RC Gratuities - yes or no?

[bigque]

That's what DH and I do. We pre-pay the gratuities (because in our opinion, the crew earns every cent of that money through their service and smiles) and we tip extra throughout the voyage and then at the end to crew members who really made our trip memorable.

 

We also pre pay gratuities and have done so from our very first cruise. I have not been on a cruise yet were the service in the MDR or the service provided by the room steward to be so bad that we would not want to pay gratuities. In fact we also have tipped the room steward and the waiter and assistant waiter extra on top of the pre paid gratuities at the end of the cruise. I admire the work that these people do knowing from week to week they keep providing good service and keep smiling and keep being friendly while having to deal with every kind of rude personality I could imagine!

[davekathy]

Didn't RCI change the daily gratuity to $12.95 P/P and $15.95 P/P?

[cruisenfever]

Didn't RCI change the daily gratuity to $12.95 P/P and $15.95 P/P?

Correct.

 

Effective June 1, 2015

The automatic gratuity is $12.95 USD, or $15.95 USD for suite guests, applied to each guest's SeaPass® account on a daily basis. Here's how it is shared between your onboard service team.

• Dining & Culinary Services: $7.75 USD
  
• Stateroom Attendant: $3.85 USD OR Suite Attendant: $6.10 USD
  
• Other Housekeeping Services: $1.35 USD OR Housekeeping and Suite Services: $2.10 USD
  

[davekathy]

Correct.

 

Effective June 1, 2015

The automatic gratuity is $12.95 USD, or $15.95 USD for suite guests, applied to each guest's SeaPass® account on a daily basis. Here's how it is shared between your onboard service team.

• Dining & Culinary Services: $7.75 USD
  
• Stateroom Attendant: $3.85 USD OR Suite Attendant: $6.10 USD
  
• Other Housekeeping Services: $1.35 USD OR Housekeeping and Suite Services: $2.10 USD
  

 

I thought it had increased. Thanks for confirming.

[CaptData]

I am part of a group of Dialysis patients going on a cruise. I requested to prepay the gratuities. As a group they did not take anything for the gratuities, however, they did not explain the options either because I knew them. They also did not mention them until my second call when I noticed that no gratuities were on my bill. As someone who has cruised before I knew about them.

 

I suggest you leave them off but explain them to all of them, give them the option to include them or not but ensure they know what they are for and that it will appear on their bills at the end of the cruise (on a daily bases). They should leave it on unless they had very bad service.

[tonkie]

We cruise on the 20th and have prepaid ours, but we take extra so tipping will be made when we think it is deserved, also our room maids will get one at the end of the cruise again if we think its deserved, which we are sure it will.

[Paulette3028]

OP - The custom within the US, and on these ships, is to pay tips (or gratuities, service fee, etc). While some say it should be included in the cost of the cruise up front (and I'm not going to argue yes or no to that), know that the staff expect to receive these tips as part of their earnings. Right or wrong, that is the process and expectation in this situation. If you receive bad service, you should first discuss it with the appropriate person on the ship and second you can go to Guest Services to have your tips adjusted. But in my opinion, to withhold tips is unfair to the staff unless there is a problem.

 

You've been given great advice on the how to pay for the tips. I'm not going to offer anything further.

 

To the other posters who don't understand the OP's point.... Some countries (heck, maybe all others outside of the US) don't have the same tipping customs. Some places, gratuities are included in the cost, some countries gratuities can be an insult. So, inquiring about the custom on the ship is a great question. I applaud the OP for asking. As with many things you don't know about... there are the rules and then there are the normal customs and the reasons for the rule. The OP had the rule, but like many things with RCCL, there are the rules and then there are the real way things are done and the underlying reasons for it.

 

OP - encourage everyone to pay their tips (or whatever someone wants to call it). The staff work hard for it. Its an expected part of their pay.

 

I hope you and your group have an incredible time on your cruise.

 

Hi all,

 

i am organising a cruise for a group and there is no clear answer to gratuities, can anyone advise a yes or no answer?

 

Q: Is the gratuity required?

A: Royal Caribbean automatically adds a $12.00 USD gratuity ($14.25 USD for Suite Guests) to each guest’s SeaPass® account on a daily basis. In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services during their cruise. Guests who have elected to prepay gratuities will not see a daily charge during their cruise.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=415&faqSubjectName=Gratuities&faqId=5539

 

thanks, serene

 

The OP was not very clear in what he was hoping to get an answer to, since he put the link to what Royal states is their policy about the handling of tips/gratuities for cruisers.

 

Asking about cultural issues regarding tips is fine and well intended, so that one can learn and know what to do as a traveler to various parts of the world where customs may be different.

 

What exactly was the goal of the OP in adding that he was putting together a group of cruisers, may have confounded the issue. I looked at that additional information as seeming to conflict with what he was hoping to get. The OP got very serious minded responses and hopefully his group will have a wonderful cruise.....I surely hope they do, but if they don't it won't be because of the 'tip or not to tip or how to tip issue' -- unless of course they quantify the enjoyment based on the value they receive directly calculated to the cost (and hopefully they are happy with the OVERALL cost which includes tips and any other ancillary expenses).

[north29]

Yes IMO....if you cannot afford to tip, you cannot afford to cruise. This is their livelihood.

 

X2

 

Never had bad service from anyone sometimes it is just OK but never bad so why not tip and Auto is the easy way to tip and reward the super service as you wish.

 

Around where I live, and mostly Americans, I know lots of waitstaff in restaurants and it is amazing how many do not tip. Example: $150 dollar bill and a $2 tip for 6 people is not uncommon.

Edited September 8, 2015 by north29

[brillohead]

Around where I live, and mostly Americans, I know lots of waitstaff in restaurants and it is amazing how many do not tip. Example: $150 dollar bill and a $2 tip for 6 people is not uncommon.

 

My former father-in-law always tipped a dollar, no matter the number of guests or amount of the bill. If he got a coffee in a coffee shop for just him, he tipped a dollar. If he treated all the kids and their spouses (table of eight) to a fancy steak dinner, he tipped a dollar. :eek:

 

My MIL always tried to sneak some extra money on the table as she was walking away, and I made a point to always carry extra cash if I was going to be dining in a restaurant with him (even if he wasn't paying for our bill, I would tip on my bill plus extra to cover his missing tip).

 

When he was growing up, a dollar was "good money"... things have changed a bit since then, though!

[rudeney]

I have always considered tipping to be a great way of putting the service providers' compensation in the hands of the people who can best rate them - the customers who receive the services. This way, when a service provider does a great job, the customers with the first-hand experience of it can issue the reward. And the same goes for those service providers doing a poor job.

 

In the case of cruise ship staff, I much prefer the "good old days" where we were told about the customary tip amounts, and then we handed envelopes of cash directly to out service providers. Now, with it being this set amount and automatically charged, it sure seems less like a tip. Of course I am welcome to give more, or even remove tips, but it just doesn't feel the same. In that case, I would prefer the cruise lines to just raise prices and claim "gratuities are included, please tip more if you receive excellent service".

[springaussie]

Didn't RCI change the daily gratuity to $12.95 P/P and $15.95 P/P?

 

The speculation is the Australian Government has moved in and said to Royal you cannot increase tips to $12.95.

The reason why this may have happened is the contract that was issued by all or some travel agents here in Australia actually said they will be charged at $12 per day. A written contract is classed as law and the $12.95 per day is a break of that law.

So that appears why the automatic gratuity at $12.95 USD, or $15.95 USD for suite guests did not remain long here in Australia.

[springaussie]

Hi all,

 

i am organising a cruise for a group and there is no clear answer to gratuities, can anyone advise a yes or no answer?

 

Q: Is the gratuity required?

A: Royal Caribbean automatically adds a $12.00 USD gratuity ($14.25 USD for Suite Guests) to each guest’s SeaPass® account on a daily basis. In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services during their cruise. Guests who have elected to prepay gratuities will not see a daily charge during their cruise.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=415&faqSubjectName=Gratuities&faqId=5539

 

thanks, serene

 

If booking as a group in Australia the tips are actually compulsory if booking at group rates.

[davekathy]

The speculation is the Australian Government has moved in and said to Royal you cannot increase tips to $12.95.

The reason why this may have happened is the contract that was issued by all or some travel agents here in Australia actually said they will be charged at $12 per day. A written contract is classed as law and the $12.95 per day is a break of that law.

So that appears why the automatic gratuity at $12.95 USD, or $15.95 USD for suite guests did not remain long here in Australia.

 

Interesting...

[nelblu]

Yes and they are FREE!!!:)

 

Not in the NY metro airports. You may be lucky to find one that has not been retrieved and those you can use for free.

 

With regards to tipping/gratuity, when we cruised in Italy and dined at restaurants, there is a line titled "table cover charge" and this is the gratuity portion of the service. Because Americans are known for their generous tipping customs, the waiter will mention that tipping is not included, but we know better and just smile. If the service is good, we'll throw in a few euros.

When cruising, simply prepay so that it becomes/seem part of the cruise cost.

[John&LaLa]

Not in the NY metro airports. You may be lucky to find one that has not been retrieved and those you can use for free.

 

With regards to tipping/gratuity, when we cruised in Italy and dined at restaurants, there is a line titled "table cover charge" and this is the gratuity portion of the service. Because Americans are known for their generous tipping customs, the waiter will mention that tipping is not included, but we know better and just smile. If the service is good, we'll throw in a few euros.

When cruising, simply prepay so that it becomes/seem part of the cruise cost.

 

The string of posts related to carts was about Australia

[gerif]

While many say they would prefer the tip be included in the cruise price, understand that ALL cruise lines would need to do this or the prices for the line that did would seem so much higher than the others, they'd likely lose a lot of business. In addition, that amount would then need to be taxed just like the rest of the cruise price, so everyone would be paying more.

[springaussie]

While many say they would prefer the tip be included in the cruise price, understand that ALL cruise lines would need to do this or the prices for the line that did would seem so much higher than the others, they'd likely lose a lot of business. In addition, that amount would then need to be taxed just like the rest of the cruise price, so everyone would be paying more.

 

All cruises starting and finishing in Australia by P&O, Carnival and Princess include tips in the fare and use Australian Dollars as currency on board. Royal and Celebrity are the odd ones

out.

[nelblu]

The string of posts related to carts was about Australia

 

My bad.

[Fouremco]

There are three main categories of pax when it comes to gratuities:

 

1. Those who have the automatic gratuity removed;

2. Those who pay or pre-pay the gratuity; and

3. Those who, in addition to paying or pre-paying the gratuity, generously choose to provide an additional cash gratuity to some crew members.

 

There are some minor subcategories:

1(i) Those who remove the automatic gratuity but provide a cash gratuity to some crew members;

1(a). Those reduce but don't remove the entire automatic gratuity; and

1(a)(i). Those who reduce but don't remove the entire automatic gratuity but provide a cash gratuity to some crew members.

 

I may have missed a few. So it's no wonder that there are some widely varying posts here. :)

[s3r3ne]

Hi all, thanks for replies, though I can see its a very deep subject...

 

I had no idea there were 'group' bookings, I am basically the one lumped with the booking procedure for a group of 6 - most likely will not be joined as a group throughout cruise, just going on same cruise as couples.

 

I was asked if it must be paid or its optional - travel agents have advised it is optional and can be taken off.

 

Each to their own :)

 

I just found it interesting how they don't say it can be taken off on their site, they avoid answering their own question!

 

S

[S.S.Oceanlover]

While many say they would prefer the tip be included in the cruise price, understand that ALL cruise lines would need to do this or the prices for the line that did would seem so much higher than the others, they'd likely lose a lot of business. In addition, that amount would then need to be taxed just like the rest of the cruise price, so everyone would be paying more.

 

What do you mean the increased price due to the gratuities being rolled into the cruise price would be taxed higher?

 

You are making it sound like there is a sales tax on the cost which there is not.

 

Every pax pays the same govt fees/port charges no matter how much they pay for their cruise.

 

Bill

[Biker19]

All cruises starting and finishing in Australia by P&O, Carnival and Princess include tips in the fare and use Australian Dollars as currency on board. Royal and Celebrity are the odd ones

out.

 

I have a feeling RCI just doesn't want to invest in their IT system to make this change. Having a uniform system around the world is easier for them and making localized changes like this costs them money.

[champagne123]

Hi all, thanks for replies, though I can see its a very deep subject...

 

I had no idea there were 'group' bookings, I am basically the one lumped with the booking procedure for a group of 6 - most likely will not be joined as a group throughout cruise, just going on same cruise as couples.

 

I was asked if it must be paid or its optional - travel agents have advised it is optional and can be taken off.

 

Each to their own :)

 

I just found it interesting how they don't say it can be taken off on their site, they avoid answering their own question!

 

S

 

Perhaps I am reading too much into the OP'S reply...but it sounds to me, that you have your mind made up to remove the gratuities. :mad:

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Perhaps I am reading too much into the OP'S reply...but it sounds to me, that you have your mind made up to remove the gratuities. :mad:

 

No, I read it the same way. And not just their gratuities but those of their entire group. Very sad IMHO. :mad::mad:

 

I remember when I was in 6th grade and we cruised for Spring Break on the Emerald Seas. There was no "x per person per day that is divided up as A, B, C, D". There was a "This amount is the expected gratuity for your cabin steward. This is the amount expected for your server. Etc." so that my mom had envelopes with that amount already labeled when we boarded as well as an envelope with extra money we could distribute as we chose. And I know for a fact that the amounts were FAR higher than the IMHO pretty paltry $12/$12.95 per day or the suite amounts.

[jjsays]

As an Australian and an upcoming first time cruiser, I can understand OP's confusion. The wages in this country are what is called a 'living wage' and we find it very difficult to believe that others may be getting subsistence pay rates. Rationally, we know it happens, but emotionally we just cannot fathom it.

 

It is also difficult for us to factor in tips when costing something - especially on large outlays like a cruise.

Personally I am very happy to be told how much is expected and then to pre-pay, takes away a lot of anxiety. Even so I am concerned about how much is considered acceptable to tip for extra service - Do I use cash, do I fill the envelope at the end of the cruise, how much extra should I pay? Is tipping the bartender a US dollar a drink ( even though I bought the beverage pack ) a good idea? Would the cabin steward be offended by a couple of US dollars left each day or would it get them into trouble...

 

See, it is fraught for those of us that have never experienced it !!! It is also an expense we are not familiar with considering.

 

I am a little more fortunate than most as my husband is an American, but he has never cruised before either so even he is a little nervous having been out of the habit for a while now.

 

 

P.S. I just read the last couple of posts, in defense of the OP I do not think they are planning on NOT paying gratuities, I think they are just relieved that they are not going to be responsible for the entire party's tipping. They will probably be subject to a load of questions and comments from their group prior to the cruise and being able to tell the others tat it is entirely up to them means they will not have to listen to any griping. Once on board I am pretty sure the whole party will begin to understand and the envelopes/accounts will probably be accepted graciously. Australians are not 'mean' - we are just inexperienced.

Edited September 11, 2015 by jjsays