Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 I just got tricked by Royal Caribbean. They now charge 18% gratuity on new dining package orders, misleading buyers into thinking the price dropped and make them cancel existing Dining Package order, but when you try to reorder prices are now higher after 18% gratuity is added in. I was on the phone with a customer service agent for 2 hours but the conclusion was that there was nothing they could do for me, Buyer beware. Yes, my loss would be $18 at the new higher price after gratuity, but still, this is a very dirty play on Royal Caribbean's part and left a bitter taste in my mouth. So if you have existing a Dining Package order, keep them and be aware that Royal now charges 18% gratuity. cruisellama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted August 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 I just got tricked by Royal Caribbean. They now charge 18% gratuity on new dining package orders, misleading buyers into thinking the price dropped and make them cancel existing Dining Package order, but when you try to reorder prices are now higher after 18% gratuity is added in. I was on the phone with a customer service agent for 2 hours but the conclusion was that there was nothing they could do for me, Buyer beware. Yes, my loss would be $18 at the new higher price after gratuity, but still, this is a very dirty play on Royal Caribbean's part and left a bitter taste in my mouth. So if you have existing a Dining Package order, keep them and be aware that Royal now charges 18% gratuity. cruisellama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 So I was charged $196 for my unlimited on Symphony. Gratuity included My Harmony unlimited is $166. Add in gratuity and I’m paying the same as symphony So there’s really no difference. Symphony includes gratuity at $196. Harmony adds gratuity at checkout and it’s the same as symphony. The Harmony says taxes/gratuity added in cart. My symphony is the old cruise planner format and Harmony is the new format. CruiserNic, Neesa, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJS2766 Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Thanks for the heads up! I was thinking about purchasing the UDP at $196PP, but add another $36 PP in gratuity and no thank you! That would be close to $470 for the 2 of us. Not worth it. I really hate this part of cruising where you are charged for every little thing possible! I'd almost rather pay a higher price for my cruise at the beginning if it included more. Don't like this new way of trying to generate money WAAAYTOOO, Big Tule, cruisellama and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlantix2000 Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Welcome to the forums. There are several threads where this discussed at length. The general wisdom is that the final price comes out about the same. The daily price fluctuates but the old style (gratuities included) and the new style (cheaper seeming price plus gratuities) work out to the same thing. Jill and Baked Alaska 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted August 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Well, my previous order was $179. So since it was displaying $167, I thought price dropped, so I did what every cruiser does, cancel and rebook. But bam, $30 gratuity popped out of nowhere. So in essence Royal is now playing a bait-and-switch by separately charging for gratuity on dining packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlantix2000 Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Welcome to the forums. There are several threads where this discussed at length. The general wisdom is that the final price comes out about the same. The daily price fluctuates but the old style (gratuities included) and the new style (cheaper seeming price plus gratuities) work out to the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 8 minutes ago, CJS2766 said: Thanks for the heads up! I was thinking about purchasing the UDP at $196PP, but add another $36 PP in gratuity and no thank you! That would be close to $470 for the 2 of us. Not worth it. I really hate this part of cruising where you are charged for every little thing possible! I'd almost rather pay a higher price for my cruise at the beginning if it included more. Don't like this new way of trying to generate money You have to check it all the way to check out. If it’s $196 in the old cruise planner it probably includes gratuity. The new cruise planner format is a lower price but gratuity is added at the end. CJS2766, Baked Alaska, CruiserNic and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted August 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Quote The general wisdom is that the final price comes out about the same. Not for me. Paying $18 more is not a big deal, I just had $20 lunch. What angers me is that Royal Caribbean suddenly changed the way it displays prices to do a bait-and-switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlantix2000 Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 11 minutes ago, Unsuspecting Cruiser said: Not for me. Maybe not today, but if you are checking daily and get the best rate for your cruise, it will usually work out the same. Do you know if your previous purchase was the best rate? How about the current purchase? It takes some effort to get the best deal. Not sure why my previous post shows up twice. Any moderator want to fix that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted August 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Quote Do you know if your previous purchase was the best rate? Yes. Before : $179 "New" : $167 Actual("New" + 18% Gratuity) : $197 I am trying to warn others to not make the mistake that I made, not being aware that RCL changed the way it calculates prices for dining package. Pattycruise and Shari3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dswallow Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 It's an unfortunate change and one that could have easily been handled well and seamlessly by Royal Caribbean if they had wanted to be nice about it, after all they devoted some amount of effort to the Cruise Planner redesign. Could it have been so hard to be more up-front about gratuity pricing, showing it both ways, with and without, up front, perhaps? Or being really clear about it, at least? Or even simply making it easier to just request a refund of difference in prices rather than forcing the cancel and re-buy process upon people, which honestly only leads to confusion, at best? These are the kind of annoyances that simply should not exist and should be easily handled to the benefit of the customer if they do occur. People should contact Michael Bayley (mbayley@rccl.com) or via the Facebook page he maintains, so that they understand this is a customer satisfaction issue and they are failing right now. Unsuspecting Cruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvstodans Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 They charge a gratuity when you reserve and dine on board, so this is not be a surprising next move. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted August 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 13 minutes ago, luvstodans said: They charge a gratuity when you reserve and dine on board, so this is not be a surprising next move. Until Yesterday, dining package price was "all inclusive", what you see is what you pay. After yesterday, the price you see doesn't include "gratuity" and is extra, just like drink package. Unsuspecting customers not aware of this change would cancel their old dining package, try to rebook at new "lower" price, then end up paying at least 10% more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvstodans Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 yes ..I understand probably following NCL who charge gratuities on everything when ordering pre-cruise....nice of you to create an alert to people know what is coming. : ) cruisellama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Yup this happens when your cruise planner jumps from the old format to the new. You are right, you have to be careful. The general rule now appears to be put the new price in your cart & check the bottom line BEFORE you cancel. luvstodans, BeachGal and Baked Alaska 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shari3 Posted August 6, 2021 Report Share Posted August 6, 2021 4 hours ago, Unsuspecting Cruiser said: Yes. Before : $179 "New" : $167 Actual("New" + 18% Gratuity) : $197 I am trying to warn others to not make the mistake that I made, not being aware that RCL changed the way it calculates prices for dining package. Thanks for the heads up! Sorry this happened to you. luvstodans and cruisellama 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 Just checked two of my sailings. Price reduced for current sale and when I go to checkout it says gratuity included. WAAAYTOOO and IRMO12HD 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Wilson said: Just checked two of my sailings. Price reduced for current sale and when I go to checkout it says gratuity included. seems some sailing use the old cruise planner format and other the newer format, the newer format the gratuity is added at checkout. No sure how exactly to tell the difference except to make sure you read carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 Take the offered price on the new CP and add 18%. If it’s less than you already paid, cancel & repurchase. If not, don’t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 15, 2021 Report Share Posted August 15, 2021 I posted a thread on this many months ago. It's the format of the new "My Royal Cruises" web interface compared to the old Cruise Planner. I happen to have two Harmony cruises booked, one before the new GUI is implemented and one after. With no sales going on... Old Cruise Planner price for UDP today: For my 2022 Harmony cruise: Price difference is $0.10. The problem is people don't pay attention and just click, click, click. It's not bait & switch, it's not a global conspiracy. They are changing the display of pricing since it was never clear before if gratuity was included so people were confused and some thought they had to add more gratuity while in the restaurant. Now it's very clear. Will some people make a mistake when they bought it during a sale in the old interface? Probably, that's why posts were created months ago to warn people to pay attention to the details. cdixon22, Neesa, WAAAYTOOO and 8 others 9 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotty49 Posted August 17, 2021 Report Share Posted August 17, 2021 @Unsuspecting Cruiser I think you should try to to order again. Maybe RCL corrected this. In my attempt today, gratuities stated to be included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted August 17, 2021 Report Share Posted August 17, 2021 That is the old format. I believe the OP’s cruise planner morphed to the new one. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjakitty Posted September 4, 2021 Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 Is the gratuity in addition to a tip? I thought that the gratuity was the tip. Going on my first RCC in March and don't want to stiff the staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted September 4, 2021 Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 On 8/15/2021 at 8:47 AM, twangster said: I posted a thread on this many months ago. It's the format of the new "My Royal Cruises" web interface compared to the old Cruise Planner. I happen to have two Harmony cruises booked, one before the new GUI is implemented and one after. With no sales going on... Old Cruise Planner price for UDP today: For my 2022 Harmony cruise: Price difference is $0.10. The problem is people don't pay attention and just click, click, click. It's not bait & switch, it's not a global conspiracy. They are changing the display of pricing since it was never clear before if gratuity was included so people were confused and some thought they had to add more gratuity while in the restaurant. Now it's very clear. Will some people make a mistake when they bought it during a sale in the old interface? Probably, that's why posts were created months ago to warn people to pay attention to the details. I just noticed you said your 2022 Harmony cruise. Are we truly on the same cruise??? Might I actually meet the legend that is Twangster?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted September 4, 2021 Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 1 hour ago, ninjakitty said: Is the gratuity in addition to a tip? I thought that the gratuity was the tip. Going on my first RCC in March and don't want to stiff the staff. Gratuity is the tip, just a fancier word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 3 minutes ago, Pooch said: I just noticed you said your 2022 Harmony cruise. Are we truly on the same cruise??? Might I actually meet the legend that is Twangster?!?!? I might have a couple Harmony 2022 cruises. And i might add another soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 March 13? I think you replied on my roll call thread. My family will never understand my excitement!!! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjakitty Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 2 hours ago, Pooch said: Gratuity is the tip, just a fancier word. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 9 hours ago, Pooch said: March 13? I think you replied on my roll call thread. My family will never understand my excitement!!! Prepare to be underwhelmed. Vancity Cruiser, WAAAYTOOO, ellcee and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 Looking forward to being able to put a face on the Bot and thank you in person for your assistance here for me and everyone! There might also be drinking involved if you are so inclined. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 Raye & Dan, more than happy to include you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 32 minutes ago, Pooch said: Raye & Dan, more than happy to include you! Trust me, we would be there if we they would let us on ! Have a great time. The Bot lives up to his great reputation SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted September 5, 2021 Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 March is a long way off. Many things could change by then. Will hold out hope of perhaps meeting you soon. Stay well. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted November 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 I was afraid to cancel my existing bookings on excursions for Black Friday prices due to the fear of Royal Caribbean suddenly slapping 18% gratuity on excisions, but I did it anyway. Fortunately excursions were tax or gratuity-free and the price billed is what they displayed. So cancel and rebook excursions if you are seeing lower price, but absolutely keep your existing drink and dining packages during this Black Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB2021 Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 How about just picking up the phone and calling before doing anything if you are worried, concerned or afraid that things may not go exactly as you think they should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted November 27, 2021 Report Share Posted November 27, 2021 Royal always “slaps” on gratuities. It’s just a matter of when it appears old versus new cruise planner. Yes, you need to read and watch carefully but that applies to most things in life. I worked in a municipal tax office prior to retirement and easily 80% of taxpayers don’t READ the bill!! Then they call us complaining about something in black and white right on the bill. Oh I didn’t see that. Ampurp85 and TB2021 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsuspecting Cruiser Posted November 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 15 hours ago, TB2021 said: How about just picking up the phone and calling before doing anything if you are worried, concerned or afraid that things may not go exactly as you think they should. A small correction. On CocoCay excursions, Royal's adding a 12% "sales tax" on top of the listed price. I would still come out ahead after 12% tax addition, so I rebooked. On Nassau excursions, no tax addition. What you see is what you pay. 13 hours ago, Pooch said: Royal always “slaps” on gratuities. Before the format change, all prices were inclusive of whatever the gratuities and taxes involved. Not anymore after the formal change, so if you have an all inclusive price booking then Royal's suddenly displaying a lower, you have to calculate if you would still come out ahead after adding 18% gratuities. The problem arises for people who had all inclusive price bookings, who were tricked by Royal's Bait and Switch tactic and were forced to cancel existing all-inclusive price bookings in order to rebook, only then find out that they would now pay higher prices, as it happened to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pooch Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 And again, reading carefully before you did that would have avoided the issue. I get it. I am obsessive about reading everything. I drive my family crazy! BUT I immediately noticed the difference in how the gratuities are handled when my cruise switched from the old to the new planner. Caveat Emptor. You HAVE to pay attention. I am sorry you had this problem and I hope your post leads people to pay more attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd-Winny Posted November 28, 2021 Report Share Posted November 28, 2021 LOL. Here is the drink package for SOS in Jan 22. $1k to drink for 7 nights this looks like desperation. This is out of control. I could start a liquor store business with $1k LOL No thank you RC. I'll pay and tip with cash for some strong drinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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