Tips/Gratuities on Royal Caribbean Cruises?

Question

Do you pay your tips when you are booking or have them added automatically to your seapass when you're on the cruise? Once you've paid the automatic tips do you need to tip during the cruise at all? (apart from room service)

Answer 1

Royal Caribbean still uses the tip envelopes so if you don't plan to have the tips charged to your credit card account, be sure to take along enough (and don't spend!) cash to cover the tips.

It is not necessary to tip during the trip.

Notable...if you charge the tips to your credit card account, the purser will not let you adjust the "recommended" tip structure.  

We have been crusing since 1989 and I have only failed to tip a service person once and it was a cabin steward on a Royal Caribbean cruise.  The service was awful.

The pursers office refused to allow us exclude her from the tips on our credit card account.  So we used the ATM and gave cash to the deserving service staff.

Answer 2

I have them added to my seapass automatically to the seapass at the end of the cruise....You dont have to give to room service but I usually give a dollar...I am going on a cruise in 3 weeks cant wait

Answer 3

they are automatically added to your pass. how ever you can still remove them and tip in the old fashioned way. (to your room steward, to your waiter, to the head waitor) Your choice.  have a great cruise.

google cruise tips

there s a calculator out there which helps a great deal.

Answer 4

We've just come back from a Royal Caribbean cruise and the tips were automatically added to our credit card.  Vouchers and envelopes placed in our cabin.  We did ask the purser (out of curiosity) if the we chose not to tip either the head waiter, waiter, assistant waiter or cabin steward whether we would get the money refunded, and he said no.  We would have to take that up with our travel agent.

We did tip four other waiters from one of the bars who had given us good service during the cruise (20 euros each).    They were over the moon, and as far as I am concerned, it was well worth it.

Answer 5

First, there are four occasions for tipping.

(1) when you get to the pier you should tip the porter who takes your baggage at least $1.00 or $2.00 per bag, more if you like.

(2) Each time you buy a drink, or soft drink, on ship there is a gratuity of 15%-17% added to your check automatically. So if your drink is $5.50, then $.93 cents will be added and your total will be $6.43.

(3) If you order the free cabin room service on ship you should tip the person who brings your order at least $2.00 in cash. That is the only time you will need cash on ship except for in the casino.

(4) At the end of your cruise RC will add the total of all gratuities for the wait staff and cabin steward to your on board tab. The total of your gratuities/tips for a cruise will be about $10.00 per day per person. The room steward, waiter, assistant waiter and MatreD are tipped and that total comes to just under $10 a day.  On the last evening of the cruise RC will provide you vouchers for what has been added to your on board tab and envelopes so that you can present the gratuity to each person. You can add more if you want through the voucher, or in cash if you want. OR, if you do not want the gratuities on your tab you can go to the purser's desk and arrange to pay the gratuities in cash. And, you can pay your tab in cash instead of having it charged to your credit card.

Answer 6

yep, you dont need to tip unless you are going on an excurion. Also, as soon as you get on the ship, go to the main dining room and take a look at your table. Then, go pick out a few really nice tables youd rather have. Find the metre d (or however you spell) and while holding a 20 in your hand, ask to switch table. If he is not sure, pull out another 5. Quite effective and worth the money. We got to sit in a bay window type deal and it was such an awesome view people were constantly asking to barge in and take pictures from where we were sitting.

Answer 7

At the end I personally gave my room attendant and waiter there tips. They don't allow you to pay the gratuities when booking, but at the end of the cruise you have the option to either have them charged to your account or to put money in envelopes and give to them directly. No you don't need to tip during the cruise.

Answer 8

I don't know if you booked yet, but I saw some deals on RC cruises on this website:

http://www.choiceretreat.com