Specialty restaurant charge no longer includes gratuity

Just boarded Serenade and these are the packages. 18% in fine print.

 

 

 

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On our October 28th departure from Baltimore on the Grandeur, we had dinner at Giovanni’s the first night. In addition to the basic charge, they added both the 18% gratuity and Maryland SALES TAX to the bill. This is the first time they added the sales tax to a Grandeur departure from Baltimore.

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Booked my dining packages for next year’s Allure 9/30 (4 nights for $100) and in the fine print at the bottom of the page it shows that the gratuity is included. Printed it out just in case....

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We were on the Grandeur 2 wks ago and went to Giovanni's the first night. There was no gratuity listed on the bill, but there was a $7+ service charge. We also gave a tip on top of that. Don't know if we will do the specialty restaurants anymore or not. I will just wait and get the $10 Chop's filet in the dining room when it is offered.

Gwen :D

... I will just wait and get the $10 Chop's filet in the dining room when it is offered.

 

Gwen :D

$10 plus service charge.:rolleyes:

We just ate at Chops a few nights ago. We did not have a package but as you can see the $39 per person charge did not include gratuity. It was automatically added to the bill. Also, our friend was still hungry after eating one 6 oz steak so he ordered a second one. He was charged extra for the second steak.

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$10 plus service charge.:rolleyes:

Well, at least it was only $1.80......;)

Gwen :D

On our October 28th departure from Baltimore on the Grandeur, we had dinner at Giovanni’s the first night. In addition to the basic charge, they added both the 18% gratuity and Maryland SALES TAX to the bill. This is the first time they added the sales tax to a Grandeur departure from Baltimore.

 

 

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They have charged tax the past couple times we were on. Ever since they started closing the shops and casino as long as we were in the Chesapeake Bay. That was last year around this time. Also if you buy one of the drink packages while on board the first night. They will charge tax. It's best to wait until the 2nd day of the cruise.

You can thank Maryland or Virginia or both for the addition of the tax. I heard that Carnival pays the fine instead of charging the tax when they leave Baltimore. Not sure if that is true.

Gwen

$10 plus service charge.:rolleyes:

So if you get the steak in the MDR you pay extra service charge for the waiter carrying a steak to you instead of what he otherwise would have been carrying?

So if you get the steak in the MDR you pay extra service charge for the waiter carrying a steak to you instead of what he otherwise would have been carrying?

Sounds like you already know the answer...but yes. [emoji848]

I’m still miffed by 18% gratuity being charged on souvenir glass purchases (e.g. outside the WJ when they are new/empty with no drink), because they are technically bar purchases. Whether they disclose that to you at the table or purchase time is hit and miss. They may not even write it onto your receipt so it will be a surprise on your SeaPass account. 🤦

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They have charged tax the past couple times we were on. Ever since they started closing the shops and casino as long as we were in the Chesapeake Bay. That was last year around this time. Also if you buy one of the drink packages while on board the first night. They will charge tax. It's best to wait until the 2nd day of the cruise.

You can thank Maryland or Virginia or both for the addition of the tax. I heard that Carnival pays the fine instead of charging the tax when they leave Baltimore. Not sure if that is true.

Gwen

Interesting post and great advice Gwen. In order to avoid paying sales tax, do not purchase the drink package or other items on the first day while the cruise ship is in the Chesapeake Bay.

Been keeping an eye on when the dining options open for our spring Cruise in May next year. It finally opened up and there doesn't appear to be a price increase (yet) on the dining packages -- all prices are exactly the same as for our December 2017 cruise (Ultimate Dining package priced at $24/day and the 5-night dining package at $105 total). We are in a suite for the May cruise so we don't want the ultimate this time, so I've booked the 5-night dining package and also, as someone else mentioned, I've saved a copy of the page with the fine print which clearly states that the package is inclusive of gratuities.

Interesting post and great advice Gwen. In order to avoid paying sales tax, do not purchase the drink package or other items on the first day while the cruise ship is in the Chesapeake Bay.

Unless the policy has changed, RC does not charge US state sales tax on the purchase of drink packages, even while in port or within the jurisdiction of a state.

Honestly i have the best steakhouses on land near me here so while we were going to do chops just so my guest could experience it, Ill pass now. For a small upcharge fee fine, but the higher the price goes up (18%) the more underwhelmed we will probably be.

Honestly i have the best steakhouses on land near me here so while we were going to do chops just so my guest could experience it, Ill pass now. For a small upcharge fee fine, but the higher the price goes up (18%) the more underwhelmed we will probably be.

I agree. $94 was extreme. The portions were much smaller too. We only went because we had a free speciality dining from the travel agent.

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Speciality dining has always had 18% gratuity. Difference being it was included in the price. Now it appears to be added to the price.

 

I wonder if this applies to Chef Table as well.

 

 

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That was my understanding too and i still left 10-20 dollars tip on top.

Now the service charge is on top of what was the price including gratuitys so this is an 18% price increase.

On our last 3 cruises they were pushing Chops and Giovannis hard and i got 30% discount and 2 free drinks and this 18% increase will mean they will have to push it even harder.

Hmm...this means the DreamWorks character breakfast at $10/adult will have 18% added on top as well, correct? (i.e. no longer included) Can anyone who has recently booked the breakfast and sailed since the beginning of November, confirm whether this was the case from their on-board experience? Thank you.

I was on the Freedom back to back last week and ate at chops & Giovannies both cruises on the 1st two nights on the $30.00 2 for one I package I had purchased on line a couple months ago. No tip added. Left cash tip. Also had a free dinner which I used at Chops from travel agent and again no tip. Bob & Nancy

Was on Allure a few weeks ago....18% added in Giovanis. Used BOGO and the 18% was just added to the one surcharge...not the free one. They also challenged me about charging a corkage fee for my D+ wine i brought with me....but in the end they let it fly without a charge.

Would not mind the 18 percent if we had good service, on Navigator 2 weeks ago not sure what was worse in Giovanni's the food or the service, waiter from some place thousands of miles from Italy would say call me Mario then screw up the order, Giovanni's went from my favorite RCCL place to eat to my least favorite, every time they change the menu it goes father down hill ( had brought my own wine in mdr on 2 nights never charged the corkage fee)

So our experience with the pre-booked (back in May 2017) Ultimate Dining Package on Grandeur was that all meals printed off receipts which said '18% Gratuity Included' but gave you room for an optional additional tip.

We purchased the package knowing we'd be tipping extra, although it's never been quite clear about the gratuity already being included.

This may or may not have had an impact on the service we experienced -- let's just say the staff were overly eager to have us as repeat customers as we probably were one of the only tables regularly tipping an additional 15-20% during each meal!!

We had a really good time and everything was top notch. Giovanni's, Chops and Izumi were all fantastic. We had lunch and dinner on all sea days and dinner on all port days. We were saturated with the Specialty Restaurants by the end!!

Unless the policy has changed, RC does not charge US state sales tax on the purchase of drink packages, even while in port or within the jurisdiction of a state.

Your absolutely correct regarding US sailings. However, in many Ports originating in EU, you pay a VAT Tax (I think it is included in the price before gratuities). It does make the package prices appear higher.

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Your absolutely correct regarding US sailings. However, in many Ports originating in EU, you pay a VAT Tax (I think it is included in the price before gratuities). It does make the package prices appear higher.

 

 

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Spanish VAT was added to our breakfast room service charge in June on Freedom.

Spanish VAT was added to our breakfast room service charge in June on Freedom.

I can see that happening but on Drink Packages prior to sail date, the added VAT was added before gratuities. This occurred for us on Freedom September 2017.

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Dined in specialty restaurant last night and noticed that gratuity was added. Found out that as of yesterday the gratuities are no longer included in quoted price.

 

 

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My experience just last week: Pre-purchased Chops Special Holiday dinner @ $79pp and no add on (don't recall getting bill slip at end of meal). Pre-purchased Chef Table @ $85pp and presented with slip at end of meal with $0 total and space to add tip if wanted which billed to my sea pass account.

Both last week on Adventure of the Seas. I purchased them through my Cruise planner in August and charged to my credit card at time of purchase.

No additional 18% add on.

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Did you, by any chance, take a photo of your receipt? I would love to see what it looks like!

Who does that??? LOL? Never in a million years would I ever even think to photograph my receipt.