Gratuities increasing from Jan 2nd.

[DirtyDawg]

Will Celebrity post this new gratuity information on their website and will the cruise line notify travel agencies and future cruisers of the new gratuity costs ?

 

I'm sure they will inform the TA's. As for the famous Celebrity website, once they conquer Y2K, that update is next on the list.:D

 

..... and it will probable state $41.50 per day.;)

[Xport]

One must contact Celebrity or—if used, one’s Travel Agent—to prepay gratuities...

 

For what it’s worth and just as a matter of personal preference, I always have my Travel Agent add prepaid gratuities to my invoice upon booking a cruise... In one case, gratuity rates increased prior to final payment and Celebrity honored the amount that had been added to the invoice at booking... Didn’t much matter as I topped up my gratuities on a discretionary basis at cruise conclusion—as I always seem to do—to the wonderful staff (in cash) at a rate well in excess of the published increase...

[EDLOS]

I agree 100%. It is not about the amount of increase' date=' it is about altering your contracted price especially after final payment. You would not accept this with any other purchase. This is no difference.

P.S. How do you go about paying your tips online? I can't figure this website out...but that is another story.

 

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Yea ! Just Trippin gets it !!!! "You would not accept this with any other purchase, this is no different" I am very aware of the "Fine Print" as I stated earlier. Some would call this a "Gotcha" others a "Sucker Punch".

All Celebrity had to do to do it right is say "If you have made your final Payment before Jan 2nd, you are Grandfather at the old price" So simple and ETHICAL !

[packedandready]

Our cruise isn't until April. I've "prepaid" our gratuities but final payment date is Jan 16. Does that mean if I want to keep the old amount I'll need to pay my final payment before Jan 2? Or am I locked in by having it on my invoice?

[Bo1953]

I cannot believe that some people are upset about the tip increase. $1 a day? Really, this is going directly to the crew. Some people feel as if the cruise line should not charge the tips on there account because they want to be in control. Actually they just want to short tip the crew because they are cheap. The policy is if you prepay the tips before a specific date, then you do not have the pay the increase. Simple. Cannot be clearer.

 

b - that means one must either call X or read the new policy instead of believing the rumor mill or mis-interpreting what is really going on as stated by posters here.

 

It is very easy to conclude without going to the source, then again many believe that they always get mis-information (which may or may not be true based on how the questions are posed or statements made to the agents and their training too) from X agents.

 

I must say, these various interpretations do keep people posting and ranting here on CC about such things, IMO, of in-consequence, including myself railing against the machine to be sure!!! LOL :')

 

bon voyage

[hate2shop]

My cruise leaves on Jan 2. There is no notice of a gratuity increase anywhere on my documents or their website. If you don't read CC I guess you just get to be surprised when onboard ?

[upwarduk]

I was presently surprised when the new invoice came from the TA with the gratuities added, £148.81 for a 15 night cruise =£9.92 p.p.p. n.

[davekathy]

Should be increased by $10 per day, not just $1.

 

 

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Go for it. Nothing stopping you from paying that. :rolleyes:

[Betty in Cozumel]

I agree 100%. It is not about the amount of increase' date=' it is about altering your contracted price especially after final payment. You would not accept this with any other purchase. This is no difference.

P.S. How do you go about paying your tips online? I can't figure this website out...but that is another story.

 

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I was on-line and can't find where to pay so now I am waiting on the phone. 10 minutes so far and instead of music they have a poor quality audio tape selling the Edge

[Betty in Cozumel]

I was on-line and can't find where to pay so now I am waiting on the phone. 10 minutes so far and instead of music they have a poor quality audio tape selling the Edge

 

Finally got through. If you booked your cruise through a TA (like I did) then you have to call them to have the gratuities added.

[Betty in Cozumel]

My cruise leaves on Jan 2. There is no notice of a gratuity increase anywhere on my documents or their website. If you don't read CC I guess you just get to be surprised when onboard ?

 

Did you book through a TA? I did and both of us received an e-mail yesterday.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Well, since you could just pre-pay the gratuity at the original rate I’m not sure why this is so troubling.... or - and not that I recommend this but since U r so adamant - when you get on the ship you can lower the gratuity or remove it altogether. So you can still pay the old rate if you insist

 

 

 

 

 

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Yes, you are right about prepaying,.....you are missing my point, Celebrity and I signed an agreement when I made my final payment and they just changed it. This not ethical !

 

 

 

If the embarkation port is in California it would also be illegal.

 

 

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[Redtravel]

just got the email from my TA. It's Friday after 5 pm, Christmas is on Monday, and now they tell us about the increase. Poor communication from Celebrity via my TA. I don't know whether my tips are already included or not. I will probably have to wait until next week to find out if I have or have not included tips. I have already paid my final payment. Not that the extra tips are going to break me, it seems rather sneaky upping the tips now. At this time of year, people are busy focusing on the holidays. I will just add it to my list of things to do before 2018. That list is getting longer. I live in NEW JERSEY. top of the list is can I prepay any 2018 property taxes before the new tax code hits.

[florisdekort]

The change is in line with the cruise contract you signed and therefore “ethical” - whatever that means. You agreed to a possible change when you booked the cruise. Perhaps going forward you should read contracts you sign before ranting?

 

If you can afford a 29 day cruise you can afford $1 per day to support crew that works 12+ hours each day to feed a family in a second- or third world country that they don’t get to see for up to 7 months. And if you can’t, have 2 Martinis less. First world problems...

 

 

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[crash3x]

To gripe over a dollar a day increase on a gratuity is really insane considering what you pay to go on holiday. Do you know how much the staff catering to you makes and how much they have to pay for themselves to keep you at a comfortable level. Go to youtube and search cruise ship crew life and watch the live posts from the crew. Their quarters are tight, their wage is small , their hours are extremely long, they work 7 days a week for months. You have the luxury of taking vacations, I can guaranty you the staff probably doesn't have disposable income. I have been on cruises where I actually heard people remove their gratuities from their bill...which is every passengers right and they may or may not pay in envelopes instead. Is it ethical to increase after you pay......not sure, you could call and argue it out and probably get it removed.

[CRZR58]

Wow. Some folks around here really don't get it.

 

The OP is simply saying it's not ethical to change the price after agreeing on it via a contract, and I agree with them.

 

The amount doesn't matter. Who it goes to or doesn't go to doesn't matter. How hard or long they work doesn't matter. The fact that a small percentage (Likely less than 5%) of folks 'Stiff the Staff' or 'Screw the Crew' doesn't matter or mean that most folks will end up paying the increase.

 

The fact is that Celebrity changed it's pricing after the fact, at Christmas when most folks focus isn't on their cruises, in hopes that no on notices. Legal? Sure. Ethical? Nope.

[NantahalaCruiser]

Wow. Some folks around here really don't get it.

 

Actually, we do get it - certainly bad communication and perhaps bad timing, but neither illegal or unethical - assuming that the contract that the OP "agreed to" includes the flexibility to make such changes and since the gratuities are voluntary and not mandatory.

If you believe the gratuity change is unethical - even though you presume it is legal - then to be consistent would you not also have to believe that itinerary changes are unethical although legal?

 

The OP is simply saying it's not ethical to change the price after agreeing on it via a contract, and I agree with them.

 

The amount doesn't matter. Who it goes to or doesn't go to doesn't matter. How hard or long they work doesn't matter. The fact that a small percentage (Likely less than 5%) of folks 'Stiff the Staff' or 'Screw the Crew' doesn't matter or mean that most folks will end up paying the increase.

 

The fact is that Celebrity changed it's pricing after the fact, at Christmas when most folks focus isn't on their cruises, in hopes that no on notices. Legal? Sure. Ethical? Nope.

Happy Cruising

[nancyshaw]

How ethical is it to increase the daily gratuity rate after final payment as Celebrity has just done. I signed on at $13.50 per day and now I am told it's $14.50. Will the upcoming 29 day cruise $29.00) break me, no, but so far I have kept my side of the contract, paid everything as agreed upon, should not Celebrity be as ethical I am ?

Think about it, will I get on board with a chip on my shoulder, probably ! Who suffers, the crew, morale??

Please don't tell me about the fine print !!! Can I cancel and get full payment back, doubt it.

It should have been grandfathered to all who have made final payment on any of their cruises.

" You can't fix stupid !"

 

Completely agree with you.

Also I plan to use the OBC's that are not refundable. So there is no prepayment option for me.

 

They are violating contractual laws unless, it says somewhere in fine print that even after final payment, fees , taxes etc can increase without notice.

[nancyshaw]

To gripe over a dollar a day increase on a gratuity is really insane considering what you pay to go on holiday. Do you know how much the staff catering to you makes and how much they have to pay for themselves to keep you at a comfortable level. Go to youtube and search cruise ship crew life and watch the live posts from the crew. Their quarters are tight, their wage is small , their hours are extremely long, they work 7 days a week for months. You have the luxury of taking vacations, I can guaranty you the staff probably doesn't have disposable income. I have been on cruises where I actually heard people remove their gratuities from their bill...which is every passengers right and they may or may not pay in envelopes instead. Is it ethical to increase after you pay......not sure, you could call and argue it out and probably get it removed.

 

I like your last sentence. But that is all that makes sense to me. The OP is not talking about griping over a dollar.

[mom says]

OP can argue this til the cows come home, but in the end its pure cheapskate whining. It's legal. It's ethical- they've given him the option of prepaying grats at the old rate.And bitching about a dollar a day is pure Scrooge. Bah humbug to you sir.

[nancyshaw]

OP can argue this til the cows come home, but in the end its pure cheapskate whining. It's legal. It's ethical- they've given him the option of prepaying grats at the old rate.And bitching about a dollar a day is pure Scrooge. Bah humbug to you sir.

 

Nope , the OP is NOT bitching about a dollar a day. In fact not bitching at all. You chose to see it that way. Others are seeing it the way the OP intended it.

[Shadow9612]

If you can afford a 29 day cruise you can afford $1 per day to support crew that works 12+ hours each day to feed a family in a second- or third world country that they don’t get to see for up to 7 months. And if you can’t, have 2 Martinis less. First world problems...

To gripe over a dollar a day increase on a gratuity is really insane considering what you pay to go on holiday. Do you know how much the staff catering to you makes and how much they have to pay for themselves to keep you at a comfortable level.

 

The OP did not complain about paying an extra $1/day. For all we know, the OP adds an extra $10/day to the gratuities.

 

Wow. Some folks around here really don't get it.

 

The OP is simply saying it's not ethical to change the price after agreeing on it via a contract, and I agree with them.

 

The amount doesn't matter. Who it goes to or doesn't go to doesn't matter. How hard or long they work doesn't matter. The fact that a small percentage (Likely less than 5%) of folks 'Stiff the Staff' or 'Screw the Crew' doesn't matter or mean that most folks will end up paying the increase.

 

The fact is that Celebrity changed it's pricing after the fact, at Christmas when most folks focus isn't on their cruises, in hopes that no on notices. Legal? Sure. Ethical? Nope.

 

I couldn't have said it better!

 

Nope , the OP is NOT bitching about a dollar a day. In fact not bitching at all. You chose to see it that way. Others are seeing it the way the OP intended it.

 

Agreed.

[Bo1953]

Completely agree with you.

Also I plan to use the OBC's that are not refundable. So there is no prepayment option for me.

 

They are violating contractual laws unless, it says somewhere in fine print that even after final payment, fees , taxes etc can increase without notice.

 

Actually, the CTC is not really fine print, just the contract of carriage which many have not reviewed which is on the website and with the paperwork one gets when printing or reviewing during online check-in.

 

Were one to miss it or not do online check-in it is most certainly included in the paperwork received at the pier.

 

Some of us choose to read it, maybe not in its' entirety, but read it, just like CoC for the airlines, always available and always with the documents received with tickets (albeit often times a summary) yet there, many choose not to read it to understand their rights or lack thereof....

 

The CTC and/or CoC are the contracts, not what we as passengers want it to be.

 

 

As stated before, read them and be happy or read them and weep or do not read them and figure it out later.

 

 

It would be unethical if it were not disclosed that they can do anything to their pricing and product at just about anytime. Since they disclose this and we choose not to know it has been disclosed or unknowing that it has been disclosed it is not on X or any other cruise line to read it to or for you.

 

They are following the law(s) as required.... rather that be minimally or way above the requirements, your judgement call in the end, correct or not.

 

 

bon voyage

[florisdekort]

Wow. Some folks around here really don't get it.

 

 

Folks get it. They disagree however. Seems like “some folks on here” can’t handle people disagreeing with them.

[Bo1953]

Folks get it. They disagree however. Seems like “some folks on here” can’t handle people disagreeing with them.

 

Personally, I do not mind disagreement, yet let us disagree on the facts as they are presented and not what we think the facts ought to be or how we want them to be.

 

 

bon voyage