Gratuities Going Up

[Kendall James-Vargas]

Celebrity Cruises will be upping its guest gratuities effective July 11, 2023. For those booked with Celebrity Cruises, I hope you booked with the All Included or Always Included package. If booked with these packages, you won't have to pay the additional approximate 3% gratuity increase. I wonder if you booked before July 11 with the All Included package if you could solidify the cheaper gratuity rate. This may be your time to book and save! 

[FJB]

Got the email today from Celebrity concerning this since we have a cruise booked for next February. I have no clue if we booked with the included package but if I can’t afford the extra 50cents per day then I probably shouldn’t be cruising. 

[PaulB]

I don't understand the overall  gratuity being from the UK. We tend to tip if we receive good service, and it's up to the individual customer whether they wish to do so. I myself have worked in the hospitality trade for numerous years so I understand the need for gratuity, however I also know that if I don't do my job correctly and don't provide the customer with a decent customer service, then they will not be leaving any gratuities at all. 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@FJB You make a valid point! On the other hand, the more you save on gratuities the more you can tip extra to those super special crew members. I usually like to look at it that way. If I can save a little more now, I can spend a little more later on things that are more meaningful to me. I think gratuities are a vital part of cruising, but as a person who tips extra cash to my personal favorites, I prefer giving to those crew members who went above and beyond during my cruise. That being said saving $20 in the mandated gratuities would allow me to drop a $20 do my housekeeper who went above and beyond cleaning up after my family. Do you agree?

[kefthecruiser]

Cha-ching, and so it continues, death by a thousand nicks...

@PaulB "We tend to tip if we receive good service" - wow, what a novel concept! Here stateside that's been the idea as well. Some time ago, the cruise lines started automatically adding it to onboard accounts 'for convenience'. HAH, it's now become a fee that they raise periodically and tell us it goes to virtually all crew members. Sounds like the cruise line found a new source of funds for salaries. I prefer to tip directly as well to crew members that make a difference. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[PaulB]

@kefthecruiser So with what you're saying with cruises is that they just add gratuities regardless. Now isn't this the same way as being taxed or having VAT added to your bill. I don't agree with this concept really. As I mentioned, I've worked in hospitality and the gratuities do help in a not very well paid industry. However those gratuities are taxed out of our monthly pay. 

[kefthecruiser]

@PaulB The cruise lines I use all add gratuities to your onboard account, unless you prepay. There may be some that do not. Seems like a fee or tax to me. Though the cruise lines state you can go to guest services and adjust the gratuity amount. 

I find the idea of prepaying gratuities ridiculous. So I'm paying months in advance for service I'll receive at a future time from someone who likely is not currently on the ship and the service deserves a tip. WOW 

I've heard that cruises that originate from European and Australian ports do not automatically charge gratuities. Does anyone know? Just a curiosity question.

[PaulB]

Very interesting @kefthecruiser. And a very good valid point made. Seems every business wants your money but no guarantees when it comes to service. A possibility of paying for mediocrity.

[Seaawgs]

Personal debt explosion and government give-a-ways make everyone a potential traveler. Seasonality has disappeared. Using las Vegas as a model, they simply cannot charge enough to slow demand. Cruise companies are getting in on this frenzy and are quickly erasing Covid debt. Celebrival and Carnebrity are the results of this attempt to attract the financially less inhibited. "Just put it on the card"

[3Sisters]

@Seaawgs That's very true! The market and potential clientele for cruising have definitely changed. I guess everyone is on the market for a good time. Might as well live it up now in case we have to relive the years past, unable to cruise! The price increases don't seem to be stopping anyone from booking with all of the payment plan options out too. If you budget it out, a cruise can be pretty doable for most. If you book far enough ahead, you can take like a full year to two to pay off the cruise in relatively low payments if you are strategic about it! 

[PaulB]

That seems to be the attitude of a lot of people. And that's why the cruise lines a re getting busier as people are wanting to go away on vacation because of the COVID pandemic. Not only did we have 2 years of restricted travel but the unfortunate deaths puts everything into perspective.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

The payment options for cruise guests are pretty practical too! You can book ahead of time with a minimal and refundable deposit. Booking a cruise is really not difficult and it encompasses everything, making it very convenient. As a person who always has a pretty packed itinerary, I enjoy just booking a cruise in the span of 15 minutes and knowing that the cruise line will take care of the rest for me from unlimited food and drink to the endless entertainment opportunities, I can just show up with my family and ensure everyone is going to have the time of their lives. Having to be so creative with camping and road trip vacations during the pandemic was not my favorite. It just made me even more eager to cruise than before. 

[LukeJ]

I'm guessing if it wasn't compulsory to give gratuities, only by choice if customer service was good enough, then I'm sure the attitudes of the crew members would definitely change for the better.

[3Sisters]

@LukeJ Do you think optional gratuities would be beneficial? I happen to disagree with that. I believe that if gratuities weren't mandatory most guests wouldn't tip. I would totally tip, but I don't think that the majority would do the same. 

[kefthecruiser]

@3Sisters "Back in the Day" (always wanted to use that phrase) when I first started cruising (1999), gratuities were optional though highly encouraged with suggested amounts. Each cabin had a set of envelopes, labelled by recipient title - cabin steward, assistant cabin steward, waiter, assistant waiter, etc.. to insert your cash. There were 5 or 6 envelopes as I recall and blanks were available to write in a crew member, beyond the basic ones. The day before disembarkation, you would hand the envelope directly to the crew member. I suppose there were people who did not tip, I did not always tip if service was mediocre.

Now, the cruise line collects, administers, and then doles it out to crew. Passengers do not know who gets what.  

I don't remember when the system changed. Which system is truly tipping for excellent service? Which system is a service fee?

[3Sisters]

@kefthecruiser Thanks for the history of tipping while cruising! I don't remember cruising with this tipping style, but I was still a child in 1999. I really appreciate your perspective actually. I prefer to tip for excellent service, and I don't like "not knowing" where my tipping is going. I love to tip and go above and beyond for those who went above and beyond for me. Maybe if the cruise lines pay their employees just a little bit more, then utilizing this optional tipping method could be better for the crew. It depends on the person how much they will tip. People like myself would tip greatly, others possibly not so much. I see the value in this system.

[Seaawgs]

The question becomes; when paying thousands of dollars for a cruise, what are you actually paying for? "Gratuities" are simply a cash cow for the cruise industry adding $60,000 per day to an average cruise. 

[LukeJ]

If customer service was on point, and you received great care and consideration, then I honestly believe majority of people would tip. It wouldn't be a compulsory amount, whatever people wish to give. A lot would over tip because they would appreciate the service they received. Some would tip basic amount and some wouldn't tip at all. However, the average would be on par to what they should be tipping. Guests would be happy that crew members have raised their game and deserve the gratuity, and crew members would personally feel like they deserved it.

[3Sisters]

@Seaawgs That's definitely not the best scenario. I like the idea of giving the cash directly to the crew, without the crew having to deduct any taxes or report it to the cruise line. It's nice to just make a little extra something to have and use at your leisure without having it come out of your paycheck. To me, tipping extra cash is such a better reward for the crew. Now that my wheels are spinning, having the cruise line filter and manage the gratuities received is not the most beneficial to the crew. I wonder what is the preferred method of receiving tips from a crew members perspective. I think I would tip more cash than the mandatory gratuities cruise lines enforce today. What do you think @LukeJ? This envelope method could possibly keep the crew incentivized to provide the best customer service possible and actually find it worthwhile to do so. 

[Seaawgs]

We tip additional anyway. The Cruise line will insist their method takes care of those not engaged by passengers. So basically,  I'm paying extra to window washers and laundry personnel without the ability to assess performance in this scenario. Oddly, this is all taking place during a period of reduction in service. 

[PaulB]

Yes. The tips do get spread overall I'm hoping however I agree too that it shouldn't be mandatory. No other industry expect gratuity for doing their jobs so it shouldn't be in this case. This is a perk I believe to be aid extra for doing your work.

[Cruising Caribbean]

I think the crew benefits more from the envelope system. I don't think the tipping system now is very lucrative for the crew members. Maybe a cruise crew member or previous crew member could chime in on this topic. Do you think this standardized tipping method is benefiting the cruise lines more than the cruise crew? I see how this standardized method keeps everyone feeling equal. I'm sure jealousy could occur if some crew members were getting more tips than others. 

[Kendall James-Vargas]

Celebrity Cruises goes above and beyond for its guests again! It just announced a Celebrity Millennium itinerary change to its guests onboard, surprising everyone onboard with longer port stays, and giving guests extra time to explore these amazing stops from Tokyo to Busan, South Korea. Although the tipping fees have gone up, Celebrity Cruise Line surely knows how to keep guests happy, providing them with the ultimate cruise vacation.