Be careful if you pre-paid your tips at the 2015 rate.

[caribill]

We booked our upcoming cruise with a promotion that had gratuities included.

 

A screen shot I made mid-September shows that the amenity was listed as having pre-paid at the old rate.

 

A screen shot I just made shows the amenity listed as having been been pre-paid at the new rate.

 

I am sure that it simplifies the bookkeeping to just have one rate listed for all passengers, whether they had this amenity, prepaid before the change, prepaid after the change or will just have it added daily to their onboard account.

 

This is my first cruise with the pre-paid gratuity, so I do not know if:

a) The pre-payment shows up as OBC and the daily gratuity is just posted each night....

or

b) Neither the pre-payment or the daily gratuity posting will show up at all.

or

c) The prepayment will show up in some form and be offset by a lump sum gratuity charge.

[brian1]

Hi,just to add info for UK peeps.All obc and prepaid grats this year is locked in to $1.538 to the GBP and considering the current rate is around 1.42 that is a great deal for us.Last year we got 1.63 when the market rate was around 1.55,cheers,Brian.

[wishfulone]

Prepaid gratuities for two cruises this year which we have now taken. Both were paid at the old 2015 rate. On both cruises the account showed absolutely no daily gratuity charges.

[pablo222]

I was told it is the for crew's retirement that were non service people people who work on the ships long enough to get retirement. Also the "tips" money is used for crew parties and incentive programs like employee of the month.

 

I don't think anyone in the tip pool has any retirement program.