GRATUITY ADDED WHEN BOOKING CHOPS ONLINE

[jamscckmc]

I was looking on booking Chops online before cruising and was surprised they add the 18% gratuity to the price. Is this new? 
I thought I remembered they had a place to add gratuity on the bill after dining.

[LeeW]

Normal for years.

[firefly333]

16 minutes ago, jamscckmc said:

I was looking on booking Chops online before cruising and was surprised they add the 18% gratuity to the price. Is this new? 
I thought I remembered they had a place to add gratuity on the bill after dining.

Lol you can still add a tip, they encourage you to add one lol

[The Scurvy Pirate]

Until recently, if you purchased the Unlimited Dining or a 3 night package the 18% was included as part of the "list" price.  I believe that changed this past spring and now even those packages add the 18% onto that "list" price at the time of purchase. 

 

There is a place on the bill to add an additional tip on top of what you paid at the time of initial purchase.

[rudeney]

I think it depends on which version of Cruise Planner your ship uses.  Our next cruise on Voyager uses the old version, so UDP shows as $245, and no additional gratuity is added, but for ships with the new version, it would show something like $208 and then add 18% ad checkout.  

[DirtyDawg]

5 hours ago, jamscckmc said:

I was looking on booking Chops online before cruising and was surprised they add the 18% gratuity to the price. Is this new? 
I thought I remembered they had a place to add gratuity on the bill after dining.

Aren't the good people at Royal just SO kind to us? Relieving us of the awful burden of figuring out the gratuity ourselves. They must know we all loose all our math skills when on vacation. How considerate of them.💖

 

🤮

 

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

Aren't the good people at Royal just SO kind to us? Relieving us of the awful burden of figuring out the gratuity ourselves. They must know we all loose all our math skills when on vacation. How considerate of them.💖

 

🤮

 

 

I understand the aggravation with all the automatically added gratuities, but if they didn't add them onto the DBP purchase, how would you calculate a tip at the restaurant?  Would you go with, "I paid $200 for the DBP, I'm eating 8 specialty meals, so $25 each, and I'll leave a $4.50 tip,"  or, would you decide, "Even though I only allocated $25 of the DBP to this meal, it's individual onboard price is $50, so I'll tip $9."  Personally, having the tips included or automatically added means I don't have to tip at the restaurant because it's already been paid.  Of course if the service is excellent, I might leave a bit more, but it's not (or shouldn't be) expected or required. 

[ggo85]

^^^^^
 

What bothers me is that the extra tip seems to be “expected.”  We do usually tip extra because the service is generally excellent, but then our tip is getting to be >20%.  I know it’s our choice, but especially if we plan to return to the restaurant, feel we need to do it.  
 

I think they shouldn’t bring a check at all if you prepaid. If you want to tip extra, you could do it in cash or ask for a check if you want to add it to your account.  It’s the fact they bring a check with the “extra gratuity” line that bothers me.  

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, rudeney said:

 

I understand the aggravation with all the automatically added gratuities, but if they didn't add them onto the DBP purchase, how would you calculate a tip at the restaurant?  Would you go with, "I paid $200 for the DBP, I'm eating 8 specialty meals, so $25 each, and I'll leave a $4.50 tip,"  or, would you decide, "Even though I only allocated $25 of the DBP to this meal, it's individual onboard price is $50, so I'll tip $9."  Personally, having the tips included or automatically added means I don't have to tip at the restaurant because it's already been paid.  Of course if the service is excellent, I might leave a bit more, but it's not (or shouldn't be) expected or required. 

😁 I just tip 20% of what they charged me for the meal. I don't care if it's listed somewhere at $50. If they charged me $25 I would tip $5. Same thing with sales taxes. We pay 13% in Ontario but I pay 13% on the price I paid, not the quoted 'retail' price - and I never pay retail on anything important. 😉 Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau would love for me to pay the sales tax on the retail price but I have to disappoint them on a regular basis. 😭

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, ggo85 said:

^^^^^
 

What bothers me is that the extra tip seems to be “expected.”  We do usually tip extra because the service is generally excellent, but then our tip is getting to be >20%.  I know it’s our choice, but especially if we plan to return to the restaurant, feel we need to do it.  
 

I think they shouldn’t bring a check at all if you prepaid. If you want to tip extra, you could do it in cash or ask for a check if you want to add it to your account.  It’s the fact they bring a check with the “extra gratuity” line that bothers me.  

I actually like it that they have the chutzpah to do that. 18% is kinda yesterday's thinking, so why not nudge the passengers for a bit more. Hey, I learnt the hard way to never wait for my boss to offer me a raise or a promotion,  I had to go in and ask for it (a couple of times I had to demand it!)! Also, I never pay the listed 'retail' price. If it's important enough I'll negotiate (ask for) a lower price. As Mahatma Ghandhi said: “If you don't ask, you don't get." 😉

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, DirtyDawg said:

😁 I just tip 20% of what they charged me for the meal. I don't care if it's listed somewhere at $50. If they charged me $25 I would tip $5. Same thing with sales taxes. We pay 13% in Ontario but I pay 13% on the price I paid, not the quoted 'retail' price - and I never pay retail on anything important. 😉 Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau would love for me to pay the sales tax on the retail price but I have to disappoint them on a regular basis. 😭

 

 

So here, we pay 10% sales tax, but in some cases we pay that on the pre-discounted price even thought the actual sales price is less.  It depends on how the price is advertised.  If it's just a sale price, then sales tax is on the final sale price, but if it's advertised as a coupon deal, even if it's an "instant coupon" and no actual paper coupon is needed, then sales tax is charged at the full retail price.  

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by rudeney
typos

[zebra36]

May be splitting hairs here, however, in land-based situations where a sales tax is imposed do you tip  based on total bill including tax or just on the cost of the food and beverages?

[rudeney]

3 hours ago, zebra36 said:

May be splitting hairs here, however, in land-based situations where a sales tax is imposed do you tip  based on total bill including tax or just on the cost of the food and beverages?

 

I do, but most "tipping guides" I've seen mention that it's the pre-tax price.  But really, if I'm tipping 20%, and my tax ia 10%, it's just an extra 2%, or $1 on a $50 meal.  I figure the server needs that more than I need to worry about whether I'm doing it "right" or not.

 

[gerif]

3 hours ago, zebra36 said:

May be splitting hairs here, however, in land-based situations where a sales tax is imposed do you tip  based on total bill including tax or just on the cost of the food and beverages?

I’ve always tipped on the pretax price at land based restaurants (and always at least 20%). One small issue in adding to the 18% charged in specialty restaurants is that I’ve already paid a daily gratuity in general. 

[rudeney]

27 minutes ago, gerif said:

 One small issue in adding to the 18% charged in specialty restaurants is that I’ve already paid a daily gratuity in general. 

 

 

When we cruise in a few weeks, we have the UDP and intend to never eat in the MDR.  Not that either of us have any gripes with the MDR, it's just that we want something a bit nicer, and since we paid for the UDP, we'll want to use its benefit to the fullest.  Part of me considers removing the auto-gratuity charges and then just tipping the stateroom attendant in cash, and maybe tipping the specialty dining room staff extra cash for great service.  But then I add up what we will pay for a grand suite, insurance, spa treatments, Voom, DBP, UDP, shorex, flights, hotel, casino losses, etc. and realize an extra ~$250 is really insignificant in this case.  These crew members, even if they don't serve me directly, are hard-working and have always made our vacations excellent.  I just consider all the gratuities being added as a cost of cruising and go with the flow and enjoy my vacation.

 

 

[Donsyb]

We have Chops +1 package - was the tip included in this when we purchased?  I didn't think to check at the time (was too excited about booking!)

[Biker19]

10 minutes ago, Donsyb said:

We have Chops +1 package - was the tip included in this when we purchased? 

Yes.

[nelblu]

On 9/1/2022 at 9:54 PM, DirtyDawg said:

😁 I just tip 20% of what they charged me for the meal. I don't care if it's listed somewhere at $50. If they charged me $25 I would tip $5. Same thing with sales taxes. We pay 13% in Ontario but I pay 13% on the price I paid, not the quoted 'retail' price - and I never pay retail on anything important. 😉 Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau would love for me to pay the sales tax on the retail price but I have to disappoint them on a regular basis. 😭

 

What is more distressing on land is that people tip on the total including the tax portion.  I always have an argument with my son that the tax is not a service.  

 

Some restaurants when they show a tip calculation at bottom of bill will show the tip amounts excl. taxes and others including tax.

 

Ps.  When I use my D+ BOGO, sometimes I get a bill and other times I do not.  However, if service is good, I give the waiter a cash tip amount.

 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

57 minutes ago, nelblu said:

What is more distressing on land is that people tip on the total including the tax portion.  I always have an argument with my son that the tax is not a service.  

Why is that distressing?  Let's say the pre-tax amount is $100.  Assuming even a 10% tax, that total would be $110.

 

20% of pretax amount = $20

20% of post tax amount = $22

 

Is $2 really that much of a difference, especially on a $100 bill? 

[poocher]

On 9/1/2022 at 6:35 PM, DirtyDawg said:

Aren't the good people at Royal just SO kind to us? Relieving us of the awful burden of figuring out the gratuity ourselves. They must know we all loose all our math skills when on vacation. How considerate of them.💖

 

🤮

 

Probably more a reaction to people who can’t/won’t/don’t tip.  Land based restaurants have this problem too which is why most list a couple of tip percentages on your receipt.  It’s not that some lose (loose is the kind of pants your wear to a buffet) their math skills but those that don’t use them.

 

Signed,

the daughter of a single mom who supported her family on tips.

[DirtyDawg]

On 10/7/2022 at 4:04 PM, poocher said:

Probably more a reaction to people who can’t/won’t/don’t tip.  Land based restaurants have this problem too which is why most list a couple of tip percentages on your receipt.  It’s not that some lose (loose is the kind of pants your wear to a buffet) their math skills but those that don’t use them.

 

Signed,

the daughter of a single mom who supported her family on tips.

Thank you for pointing out my spelling boo boo but why did you wait a whole month before pointing that out. If you had posted earlier you would have saved me the BIG tip I gave my CC copy editor in September. 

 

Signed,

the boss who will be giving his CC copy editor No tip for October. 😊

[nelblu]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:23 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Why is that distressing?  Let's say the pre-tax amount is $100.  Assuming even a 10% tax, that total would be $110.

 

20% of pretax amount = $20

20% of post tax amount = $22

 

Is $2 really that much of a difference, especially on a $100 bill? 

Yes, it's a matter of principle.  Over time those measly $2 add up.  Plus, at least in my area, some restaurants add a 3.5% for usage of a CC or some call it a service charge.

Edited October 9, 2022 by nelblu

[poocher]

That is the fee establishments are charged to process CCs.  Most roll it into the price of the goods or services.  You pay it.  You just don’t know it.  AND everyone pays it whether you use a CC as form of payment or not.  Those places that charge it at point of sale are passing it on to just those who use a card.  Probably fairer that way but certainly not popular.

Edited October 9, 2022 by poocher

[karl_nj]

8 hours ago, poocher said:

That is the fee establishments are charged to process CCs.  Most roll it into the price of the goods or services.  You pay it.  You just don’t know it.  AND everyone pays it whether you use a CC as form of payment or not.  Those places that charge it at point of sale are passing it on to just those who use a card.  Probably fairer that way but certainly not popular.

 

Handling cash isn't "free" either, it has a cost.

 

Unless the owner of the business uses the fact that you hide some of the cash income from taxes.  Which then the rest of us pay in higher taxes, you just don't know it.

 

[poocher]

Just explaining the CC service fee.  Not sure what that had to do with hiding cash from taxes.  Yes there are businesses that will not declare all their cash payments for tax purposes but that is outside the scope of my post.