I don't understand "prepaid gratuities" on Celebrity Silhouette!

[CruisingChick]

This brings up, again, why it would be advantageous for Cruise Critic to lock old threads - so people can't resurrect them, complete with their out-of-date information. Time marches on…...

 

Yes, I think that would be a great idea. The last post was October 2011 and then someone brings it back up in August 2014. Many things have changed in the past 3 years.

[boogs]

WOW! Thanks for pointing that out. Obviously I didn't realize this was an old thread. Why do all these old threads keep popping up?

 

It's a catch-22 situation. We suggest that people do a search for information rather than ask the same questions over and over again. They do, and a thread shows up that they open and read without looking at the date. Then they have more questions to ask, so they post another question to the thread, and it's off and running again.

[cle-guy]

Alternatively, we posters could take responsibility for ourselves and simply read the thread start date and look thru the prior postings to see where the discussion has been before jumping on after seeing just the post immediately posted prior to our reply.

 

It's not always bad to ad on to an old thread, sometimes helpful to see how things have changed over time. Such as here, we see clearly gratuities have actually increased over time.

 

If we do close old threads, what is definition of old? 6 months, 1 year, 18 months, 19 months, 2 years?

 

Roll Call threads can often be 18 months old before the sailing date happens, and then active for a month or so after even....

 

I fall on the side of openness and personal responsibility. :)

[amazinglife]

On Princess you can remove the auto tip if you are not satisfied....can you do this on Celebrity?

[hulamoon]

You can, however it is frowned upon and it is reported the staff are told before you disembark. I recently read that they are not refundable for select dining. But I have no personal knowledge of this as I have not tried.

[NJ Fred]

The word "prepaid" is accurate. The word "gratuitites" is not.

 

As the OP opined, a gratuity is supposed to be a monetary appreciation for services rendered. Prepaying before you so much as walk up the gangway blows that definition to hell.

 

I have heard accounts of people failing to tip waiters, room stewards, etc. But guess what, that is their choice and their right. Some simply do not believe in the concept of tipping.

 

Prepaid gratuities appear more as a customer subsidy of wages. Whatever perspective one choses to use, I agree that prepaying tips is objectionable.

 

It is my practice not to prepay. That said, I can take an oath on the Good Book that I have never "stiffed" crew on any of the 68 cruises my wife and I have sailed - - with some tips being leaps and bounds above the "suggested" amount.

 

No, that's not correct. In 1984, sailing on NCL's old Southward, we had a room steward who was a pure dud. I did not tip him and left the vessel with a clean conscience.

[Sloop-JohnB]

You can, however it is frowned upon and it is reported the staff are told before you disembark. I recently read that they are not refundable for select dining. But I have no personal knowledge of this as I have not tried.

 

Celebrity Crew most definitely know in the last days of a Cruise who has Prepaid Grats and who hasn't.

 

As well I've heard here on CC that Crew Members are obliged to report the Cash Tips they receive to Celebrity... And that their are not entirely theirs alone to keep if Pax chose to not pay their prescribed Grats... But rather some / all the money goes into a Tip Pool to compensate for the stingy Paxs who stiffed their fellow crew members

 

This is WHY if anyone pays their Grats, and also extra tips they should let the crew member know that fact... So they aware that you've met your obligation to them as well as the other crew members.

 

We never remove the set Grats... If there is a problem we take it up as it happens with the Crew Member so as to allow them time to fix the issue. If the issue continues... Then we take it up with a Supervisor / Management. Grats remain. We pay EXTRA TIPS for extraordinary service.

 

And we often prepay our Grats on our Cruise Fare at Final Payment even tho we typically book Traditional Dining... You don't have to be a Select diner to have prepaid Grats anyone can ask Celebrity to do this. We look at the Grats as just part of our total cruise fare, so that is how we pay it. Much preferred for us vs seeing them show up on our Daily Sea Account... Then again we don't really sail with a lot of OBC

 

 

 

Alternatively, we posters could take responsibility for ourselves and simply read the thread start date and look thru the prior postings to see where the discussion has been before jumping on after seeing just the post immediately posted prior to our reply.

 

It's not always bad to add on to an old thread, sometimes helpful to see how things have changed over time. Such as here, we see clearly gratuities have actually increased over time.

 

If we do close old threads, what is definition of old? 6 months, 1 year, 18 months, 19 months, 2 years?

 

Roll Call threads can often be 18 months old before the sailing date happens, and then active for a month or so after even....

 

I fall on the side of openness and personal responsibility. :)

 

I agree until CC alters the way the site operates then Resurrected Posts are going to be a reality... Which is why everyone IMO should take the time to scroll back to get a bit of history on the topic and the current convo... Just not auto reply to the OP as it appears on Page 1

 

I replied to the Question that the NEW CC Member asked... And I made a note for others that this was an old Resurrected Post

 

In my mind the NEW CCer did nothing wrong by tagging on, considering this is how CC has this Forum structured

 

But I do agree that when posting replies that everyone should take the responsibility to know what has gone on in the thread before them

 

If CC chose to close out old threads... I have to say I'd be all in favour of this... The timeframe they could set as they please

 

Their sister site TripAdvisor made such a move a few years back... Old threads are searchable & readable... But at the bottom of them it states that the thread has been closed due to INACTIVITY. The reader is encouraged if they have additional Questions on the topic that they should post their own Question

 

And it works well.

 

Far less rehashing old out of date info...

 

Or watching a thread go around in endless circles of confusion... With some replying to the OP, others to the NEW poster... And others to the convo at hand

 

This topic being a prime example as many things have changed at Celebrity since the OP wrote this topic back in 2011

 

Cheers!

Edited August 15, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[purpletequila]

Thanks for the reply but the agent made it seem as though it is due to the "open dining" which we do not want. I have never been asked to prepay gratuities on Princess, NCL, Holland America - I don't understand...

 

I got hit with the same thing when I accidentally clicked on it and away from my late seating reservation while perusing on mycelebrity. Suddenly, no set dining times were available and the prepaid gratuities were automatically added. I agree with you in theory but in real life, nothing we can do about it. I suppose if we really wanted to, we could complain onboard and get the money refunded but to me, the employees work so hard I'm just letting it go. This despite the fact that I am buying, at minimum, the 5 specialty restaurant package and won't even be using the dining room.

[purpletequila]

And honestly, I just think it's a way for them to make sure the dining room staff gets the amount they anticipate since a big amount of their salary is dependent upon the tip pool. I have to admit, if they didn't impose this and I never used the dining room, I wouldn't tip them at the end of the week and they all have families to care for etc...

[gold1953]

I don't quiet get the reason for prepaying either. On our last 15 night cruise we only ate in the dining room 4 nights . We had early dining. The waiter still got the grats and if I had chosen to remove the portion he would have received then I don't feel he would have been stiffed as he would have had less work to do . On the nights we ate there he was so overworked and our service was poor. We do not have high expectations and are not complainers. It was like our table was a nuisance . The person who deserved that portion of the grats was the cook at the buffet where we enjoyed our stir frys, salmon, steak etc. which were all cooked to order.

Our next cruise we will be on select dining and again will enjoy a few nights at the buffet where it is quiet and we can eat outside.

I will say though as a Canadian we do better financially to prepay at the rate they set for Canadians

[WestLakeGirl]

You only ate in the dining room for four dinners, but where did you eat breakfast, lunch, and the other dinners? The misconception is that the gratuity is only for dinner service. MIT also covers those who work the rest of the shifts. You will see your dinner waiter working the breakfast line, then showing up in the dining room for lunch, taking off gratuities because you didn't eat dinner in the main dining room means that this server gets nothing for all those other meals.

[Lsimon]

.... I have to admit, if they didn't impose this and I never used the dining room, I wouldn't tip them at the end of the week and they all have families to care for etc...

 

...On our last 15 night cruise we only ate in the dining room 4 nights . We had early dining. The waiter still got the grats and if I had chosen to remove the portion he would have received then I don't feel he would have been stiffed as he would have had less work to do . On the nights we ate there he was so overworked and our service was poor. We do not have high expectations and are not complainers. It was like our table was a nuisance . The person who deserved that portion of the grats was the cook at the buffet where we enjoyed our stir frys, salmon, steak etc. which were all cooked to order.

...

 

It is my understanding that the staff who work in the buffet serving you are also part of the tip pool and that a substantial portion of their compensation comes from the gratuity pool. Also, the waiters in the dining rooms work many hours in the buffet and at other food service or food service related jobs around the ship. Even though only a portion of their time is spent waiting tables in the dining room they still derive the majority of their compensation from the gratuity pool.

 

So if one did not tip the wait staff because they didn't eat in the dining room then they'd end up stiffing the staff that did serve them in other food service areas around the ship.

 

Of course this point inevitably leads to comments about how unfair this compensation system is and that these staff members deserve a working wage separate and apart from any "gratuities". I'd agree but unfortunately the existing framework is part of the financial and compensation model for the cruise industry and would be difficult to change.

[melsuli]

I think the one thing we can all agree on is the topic of gratuities always divides opinion? ;)

[cruisestitch]

gold1953, did you go up to the buffet for pizza? Stop by for sushi? Have a sweet from Cafe al Bacio? Lunch at the Aqua Spa? And think of all the other places you are while on board. The gratuities help to compensate all those servers you encounter all day, not just the team who serve dinner in the main dining room.

[amazinglife]

I will say though as a Canadian we do better financially to prepay at the rate they set for Canadians

 

How so?

[miataman19]

I understand the prepaid thing however at 155 days out how can the 1st seating be booked? I went in to do some dummy bookings, seems if you book a suite they have openings in 1st seating, if you book an inside , sorry no openings please pay the $168 upfront. On the wait list but that seems a little suspicious.

 

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[WestLakeGirl]

Will the new suite dining room be available then? That's probably why the difference. The MDR is sold out for early seating but the suite dining room isn't

[cle-guy]

I understand the prepaid thing however at 155 days out how can the 1st seating be booked? I went in to do some dummy bookings, seems if you book a suite they have openings in 1st seating, if you book an inside , sorry no openings please pay the $168 upfront. On the wait list but that seems a little suspicious.

 

Not suspicious at all, but in fact rather quite appropriate.

 

One of the perks of booking in a suite is preferred dining time, So it seems you've discovered they hold the number of slots necessary for suites unsold in both early and last and select seating until close to sailing to ensure they can accommodate the perk for suite guests. Likely at final payment or near in to sailing they open it up.

 

It's nice to see proof that the advertised perk for suites actually has some real benefit to it. I always had assumed this was one of the "padded perks" to add perceived value.

Edited August 15, 2014 by cle-guy

[Sloop-JohnB]

It is my understanding that the staff who work in the buffet serving you are also part of the tip pool and that a substantial portion of their compensation comes from the gratuity pool. Also, the waiters in the dining rooms work many hours in the buffet and at other food service or food service related jobs around the ship. Even though only a portion of their time is spent waiting tables in the dining room they still derive the majority of their compensation from the gratuity pool.

 

So if one did not tip the wait staff because they didn't eat in the dining room then they'd end up stiffing the staff that did serve them in other food service areas around the ship.

 

Of course this point inevitably leads to comments about how unfair this compensation system is and that these staff members deserve a working wage separate and apart from any "gratuities". I'd agree but unfortunately the existing framework is part of the financial and compensation model for the cruise industry and would be difficult to change.

 

100% agree.

 

The MDR Staff (like most staff aboard ship) is shuffled around from place to place over the course of the day / cruise... With staff working on average 10 to 12 Hours per day

 

So ya by not paying full Grats cause you did not eat in the MDR means that someone who did serve you suffers unfairly.

 

Cheers!

Edited August 15, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[gold1953]

gold1953, did you go up to the buffet for pizza? Stop by for sushi? Have a sweet from Cafe al Bacio? Lunch at the Aqua Spa? And think of all the other places you are while on board. The gratuities help to compensate all those servers you encounter all day, not just the team who serve dinner in the main dining room.

 

Definitely a misunderstanding on what I said . I have never altered my grats and have often given extra in cash

 

. There is a break down as to how grats are split up and a portion is designated to dining room staff. . I have never had breakfast or lunch in the MDR either. I was referring to the portion that goes to the evening service

[gold1953]

How so?

 

If you compare the price for US and the price for Canada and then do the conversion it works out better for us to pay Canadian up front. It is still the same price per day and our $ is worth less. Onboard you can pay in US$ as well then it cost us more .

[WestLakeGirl]

It's impossible to figure how much of the gratuity goes doe dinner service. It goes into a pool and is distributed to all those wait staff at all those venues, buffet, aqua spa cafe, etc, its not just dining room staff it's all the food service staff

Edited August 15, 2014 by WestLakeGirl

[cle-guy]

There is a break down as to how grats are split up and a portion is designated to dining room staff.

 

Here's how the standard gratuity is broken down:

• $12 per person per day in staterooms
  
• $12.50 per person per day in Concierge Class and AquaClass® staterooms
  
• $15.50 per person per day in Suites
  

This gratuity is shared by your stateroom attendant, dining services staff, and housekeeping staff members who help enhance your vacation experience.

At your discretion, the gratuity payments may be adjusted onboard at Guest Relations, in which case they will not automatically be added to your onboard SeaPass® account.

 

A 15% gratuity will be automatically added to all beverages, mini bar purchases, spa and salon services. Additional gratuities may be added at your discretion.

The breakdown is as follows:

• Waiter - $3.65 pp/per day
  
• Ass't. Waiter - $2.10 pp/per day
  
• DR Mgm't. - $1.00 pp/per day
  
• Stateroom Service -
  • Suite Butler $3.50 pp/per day
    
    
  • Aqua Cabin Steward - $4.00 pp/per day
    
    
  • Concierge Class Cabin Steward - $4.00 pp/per day
    
    
  • Regular Stateroom Cabin Steward - $3.50 pp/per day.
    
    

  [*]Other service personnel: $1.25 pp/per day

 

So the portions assigned the the dining staff for the entire day is $6.75 which would equate to a 15% tip on a $45 meal. For me, I would do better than $45 just for dinner when eating out, especially with appetizer, salad, meal and desert (and without beverages) let alone breakfast and lunch. And typically would leave 20% for standard service. A real bargain, actually. And even ding at cafeteria style self serve restaurants, such as Golden Corral and other similar dining establishments, involves leaving a tip for those who clean tables and assist when asked.

Edited August 15, 2014 by cle-guy

[Sloop-JohnB]

Not suspicious at all, but in fact rather quite appropriate.

 

One of the perks of booking in a suite is preferred dining time, So it seems you've discovered they hold the number of slots necessary for suites unsold in both early and last and select seating until close to sailing to ensure they can accommodate the perk for suite guests. Likely at final payment or near in to sailing they open it up.

 

It's nice to see proof that the advertised perk for suites actually has some real benefit to it. I always had assumed this was one of the "padded perks" to add perceived value.

 

Hmmm, you may be onto something.

 

Perhaps this is what is meant by that otherwise allusive "Priority Seating" perk that shows up for Concierge, Aqua and Suite Classes on the Website description of each class.

 

Know for a fact that we were wait listed for Late Seating on The Summit in 2013 as C-Class Pax, and need up getting an email to say we were confirmed shortly before we sailed.

 

No way to know tho if that meant we bumped others on the Wait List as space opened up.

 

Cheers!

[cle-guy]

It's impossible to figure how much of the gratuity goes doe dinner service. It goes into a pool and is distributed to all those wait staff at all those venues, buffet, aqua spa cafe, etc, its not just dining room staff it's all the food service staff

 

As is common practice in many restaurants. A friend of mine in Manhattan manages one and she dreads having to manage the tip pooling process each night with the wait staff, chef, dishwasher, bar staff and hostess. Who gets 1 point, who gets 5 points, who gets 20 points etc....