Gratuities Are Going Up Again, Effective 11.11.2023

[HBE4]

13 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

So yes there are cheap people who screw over crew members by removing gratuities, but fortunately these cheap passengers are the exception, not the norm. 

 

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Why am I gullible because I enjoy cruising on RCI? I realize everyone’s financial situation is different, but I wouldn’t be cruising 1-2 times every month if I thought cruising was expensive. 

 

Why do you continue to infer that people who opt-out of auto gratuities do so because they are not going to tip, are cheap, could not afford to cruise or want to screw over the crew members?

 

I have yet to see one person post that they are not going to tip.

 

 

6 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I don’t think anyone disputes the fact that the current system allows passengers to remove gratuities without penalty. 

 

Correct.

 

And if Royal is okay with people opting out of auto gratuities so the customer can tip who they want, when they want with whatever amount they want, then you should be okay with it as well.

 

[RyderJ201]

Automatic gratuities can be removed at anytime for any reason (no reason ever ask for) by going to guest services or calling guests services from your cabin. It takes two seconds. No questions asked. Then you can tip what you want, to who you want, when you want. 

[TYMAN]

Or, you can leave them in place, enjoy your cruise, and not think about it again. 😉

[springfire]

18 minutes ago, TYMAN said:

Or, you can leave them in place, enjoy your cruise, and not think about it again. 😉

Agreed!  It's great to have a choice!

[Iamcruzin]

I see auto gratuities being added more and more everyday at local restaurants on land. They also have added a service fee if you pay with a credit card. Given this and the increase in prices to account for inflation I have become less likely to tip extra.  I used to be the advocate for paying the auto gratuity on a cruise ship but given the added expense and decline in service I'm now leaning towards reducing the tip by the amount of the increase. They all work hard Yada, Yada, Yada but so do I and I'm tied of paying towards the corporate payroll and not receiving the same experience.  

[Ocean Boy]

7 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

 

Why do you continue to infer that people who opt-out of auto gratuities do so because they are not going to tip, are cheap, could not afford to cruise or want to screw over the crew members?

 

 

Because when people have no further points to make to support their position they resort to name calling and accusations.

[Mick B]

Hi,

IIRC if you pre-pay your gratuities when booking, you pay slightly less than what is charged on board.

I believe you cannot remove these at any time before or during your cruise. However, by paying this way you have given something to the workers onboard in the way of a tip.

Now, if once on board someone goes above and beyond their duty and you feel like giving them n envelope with some cash in, then that amount could contain say the difference between what the pre-paid gratuities were and what the auto gratuities would be - that way you have paid the full amount but only tipped the person or persons you feel deserve a bit extra. Everyone behind the scenes should still get something from your pre-paid grats.

 

 

Remember, times are tough for some at the moment and some are working hard and want a holiday but are limited to what they can spend money on.

 

I always choose to pre pay the grats when booking, but always too, make sure the cruise I am booking is affordable and worth the money in the first place.

 

Mick.

 

 

[RyderJ201]

52 minutes ago, Mick B said:

I believe you cannot remove these at any time before or during your cruise

This is not true. You can remove automatic gratuities at anytime during your trip. Many people do and have. Spreading false facts and information because you don't care for it is just plain sad. 

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

IIRC if you pre-pay your gratuities when booking, you pay slightly less than what is charged on board.

I believe you cannot remove these at any time before or during your cruise. However, by paying this way you have given something to the workers onboard in the way of a tip.

Now, if once on board someone goes above and beyond their duty and you feel like giving them n envelope with some cash in, then that amount could contain say the difference between what the pre-paid gratuities were and what the auto gratuities would be - that way you have paid the full amount but only tipped the person or persons you feel deserve a bit extra. Everyone behind the scenes should still get something from your pre-paid grats.

 

 

Remember, times are tough for some at the moment and some are working hard and want a holiday but are limited to what they can spend money on.

 

I always choose to pre pay the grats when booking, but always too, make sure the cruise I am booking is affordable and worth the money in the first place.

 

Mick.

 

 

How did you nanage to fabricate this information? You pay exactly the same amount whether you pre pay gratuities or pay on the ship. The only time there might be a difference is when an increase has been announced. If you pre pay you typically pay the old rate and would pay the new rate if waiting to pay on the ship.

[icsys]

 

1 hour ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

IIRC if you pre-pay your gratuities when booking, you pay slightly less than what is charged on board.

I believe you cannot remove these at any time before or during your cruise. However, by paying this way you have given something to the workers onboard in the way of a tip.

 

Mick.

 

 

 

13 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

How did you nanage to fabricate this information? You pay exactly the same amount whether you pre pay gratuities or pay on the ship. The only time there might be a difference is when an increase has been announced. If you pre pay you typically pay the old rate and would pay the new rate if waiting to pay on the ship.

 

Its not fabrication, Mick is technically correct. Its to do with exchange rates:

 

We have pre paid gratuities on a cruise in January. The cost is £84 GBP

At todays exchange rate (1GBP=1.23USD) it is $103 

Divide that by seven and it equates to $14.74 per day.

[icsys]

2 hours ago, Mick B said:

IIRC if you pre-pay your gratuities when booking, you pay slightly less than what is charged on board.

I believe you cannot remove these at any time before or during your cruise. ....

 

1 hour ago, RyderJ201 said:

This is not true. You can remove automatic gratuities at anytime during your trip. Many people do and have. Spreading false facts and information because you don't care for it is just plain sad. 

 

Mick is referring to PRE-PAID gratuities not automatic!

Edited November 9, 2023 by icsys

[Ocean Boy]

34 minutes ago, icsys said:

 

 

 

Its not fabrication, Mick is technically correct. Its to do with exchange rates:

 

We have pre paid gratuities on a cruise in January. The cost is £84 GBP

At todays exchange rate (1GBP=1.23USD) it is $103 

Divide that by seven and it equates to $14.74 per day.

Exchange rates are a whole different issue. I have no idea where he is located. He should have explained that.

[RyderJ201]

1 hour ago, icsys said:

 

 

Mick is referring to PRE-PAID gratuities not automatic!

My mistake then. Apologies.

 

And Yes, pre paid cannot be removed once on board. Even if service is terrible. You have no recourse. Another reason to never pre pay. 

[RyderJ201]

3 hours ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

IIRC if you pre-pay your gratuities when booking, you pay slightly less than what is charged on board.

I believe you cannot remove these at any time before or during your cruise. However, by paying this way you have given something to the workers onboard in the way of a tip.

Now, if once on board someone goes above and beyond their duty and you feel like giving them n envelope with some cash in, then that amount could contain say the difference between what the pre-paid gratuities were and what the auto gratuities would be - that way you have paid the full amount but only tipped the person or persons you feel deserve a bit extra. Everyone behind the scenes should still get something from your pre-paid grats.

 

 

Remember, times are tough for some at the moment and some are working hard and want a holiday but are limited to what they can spend money on.

 

I always choose to pre pay the grats when booking, but always too, make sure the cruise I am booking is affordable and worth the money in the first place.

 

Mick.

 

 

Apologies.

[crazyank]

4 hours ago, Mick B said:

IIRC if you pre-pay your gratuities when booking, you pay slightly less than what is charged on board.

I believe you cannot remove these at any time before or during your cruise.

deleted

Edited November 9, 2023 by crazyank

[marci22]

Are the standard gratuities optional - yes.

Does Royal Caribbean make it easy to choose to remove them - not really.

[time4u2go]

4 minutes ago, marci22 said:

Does Royal Caribbean make it easy to choose to remove them - not really.

Why do you say this?  All one has to do is ask guest services to remove them.

[marci22]

Just now, time4u2go said:

Why do you say this?  All one has to do is ask guest services to remove them.

Once you know you can do it, it's easy. I just don't think they make it obvious.

[Lakelife4me]

OK, still a somewhat newbie to cruising. I have been on two somewhat recent cruises with Celebrity and have one booked for RC in March.

 

Is there any real information on the breakdown of the daily gratuities as to how they are actually disbursed? Example - 10% to MDR personnel, 10% to cabin stewards, 10% to those preparing meals behind the scenes, etc? I would be extremely curios to see how that works. 

 

With about 2400 crew on WOS, that's going to be a lot of people I never see face to face but who are busting their tails to ensure I have a great cruise. Not saying every crew member should be tipped - I don't tip the dry cleaner when they hand me my shirts or tip the bagger at the grocery store as a few examples.

 

I am not a big fan of pre tipping either but if you withdraw the automatic daily tip and only tip those you interact with, seems a whole lot of folks are going to short changed.

 

I'm not sure there is an easy answer to this other than break it down in the original price of the cruise, which is already a bit out of control.

 

I do get the passion everyone has on both sides of this topic. 😇

[time4u2go]

3 minutes ago, Lakelife4me said:

Is there any real information on the breakdown of the daily gratuities as to how they are actually disbursed? Example - 10% to MDR personnel, 10% to cabin stewards, 10% to those preparing meals behind the scenes, etc? I would be extremely curios to see how that works. 

See post #583 in this thread.

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by time4u2go

[Lakelife4me]

3 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

See post #583 in this thread.

 

TY! I didn't want to wade through 36 pages to see if someone had posted that so much appreciated!

[not-enough-cruising]

22 minutes ago, marci22 said:

Are the standard gratuities optional - yes.

Does Royal Caribbean make it easy to choose to remove them - not really.

It could not be any easier, I have it accomplished within 30 minutes of boarding. 

[Lakelife4me]

OK, I took a look at #583. Those breakdowns are vague at best. I assume (never want to do that) that the "dining room" portion includes all the "free" dining areas on the ship or is it just MDR?

 

I'm guessing I would have a better chance of getting Twitter's and Facebook's algorithms than getting granular details on the breakdown from RC!

[not-enough-cruising]

12 minutes ago, Lakelife4me said:

OK, I took a look at #583. Those breakdowns are vague at best. I assume (never want to do that) that the "dining room" portion includes all the "free" dining areas on the ship or is it just MDR?

 

I'm guessing I would have a better chance of getting Twitter's and Facebook's algorithms than getting granular details on the breakdown from RC!

Royal makes it vague on purpose, which is one of the reasons so many of us choose not to participate in the program. 

[marci22]

18 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It could not be any easier, I have it accomplished within 30 minutes of boarding. 

As I said:  Once you know you can do it, it's easy. I just don't think they make it obvious.