Gratuities raised

[Neesa]

Great question @Maggie M. I think you may be charged the difference at time of upgrade. In this scenario it would be another 4.50 per night, I believe you are correct in your above assertion. I wish you crazy luck for a great upgrade!!!!

* I don't think it will be added to the bid amount but your OB folio.

 

[cdixon22]

On 11/1/2023 at 10:19 AM, Neesa said:

I just don't understand why the breakdown is such a secret. I asked and this was the response, honestly it is what it is but what is the reasoning behind not allowing the consumer to know. 

Got this from another thread.  This was before the increase

[BrianB]

I just called to pre-pay gratuities on an upcoming b2b. I was charged $16 per day.

It appears that if the cruises were booked prior to the November change…and if I pre-pay prior to the sailing…then the previous charge of $16 per day is valid. If I don’t pre-pay…then I’m charged $18 per day onboard.

I didn’t pre-pay on my previous cruises that were booked prior to November but sailed after the November raise and I was charged $18 per day onboard.

I misunderstood the email. I thought if I called to pre-pay prior to the November raise date, only then would I get the $16 charge. Oh well… guess I’ll start pre-paying prior to sailing as virtually all of my pending cruises were booked prior to November.

[sleepy425]

20 hours ago, BrianB said:

I just called to pre-pay gratuities on an upcoming b2b. I was charged $16 per day.

It appears that if the cruises were booked prior to the November change…and if I pre-pay prior to the sailing…then the previous charge of $16 per day is valid. If I don’t pre-pay…then I’m charged $18 per day onboard.

I didn’t pre-pay on my previous cruises that were booked prior to November but sailed after the November raise and I was charged $18 per day onboard.

I misunderstood the email. I thought if I called to pre-pay prior to the November raise date, only then would I get the $16 charge. Oh well… guess I’ll start pre-paying prior to sailing as virtually all of my pending cruises were booked prior to November.

Interesting, because I did the same thing Friday and was charged the $18 (and this was a cruise that was booked back in June 2022 when it was $14.50 - I have the original confirmation that says that amount). I had them add the gratuities when I paid the final payment.

[BrianB]

@sleepy425 I’m hoping it’s not just a glitch. These two cruises are also paid in full and the first one sails next week.

It’s not about the two dollars…it was just a bit of a surprise. I wonder if they’ll charge me the rest during the cruise…

[FionaMG]

I read somewhere that there is a special code that needs to be applied to ensure the cheaper gratuities.

[Lovetocruise2002]

9 hours ago, BrianB said:

I’m hoping it’s not just a glitch. These two cruises are also paid in full and the first one sails next week.

It's not a glitch. It is well known to TAs that as long as you booked the sailing before the change in November, you can still call and get the old rate grandfathered any time prior to sailing. I am about to call my TA to pre-pay my gratuities for Icon inaugural.

[sleepy425]

On 1/22/2024 at 5:09 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

It's not a glitch. It is well known to TAs that as long as you booked the sailing before the change in November, you can still call and get the old rate grandfathered any time prior to sailing. I am about to call my TA to pre-pay my gratuities for Icon inaugural.

Did you get the previous rate? 

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, sleepy425 said:

Did you get the previous rate? 

Yes. My TA added it last Tuesday, the day after I made the previous post, and I sailed Saturday. As long as you booked before they changed the rate, and you pre-pay before sailing, the old rate will still be honoured. 

[RorySC]

We just got back from several BtB's, (2 months straight of sailings) and the gratuities are getting out of hand. So, I went to guest services to ask just where tips are going. They handed me a pre-printed list and I was very surprised. Back in the day, tips were split between the Cabin attendant, Waiter, and assistant Waiter. Now...if you look at the list, there are several others added, such as " other hotel services" staff and others behind the scenes we never see or use directly. @ $6.50 per day per guest. If we order something to the room, there is already a 18% tip added to the bill. So why are we paying it twice? (Royal, though making it what seems easier to get it pre-paid so it is out of our minds...but as a way for the guest to subsidize the payroll system) So I asked them to remove all the daily gratuities, and we went back to doing it old school. We went back to handing out cash again. Because of all the changes in the MDR, and reduced quality of the meals and reduced options. We find that we are using the MDR less and less. Maybe a small inconvenience, but when I use the MDR, I hand the tips directly to the recipients just prior to leaving from dinner...just the way we do it when we go out to eat at home. I knew that the staff would like this, but was surprised that they were more excited about it more than I thought they would be. Of course, I informed them how I would be handling it from the start, so that they did not think they would be getting twice the amount. You would be surprised just how much what I consider as "fluff" in the amount you tip per day.  $6.50 per day x 2 = $13.00, for 7 days = $91.00

[ScottD]

46 minutes ago, RorySC said:

We just got back from several BtB's, (2 months straight of sailings) and the gratuities are getting out of hand. So, I went to guest services to ask just where tips are going. They handed me a pre-printed list and I was very surprised. Back in the day, tips were split between the Cabin attendant, Waiter, and assistant Waiter. Now...if you look at the list, there are several others added, such as " other hotel services" staff and others behind the scenes we never see or use directly. @ $6.50 per day per guest. If we order something to the room, there is already a 18% tip added to the bill. So why are we paying it twice? (Royal, though making it what seems easier to get it pre-paid so it is out of our minds...but as a way for the guest to subsidize the payroll system) So I asked them to remove all the daily gratuities, and we went back to doing it old school. We went back to handing out cash again. Because of all the changes in the MDR, and reduced quality of the meals and reduced options. We find that we are using the MDR less and less. Maybe a small inconvenience, but when I use the MDR, I hand the tips directly to the recipients just prior to leaving from dinner...just the way we do it when we go out to eat at home. I knew that the staff would like this, but was surprised that they were more excited about it more than I thought they would be. Of course, I informed them how I would be handling it from the start, so that they did not think they would be getting twice the amount. You would be surprised just how much what I consider as "fluff" in the amount you tip per day.  $6.50 per day x 2 = $13.00, for 7 days = $91.00

This is the same list they gave out about a year ago, same people listed.  Other Hotel Services would mean laundry of the sheets\towels for your room. It goes to the laundry room attendants, I would assume.  I also believe a lot of people are doing both, myself included- pre paying then also giving the MDR servers cash a few times a week.  You can tip how you want, I consider these daily gratuities part of my fare and don't even count them as tips, and will leave room attendants and servers additional cash as the week goes on. 

[jeffmw]

5 hours ago, RorySC said:

 

 

I'd be interested to know what, if anything, gets shaved off the top. Like when you donate to a charity and they say "100% of your donation will go to...", does any of that money end up with Royal as some kind of administration fee to the workers?

Going through the trouble of removing daily gratuities and doling all that money out individually seems like a lot of work (and you miss tipping some of the people you may not see, like laundry workers). But I'd be inclined to try doing it if it's not all going to the workers.

 

[ChessE4]

1 minute ago, jeffmw said:

 

I'd be interested to know what, if anything, gets shaved off the top. Like when you donate to a charity and they say "100% of your donation will go to...", does any of that money end up with Royal as some kind of administration fee to the workers?

Going through the trouble of removing daily gratuities and doling all that money out individually seems like a lot of work (and you miss tipping some of the people you may not see, like laundry workers). But I'd be inclined to try doing it if it's not all going to the workers.

 

I assume virtually 100% is going to the workers.  Anything else is unethical, and while business-oriented, Royal appears to be ethical.  Folks who cancel gratuities and hand out cash are going down the wrong path because of the "invisible cruise ship workforce", in my opinion, but they have the right to do that.

[CanHardlyWait]

4 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

I assume virtually 100% is going to the workers.  Anything else is unethical, and while business-oriented, Royal appears to be ethical.  Folks who cancel gratuities and hand out cash are going down the wrong path because of the "invisible cruise ship workforce", in my opinion, but they have the right to do that.

I've read elsewhere that Royal takes a percentage for processing and handling the money. Can I prove the person's who have written that are correct? No? Royal Caribbean charging folks a fee for doing something? Hmmmmm. Sure sounds like a possibility. 

[RorySC]

16 hours ago, jeffmw said:

 

I'd be interested to know what, if anything, gets shaved off the top. Like when you donate to a charity and they say "100% of your donation will go to...", does any of that money end up with Royal as some kind of administration fee to the workers?

Going through the trouble of removing daily gratuities and doling all that money out individually seems like a lot of work (and you miss tipping some of the people you may not see, like laundry workers). But I'd be inclined to try doing it if it's not all going to the workers.

 

Something nice i stumbled on, the Concierge in the D-lounge has the ability, and power to handle many or most things that we would normally stand in line at guest services for. It took me less than 5 minutes to have them remove the daily from my account, and I handled everything with cash. Including tipping out that particular Concierge who was very helpful to us, and with whatever anyone needed from what I seen. As far as tipping out the laundry staff...that seems very far fetched to me. Have you ever been asked by a hotel or resort to tip out the laundry staff? Maybe, they added verbiage such as service fee's? I think that there should be no more tipping at all. Just give us a price for the cruise as a whole and the cruise line handle all of that back of the house agenda.  

[asquared17]

13 hours ago, RorySC said:

the Concierge in the D-lounge has the ability, and power to handle many or most things that we would normally stand in line at guest services for

i often wonder what i should be bringing to the crown lounge concierge instead of trying to time my visits to guest services at off-peak times. i usually forget about seeing them entirely.

[ScottD]

20 hours ago, RorySC said:

I think that there should be no more tipping at all. Just give us a price for the cruise as a whole and the cruise line handle all of that back of the house agenda. 

Agreed... just include everything in the price, and call it a day, that way it doesn't come off as a gratuity as much as just part of the fare and they can disperse it however they want. THEN you can still give cash to those who you feel deserve it without feeling like you are double tipping if that's what you want to do. 

[HeWhoWaits]

9 hours ago, asquared17 said:

i often wonder what i should be bringing to the crown lounge concierge instead of trying to time my visits to guest services at off-peak times. i usually forget about seeing them entirely.

Other than changing some bigger bills to ones for on-the-fly tipping purposes, we default to asking the concierge first. If the concierce CAN'T help, they can usually get you a faster response than waiting in line at Guest Services.

[Ampurp85]

I love having the CL concierge. When I needed to change my reservations on Wonder, the concierge did it in a few minutes and I enjoyed my donuts and hot chocolate while she did it. If I can avoid guest services, I will.

But I also agree they should just charge a service fee in the fare. Instead of calling them gratuities. To each their own but I don't care that money goes to laundry or people cleaning the stairs and bathrooms. They work hard.

[HeWhoWaits]

3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

people cleaning the stairs and bathrooms.

I've passed along cash to these folks on more than a few occasions, especially when I see the same crew member repeatedly. Best reaction I ever got was when I handed the guy washing the pool deck at 5:00 a.m. a $5 bill.

[smokeybandit]

3 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Other than changing some bigger bills to ones for on-the-fly tipping purposes, we default to asking the concierge first. If the concierce CAN'T help, they can usually get you a faster response than waiting in line at Guest Services.

I've found myself asking a concierge questions knowing they can't answer, but more in a "who do you suggest I talk to about..." Sometimes they would call that person directly on our behalf.

My favorite "I know this isn't your area but who should I talk to" story was for some significant OBC that disappeared in the days leading up to the cruise (and I didn't notice it until boarding). I asked her who I should contact, but she tracked it down herself. She totally didn't have to peel that onion, but did.

[jeffmw]

There's an elephant in the room here. The entire cruise industry and its profitability is built upon cruise lines paying workers wages that, in the First World would not be considered a legal or viable wage. This has been interpreted by lots of mainstream media and investigative journalists as exploitation -- and I understand that conclusion -- but that's First World-centric view.

Cruise lines hire people from places where what they pay is considered good pay and a good opportunity. When people go to a resort in Mexico or any other country where low-level workers are paid low wages, it's seldom they stop to question the ethics. The cruise lines are held to an inconsistent standard because they operate out of the US, even if they aren't hiring American workers.

Everything is a function of the economy of a particular place and context. Tucker Carlson recently went to Russia and raved about how a week's worth of groceries that would've cost $300 in the US only cost $175 in Russia. That seems like an indictment of the US economy until you consider that the average American makes in a week (~$1,100) what the average Russian makes in a month. Their groceries cost 60% of ours, but they make 25% as much as we do. With that bit of knowledge, their groceries cost far more than ours. It's all context. 

Long (long) story short -- small amounts of money that mean very little to us mean a lot to the people from places like India and the Philippines, who work on these ships in the menial roles. Any amount of cash you can give any of them is extremely worthwhile to them.

 

[CanHardlyWait]

Shareholders should vote to take less profit and increase wages to first world minimum wages. This would be a step in the right direction. You are first world passengers. The laundry workers should be paid a minimum like any first world worker who takes care of you. Those making a profit off these hard working people's backs should make the first move. Anyone?

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Shareholders should vote to take less profit and increase wages to first world minimum wages. This would be a step in the right direction. You are first world passengers. The laundry workers should be paid a minimum like any first world worker who takes care of you. Those making a profit off these hard working people's backs should make the first move. Anyone?

There's a reason the crew signs up to spend 6-8 months away from family. Because it's good money. Not good money for Americans, but good money for their own country.

[HeWhoWaits]

2 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

Shareholders should vote to take less profit and increase wages to first world minimum wages. This would be a step in the right direction. You are first world passengers. The laundry workers should be paid a minimum like any first world worker who takes care of you. Those making a profit off these hard working people's backs should make the first move. Anyone?

Welcome to the advent of interior staterooms for $500 per person per night, if you got your way.

[CanHardlyWait]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

There's a reason the crew signs up to spend 6-8 months away from family. Because it's good money. Not good money for Americans, but good money for their own country.

Agreed.

[CanHardlyWait]

54 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Welcome to the advent of interior staterooms for $500 per person per night, if you got your way.

No no no. I said lower profits. Not raise prices. LOL.

My point was some people on here cannot be bleeding hearts for hard working crew and also be part of the pay scale problem as shareholders. 

Sadly we are heading towards $500 pp per night anyway. 

I'm just a believer in cash in hand = knowing where it's going. 

[Doug_Texas]

Frankly, Royal is getting exhausting.  There should be no debate that the fine service people deserve great compensation.  But gees, every time I turn around Royal is holding a masterclass in separating me from my money.  Firstly, the Royal beverage packages are the most expensive at sea - so your 18% is higher dollar amount.

Second, in one year Royal changed cabin service from twice a day to once a day, I did not mind but RCL and / or cabin attendants benefitted.  Right on the heels of that gratuities go from $14.50 to to $16.00 and we all scramble to pre-pay our existing bookings quickly.  Now one year later the $16.00 to $18.00 and I need to start looking at my cruise receipts and call my TA again.  Then at the end comes the “Tip Tip Hooray” envelope suggesting you should do your share.  We always throw extra cash along the way but if you want to feel nickel and dimed this is the place.  Oh and if you want one of the new ships, well you know that pricing.

i’ve never been on Virgin Voyages but on their web you see one price (that is reasonable) that includes gratuities, WiFi, and sodas, juices, and water it is obvious they are stepping into a marketing hole Royal and others created. 

[PhillyLady]

Well, I cannot say that tipping is just a Royal issue--it is a CRUISE INDUSTRY issue.  Let's face it, the tipping culture on cruise ships existed for decades, and was always a cash process, until so many cruisers started shortchanging staff that the mandatory charges came along.

Okay, almost every hotel in Vegas nowadays charges a service fee--I guess that is what I kind of consider these extra costs.  I would never remove them, because I think they help benefit the people way at the bottom, like the kitchen staff and the laundry staff.

However, having cruised for decades, I still tip the old fashioned way for my wait staff, room attendant and others--envelopes with extra cash to thank them for a great job. 

I do not mind once a day service, because basically we are very neat and clean, and often out of the cabin on excursions.

Last year I sailed with Viking in Europe, and I did not prepay the gratuities--a dumb move because the cost was $20.00 per person per day in advance, but on board we were charged 20 Euros pp per day! Viking also gives "free" drinks for lunch and dinner, but because I rarely drink alcohol, I feel that I overpaid for that component. 

I really love cruising, and I go with the flow, especially since ships now have televisions in rooms, multiple dining times and restaurants, and beds on the floor instead of bunk beds, none of which really existed when I started traveling on ships.  Bon voyage!

 

[Fastfaller]

For the ppl saying the employees make very little money, we forget that their room and board is paid for every day. So we need to add to their pay the cost of food and room.

Was watching a video of a day in the life of an on board musician. He had to pay for his internet at a discount and extra sodas he wanted but other than that everything was free. His monthly expenses were about $325. Now ask yourself what your monthly expenses are. Rent/mortgage heat, electricity, food, internet, car etc... I would say these folks are doing alright. If they weren't, they wouldn't do it. This isn't slavery, no one is forcing them to be there.

 

[sleepy425]

On 3/23/2024 at 3:07 PM, Fastfaller said:

For the ppl saying the employees make very little money, we forget that their room and board is paid for every day. So we need to add to their pay the cost of food and room.

Was watching a video of a day in the life of an on board musician. He had to pay for his internet at a discount and extra sodas he wanted but other than that everything was free. His monthly expenses were about $325. Now ask yourself what your monthly expenses are. Rent/mortgage heat, electricity, food, internet, car etc... I would say these folks are doing alright. If they weren't, they wouldn't do it. This isn't slavery, no one is forcing them to be there.

 

Many of these people have a family back home, who still need a place to stay and to eat.  So I would say a decent portion are still paying for a place to live in their home country.  Our server on Adventure was single, but was in the process of building a house because, as he told us, in order to get married he had to prove to a woman's family (there was no specific woman yet because he had no home yet) he had a place for her to live.

[steverk]

21 minutes ago, sleepy425 said:

Many of these people have a family back home, who still need a place to stay and to eat.  So I would say a decent portion are still paying for a place to live in their home country.  Our server on Adventure was single, but was in the process of building a house because, as he told us, in order to get married he had to prove to a woman's family (there was no specific woman yet because he had no home yet) he had a place for her to live.

Also remember that unless the crew member wants to impose on family or friends,  he  or she must keep an apartment on shore even though it isn't used very much.

[ScottD]

On 3/23/2024 at 3:07 PM, Fastfaller said:

For the ppl saying the employees make very little money, we forget that their room and board is paid for every day. So we need to add to their pay the cost of food and room.

Was watching a video of a day in the life of an on board musician. He had to pay for his internet at a discount and extra sodas he wanted but other than that everything was free. His monthly expenses were about $325. Now ask yourself what your monthly expenses are. Rent/mortgage heat, electricity, food, internet, car etc... I would say these folks are doing alright. If they weren't, they wouldn't do it. This isn't slavery, no one is forcing them to be there.

 

They pay A LOT for internet, so to keep in touch with family, they use a large part of their money on that. Most of them just wait until they are in port and find a spot, but that is NOT free for them. Of course if they hang out at night at the crew bar- it cost them. All of the supplies at the little on ship store- laundry soap, toiletries, snacks, OTC meds...all cost them.  They get free food and board...but most other stuff is costing them a nice chunk of their money 

[TXcruzer]

6 hours ago, ScottD said:

They pay A LOT for internet, so to keep in touch with family, they use a large part of their money on that. Most of them just wait until they are in port and find a spot, but that is NOT free for them. Of course if they hang out at night at the crew bar- it cost them. All of the supplies at the little on ship store- laundry soap, toiletries, snacks, OTC meds...all cost them.  They get free food and board...but most other stuff is costing them a nice chunk of their money 

Yet the AMA thread on Reddit last month from an Oasis bartender stated that he pocketed 7 years worth of income in one contract.