Does RCCL add gratuities to your SeaPass

[Kurbanfan]

Wrong again. RCCL does not add tips to your account no matter how many times you try to tell anyone without your permission. You don't know what you are talking about. This is not Carnival.

 

 

They automatically added them to mine. I just ignored the vouchers and I did not go to the pursers desk. So I guess that means they did it without my permission.........but you are not going to believe me anyways:rolleyes:

[cruiserbryce]

tips are added to your seapass if you pay them when you book as part of the fare or if you fill out the necassary paperwork while on board

[cruiserbryce]

they arent just automatically added without you knowing

[phoenix1181]

To those who say the tip was added without authorization:

 

Were you participating in Anytime Dining?

Any chance someone else in your cabin authorized payment on the Seapass?

 

Cruiserbryce:

 

If I pay my tips as part of the fare, why would they be added to my Seapass? Aren't they already paid?

[kc320]

"It amazes me tho, that ALL PASSENGERS on RCCL that do not add tips to their account or do the vouchers or do not KNOW to tip in cash,,,,STIFF all servers. They may not mean to, but according to all you tip examiners, that is what must happen with no auto system in place. Glad I'm unique and they just add it to my account so I don't have to be concerned about it. So You may all say you're right and I'm wrong, enjoy."

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Not quite sure how you made the leap to this reasoning??? Since tip envelopes & a tip guide are left in your cabin the last night of the cruise I have a hard time understanding how anyone would NOT know to tip....there will always be people who choose to not tip for a variety of reasons.. as long as I'm not one of them I don't let it bother me...

[mxylpic]

OK, on my last cruise on the Sovereign April 4 I had the gratuities added to my account when I booked. It was an option.

 

However, I won't do that again, and here's why.

 

On the ship we ended eating in the dining room only once, in the Windjammer the rest of the time. The Headwaiter at the Windjammer made a speech (a bit long, but OK) before dinner the last night about tipping in the WJ. I asked him about what I had read on these boards that the staff in the WJ also worked i the dining rooms and shared in the gratuities. He said that was NOT the case, so I gave him a bit of cash to distribute to the WJ staff.

 

I then went to the Guest Relations Desk to inquire about changing my pre-paid gratuities to lower the amounts for the waitstaff to reflect the one night I ate in the dining room and was told I could not change what was pre-billed.

 

So the moral of the story. If you want to use your SeaPass to pay gratuities, that's a great idea. It keeps you from having to track people down. but do set it up on the ship so you can put the exact amounts that are appropriate.

 

Cheers,

 

Ed

[kingsgirl]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Which is why I disregard any info on these boards relating to tipping. Too much misinformation!

 

 

And to all the ppl in this thread who keep posting that tips are never put on your account without notifying you, get a grip. It HAS happened. We all know it's not supposed to happen unless you opt to pre-pay or sign up for the My Time Dining, but just like everything else, exceptions do happen.

 

Do you think we're all lying to make this thread more interesting? We're not - what's the point?? I am 100% telling the truth that it happened to me on my first cruise. I'm not an idiot, I know what happened. Obviously it happened to others too.

 

Just reminds us all to keep tabs on our bills!

[Salsa Dancer]

Hi...

 

I was reading this thread and hoped to pick your brain since I am also from Michigan. Sorry for going off topic for a sec....

 

Do you have a rough idea of airfaire from Michigan to San Juan? I saw that you have done many cruises and I've just been on my first in 2007 and am making plans for the next one.

 

I love this site! I just joined this week. :)

 

Also, I need a general piece of info in using the forum....I can't seem to figure out how to find all of my own posts/replies in one simple step. Other forums sometimes have a quick find method. Am I missing something?

[kingsgirl]

Hi...

 

I was reading this thread and hoped to pick your brain since I am also from Michigan. Sorry for going off topic for a sec....

 

Do you have a rough idea of airfaire from Michigan to San Juan? I saw that you have done many cruises and I've just been on my first in 2007 and am making plans for the next one.

 

I love this site! I just joined this week. :)

 

Also, I need a general piece of info in using the forum....I can't seem to figure out how to find all of my own posts/replies in one simple step. Other forums sometimes have a quick find method. Am I missing something?

 

If you are on the main page for this RCCL section you should have a SEARCH button at the top right just above the threads. You can search for all the threads you've made, posted in, or search for other peoples threads there.

 

I don't know if the Search function is working right now though - it's been up and down lately.

 

btw, welcome to Cruise Critic :)

[Cuizer2]

Also, I need a general piece of info in using the forum....I can't seem to figure out how to find all of my own posts/replies in one simple step. Other forums sometimes have a quick find method. Am I missing something?

 

Near the top is a menu bar. The first item is User CP. Click on that. All the threads you posted to that have a post since you last posted will show up.

[mxylpic]

Hi...

 

 

Also, I need a general piece of info in using the forum....I can't seem to figure out how to find all of my own posts/replies in one simple step. Other forums sometimes have a quick find method. Am I missing something?

 

At the top left click on CP which is for Control Panel. You can then find your own posts.

[dan40]

Hi Dan!:) Dont really want to get into a battle,but RCCL does not automatically add the tips on........question for you..do you use a TA or book directly?? Im just wondering why your tips are automatically added???:confused:

 

 

I won't battle with you because I know you have a functioning brain, not that the others here don't, and you would kick my butt when we have dinner in June, and the others won't.:p

 

Nothing to do with this thread but I had a nerve exposed last night and was more than a little testy.

But that doesn't change tips being auto added to my account. The only possibility, other than cruiseline policy, is that my TA instructed them to do that. I have no recollection of ever having such a conversation with the TA and cannot imagine a TA of long standing doing so with a customer of over 100 bookings. But then, how the different cruiselines collect their tips is not a concern to me. I know I'm going to pay them and the least bother is fine with me. My ego has no need to hunt anybody down so they can grovel for my tip. Anyway, I guess its possible that the TA asked me about tips sometime in the past and I might have said, "Doesn't matter." I don't remember such a conversation but can easily believe I would not remember something that unimportant.

So I could be wrong, it would not set a precedent.:o

However having lived [and cruised] thru the old cash tip days and saw how the last evenings dinners became less and less well attended as more and more people [more than 50%] stiffed the help. I cannot imagine any mainstream cruiseline not having a system in place to pressure people into tipping. The public, thru their cheapness forced the auto-tip concept on the cruiselines, not the cruiselines forcing it on the public. And any cruiseline automatically adding tips doesn't bother me at all. I appreciate them doing it as the public left them no choice. So seeing my tips appear on my account on the TV each day is/was a non-event to me and I never considered it to be anything but normal.

 

Dan

[temple1]

Back to topic - I can be pretty dense on some things - so be very patient with me - type slowly.

 

What I don't understand for individuals who had their SeaPass accounts charged for tips - how would they know to do it if you also had the envelopes in your cabin the last day to leave cash gratuities? How would they know if you left more or less than the suggested guidelines? If you only put in a dollar per person, would they then charge your sea pass the difference? Not saying they didn't do it - just wondering how.

 

On our first cruise we did cash on the last night and I don't recall being charged a second time for tips.

[PH8]

I won't battle with you because I know you have a functioning brain, not that the others here don't, and you would kick my butt when we have dinner in June, and the others won't.:p

 

 

 

Dan

haha.you know me all too well,dont you??;)

[phoenix1181]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Which is why I disregard any info on these boards relating to tipping. Too much misinformation!

 

 

And to all the ppl in this thread who keep posting that tips are never put on your account without notifying you, get a grip. It HAS happened. We all know it's not supposed to happen unless you opt to pre-pay or sign up for the My Time Dining, but just like everything else, exceptions do happen.

 

Do you think we're all lying to make this thread more interesting? We're not - what's the point?? I am 100% telling the truth that it happened to me on my first cruise. I'm not an idiot, I know what happened. Obviously it happened to others too.

 

Just reminds us all to keep tabs on our bills!

 

I certainly wasn't trying to imply you, or anyone else, were not being truthful. I'm just trying to figure out how this would happen........... Also, I prepaid my tips and, based on Cruiserbryce's statement, am now concerned that they'll try to charge me again !

 

The website says they don't do it. The question is, under what conditions does that prove to be untrue? There must be a common denominator here. I'd like to find out what it is so I can avoid it!

[temple1]

Phoenix - We prepaid last year and no problems - no double charges. On a prior cruise in 02 we received the envelopes and paid cash on the last day. Also were not charged again.

[Tucker in Texas]

I "heard" or "read" somewhere that the crew knows who has put their tips on auto-tip and who hasn't. I think a reason might be to put them on notice that those not on the auto tip list should be tipping in cash and they are required to turn in the "recommended" amount to the pool. I'm sure if the crew member comes up with too many people "stiffing" (i.e., they say the didn't get cash tips from a non auto-paying person), then they will be watched very closely in the future and it is grounds for termination of their contract and a ticket home.

I agree with the poster that the main reason for the auto-tips is not entirely "for our convenience" but to try and cut down on the staff not getting anything because passengers are "cheap" or would tip but don't have cash to tip with because of too many visits to the casino, shops, etc. After all, the ship line has to pay the credit card company a percentage of whatever our final bill is to process it and why would they do that on tips if they didn't have to unless they deduct that percentage from the tips they give the crew. I've heard restaurants do that on tips that are put on credit card bills which is why we always leave cash and write in the tip section of the credit card slip "tip left in cash on the table." Too many people in this "modern age" of el cheapo cruises turned out to be el cheapo passengers who don't understand that one of the reasons their cruises are so reasonable is because the service crew is getting their salary from the cruisers and not the ship line.

Tucker in Texas

[MoreCruisesNow]

How can anyone in their right mind believe anything they read on CC when a simple question like this generates so much misinformation?

This really is a black-and-white issue - opinion doesn't count at all.

Either RCI adds gratuities on your SeaPass card automatically, or they don't.

They don't, but there are people posting on this thread who will swear up and down that they do!

It is the universal danger of the Web - anyone can post and no one has to prove a damn thing. A perfect set-up for misinformation (to be polite)

[RoofingPrincess]

[quote name='temple1']Back to topic - I can be pretty dense on some things - so be very patient with me - type slowly.

What I don't understand for individuals who had their SeaPass accounts charged for tips - how would they know to do it if you also had the envelopes in your cabin the last day to leave cash gratuities? How would they know if you left more or less than the suggested guidelines? If you only put in a dollar per person, would they then charge your sea pass the difference? Not saying they didn't do it - just wondering how.

On our first cruise we did cash on the last night and I don't recall being charged a second time for tips.[/quote]
I have taken 3 cruises on RCCL.
On the third cruise, I prepaid the tips before we ever left home. On the first two, I filled out a form while onboard the ship and took it to the Purser's Desk, authorizing them to charge the standard tip amount to my SeaPass account. There is a deadline for turning in this form - I think it's usually a certain time on the last day or second to last day of the cruise - as they need time to prepare and distribute the tip vouchers.
On ALL THREE cruises, tip envelopes have been left in my cabin. Tip vouchers were also left in the cabin. These were to be placed in the tip envelopes so we would have an envelope to hand to the appropriate person. We added extra cash to the envelopes of those personnel who did a stellar job.
So to answer your question - if you authorize them to put tips on your SeaPass, they will do so, but only for the suggested amount. You get tip envelopes in your room regardless of whether you put your tips on your SeaPass account or not. The people who charge the tips to your SeaPass do so BEFORE you hand out the tip envelopes, so they have no idea how much you put in the envelopes. If you opt to pay cash and put in less than the recommended amount, no, your account will not be charged the difference.

[AllieInMD]

I've cruised RCCL - and tips were not automatically added to my seapass.

[quote name='dan40']I guess you did not read my post. Or are you saying that if you do nothing about tips at any time on the cruise that NO TIPS will be added to your account? If that is what you're saying or thinking, it is incorrect.
If you do not make the arrangement, they will add the tips, automatically. And the concern about tips being added first day or last day is just tip paranoia. They are not sent to your credit card co. nor paid to the crew, until after the cruise in either case. So regardless when they show on your Seapass, you don't pay them until you receive your credit card bill.
Much ado about nothing at all.

Dan[/quote]

[leftyrn]

I do believe that RCCL can make mistakes and that their are always exceptions to the rules.

We are Diamond and have always completed the form to have our sea pass credited for tips at the end of the cruise. On our last cruise even though I completed the form for both of us, only my DH tips were put on sea pass and not mine. I don't know why or what happened but there was a screw up and we had to scramble to get cash to put in envelope for mine..

All kinds of things can happen :rolleyes: , nothing is for sure