Will Gratuities go up when cruises resume ?

[gatour]

Now things are getting back to normal.  A debate about gratuities.

 

🙂

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

No, they are added daily.

 

Since when?  I've done over a dozen Carnival cruises since 2014, never prepaying, and they've ALWAYS posted for me as a lump sum 1 to 3 days before the end of the cruise.  

[Lottacruises]

3 hours ago, shof515 said:

some restaurants is charging people a covid-19 surcharge on their bill

 

I'm surprised that consumers would pay this.

[Lottacruises]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

No, they are added daily.

 

Are you sure about that?

[ladychater]

1 hour ago, Lottacruises said:

 

I'm surprised that consumers would pay this.

Eh, if you love a restaurant and want to see them survive, you gotta dig deep.  We've been getting takeaway from a favorite restaurant throughout the shelter in place, and we always pay a 20% gratuity even though we're driving over to get the food and no waiters are serving us.  We figure, it's not costing us any more than we used to pay to eat there and it'll help the owners stay afloat.

 

[Lottacruises]

1 hour ago, fyree39 said:

 

 

Does it really matter?

 

 

Does what matter?

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, fyree39 said:

Does it really matter?

 

Yes, it does matter. I think a lot of people would like to know when gratuities are charged. If they come as a lump sum at the end of the cruise, I'm sure that's useful info. to a lot of people. For example, if they're not using a credit card, they'd like to make sure there's enough funds in the S&S account to cover the gratuities once they're charged.

 

When in doubt, look it up. I answered my own question. From Carnival's FAQ's:

 

Sail & Sign

If guests have not pre-paid their gratuities, the recommended, per person, amount will be posted to their Sail & Sign account on the second to last day of the cruise.

 

So that leads me to what I was going to say if that was, in fact, the real answer. Many people want to use their $600 OBC to pay for gratuities. However, OBC is deducted from S&S accounts first. Since gratuities aren't charged until the second to last day, there may not be enough OBC left to cover it. Granted, that's a lot of money to start, but with enough drinks, maybe an excursion or two, specialty dining, and whatnot, some people can burn through that amount fairly easily. So it's important for people to know exactly when they're charged.

Edited June 27, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[sanmarcosman]

3 hours ago, fyree39 said:

 

 

Does it really matter?

 

It may to people who put cash down on their account or use a debit card instead of a credit card like Chaos says above. I've read several threads where people discuss using their debit card and how it affects them.

Edited June 27, 2020 by sanmarcosman

[RWolver672]

15 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

The reason I don't believe they'll do it upon their return is because a lot of people would lash out and say they're just reaching deeper into our pockets to make up for lost revenue. I wouldn't think they'd want that kind of attention when they return because they'll already be under a microscope for how well they can keep passengers safe.

 

 

From reading other postings, it would appear that they are doing just that with future cruise rates.  Many have said that when re-booking, the costs have went up considerably.  

 

[phoneman69]

20 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Are "we" sure the  $600 OBC can be used towards gratuities? Isn't the rule of thumb that refundable OBC can be used, but non-refundable can't?

Yes You can use Non refundable OBC for gratuities. Have multiple times

[young_ens]

14 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

Since when?  I've done over a dozen Carnival cruises since 2014, never prepaying, and they've ALWAYS posted for me as a lump sum 1 to 3 days before the end of the cruise.  

 

It was this way last year for us, daily gratuities for each person in the cabin went on my account.  

[PhillyFan33579]

17 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

We always pre-pay, but I'm curious. Aren't they charged to the S&S account as a lump sum on the last day? Or is it deducted daily, like someone else said? I thought I've read that it's a lump sum at the end of the cruise.

As far back as I can remember Carnival has always posted gratuities as one lump sum on the last full day of the cruise. 
 

There are other cruise lines that add gratuities to your account daily, so that might be the reason for some confusion in this thread.  

Edited June 27, 2020 by PhillyFan33579

[Honolulu Blue]

16 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

Since when?  I've done over a dozen Carnival cruises since 2014, never prepaying, and they've ALWAYS posted for me as a lump sum 1 to 3 days before the end of the cruise.  

 

1 hour ago, young_ens said:

 

It was this way last year for us, daily gratuities for each person in the cabin went on my account.  

 

I remained curious about this, so I went back in my files and checked.  On the Breeze in January, they posted it in a lump sum.  On the Freedom in November, they posted in a lump sum.  On the Horizon in January '19, they posted it in a lump sum.  And on the Conquest in September '14, they posted it in a lump sum.  Maybe I was grandfathered in?  Maybe I don't have any other rooms/accounts attached to me, so that's why they do it differently?  Maybe they did some experimentation on other ships?

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

On 6/26/2020 at 12:52 PM, shof515 said:

some restaurants is charging people a covid-19 surcharge on their bill

As are doctors and dentist.

 

[young_ens]

@Honolulu Blue.  Maybe it is ship specific.   This daily charge was on the Sunshine.  I don't recall the Breeze or have records from my cruise then.  It really doesn't matter how it is done, it's the same either way!   It is interesting though

[young_ens]

2 minutes ago, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

As are doctors and dentist.

 

Same for us.   I was thinking earlier if my dentist is charging 15 for "covid" (I won't get into the fact the government is providing PPE to them for free..... ), how much of a surcharge are ships going to have if they are sailing 1\2 full and you're there for many days?  

[Organized Chaos]

10 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

From reading other postings, it would appear that they are doing just that with future cruise rates.  Many have said that when re-booking, the costs have went up considerably. 

 

The law of supply and demand. Bookings went way up for the month of August when people thought that's when they were returning, and for the rest of the year. They were even up for 2021, too. Arnold Donald talked about it in some of his interviews. He had also said not to expect any big deals or sales because demand was so high.

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, young_ens said:

It really doesn't matter how it is done, it's the same either way!

 

Yeah, it's the same amount either way you do it, but for some people, it is important how it's done. Like we've been talking about, depending on how some people handle their onboard finances, it's good to know when the gratuities are charged to the account.

 

This is what Carnival's FAQ's say:

 

Sail & Sign

If guests have not pre-paid their gratuities, the recommended, per person, amount will be posted to their Sail & Sign account on the second to last day of the cruise.

 

1 hour ago, young_ens said:

Same for us.   I was thinking earlier if my dentist is charging 15 for "covid" (I won't get into the fact the government is providing PPE to them for free..... ), how much of a surcharge are ships going to have if they are sailing 1\2 full and you're there for many days?  

 

It's not like future cruise fares are a secret. Anyone can see fares for many months to come. I guess some people are seeing some higher fares for the coming months, but like I mentioned in my last post, that's because demand has gone way up in anticipation for their return. More demand, higher fares. But so far they're not showing any new fees being charged as a direct result of COVID. At least not openly.

Edited June 27, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[Organized Chaos]

9 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

As far back as I can remember Carnival has always posted gratuities as one lump sum on the last full day of the cruise.

 

That's what I've always seen people say in the Carnival forum.

 

Something that could also add to the confusion is that, according to their FAQ's, Carnival says they are posted to the account on the "second to last day of the cruise." Debarkation day isn't counted as a day, so it's kind of weird they say second to last day, but I wonder if that's technically what they mean? The day before debarkation day.

[young_ens]

16 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

that's because demand has gone way up in anticipation for their return. More demand, higher fares.

Tips: sure.  Makes sense, everyone has their ways.

 

This part is smoke and mirrors.  Yes, demand is up.  But this is likely from all the people who have FCCs and need to use them.  Cruise companies are not seeing any money from these folks, the ones who are stuck with higher fares are the new bookings.   Combine these folks rebooking and less than full ships, it is going to be a tough year financially for all of them.   It will be interesting to see what the balance point is for folks booking without FCC.  

[scpirate]

On 6/25/2020 at 11:48 PM, DANCING GRANDMOMMY said:

I will make sure mine do.

Add some for me too while your at it.im broke.

[scpirate]

3 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

The law of supply and demand. Bookings went way up for the month of August when people thought that's when they were returning, and for the rest of the year. They were even up for 2021, too. Arnold Donald talked about it in some of his interviews. He had also said not to expect any big deals or sales because demand was so high.

I believe the don't expect any deals part but the rest is Balony.

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, scpirate said:

I believe the don't expect any deals part but the rest is Balony.

 

Why is it so hard to believe demand is up? Why's it so hard to believe that people are ready to get back to cruising? After 3 1/2 months, plus at least 3 more to go, don't you think cruisers are itching to get back to it? Do a simple web search, it's no secret.

 

Just because a small percentage of people on CC come here day after day to push a bleak narrative that no one wants to cruise, that doesn't make it true. Despite their negativity, there have been plenty of CC users who say they're ready. And CC is only a small sampling of cruisers overall. If you're going to accuse them of lying about it, then feel free to elaborate.

 

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, young_ens said:

Tips: sure.  Makes sense, everyone has their ways.

 

This part is smoke and mirrors.  Yes, demand is up.  But this is likely from all the people who have FCCs and need to use them.  Cruise companies are not seeing any money from these folks, the ones who are stuck with higher fares are the new bookings.   Combine these folks rebooking and less than full ships, it is going to be a tough year financially for all of them.   It will be interesting to see what the balance point is for folks booking without FCC.  

 

There are multiple sources out there that break it down and differentiate between bookings coming from FCC and new bookings. Like I told that last person, a simple web search is all it takes. The key is looking at more recent data. Yeah, bookings were down early on, but began to increase in May sometime. When Carnival announced their Aug. 1st date, bookings skyrocketed and were way up for a few days after compared to the same time period last year. 2021 & 2022 are seeing a healthy increase, too.

 

I know there's a lot of people on here blasting Carnival day in & day out for anything they can come up with. They're accusing them of all kinds of wrongdoings, but the fact of the matter is, none of them present any real evidence or proof that any of it is true. It surpassed legitimate criticism a long time ago.

[Organized Chaos]

On 6/25/2020 at 10:39 PM, VentureMan_2000 said:

Will Gratuities go up when cruises resume ?

 

I think an important question none of us have asked each other is, why? Why ask the question to begin with? What I mean is, is it an implication that they might do it to make up for lost revenue? Because something we haven't brought up is, gratuities don't go into Carnival's coffers. They go to the crew members that are set to share them. I'm sure some will say that's a lie...because there are those who say they're lying about everything as of late...but Carnival says 100% of gratuities go to the crew. So until someone can prove otherwise, none of it helps Carnival recover lost revenue. So why would they raise them?