Gratuities to be included in RCI fares

Recently booked 2 x celebrity cruises for Mediterranean in 2018 and grats are automatically included in the price and no price increase from what was previously advertised prior to announcement. I had to ring Celebrity about something and they advised if you booked the cruise via Celebrity Australia or an Australian TA grats were included in the price no matter where you were cruising to / from. We had a "perks" deal and what was offered as the four perks were; Drink package / $150 OBC / Internet / $150 OBC. As there were 4 perks advertised in my deal to chose from they had to remove grats as one of the perks and in lieu of this they are offering extra OBC as a choice.

I personally think this is a good deal, then as an Aussie who is not used to automatically tipping I don't have to worry about it.:D

Recently booked 2 x celebrity cruises for Mediterranean in 2018 and grats are automatically included in the price and no price increase from what was previously advertised prior to announcement. I had to ring Celebrity about something and they advised if you booked the cruise via Celebrity Australia or an Australian TA grats were included in the price no matter where you were cruising to / from. We had a "perks" deal and what was offered as the four perks were; Drink package / $150 OBC / Internet / $150 OBC. As there were 4 perks advertised in my deal to chose from they had to remove grats as one of the perks and in lieu of this they are offering extra OBC as a choice.

I personally think this is a good deal, then as an Aussie who is not used to automatically tipping I don't have to worry about it.:D

I checked our bookings for Celebrity later in the year and gratuities are not included in our fares. It only applied for bookings made after 16 December. I have copied the text below from the Australian terms and conditions page:

"For bookings created prior to 11 December 2016, if you have not pre-paid the service charge at time of booking, Celebrity Cruises will add a daily service charge amount of US$13.50 (US$14.00 for Concierge/Aqua Class and US$17.00 for suite guests) to each guest’s onboard SeaPass℠ account. If you wish to have these removed, please contact the Guest Services Desk onboard.

For bookings created from 12 December 2016 onwards for cruises departing 15 January 2017 onwards, onboard service charges for stateroom attendants and dining room staff are included in your voyage fare."

I welcome the change, We always prepay our gratuities and actually think if everyone did we'd have lower fares not higher. The estimated 30% who do pay the gratuities subsidise those who don't. Just my opinion.

 

 

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Really!!! Only 30% pay gratuities?

We booked another Celebrity cruise whilst on board Solstice last month. The price was a little higher than expected - by guess what? About the amount of the gratuities.

We booked another Celebrity cruise whilst on board Solstice last month. The price was a little higher than expected - by guess what? About the amount of the gratuities.

As compensation for losing the option of prepaid gratuities as a perk an extra $300 per couple OBC has been added to the perks list so if one chooses the $300 as OBC it kinda balances out but removes the gratuity issue many Aussies and Kiwis have complained about for so long.

As compensation for losing the option of prepaid gratuities as a perk an extra $300 per couple OBC has been added to the perks list so if one chooses the $300 as OBC it kinda balances out but removes the gratuity issue many Aussies and Kiwis have complained about for so long.

We prefer to have the drinks package as our perk, plus we did get slightly higher OBC ($250 instead of $200) for booking online.

Our recent cruise had been booked with drinks package, grats and OBC included. The next cruise has the same but the price was higher by about the amount of the grats. Not a big deal but interesting all the same.

We booked another Celebrity cruise whilst on board Solstice last month. The price was a little higher than expected - by guess what? About the amount of the gratuities.

Pay earlier or pay later. All comes out in the wash.