Pre-paid Gratuities

[Buranogal]

It appears this only covers housekeeping and dining. Not happy that we will still be charged 15% on bill when drinks are ordered. Mis-leading information from my TA for sure. Sailing on Silhouette July 17th

[i guide the sky]

This is a very common practice on major market cruise lines. Considering your Avitar picture I'm surprised this is a surprise.

[uktog]

It appears this only covers housekeeping and dining. Not happy that we will still be charged 15% on bill when drinks are ordered. Mis-leading information from my TA for sure. Sailing on Silhouette July 17th

 

Simple solutions

1. Do not drink on board

2. Change your sailing to one on the Eclipse out of Southampton, there are no additional charges on your drinks

 

A

 

 

PS of course on Eclipse, the drink prices are different - they are a minimum of 15% higher, some 20% more than on the Silhouette

[The_Big_M]

It appears this only covers housekeeping and dining. Not happy that we will still be charged 15% on bill when drinks are ordered. Mis-leading information from my TA for sure. Sailing on Silhouette July 17th

 

What would the alternative be?

 

Prepaying is pre-paying the fixed amount. However, drinks at the bars are going to have different gratuities just based on the different drink - a $10 drink will have a higher amount than a $6 drink, and the number of drinks. If someone has 5 drinks a day that could be gratuties on $50/day vs $10/day or even none.

 

Any line which offers prepayment has no impact on you paying gratuities at the bar.

[cruisestitch]

It appears that the OP's problem is with the TA, not with the cruise line.

[uktog]

It appears that the OP's problem is with the TA, not with the cruise line.

 

So how much does the TA need to tell you - that you might get charged for the internet, that you pay extra in the specialities, cafe el bacio, that the Spa services have tips added:confused:

[cruisestitch]

Good question, UKTog, and I think that the answer depends in part on how often a person has cruised, and whether or not it's the first time on a particular cruise line. But the OP said that he/she had received misleading information, and that's where the beef lies. Omitting information is one thing, but providing incorrect or misleading information seems to be the complaint here.

[Freecall]

I think that in all fairness to the TA you were not misled.

 

Your price includes all compulsory tips.

 

So if you do not buy anything on board (drinks, laundry, excursions, photographs, internet etc etc.) you could have a holiday without any extra charges.

 

.

[testing...123]

Wow... seemed like a simple question/statement to me.

 

If I'm a new cruiser - which I consider myself - why on Earth would I assume that tips are automatically calculated for me when I purchase an alcoholic beverage? Where else does this happen?

 

I am a very good tipper, but I like to set my own tip amount based on service level provided - that's just me.

 

I do completely understand that a cruise ship is different and that all charges have an added tip amount. But I certainly don't expect everyone to know that.

[Kellie Poodle]

I think that in all fairness to the TA you were not misled.

 

Your price includes all compulsory tips.

 

 

I couldn't help but find an oxymoron in "compulsory tips" :D

[Becks200200]

I find the whole tipping issue confusing on a cruise ship.

 

When we sailed on Celebrity we pre-paid the tips & thought that was that, no need to carry cash around on board. We did give extra tips at the end of our stay to the people who were totally fabulous but now, months on I find that we should have been tipping everyone.

 

I can honestly say that I didn't see anybody tipping in the bars, people were just handing their sea passes over and signing. We had the drinks package but not everyone has that and the ones who didn't weren't adding spare change.

 

We didn't do it on purpose or to be cheap. We simply didn't know but looking back it seems neither did anyone else.

[minz56]

I suspect that the TA made a sweeping statement along the lines of "if you prepay your gratuities then you won't have to worry about tipping onboard."

 

Having been a TA I know the danger of unintentionally misleading people in this way. Many TA's are generalists in that they know a little about a lot of travel options. If you cruise frequently it is worth finding a TA that specialises in cruising.

[Waihekean]

Hay, now you are getting confused again:confused:

 

What they mean with the bar drinks is; that when you sign for your drink there is 15% tipp added to the listed price.

Say drink cost $4 +15%= $4.60 will appear on your account.

 

For us that are not used to tipping it can be very confusing.

With me first time, the service/tip was added on my onboard account and then gave tips to the cabin crew and my waiters AND THEN found out later that you actually did not have to give tips, because they were pre-paid.

 

No wonder the tip posts keep appearing:p

[ghstudio]

I find the whole tipping issue confusing on a cruise ship.

 

When we sailed on Celebrity we pre-paid the tips & thought that was that, no need to carry cash around on board. We did give extra tips at the end of our stay to the people who were totally fabulous but now, months on I find that we should have been tipping everyone.

 

I can honestly say that I didn't see anybody tipping in the bars, people were just handing their sea passes over and signing. We had the drinks package but not everyone has that and the ones who didn't weren't adding spare change.

 

We didn't do it on purpose or to be cheap. We simply didn't know but looking back it seems neither did anyone else.

 

It's really a personal decision, and my guess is that most passengers do not give extra cash tips during the cruise. Tips are either automatically added to your room each day or added to anything you buy on board from celebrity (special meals, drinks,...) so no cash needs change hands.

[mutleytex]

just a quick question in regards to tipping.. i am from Australia and we dont usually tip. But will do on our cruise in Nov.. do we tip in American Dollars or Australian Dollars,, and can we pay our finall bill in cash rather than credit card,, Conversion rate is in our favour at the moment . so want to start buying now.

[mutleytex]

sorry seemed to doubled up now i cant delete:confused:

[Albert Ross]

I find the whole tipping issue confusing on a cruise ship.

 

When we sailed on Celebrity we pre-paid the tips & thought that was that, no need to carry cash around on board. We did give extra tips at the end of our stay to the people who were totally fabulous but now, months on I find that we should have been tipping everyone.

 

I can honestly say that I didn't see anybody tipping in the bars, people were just handing their sea passes over and signing. We had the drinks package but not everyone has that and the ones who didn't weren't adding spare change.

 

We didn't do it on purpose or to be cheap. We simply didn't know but looking back it seems neither did anyone else.

If you prepaid the tips there was no need to leave anything else.

There is no need to tip extra in the bar as 15% is automtically added. They leave a line for you to add more but you do not have to.

[cruisestitch]

Becks200200 wrote : " months on I find that we should have been tipping everyone. "

 

It might be easy to get the impression from some posts that people give cash to servers during the course of the cruise, but really, you don't NEED to tip anyone in cash during the cruise, with the one exception being that most of us do give a dollar or two if we order room service. Otherwise, there is no need to be "tipping everyone" in cash during the cruise.

 

At the end of the cruise, if you have received exceptional service from someone and would like to add more to what they have already received, great. But it is not required.

 

As to the Australian question, you can settle your account in cash, which must be US cash or they will do a conversion for you at the time, which is almost never a favorable conversion. So if you are thinking of accumulating some US dollars now to use on board to settle your account, go ahead.

[bplazo]

I don't see the problem. Now you know.

[boogs]

Wow... seemed like a simple question/statement to me.

 

If I'm a new cruiser - which I consider myself - why on Earth would I assume that tips are automatically calculated for me when I purchase an alcoholic beverage? Where else does this happen?

 

I am a very good tipper, but I like to set my own tip amount based on service level provided - that's just me.

 

I do completely understand that a cruise ship is different and that all charges have an added tip amount. But I certainly don't expect everyone to know that.

 

If someone is unsure about something, there is always the FAQ page to enlighten them. A wise shopper of a product will take the time to do a bit of research before purchasing the product. This simple act would eliminate any unexpected, and apparently in this case, irritating surprises.

 

From Celebrity's FAQ page:

 

 

What are the prices for onboard drinks?

Subject: Food & Beverage

 

Alcoholic beverage prices:

Aperitifs: $5.50

Standard alcohol: $5.50 and up

Premium alcohol: $5.75 and up

Cocktails: $4.95 and up

Wine glass: $5.95 and up

Champagne glass: $6.95 and up

Domestic beer: $4.50

Imported beer: $4.50 and up

Non-Alcoholic Beverage prices:

Soft drink (glass): $1.25

Soft drink (can): $1.95

Water: $2.50 and up

Drinks purchased in souvenir glass: $8.95

Coffee, tea, and milk:

Complimentary onboard all ships in all lounges except for Cova Cafe.

 

Note: all prices are quoted in U.S. dollars. Prices are subject to change and 15% gratuity is additional.

[Buranogal]

Minx 56 Yes you are right. I was lead to believe gratuities are tips and there would be no extra unsuspecting charges at the end. As it is I had to pay 75% of total more or less inc grats so they have my money earning interest for 7 months. The River cruise we went on included everything from drinks to excursions,transfers, internet, dining so knew what we would be up for at the end to spend on home gifts :)

[The_Big_M]

Minx 56 Yes you are right. I was lead to believe gratuities are tips and there would be no extra unsuspecting charges at the end. As it is I had to pay 75% of total more or less inc grats so they have my money earning interest for 7 months. The River cruise we went on included everything from drinks to excursions,transfers, internet, dining so knew what we would be up for at the end to spend on home gifts :)

 

If you want to achieve that within a budget that includes drinks, you can purchase one of their drinks package in advance. That way, you choose what level and you know that's covered as well.

[closecruiser]

This is our first cruise on Celebrity, going out of Miami on the Eclipse. We have cruised many times on RC and am a little confused after reading these posts. Will the gratuity be added to our seapass automatically for stateroom, waiter from MDR etc.....or can we put cash in envelopes and give out on last day as we have in the past RC sailings. I understand about the tipping off buying drinks or going to a specialty place to eat. Thanks!!

[cruisestitch]

Yes, you can remove the auto-tips and put cash in envelopes to hand out.

 

However, and I don't agree that this is right, the cruise line apparently counts this as somewhat of a black mark against your servers. They jump to the conclusion that you are removing the auto-tips because someone has done something wrong. I wish they didn't make that assumption, but many cruisers have reported that their servers and stewards have told them this.

 

If you are just trying to keep the balance on your credit card low by using cash for the tips, you might consider changing your whole Xpress pass account to a cash account, which would leave the auto-tips in place. It's one way to handle it.

[Sloop-JohnB]

This is our first cruise on Celebrity, going out of Miami on the Eclipse. We have cruised many times on RC and am a little confused after reading these posts. Will the gratuity be added to our seapass automatically for stateroom, waiter from MDR etc.....or can we put cash in envelopes and give out on last day as we have in the past RC sailings. I understand about the tipping off buying drinks or going to a specialty place to eat. Thanks!!

 

TO CLOSECRUISER,

 

Good info here from CRUISESTICH...

 

As well, you will want to read the other topic on Gratuities / Tipping that is currently active on this the CC CELEBRITY BOARD... as it specifically deals with your Question (see my reply # 13 in that one)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1564290