Summary of Gratuities - 1st time Celebrity cruiser

Xcitdcruiser · #1 September 24th, 2012, 03:35 AM

Hi all,
I'm in the process of booking my first cruise (which i am so very excited about!!) but am very confused about the grats. I've searched the forum, but it has made me more confused :/

I'm looking to book a Sky Suite. I understood that you can remove the prepaid grats & pay them on board. The agent that has quoted me (the lowest) fare which includes grats but apparently they cannot be removed for a SS.

Is this correct?

Scenario 1 - grats are prepaid. a couple of questions:
who are they going to?
I assume we'd tip our butler extra (how awesome! a butler!) is that each time he helps us? Or a sum at the end of the cruise?
who else would we tip (seeing as they have already theoretically been paid?) ... this goes back to my frist question as to who our tips go to...

Scenario 2 - do not prepay grats
we'd tip each time we receive service (waiter, bartender, butler) OR
give specific ppl a sum at the end of the cruise? (do we go look for them, or how can we make sure it gets to the particular person?)

Your input is much appreciated.

pete_coach · #2 September 24th, 2012, 08:23 AM

Well, for us, pre-paying gratuities is certailny the best way to go. In the end, if the service as exceptional, you can always leave a little extra. We did.
Your drinks have a gratuity already included. We did not know that on our first Celebrity cruise and always added a tip LOL.
So, in the end, if you pre-pay, you only need to consider a small extra to your wait and cabin staff if you think it warrants it.
Here is what Celebity suggests
http://www.celebritycruises.com/foot...tName=Payments

CantanaLobo · #3 September 24th, 2012, 10:58 AM

If you have Select dining, you have to prepay regardless of cabin. That may be why the grats can't be removed.

I prefer to prepay. One less thing to think about. Service above-and-beyond gets extra.

Bruin Steve · #4 September 24th, 2012, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xcitdcruiser

Hi all,
I'm in the process of booking my first cruise (which i am so very excited about!!) but am very confused about the grats. I've searched the forum, but it has made me more confused :/

I'm looking to book a Sky Suite. I understood that you can remove the prepaid grats & pay them on board. The agent that has quoted me (the lowest) fare which includes grats but apparently they cannot be removed for a SS.

Is this correct?

Scenario 1 - grats are prepaid. a couple of questions:
who are they going to?
I assume we'd tip our butler extra (how awesome! a butler!) is that each time he helps us? Or a sum at the end of the cruise?
who else would we tip (seeing as they have already theoretically been paid?) ... this goes back to my frist question as to who our tips go to...

Scenario 2 - do not prepay grats
we'd tip each time we receive service (waiter, bartender, butler) OR
give specific ppl a sum at the end of the cruise? (do we go look for them, or how can we make sure it gets to the particular person?)

Your input is much appreciated.

Think of the "gratuities"as more of a "service charge"...
For the Sky Suites, these DO include a gratuity for the butler...this is why the charge is higher for suites than for lower categories...

Don't worry about what the custom is in your home country...this is a matter of custom on the cruise lines...

Gratuities used to be paid in cash at the end of the cruise ...once...
But several years ago, there was a culture change to charging the gratuities o your account...makes it far simpler...and one doesn't have to remember to carry a whole lot of cash...

Prepaying them really matters little as you will pay...or should pay assuming nothing is terribly wrong...that minimum amount anyway...may as well get it over with...

You can have it charged up front an then forget about it...

These gratuities cover the waiters (really covering the main dining room as well as the buffets and other food service--except for the specialty restaurants which require an additional service charge) and your cabin stewards and butler...

Bar waiters are covered on most cruises by an additional service charge added to each drink...except nowadays for the UK based cruises...where they've merely increased the bar prices to include the service charge...

The only time one typically gives a gratuity during the cruise in cash is when ordering room service...depending on what you are having delivered, you should give the person bringing it maybe 1-5 dollars...

Also for many of us, we will hand out additional tips at the end of the cruise, to any service personnel who may have gone above and beyond the typical...for me, for example, I hand out additional tips to the bar waiters in the Elite drinking hour and will also give a small extra amount to the assistant waiter--if he's been very attentive to refilling my iced tea each night...those assistant waiters don't get the same cut the full waiters do and they often work harder...

Those prepaid gratuities might be removed (I would not advise doing so...if you really consider what you would normally pay for service on land, those tip amounts are relatively small considering all they do for you...the only question should be whether to add more and how much) except in certain cases..."Select" dining, for example, requires gratuities be prepaid...

Do not worry that the service staff becomes complacent because they know they will get the tips...these guys seem to work incredibly hard no matter what...

This is just the system and the custom on these ships...learn to accept it for what it is...it is part of the cost of cruising...

Have fun...

cruisestitch · #5 September 24th, 2012, 11:17 AM

"I'm looking to book a Sky Suite. I understood that you can remove the prepaid grats & pay them on board. The agent that has quoted me (the lowest) fare which includes grats but apparently they cannot be removed for a SS.

Is this correct?"

No, being in a Suite doesn't mean that the pre-paid gratuity can't be taken off, but perhaps your agent has some special deal that makes yours a special case. Also Australian TAs operate differently than US TAs so there may be something going on for you that we in the US don't deal with.

"Scenario 1 - grats are prepaid. a couple of questions:
who are they going to?"

They go to your room attendants, including your butler, and to dining room servers, which is not limited to those who take care of you at dinner, but also the staff who work the buffets, the grill, the Aqua Spa cafe, etc.

They do not go to the staff of the Specialty Restaurants. If you choose to eat at one of them, there will be a separate service charge assessed for that meal.

"I assume we'd tip our butler extra (how awesome! a butler!) is that each time he helps us? Or a sum at the end of the cruise?"

The butler's gratuity is included in the pre-paid amount. If you ask for lots of special favors, an extra gratuity is always appreciated but not required.

"Scenario 2 - do not prepay grats
we'd tip each time we receive service (waiter, bartender, butler) OR
give specific ppl a sum at the end of the cruise? (do we go look for them, or how can we make sure it gets to the particular person?)"

No, you don't tip each time you get service with one small exception -- generally if someone other than your regular butler and room steward bring room service (unlikely, but possible if you order something in the middle of the night) you tip them at the time of the delivery. Otherwise, if you chose not to pre-pay the gratuity, you give cash to your room staff and dining staff all at once at the end of the cruise, not moment by moment. This can be somewhat of a hassle getting cash from Guest Relations or bringing that much cash with you on the trip.

Please consider leaving the pre-paid tips as they are, rather than removing them. When you go to Guest Relations to remove them, it is assumed that you are doing so because someone has failed to give you good service. It becomes a black mark against all your servers, which they don't deserve.

When you order a drink or a bottle of wine, the tip amount is already on the bill. You can always add more, but you don't need to.

If you choose Select Dining, as already stated, you can't remove the Auto-Tips at all, only if you choose Traditional Dining.

dkjretired · #6 September 24th, 2012, 01:03 PM

Need a definition here. Pre paid tips are paid prior to getting on the ship and cannot be removed by any class category once you board.

Tips put on your account daily can be removed and are not pre paid tips.

cruisestitch · #7 September 24th, 2012, 01:08 PM

Don -- you are right -- there has been confusion here (and I was in on it) between Pre-Paid tips, which get folded into the cruise fare and are paid in full before the cruise starts, and which cannot be removed once you are on board, and Auto-Tips, which get applied daily to the SeaPass account, and which can be taken off. Thanks for pointing that out.

jackdiamond · #8 September 24th, 2012, 01:48 PM

It will be a happy day when all of the tips, or whatever some folks call them, are mandatory. Then, the stiffers will have to discover something else about which to complain.

kitty9 · #9 September 24th, 2012, 05:08 PM

Cruise ships are cashless, so you just don't leave tips on the table or counter as you go along. Every drink you order in a bar has an automatic gratuity added in, so you don't worry about that. You definitely never leave tips daily for your waiter or assistant waiter. And you don't tip your butler daily.

The only time you need cash to tip is if/when someone other than your butler brings room service. But, I've never had anyone other than my butler bring room service.

Leave the "service charge/tips" in place and you'll have no worries.

Xcitdcruiser · #10 September 24th, 2012, 07:30 PM

Thank you so all much for that clarification.
I want to point out that i never intended on NOT tipping, but was confused as to where the tips go & whether i would be expected to tip EACH time a service was performed.
I will leave my tips on as recommended, and ensure I tip for room service ( thank you for the guide of $1 -$5 ) or/& at the end of the cruise id the service has been exceptional.
As our culture is not one of tipping, i certainly don't want any black marks against our name due to ignorance on our behalf!!

dodger1964 · #11 September 24th, 2012, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackdiamond

It will be a happy day when all of the tips, or whatever some folks call them, are mandatory. Then, the stiffers will have to discover something else about which to complain.

Don't u just love that what was once an acknowledgment for providing great service is becoming a fee that has to be paid no matter what level of service is actually provided.

I like the old way better. If tips are mandatory service will decline.

I would like to see a "complete" breakdown of the auto tips sometime.

Xcitdcruiser · #12 September 24th, 2012, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dodger1964

Don't u just love that what was once an acknowledgment for providing great service is becoming a fee that has to be paid no matter what level of service is actually provided.

I like the old way better. If tips are mandatory service will decline.

I would like to see a "complete" breakdown of the auto tips sometime.

I guess the other side to this is that no matter how great the service may be, some will simply never tip.

dodger1964 · #13 September 24th, 2012, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xcitdcruiser

I guess the other side to this is that no matter how great the service may be, some will simply never tip.

I find it hard to believe that anybody actually doesn't tip anything or anybody. It would surprise me that on a ship with, let's say 2,000 passengers, that more than 10 people would stiff the staff.

Xcitdcruiser · #14 September 24th, 2012, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dodger1964

I find it hard to believe that anybody actually doesn't tip anything or anybody. It would surprise me that on a ship with, let's say 2,000 passengers, that more than 10 people would stiff the staff.

I hope not!! But I guess would that information ever be made public?

hughdm · #15 September 24th, 2012, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dodger1964

Don't u just love that what was once an acknowledgment for providing great service is becoming a fee that has to be paid no matter what level of service is actually provided.

I like the old way better. If tips are mandatory service will decline.

I would like to see a "complete" breakdown of the auto tips sometime.

This started with the Anytime Dining craze. Those servers need to be paid somehow. Otherwise, I don't ever think it would have been necessary. Anytime dining is the bane of civilized cruise dining in our opinion.