Gratuity

[pamelahigg]

Hi. We are first time cruisers and wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing the gratuity package ahead of time or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service and I don't know if one versus the other (paying ahead or not) makes a difference. Thanks!

[Jachred]

The gratuity package is required either way... you can reduce or i crease but its best to leave it as is. Tip for great service...

 

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[nchikk]

We prepay it every time. The service we've received has always been great and we've never considered reducing or removing gratuities. And for us it's easier, getting it out of the way and not worrying about it. Of course, this is us...others may have differing opinions on the matter.

[carnival kid]

If you pay ahead of time and they raise the fees before you cruise you won't need to pay the increase

 

 

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[sid_9169]

If you choose not to pre-pay, you will be charged to your room account each day X however many passengers per room. If you choose, you may request to reduce / remove, but you would be stiffing many of the "behind the scenes" crew that work very hard to make your vacation great... Most people tip in cash those that go above and beyond, but leave the "auto tips" in place.

[teknoge3k]

We always prepay just to have it out of the way because it's a part of cruising. In fact I just booked a cruise this morning for 2019 and prepaid the gratuities for that. That way I don't have to worry about it on board.

[beachbum53]

Hi. We are first time cruisers and wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing the gratuity package ahead of time or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service and I don't know if one versus the other (paying ahead or not) makes a difference. Thanks!

 

There is no difference in the level of service you will receive by prepaying your gratuities. It's your money, so do whichever works best for you.

[sparks1093]

There is no difference in the level of service you will receive by prepaying your gratuities. It's your money, so do whichever works best for you.

 

Pretty much this.

[ProgRockCruiser]

Yeah, the package is just that - the whole she-bang. You pay either ahead of time or during the cruise (I think it gets added on second last day?). You don't tip individual services normally, like dining room or room cleaning etc. You can adjust the amounts if you go to guest services, if you feel someone has done a good or bad job.

[JenniferC82]

We prepaid last year and just tipped extra to a few of the on-board staff (mainly our room steward who took AMAZING care of us, we will mimic him all the time around the house, loved his accent!)

 

We haven't prepaid this year, but we leave next week. Thinking about going ahead and doing that again so we don't have to worry about it

[grandmarnnurse]

Hi. We are first time cruisers and wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing the gratuity package ahead of time or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service and I don't know if one versus the other (paying ahead or not) makes a difference. Thanks!

 

 

 

Gratuities are not an option. You can either prepay now, or have it added to your bill daily once onboard. I choose to prepay ahead, to get it out of the way, and then leave extra cash in room for room steward, and tip bartenders an extra buck every time I get a drink. Now some people will argue that you can remove gratuities from your bill, but that’s a pretty crappy thing to do to all these hard workers. If you can’t afford to pay them, then you shouldn’t even be cruising.

 

 

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[grandmarnnurse]

We always prepay just to have it out of the way because it's a part of cruising. In fact I just booked a cruise this morning for 2019 and prepaid the gratuities for that. That way I don't have to worry about it on board.

 

 

 

I, too, have already prepaid mine for my cruise for March 2019.

 

 

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[smurfm69]

You have to pay it anyway so we always pre pay the tips. On many cruises we have tipped extra in cash to those crew members that gave great service.

[SadieN]

For clarification

The prepaid/autograts include your room steward, MDR staff, buffet staff (who also work in the MDR) and assorted others.

It does not include tips for anything else.

 

 

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[Keys2Heaven]

Hi. We are first time cruisers and wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing the gratuity package ahead of time or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service and I don't know if one versus the other (paying ahead or not) makes a difference. Thanks!

 

The only thing pre-paying gets you is a locked-in rate, in case gratuities increase before your sail date.

 

Many people choose to pre-pay to avoid a hit right off the bat on their shipboard account.

[globetrotterjay]

I have onboard credit I’ll apply toward my gratuities, so I’ll be holding off on paying mine til the cruise.

[sanmarcosman]

I have onboard credit I’ll apply toward my gratuities, so I’ll be holding off on paying mine til the cruise.

Same here, when you have non-refundable credits this is the way to go.

[serene56]

Hi. We are first time cruisers and wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of purchasing the gratuity package ahead of time or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service and I don't know if one versus the other (paying ahead or not) makes a difference. Thanks!

 

 

Your pre paid tips-- or tips that are charged onboard will be paying for people you dont encounter--like the buffet people who clear the tables.

 

pay your automatic tips and if someone stands out for you tip that person in cash

 

IF you get bad service tell someone so that situation can be corrected

[dengirl69]

It’s also good if you feel led to have a card with extra tip for them. Like the servers, ones who take care of you in your room, also have tip money for room service and even any excursions where you have guided tours and stuff, they sometimes get over looked.

 

 

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[dengirl69]

It’s also good if you feel led to have a card with extra tip for them. Like the servers, ones who take care of you in your room, also have tip money for room service and even any excursions where you have guided tours and stuff, they sometimes get over looked.

 

 

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I mean on. Last day for an bonus tip

 

 

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[asalligo]

If you pay ahead of time and they raise the fees before you cruise you won't need to pay the increase

 

Carnival Kid is right, this is the only real advantage to paying ahead of time.

[summersigh]

If you choose not to do the auto tips described below but to tip in cash the employee must turn that cash tip into the tip pool - they cannot keep it under possible penalty of losing their job. If you keep auto tips on and tip cash on top of that for especially good service they can keep the cash.

 

Copied from the Carnival FAQ's

12.95 USD per person, per day for guests in standard stateroom

$13.95 USD per person, per day for guests booked in suites.

Here is the breakdown, per day:

Housekeeping Team: $4.05 ($5.05 for suites)

Dining Team: $6.40

Alternative Services: $2.50

[salty dingo]

... or waiting till we are on board and tipping with each service/meal? We want to make sure we get good service ...

We pre-pay the gratuities because it makes the bill at the end of the cruise that much smaller.

 

You won't get better meal service by tipping each time... because almost nobody does that. If the service is not to your liking, a word with the maitre d' should fix it up.

 

You will frequently hear people say that they slip the room steward or bartender a nice big tip at the start of the trip to get better service. I don't think it is necessary to get good service, but if you feel like doing it, go ahead, the staff will accept it.

[tallnthensome]

You will frequently hear people say that they slip the room steward or bartender a nice big tip at the start of the trip to get better service. I don't think it is necessary to get good service, but if you feel like doing it, go ahead, the staff will accept it.

I always pre-pay tips. I also always slip my steward a $20 spot the first time I see him or her. They are more than happy and slip it right in their pocket. Always good service and extra towels.

[slawrence]

We usually prepay to get it out of the way but this year we are not. We have enough unrefundable credits to pay for it.

 

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