very uncertain".

 

Not to mention I think the statement To ENsure Prompt Service -TIPS would make more sense. I never understand why ppl think the word INsure even makes sense in the case of tipping a service professional.

[cb at sea]

Even if you do the pre-paid option, the tips WILL go to those who serve you....so no worries about that! If you wish to give a tip to someone who is not on the list of suggested tipees, then you certainly can.

 

The specialty restaurant fees include the tip.

[jennat]

No it doesn't, surely you are aware that is an old wive's tale. One insures their car, their house, their health but I have never heard of somebody insuring service. Perhaps you means ensure? Then it would be TEPS. Tips are generally given AFTER service is rendered, so even TEPS would not make sense. FYI "tips" on cruise lines are more of a service charge. The staff that receive the "tips" earn $50 per/month in salary, so the "tips" is how they are paid. Think of the suggested gratuities as the minimum gratuity for basic, expected service and then give an extra cash tip to any workers at the end of the cruise you feel went above and beyond expectations.

 

Really? You are going there?

Somehow I knew someone would....Speak to the point, not the semantics.

I think I brought up a fair point and wanted others opinions on it, not to be attacked for my grammar. The point in question doesn't change, you are being petty. This is a great example why people are getting fed up with the people on this board. You don't belittle other people for any reason.

The reason I think that ensure would make sense is that the people servicing you, know that they are working for a tip at the end, so they want to do a good job for you so that you take care of them in the end. The way tips are going now, it seems to be just a standard charge at the end of the meal regardless of service.

In my experience, tips are something you pay for someone who does something for you.....salaries are something that is paid to someone who is just doing their job. It is not my responsibility to pay everyone who doesn't make a lot of money ('s) salaries. If it is a service charge, they should call it that. I am happy to take care of people financially that take good care of me, to the point of being generous. I just have a problem, tipping the person who is taking care of me and the person that I never see.

My point is that by eating somewhere else and tipping there and tipping the "prepayed gratuities", I am tipping double.

 

brfan, thank you for your response. It makes sense.

[Tucker in Texas]

The tips I give the porters are the dock are "insurance" in my estimation. Insurance my luggage doesn't take a swim, insurance my luggage doesn't take another itinerary than mind, insurance my luggage doesn't get shoved into a corner and miss the ship.

 

Tucker in Texas

[tugboat]

Royal Caribbean only collects gratuities up front (or automatically) if you are in MTD (or, apparently, from India(lol). I have heard that there is a "waiting list" for crew members wanting to serve MTD because they know they won't get stiffed so I'm not surprised that the better ones are serving that shift. While we have only done MTD a couple of times, we found that generally we were seated in the same section with the same waiter most of the time which I think is because we have a standing reservation at 7:00. Therefore, at the end of the cruise, we have tipped out the servers extra if they are the same ones most of the time.

 

If you don't have MTD, Royal gives you the option of signing up for putting gratuities on your S&S card. However, they cannot be adjusted and includes a tip for the head waiter and I understand head housekeeper now. You can't say "My room steward was great but my waiter was not" and take a portion of the waiter's gratuity and put it over to the room steward's column.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

On our last cruise we got to talking to our waiter and he said on MTD he usally sets the table 3 times in a night or 50% more tips, the other waiters only set the table twice. He said one night he was able to set the time 4 times when some on came it right at closing. He said he got XX dollar for each for each person, as long as didn't get a bad commit written on him.

He was a great waiter 1 Hour for dinner:)

[Ocean Boy]

brfan, thank you for your response. It makes sense.

 

And everything in your above post makes perfect sense also.

[Embracedbylife]

Just booked our first cruise with RCCL a few days ago and I was suprised to see the price increase as I got to the end to make my deposit via credit card - then I realized they added on prepaid gratuities to my booking because I selected anytime dining. If you select anytime dining you can not remove the pre paid tips. So we have the pre paid tips as part of our booking and total cost. This is a US booking also.