In fact, your cruise line might leave a few envelopes in your room exactly for this purpose. Royal Caribbean Gratuities: What you need to know, Royal Caribbean raises its automatic gratuities, Royal Caribbean to raise gratuity amount for guests, Royal Caribbean raises gratuity amount for guests. What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? If you plan to be off the ship exploring ports most days, then not only will you not have as much time on board to drink your drinks, but youre also less likely to want a hangover! Mailbag: Why do I have to pay gratuities for my toddler? Im not saying do it, but people do it. To do so, simply head down to Guest Services on the ship to tell them that you want to change your tip amounts. Note that if you live in the UK, youll see your drink packages prices in GBP on the Cruise Planner. Automatic gratuity charge: None. Norwegian just raised its gratuity rate to $16 from $15.50 in April. Thanks for the great information. If you want to pay extra, we suggest simply handing cash directly to the people you want to recognize for their service. Hi Sue. 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. . 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. Gratuities on Royal Caribbean are obligatory, so it is a matter of when you prefer to pay them. I have a question. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Royal Caribbean Blog. Take your pick of 7 world-class ships sailing weeklong adventures to the top-rated shores of the western, eastern, & southern Caribbean. Jenni. Earning Free Cruises with Royal Caribbean - Know Your Slots Ive worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and now my blog helps over a million people to plan their cruises each month. Royal Caribbean Beverage Package Calculator: Instructions and Explanations . Select the number of nights for the cruise, from a minimum of two nights to a maximum of thirty nights. Automatic gratuity charge: $16 to $18.50 per person, per day. You would think that paying a hefty daily tip would cover everyone on the ship. Royal Caribbean Cruises Tipping Policy. For example, you have worked with the XYZ company for a period of 15 years. Thank you! Beverage packages can be used at CocoCay, Royal Caribbeans private island in the Bahamas and at Labadee, Royal Caribbeans private beach in Haiti. I am considering the deluxe drink package for us both but I am a little concerned that most fun drinks on the menus cost $13 and the limit is $12. The exact breakdown of how much each staff member gets isnt published, just like their salary isnt published. Since they are not . Royal Caribbean Cruises Tipping Policy - CruiseCheap.com However, the cruise line no longer offers these discounts. Not to split them across all the employees equally. Click the button above to compare the prices of cruises from all travel agents. 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. For this reason, a drinks package may be better value on a cruise with lots of sea days, such as a transatlantic sailing. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. Years ago, you could buy five bottles of wine for $165, 7 bottles for $220 and 10 bottles for $300. Does the menu price already include the per drink gratuity? Other major cruise lines already increased their gratuities this year. Do you know the difference in the tea? Royal Caribbean drinks prices are on the high end when compared to other cruise lines. Check your Cruise Planner and see if it comes up to purchase. We can take on wine and sift drinks ??. You have entered an incorrect email address! If you paid $13 for a cocktail and didnt like it, youd be pretty annoyed at yourself for choosing it. How Can I Know How Much I Will Be Charged in Tips? Be the first to rate this post. Plus, as we were sailing from the UK it was easy to bring our own wine and cans of pop on board so we didnt need to buy many drinks on the ship. Some people like to give gifts such as chocolates or wine to the crew members. 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). Applying this charge automatically helps to streamline the recognition process for the crew members that work to enhance your cruise. These can be a surprise to some people, especially first-time passengers. However, for the most part you can expect that every passenger on your trip will see a charge. I find this to be an outrageous ploy to hide the true costs of a cruise. Like what you see? Royal Caribbeans standard gratuity rate of $16.00 per day ($18.50 for suites) applies to guests of all ages, including children and infants. However, you can get all-inclusive cruise package deals that have drinks included. Drink Package Calculator - Cruise Spotlight My two sons are coming on the cruise with me. 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. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. At the end of your cruise, youll receive an envelope that you can use to give extra cash tips if you wish. Do you plan to buy a drinks package on your next cruise? 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. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to bea useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. We had a short four-night cruise to Royal Caribbeans private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, in the Bahamas. The daily gratuities are shared among dining, bar . 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. Superb article, i am new to cruising and only used NCL which seems to have cheap drink package and this helps me no end, thanks a million, Im so pleased that you found this helpful Jenni. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays. N/n. What is Royal Caribbean's gratuity price and policy? - Cruises On the cruise line side, that money gets cut up to be distributed. The calculator will add the mandatory gratuity to the package cost in its calculations. For guests booked through travel advisors, their advisor may add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing*. Royal Caribbean is a trademark of Royal Caribbean Group. Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. Gratuity Calculator - Online Gratuity Calculator India - Groww In addition, prepaying gratuities locks in the current gratuity rate, even if the rate were to go up later. To begin with, the cruise line gave out paper straws which are sadly not fit for purpose when it comes to frozen cocktails. So Im booked and considering the drinks package. So well have to pay the difference of $1 on almost every drink. There are two good reasons to prepay gratuities before your cruise. If you get some free onboard credit as an incentive when you book your cruise, then you can use this to pay your gratuities. Cruise Tip Calculator - Your automated guide to Cruise Tips Any frozen drinks too without the alcohol. 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. Do you have to pay gratuities on Royal Caribbean Australia? Their offerings range from classics like a mojito to daiquiri to new takes on traditional cocktails, like a New Fashioned at the Schooner . Beverage packages may not be available for purchase for cruises of less than four nights departing from Southampton, England. 2 bottles of wine and 12 cans of soft drinks per stateroom. Passengers in higher-level suites pay $18. 20102023Regal Sea Media LLC. Hi Jeff. Royal Caribbean offers guests the choice of prepaying gratuities for select crew members on its ships. Current gratuities breakdown - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community. Instead of handing over the charges well in advance of your sailing, you can keep it until youre actually on your cruise. You can use the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner to cancel your drink package online up to two days before your cruise and receive a full refund. What is Royal Caribbean's gratuity price and policy? A daily automatic gratuity rate of$16.00 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $18.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, is applied to each guests SeaPass account on a daily basis. Guests who booked prior to September 7, 2022 can opt to prepay gratuities prior to sailing to take advantage of the current rates. The service on Royal Caribbean cruises is generally exceptional. I did wonder whether you could keep the cup and use it on your next cruise. The calculator will add the mandatory gratuity to the package cost in its calculations. Full Guide to Cruise Ship Gratuities for 2021 (Amounts, Etiquette, and This happens automatically and will be tacked on to the price. Is it worth it to by a drink package? All non-alcoholic beverages are covered in full, regardless of price, unless otherwise excluded from all beverage packages. Making feeds? Who gets the tips? Your positive feedback will go on their permanent file, which can help them to get promotions and pay rises. The prices that are on the menus are reasonable if in Au Dollars. The drinks package is active on the island as well as the ship and we spent a lot of time on-board drinking cocktails in the hot tub. Royal Caribbean Australia introduces streamlined cruise fares that include gratuities. If youd like to calculate exactly what your gratuity amount will be before you book your trip, then you can use our calculator here. The latest increase was in 2018 when gratuities went up by $1 per person, per day. The daily gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes. I am going on my first cruise in February and found your information very helpful thank you. Thank you so much for such useful and great information. Where n = Tenure of service completed in the company. While the cruise lines might say differently, we think that gratuities arent included in the headline price for marketing purposes. Free Dining Offer FREE SPECIALTY DINING for 2: on select categories, ships and sail dates. 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. Royal Caribbean Follows Carnival, Norwegian in Raising a Key Fee Be aware that when you sign the receipt there will be another line for an additional tip. Hi, I have harmony of the seas booked for next may but when I have tried to book a drinks package there is no option for this. Here are the average Royal Caribbean drinks prices: If youd like to know exactly which drinks are available on Royal Caribbean cruise ships and how much they cost, I have taken photos of the bar menus on board Mariner of the Seas. Drink is 15 Dollars so do i have to pay 3 Dollars or 15? Hi, I'm Jenni. As of September 7, 2022,the automatic daily gratuity charge will increase: Royal Caribbean last raised gratuitiesJanuary 2, 2018. If you dont have a credit card, then youll need to link a debit card to your onboard account, or deposit cash. 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. If you book your cruise during a free drinks offer, then you will get drinks included with your cruise. You can also get cold coffee drinks at the coffee bars. My husband and i are going on our first cruise later this spring and bought a deluxe package. If purchasing beverages la carte (without a package) is the recommended option, then the calculator estimates the savings achieved by Pay As You Go versus the lowest-cost beverage package, factoring in gratuities and upcharges. We were exploring ports almost every day. This occurs in the Australian cruise market. In the formula, the values are the following. The calculator is powered by JavaScript. The tip applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. Is a drink package worth it for you? 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. 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. Royal Caribbean Is Raising Onboard Gratuities Next Month Thats just one of the ways that people try to cheat. With the introduction of automatic gratuities, its much more difficult to avoid paying tips on your cruise. If you get free gratuities thrown in as an incentive for booking a cruise, then these will be automatically prepaid. If youre a first-time cruiser, then theres little doubt that you have questions about gratuities and tipping on your cruise. We always hand our tips in cash to the person whose service we wish to commend. !I just cant afford that and i dont see how its justified. No, you would have to buy it for every day of your cruise. 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. Theres not a time limit between drinks with Royal Caribbean, but you can only order one drink per person at a time. Suggested read: How to pay for a cruise in instalments. Another way to pay extra gratuities is when you buy a drink. or would i be charged for the whole pina colada with alcohol? Historically, the onboard price of the Deluxe Beverage Package ranges from $63 to $89 a day (plus gratuity). You can opt into prepaying gratuities at any time, up to 48 hours prior to your sail date. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Royal Caribbean Blog. In Miami the worst place to board the ship. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays. You can usually pay your gratuities in advance of your cruise, or choose to receive a bill on the last day of your cruise. Royal Caribbean Drink Packages. For guests that like to budget their vacations and spread out the total cost of the cruise, this is a popular choice. The discount is increased by up to 30% during promotional periods such as Black Friday. Another drink package option for Royal Caribbean cruisers is the Classic Soda package, which includes fountain soda and refills at any venue, Coca-Cola Freestyle beverages and even a Coca-Cola souvenir cup. If you booked your Royal Caribbean cruise with a travel agent, you just need to contact them and ask for gratuities to be added to your reservation. 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. Royal Caribbean offers a discount when you pre-book your drinks package on the cruise planner before you sail. I have some photos of the drink menus here: https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/royal-caribbean-drinks-menus-with-prices/ This may help you to find the answer to your question. Im guessing it does not? Wines are available to purchase by the bottle. Feb 23. Im Diamond and wondered what the upcharge might be since Ill be getting four free drink vouchers per day. Royal Caribbean Increases Gratuities Across All Cruise Ships Gratuity = n*b*15 / 26. You are charged a set amount (the amount varies depending on the cruise line), per person, per day. So if youre planning a cruise with Royal Caribbean, read on for everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean gratuities. If youd like to calculate exactly what your gratuity amount will be before you book your trip, then you can use our calculator here, many people choose to instead pay the gratuity charges automatically through their onboard account once on the ship, 39 Useful Things to Pack (17 You Wouldn't Think Of), Park & Cruise Hotels for Every Port in America, 107 Best Cruise Tips, Secrets, Tricks, and Freebies, Carnival Gratuities (Tips): Full Guide to Cost & How They Work, Explained: Duty-Free Shopping on a Cruise (Is It Worth It? How much is the Royal Caribbean drink package? I didnt know I could have the tips removed from my room charges. On a recent Royal Caribbean cruise, I bought the drinks package and got my moneys worth.