Prepay Gratuities?

[Merion_Mom]

11 hours ago, Javert1969 said:

Hi - our cruise agent told us that we can prepay the gratuities if we want before the cruise on the Royal app.

 

However I can't find that option?

 

Also is there any reason to do this - e.g. do you get a discount for paying before the cruise?  Otherwise I don't see much point in prepay.

 

Is this your own Travel Agent?  If so, I am mystified why s/he didn't offer to do it for you, when you asked.

[BennyandBo]

58 minutes ago, George C said:

Will have to disagree, if service isn’t up to normal quality we will limit the extra tips that we always give to room steward, waiters , bar tenders etc 

Ah well, I don't believe in extra tips. The auto gratuities is more than enough. I'm not there to supplement Royal Caribbean's pay roll. If I remove I just give cash to those who did right by me. And that always works out better for those who earned it.

[Tree_skier]

I have always just left it to be added to our account on a daily basis but for Harmony of the Seas coming up in Dec. I had my TA add it to the invoice.  This cruise we are taking DD, her husband and the 3 kids along.  I'm paying the whole thing however, any extra spending onboard like shopping, the spa or the arcade they are on their own.  I wanted the auto-grats covered before they got on board so we didn't have to sort through it onboard.

[pghflyer]

Well if you booked prior to 09/07/2022, you can prepay your gratuities prior to boarding and get the lower rate (normal went from $14.50 to $16.00 and suites went from $17.50 to $18.50).

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2022/08/23/royal-caribbean-increases-gratuities-crew-members-its-cruise-ships

 

Their increase wasn't as bad as some other lines, but it can still make a moderate difference if you have a full family cabin on a long itinerary.

[pghflyer]

Well if you booked prior to 09/07/2022, you can prepay your gratuities prior to boarding and get the lower rate (normal went from $14.50 to $16.00 and suites went from $17.50 to $18.50).

 

Their increase wasn't as bad as some other lines, but it can still make a moderate difference if you have a full family cabin on a long itinerary.

[Waterluv]

Very good point, we always pre-pay on all lines because if (when) they raise the rate you will/can be grandfathered at the old rate. 🤗 I love a savings 

[smokeybandit]

If they announce a gratuities increase, you can still pre-pay after the announcement at the old rate. 

[BennyandBo]

Will never not amaze me how removing automatic gratuities for bad service isn't OK. Removing automatic gratuities to tip cash to those who did you right isn't OK with many. But trying to save $2 bucks a day from $14 to $16 isn't petty. LOL. 

[crazyank]

8 hours ago, George C said:

Will have to disagree, if service isn’t up to normal quality we will limit the extra tips that we always give to room steward, waiters , bar tenders etc 

so you leave the auto-gratuities in place if the service isn't good?  Tipping for poor service! Now that makes no sense to us.

[mosiegirl]

21 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

No advantage other than not having a cc bill to pay t the end of the cruise

It gives you peace of mind that you dont need to worry about during your cruise.

[cruiseboy89130]

11 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I suspect they will have another increase by then so we should be locked into the current rate by doing this.

So you want to stiff the crew out of their wage increase?

[Scottdalfonso]

2 hours ago, crazyank said:

so you leave the auto-gratuities in place if the service isn't good?  Tipping for poor service! Now that makes no sense to us.

Yes...its almost not even a tip... I still tip at a restaurant for poor service, I might not give extra but I'm still leaving 18-20% just for them bringing my food. If they go above and beyond, the tip goes up. 

[Scottdalfonso]

10 hours ago, BennyandBo said:

Ah well, I don't believe in extra tips. The auto gratuities is more than enough. I'm not there to supplement Royal Caribbean's pay roll. If I remove I just give cash to those who did right by me. And that always works out better for those who earned it.

We consider the pre paid tips a part of the cruise price... then tip additionally throughout the cruise. Especially the room attendant and our bartenders. We usually find a bar that we really like and know we will frequent and slide them a 20 on the first or 2nd night, then we will leave a dollar or two to pretty much every bartender throughout the trip every few rounds. When you work in the service industry, you you make sure people taking care of you are taken care of. 

[Sunshine3601]

47 minutes ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

So you want to stiff the crew out of their wage increase?

I do not consider locking in a rate stiffing anyone.   In addition to royals $16 or $17.50 tip for suites we occasionally get, we are generous cash tippers with various crew.

[pghflyer]

The OP asked if there is a reason that people would prepay, and I provided one. I'm sure we all realize this is an international forum, and the USA is really the only country (Canada close second) that has a culture of constantly tipping for everything purchased (because we usually are not supplying living wages). It is great if some customers want to tip extra for extra service or to provide charity to some workers who are making much less money than we are (usually from less developed countries with larger families). Just remember, we are the CUSTOMER not the EMPLOYER, and the employer has the primary responsibility to compensate their workers. It seems clear to me that most cruise lines (especially those that are very American in culture) design employee wages to include the auto-pseudo mandatory daily service charges and most of their FAQs are clear it should only be adjusted in the occurrence of really deficient service. 

Edited April 21, 2023 by pghflyer

[crazyank]

1 hour ago, Scottdalfonso said:

Yes...its almost not even a tip... I still tip at a restaurant for poor service, I might not give extra but I'm still leaving 18-20% just for them bringing my food.

And this exactly why America has such a huge tipping culture. 

[Scottdalfonso]

Just now, crazyank said:

And this exactly why America has such a huge tipping culture. 

Yep... and we are much more likely to do it if we work in the service industry, I do not, but my wife and most of my friends are bartenders or servers and I know tips are their lifeline. 

[tx121]

Everyone’s opinion is different about the “gratuities” and if it is a tip or if it subsidizes the crew members salaries. If you are questioning if you should pre pay the gratuities, then I think you should just leave it for when you get onboard. This will give you the option to adjust or do what you wish with the “gratuities”. If RCL decides to raise the rate from $16-$17 before you sail and you are not ok with it, you can always go to guest services and adjust your gratuity minus $1 per day or whatever you wish. At the end of the day it is your money and you decide. 
The reason why the company wants you to prepay is because it gives them more revenue for that period 3 months earlier. Some people like to prepay so they don’t have to worry about it when onboard. Some people don’t have the finances 3 months before the trip for “gratuities”, so they opt to do it once onboard. Some people opt to remove the gratuities and refuse service from their stateroom attendants or skip the dining room and tip cash to buffet staff. Again everyone has their way of how they want to vacation and budget their finances.

[boscobeans]

Prepay a week or two prior to cruise to get our credit card points.

 

[George C]

6 hours ago, crazyank said:

so you leave the auto-gratuities in place if the service isn't good?  Tipping for poor service! Now that makes no sense to us.

I have been on about 75 cruises, I might have found some waiters etc not doing a great job , but never everyone. I see you are from Germany and I understand Europe has a different thoughts on tipping than we do in USA. I also have been tipping more since Covid since many were without income while we had no loss. 

[Ocean Boy]

One of my concerns with prepaying before the cruise is if for some reason you have to cancel, or you miss the ship, then you have to depend on RCI for the refund and we seem to read a lot of stories on these boards about how promptly RCI handles those matters. I'd just rather have gratuities charged to my seapass account.

[Tatka]

We never prepay autogratuities. No reason to have money tied before cruise, especially as we often have 4-10 cruises booked. We just let them charge our cc during cruises. It is never a problem as we pay balance on cc every month so money are always available.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Tatka

[time4u2go]

2 hours ago, boscobeans said:

Prepay a week or two prior to cruise to get our credit card points.

 

Wouldn't you still get your credit card points if it was charged to your onboard account?

[dunrobbin]

On 4/20/2023 at 12:49 PM, BennyandBo said:

If you pre pay you cannot remove them. Otherwise, if for any reason you choose to remove gratuities for any reason, just go to guest services or call guest services from your cabin and you can have them removed. Maybe your unhappy with the service, maybe you prefer to tip in cash, maybe you just don't like tipping. Pre paying will take that option away.

Can you remove pre paid gratuities on Royal Caribbean?

 

 

In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic tip does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure.

 

[Mum2Mercury]

10 hours ago, crazyank said:

so you leave the auto-gratuities in place if the service isn't good?  ...

The chances of having bad service aren't all that great.  

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Wouldn't you still get your credit card points if it was charged to your onboard account?

Yes, but if your credit card hasn't cleared the billing cycle /credited your points /if you haven't had time to have the OBC credited, you'll have to wait until your next cruise to use those points.  That assumes you choose Royal Caribbean again for your next cruise; if you opt for another cruise line, those points could "sit there" until they expire.