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September 16th, 2012, 07:53 PM
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10,000+ Club
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Join Date: May 2000
Location: New Cumberland,PA, USA
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Why must tips be prepaid for Select but not Aqua Class?
Ok X fans. We do confess to have a little cruise experience (including Elite with X) but are really confused about an X policy. For some time X has required anyone booking Select dining to prepay gratuities, which we think is very understandable and fine. But if one books Aqua Class there is no prepay requirement...or at least that is how it has worked on a current back-to-back booking we have (one is Select and the other Aqua). It seems that the same reasoning for having the requirement in Select (no permanent table or regular waiters) would also apply in Aqua where you can get different tables and waiter at most meals. Can anyone explain this?
Hank
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September 16th, 2012, 08:04 PM
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5,000+ Club
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Easy...celebrity decided to do it this way. There is no logic to select dining being paid in advance either. It is what it is.
Last edited by ghstudio; September 16th, 2012 at 08:05 PM.
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September 16th, 2012, 08:30 PM
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Cool Cruiser
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They should just include in the price, also premium coffee 
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September 16th, 2012, 08:34 PM
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10,000+ Club
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hlitner
Ok X fans. We do confess to have a little cruise experience (including Elite with X) but are really confused about an X policy. For some time X has required anyone booking Select dining to prepay gratuities, which we think is very understandable and fine. But if one books Aqua Class there is no prepay requirement...or at least that is how it has worked on a current back-to-back booking we have (one is Select and the other Aqua). It seems that the same reasoning for having the requirement in Select (no permanent table or regular waiters) would also apply in Aqua where you can get different tables and waiter at most meals. Can anyone explain this?
Hank
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I agree, it makes no sense, the same reason for taking the tips out in Select applies to Blu.
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Don
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September 16th, 2012, 08:45 PM
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Because the left hand and right hand don't communicate.
When Select was "invented" the question of gratuities was solved by pre-paying.
When Aqua Class came along, maybe (and I have no evidence for this, it's just a supposition) it was going to be two seatings, but someone decided to make it open seating and the rest is history.
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September 16th, 2012, 09:10 PM
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Cool Cruiser
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Greater Cincinnati
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I think it is because it is one way to keep too many people from signing up for Select. Blu is limited by cabin category.
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September 16th, 2012, 09:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joetop2467
I think it is because it is one way to keep too many people from signing up for Select. Blu is limited by cabin category.
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Bingo!!!! We have a wiener!!! 
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September 16th, 2012, 09:28 PM
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Cool Cruiser
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In my case, even though i am in AQ, i do not want to eat in Blu every day, and want to join others in our party in the main dining room, so we still prepaid gratuities so we coud have select times in MDR together with our friends. In addition its one more payment "off our plates" excuse the pun.
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11-05-2012 Celebrity Equinox
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September 16th, 2012, 09:49 PM
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5,000+ Club
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alg63
In my case, even though i am in AQ, i do not want to eat in Blu every day, and want to join others in our party in the main dining room, so we still prepaid gratuities so we coud have select times in MDR together with our friends. In addition its one more payment "off our plates" excuse the pun.
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Prepaying tips in aqua has absolutely nothing to do with eating in the mdr. Picking select,early or late dining if you are in aqua has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you can eat in the mdr. If you are in aqua you may eat in select ding in the mdr if there is space available. It has nothing to do with your prepaid tips.
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September 16th, 2012, 09:50 PM
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5,000+ Club
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Join Date: Jul 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cruisestitch
Because the left hand and right hand don't communicate.
When Select was "invented" the question of gratuities was solved by pre-paying.
When Aqua Class came along, maybe (and I have no evidence for this, it's just a supposition) it was going to be two seatings, but someone decided to make it open seating and the rest is history.
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Blu used to be 1st and 2nd seating. It changed to open seating a year or so ago.
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September 16th, 2012, 09:53 PM
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Charter Member - 5,000+ Club
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wine-O
Blu used to be 1st and 2nd seating. It changed to open seating a year or so ago.
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Hi  it has been open for longer than that.....I was in AQ in 2010
and it was open seating at that time.
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September 16th, 2012, 10:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lois R
Hi it has been open for longer than that.....I was in AQ in 2010
and it was open seating at that time. |
Time seems to fly by. We were there in 2009 on Solstice when it was 1st & 2nd. I wish it were the same.
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September 16th, 2012, 10:10 PM
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Charter Member - 5,000+ Club
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wine-O
Time seems to fly by. We were there in 2009 on Solstice when it was 1st & 2nd. I wish it were the same. |
Actually, it was 2 years ago this month.....I sailed Solstice the
week of Labor Day. You are right, where has the time gone?
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September 16th, 2012, 11:42 PM
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Cool Cruiser
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Join Date: Jun 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghstudio
Prepaying tips in aqua has absolutely nothing to do with eating in the mdr. Picking select,early or late dining if you are in aqua has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you can eat in the mdr. If you are in aqua you may eat in select ding in the mdr if there is space available. It has nothing to do with your prepaid tips.
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I know we can eat on MDR. I know we can eat when we choose in Blu. The rest of my party are non AQ and all on select dining. If we choose to eat in MDR with them we want to be able to either prebook (as we did for the first night in MDR at a time that suited all of us) or walk up to MDR with the rest of the group. The only way for us to be able to do this was to go on select.
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11-05-2012 Celebrity Equinox
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September 16th, 2012, 11:51 PM
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"Because I said so" - My guess of what Michael Bayley, Celebrity CEO, would say.
--------
Same as what I said to my kids when I didn't have a legit answer.
Den
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September 17th, 2012, 07:47 AM
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10,000+ Club
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alg63
In my case, even though i am in AQ, i do not want to eat in Blu every day, and want to join others in our party in the main dining room, so we still prepaid gratuities so we coud have select times in MDR together with our friends. In addition its one more payment "off our plates" excuse the pun.
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Prepaying tips while in Blu has no correlation to having select times in the MDR...If you don't prepay tips for Blu you will have the same ability to eat in the MDR than if you prepay tips. Based upon availability not prepay tips.
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Don
Last edited by dkjretired; September 17th, 2012 at 07:49 AM.
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September 17th, 2012, 07:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wine-O
Blu used to be 1st and 2nd seating. It changed to open seating a year or so ago.
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I was on the Equinox on its first cruise out of North America which was Nov. of 09 and it was open seating.
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Don
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September 17th, 2012, 07:57 AM
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10,000+ Club
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Back to the original question, after thinking about it I believe it goes back to the computer system. We have had this problem for a couple of years where you have to pick a time for Blu seating when everyone knows its open seating everynight. By charging tips it would cause them to book everyone under Select because that's what the computer system allows.
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Don
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September 17th, 2012, 10:41 AM
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Presumably, they do not charge prepaid tips in Blu because they do not need to. Blu is such an intimate restaurant, it is impossible not to recognise the same wait staff and be impressed by some of them. It is a very hard passenger who doesn't tip so, in practice, they probably get as much real cash as if they did receive prepay.
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September 17th, 2012, 10:57 AM
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10,000+ Club
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You also have to consider the cost of AQ compared to Balcony/OV/inside. Most paid quite a bit more so adding tips before final payment could be a turn off.
BTW I do pre-pay anyway just to make sure I end up with 0 for my bill on the ship as I also pre-order my drinks premium alcoholic package ahead too.
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