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Frosty 4
Ask your travel agent -- or Royal Caribbean directly -- because there is usually a way to opt out. But that might mean that you can not charge TIPS to your account and have to hand them out the old fashioned way at the end of the cruise.
Normally folks have the option of choosing traditional main or late dining OR the flexible "My Time Dining." But IF folks choose MTD, it's required that the tips be paid up front.
Your travel agent should know this and should have explained it to you. IF pre-paying the tips is an issue, ask he or she to waitlist you for either main or late dining...if the waitlist clears before your final payment date, you can have them remove the pre-paid gratuities.
-Russ
[ 10-17-2012: Message edited by: linerguy ]
quote:Originally posted by Atlcruiser:You do not pray gratuities on RCI unless you sign up for My Time dining. Other than that, gratuities remain the same.
Out of interest, what is the difference ? Why would my time dining cause the tips to be paid up front ?
[ 10-17-2012: Message edited by: Atlcruiser ]
quote:Originally posted by Frosty 4:Yes, we choose MTD. Most cruise lines will set the charges on a daily basis. Added to your daily account.Aren't tips suppose to be equally divided amongst the crew members?What difference does any time dining have to do with this??I agree add the tips into the upfront cruise fare. Some of the $$$ cruise lines do this as tips are included.As Diamond Members ON RCL I am NOT happy on this matter.Frosty 4
No gratuities are not divided up among the crew unless they are part of the MTD staff. If you have traditional dining then you have the same waitstaff each night and extend gratuities at the end of the week with the cash envelopes. With MTD you could have a different waitstaff each night thus the pre paying. It's the way that RCI and Celebrity have it set up.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not being disrespectful, and I can see why it bothers you (maybe not to the point that it apparently does). Just remember: people vote with their money; if you don't like having to prepay the gratuities take your money elsewhere and tell them why.
Since RCI probably won't change their policy just for you, why go on the cruise only to grumble about it the entire time?
As already mentioned, there are lines which include gratuities in the fare, but you are going to pay more for the fare upfront, even in the case of Carnival Australia cruises.
Some of the people that are included on automatic tipping we don't have contact with.,either hotel staff or those in the dining room.This whole case was just something that was new and differs from other lines. Hence my surprize.Frosty 4
quote:Originally posted by Linerrich:anyone who has a problem prepaying this item is probably someone looking for a way to get out of tipping altogether, once on board.
Or, as with us, if they had hoped to be able use their onboard credit to pay their tips.
I work as a Supervisor for Encore Cruises (representing 14 cruises lines) up here in Canada. Royal Caribbean (as already mentioned) offers you the choice of adding prepaid gratuities to your booking unless you have MYTime Dining. With Celebrity it is the same if you select Celebrity Select dining. Disney new automatically adds gratuities to your shipboard account if you dont prepay them in advance. I have heard rumours that Holland America and Costa Cruises are planning on following suit.
Having cruise twelve times on Carnival, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Costa Cruises, I prefer to add them to my booking and prepay for them in advance, even if I just do early or late dining on RCI and CEL. It is convenient to pay for it ahead of time and not have to worry about it being added to your bill at the end of the cruise. The same thing with Shore Excursions. I usually book my cruises up to a year in advance and book my shore excursions about four to six months out. That way you get the best choice, you dont have to worry about something being sold out, and you can always make changes anytime.
Just my two cents
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