What is the suggested gratuities for

[PhoenixCruiser]

And you are free to do as you please,if you find it simpler then leave your tips on.And i am free to do as i please.I will remove mind and pay my tips in cash.You say there is a problem to remove the tips.Royal says you can remove them.No one can charge money to your account unless you agree to it.I don't see it as trouble,as soon as i board i will have them removed.Have a great next cruise.:)

 

Funny you don't seem to get it we don't like auto tips.We will not pay before service.What you do is fine with me.You can explain all you want.If Royal has the guts to call it what it is a service charge.We will have no problem,it is not about the money.:)

 

Not only should you have your toothbrushes with you at all times you have to realize that the crew quarters are close. They talk to each other and can share names and cabin #s - heck they may even have your pictures.

 

Have a great cruise.:)

 

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[mn1111]

Hi OP,

 

I still pay cash as well and use this link to break it down by person and then add between 15-50% to it depending on the level of service given.

 

http://blog.cruises-n-more.com/2012/02/wondering-about-the-gratuity-guidelines-for-cruises-here%E2%80%99s-what-royal-caribbean-says-and-recommends/

 

It is very easy to have the tips removed from being charged daily to your account and I was never asked once why, but if asked I would just let them know you prefer to pay cash. Hope the info helps!

 

Neda

[Cruizlovers]

I'm not understanding why someone would want to micro manage the tipping process? Why do you want to spend any amount of your precious vacation time standing in line removing tips, calculating who gets (or deserves) what, disbursing tips? Maybe your trepidation is concerning poor service? I'm not sure what is the motivation is but if you're not happy at the end of your cruise, I imagine you could remove all tips. Just my .02 but in 15 cruises I've never had service so bad as to deny tips. I'm thrilled I don't have to deal with envelopes anymore, we pre pay tips and just hand extra cash for exceptional service. Me thinks it's either cheapness or a power issue for some cruisers. Karma!

[mollyeilis]

 

We have family time dining, so would that be the same rule? I'm running a cash account so if I get the total of our gratuities, I will add this to the account straight away I suppose.

 

My Family Time dining is different. No gratuities charged ahead of time. Normal My Time dining, however, involves prepayment. We did My Family Time in January, and will be doing My Time in October.

 

 

Funny, the OP thinks that threatening to cancel the cruise made dining open up. With me, it was time. When I booked, My Time was the ONLY thing available. Over time, different dining styles have opened, closed, opened again, etc. People change their minds, and time opens up new possibilities!

 

 

 

This is if you are doing traditional dining. (Those are the only two choices of dining by the way. I'm not sure which "family" dining would be.

 

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/product.do?pagename=onboard_prod_my_family_time_dining

 

My Family Time Dining is offered for the first seating time in our main dining room, for children ages three to 11. Kids enjoy their meal within 40 minutes of seating, before heading to the evening's Adventure Ocean activities. The program starts the second evening you're onboard.

 

That's not how it was described for our January cruise, and in fact we were seated BEFORE first seating. But still, it's a slightly different thing for families with kids in that age range, and it doesn't involve pre-paid gratuities.

 

 

 

Not really if it is "A Find" because hunting down members previous posts for your own glorification is a bit of a mental problem, akin to recording every verbal conversation you hear for future reference lol:D:D:D

 

The OP has a name that sticks with you. It's not so weird that people might remember a strong statement from a strong name. Your name is strong, too, and easily thought about in the future!

 

Things are not difficult for me at all you seem to have the problem.I

spend my Money as i please.And how you spend yours is not a concern for me yes i pay ahead for the cruise,the difference is IT IS NOT A TIP.Have a great next cruise.:)

 

You have asked the question, so there's some sort of issue happening, which can translate to a problem to many.

 

The employees don't get the money until the end, so they haven't actually been tipped ahead of time.

[fishtaco]

If you remove the auto-charge and pay in cash, make sure you tip your cabin steward for both their amount AND the "other housekeeping staff" amount ($3.85 plus $1.35), as the cabin steward will have to tip that amount ($1.35 per person per day) to the other housekeeping staff even if they don't receive it from you.

 

This is similar to the system in restaurants where the waitstaff has to tip the busboy a percentage of their sales for that shift. If the waitstaff doesn't receive an adequate tip from a table that night, the waitstaff still has to tip the busboy a percentage of the sales from that table.

 

If you don't tip the cabin steward the additional amount, that amount is going to come out of the cabin steward's cash that you pay them anyway, so in effect you just stiffed your cabin steward.

 

Sometimes US cruisers get totally blinded to the fact that the cruise ship is not North America and does not run on a North American system of "Anything" It is an international cruise line catering to international cruisers from all nations to which most do not tip at all let alone adhere to a North American tipping culture! this fact is clearly shown up by "The on board cooking method of Bacon alone" lol:D:D:D

 

All personal cash money received must be handed in until the sailings expected gratuity base is met, any money over and above expected gratuity is returned to the original receiver as a "tip" Gratuity is a "Service Charge" employees cannot keep a higher percentage of that service charge over another because they were handed it! Gratuity is distributed to employees as RCI see fit not us the cruisers!

 

You cannot have one system for North American cruisers only and another for everyone else when the ship is made up of mixed nationality cruisers!

[mn1111]

I'm not understanding why someone would want to micro manage the tipping process? Why do you want to spend any amount of your precious vacation time standing in line removing tips, calculating who gets (or deserves) what, disbursing tips? Maybe your trepidation is concerning poor service? I'm not sure what is the motivation is but if you're not happy at the end of your cruise, I imagine you could remove all tips. Just my .02 but in 15 cruises I've never had service so bad as to deny tips. I'm thrilled I don't have to deal with envelopes anymore, we pre pay tips and just hand extra cash for exceptional service. Me thinks it's either cheapness or a power issue for some cruisers. Karma!

 

You are entitled to think whatever you want, but in my case I still prefer to pay cash for several reasons. Firstly, I believe that tipping is a personal thing between me and the servers and quite frankly none of the cruise lines business though I do appreciate the guidelines (the same that it is none of my business as to how they compensate their employees).

 

I also spend most of my time on the ship in the casino and carry large amounts of cash and like to get rid of some it before disembarkation so throwing some of it into envelopes takes about two minutes and I've never had to wait in line for guest services once as I always go late at night after the casino closes. This is just my personal preference, but I totally understand how most people find having them automatically added more convenient.

 

What I don't understand is why people get so hostile and forgive me for saying, even a little mean over this issue (though I'm sure your calling complete strangers that you know nothing about cheap and power hungry was meant in the nicest possible way).

Edited September 14, 2014 by mn1111

[fishtaco]

My Family Time dining is different. No gratuities charged ahead of time. Normal My Time dining, however, involves prepayment. We did My Family Time in January, and will be doing My Time in October

 

 

The OP has a name that sticks with you. It's not so weird that people might remember a strong statement from a strong name. Your name is strong, too, and easily thought about in the future!

 

.

 

A post of "I found this" with a direct link as the only basis for a post is not "I remember the OP posting similar in July" it is actively seeking out another members previous posts for more than just personal reading interest! not against the rules but fly s in the face of forum etiquette dont you think!

[Scotty G]

Hate to burst your bubble on explanation of Tips and service charge but RCI defines them as one and the same as shown below copied directly from Australian. RCI T&C,s and RCI does not have an Australian specific fleet it is one and the same fleet:)

 

 

22. Gratuities (tips)

On all of our ships, it is customary to offer gratuities (also known as ‘service charge’ or ‘tips’) to staff members who work to enhance your cruise experience. For guests’ convenience we automatically add your onboard gratuities to our cruise fare so that they are pre-paid in Australian Dollars in advance of your holiday.

 

Not busting my bubble! I am not aware of Australian RCI websites since they do not apply to me. The RCI website here in North America only uses the term "gratuities".

RCI Crew contracts that I am aware of provide them (what we in America call Hourly employees - not salaried) a meager wage of $25US* every two weeks, room and board plus insurance. RCI pays their way to the ship for the contract and the employee pays their way home at the end of the contract.

The bulk of their income comes from gratuities. (Bar servers are better of here as they automatically get their prorated share of the shipboard 15% on drinks plus whatever guests give them as additional tips).

My point is that despite the facts given, some cruisers want to take it out on the workers because they do not believe in tipping or some iteration of it. It is the way it is and those of us that care about our fellow man and want to continue cruising with excellent service subscribe to the system currently in place. In no way should these folks be shorted unless there is a valid reason to have management remove the gratuities for poor service.

 

* I have heard that since the implementation of the new gratuity system hourly staff no longer gets this wage.

 

ps, it comes to mind that some folks think that knowledge of what the crew makes in salary is none of our business. I agree that it shouldn't be however without the knowledge that I have been given by many crew members over the years has allowed me to see how the gratuity system they agreed to affects them and their families. I think it is only fair that we should understand that system, participate as suggested and continue to enjoy cruising.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Scotty G
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[fishtaco]

Not busting my bubble! I am not aware of Australian RCI websites since they do not apply to me. The RCI website here in North America only uses the term "gratuities".

RCI Crew contracts that I am aware of provide them (what we in America call Hourly employees - not salaried) a meager wage of $25US* every two weeks, room and board plus insurance. RCI pays their way to the ship for the contract and the employee pays their way home at the end of the contract.

The bulk of their income comes from gratuities. (Bar servers are better of here as they automatically get their prorated share of the shipboard 15% on drinks plus whatever guests give them as additional tips).

My point is that despite the facts given, some cruisers want to take it out on the workers because they do not believe in tipping or some iteration of it. It is the way it is and those of us that care about our fellow man and want to continue cruising with excellent service subscribe to the system currently in place. In no way should these folks be shorted unless there is a valid reason to have management remove the gratuities for poor service.

 

* I have heard that since the implementation of the new gratuity system hourly staff no longer gets this wage.

 

ps, it comes to mind that some folks think that knowledge of what the crew makes in salary is none of our business. I agree that it shouldn't be however without the knowledge that I have been given by many crew members over the years has allowed me to see how the gratuity system they agreed to affects them and their families. I think it is only fair that we should understand that system, participate as suggested and continue to enjoy cruising.

 

Firstly I always pre pay or leave auto grats in place and others tipping habits do not affect me in any way,

 

Secondly Australia uses the same fleet as USA uses and none of the ships are either north American nor Australian so how can one company have different T&C,s for the same ships for different nationalities? Well they dont its just the way you read them.

 

I can remove auto grats as you can I cannot remove pre paid auto grats for MTD same as you, only difference is we understand Gratuities are a service charge and most North Americans still think its a Tip

 

I am lucky in a sense to live very very close to SE Asia which just happens to be where most of the domestic crew come from and without a doubt of my SE Asian travel knowledge i can share with you that most of the cruise domestic staff are earning way way better than the same at home for the same hours:)

[caribbean sailor]

Not only should you have your toothbrushes with you at all times you have to realize that the crew quarters are close. They talk to each other and can share names and cabin #s - heck they may even have your pictures.

 

Have a great cruise.:)

 

###

 

Thank you we always have a great cruise.Maybe you should more spend time worrying about what you do.Have a great next cruise.:)

[Scotty G]

I am lucky in a sense to live very very close to SE Asia which just happens to be where most of the domestic crew come from and without a doubt of my SE Asian travel knowledge i can share with you that most of the cruise domestic staff are earning way way better than the same at home for the same hours:)

 

I have worked and lived all over the World (SE Asia, Germany, Turkey, Indian Ocean, Central America, Middle East, North Africa, etc.. Born and brought up in Scotland). I know how well off cruise workers are compared to others in like jobs in their home countries. Their choice to be at sea for 8 months at a time with relatives taking care of the children, etc.. I have several cruise employee friends whose families have college educations they otherwise would not have because of their personal sacrifices.

Fishtaco, I have no grief with you at all. I just get upset when those who have been told of the way cruise workers get their wages choose to penalize them because they are so set in their ways. Have fun on your future cruises :)

Edited September 14, 2014 by Scotty G

[caribbean sailor]

My Family Time dining is different. No gratuities charged ahead of time. Normal My Time dining, however, involves prepayment. We did My Family Time in January, and will be doing My Time in October.

 

 

Funny, the OP thinks that threatening to cancel the cruise made dining open up. With me, it was time. When I booked, My Time was the ONLY thing available. Over time, different dining styles have opened, closed, opened again, etc. People change their minds, and time opens up new possibilities!

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/product.do?pagename=onboard_prod_my_family_time_dining

 

 

 

That's not how it was described for our January cruise, and in fact we were seated BEFORE first seating. But still, it's a slightly different thing for families with kids in that age range, and it doesn't involve pre-paid gratuities.

 

 

 

 

 

The OP has a name that sticks with you. It's not so weird that people might remember a strong statement from a strong name. Your name is strong, too, and easily thought about in the future!

 

 

 

You have asked the question, so there's some sort of issue happening, which can translate to a problem to many.

 

The employees don't get the money until the end, so they haven't actually been tipped ahead of time.

 

And your point is.:

Edited September 14, 2014 by caribbean sailor

[Gayle V]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayle V View Post

This is if you are doing traditional dining. (Those are the only two choices of dining by the way. I'm not sure which "family" dining would be.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findac...ly_time_dining

 

Quote:

My Family Time Dining is offered for the first seating time in our main dining room, for children ages three to 11. Kids enjoy their meal within 40 minutes of seating, before heading to the evening's Adventure Ocean activities. The program starts the second evening you're onboard. .

 

Thanks for explaining that Mollyeilis. That is essentially still early main traditional seating . Just a more rushed service. Did they want pre-pay of tips for that ?

[Gayle V]

The more I think about that Family Dining, the nicer it sounds for families. If we ever were to bring our grandchildren along, it would be a real benefit. I wonder if the Dynamic Dining has any accommodation for that feature? Because it does sound like it would be another casualty of DD.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Gayle V

[LMaxwell]

 

In order to do you own tipping, you will actually have to go to the guest services desk and request to have them removed. They do tend to ask you "why" you want to do this. Just so you know. The crew member also is called upon to explain why his tips were removed, putting him in an awkward position. It also leaves him wondering why himself, and as the others implied, he'll spend the rest of the week suspecting that you intend to stiff him. I'm not saying you'll get worse service, or nasty pranks, as they suggested, but I know, I wouldn't want to leave anyone feeling bad like that.

 

 

That's a load of hooey. Plain and simple. Sure they may ask why, but it is your preference to do so. Royal Caribbean clearly and openly offers the option (if you are a traditional dining guests; MTD is not treated equitably).

 

There is no proof that any room attendant need explain themselves if a guest choose an option that Royal Caribbean offers.

 

As far as the room attendant wondering if they are going to be stiffed, traditionally they have always waited until the end to find out anyways; this pre-paid tipping is relatively new and it still leaves them wondering if they will get more or receive the base. And certainly some amount of staff must understand some guests prefer to have a face to face transaction with cash. Whether it is most efficient or not is not relevant here; the fact that it is a personal preference is.

 

And I'm pretty sure the staff have neither the time or inclination to pull a prank on a guest; caught once and they get a one way ticket home and thus ends all their pay. Silly for anyone on this board to suggest that if someone uses an option the cruise line offers that their personal belongings are susceptible to sabotage. Most of the staff are hard workers and take pride in their work and the cruise line doesn't pit them against the guest:rolleyes:

[3dog]

That's a load of hooey. Plain and simple. Sure they may ask why, but it is your preference to do so. Royal Caribbean clearly and openly offers the option (if you are a traditional dining guests; MTD is not treated equitably).

 

There is no proof that any room attendant need explain themselves if a guest choose an option that Royal Caribbean offers.

 

Indeed! I would suspect if a guest mentions that a staff member performed in an unacceptable manner that they might be asked to explain, but if a guest indicates that they want to offer a gratuity in person, or even decide to offer no explanation, that crew will not be interrogated.

 

And I'm pretty sure the staff have neither the time or inclination to pull a prank on a guest; caught once and they get a one way ticket home and thus ends all their pay. Silly for anyone on this board to suggest that if someone uses an option the cruise line offers that their personal belongings are susceptible to sabotage. Most of the staff are hard workers and take pride in their work and the cruise line doesn't pit them against the guest:rolleyes:

 

Indeed again! For any CC poster to even suggest this might occur is (IMO) just wrong, and they should be ashamed. And if even remotely true, would justify the OP's choice to withhold gratuities till the end when he knows for certain that his belongings haven't been inappropriately disturbed.

 

I think way too many CC members are overly choosing to propagate way too many of these unfounded rumors.

[caribbean sailor]

That's a load of hooey. Plain and simple. Sure they may ask why, but it is your preference to do so. Royal Caribbean clearly and openly offers the option (if you are a traditional dining guests; MTD is not treated equitably).

 

There is no proof that any room attendant need explain themselves if a guest choose an option that Royal Caribbean offers.

 

As far as the room attendant wondering if they are going to be stiffed, traditionally they have always waited until the end to find out anyways; this pre-paid tipping is relatively new and it still leaves them wondering if they will get more or receive the base. And certainly some amount of staff must understand some guests prefer to have a face to face transaction with cash. Whether it is most efficient or not is not relevant here; the fact that it is a personal preference is.

 

And I'm pretty sure the staff have neither the time or inclination to pull a prank on a guest; caught once and they get a one way ticket home and thus ends all their pay. Silly for anyone on this board to suggest that if someone uses an option the cruise line offers that their personal belongings are susceptible to sabotage. Most of the staff are hard workers and take pride in their work and the cruise line doesn't pit them against the guest:rolleyes:

 

My wife and i have had a good laugh with this thread, it has been the best.It is amazing how people will lie and try to scare people to prepay their tips.I had a person tell me to watch my tooth brush because i decided not to prepay my tips.What sick minds some people on cruise critic have.I rate the crew higher then some of these sick people on cruise critic.Lmaxwell well said we agree with you 100%.:) :)

[Ourusualbeach]

Thanks for explaining that Mollyeilis. That is essentially still early main traditional seating . Just a more rushed service. Did they want pre-pay of tips for that ?

 

The more I think about that Family Dining, the nicer it sounds for families. If we ever were to bring our grandchildren along, it would be a real benefit. I wonder if the Dynamic Dining has any accommodation for that feature? Because it does sound like it would be another casualty of DD.

 

We did My Family Time dining on one cruise and we were seated at the same time as everyone else for first seating so it must vary by ship.

 

The only ones rushed are the kids. The adults are served at the same pace as everyone else so it does not feel rushed. Put waiters would always ask the kids what they wanted for an appetizer the night before and have it ready at the table for them. Even with doing that we still sometimes found the kids were just getting dessert when it was time to go meet the staff for AO. We started ordering cookies for dessert that they could take with them.

 

The only inconvenience was that the parents had to escort the kids to the meeting spot in front of the MDR which could be right in the middle of appetizers. Once the staff from AO were about 5 minutes late but that only happened once.

 

Gratuities were just like traditional dining and charged daily to your Seapass account.

[beckinoz]

We did My Family Time dining on one cruise and we were seated at the same time as everyone else for first seating so it must vary by ship.

 

The only ones rushed are the kids. The adults are served at the same pace as everyone else so it does not feel rushed. Put waiters would always ask the kids what they wanted for an appetizer the night before and have it ready at the table for them. Even with doing that we still sometimes found the kids were just getting dessert when it was time to go meet the staff for AO. We started ordering cookies for dessert that they could take with them.

 

The only inconvenience was that the parents had to escort the kids to the meeting spot in front of the MDR which could be right in the middle of appetizers. Once the staff from AO were about 5 minutes late but that only happened once.

 

Gratuities were just like traditional dining and charged daily to your Seapass account.

 

This was something I was thinking about when I decided to book Family time dining. I didn't want them to feel rushed.

 

The more I think about this option, the less I prefer it. To be honest, I have a 14 year old also who would take him up to adventure ocean.

 

Is it possible to change dining options after it is done?

[Merion_Mom]

Are there people who remove the automatic gratuities and then tip in cash the exact same recommended amounts?

 

Yes.

 

Are there people who remove the automatic gratuities and then tip in cash more than the recommended amounts?

 

Yes.

 

Are there people who remove the automatic gratuities and then tip in cash less than the recommended amounts?

 

Yes.

 

Are there people who remove the automatic gratuities and then do not tip?

 

Yes.

 

It is the second two groups that bother me. And who bother many on this thread.

 

That's all.

[mpwarz]

At first I wasn't happy about the daily automatic tipping being added to the sea pass. We had always giving more than the suggested amount and personally distributed the envelopes on the last day of the cruise. I have not seen any reduced service at all since the new policy took place. We still distributed envelops with additional money to those that have gone above and beyond. But I do have a question....We are always in a suite with concierge service and are wondering how much most tip the concierge. We always give envelopes to the bar tenders and the concierge, but would like to know how much others are tipping. In all the years we've cruised I've never seen a suggested amount.

[LMaxwell]

In all the years we've cruised I've never seen a suggested amount.

 

There is no suggested amount. Give whatever you feel is proper for services requested and received.

[caribbean sailor]

You'll never know! Only on CC do people have the magic powers of knowing / seeing when others handle their own personal business. Mind your OWN and you won't have anything to be bothered about. No matter how much you give, someone on board likely is giving even more than you. And I doubt they are online complaining and looking down at you.

 

Your enormous knowledge of all things Royal need not come with judgment as well.

 

Well said my friend,again we agree 100% :) :) :)

[Cruising89143]

Not only should you have your toothbrushes with you at all times you have to realize that the crew quarters are close. They talk to each other and can share names and cabin #s - heck they may even have your pictures.

 

Have a great cruise.:)

 

###

 

:) You can always pick out the ones can't you? ;)

[caribbean sailor]

Not only should you have your toothbrushes with you at all times you have to realize that the crew quarters are close. They talk to each other and can share names and cabin #s - heck they may even have your pictures.

 

Have a great cruise.:)

 

 

 

sick

Edited September 15, 2014 by caribbean sailor