Prepaid Gratuities Non Refundable

[Doctor G]

I was on Infinity in February. One of my friends booked only two weeks before the cruise and had to take Select dining because early dining was sold out. By the time of the cruise she was able to move to early dining. The ship refunded her prepaid gratuities to the credit card she had used to pay for the cruise.

 

Carolyn

[Hlitner]

Just a word to those thinking about booking a fixed dining and switching to Select once onboard. On nearly all of our recent X cruises the Select Dining option was sold-out prior to the cruise and there was a long waiting list for those that wanted to switch. Select has become a very popular option (we love it).

 

Hank

[A Sixth?]

I can tell you that if you get on board and cancel the gratuities, they will cancel your Select dining and put you in traditonal dining. The gratuities will then be returned on the credit card you charged them to. I am passing this on from personal experience as it was done to me by Celebrity when we made a last minute change to Aqua.

 

Also, when discussing this, there are some who do not know what pre paid gratuities are so the conversation gets confusing.

 

WHAT?

 

I smell a bigger story here.... you got an upgrade from Celebrity? :eek::p

[ghstudio]

X made prepaid gratuities mandatory to protect the wait staff in Select Dining from losing tips. If they are nonrefundable, there is a valid reason for it.

 

oh my........

 

while Celebrity may (think they) have a reason for it, the refund or not is covered by the legal contracts. My non legally trained mind tells me that they have to refund the gratuities...if you paid for them yourself. If not, then any refund is governed by the terms of the offer.

[dkjretired]

WHAT?

 

I smell a bigger story here.... you got an upgrade from Celebrity? :eek::p

 

Paid but a real good one, sorry. 100pp from an inside

[Charles4515]

For many, it's because they want to use OBC to pay the grats, and not have to pay it prior to cruising with cash.

 

Again, point of this thread isn't about the custom of tipping. Instead go here.

 

What I did to get the OBC to pay for grats as book traditional and get changed to Select onboard. There was an almost hitch though. The Maitre D did not want to accommodate our request. I had to go to the Captain's Club hostess to get it done.

Edited March 21, 2015 by Charles4515

[CHEZMARYLOU]

IMHO, Celebrity should change all dining to prepaid gratuities, thus ending the controversy of why or why not, how do I delete, get my money back, switch once on board, etc. This would make it easier for everyone to understand but would end some threads on CC. :D

[bryjohn]

Hi I only just boked and was told there was only select dining and paid the gratuities. I requested set dining and have now got it. will I get my gratuities back that I paid.

thanks

[jesrestin]

Curt,

 

Check this Eclipse daily, under information.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i5y9040ghewvt98/Celebrity%20Today%20-%20Sunday%2C%20Feb%2022%2C%202015.pdf?dl=0

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2177164&page=7

 

A review being posted by Prim8keeper.

[yorkyred]

I would prefer gratuities to be built into the cruise price, it's done on other lines with no problems.

[dbsb3233]

I just booked 3 cabins for an Aug 2016 X cruise under the SIS promo that offers free gratuities. And we always want Select dining. But even though the promo includes free gratuities, the booking still added pre-paid gratuities to our bill.

 

Fortunately all we paid for now is the deposit. I contacted the TA, who contacted Celebrity, and they said I "should" see an adjustment on the account within 2 weeks to lower the remaining balance as the free gratuities are applied.

 

We'll see. I have a feeling I may have to keep hounding them.

[Queen of Oakville]

So would this mean

• one can cancel on board,
  
• get moved to Fixed Dining,
  
• get the refund to the credit card used to pay for them (i.e. not to the SeaPass account but refund direct to a credit card),
  
• come back later and get moved back to Select Dining and
  
• have the gratuities put back on the SeaPass account (for example, to use up OBC to pay them instead of prepaid with cash)?
  

 

You have the slight nuance of moving to BLU and out of Select dining which I would think would allow changes.

 

hmmmm.

 

you may be on to something here - except on the chance that select is full.

 

 

 

Here is one for you ... we booked our next sailing on board with the 123 promo that was in effect last fall. PAX 1/2 received pre-paid grats. The onboard TA placed DH and I in select. She placed our two kids (both minors) on late dining.

 

I had the ressie transferred to my TA. He caught it. He asked X why it was done that way and then came back to me and asked, "do you want to move to traditional or do you want to pre-pay the grats for the kids? I asked if we could leave everything as is, and then once we board, change the kids to SELECT and use our OBC to pay the grats. He said 1) you run the risk that Select is full and 2) now that they know about it, they can't leave two minors on a MDR late seating.

 

Seems to me the "system" had no issue with two minors placed in traditional dining; and I was inclined to tempt fate so I could use my OBC to pay their grats, but I did not want to run the risk that SELECT would be full.

[dkjretired]

hmmmm.

 

you may be on to something here - except on the chance that select is full.

 

 

 

Here is one for you ... we booked our next sailing on board with the 123 promo that was in effect last fall. PAX 1/2 received pre-paid grats. The onboard TA placed DH and I in select. She placed our two kids (both minors) on late dining.

 

I had the ressie transferred to my TA. He caught it. He asked X why it was done that way and then came back to me and asked, "do you want to move to traditional or do you want to pre-pay the grats for the kids? I asked if we could leave everything as is, and then once we board, change the kids to SELECT and use our OBC to pay the grats. He said 1) you run the risk that Select is full and 2) now that they know about it, they can't leave two minors on a MDR late seating.

 

Seems to me the "system" had no issue with two minors placed in traditional dining; and I was inclined to tempt fate so I could use my OBC to pay their grats, but I did not want to run the risk that SELECT would be full.

 

Read the previous posts, under the scenario given just opt for traditional dining, then there's no charge and you can do the same thing on board.

[C 2 C]

Select dining has far fewer seats than fixed dining.

I wonder if this is still true since a large part of the MDR was removed for Luminae. Perhaps the numbers are a little closer now on some ships (Blu was taken out of Select on M class)

Edited March 23, 2015 by Arno.

[cle-guy]

I would prefer gratuities to be built into the cruise price, it's done on other lines with no problems.

 

Not one any of the "big lines"

 

Cruise lines that INCLUDE gratuity in fare

• Silverseas
  
• Azamara
  
• Regent Seven Seas
  
• Crystal
  
• Noble Caledonia
  
• Saga Cruises
  
• Thomson Cruises
  
• Swan Hellenic
  

 

Several of the above are UK based Crusie lines, catering the the UK market, almost exclusively.

 

Cruise Lines that ADD gratuity on a daily bases separately:

• Celebrity
  
• Royal Caribbean
  
• Carnival
  
• NCL
  
• P&O
  
• Fred Olsen
  
• Costa
  
• OceaniPrincess
  
• MSC
  
• Holland America
  
• Disney
  
• Cunard
  

 

Notice a few names are UK based cruise lines, and even THEY don't follow the UK custom of inclusive gratuities.

 

Interesting article from the UK-based Telegraph news: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/8812952/Cruises-guide-to-gratuities-and-tips.html

 

The opening paragraph, quoted:

Sit by reception on any cruise ship with British passengers at the start of any holiday and watch as one by one they come by, asking for the gratuities to be removed from the their account.

[cle-guy]

I wonder if this is still true since a large part of the MDR was removed for Luminae. Perhaps the numbers are a little closer now on some ships (Blu was taken out of Select on M class)

 

Even just a quick glance at deck pans makes this seem to still be true. There's still a lot of real estate full of tables in the main floor space of the MDR on all ships.

 

I'm convinced that within 2 years or so, Fixed seating and select dining space will flip flop as Select will become more and more popular and need the room of the lower MDR floor to accommodate the demand.

 

Look forward to finally meeting you on the upcoming TA to Rome!

Edited March 23, 2015 by cle-guy

[cle-guy]

Curt,

 

Check this Eclipse daily, under information.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i5y9040ghewvt98/Celebrity%20Today%20-%20Sunday%2C%20Feb%2022%2C%202015.pdf?dl=0

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2177164&page=7

 

A review being posted by Prim8keeper.

 

Thanks for these. At least now I know where I've read the "official word" on select dining gratuities.

 

Still, this policy provided is made known well after gratuities are charged to the guest. Seems that a policy of no refunds should be spelled out clearly at the time of payment, not have the policy tacked on after it's too late to do anything about it.

[GazW]

...

Notice a few names are UK based cruise lines, and even THEY don't follow the UK custom of inclusive gratuities.

 

Interesting article from the UK-based Telegraph news: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/8812952/Cruises-guide-to-gratuities-and-tips.html

 

The opening paragraph, quoted:

Sit by reception on any cruise ship with British passengers at the start of any holiday and watch as one by one they come by, asking for the gratuities to be removed from the their account.

 

Oh come on...there was a qualifier to that statement which you (purposefully?) left out...

 

OK, that’s an exaggeration...

 

And I thought...

 

Please, there are enough threads of this nature...

 

?

[cle-guy]

Oh come on...there was a qualifier to that statement which you (purposefully?) left out...

 

The article does go on to discuss UK tipping standards, and reports on specific cruise ships and the staff take on it. Several paragraphs fall back to the first paragraph. And yes the 2nd paragraph dos toll this back a bit, before pushing again forward with the premise. So here;s he 2nd paragrah, in full:

OK, that’s an exaggeration but the issue of gratuities is guaranteed to get British cruisers hot under the collar. It’s not just because they are mean, although some no doubt simply do resent paying tips, but a cultural thing. Americans hand out dollar bill tips to people for opening a car door for them or serving a drink in a bar; the British wouldn’t dream of it.

 

I quoted the topic paragraph in full, and will let the readers of the thread read the full article should they choose.

 

Intertesting article, having been written by a UK based news organization at that, that backs up the generalization that US passengers see with regards to the arguments about the policy of tipping, and makes it clear, that in the world of crude ships, it's normal to add tips, and why may cruise lines make adding on of gratuities nearly mandatory.

 

As I am the OP of the thread, I'm happy now to open it up, we've successfully now found the details relevant to the prepaid tipping policy, and enough have turned off topic anyway now, may as well let it rip.

 

Don't hate the messenger.....send comments to the UK's Telegraph news organization. :D

Edited March 24, 2015 by cle-guy

[GazW]

Don't hate the messenger.....send comments to the UK's Telegraph news organization. :D

 

No hate, just felt like there was a little Brit bashing going on. And I am a little Brit. ;)

 

From the article..

"It’s not just because they are mean, although some no doubt simply do resent paying tips, but a cultural thing."

 

Let's not forget, as evidenced on these boards, there are also some Americans that resent paying tips. And as I have already mentioned previously on this forum "British Tipping Culture" (in terms of a true gratuity) in pubs, restaurants, taxis, etc., is alive and well. Which does somewhat diminish Ms. Archer's point...

 

...or serving a drink in a bar; the British wouldn’t dream of it

...really?

 

I have cruised a fair few times with P&O since the early 90's (tipping on British cruise ships, sailing out of British ports? Who'd a' thunk it?) and up until my last cruise with them they still employed the "Tips in Envelopes" system. I and those I cruised with (and people I have talked to about it) accepted that system and always tipped, at the very least, according to P&O's guidelines. You will always get people who either don't understand the system or are just plain mean...but they ain't all British.

[dkjretired]

Thanks for these. At least now I know where I've read the "official word" on select dining gratuities.

 

Still, this policy provided is made known well after gratuities are charged to the guest. Seems that a policy of no refunds should be spelled out clearly at the time of payment, not have the policy tacked on after it's too late to do anything about it.

 

I think you are making too much of it, I have heard many people on this board complaining about having to PREPAY the tips but haven't seen anyone complain that they are non refundable. Sometimes we overthink these things.

[dkjretired]

I wonder if this is still true since a large part of the MDR was removed for Luminae. Perhaps the numbers are a little closer now on some ships (Blu was taken out of Select on M class)

 

Agree with you Arno, I think Select is just getting very popular also, wife and I really enjoy going to eat when we want since we are very active on the ship.

[Queen of Oakville]

Read the previous posts, under the scenario given just opt for traditional dining, then there's no charge and you can do the same thing on board.

 

Agree with you Arno, I think Select is just getting very popular also, wife and I really enjoy going to eat when we want since we are very active on the ship.

 

 

My concern with leaving it to handle on board is that we might be told that select is full. Also X didnt' want to leave it the way it was. The either wanted us moved to traditional or the kids moved to X.

 

But I do agree with you on Select gaining in popularity. I've been wanting to try it for a long time. DH has been opposed because the thought quality of service would suffer. He likes having the same wait team each night. That is exactly what we enjoyed on Reflection. Granted I made reservations each night for 7PM and we requested the same waitstaff and had a great team. We enjoyed the best of both worlds. We got to dine at a time that worked for us, had the same great wait team work hard for us, and enjoyed the table mates beside us. We had the same couple beside us for 6/7 nights.

[Project_gal]

The article does go on to discuss UK tipping standards, and reports on specific cruise ships and the staff take on it. Several paragraphs fall back to the first paragraph. And yes the 2nd paragraph dos toll this back a bit, before pushing again forward with the premise. So here;s he 2nd paragrah, in full:

 

 

I quoted the topic paragraph in full, and will let the readers of the thread read the full article should they choose.

 

Intertesting article, having been written by a UK based news organization at that, that backs up the generalization that US passengers see with regards to the arguments about the policy of tipping, and makes it clear, that in the world of crude ships, it's normal to add tips, and why may cruise lines make adding on of gratuities nearly mandatory.

 

As I am the OP of the thread, I'm happy now to open it up, we've successfully now found the details relevant to the prepaid tipping policy, and enough have turned off topic anyway now, may as well let it rip.

 

Don't hate the messenger.....send comments to the UK's Telegraph news organization. :D

 

Curt

 

You need to understand that the UK-based media has been in cruise-bashing mode for some time. Consequently, I avoid reading anything about cruising published in the UK currently.

[dkjretired]

My concern with leaving it to handle on board is that we might be told that select is full. Also X didnt' want to leave it the way it was. The either wanted us moved to traditional or the kids moved to X.

 

But I do agree with you on Select gaining in popularity. I've been wanting to try it for a long time. DH has been opposed because the thought quality of service would suffer. He likes having the same wait team each night. That is exactly what we enjoyed on Reflection. Granted I made reservations each night for 7PM and we requested the same waitstaff and had a great team. We enjoyed the best of both worlds. We got to dine at a time that worked for us, had the same great wait team work hard for us, and enjoyed the table mates beside us. We had the same couple beside us for 6/7 nights.

 

I agree about being afraid of missing the Select but I think you missed my point. Whether you choose Select or Traditional prior will have no effect on whether you get Select once on board so going through this whole process is unnecessary. In the time that you drop Select, its all up to the computer.