PrePaid Gratuities on RCL

[CK77]

I understand RCL charges Gratuities up front when you book the Cruise if you select anytime dining. Is this correct?

 

A couple questions:

 

If you eat in a Specialty Restaurant are the tips covered in the prepaid gratuities? We always give extra for great service even on land...Since we are fairly new to cruising, we are not sure how this all works.

 

What do the Prepaid Gratuities cover and what do they not cover?

 

Thanks

[redcrown]

I understand RCL charges Gratuities up front when you book the Cruise if you select anytime dining. Is this correct?

 

A couple questions:

 

If you eat in a Specialty Restaurant are the tips covered in the prepaid gratuities? We always give extra for great service even on land...Since we are fairly new to cruising, we are not sure how this all works.

 

What do the Prepaid Gratuities cover and what do they not cover?

 

Thanks

 

Yes on RCCL if you do anytime dining, gratuities are paid up front. The staff in the specialty restaurants are not part of the prepaid gratuities. As for specialty restaurants, it has been stated on this board that gratuities are included in the fee that you pay for the reservation. That being said, we have always tipped more at the specialty restaurant.

[cb at sea]

The fee for the specialty restaurant IS the tip...no need to tip additonally. The tips for the MDR also include breakfast, lunch and snacks everywhere on the ship, so it's ok to leave the suggested tips "as is", even if you arent' eating in the MDR every single night.

 

Your tips cover your room attendant, waiter, ass't. waiter and head waiter. Bar tabs have a 15% tip added to the price of the drink. Room service is really the only thing NOT covered by your tips.....tip at time of delivery....$1-5 depending on how much they are delivering to you!

[CFIGuy]

One piece of confusion for me was that @ Johnny Rocket's in the Compass it specifically said that the cover charge did NOT include gratuity. I really wish there would be an all inclusive tip list in the first day compass including all specialty restaurants and the concierge. Now that some of the specialty restaurants have a la carte pricing with a cover charge, that helps to add more confusion.

[cruisenfever]

The fee for the specialty restaurant IS the tip...no need to tip additonally. The tips for the MDR also include breakfast, lunch and snacks everywhere on the ship, so it's ok to leave the suggested tips "as is", even if you arent' eating in the MDR every single night.

 

Your tips cover your room attendant, waiter, ass't. waiter and head waiter. Bar tabs have a 15% tip added to the price of the drink. Room service is really the only thing NOT covered by your tips.....tip at time of delivery....$1-5 depending on how much they are delivering to you!

If the fee for dining in Chops, Portofino, Giovanni's, Samba Grill, 150 Central Park, etc. is the tip..........then who pays for the food that you are served in those venues..........cause it ain't included in your cruise fare!:rolleyes:

[Jester580]

I just cruised last week and while I cannot speak for the My Time dining, literally everything else, with the exception of windjammer and main dining, includes a 15% gratuity. Specialty restaurants charge 15% gratuity on the cover charge, as do things like Johnny Rocket's. I tip a little extra because the crews on these ships go waaaay overboard (no pun intended) on providing an unbelievable cruise experience. I have no idea how they deal with all these people on vacation all the time and still manage to be so awesome!

[redcrown]

I just cruised last week and while I cannot speak for the My Time dining, literally everything else, with the exception of windjammer and main dining, includes a 15% gratuity. Specialty restaurants charge 15% gratuity on the cover charge, as do things like Johnny Rocket's. I tip a little extra because the crews on these ships go waaaay overboard (no pun intended) on providing an unbelievable cruise experience. I have no idea how they deal with all these people on vacation all the time and still manage to be so awesome!

 

Hmm that is new. I have always prepaid my specialty restaurants and after I dine, my bill is $0. I have never had a 15% charge added. As I stated earlier, we always do add something extra . My understanding was a portion of the fee was divided up amongst the waiters/waitress and if anything extra was given your waiter/waitress got to keep that.

[gcchick42]

If you are not doing anytime dining (we are doing family time dining with a seating at 6pm) how do you pre-pay gratuities? I tried looking on the website but don't seem to be able to find it.

 

Do I have to wait until I'm onboard. I would rather pay in advance than have to bring a lot of extra cash.

[cruisenfever]

If you are not doing anytime dining (we are doing family time dining with a seating at 6pm) how do you pre-pay gratuities? I tried looking on the website but don't seem to be able to find it.

 

Do I have to wait until I'm onboard. I would rather pay in advance than have to bring a lot of extra cash.

You can add the gratuities to your booking and they will be included in your final payment.

 

Here is the breakdown so that you can figure out what will be added to your booking ....

 

$5.00pp per day for Housekeeping Staff ($7.25 if in a GS or above)

$3.75pp per day for Waiter

$2.15pp per day for Assistant Waiter

$0.75pp per day for Head Waiter

$11.65pp per day ($13.90pp per day if booked in a GS or above)

[gcchick42]

Thanks for the breakdown. I'm assuming the per person cost includes children?

[ryano]

Thanks for the breakdown. I'm assuming the per person cost includes children?

 

Yes :)