SS Exeter Posted December 7, 2016 #1 Share Posted December 7, 2016 We have a new agent at a travel agency we have done buisiness with before. Today was final payment for a Vista cruise 2/19/17. My husband just gave me the print out and the TA billed us for gratuities. This makes no sense to me as we always have them billed on board. Is this a new Carnival thing or the TA? I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanmarcosman Posted December 7, 2016 #2 Share Posted December 7, 2016 TA. If you want something done right, do it yourself. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doneinne Posted December 7, 2016 #3 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Nope, prepay is optional. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Exeter Posted December 7, 2016 Author #4 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I thought this seemed strange. Always have gratuities added each day. Oh my - Am I going to have a phone call with this guys boss.:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coevan Posted December 7, 2016 #5 Share Posted December 7, 2016 We always prepay gratuities, one less thing to worry about. We also tip cash to room service, pool servers, and our room steward. Prepaying is probably more common than post paying, or paying daily, which I never heard of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bury me at sea Posted December 7, 2016 #6 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Pre-pay TOTALLY optional. Will indeed be added to your S&S account daily beginning on or about the second day on-board if not pre-paid. You may remove or adjust at Guest Services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Exeter Posted December 7, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I have no problem with paying gratuities - and we almost always tip extra in cash directly to people. My problem was with a TA who billed me for pre-paid gratuities,without my knowledge. Told us he was billing our credit card one amount for final payment - but he added the gratuities and so our card was billed for more. Seems like a very bad thing for a TA to tell you you are being billed one amount and then you are billed a higher amount. It's not the money - we will be paying one way or the other. it is the fact that a Travel Agent lied to us.:(:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyboy Posted December 7, 2016 #8 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I thought this seemed strange. Always have gratuities added each day. Oh my - Am I going to have a phone call with this guys boss.:eek: If it was stressful for you. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted December 7, 2016 #9 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Pay now or later...same amount! They will charge it to your account if you don't pre-pay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pms4104 Posted December 7, 2016 #10 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I have no problem with paying gratuities - and we almost always tip extra in cash directly to people.My problem was with a TA who billed me for pre-paid gratuities,without my knowledge. Told us he was billing our credit card one amount for final payment - but he added the gratuities and so our card was billed for more. Seems like a very bad thing for a TA to tell you you are being billed one amount and then you are billed a higher amount. It's not the money - we will be paying one way or the other. it is the fact that a Travel Agent lied to us.:(:mad: Recently gratuities were increased ... however, if one added them to their booking before a certain date and paid them with the final payment amount, the old rates were accepted. Perhaps your TA handled it tnat way and saved you some money ... but that does not excuse him from charging you a different amount without an explanation. Sorry, but I don't recall the deadline for the old rate ... perhaps it is in Carnival's FAQs. How much gratuities have you paid per person per day? We are sailing in Feb in a full suite, opted to add them to our booking before Carnival's deadline, and paid theold amount of $12 each per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bury me at sea Posted December 7, 2016 #11 Share Posted December 7, 2016 It's not the money - we will be paying one way or the other. it is the fact that a Travel Agent lied to us.:(:mad: Couldn't agree more. Take your mad out on the right people. In general I have found crew members are excellent and deserve tips. On the other hand being mislead always annoys me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclop Posted December 7, 2016 #12 Share Posted December 7, 2016 We have a new agent at a travel agency we have done buisiness with before.Today was final payment for a Vista cruise 2/19/17. My husband just gave me the print out and the TA billed us for gratuities. This makes no sense to me as we always have them billed on board. Is this a new Carnival thing or the TA? I Get rid of that TA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzin2paradise09 Posted December 7, 2016 #13 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Is it possible it was an accident and the TA hit the button unintentionally? Or maybe there was a miscommunication somewhere? For the record, pre-paid gratuities are not part of the TA's commission so it would not have benefited him. He is human and humans do make mistakes. Call and ask what happened, but at least give him a chance to explain or realize the error before you get the firing squad lined up. Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbowflag Posted December 7, 2016 #14 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Get rid of that TA. Agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RHilla619 Posted December 7, 2016 #15 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Totally optional as to when you pay them, however it seems like most folks pre-pay just so they know their true all-in cost, and are done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Je Souhaite Posted December 7, 2016 #16 Share Posted December 7, 2016 We have a new agent at a travel agency we have done buisiness with before.Today was final payment for a Vista cruise 2/19/17. My husband just gave me the print out and the TA billed us for gratuities. This makes no sense to me as we always have them billed on board. Is this a new Carnival thing or the TA? I Absolutely not. The choice is YOURS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonit964 Posted December 7, 2016 #17 Share Posted December 7, 2016 We have a new agent at a travel agency we have done buisiness with before.Today was final payment for a Vista cruise 2/19/17. My husband just gave me the print out and the TA billed us for gratuities. This makes no sense to me as we always have them billed on board. Is this a new Carnival thing or the TA? I We've had that happen when we call Carnival to book and they always try and add the gratuity and insurance on. They're sneaky like that. I tell them we will pay the tips on board and we get our own insurance. We don't want to give Carnival another almost $300.00 in tips before it's due. Your TA should have asked you if you wanted to pre pay or pay onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packer99 Posted December 7, 2016 #18 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Could it have been in your paperwork and you missed it? We cruised on another line. The gratuities were scheduled to go up prior to our cruise, so we opted to pay them so we got billed at the current rate and saved some money. So that is another reason why it is a good idea sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNUZULOOSE Posted December 7, 2016 #19 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I prefer to prepay myself. Less money to pay later. Also I know how much I can spend later for shopping after I have paid for everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesteg Posted December 7, 2016 #20 Share Posted December 7, 2016 It's understandable that Carnival tries to get that money in advance. That's potentially millions of dollars per week that they can collect interest on (or avoid paying interest on some debt) for ~10 weeks... either way they are doing better than the 0.01% we're all getting so it's non-trivial. I wonder if they can claim this on their books a quarter in advance also, since it's paid but not delivered? What happens if pre-pay and then cancel 1 day out, or even no-show? I would assume these are fully refundable, but... :confused: Also, note this from Carnival: For cruises that begin in Barbados, all gratuities are pre-paid and automatically added during the booking process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemanbobswife Posted December 7, 2016 #21 Share Posted December 7, 2016 It's understandable that Carnival tries to get that money in advance. That's potentially millions of dollars per week that they can collect interest on (or avoid paying interest on some debt) for ~10 weeks... either way they are doing better than the 0.01% we're all getting so it's non-trivial. I wonder if they can claim this on their books a quarter in advance also, since it's paid but not delivered? What happens if pre-pay and then cancel 1 day out, or even no-show? I would assume these are fully refundable, but... :confused: Also, note this from Carnival: Gratuities will be refunded along with taxes/port fees in the event of a noshow or cancellation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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