Pre-booking Massage on Cruise Planner

[carnival03]

This is my first time booking a massage on board - don't they add 18% gratuity? It's showing as zero in the cruise planner when I get to the payment screen. Do they add 18% on board at the time of service?

 

Does anyone tip above the automatic 18%?

[slavigne5577]

The very first time I cruised, I prebooked a massage for myself and husband and paid in full. Once on board we received our massages, but were charged again. This was not acceptable as we had already paid for the service. We had to go Guest Services, who at first said it would take up to 10 days to have the credit returned. That was also unacceptable, I bought out my receipt that showed they were paid in full and asked to speak to someone higher up. The charge was taken off our SS account. But having to stand in line and deal with this problem is not why I prepaid

 We no longer prepay and find very nice deals once on board. 

[staceyglow]

There is really no advantage to booking Spa services ahead of time unless you have a very specific time and date in mind. It has been my experience that they start offering specials a couple of days into the cruise. And as other people have posted, getting refunds if you change your mind can take awhile to get posted to your account. 

[Haljo1935]

@carnival03 yes the 18% will automatically be added when receive the service. Additional gratuities are not expected, but there is a line for it on the receipt so be sure to put $0 if you don't want to pay above 18%. I give extra if the person was really good and don't if they did the usual fine job.

Safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!

[carnival03]

Good to know! I think I'll wait it out and book on board - thanks for the tips!

[2022cruisey]

If you do the spa tour and get a ticket in the raffle you might win a massage.  You also get deals regularly.

[wemjam]

Actually, in my experience they do automatically add the gratuity to your bill if you prebook.  You can request it be removed if you want though, and if you don't "notice" it you may fill in that tip line again and actually double tip.  Kind of sneaky how they do it... because it is added in the bill section as a line item, but then there is ALSO a tip line at the bottom to fill in.

 

As far as pre-booking.  I do this ALL the time because I prefer to make sure I can get my pedicure as soon as I board the ship so I have nice toes for the cruise.   These time slots go fast.

 

So, I prebook and then once on board they recharge the total cost of service (pedi & tips)  and then issue a credit for my prepaid amount that comes back off my account.  Example:

 

$60 Pedicure prepaid (no gratuity) before I board.

$70.80 bill charged to sail and sign once service is rendered ($60, plus 18% gratuity - I usually add more but will use this for simplistic example purposes)

$60 is Credited back to sail and sign (shows on my statement) 

 

You should see the credit within a day or so of the service.  If I do not see it by the end of the following day after I receive the service - I go back to the SPA (not guest services) and ask that they make sure it is dealt with promptly - usually they make a call to accounting right then - and then it is on there within an hour or two.

 

The reason they do it this way is because you are prepaying Carnival, but the Spa is actually a separate independent company.  So the prepay really just "holds" your spot.  For billing they then bill the service when it is rendered and refund the original pre-purchase.  Which is crazy they have to do it this way because it is still all on your sail and sign card.

 

So if there is a time slot you REALLY want you can pre-book, with this knowledge.  Otherwise as others have said I would wait until you are on board.

 

 

 

 

 

[slavigne5577]

Usually on first sea day (and other days), the spa does a Pampering Party. If you attend, they gave really good discounts when you sign up right then.

[ultrafighter]

On 7/17/2023 at 7:06 AM, 2022cruisey said:

If you do the spa tour and get a ticket in the raffle you might win a massage.  You also get deals regularly.

3 out of my last 4 cruises or something crazy like that, I've won spa credit during that raffle.  I'll never not go.

[staceyglow]

Once on a cruise, our cabin phone rang.  DH answered, and a person said that they had "a very important message" for me.  My heart was pounding as I took the phone.  Who was trying to contact me on a cruise? Was one of my kids seriously hurt?  Did our house burn down while we were gone? No - the message was that they were offering me, completely randomly, a $50 credit towards any spa service. 

 

It took me a long time to get over being upset about that.

[GalaxyJane]

Hubs and I like to pre-book a massage for embarkation day to get relaxed right away.  Usually that day also has the best pre-booking prices. Otherwise I wait until onboard, port days always have great specials, and sometimes at other times too, if bookings are just slow that trip.