Gratuity

[Luminated67]

According to our bill for the purchase of the cruise it states we have already paid for in quote “on board service charge”. Am I right in assuming that this is our gratuity and if we purchase a drinks package which at checkout adds 18% to its total that this means we pay no additional gratuity?

 

The reason I ask is a mate has just came off one of the Celebrity ships and he thought he had already pre paid gratuity but after the third day he checked his online account to find that everything he got they were adding gratuity.

[Merion_Mom]

9 minutes ago, Luminated67 said:

According to our bill for the purchase of the cruise it states we have already paid for in quote “on board service charge”. Am I right in assuming that this is our gratuity and if we purchase a drinks package which at checkout adds 18% to its total that this means we pay no additional gratuity?

 

The reason I ask is a mate has just came off one of the Celebrity ships and he thought he had already pre paid gratuity but after the third day he checked his online account to find that everything he got they were adding gratuity.

That "service charge" is for stateroom attendants and dining services personnel. Not for anyone or anything else.  If you purchase a beverage package, 18% will be added at check-out.

 

If you buy a drink on board, 18% will be added.

 

If you purchase specialty dining on board, 18% will be added.

 

If you order room service, outside of continental breakfast, you will be charged $7.95 plus 18% gratuity.

 

If you use spa services, 18% will be added.

[Clarea]

I would ask whoever booked your cruise to send you Royal's Guest Copy of your booking confirmation.  That will confirm if you have actually prepaid gratuities.

[LeeW]

Celebrity does charge additional drink gratuities onboard on drinks in a package, Royal does not.

 

If you buy a drink package and pay the 18% at checkout there is NO additional charge onboard as long as the drinks are included in the package.  Exception: there are a few drinks over the $13-14 max price (depends on ship) where you would pay the additional charge plus 18%.  Also, drinks in special packaging (souvenir glasses, pineapples) are not included in the drink package, so you pay full price plus 18% on these.

 

Also, if you buy a specialty dining package before the cruise the price includes gratuity.  If you buy onboard you pay an additional 18%.

[cb at sea]

Yes...you should not be charged the gratuities on a daily basis if they are already added to the final charges.

[Luminated67]

Thanks all, so if I understand this correctly I’ve pre-paid the normal gratuity but anything I additionally buy on the ship it will be added to my bill..... unless I purchase the drinks package which has the 18% gratuity added at checkout and this is true for anything else I decide to purchase in my Manage My Booking.

 

Interesting to hear Celebrity are different when you consider both companies are under the one banner.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Luminated67

[Biker19]

10 minutes ago, Luminated67 said:

Interesting to hear Celebrity are different when you consider both companies are under the one banner.

They are not that different, it's just a matter of knowing the booking details and what is or isn't included.

 

Biker, who noticed that view count is staying at 0 for this thread,

Edited October 26, 2018 by Biker19