no more prepaid gratuities required with open dining

[Fogfog]

With the very recent change by celebrity, there is no difference in the gratuities. You always paid the same but in the past, if you had select dining, you had to pay the full gratuities at time of final payment....rather than on the ship. Early/late seatings did not have to pay gratuities in advance. Celebrity just changed that so it doesn't matter where you eat, you pay the gratuities on the ship and they are charged to your account daily.

 

The gratuities are the same irrespective of where you eat. If you eat in a specialty restaurant, part of your payment for the meal is gratuities...it won't be added to the price you pay. Gratuities for any drink that is covered under your drink package are included in the price of the drink package.

 

Thanks for this.

We called X yesterday to inquire - as we wondered if things were different from our Baltics cruise --where the tips were done daily-- on board.

Hadn't thought about the specialty restaurants tips as part of the upcharge fee Makes sense.

Thanks

[florence11]

I am travelling in a group of 7 and we always book Select dining and normally have the same table each evening. We paid our final payment the same day as Celebrity changed to "no pre paid tips" we contacted out TA who said it was too late as the payment had already been paid which was a few weeks ago. I have since been in touch with Celebrity who have not received any payment only to be told the tips cannot be removed or reduced down (so I can tip who I want) and if they were removed they have to go back to the TA. I am still none the wiser and to be clear we always tip but on a few occasions on Select dining the staff do seem to be a little less interested, not sure if its because they know the tips have already been paid.