My Time Dining; pre-paid gratuities, policy fact and fiction only please

[LMaxwell]

Please, we do not need another thread filled with negative energy, name calling, conjecture, and lecturing.

 

I simply want to separate out fact from fiction and really understand what Royals policies are (or are not). This should be for informational purposes only, not arguing opinions.

 

Fact: If you take MTD; gratuities must be paid with your final cruise payment.

 

Question: If you have great service and want additional charged to your account instead of cash, is this possible? If so, is it one pool or can you select a staff member or area? Is an additional amount on your account treated the same as additional cash or differently?

 

Question: If your service is subpar and management is not able to correct the issues after given notice and opportunity, can something that was prepaid before the cruise be adjusted downwards, and if so would it be by staff member or area, or general pool? Is this an option for only early/late seating?

 

I strenuously urge all that contemplate hitting the reply button to re-read the thread before doing so and decide if their answer is objective in nature, or just subjective opinions. There is so much contradictory information out there that if we can avoid a flame war we can have a decent, helpful, fact filled thread as reference. This thread is not about how much extra you tip. It's not about comparing US wage laws to those of the flag nations of ships. It is not about subjectively being right or wrong, just one thread to be clear on policies. When people have correct and ample information they can then make the best possible choices and decisions.

[flowers44]

I know you can always tip any certain person in cash anytime on RCCI. If your waiter or cabin steward does something extra for you, by all mean, hand him or her cash. They will be very happy to accept it.

 

As far as below par service, you can adjust the MTD gratuities at customer service but they would just be taken off the general amount paid. You would not be able to say "My cabin steward did a terrible job and I want his gratuity removed or reduced." It would be taken out of the general amount and then the remaining would be divided up between all of the staff that usually gets it.

[Clarea]

Please, we do not need another thread filled with negative energy, name calling, conjecture, and lecturing.

 

I simply want to separate out fact from fiction and really understand what Royals policies are (or are not). This should be for informational purposes only, not arguing opinions.

 

Fact: If you take MTD; gratuities must be paid with your final cruise payment.

 

Question: If you have great service and want additional charged to your account instead of cash, is this possible? If so, is it one pool or can you select a staff member or area? Is an additional amount on your account treated the same as additional cash or differently?

 

Question: If your service is subpar and management is not able to correct the issues after given notice and opportunity, can something that was prepaid before the cruise be adjusted downwards, and if so would it be by staff member or area, or general pool? Is this an option for only early/late seating?

 

I strenuously urge all that contemplate hitting the reply button to re-read the thread before doing so and decide if their answer is objective in nature, or just subjective opinions. There is so much contradictory information out there that if we can avoid a flame war we can have a decent, helpful, fact filled thread as reference. This thread is not about how much extra you tip. It's not about comparing US wage laws to those of the flag nations of ships. It is not about subjectively being right or wrong, just one thread to be clear on policies. When people have correct and ample information they can then make the best possible choices and decisions.

My understanding is that prepaid gratuities cannot be removed or reduced.

 

I'm afraid to add any more for fear of violating the response guidelines.

[LMaxwell]

I know you can always tip any certain person in cash anytime on RCCI. If your waiter or cabin steward does something extra for you, by all mean, hand him or her cash. They will be very happy to accept it.

 

Yes, I have done some cash in the past. Just wondering if I could simply add to my account though. And if I did add to the account can I specify a person that it go to?

[LMaxwell]

I'm afraid to add any more for fear of violating the response guidelines.

 

Your insight is on an entirely different level than most. For whatever reason you seem to be able to remain very objective, so I am very happy for your participation in an objective thread. Although I have noticed you do have some subjective feelings about the RCI website functionality from time to time :)

 

However we're a bit back to square one with contradictory information between the few responses. :confused:

[flowers44]

Not sure about that but simply handing the money to the person will insure that it gets to who you want it to go.

 

As far as reducing the gratuity amount, you would, most likely, receive OBC on your account not actually get the money back that was prepaid with final payment. The refunding of prepaid money does not exist with the cruise lines that I have ever experienced, just offering of OBC.

[luvscruising2007]

OP- can I add an additional question? Now that RC adds the gratuities on a daily basis, can adjustments be made?

[LMaxwell]

OP- can I add an additional question? Now that RC adds the gratuities on a daily basis, can adjustments be made?

 

You are more than welcome to ask questions here, hopefully someone can chime in with a definitive answer for you.

 

However, the gratuities are only added on a daily basis for fixed dinner seatings. Guests who have My Time Dining must prepay the gratuity as part of the cruise fare paid months ahead of the cruise. Once a MTD guest has stepped onboard RCI has had the full gratuity payment for 75+ days (or from whenever the cruise was booked if booking made after final payment date). So there is a distinction between how they are handled.

[Clarea]

Your insight is on an entirely different level than most. For whatever reason you seem to be able to remain very objective, so I am very happy for your participation in an objective thread. Although I have noticed you do have some subjective feelings about the RCI website functionality from time to time :)

 

However we're a bit back to square one with contradictory information between the few responses. :confused:

I will add that I've seen gratuity modification forms you can get from Guest Services. I used one last cruise for the Concierge gratuity. It was a general form that allowed you to enter the crewmember's name, position, and total gratuity amount.

 

However, I don't know if it could be used to add or subtract to prepaid gratuities. The form I saw only had the ability to specify total gratuity, not an addition or subtraction from the standard amount. This would require knowing the standard gratuity for each crewmember, which I'm not sure is published anymore.

[Trainer]

You can pre-pay your tips even if you have traditional (set time) dining. I know this because I just did it on my upcoming cruise. I like to do this so my on-board account total

is lower, as it eliminates the daily charge.

[LMaxwell]

You can pre-pay your tips even if you have traditional (set time) dining. I know this because I just did it on my upcoming cruise. I like to do this so my on-board account total

is lower, as it eliminates the daily charge.

 

 

You are right, that is an option as well for fixed dining time guests. Thank you for adding it in here. Others may not know this and can find it useful.

 

Personally speaking, I understand your position but I happen to feel exactly the opposite personally. The amount comes out to the same in the end; prepaid or billed onboard so therefore I'd rather be billed for my money after service instead of 75+ days before. It's not a sleight against the crew in any way, it's just personal financial management decision. I would have chosen fixed seating on my last two cruises (and next two) if they were available at time of booking.

[thjeepster]

Can't you just go to guest services and remove the daily gratuities?

 

I rather pay in cash at the end of the cruise to the people who I want to give it to....more to the ones that were great and less to the sub-par people!

[LMaxwell]

Can't you just go to guest services and remove the daily gratuities?

With My Time Dining you are fully paid up before you step on board, so this isn't an option.

[Debde]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details/print.do?faqId=5563&faqSubjectId=415&faqSubjectName=Gratuities&pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqType=faq

 

It does not say you can NOT remove your pre-paid or auto tips.

[Clarea]

Can't you just go to guest services and remove the daily gratuities?

 

I rather pay in cash at the end of the cruise to the people who I want to give it to....more to the ones that were great and less to the sub-par people!

Yes, you can remove daily gratuities. However, if you choose My Time Dining, then you must prepay gratuities which cannot be removed.

[willing292]

If we feel someone deserves more tip, we give it to them in cash. This way we know they're getting it, and from whom.

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[oneputt18]

Just got off the phone with C&A, the rep said the same procedure applies to prepaid MTD gratuities. Go to guest services and they will adjust the gratuities if you were unhappy about a particular service you received.

[LetsGetWet!]

However we're a bit back to square one with contradictory information between the few responses. :confused:

No flames, no arguments, no name-calling.

 

However, despite the best of intentions, I think you'll find it impossible to avoid that contradictory information. The only real information most have on this is what they've heard from others or been told by low-level RCCL employees - who themselves likely don't have the whole, correct story and have definitely provided contradictory information as previously reported here.

[bouhunter]

Trying to figure out why I read this thread to begin t

With.......

[Raenstoirm]

I can't comment on removing gratuities since we have never done so, but if you are worried about your waiter at MTD, just ask the host for a different one the next day if you didn't like the first one. Our first MTD cruise, we had the same waiter every night. Last year we did MTD again and had 3 waiters over the 9 day cruise (not by our request it was just how the tables worked out when we arrived at dinner each night). I have no clue how the prepaid tips were applied in that scenario though. As for room steward and other "set" staff, I am not sure how that would work if you are unhappy.

[Dajbman22]

Can't you just go to guest services and remove the daily gratuities?

 

I rather pay in cash at the end of the cruise to the people who I want to give it to....more to the ones that were great and less to the sub-par people!

 

If you have pre-paid your gratuities 75+ days before sailing, the only way it could be refunded would be through offering you OBC in that amount. The official policy is to not allow this per the RCi website, but it seems like the kind of thing a Hotel/Dining manager could override (so YMMV in getting pre-paid gratuities reduced for using cash).

 

If you haven't pre-paid, then you are correct that you can easily remove the daily gratuities. Just note, that if you remove these daily gratuities, the official policy of RCI is that your dining room servers and cabin steward must surrender the cash you personally gave them to go into the general pool. There have been conflicting reports on whether cash tips in addition to the auto-grats need to be reported, but it seems pretty clear from many reports on here and the RCI website that if you remove your auto-grats, the steward any cash tips are to be reported... whether they are then redistributed depends on who you ask and when. Either way, it does sound like your method winds up just having the same result as auto-gratuities (if it is in fact redistributed) while making it more difficult for all staff involved (and yourself for waiting in line).

[donnad08]

Here is my experience. We had MTD on the Oasis last week. We had two issues with the staff. The last ending in a very rude confrontation between the maître D and my sister because we had eaten other places a couple of nights and he was upset because he had held two tables for us. (This was our first MTD dining experience and we were a bit confused about how it worked). Anyway, my sister was very upset and went to guest services to complain and to get her gratuity back for him. She was told that she had to have the whole tip reimbursed, but it was given back to her on her credit card. In the end we gave the dining room another chance and received a very sincere apology from the maître D as well as complimentary champaign. My sister ended up spending twice as much in cash tipping all of the people that served her on board extra, including the maître D lol. Long story short: yes you CAN get a full reimbursement for prepaid gratuities.

 

 

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[LMaxwell]

Long story short: yes you CAN get a full reimbursement for prepaid gratuities.

 

 

Thank you for sharing your onboard experience. I am glad Royal handled this properly and that the staff had the opportunity to impress your sister enough not only to earn back the gratuity but extra as well. No one wants to have frustration on vacation but this sounds like an overall positive experience.

[donnad08]

It was definitely a positive experience. It was the best vacation we have ever had. We too were very that RC went out of the way to make sure we had an amazing time. I cannot wait to go on the Oasis again!

 

 

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[oneputt18]

Just got off the phone with C&A, the rep said the same procedure applies to prepaid MTD gratuities. Go to guest services and they will adjust the gratuities if you were unhappy about a particular service you received.

 

Here is my experience. We had MTD on the Oasis last week. We had two issues with the staff. The last ending in a very rude confrontation between the maître D and my sister because we had eaten other places a couple of nights and he was upset because he had held two tables for us. (This was our first MTD dining experience and we were a bit confused about how it worked). Anyway, my sister was very upset and went to guest services to complain and to get her gratuity back for him. She was told that she had to have the whole tip reimbursed, but it was given back to her on her credit card. In the end we gave the dining room another chance and received a very sincere apology from the maître D as well as complimentary champaign. My sister ended up spending twice as much in cash tipping all of the people that served her on board extra, including the maître D lol. Long story short: yes you CAN get a full reimbursement for prepaid gratuities

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I guess the answer the C&A rep gave me was correct.