Katenewbie Posted January 25, 2012 #1 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I've been told this twice, now, so I must believe it is true... but I'm still just kind of incredulous about this policy. As it has been explained to me, if you choose to do My time dining (for 2 kids to eat fast and leave early), your tips are prepaid... ($45 pp). But the charge applies to your entire dining party. So, since we are going with my in-laws (3 of them), and we have 5 in our party (2 adults, one baby, and the 2 "my time" kids), ALL EIGHT of us would be paying $45 per person?? Can someone explain the rationale behind this? For a 4 night cruise, I understand that the recommended tipping for dining staff would be $3.75 pp for waiter, 2.25 for assistant, and .75 for head waiter. For a 4 night cruise that is about $30 pp. So, for 8 people, it is about $120 more to do "my time". I could understand charging per kid. Or even for the 5 of us in my family. But really, for all 8 of us? I must be missing something here. Can anyone set me straight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megs51877 Posted January 25, 2012 #2 Share Posted January 25, 2012 All of the gratuities are pre paid when you do My Time dining, including your stateroom attendant. Hope that helps clear up the confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baggal Posted January 25, 2012 #3 Share Posted January 25, 2012 All of the gratuities are pre paid when you do My Time dining, including your stateroom attendant. Hope that helps clear up the confusion. This is true. It includes ALL gratuities. You will not have to give any other tips at the end of cruise to anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajathree Posted January 25, 2012 #4 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I've been told this twice, now, so I must believe it is true... but I'm still just kind of incredulous about this policy. As it has been explained to me, if you choose to do My time dining (for 2 kids to eat fast and leave early), your tips are prepaid... ($45 pp). But the charge applies to your entire dining party. So, since we are going with my in-laws (3 of them), and we have 5 in our party (2 adults, one baby, and the 2 "my time" kids), ALL EIGHT of us would be paying $45 per person?? Can someone explain the rationale behind this? For a 4 night cruise, I understand that the recommended tipping for dining staff would be $3.75 pp for waiter, 2.25 for assistant, and .75 for head waiter. For a 4 night cruise that is about $30 pp. So, for 8 people, it is about $120 more to do "my time". I could understand charging per kid. Or even for the 5 of us in my family. But really, for all 8 of us? I must be missing something here. Can anyone set me straight? I think you may be confusing My Time Dining with MY FAMILY TIME DINING where the kids leave early to go to Adventure Ocean. I don't believe that MFTD requires all in the party to pre-pay gratuities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajathree Posted January 25, 2012 #5 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Here is a link to MFTD http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experience/html.do?exCode=702 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise_Kitten Posted January 25, 2012 #6 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Both above posters are correct, the pre paid gratuities are for all members who you should tip, Head waiter, assistant waiter, the person who stands at the desk and smiles at you when you enter the restaurant and your cabin steward. So the $45 covers everyone. At the end of your cruise you will be given the envelopes as usual and you put in a voucher and then hand it to the person. You don't have to do this as their tips have already been paid but it's a way to still say thank you. If you so wish you can still add more to it if you have had some outstanding service. Hope this clears it all up CK x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCruisinNana Posted January 25, 2012 #7 Share Posted January 25, 2012 It would apply to all those with linked reservations whether MTD or MTFD. You can't combine reservations if some have traditional dining and some have MTD, You prepay all tips, not just dining room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travlDR Posted January 25, 2012 #8 Share Posted January 25, 2012 It costs ZERO extra to choose MTD. You just prepay the same amount of tips that are standard. Why would it be just for the kids-- its for everyone that chooses MTD. The reason, of course, is that in MTD you might not be served by the same waiter each night, like in regular dining- so it would be too confusing to tip each waiter seperately- and to be honest many people wouldn't do it at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagored Posted January 25, 2012 #9 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I've been told this twice, now, so I must believe it is true... but I'm still just kind of incredulous about this policy. As it has been explained to me, if you choose to do My time dining (for 2 kids to eat fast and leave early), your tips are prepaid... ($45 pp). But the charge applies to your entire dining party. So, since we are going with my in-laws (3 of them), and we have 5 in our party (2 adults, one baby, and the 2 "my time" kids), ALL EIGHT of us would be paying $45 per person?? Can someone explain the rationale behind this? For a 4 night cruise, I understand that the recommended tipping for dining staff would be $3.75 pp for waiter, 2.25 for assistant, and .75 for head waiter. For a 4 night cruise that is about $30 pp. So, for 8 people, it is about $120 more to do "my time". I could understand charging per kid. Or even for the 5 of us in my family. But really, for all 8 of us? I must be missing something here. Can anyone set me straight? This includes your cabin steward also. There is your difference. It does not cost more to use MTD. In fact, many people find this much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajathree Posted January 25, 2012 #10 Share Posted January 25, 2012 My Family Time Dining is NOT My Time Dining.....MFTD is still traditional dining (must choose early seating)...it just allows the option for kids (ages 3 to 11) to be served their meals within 40 minutes so they can leave early to go to Adventure Ocean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteukmcr Posted January 25, 2012 #11 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I've been told this twice, now, so I must believe it is true... but I'm still just kind of incredulous about this policy. As it has been explained to me, if you choose to do My time dining (for 2 kids to eat fast and leave early), your tips are prepaid... ($45 pp). But the charge applies to your entire dining party. So, since we are going with my in-laws (3 of them), and we have 5 in our party (2 adults, one baby, and the 2 "my time" kids), ALL EIGHT of us would be paying $45 per person?? Can someone explain the rationale behind this? For a 4 night cruise, I understand that the recommended tipping for dining staff would be $3.75 pp for waiter, 2.25 for assistant, and .75 for head waiter. For a 4 night cruise that is about $30 pp. So, for 8 people, it is about $120 more to do "my time". I could understand charging per kid. Or even for the 5 of us in my family. But really, for all 8 of us? I must be missing something here. Can anyone set me straight? The guidelines are: Stateroom attendant / housekeeping $5 per day per guest Dining Room waiter $3.75 per day per guest Assistant waiter $2.15 per day per guest Head waiter $0.75 per day per guest So for accommodation in a cabin category of JS or less, this is $11.65 per guest per day. For a 4 day cruise this works out to $46.60 per guest. If you are in a cabin category of GS or above, the guideline for stateroom attendant increases by $2.25 per guest per day making it $13.90. Hope that helps clarify the charges being suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katenewbie Posted January 25, 2012 Author #12 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thank you thank you! You have helped immensely everyone! It makes total sense to me now, if it includes the cabin steward,, and if it really is MTD versus MTFD... why it includes everyone in the party. We are fine with the regular early seating... I was mostly thinking that the kids would have MUCH more fun eating quickly and heading off to Ocean Adventures... so I'm really glad we can do that regardless. Thank you for clarifying it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katenewbie Posted January 25, 2012 Author #13 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Oh wait... It looks like only certain ships have the My Time FAMILY Dining? Does Jewel of the Seas have it? I can't tell...:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudde Posted January 25, 2012 #14 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I chose mtd for our upcoming cruise on Allure because the traditional dining was not available. From reading all the info. About mtd, it sounds great. I was a little disappointed when traditional was already full, but I tHink This will work out. I had no idea all gratuities were prepaid. I thought this was just for the dining staff. Thanks for the info. These boards are so informative. Thanks Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysavannah Posted January 25, 2012 #15 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Oh wait... It looks like only certain ships have the My Time FAMILY Dining? Does Jewel of the Seas have it? I can't tell...:confused: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/home.do?br=R&exCode=702 When you click see ships with this feature you get this link. It's basically all of the ships, right? What's missing? Jewel is on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katenewbie Posted January 25, 2012 Author #16 Share Posted January 25, 2012 http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/home.do?br=R&exCode=702When you click see ships with this feature you get this link. It's basically all of the ships, right? What's missing? Jewel is on there. Yeah, but... The link says, "click here to see which ships offer this feature." Which, to me, implies some offer it and some don't. So the link takes me to all the ships. I click on Jewel, but I see no mention about MTFD. Does that mean they don't have it? Or does that mean I'm just not looking in the right place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booksbythepool Posted January 25, 2012 #17 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Yeah, but... The link says, "click here to see which ships offer this feature." Which, to me, implies some offer it and some don't. So the link takes me to all the ships. I click on Jewel, but I see no mention about MTFD. Does that mean they don't have it? Or does that mean I'm just not looking in the right place? It just means that RCI's website is stupid. The same thing happens if you try to click on a link to see which ships go to a certain port. They all come up. To figure it out definitively, I would call customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid43 Posted January 26, 2012 #18 Share Posted January 26, 2012 So if I am reading this correctly, for MTD you are charged $11.65 per day per person? Is this in fact a real number? We are staying in just an inside cabin. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galavant3 Posted January 26, 2012 #19 Share Posted January 26, 2012 So if I am reading this correctly, for MTD you are charged $11.65 per day per person?Is this in fact a real number? We are staying in just an inside cabin. Thanks! It isn't so much that you are being charged the 11.65, you are just prepaying the recommended amount for gratuities. We usually prepay ours even when we do traditional dining...very convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajathree Posted January 26, 2012 #20 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Oh wait... It looks like only certain ships have the My Time FAMILY Dining? Does Jewel of the Seas have it? I can't tell...:confused: Yes....Jewel has My Family Time Dining...just call Royal and tell them you want MFTD for your kids... remember you have to choose early seating traditional dining for this option....enjoy:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid43 Posted January 26, 2012 #21 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thanks debmarie; so with your logic (and I haven't done the math yet) if I add up all the suggested amounts this is what RCCL is going to be charging me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sequim88 Posted January 26, 2012 #22 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I was a little disappointed when traditional was already full, but I tHink This will work out. Should not be a problem. You can always just show up for MTD at whichever standard time you would have selected. You may be able to make a standars MTD reservation for that time. And if not just show up and you'll probably be seated within a few minutes unless with a large group. Eating on MTD at a traditional time I call MTTD (My Traditional Time Dining). ;) I'm somewhat shocked by the repeated references (and the perceptions) to a "charge" for MTD. Not a charge - just paying in advance what would (should) be paid anyway. And IF there were to be a problem it can be adjusted downward at Guest Relations - although most people (like us) tend to add a little extra cash. If getting an adjustment made though expect an inquiry why. If there IS a cost to MTD then I suppose it would be that RCI holds the money from Final Payment time through end of cruise when distributed to staff. Pretty small cost for the added convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid43 Posted January 26, 2012 #23 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Charged/Pre Pay - you say tomato I say tomatoe. It boils down to you cannot do MTD without RCCL imposing you to pre-pay your gratuities which is fine. My only question or concern is how much am I pre-paying? What will my account by charged when I look at my bill? To clarify to someone not familiar with this. You are not "charged" to use MTD, Royal Caribbean just asks that you pre-pay gratuities which you pay upfront in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagored Posted January 26, 2012 #24 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Charged/Pre Pay - you say tomato I say tomatoe.It boils down to you cannot do MTD without RCCL imposing you to pre-pay your gratuities which is fine. My only question or concern is how much am I pre-paying? What will my account by charged when I look at my bill? To clarify to someone not familiar with this. You are not "charged" to use MTD, Royal Caribbean just asks that you pre-pay gratuities which you pay upfront in advance. If you are booking online or thru RCCL on the phone, you will be shown the amount of the prepaid gratuities. Somewhere around here or on the RCCL site is a list of what each person, cabin steward, waiter, etc should be tipped. Some one here will have a link to it I hope? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajathree Posted January 26, 2012 #25 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Q: What are the gratuity guidelines for cruises? A: Our suggested gratuity guidelines take in account our crew members that work hard to provide and maintain the highest level of service while sailing the high seas. Whether working behind the scenes or serving your evening meal, our staff and crew make sure you enjoy every moment spent onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. The daily amounts below have been calculated with this in mind. For new bookings that set sail on or after July 1, 2011, the suggested gratuities are: Waiter: $3.75 USD a day per guest Assistant Waiter: $2.15 USD a day per guest Head Waiter: $.75 USD a day per guest Stateroom Attendant/ Other Housekeeping Services: $5.00 USD a day per guest Suite Attendant/ Other Housekeeping Services: $7.25 USD a day per guest Gratuities are voluntary and at the discretion of each guest. These guidelines serve as suggestions to help guest express their gratitude for the outstanding service they experience on their Royal Caribbean cruise vacation. Note: These gratuities apply to guests of all ages. Gratuities for other service personnel are at your discretion. A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to any purchases in the bar, dining room, spa services and salon services. Notice to guests: Gratuities may be shared with other crew members depending on the particular service requirement. Envelopes for gratuities will be provided in your stateroom on the last night of the cruise. Gratuities may be paid in the following ways: Pre-paid by having them added to your reservation by your booking agent. Added to your onboard SeaPass account. Paid in cash at the end of the cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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