Gratuity increase in April?

[ValerieJo]

i just read on another site that gratuities will increase in April. Has anyone else heard this? Travel Agents?

[MAHA]

NCl is raising gratuities. Can't find anything about Royal yet.

[ValerieJo]

NCl is raising gratuities. Can't find anything about Royal yet.

 

Thanks. The article I read must have been referring to NCI.

[Clarea]

Thanks. The article I read must have been referring to NCI.

Royal generally follows closely behind.

[nator555]

Hmmmm I saw it in the other site too. I don't know what to think.

 

 

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[Biker19]

Ncl -> rci, $13.99 - > ? Rci

[riclop]

They will soon.

[moopetguy]

Hoping this thread doesn't devolve into another debate about you-know-what [emoji120] If it does, then [emoji897], I guess [emoji12]

 

 

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[easyboy]

Thanks. The article I read must have been referring to NCI.

So no need to prepay gratuities.

[Biker19]

I seem to remember when the grats went from 12.95 to 13.50 RCI gave about 2 months notice.

[ocav]

I seem to remember when the grats went from 12.95 to 13.50 RCI gave about 2 months notice.

 

 

 

They seem to be good at only giving 2 weeks notice lately so nothing would surprise me

 

 

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[phabric]

When Princess raised their price the last time, they emailed that you could pre pay the old rate by a certain date and after that date the new rate would be effect.

[phabric]

Do they let you know that the price is going up?

 

If not, I will get agent to add tips to my booking so will be at the old rate.

[Ocean Boy]

And then the grats added to purchased items will soon follow too... right after they increase the price of drinks.

[spookwife]

So no need to prepay gratuities.

 

IIRC the last time this happened, anyone who had prepaid was locked in/grandfathered at the old rate.

 

I vaguely recall a lot of people who normally wanted to use OBC to pay them went ahead and prepaid to get the lower rate.

[ONECRUISER]

IIRC the last time this happened, anyone who had prepaid was locked in/grandfathered at the old rate.

 

I vaguely recall a lot of people who normally wanted to use OBC to pay them went ahead and prepaid to get the lower rate.

You memory is correct...

[marci22]

And then the grats added to purchased items will soon follow too... right after they increase the price of drinks.

 

How can the drink prices go up any more?

[Big_G]

How can the drink prices go up any more?

 

I'm sure that's never been asked before. :D

[moopetguy]

I also remember there being advance notice last time, allowing people to lock in the old rate prior to the change taking effect. And that was a year ago. For posterity, I looked it up in my email (yes, shocker, I actually received advance notification by email from RCI...the system worked as intended... :eek:).

 

It was 2016-03-29 when I received this message about my (then) upcoming sailing:

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon for your upcoming Royal Caribbean cruise vacation!

As you prepare to set sail, we wanted to notify you of an update to our daily service charges. As of May 1, 2016, Royal Caribbean will be adjusting the automatic daily service charge from $12.95 to $13.50 per day for regular staterooms and $15.95 to $16.50 per day for suites. This service charge is shared by dining & culinary services personnel, stateroom attendants and other housekeeping and guest services personnel.

We want to extend the opportunity to prepay your service charge now at the current rate, before it adjusts on April 14, 2016. After this date, any service charge applied will be at the new rate.

Other onboard gratuity policies remain the same: an 18% gratuity is automatically added to bar service beverages, specialty dining reservations, spa services and mini bar items, and will be itemized on your receipt.

Call 1-866-562-7625, log onto RoyalCaribbean.com or contact your travel agent by April 13, 2016, to prepay the daily service charge at the current rate.

[luckyinpa]

When Princess raised their price the last time, they emailed that you could pre pay the old rate by a certain date and after that date the new rate would be effect.

 

so could i use the promo OBC that pops up today in my planner?

 

if in a few months i do a price drop adjustment does that still my my grats are prepaid or do they adjust upwards

[squadron]

I seem to remember when the grats went from 12.95 to 13.50 RCI gave about 2 months notice.

 

Imagine - only 2 months notice for 50cents per day!!! Everything in real life goes up continually so don't understand why some people get so enraged about any increase in cruise costs. I still find cruises give the best value for my dollar when compared to land vacations - particularly in Europe.

[CanobieFan]

So, if they do in fact raise gratuities what does that mean people who prepaid them in advance. I already prepaid all my gratuity for two of my three upcoming cruises. Face off other posts here, it should not affect me? But then am I kinda 'taking' money away from the staff?

[LuCruise]

From what I remember, if you add them to your invoice, then you are locked in at the price before the increase (assuming you have a cruise already booked of course). I had them added so that we pre-pay before the cruise, but this post reminded me of the additional advantage.

[Clarea]

So, if they do in fact raise gratuities what does that mean people who prepaid them in advance. I already prepaid all my gratuity for two of my three upcoming cruises. Face off other posts here, it should not affect me? But then am I kinda 'taking' money away from the staff?

If they raise gratuities, they usually designate a date before which if you have already added prepaid gratuities, you will be grandfathered in at the old rate. You are always able to give more if you wish.