Pre Paid Gratuities

[JDHOWARD]

Hello!!

We are setting sail from Galveston in 30 days!!!! I just received my check in information and noticed that I did not prepay gratuities- can I do this once I board??

Thank you!

[Matt]

9 minutes ago, JDHOWARD said:

Hello!!

We are setting sail from Galveston in 30 days!!!! I just received my check in information and noticed that I did not prepay gratuities- can I do this once I board??

Thank you!

Once you're onboard, you will be charged each day automatically

You could still call your TA and have gratuities added

[JDHOWARD]

I did not use a TA- is there any price difference- or is it the same as if we prepaid?? 

[Allen2]

One other thought: if you have on board credit from your travel agent, RCL stock ownership, an RCL promotion, or other source: it is not always wise to prepay gratuities, as OBC can be used toward gratuities as well as other purchases on board.

[Allen2]

One other thought: if you have on board credit from your travel agent, RCL stock ownership, an RCL promotion, or other source: it is not always wise to prepay gratuities, as OBC can be used toward grats.  

[SpeedNoodles]

It's the same.  The difference is that when you use a TA you don't have to spend forever on hold calling Royal Caribbean.

[ChessE4]

1 hour ago, JDHOWARD said:

I did not use a TA- is there any price difference- or is it the same as if we prepaid?? 

Sometimes the gratuities are increased (for inflation), but if you prepay, you avoid the increase.  (This happened to us only once and we saved $1 per person per day).  This is more likely to occur when you book over a year in advance. 

The issue I have with prepaying is that my travel insurance premium can increase when all of the various costs are aggregated. 

In the end, it is a matter of preference.  We generally prepay just to get it paid off before we cruise, but I can see why folks don't.  I like the idea of applying OBC you might accrue to pay gratuities by allowing the default daily charges when you are on the ship.