I know that some people get away with putting one bottle in the main suitcase and one in hand luggage. Could I buy only 4 of the 8 days of my trip, for example? Then, contact one with a best-price guarantee and have them beat it! At the end of your cruise, youll receive an envelope that you can use to give extra cash tips if you wish. The cocktails in the Bamboo Lounge are a little different to the poolside cocktails, the have fancier glasses and the ingredients may be different too. Having to add in gratuity costs to these advertised rates could make them less attractive to potential cruisers. In your article are you saying that on a cruise out of Southampton uk. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Whether you pay gratuities before or after your cruise is your choice, but its never recommended to remove them. Royal Caribbean to raise gratuity amount for guests, Royal Caribbean raises gratuity amount for guests, Royal Caribbean raises its automatic gratuities, Royal Caribbean Australia introduces streamlined cruise fares that include gratuities, Royal Caribbean Gratuities: What you need to know, Standard cabin (Junior Suites and below)going from $14.50 to $16.00 per day, per person, Suite gratuity rate will changefrom $17.50 to $18.50 per day per person, Balcony and lower cabins:$16.00 per person, per day, Haven and Suite guests: $20.00 per person, per day, Club Balcony Suite guests remains at $18.00 per person, per day. Heres how I get the lowest price when I book a cruise. Royal Caribbean charges a gratuity of $16.00 per person, per day. Royal Caribbean is a trademark of Royal Caribbean Group. If you dont decide to prepay the tips, then the amount is automatically charged to your onboard account each day. Royal Caribbean offers guests the choice of prepaying gratuities for select crew members on its ships. If you do, Royal Caribbean will automatically charge your card at the end of your cruise. Royal Caribbean drinks packages include all tips (also known as gratuities). Sure, just pop your email in the box and it will come straight to you. Check your Cruise Planner and see if it comes up to purchase. Some lines also pool the tips altogether and then distribute them throughout the year. You simply pay this extra amount in full for your cruise as part of your cruise fare. Unless you are feeling generous, theres no need to tip more. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, tips are shared between dining,bar& culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience. You have entered an incorrect email address! However, if you want to choose the flexible My Time dining, rather than having a set dining time, you must pre-pay your gratuities. I just purchased the Deluxe Beverage package, for myself, and the refreshement package for my wife. We just came back from a Cruise to Nowhere aboard the Quantum of the Seas as well. This is my first cruise. You may get reduced kids prices, included drinks or free gratuities. If you tip individuals instead, you may be doing a disservice to staff members who you havent met personally, such as the kitchen staff or cleaners. By scorpluvsdolphins, August 20 in Royal Caribbean International. How To Prepay Gratuities On Royal Caribbean Website Guests can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 or logging into www.royalcaribbean.com before* their sailing. As a person who rarely drinks and had to buy a package for myself so that my husband could have one, does this mean Im paying an extra dollar or two if I decide Id like to try one of these drinks. So you cant get the Royal Cribbean alcohol package for one person and the soft drink package for another. 3 ways to get free wifi on your Royal Caribbean cruise. Are there ways to request a drink like a Bloody Mary but in a $12 or less version? Hi Anthony. The number of nights affects the total cost of beverage packages. Have our travel agency partner get you a free quote for a Royal Caribbean cruise. Jenni. While steep on a percentage basis, the increase in gratuity charge at Royal Caribbean is the first at the line in more than four years. This figure reflects the maximum per-alcoholic-beverage cost that is covered with a Deluxe (alcohol) package. Hi Natalie. What is Royal Caribbean's gratuity price and policy? Like what you see? Beverage packages can be used at CocoCay, Royal Caribbeans private island in the Bahamas and at Labadee, Royal Caribbeans private beach in Haiti. For example, you have worked with the XYZ company for a period of 15 years. Can I please get the link to the calculator? If you are uncomfortable standing, just let a staff member know and they will be sure to accommodate you. Were here to help. February 11, 2023 Randy Young Bar Menu, drink package, Royal Caribbean. Guests that booked through a travel agent can request their agent add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing. I am going on my first cruise in February and found your information very helpful thank you. Yes, except if you are sailing in the U.S., then NCL tacks on the gratuities on the amount of the beverage package even though the package is free. Featured Royal Caribbean Cruise Deals. Pre-paid gratuities can be added to an individual reservation at any time outside of 48 hours of the sail date. Does that include the 16.36% gratuity or will I be charged another 16.36% of 856, which would be another 140 approx ? In addition to this, an 18% gratuity is automatically added to all drinks, spa and salon services. Without your contribution, the compensation for the staff members will decrease. Ditch winter blues for tropical hues on a warm-weather escape. If gratuities show on our account when we settle at cruise end, we ask for them to be removed. We were exploring ports almost every day. You may be better off opting to pay for drinks as you go as its hard to break even without drinking a lot of alcohol each day. All I can see is my cruise planner prices which are $95+ per day!! Can I buy unlimited beverage package for 2 days only in a four days cruise , or it has to be for all days ? Hi, I'm Jenni. All of you have great advice. Heres Everything to Know, 21+ Best Cruise Cabin Tips, Secrets, & Things to Know (Read Before Sailing), 25+ Fun Must-Do Things on a Norwegian Cruise, 29 Must-Have Things to Pack for an Alaskan Cruise (11 Youd Never Think Of), Carnival Is Fixing a MAJOR Issue With Sailing from Galveston, Princess Cruise Gratuity (Tips) Full Guide: How Much, How They Work, and More, Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America, 107 Best Cruise Tips, Tricks, Secrets, and Freebies, 39 Useful Things to Pack For Your Cruise (Including 17 Youd Never Think Of). Automatic gratuity charge: None. We had a short four-night cruise to Royal Caribbeans private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, in the Bahamas. I was drinking a Rusty Nail on my last cruise and thats a drink small enough where the bartender poured me doubles to keep me from coming back so much. If you book a cruise with free gratuities, it means that Royal Caribbean will pay the gratuities to the staff members for you, so you dont need to worry about paying them. Good luck! The calculator estimates the total cost for beverages, including the cost of beverage packages, gratuities, and upcharges. Lets say the drinks package costs an average of $75 per day. We have two kids. Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. I want the employee to know they received a tip from me. One thing which I noticed is that the bigger the freebie, the higher the base price. Mailbag: Why do I have to pay gratuities for my toddler? Royal Caribbean always price in US dollars no matter the itinerary. Royal Caribbean doesnt offer free drinks packages. You can use my free drinks package calculator to work out what your bar bill would be with no drink package. On the other hand, many people choose to instead pay the gratuity charges automatically through their onboard account once on the ship. For example I drink a lot of water during the day so I will at least have 6 bottles of water. Disney Cruise Line recommends a gratuity amount of $14.50 per person per night. For guests booked through travel advisors, their advisor may add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing*. Gratuity = n*b*15 / 26. I hope this helps. The cost for two people on a week-long cruise can be well above $200. My two sons are coming on the cruise with me. This also applies to sailings departing from Australia and New Zealand. We offer you this handy calculator tool for determining the appropriate gratuities for the crew members that help make your Disney cruise magical. What the real deal? My Cruise Line Calls it a Crew Incentive or Service Charge. Im not sure actually. Prepaying gratuities before your cruise means you pay off that balance early, instead of accruing a higher balance that is owed at the end of the cruise. Is Every Passenger Charged Gratuities? Royal Caribbean Cruises Tipping Policy. Jenni. Royal Caribbean Junior Suite perks: Is it worth the upgrade? You can see a full list of those here: List of Free Drinks on Royal Caribbean Cruises. To account for this, the drink package limit is matched to it. If I travel with my family of 4, and I pay the waiting $20 ($5 per person) staff each time we eat in the dining room, which would be for dinner only, over 7 days, that would $140. There are several places where youll find free drinks during your Royal Caribbean cruise. Hi Sue. I have another question. Each passenger pays a daily gratuity that covers the services of the crew members they interact with the most, and this daily rate is charged automatically unless the guest pre-pays it prior to the cruise. Just like sneaking your own alcohol on board the ship, this isnt technically allowed, but people do it. Rather than guests tipping each member of staff, Royal Caribbean charges a set fee per day to reward crew members for their service. Where did you see the cheaper prices for the new cruise bookings? The calculator recommends the most cost-effective beverage package. Thats just one of the ways that people try to cheat. For most sailings, when you buy a drinks package online, an 18% gratuity charge is added at the checkout. Instead of one passenger paying a lot and another paying hardly anything, these set amounts ensure that everyone pays their fair share. My question is, what happens if I buy the beverage package of only soft drinks and non-alcoholic beverages, and at some point during the trip I want to order, for example, a pina colada with alcohol? The porter stands there counts the luggage and has told the price for a handling fee. If you buy the drink package before you board you may be able to get it for cheaper as pre-cruise drink package prices fluctuate before the sailing date. Feb 23. Starting September 7, 2022, Royal Caribbean International will increase the onboard gratuities that guests will pay for the service they receive from crewmembers.Gratuities for guests occupying standard cabins (Junior Suites and below) range from $14.50 to $16.00 per day per person. When you buy the Deluxe Beverage Package or the Refreshment Package, you also get the souvenir cup and so have all the benefits of the Classic Soda Package. If you book your cruise during a free drinks offer, then you will get drinks included with your cruise. To do so, simply head down to Guest Services on the ship to tell them that you want to change your tip amounts. The newer Strawfish biodegradable straws are much better, but I would still recommend bringing your own metal straw, such as these collapsible straws that you can clip onto your bag or belt. Other than that, your gratuity charges cover the housekeeping and dining staff. In my former job managing cruise websites for a travel agent, I saw cruise line campaigns change regularly and prices fluctuate almost daily. How do I purchase a drink package for 1 and a soft drinks package for 1 because of a medical condition, Hi Jill, Im considering booking a drinks package with Royal Caribbean. You should think about how much time you plan to spend on the ship. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. To work out the total gratuity for your cruise, you should multiply the daily gratuity charge by the number of nights and the number of passengers in your party. We never use a credit card for our on ship account. It varies depending on the sailing, and prices also go up and down as the sailing date nears. Extremely helpful esp0ecially about tipping and what to do. You can modify the amount until the morning you get off the ship. How Often Do the Gratuity Rates Increase? The automatic tip is USD 16.00 USD, or USD 18.50 USD for suite guests, applied to each guest's SeaPass account on a daily basis. Pre-existing bookings confirmed prior to September 7th , 2022 will not be subject to the increased guidelines as long as gratuities are paid in advance of sailing. If the price does drop, you can always call Royal Carribbean to cancel it and book it again at the lower price. #36. Gone are the days of simply slipping a waiter some cash or leaving a couple of bills for the room steward at the end of your trip (although you can still do that if you want). Cruise gratuities are also known as tips. The slight problem we have is my cousin has stability problems, his hands are very shaky , and he is unstable on his feet , dont get me wrong he gets about on his, but he could not serve himself for coffee or breakfast and the like. That said, if you dont pay gratuities, then its the staff that will be hurting not the cruise line. So the longer the cruise, the higher the gratuities as well. There are some circumstances in which it would be better to prepay and some in which it would be better to pay at the end of your cruise. In fact, we cant think of a place where gratuities are handled the same way as they are on a cruise ship. Starting Sept. 7, Royal Caribbean will charge guests in non-suite staterooms . Royal Caribbean Drink Packages. One of the benefits of a drinks package is that if you dont like a drink you dont have to drink it. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 20 cruises. But RCCL wants to charge $448. The breakdown of gratuities is carefully worked out to be fair for all crew members. The prices that are on the menus are reasonable if in Au Dollars. Royal Caribbean regularly have promotions to encourage people to book cruises. For example, a family of four who is taking a seven-night cruise would owe $406 for gratuities. Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival have slightly different daily gratuities. Who gets the tips? Share. Most recently, Disney Cruise Line increased the rate to $14.50 in July 2022. So you wont have to pay any more for your drinks unless you order something really specialist. Does the menu price already include the per drink gratuity? The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages . To save you the headache, Ive created a handy tool that does the maths for you. 3 hours ago, Husky1987 said: Percentage of cruisers that remove auto gratuities: 10%. As of September 7 th, 2022, the automatic service gratuity of $16.00 USD per person, per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or $18.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Suites, will be applied to each guest's SeaPass account on a daily basis. I have a question Ive not seen answered. hi.We leave from Southampton next month.We can only bring 2 bottles of wine at first day,not allowed any after that apparently.Also for 14 nights for the drinks package for my wife and i is nearly 2000!! Your positive feedback will go on their permanent file, which can help them to get promotions and pay rises. When you book your cruise, youll be given the opportunity to prepay the gratuities. Percentage of cruisers that remove auto gratuities who tell everyone they tip in cash "to those who serve them": 100%. We are cruising with NCL later this year & we have a beverage package included & gratuities included does that mean we will not pay any more gratuities at end of cruise? Select the number of nights for the cruise, from a minimum of two nights to a maximum of thirty nights. Add them on to the total cost of your cruise when you book, Log on to the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner before your cruise, Ask your travel agent to arrange to take a payment from you. No, it doesnt. No votes so far! Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Is is possible to buy the package for less days than those of your cruise? Not to split them across all the employees equally. Yet with a drinks package, youre free to work your way down the menu, trying new things. Do I Need to Tip Anyone Else While On the Ship? The daily cost is per guest. No, you would have to buy it for every day of your cruise. Royal Caribbean will be raising its automatic daily gratuity amountthat guests pay night of their cruise beginning on, Royal Caribbean offers guests the choice of prepaying gratuities for select crew members on its ships. Like what you see? Royal Caribbean stipulates in the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic gratuity does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard up until the morning of their departure. Do you know the difference in the tea? That adds up. So no, you wouldnt have to pay any extra gratuities on drinks. Posted 3 hours ago. That said, its unusual to adjust the gratuity amount, and the staff works extremely hard to make your trip enjoyable. Hi Aoife. Royal Caribbean Beverage Package Calculator: Instructions and Explanations . Norwegian Cruise Lines doesnt charge gratuities for kids under three. Jenni. Part of the overall cost of a Royal Caribbean cruise is a service gratuity for recognizing the hard work of crew members. I didnt know I could have the tips removed from my room charges. Most cruise lines require that EVERYONE who is in the cabin and 21 or older to purchase the package. Theres little doubt that the extra tips can be expensive. Be the first to rate this post. Should you prepay gratuities for a Royal Caribbean cruise? All service isnt created equally. Typical increases are around $1 per person, per day and seem to happen about once a year. Im guessing they make it cheaper on a longer cruise compared to a 3- or 4-nighter so its really hard to compare with what Ive seen it for on my own cruises. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. How to prepay gratuities. You may also wish to give some cash to porters who help with your luggage outside of the ship, particularly if you start your cruise in the United States where this is customary. My gf is a big tea drinker and is considering the package purely for that. If not, just leave blank, Royal Caribbean increases gratuities for crew members on its cruise ships, Carnival Cruise Line raised their gratuities. The exact breakdown of how much each staff member gets isnt published, just like their salary isnt published. If you dont, then youll need to settle the account with a credit, debit card or with cash before you disembark at the end of your cruise. On most cruises, including cruises departing from the US, an automatic gratuity of 18% is added to the cost of each drink when you receive the bill. $15.50 per person, per day staying in mini-suites. That said, some cruise lines make exceptions for small kids. The option to prepay gratuities means locking in the current gratuity rate, along with spreading out the overall cost of the cruise by integrating it into the cost of the cruise. Why do I have to pay gratuities for my toddler? Some ships may cover up to $13 per alcoholic beverage. As of September 7th, 2022, the automatic service gratuity of $16.00 USD per person, per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or $18.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Suites, will be applied to each guest's SeaPass account on a daily basis. 15 Ways To Use Your Royal Caribbean Onboard Credit. Gratuity Calculator. They are often expressed as the rate for a single person (despite having to pay for double occupancy) and dont include port fees or taxes. The lowest prices can often be found during the Black Friday sale period. After four years, Royal Caribbean is increasing the gratuity rate cruise ship passengers will pay for the service they receive from crew members onboard its ships. The discount is increased by up to 30% during promotional periods such as Black Friday. How much is charged? Size of travel cots? First, any time that you buy a drink from the bar, you will be charged an extra tip, usually 18%-20% of the menu price, depending on the cruise line. Thanks for the great information. I am on Voyagers of the seas in April on repositioning cruise. Alcoholic beverages that exceed this amount will be charged the difference plus gratuity on the difference. Complimentary is just regular coffee whereas premium includes cappuccino, latte, espresso etc. Each guest, regardless of age, will be assessed the daily gratuity as recognition for the hard work crew members do each day. Yes, thats correct. Prices for the non-alcoholic drink packages are obviously much cheaper. Started in 2010, Royal Caribbean Blog offers daily coverage of news and information related to the Royal Caribbean cruise line along with other relevant topics of cruising, such as entertainment, news, photo updates and more. If you booked directly with Royal Caribbean, you can either call Royal Caribbean . This may be a Kids Sail Free offer, free gratuities or buy one cruise fare get one half price. With millions of passengers sailing every year, theres inevitably going to be someone who feels they received poor service. If you have a major issue, however, you can change your gratuity amount accordingly. $16.50 per person, per day for guests in suites. Passengers in higher-level suites pay $18. The tips are spread out between the room steward, dining staff, and others. This happens automatically and will be tacked on to the price. He would hardly be expected to buy the alcohol package too?? They also do not include the charge for special souvenir or commemorative beverage containers. If you have the Deluxe Beverage Package, youll get a 40% discount on bottled wines priced up to $100 and a 20% discount on wines priced over $100. Bottom line is that it comes down to personal preference. Then if I pay another $5 per person each day for room clean-up, thats another $140, for a total of $280. The calculator will add the mandatory gratuity to the package cost in its calculations. Disney Cruise Gratuity Calculator. The number of years you have worked in the concerned organisation. You are charged a set amount (the amount varies depending on the cruise line), per person, per day. However, to do so, you must go to Guest Services, before the last evening of the cruise and request that t. On my last Royal Caribbean cruise on Anthem of the Seas, it was a seven-night cruise from Southampton so I didnt get a drinks package. Hi Carmen. This is extremely helpful. You are free to adjust the amount to whatever you think is fair. Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package is their highest-tier beverage package. Does anyone know what the difference is between the complimentary coffee and tea vs the premium coffee/tea you get when you buy the Refreshment Package? These days, everything is automatic. Ill be cruising in November on Oasis of the Seas. The automatic daily gratuity is based on customary industry standards. Crown & Anchor Diamond status entitles you to attend an Exclusive Nightly Diamond Event between 5 pm and 8 pm each evening where you can receive three free drinks from a list of beers, wines, spirits and sodas. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.