Rare binro01 Posted November 2, 2021 #1 Share Posted November 2, 2021 I did not opt into pre-paying my gratuities for the cruise when booking. I was wondering if I can pre-pay them somewhere in the cruise planner or elsewhere? Do I have to call my TA to get them added to my invoice? Or do I just deal with them showing up on my sign and sail account. I personally like to get them taken care of before boarding, so that my sign and sail account is easier to decipher. But I never like paying them when booking, especially in this fluid environment. With other lines I usually take care of them a week before I board via their cruise planner / web portals. I just do not see an option for that on Royal's web portal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted November 2, 2021 #2 Share Posted November 2, 2021 You can pay for them on your SeaPass account on board OR pay them before your cruise. Same amount of money either way. Since you used a TA, you should have that TA take care of it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashland Posted November 2, 2021 #3 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Do you have any OBC?....If so use that to pay gratuities once onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare binro01 Posted November 2, 2021 Author #4 Share Posted November 2, 2021 1 minute ago, Ashland said: Do you have any OBC?....If so use that to pay gratuities once onboard. It's minimal. I booked a GTY Oceanview Balcony on the Allure OTS, for only $1,065.00, and because it was so dang cheap, our TA only offered 45 OBC. So yea... Minimal. The tips will be 174.00 for the both of us. I would like to pay it before boarding and not have to worry about any charges hitting my Sign and Sale except for whatever the wife spends at the shops on... Which can be hefty LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare binro01 Posted November 2, 2021 Author #5 Share Posted November 2, 2021 12 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said: You can pay for them on your SeaPass account on board OR pay them before your cruise. Same amount of money either way. Since you used a TA, you should have that TA take care of it for you. Thanks, I'll give my TA a call, and let them know I would like to prepay my gratuities. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted November 2, 2021 #6 Share Posted November 2, 2021 2 minutes ago, binro01 said: It's minimal. I booked a GTY Oceanview Balcony on the Allure OTS, for only $1,065.00, and because it was so dang cheap, our TA only offered 45 OBC. So yea... Minimal. The tips will be 174.00 for the both of us. I would like to pay it before boarding and not have to worry about any charges hitting my Sign and Sale except for whatever the wife spends at the shops on... Which can be hefty LOL. SeaPass account. You have to nail the lingo before boarding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare binro01 Posted November 2, 2021 Author #7 Share Posted November 2, 2021 4 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said: SeaPass account. You have to nail the lingo before boarding! LOL.. I'll get it straight. Maybe.. Been on too many other lines to keep all the brand specific lingo down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJL1973 Posted November 2, 2021 #8 Share Posted November 2, 2021 Don't think the TA will allow you to pre-pay gratuities through them (they certainly didn't when I tried it). You need to contact Royal Carribean direct. In the end i decided not to bother. Which turned out to be good as they had a sale on our cruise a week before the sailing and I managed to get OBC out of it for the difference. This in turn easily covered the cost of the gratuities for the sailing. So moral of the story is - Never pre-pay gratuities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare binro01 Posted November 2, 2021 Author #9 Share Posted November 2, 2021 1 minute ago, PJL1973 said: So moral of the story is - Never pre-pay gratuities. This is a good moral. They talk about how it locks in your gratuity rate. But the chances of it increasing is quite remote. I too usually like to pay them about 1-2 weeks before boarding, just to keep my SeaPass account clean from the daily charges. Plus my wife usually absorbs any OBC in just one shopping spree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renza Posted November 2, 2021 #10 Share Posted November 2, 2021 (edited) Yes u can call your travel agent and add gratuities. I did to get my bill up to $1500 to save my $500 on American Express. gratuities are $14.50 per day per person. Edited November 2, 2021 by renza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJL1973 Posted November 2, 2021 #11 Share Posted November 2, 2021 I would say gratuity rates rarely change. My guess is that it's once a year at most. So perhaps if you've booked more than 12 months in advance it might be a good idea. But even so, the increase in price is unlikely to be dramatic (unlike other things which do have much larger price changes and more frequently, like drinks packages or excursions). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renza Posted November 2, 2021 #12 Share Posted November 2, 2021 10 minutes ago, PJL1973 said: Don't think the TA will allow you to pre-pay gratuities through them (they certainly didn't when I tried it). You need to contact Royal Carribean direct. In the end i decided not to bother. Which turned out to be good as they had a sale on our cruise a week before the sailing and I managed to get OBC out of it for the difference. This in turn easily covered the cost of the gratuities for the sailing. So moral of the story is - Never pre-pay gratuities. Your travel agent will add them if u want, and you can always call and get your money back if you change your mind. Just like on any package you can call and cancel if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brillohead Posted November 3, 2021 #13 Share Posted November 3, 2021 11 hours ago, PJL1973 said: Don't think the TA will allow you to pre-pay gratuities through them (they certainly didn't when I tried it). If your TA won't do it, you need a different TA!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billslowsky Posted November 3, 2021 #14 Share Posted November 3, 2021 14 hours ago, binro01 said: Thanks, I'll give my TA a call, and let them know I would like to prepay my gratuities. You could just add make a payment at check-in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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