Royal Caribbean Service Charge - what is this?

[Emilysmum]

Hello,

I've just booked our very first cruise for my daughter and myself and now I'm trawling through all the bits and pieces that I need to get sorted out.  I was reading the confirmation invoice and one of the notes reads:

 

Service Charge Service Charge for dining and stateroom attendants are included in your voyage fare. Spa & Bar services a service charge is not included. For your convenience, an 18% service charge will be added to your onboard folio for spa & bar services.

 

 Could you please tell me if service charges are the same as gratuities or are gratuities payable on top of this?  I've read in multiple places that gratuities are charged to your cabin account on a daily basis and you're supposed to pay that invoice before you get off the ship at the end of the cruise?

 

We are booked on the Royal Caribbean South Pacific cruise departing 10 January 2020 from Sydney. 

Thanks!  

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by Emilysmum

[sparks1093]

It is what would be added as gratuities here in the States, so there would be no need to add anything further. If you use spa and bar services they will add it to each purchases. As I understand it the cruise lines add the gratuities for dining and stateroom into the fare given the tipping climate down under.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

It is what would be added as gratuities here in the States, so there would be no need to add anything further. If you use spa and bar services they will add it to each purchases. As I understand it the cruise lines add the gratuities for dining and stateroom into the fare given the tipping climate down under.

This answer is correct in that "gratuities" and "daily service charge" are one and the same, however the REASON stated isn't correct.  

Australian law requires that ALL fees be included in the quoted fare, not added after the fact.  Therefore, all cruises booked via Aussie rules will have the daily service charge / gratuity included in the fare price rather than added on to the onboard expenses account.  

If you purchase things ahead of time (drink package, dining package, spa services, etc.) or if you purchase drinks or extra dining or other services on the ship, an 18% gratuity will be included automatically at the time of that purchase.  

Nothing additional is ever required, tipping-wise, while on board.  One exception -- I do tip a few dollars if I order room service.  The $7.95 charge for room service doesn't include a gratuity for the person doing the delivery. 

And I do personally choose to give my cabin steward and dining staff (if I've had the same people all week versus My Time Dining with different staff each night) an extra $20-$40 if I feel that the service has been deserving of an additional amount.  However, that's just me - you're not "stiffing" anyone if you don't give out any cash (other than the room service delivery person).  The wait staff and cabin stewards get their expected tip from the daily service charge which you are already paying in your room fare.

[John Bull]

How strange that RCI call the daily add-on a "service charge" when it's included, and "tips" or "gratuities" when it's not 

 

But my answer is the same as Sparks' 

 

On most cruises, cruisers can choose to pay "gratuities" when they book or have them added daily to their on-board account. Theoretically they're optional - the cruiser can have them removed or adjusted, though few Americans do because tips are very much part of American culture.

 

But because of Aus's no-tipping culture they're included in the higher advertised cruise ticket prices  - same has happened to some cruises out of the UK. Before cruise lines took the sensible option of incorporating them into the cruise fare "gratuities" were a source of grief -  it got Aussies hot under the collar and a lot of Aussies had the charges removed, a no-win situation. Same continues to happen to a degree with European cruisers.

 

So as far as the daily charge is concerned you're good. You can if you wish give a little extra to cabin & dining staff (and I guarantee the service is excellent) but there's no need and staff won't be expecting it from Aussies, Japanese, Europeans etc. 

 

Interesting to note that RCI still add the 18% grammatically-incorrect "mandatory gratuity" on bar charges (this will include wine & drinks in the dining room). On a Princess cruise out of Aus cruise a few years back there was no add-on for drinks. But the worst that can happen is that you see it on the tab when you buy your first round and before ordering again you make a mental note that the cost will be 18% more than the menu price.

One possible small plus - if the on-board currency is AUD rather than their usual USD they may not bother to re-print price-lists, so you benefit from the lower value of AUD.

 

I don't know whether it's possible to opt-out of that charge for spa services, but now that you're aware of it I reckon it would be cheapskating to do so.

 

I'm not sure that brillohead has it quite right about Australian law.

I suspect the law is the same as the UK - mandatory charges must be included or declared at the time of booking. (For instance when renting a car in Aus as well as elsewhere some mandatory charges are payable locally.) 

But that falls down on two matters - including such charges tolerably clearly in promotional material & in the booking contract satisfies UK law, and since theoretically cruisers can have the charge removed it's not mandatory. So it's perfectly legal.

(NCL's recent policy sails very close to the wind - you are charged that fee and have to re-claim it after the cruise. I'm not aware of any legal challenge to that policy) 

 

Such complications arise because US cruise lines continue to charge add-on "gratuities" when they can,  rather than biting the bullet & incorporating them in simple transparent up-front pricing.

Mini-rant over 

 

JB   

Edited January 14, 2019 by John Bull

[cb at sea]

Yes..they are the same.  No further tips to any of those people are required or expected.  You've covered!

 

[taglovestocruise]

5 hours ago, cb at sea said:

Yes..they are the same.  No further tips to any of those people are required or expected.  You've covered!

 

NO they are not the same. A service charge is added to the employee pool and is shared by all. Anything that is left as a tip is kept by the person who receives it.  A waiter in a specialty restaurant only gets a few dollars from the included service charge, the $10 that we leave as a tip is for our waiter only. 

[grapau27]

19 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

NO they are not the same. A service charge is added to the employee pool and is shared by all. Anything that is left as a tip is kept by the person who receives it.  A waiter in a specialty restaurant only gets a few dollars from the included service charge, the $10 that we leave as a tip is for our waiter only. 

That's how I read it too hence I always give a minimum of $10 to our waiter in the speciality restaurant's.

[wwcruisers]

Back to Royal after 8 years -- their new website is SO frustrating! Can someone please tell me where to find the info on gratuities? One of our group's cabins is a JS and one is an inside. I just need to find the base rate for each, so I can calculate how much to budget for grat's. Thanks so much!

[Biker19]

$14.50 per person per day for each. 

[SilkySal]

On 1/14/2019 at 3:05 AM, Emilysmum said:

Hello,

I've just booked our very first cruise for my daughter and myself and now I'm trawling through all the bits and pieces that I need to get sorted out.

We are booked on the Royal Caribbean South Pacific cruise departing 10 January 2020 from Sydney. 

Thanks!  

 

Welcome to CC! I am attaching your specific cruise date information and you will be able to post there with people going on the Voyager the same week as you and your DD! Right now, there just seems to be one other poster but I am sure that more will chime in later. Lots of useful information can be learned on CC! Have a great cruise! Just click on the title below to go to that specif thread!

 

 

 

 

[little britain]

I believe the room service delivery charge of $7.95 now also adds the 18% tip making the charge $9.38 in reality. 

[grapau27]

6 minutes ago, little britain said:

I believe the room service delivery charge of $7.95 now also adds the 18% tip making the charge $9.38 in reality. 

We get the hot breakfast every morning and charged $7.95.

The only time it is different is from Barcelona where it was $8.48 which includes Spanish vat.

I always give $2-3 cash tip to the waiter.

Room service always ring 5 minutes before delivery.

[little britain]

[wwcruisers]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

$14.50 per person per day for each. 

Biker, does that include JS? I seem to remember the 'service charge' being higher for suites. That's why I was trying to find something definitive on RC's website -- but I can't. 🤯

[Docker123]

10 minutes ago, wwcruisers said:

Biker, does that include JS? I seem to remember the 'service charge' being higher for suites. That's why I was trying to find something definitive on RC's website -- but I can't. 🤯

 

Yes it does include JS.

 

 

The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-gratuity-expense

Edited January 15, 2019 by Docker123

[grapau27]

8 minutes ago, little britain said:

Thanks for posting this menu showing gratuities.

We only get breakfast from room service and it didn't mention gratuities on any of the several menu's left in our cabin that we hang on the outside door at night with our breakfast selections but I will check again in May on our next RC cruise.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, wwcruisers said:

Biker, does that include JS? I seem to remember the 'service charge' being higher for suites. That's why I was trying to find something definitive on RC's website -- but I can't. 🤯

A JS isn't a suite in any shape or form, really... it's just a bigger balcony room.  

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, brillohead said:

A JS isn't a suite in any shape or form, really... it's just a bigger balcony room.  

They have a bath and shower plus you get double 

C&A points.

[brillohead]

6 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

They have a bath and shower plus you get double 

C&A points.

But it's not a suite.... no suite lounge, no suite perks.

They should call them "Jumbo Balcony" rather than "Junior Suite".  

[voyager70]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

I believe the room service delivery charge of $7.95 now also adds the 18% tip making the charge $9.38 in reality. 

 

On sailings from the US the charge is indeed $9.38.

 

[wwcruisers]

25 minutes ago, brillohead said:

A JS isn't a suite in any shape or form, really... it's just a bigger balcony room.  

I know -- back in 'the day' junior suites were our favorite cabin to book, on RC. Hey -- they had me at "walk-in-closet", lol! For the life of me,  I just couldn't remember what classification they fell under, when it came to gratuities. Plus, things have changed, in the 8 years since we last booked with RC.

 

Thanks for the info, everyone. You guys are a much better source of information than the 'new & improved' RC website!

Edited January 15, 2019 by wwcruisers

[Emilysmum]

Thanks so much for your replies everyone. I'd already budgeted for gratuities as I thought they were on top too until I read the small print,  so I can put that towards individual tips!😊

 

And SilkySal, thanks heaps for the link!!😀

[Docker123]

31 minutes ago, Emilysmum said:

Thanks so much for your replies everyone. I'd already budgeted for gratuities as I thought they were on top too until I read the small print,  so I can put that towards individual tips!😊

 

And SilkySal, thanks heaps for the link!!😀

 

You should come and join us on the zaustralian and New Zealand Board.

 

We have pies.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/564-australia-new-zealand-cruisers/

 

[Emilysmum]

Thanks Docker123, anything for pies😁

[grapau27]

9 hours ago, brillohead said:

But it's not a suite.... no suite lounge, no suite perks.

They should call them "Jumbo Balcony" rather than "Junior Suite".  

The big Suite benefits ie CK,SL are Oasis class specific and JS do get CK access.

On Vision,voyager and Freedom class ships the Suite perks are much less.