Opting out of Automatic Gratuities

[Ocean Boy]

no. want to fly? pay up front weeks if not months before.

want concert tickets? pay up front weeks if not months before. want to cruise? gotta be paid in full up front 45 days before.

 

in my opinion there are 2 kinds of people who gripe about having to prepay grats:

 

the ones who fully intend to stiff the staff due to cheapness or some sort of self imposed justification( right or wrong) to do so, and the ones that want the entire world to know how wonderful and generous they are by handing out envelopes in person on the last day. it is not about rewarding the staff, it's about rewarding THEMSELVES. making them feel better about their actions.

 

I sued to know someone that went around all the time telling everyone what a great Christian she was( in those exact words) because she did this that and the other thing( Oh, I volunteered at the soup kitchen today! I am such a great person feeding all those homeless people!) it was all about making her look good, not actually doing good.

 

First of all, those examples you listed at the beginning of your post are products not gratuities for services you have not received. Secondly, If I hand an envelope to my steward the last evening when I see him how, exactly, does the "entire world" find out anything? I, unlike your Christian freind, don't feel the need to tell you, the CC community, or anyone else in the "entire world" who or how much I tip... or whether I go to church or not.

 

But you can keep right ahead posting what ever you please. As you are so quick to proclaim to others.... you are WRONG.

[caribbean sailor]

I just feel like now that royal is doing an automatic tip policy it's their digression how they divide it up. Before, you had a recommended amount, you put your money in an envelope and you give it directly to your wait staff and room staff.. Now, it's all left up to royal. I'm not saying they will keep it for themselves, but how do you know the 'recommended' amount is going to them? I know people on the forums has said "oh you can just give more" but sorry, i'm not doing that. So this way I know that for the great work they do, they are getting tipped for it. It's really just for peace of mind.

 

Stephluva2711 I agree with you. With their auto tip policy,we have prepaid the service charge.We plan on enjoying our cruise,without any further thoughts of tips.Just our opinion.:)

[Suzieanna]

Pre-paid is the way forward!

 

Mainly because I honestly do not think this money is a tip... it is their wages. That £12 a day (or whatever it is), is not just paying for the services of the staff you see - what about the people who wash the pans and iron the sheets and peel the spuds and all that other stuff that just "magically" happens!

 

Stop your auto-tips and give a few dollars in an envelope cos you want to feel good about yourself being the big man handing out the pennies, but dont kid yourself that you have anything but your OWN financial situation in mind.

 

People should expect a fair days pay for a fair days work... and if they are not up to stratch they should be fired. This tipping nonsense just muddies the waters.

[mattwright]

 

It is my understanding that the tips are spread out to all of the wait staffs. Eat in MDR or wherever, you are covered.

 

Do we know that's how it really works, though? Or is the full amount of money we're being charged for going to our specific waiters and stewards?

 

In the past, if I handed my waiter an envelope of cash, did he have to take some of that cash and put it into a pot that was later distributed among other staff? I doubt it. I intended that money to go to him, so he should have been able to keep the entire amount.

 

So why is there an assumption that now the automatic gratuities are being pooled and redistributed? As others have mentioned, if that is truly the case, then I think Royal Caribbean should refer to it as a "service charge" rather than "gratuity", because the two imply very different things.

 

In the scenario I was referencing above, if I never even saw my dining room waiters because I was dining elsewhere, I'd rather make sure the money that I was being charged automatically was instead going into the hands of those who actually provided service to me. But if your information is correct that automatic gratuities are going into a pool that is then redistributed among all wait staff in a variety of venues, then I'm completely fine with the automatic charge.

[spookwife]

What about guests who never eat a meal in the main dining room? Some could go to dinner every night in a specialty restaurant or the Windjammer, so should they still automatically tip the waiters in the main dining room who they never even see, much less receive any service from?

 

 

our last cruise we ended up eating in the MDR exactly once. the rest of the time was elsewhere. never even crossed my mind to remove the tips. those tips also cover breakfast and lunch wherever you eat. same staff serve in the MJ as well as MDR.

 

and yes that meant I paid the gratuity part of the specialty dining fee on top of extra AS WELL AS the day's cut of the prepaid grat.

[jkskrap]

From a Royal Caribbean email sent earlier this year:

 

"As of March 1, 2013, Royal Caribbean will add an automatic daily gratuity of $12.00 USD ($14.25 USD for Suite guests) to the onboard account of each guest to be shared by Dining Services Staff, Stateroom Attendants and Other Housekeeping Services Personnel that work to enhance your cruise. This gratuity replaces our previously recommended gratuity guidelines." [uNDERLINE ADDED BY ME]

 

Good enough for me! It actually make it easier and is a "no brainer." It is hard to understand why others won't just leave it be and move on.

 

But I do love a good tipping thread!

 

 

[mattwright]

"As of March 1, 2013, Royal Caribbean will add an automatic daily gratuity of $12.00 USD ($14.25 USD for Suite guests) to the onboard account of each guest to be shared by Dining Services Staff, Stateroom Attendants and Other Housekeeping Services Personnel that work to enhance your cruise. This gratuity replaces our previously recommended gratuity guidelines." [uNDERLINE ADDED BY ME]

 

 

 

But I do love a good tipping thread!

 

 

 

That is good to know, since that does make it sound like there's a tipping pool that's being spread around to others, not just your specific waiters and stewards.

 

I do still think they should refer to this as a "service charge" rather than "automatic gratuities" to eliminate any confusion or misconceptions.

[boo214]

I leave in 2 days, and have decided to remove the auto tips as soon as I get on board. I am going to pre-pay the first night this go around, to see how I like this process. I always pay the minimum, and more if warranted. Will do so this trip as well.

 

If Royal wants to have a "daily service charge", then say so, until then, leave the tipping to me.

this is semantics at its best. NCL calls it a daily service charge, RCL calls it a daily gratuity. guess what? Its the same thing. The crews wages.

[boo214]

What about guests who never eat a meal in the main dining room? Some could go to dinner every night in a specialty restaurant or the Windjammer, so should they still automatically tip the waiters in the main dining room who they never even see, much less receive any service from?

its my understanding that if you choose MTD and never eat dinner in the mdr (not even one) then the dining portion of your tips gets allocated to the WJ and specialty servers.

[KevinKruzer]

no. want to fly? pay up front weeks if not months before.

want concert tickets? pay up front weeks if not months before. want to cruise? gotta be paid in full up front 45 days before.

 

in my opinion there are 2 kinds of people who gripe about having to prepay grats:

 

the ones who fully intend to stiff the staff due to cheapness or some sort of self imposed justification( right or wrong) to do so, and the ones that want the entire world to know how wonderful and generous they are by handing out envelopes in person on the last day. it is not about rewarding the staff, it's about rewarding THEMSELVES. making them feel better about their actions.

 

I sued to know someone that went around all the time telling everyone what a great Christian she was( in those exact words) because she did this that and the other thing( Oh, I volunteered at the soup kitchen today! I am such a great person feeding all those homeless people!) it was all about making her look good, not actually doing good.

 

our last cruise we ended up eating in the MDR exactly once. the rest of the time was elsewhere. never even crossed my mind to remove the tips. those tips also cover breakfast and lunch wherever you eat. same staff serve in the MJ as well as MDR.

 

and yes that meant I paid the gratuity part of the specialty dining fee on top of extra AS WELL AS the day's cut of the prepaid grat.

 

:confused:

 

Hmmmm..... How ironic.

Edited November 25, 2013 by KevinKruzer

[KevinKruzer]

I don't know why but when someone asks how to get automatic tips off their account for any reason it translates to me as they don't want to pay tips and are using these boards to figure out how to do it. Just my humble opinion.

 

Sent from my DROID4 using Forums mobile app

 

I don't know why either.... When I see this I don't think they are "cheap" or trying to get out of it (who am I to judge people I don't know), I assume they are "old school". And I understand the principal behind wanting to tip cash and do it AFTER the great service and directly to those who served them directly. It worked for many years.....

 

I personally like the convenience of the pre-paid tips and end up tipping a little more to select individuals.