Royal just raised gratuities will Celebrity follow.

[Oceangoer2]

3 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Hey thanks for taking the time out of your day to scold me.  Much Appreciated.🙂

My pleasure....you get off scott-free too often...

[davekathy]

deleted...

Edited August 26, 2022 by davekathy

[ROYALBOY]

I just have one question, as the price that the cruise lines say are gratuities continues to rise, are we still supposed to tip extra to our room steward, restaurant waiter and sommelier. Gratuities were added to our speciality dining package. Who gets that, and do we leave an extra 20 for our speciality waiter? We do as they perform services for us, but I think there will come a time that all has to be included into the set gratuity.I have never seen a breakdown of who gets what?

[weregoingcruising]

4 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Tipping threads are my least favorite on the CC Boards.  Followed closely by Infinite Veranda threads.

Here is a Wall.  Beat your head here.

Do you still read them before or after banging you head?😁

[the penguins]

12 hours ago, ROYALBOY said:

I just have one question, as the price that the cruise lines say are gratuities continues to rise, are we still supposed to tip extra to our room steward, restaurant waiter and sommelier. Gratuities were added to our speciality dining package. Who gets that, and do we leave an extra 20 for our speciality waiter? We do as they perform services for us, but I think there will come a time that all has to be included into the set gratuity.I have never seen a breakdown of who gets what?

The breakdown of who gets what from the main autograts is available at Guest Relations - just ask for a copy. The tips for speciality dining go to that team if you choose to tip extra that's a personal choice.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

My pleasure....you get off scott-free too often...

You can always just Ignore my posts if you want.  

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, weregoingcruising said:

Do you still read them before or after banging you head?😁

Read them first.  

[C-Dragons]

20 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Hey thanks for taking the time out of your day to scold me.  Much Appreciated.🙂

Perhaps they forgot this is “Cruise Critic”. I thought everyone was entitled to express their point of view.

[canderson]

Although a new concept, it might be easier to create a sticky for 'tipping' and have the moderators merge into it any thread that heads that direction!  Would save a thousand threads on the same topic.

 

Come to think of it, that would apply to about half a dozen topics.  All sewed up into one tidy mess!

 

[kywildcatfanone]

Of course they will.  Sister companies.

[Oceangoer2]

3 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Perhaps they forgot this is “Cruise Critic”. I thought everyone was entitled to express their point of view.

Yes....all are entitled, including the poster who just wants a polite answer.  There's a time and place and lots of opportunity to direct the snide stab at most of us...I take it all in fun but IMO it's not quite right to point the sarcasm at an innocent query and get 'laughs' at their expense.  So flame me!  🔥

[Oceangoer2]

5 hours ago, TeeRick said:

You can always just Ignore my posts if you want.  

Nope.......You generally are too much fun and very predictable...

[HMR74]

On 8/23/2022 at 8:21 PM, Denny01 said:

I’ve been on a few Celebrity cruises and somehow came off the cruise with a ‘few pennies’ left. That is part of our personal decision-making of what we pay out for. If someone decides a few bucks increase in gratuities is somehow not legit, dont book, cancel, whatever. 

 

I got called out for making a joke about the complaints about candy bar prices, so i Won’t crack a joke here. If X decides to increase gratuities, or specialty dining, or SRs or tours or candy bars or whatever…..make your call….and take a look at all the other costs that have risen in the vacation business, and everywhere else.

 

Den 

wait till folks get their natural gas  and electricity bills in a few months. It will make this 1.50 /day PP look like chump change. The workers, not just on cruise ships,  have to pay their bills too.

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, HMR74 said:

wait till folks get their natural gas  and electricity bills in a few months. It will make this 1.50 /day PP look like chump change. The workers, not just on cruise ships,  have to pay their bills too.

A few months? If only. For most people in the UK Gas (not for cars but for heating homes) and electricity will rise by 85% on 1 November. 

 

[HMR74]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

A few months? If only. For most people in the UK Gas (not for cars but for heating homes) and electricity will rise by 85% on 1 November. 

 

Right now, households are not using too much natural gas to heat homes, but in 2 months it starts. What are people going to do when the October bill is much much higher, like 5 times higher than last year or even more. Not just 85%. 
 

People will be forced to stop  discretionary spending because most families do not have money sitting around doing nothing. I am saying part of reason cruise ships are less than full is the inability of the masses to spend.

 

Electricity is also up , and we know food is up.

 

its all self correcting but its going to be nasty. 
 

and yes, gas for driving cars is still up substantially, and as electricity goes up, the cost of charging cars goes up, . Part of reason electricity is up is the demand from car charging and supply is not growing.

 

it is all complex and difficult to explain while keeping posts brief. 
 

However right now US nat gas is up 4 times from last year, so a 1 month $200 heating bill last year will be $800 this year. Using prices in effect now. 
 

here is more data…US egg prices are 3x higher than a year ago. An average cruise ship will use 10,000 eggs a day. Who ultimately pays for that?  Think about the wasted food on cruise ships.

 

1.50 a day higher for gratuities is small compared to the other issues, including the cost of feeding crew.

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by HMR74

[HMR74]

I was just thinking about this overnight, that when we started cruising as adults with kids-back in the prior century, when a big ship carried 1200-1500 guests, when we left the cabin for say breakfast, when we returned the cabin was all cleaned up. All day including afternoons too. and then the evening turn down again with fresh towels. By the same cabin steward. 14 hour shift.

 

These folks work their butts off. And the crew can make or break your cruising experience whether you are in an inside cabin or the top suite.

 

Thats why despite the aggrevation from the shore side, Celebrity usually has a great on board experience. The people. Take care of them.

Edited August 30, 2022 by HMR74

[OysterD]

Completely agree that the crew on cruise ships work very hard and should be paid a decent amount for that. 

 

Personally though, and whether that's just because I'm British/any nationality other than American, I don't understand why there needs to be a separate line item for 'tips' that is in addition to what the cruise fare is. I don't want or need a breakdown of what I will be paying for the cruise. I just want the total, which includes part of what staff are paid. I don't want to see port fees/taxes, or start seeing fuel surcharges, or egg surcharges, when I book just tell me the total, the rest is totally irrelevant lol.

 

If 'tips' are a mandatory extra you have to pay, without jumping through hoops and feeling like a proper skinflint to get out of paying, then why show it as a separate item. If its costing more to employ the staff onboard, to the value of $1pppd or whatever it is, then add $1pppd to the advertised cost of the cruise. 

 

I'm all for keeping things in life as simple as they can be, especially when it comes to holidays! 

[HMR74]

14 minutes ago, OysterD said:

Completely agree that the crew on cruise ships work very hard and should be paid a decent amount for that. 

 

Personally though, and whether that's just because I'm British/any nationality other than American, I don't understand why there needs to be a separate line item for 'tips' that is in addition to what the cruise fare is. I don't want or need a breakdown of what I will be paying for the cruise. I just want the total, which includes part of what staff are paid. I don't want to see port fees/taxes, or start seeing fuel surcharges, or egg surcharges, when I book just tell me the total, the rest is totally irrelevant lol.

 

If 'tips' are a mandatory extra you have to pay, without jumping through hoops and feeling like a proper skinflint to get out of paying, then why show it as a separate item. If its costing more to employ the staff onboard, to the value of $1pppd or whatever it is, then add $1pppd to the advertised cost of the cruise. 

 

I'm all for keeping things in life as simple as they can be, especially when it comes to holidays! 

you do not have to pay extra if you feel your service was not better than average. My bookings include everything so all I have to do at end of cruise is hand out envelpoys containing cah to those that made my trip exceptional.

 

For UK bookings in US lines, do you have different pricing and option structures?

A few years ago I was told Austrailians booking on X had a final payment day of 60 days before cruise, which would have been greatin US  in early days of covid. I think Oceana requires final pmt 5 or 6 months ahead which is eternity now.

 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, HMR74 said:

I was just thinking about this overnight, that when we started cruising as adults with kids-back in the prior century, when a big ship carried 1200-1500 guests, when we left the cabin for say breakfast, when we returned the cabin was all cleaned up. All day including afternoons too. and then the evening turn down again with fresh towels. By the same cabin steward. 14 hour shift.

 

These folks work their butts off. And the crew can make or break your cruising experience whether you are in an inside cabin or the top suite.

 

Thats why despite the aggrevation from the shore side, Celebrity usually has a great on board experience. The people. Take care of them.

I agree but am confused. The steward does exactly the same now as what you describe them as doing in the past. X used to have a system where stewards worked in pairs (doing more cabins) but now they work alone doing less. We have asked a few Stewards about this and they all said they preferred the new system because under the old system they both got blamed if one of them messed up now they are totally responsible for their own work. I agree they work long hours but do have a break in the middle each day. But for me the most tiring part part must: be having to work 7 days a week for the whole contract without ever having a full day off.

[HMR74]

7 hours ago, the penguins said:

A few months? If only. For most people in the UK Gas (not for cars but for heating homes) and electricity will rise by 85% on 1 November. 

 

 

this link below will  give you an idea of what's likely to happen for Global  and in partciular European and US  Nat Gas and Oil prices. But too many variables. ((question-I think cruise ships are trending towards Liquified Natural Gas for environmental reasons and I think Carnival is an early adaptor. A bummer for their European cruises right now.

 

The jokers in the deck for Cruising the Med starting next spring, which i plan on doing, is what if ships cannot get as much oil as needed or for that matter provision food. Or commercial jets cannot get jet fuel (three times this last year my wife was on planes that were diverted because they could not take on enough fuel at departure-once out of Houston). Another reason to fly to port a couple of days ahead of time.

 

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/The-Global-Gas-Crisis-Is-Spilling-Into-The-United-States.html

 

keep the eye on the ball, the problem is not 1.50 more per day for gratuities.

[HMR74]

5 minutes ago, the penguins said:

I agree but am confused. The steward does exactly the same now as what you describe them as doing in the past. X used to have a system where stewards worked in pairs (doing more cabins) but now they work alone doing less. We have asked a few Stewards about this and they all said they preferred the new system because under the old system they both got blamed if one of them messed up now they are totally responsible for their own work. I agree they work long hours but do have a break in the middle each day. But for me the most tiring part part must: be having to work 7 days a week for the whole contract without ever having a full day off.

Our last cruise was just before covid hit and our Steward was there  for us except  late night and by the way I cannot recall having a mediocre crew member I have interacted with. They must have a swing shift to cover other staff for one day a week otherwise its just too heavy a load.

 

responding to Oyster D,  when we did land trips I woudl dread  people having hands out for helping us take our suitcases from taxi, then to front desk to room  and then the reverse and then at airport and the cab driver. And thats what nice about a cruise, especially long or B2b's

 

Its not the money but more that you can turn the brain off-cruising is a service industry. I like leaving my wallet and cash  in cabin safe and just carry the seapass card or phone and a handkercheif.

 

 

[the penguins]

10 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

you do not have to pay extra if you feel your service was not better than average. My bookings include everything so all I have to do at end of cruise is hand out envelpoys containing cah to those that made my trip exceptional.

 

For UK bookings in US lines, do you have different pricing and option structures?

A few years ago I was told Austrailians booking on X had a final payment day of 60 days before cruise, which would have been greatin US  in early days of covid. I think Oceana requires final pmt 5 or 6 months ahead which is eternity now.

 

Right here goes, probably miss a few but will try:

In the UK, prices must include port fees and taxes in the basic price - it's illegal to exclude any element of a price that is compolsary.

In the US you have always had refundable deposits until Covid this was never an option in the UK.

In the US you have never paid credit card fees until a few years ago between 1 and 3% was routinely added to all prices.

Insurance - cancel for any reason was and still isn't an option in the UK.

UK booking conditions make insurance mandatory - our insurance covers cancellation and medical. If you don't take insurance you automatically accept full responsibility for anything that would otherwise have been covered.

Price drops never existed in the UK until Covid and still few here know that they do.

On average the US prices are lower - on our upcoming Transatlantic on Anthem we booked in the USA and saved over 💲1200. Fortunately now our son is a US citizen Celebrity/Royal accept us as Americans.

Prices are presented in the way they are because;

1) 80% of passengers are American/Canadian.

2) All the major cruise lines price in the same way.

Tips: the reason these are not included ( we wish the basic ones were) is due mainly to tax. If this cost was added to the base pay in many countries the crew would pay more tax and I believe so would X.

In Australia and New Zealand the base prices include the tips and the cruises are marketed as "tips not required" . As this results in prices being rounded up it actually costs them more.

For the original poster in the UK if you would prefer a different pricing system you have numerous choices ranging including SAGA, P and O, Viking, Virgin and various other luxury brands.

You are under no obligation or pressure to tip more but please don't remove the autograts.

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, OysterD said:

Completely agree that the crew on cruise ships work very hard and should be paid a decent amount for that. 

 

Personally though, and whether that's just because I'm British/any nationality other than American, I don't understand why there needs to be a separate line item for 'tips' that is in addition to what the cruise fare is. I don't want or need a breakdown of what I will be paying for the cruise. I just want the total, which includes part of what staff are paid. I don't want to see port fees/taxes, or start seeing fuel surcharges, or egg surcharges, when I book just tell me the total, the rest is totally irrelevant lol.

 

If 'tips' are a mandatory extra you have to pay, without jumping through hoops and feeling like a proper skinflint to get out of paying, then why show it as a separate item. If its costing more to employ the staff onboard, to the value of $1pppd or whatever it is, then add $1pppd to the advertised cost of the cruise. 

 

I'm all for keeping things in life as simple as they can be, especially when it comes to holidays! 

 

It is marketing (the same way many hotels in the US are adding a resort fee).  This way they can advertise a very low price on the Internet and it is not until you look closer that you see the real price is almost double.  Similar to the way NCL advertises free drinks but then adds significant gratuities.

[the penguins]

5 hours ago, HMR74 said:

Right now, households are not using too much natural gas to heat homes, but in 2 months it starts. What are people going to do when the October bill is much much higher, like 5 times higher than last year or even more. Not just 85%. 
 

People will be forced to stop  discretionary spending because most families do not have money sitting around doing nothing. I am saying part of reason cruise ships are less than full is the inability of the masses to spend.

 

Electricity is also up , and we know food is up.

 

its all self correcting but its going to be nasty. 
 

and yes, gas for driving cars is still up substantially, and as electricity goes up, the cost of charging cars goes up, . Part of reason electricity is up is the demand from car charging and supply is not growing.

 

it is all complex and difficult to explain while keeping posts brief. 
 

However right now US nat gas is up 4 times from last year, so a 1 month $200 heating bill last year will be $800 this year. Using prices in effect now. 
 

here is more data…US egg prices are 3x higher than a year ago. An average cruise ship will use 10,000 eggs a day. Who ultimately pays for that?  Think about the wasted food on cruise ships.

 

1.50 a day higher for gratuities is small compared to the other issues, including the cost of feeding crew.

 

 

 

Wow 💲800. Prices are always hard to compare but here are 2.

The official Cost for heating and electric for an average household in the UK from 1November averaged across the year will be 💲355 per month and from January it is forcast to rise to 💲540 per month with a further rise in April.

Gas (Petrol) prices in the UK currently around 💲8.16 per US gallon.

[HMR74]

one of the new changes little  known apparently is first the upcharge for non refundable has gone relatively high. I paid 500 for the cabin on one cruise and last week it was 1300 and now they are not offering a choice its now So they are discouraging refundable cancellations.

Second, I just noted that on an April 23 23 cruise, if you cancel it must be by January 1 to get your deposit back if you paid the upcharge. The upcharge for refundable is 2288 for aqua sky suite, the only sky suite left, and 782 for concierage.

 

I saw a couple of booking just ascanning now that had pre pay grats as a choice.

,

it is as if each cruise and each class of service has its own rules and they change daily.

If thats dynamic pricing, it does make it difficult to compare. Need new education on using spreadsheets.