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How are tips handled


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Since we've only cruised dcl in the past, I wanted to ask how RC handles the cruise.  Some of it sounds familiar and similar to the way dcl handles it.

With dcl, in the afternoon of the second to last day of the cruise, dcl puts vouchers in your room which shows your visa card has been charged for the tips. The vouchers include an envelop for each person you are tipping, so later that night you can give the envelops to each worker you're tipping.

Is that the way RC handles the tipping procedure???

 

Thanks

Chris           ps.............we r going on the Anthem of the Seas at the end of June. 

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That said, you also have the option of tipping extra for your cabin steward, head / assistant waiter, etc. if you feel they did a bang-up job and deserve a little extra. Same thing if you bought a drink package (which tacks on gratuities up front), and you want to give a little something more to your favorite bartender(s) for keeping your glass full.

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2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

That said, you also have the option of tipping extra for your cabin steward, head / assistant waiter, etc. if you feel they did a bang-up job and deserve a little extra. Same thing if you bought a drink package (which tacks on gratuities up front), and you want to give a little something more to your favorite bartender(s) for keeping your glass full.

JL is right on target, especially about the bartenders. It has been my experience that a couple of bucks cash tip on top of the 18% tacked on gratuity will gain you a bartender who will be your cruise BFF. 

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2 minutes ago, rjac said:

JL is right on target, especially about the bartenders. It has been my experience that a couple of bucks cash tip on top of the 18% tacked on gratuity will gain you a bartender who will be your cruise BFF. 

If you find a good bartender, the first night or two, a nice tip in advance should set you up for the rest of the cruise. It's always worked for me in the past especially at weddings with open bars!

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So is there no need to hand the "tips" to the staff?? If you're tipping above the charged amount, u can give that directly to those people, but the rest is handled by RC directly??? I mentioned that dcl gives u the voucher in an envelop to hand the staff, but w/ RC it seems it's done internally. Am I right on that? 

 

Thanks

 

Chris

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On 6/5/2017 at 7:25 PM, FManke said:

If you find a good bartender, the first night or two, a nice tip in advance should set you up for the rest of the cruise. It's always worked for me in the past especially at weddings with open bars!

Okay, so I'm definitely down with gaining the favor of the bartender/bartendress.

 

If I find a good spot that will be my go-to for the duration, what exactly would you recommend to "over-tip"?  

If I had Matt's money, I'd just toss the guy/gal a $100 and be on with it, but I'm the "poor relations" of the group.

 

 

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2 hours ago, chrisd596 said:

So is there no need to hand the "tips" to the staff?? If you're tipping above the charged amount, u can give that directly to those people, but the rest is handled by RC directly??? I mentioned that dcl gives u the voucher in an envelop to hand the staff, but w/ RC it seems it's done internally. Am I right on that? 

 

Right, no need to do anything on your part.  RC used to do the envelope thing too, but it changes to auto gratuities a few years ago.  No more awkward handshakes at the end of the cruise!

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@chrisd596, one other thing with tips: If you want to spread out the costs of your cruise a bit, and not have that charge on your credit card disembarkation day with whatever else you've racked up on your Sea Pass card, you have the option to pre-pay your tips. You can do that via the cruise planner, or your TA if you booked with one. Dunno if this is something DCL also offers, but figured I'd mention it.

Note that if you choose to do My Time Dining, your gratuities are automatically pre-paid as part of your cruise fare. I'm assuming they do that since the wait staff typically differs every night, and this allows RC to distribute the tips accordingly.

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5 hours ago, Floski said:

Okay, so I'm definitely down with gaining the favor of the bartender/bartendress.

 

If I find a good spot that will be my go-to for the duration, what exactly would you recommend to "over-tip"?  

If I had Matt's money, I'd just toss the guy/gal a $100 and be on with it, but I'm the "poor relations" of the group.

 

 

I don't know what you feel is over tipping. I don't really call it over tipping. I like to think it as "front loading." Try to figure what you would tip per drink x how many drinks a night and go from there. I'd say toss him or her a $20 right off the bat, and see where that takes you. You can determine  from their reaction, where to go from there. Just my two cents worth.

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Our group always does My Time Dining, but we seem to get the same staff every night. I appreciate that we've already pre-paid tips but still like to say thanks on the last night with a tip especially as we've normally had multiple appetizers/main courses and desserts every night :)

I agree with the front-loading idea, we always do this and get fantastic service plus HUGE pours for the rest of the cruise!!

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23 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Note that if you choose to do My Time Dining, your gratuities are automatically pre-paid as part of your cruise fare. I'm assuming they do that since the wait staff typically differs every night, and this allows RC to distribute the tips accordingly.

You no longer have to prepay gratuities for My Time Dining.  I've recently booked directly with Royal Caribbean for June 2018 and have MTD and will pay tips when on board.  I don't know when the policy changed


Sarah

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5 hours ago, Sarah said:

You no longer have to prepay gratuities for My Time Dining.  I've recently booked directly with Royal Caribbean for June 2018 and have MTD and will pay tips when on board.  I don't know when the policy changed


Sarah

It changed about two years ago. I actually like to prepay so I don't have a huge hit to my onboard account, especially for longer cruises. In addition, you guarantee the gratuity price in case of an increase.

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23 minutes ago, DocLC said:

It changed about two years ago. I actually like to prepay so I don't have a huge hit to my onboard account, especially for longer cruises. In addition, you guarantee the gratuity price in case of an increase.

I like to pre-pay as much as possible. Even if you spend the same, it seems better not to have to be reaching in your wallet all the time, if you pay as you go.

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