Gratuities on cruise ships.?

we have just booked a cruise for next year on the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas, this is our first cruise and we carnt wait the ship looks great, but can anyone tell me what is the best way to pay the tips, should we pay up front which adds another £100 on the holiday, or wait till we get on board.Also i have read the small print( yes i know iam sad) but it says something about a 15% charge on any beverage bills is this as well as any tips we might give, any advice would be great.






Answer :
You can prepay your tips if you wish or you can have the tips added to you shipboard account. If you chose the latter, it is something that you will have to budget for as a extra.
The 15% on drinks is a tip for the waiter or bar person who serves you, they are not included in the tip pool. The tips are for your cabin steward, the housekeeping staff and the dining staff.
If you are on a budget, pay them before you go, you will have plenty on your final bill if you plan on doing a few excursions, playing bingo, buying a few photographs, having a few drinks and buying things from the on-board shops.
Have a great time.






Answer :
I have sailed with 3 different lines and all were set up the same.
You set up an on board account before the ship leaves. This will cover $10.00 aday tip for staff plus any other purchases while you are on the ship. Any other tips are totally up to you. Always a good idea to leave something for room steward.
As for th 15% for drinks I was only charged this one time only.
Also each day you may either go to the main desk or on your TV in your cabin and review you account. Any time you may request that an unknown charge be removed. You may also ask that the gratuities be changed.
Also if you go to the same restaurant and feel you want to tip your server that is your choice.
The $10.00 aday tip is divided among the crew.
Enjoy your cruise.






Answer :
You can also go the the pursers office and have the tips removed from your on board account and tip the people that actually gave you service. This is what I do and we tip our waiter $20 and our cabin boy $20 this is from each of us in the cabin, if it is a family we adjust it accordingly. If you call for room service, we always tip $2 or $3. The same for bar service. If you tip yourself, you know that the tip goes to the person that actually took care of you and not a portion of it going to people you never see. The charge is normally $10 a day per guest if it is added to your on board account.






Answer :
If you're not familiar with the ship or the crew, don't pay up front. They won't give it back if you say you've had lousy service. There's a system for paying gratuities when you settle your drinks account and you can decide then.

Royal Caribbean charge you for drinks and pay their staff. They can charge what they want. Part of the bar staff wages is based on the volume of drink they sell, but why should that be your business. Just worry about the total cost of beverages and decide whether at that price you'd prefer to confine your boozing to time ashore.






Answer :
Some cruise liners have set rule but if that's not the case.

Don't pay upfront. Give tips only if you think the service is good. 10% is the norm but for exceptional service you can give more.
Unfortunately you can't do anything about the 15% surcharge (just look at it as part of the bill ) but if you want to get exceptional service add a bit extra for the waiter/waitress.

Don't forget the cabin staff.

Enjoy your cruise.






Answer :
American cruise ships are notorious for staff wanting tips & always at 15% on everything, plus you are expected to tip the cabin staff & anyone else (stewards, waiters, etc) and you will find a guide in your paperwork. If you travel on a British ship (or one that caters mainly for British travellers) it will be more like 10%. One or two lines don't encourage tipping & say that it's included in the cost.






Answer :
the small print is correct...you will pay 15% on beverage purchases (alcohol, soda, etc)...also, if you prepay the gratuties then its an expense you won't have when you are on the ship...you will get differing opinions on should you even pay them, but the service you receive for the small amount of cash is a great trade, many people who cruise extensivelt even tip additional .......you should have a fantastic time






Answer :
The bartenders are only on $800 a month so rely on their tips. If there was no 15% charge on drinks, the bartenders' salaries would be increased to a decent one and therefore making a cruise more expensive for the customers.
So really, boozers get the 'charge' and make cruises cheaper for non boozers






Answer :
You pay your tips at the end of the cruise...Usually you set up an account with the purser with your credit card for charges you accumulate on the trip.... All tips are generally given to the individuals......mostly for your room boy and your food staff. They will tell you all about it when you are on board.
Have a great time....You will love it






Answer :
They automatically add the "required" gratuities to your bill at the end of the trip! You never need to handle actual cash on board as they give you a cruise card (i.e charge card) which is used for everything you purchase.






Answer :
In regards to your question, 15% grats is always charged to any alchoholic beverage you purchase whilst you are on board, as for the other grats, this can be pre paid on board which i find the most conveniant.






Answer :
When we cruised with Royal Caribbean we were given envelopes with suggested amounts on them for us to hand out on our last night. It was ultimately up to us what we actually put on them.
I am sure you will have a wonderful time - we found it an amazing experience.






Answer :
I have been on 20 cruises, many on Royal Caribbean, and here's how the gratuities works on ALL cruise ships. First, there are standard gratuities that they charge all passengers. These will amount to about $10 per person in your cabin per day; about $70 each for a 7 day cruise. This amount is divided among the staff that will serve you this way:
Cabin Steward .... $3.50 per day per person
Waiter ................. $3.50 per day per person
Assistant Waiter ... $2.00 per day per person
Head Waiter ...........$ .75 per day per person

It does not matter whether you pre-pay or pay after you get on the ship. The amount is the same and in essence these charges are always automatic; that's how these staff people are paid (for the most part). But if you have a problem with the service of any of the aforementioned people you can go to the purser's desk and complain and ask that the charge be reduced or eliminated.

Otherwise, when you check in at the pier they will set up an on-board charge account for you to cover any and everything you may buy on ship. They will issue you a "cruise card" which will also serve as your room key, charge card, and pass to get on and off the ship. At the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity to your tab and you can pay with a credit card or cash, your choice.

Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will always be provided free but you must pay for drinks (alcoholic beverages) and soft drinks and they will add a 15 percent gratuity to each drink or soft drink order. Whenever you sign a chit the 15 percent will be automatically included in the total; but you can add more if you want.

Everything on the ship is cashless. You will use your cruise card for anything you purchase, like photos, tours, souvinirs, and at the end of your cruise you will pay your bill by credit card, unless you arrange to pay cash. You can have all charges for your cabin on one account, or split them up individually for each person.