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To play devils advocate, if you can afford a beverage package, can't you afford tips, if they had been added after? Meaning, couldn't you leave the tips in place and forgo your beverage package?

If you're suggesting that we should have (hypothetically) diminished our enjoyment of a cruise that we've spent four years saving for by foregoing beverage packages (which is an expense we diligently budgeted for) ... so that we might supplement the criminally poor (IMO) wages of staff members on a cruise ship leaving from an Australian (non-tipping) port (an expense we were NOT advised to budget for), I'm sorry to say that my humanitarian instincts are nowhere near as strong as yours.

We traveled to the US around 8 years ago and while we did have several moments of forgetfulness and awkward smiling silences with various service staff, we did budget for tips and inevitably got the hang of things. This is not a US trip and therefore not an expense I had considered budgeting for. Hope that makes sense.

Please don't remove the automatic gratuities. It's such a small amount and is spread amount many. If there is someone you wish to reward additionally do so. But you are not requires to. I always give extra to room steward and main dining room staff. $50 each for a 7 day cruise

Don't worry, others have already advised that the automatic gratuities are included in the fare when you book in Australia and they cannot be removed. Please understand that I would only have been looking to remove them if they were an additional charge, over and above our fare already paid.

Just to address part of your comment though ... the amount is certainly not 'small' ... not in my eyes anyway. I calculated that for a 10 day cruise for the three of us, we would have been up for an additional $400.00 (if tips had been an additional charge). Luckily, they're not additional ... and we'll be purchasing beverage packages so I understand the tips are included there as well. I'm just thankful that it's one less thing we'll have to worry about.

Thanks so much to everybody for your helpful advice. I'm sure it won't be the last time I'll need to pick your experienced collective brains! ;)

Read some more tipping threads - all answers will be found in those.

Thanks for the suggestion, but as I mentioned, I have already been reading the last thread on this topic and it didn't address my specific concerns. Six pages in and 45 minutes later, I figured I'd be better off posting my own questions. :')

And I am guessing from your two other posts that there is a strong possibility that you booked in Australia, so your gratuities are included in the fare you paid.

Yes, I'm travelling from Australia ... nice detective work! ;) Very relieved to hear that these charges were already included in our fare. We had to scrimp and save just to afford this (our first holiday in four years) so the thought that there may have been be an additional amount to include in the budget was a little scary!

Anything that you tip beyond that is purely up to your discretion.

Forgive me for asking, but why would people tip anything beyond that? Do some staff not receive a portion of my pre-paid gratuity?

Ok, so before anybody flames me for opening a new post on this topic, I did check the last one ... it's several pages long and doesn't really address my specific concerns. I've never cruised before (first cruise booked for November this year!) and I'm from a country where tipping is NOT the norm so it all seems a little weird to me and I just need some guidance.

I've been reading a bit on here about 'automatic gratuities'. I think I understand the concept, but the first thing I'd like to know is whether these were included in our fares or whether it's something that gets charged to our onboard 'account' ... ie over and above what we've already paid to travel?

Secondly, if it's charged to our onboard account, how much gets charged and when? Is it a percentage of our fare? Is it a set rate for everybody per day? How is it calculated?

And finally, I've read that some people have these charges 'removed' and elect to tip as they see fit. I'd like to know how one would go about having these charges removed? Is it something that you do online before you travel or do you need to go and see somebody about it once you've boarded?

Thanks in advance to anybody who can give me some answers! :)