royal caribbean gratuity calculator
Is it true that each individual drink purchased an additional 18% is added? Let me know in the comments below. Sure, just pop your email in the box and it will come straight to you. If you wish to recognise outstanding service by adding extra gratuities onboard the ship, you are welcome to do so. Thank you so much for such useful and great information. Ive just used $USD in this guide to keep things consistent for most readers. 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. Your drinks package will include gratuity on all drinks. Here are the others: 4 Ways That People Cheat The Royal Caribbean Drink Package. Current gratuities breakdown - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise Critic Community. You can read more about this here: The Best Time to Buy A Royal Caribbean Drink Package. Is Every Passenger Charged Gratuities? Any tips taking a 7 mths old . If you dont have a lot of money available when you come to pay for your cruise, then dont worry about paying the gratuities right away. No votes so far! MIAMI - February 13, 2023 - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) (the "Company") today announced that it has closed its private offering of $700 million aggregate principal amount of 7.250% . For guests staying in Grand Suites and above, the fee is $18.50 per person, per day. 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. This happens regularly for passengers feeling generous or thankful for the staffs work during their trip. Cash isnt used on cruise ships, so all your purchases and gratuities (if not prepaid) will be added to your onboard account. To decide whether a Royal Caribbean drink package offers good value for money or not, you need to consider three key questions: Once you know the answers to these, you can do the maths and work out Is the Royal Caribbean drinks package is worth it? It may be cheaper to pay for drinks individually on your cruise. After that, you can cancel it when you first embark on the ship, but no later. If you have a question that isnt listed here, you can add it in the comments section at the end. To help explain everything about cruise line gratuities, weve answered a number of common questions that will make everything clearer before you set sail. Royal Caribbean Junior Suite perks: Is it worth the upgrade? Notice of suitability: This tip calculator is designed to help you with the cruise tipping recommended by the line. Have our travel agency partner get you a free quote for a Royal Caribbean cruise. There are several places where youll find free drinks during your Royal Caribbean cruise. My gf is a big tea drinker and is considering the package purely for that. 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. If you wish to recognise outstanding service by adding extra gratuities onboard the ship, you are welcome to do so. Note that if you live in the UK, youll see your drink packages prices in GBP on the Cruise Planner. For staff members that rely on these dollars, that can be a major blow. $15.50 per person, per day staying in mini-suites. Jenni. For some cruise lines (usually luxury lines), gratuities actually are included in the fare you dont pay anything extra apart from your cruise fare. Whichever package you choose, you must buy it for every adult passenger for every day of your cruise. Dont ask you dont get! That means people like the room steward who cleans your cabin and the dining staff. Royal Caribbean no longer offers a wine package. Be the first to rate this post. On a recent Royal Caribbean cruise, I bought the drinks package and got my moneys worth. If you do not opt to prepay gratuities, a daily charge will appear on your SeaPass account every day of the cruise for the daily gratuity rate per guest. All non-alcoholic beverages are covered in full, regardless of price, unless otherwise excluded from all beverage packages. However, you can get a drink every 15 minutes so it is possible to get the occasional drink for your child on the sly. Every so often, Royal Caribbean adjusts the gratuity rate, but if you have opted to prepay, you will be grandfathered into the old rate. We rarely buy anything on the ship of value. 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. Overpayment of gratuities is allowed but is not expected. *Please see all applicable Terms & Conditions for Promotions. List of Free Drinks on Royal Caribbean Cruises, 56 amazing examples of Royal Caribbean customer service, The Best Time to Buy A Royal Caribbean Drink Package, 15 Ways To Use Your Royal Caribbean Onboard Credit Like A Pro, https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/taking-a-baby-on-a-cruise-ship/, https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/royal-caribbean-drinks-menus-with-prices/, Royal Caribbean Cruise Refreshment Package Review, https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/can-you-take-drinks-on-a-cruise-ship/, https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/how-to-sneak-alcohol-on-a-cruise-ship/. So when youre on the ship, its one less charge to worry about. In addition, prepaying gratuities locks in the current gratuity rate, even if the rate were to go up later. Thanks for the comprehensive review! You can then compare this total with the exact price of the drinks package for your cruise (shown on your Royal Caribbean cruise planner) to easily work out whether the drinks package is worth it or not. If you get free gratuities thrown in as an incentive for booking a cruise, then these will be automatically prepaid. Automatic gratuity charge: None. 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. So a $10 menu price on a cocktail is actually around $12. Passengers in higher-level suites pay $18. Example pool vs Bamboo. The tip applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. However, you can order a bottle of water at the bar and put it in your mini bar fridge for later if you like. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. Share. Rather than guests tipping each member of staff, Royal Caribbean charges a set fee per day to reward crew members for their service. Thank you for answering all these questions! Royal Caribbean last increased gratuities in 2018 and, before that, was in 2016. Hi Sue. Before you go ahead and buy the Coffee Card, here are some things youll want to consider: The tap water on Royal Caribbean cruise ships is perfectly safe to drink and tastes okay, although it may not always be very cold, depending on the weather. 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. 53 euros per day, 856 for my wife and for 8 nights. The bar service personnel still gets their 15% tips from each bar sale. Without your contribution, the compensation for the staff members will decrease. I did wonder whether you could keep the cup and use it on your next cruise. By scorpluvsdolphins, August 20 in Royal Caribbean International. As of September 7, 2022,the automatic daily gratuity charge will increase: Royal Caribbean last raised gratuitiesJanuary 2, 2018. Mailbag: Why do I have to pay gratuities for my toddler? Why Arent Gratuities Just Included in the Price of the Cruise? I hope that helps, enjoy your cruise! So you cant get the Royal Cribbean alcohol package for one person and the soft drink package for another. In this case, youd be charged for the whole drink. If not, just leave blank. Jenni. Are the drink prices in US dollars or Australian while on an Australian run. 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. Suggested read: How to pay for a cruise in instalments. Great advice. Whilst you are free to do this, it isnt recommended. This depends on your muster station. We deposit cash to use for our onboard account. Do I Need to Tip Anyone Else While On the Ship? Its not a great idea to link a debit card to your cruise account because Royal Caribbean will place a hold on some of the money. 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. Ive worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and now my blog helps over a million people to plan their cruises each month. For example, Carnival does not charge tips for kids under two years old. On the first day of your cruise, you may see signs offering Buy One Get One Free deals on drinks packages. 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. On the other hand, many people choose to instead pay the gratuity charges automatically through their onboard account once on the ship. Cruise gratuities are also known as tips. Royal Caribbean doesnt offer free drinks packages. With MyTime dining you will sit at a different table each night and be served by different crew members. Im not sure actually. So when you leave the room you dont have to put down any extra cash (unless you want to). The vast majority of passengers are charged these tips, no matter if they are young, old, have special requests, eat in the main dining room, or only hit the buffet. I know that some people get away with putting one bottle in the main suitcase and one in hand luggage. When entering the number of beverages per beverage type, the number entered can either be per day or for the entire length of the cruise for each beverage type. Instead of handing over the charges well in advance of your sailing, you can keep it until youre actually on your 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. or would i be charged for the whole pina colada with alcohol? I was wondering. So the $99 per day package is free, but you are charged about $20 per day still for the drink package gratuities. 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. Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. Related: TPG's ultimate guide to cruise ship gratuity charges and tipping b = Last drawn basic salary + dearness allowance. Whilst some other cruise lines limit the number of drinks you can order to 15 in any 24-hour period, Royal Caribbean has no daily limit. Other than that, your gratuity charges cover the housekeeping and dining staff. In Miami the worst place to board the ship. Is is possible to buy the package for less days than those of your cruise? I had it on a 4-night cruise. Jenni. So Im booked and considering the drinks package. However, prices seem to have increased recently, with an upcoming cruise quoting a sale price of $83.99 and an onboard price of $105! RCCL currently applies an automatic gratuity amount on your onboard account, on a daily basis. No votes so far! In fact, there are a couple of instances where paying additional gratuity is recommended or automatic. The daily gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes. 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. The price of Royal Caribbeans Deluxe Beverage Package is not fixed. Hi Natalie. The tip applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. Here are the policies for major cruise lines at the moment: When you book your cruise, the gratuity amount is usually disclosed in full for your trip, with an option to prepay the amount with your cruise fare. On Anthem of the Seas and other Quantum-class ships you can order drinks from the robotic bartender. How much is the Royal Caribbean drink package? The calculator will auto-update as you enter information about your cruise. Royal Caribbean regularly have promotions to encourage people to book cruises. Thanks for the great information. Use this section of the Royal Caribbean Beverage Package Calculator to enter information about anticipated beverage consumption and pricing information. For this reason, a drinks package may be better value on a cruise with lots of sea days, such as a transatlantic sailing. What is Royal Caribbean's gratuity price and policy? No, you would have to buy it for every day of your cruise. The amount you pay will vary by cruise line, but they are all in the same ballpark. Its a small 2.25 oz. Finally, if you order anything from room service, then its expected that you give a couple of bucks to the staff member that delivers the food. So what will happen? 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. Under certain circumstances, you may be able to buy the Deluxe Beverage Package for one guest and the Refreshment Package for another guest. Extremely helpful esp0ecially about tipping and what to do. The calculator was last updated in August 2020. No, it doesnt. Im sure intentionally just over the 12.00 limit for the ultimate drink package. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. I have a question about the free drinks thoughcan we bring our own reusable water bottles to fill them up with the free lemonade/ice tea or are cups readily available for us to use? Weve seen instances of multiple increases in a year and other times when rates wont change for a year or two. 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. When you book the cruise youll have the ability to prepay gratuities. To work out if a drinks package is worth it, you need to work out how many drinks you would need to drink each day to break even. You can use this to cover the gratuities, or any of the things mentioned in this list: 15 Ways To Use Your Royal Caribbean Onboard Credit, Heres how I get the lowest price when I book a cruise. You were extremely helpful for my upcoming cruise! Historically, the onboard price of the Deluxe Beverage Package ranges from $63 to $89 a day (plus gratuity). What If I Dont Pay Gratuities on my Cruise? We can take on wine and sift drinks ??. In the past, the process used to be that the cruise line would put envelopes in your room on the last day of the cruise. Tap the for Winter 2024 Caribbean sailings. You have to call Royal and they will book it for you. Then if I pay another $5 per person each day for room clean-up, thats another $140, for a total of $280. Ive worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and now my blog helps over a million people to plan their cruises each month. 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. There are several ways to prepay your gratuities: When you check in for your cruise, your onboard account will be set up. Can I buy unlimited beverage package for 2 days only in a four days cruise , or it has to be for all days ? The calculator will add the mandatory gratuity to the package cost in its calculations. If you have a package, gratuities are already included in that, you wont pay any more per drink. Making feeds? Jenni. So, in order to calculate the amount your family will owe for gratuities, you would multiply: $14.50 X Number of People in Cabin X Length of Cruise = Amount You Owe. Gratuities on Royal Caribbean are obligatory, so it is a matter of when you prefer to pay them. Use this section of the Royal Caribbean Beverage Package Calculator to adjust assumptions and default pricing for beverage packages. Hi Kristin. Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival have slightly different daily gratuities. We use prepaid drink cards to purchase beverages. 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. One of the benefits of a drinks package is that if you dont like a drink you dont have to drink it. An alternative is to pre-pay the gratuity before the cruise begins. When you take a Royal Caribbean cruise, as well as your cruise fare, youll be expected to pay a little extra to the crew members. I didnt know I could have the tips removed from my room charges. But RCCL wants to charge $448. I too pay in cash and at times have given extra. Keep in mind that Royal Caribbean generally requires that if one adult purchases the Deluxe package, that all other adults over the age of 21 traveling in the same cabin purchase the Deluxe package; this requirement may be waived if you contact Royal Caribbean, explain the other adult(s) does not consume alcohol, and request to downgrade the additional package to Refreshment. Check your Cruise Planner and see if it comes up to purchase. With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours. Do you plan to buy a drinks package on your next cruise? Just like the price of anything else, you should expect over time for these rates to continue to rise slowly but surely. The latest increase was in 2018 when gratuities went up by $1 per person, per day. However, its always cheaper to buy it before you board. However, the cruise line no longer offers these discounts. 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. To do so, simply head down to Guest Services on the ship to tell them that you want to change your tip amounts. Hi Maria, I have a question. You can still hand out cash to individual members of the staff that you appreciate, although its not required. I detest the idea of: A. not knowing who my tip is going to B. Some lines also pool the tips altogether and then distribute them throughout the year. The cost for two people on a week-long cruise can be well above $200. This will reduce the overall balance you have available to spend. If Im a simple coffee and tea drinker. Were booked on the Liberty of the Seas cruise in November 2020. Hi Michael. Some ships may cover up to $13 per alcoholic beverage. Hi Aoife. The calculator will add the mandatory gratuity to the package cost in its calculations. The calculator recommends the most cost-effective beverage package. Norwegian Cruise Line also raised their gratuities in April, when they changed their rates: In July, Disney Cruise Line increased their gratuities to$14.50 per night, per person for standard rooms and $15.50 per night, per person for suite guests. However, if you appear to be too intoxicated, the staff wont serve you any more drinks. In the unlikely event that a guest onboard being charged the daily automatic tip does not receive satisfactory service, the guest may request to modify the daily amount at their discretion by visiting Guest Services onboard and will be able to do so until the morning of their departure. In addition to this, an 18% gratuity is automatically added to all drinks, spa and salon services. You can see a full list of those here: List of Free Drinks on Royal Caribbean Cruises. All service isnt created equally. For the best price, you should always book your drinks package in advance before your cruise and not wait until you get on board the ship. 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. As far as your trip, likely very little. The gratuities go to staff that provide passenger-facing services. So, if you do have any issues, you should head to Guest Services as early in your cruise as you can, so that things can be put right for you before it affects the rest 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. If you are uncomfortable standing, just let a staff member know and they will be sure to accommodate you. Starting Sept. 7, Royal Caribbean will charge guests in non-suite staterooms . How to prepay gratuities. Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package is their highest-tier beverage package. Sterilisers? Guests that booked through a travel agent can request their agent add pre-paid gratuities to the guests' booking prior to sailing. Answer (1 of 4): Fares purchased on the Australian website will always include pre-paid gratuities. Should you prepay gratuities for a Royal Caribbean cruise? Jenni, Hi Jose, Royal Caribbean. 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 allow you to bring one bottle of wine per person on-board and theyre very strict about that. For most sailings, when you buy a drinks package online, an 18% gratuity charge is added at the checkout. How Often Do the Gratuity Rates Increase? What should I do to highlight this so as not to embarrass him on board. What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? 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. If you buy your drinks package in advance and then see that the price drops due to a promotion, you can cancel your drinks package, get a refund and then buy it again at the lower price. Royal Caribbean drinks packages include all tips (also known as gratuities). The advantage here is that you get to hold on to more of your money for longer. With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! You can opt into prepaying gratuities at any time, up to 48 hours prior to your sail date. When we researched tipping policy on a recent Princess cruise, we found that the cruise line pools that money and uses it for bonuses, etc. This also applies to sailings departing from Australia and New Zealand. We are sailing on Anthem of the seas June for two weeks going for the de lux drinks package offered us 43 per day is that fair price or should I wait in case prices go down. In this section, Ill answer the most commonly-asked questions about Royal Caribbean drink packages. With the introduction of automatic gratuities, its much more difficult to avoid paying tips on your cruise. Who gets the tips? Unless you are feeling generous, theres no need to tip more. For example, of a $15 charge, $7 per day may be distributed to your room steward, $5 to the dining staff, and the remaining $3 is spread among other customer-facing positions on the ship. Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. 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. How much is charged? I hope this helps. Included here are the baseline (i.e. You can usually pay your gratuities in advance of your cruise, or choose to receive a bill on the last day of your cruise. Waiting until the end of your cruise will give you a few more paydays to save up the money. You can add an additional tip on to your receipt if you wish. But you would still have your standard daily gratuity to pay which covers all other staff members. Jenni. In fact, Royal Caribbean almost always has some kind of special offer to encourage people to book cruises. To save you the headache, Ive created a handy tool that does the maths for you. Then, log into the Cruise Planner regularly to watch the price. You can expect to pay about $15-$20 per person, per day. Im guessing it does not? You can also get cold coffee drinks at the coffee bars. So a couple traveling together will see about $30-$40 per day in gratuities, or about $200+ over the course of a week-long cruise. Hi Jose. would i be charged the difference between a virgin pina colada and a pina colada with alcohol? However, to do so, you must go to Guest Services, before the last evening of the cruise and request that t. One thing which I noticed is that the bigger the freebie, the higher the base price. The bar staff were always encouraging me to let them make up drinks rather than stick the menu, so Im sure they wouldnt mind you asking. I just purchased the Deluxe Beverage package, for myself, and the refreshement package for my wife. Yet with a drinks package, youre free to work your way down the menu, trying new things. 3 ways to get free wifi on your Royal Caribbean 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. This is extremely helpful. Details: Passengers staying in most cabins, including junior suites, pay $16. If you do, Royal Caribbean will automatically charge your card at the end of your cruise. Some people like to give gifts such as chocolates or wine to the crew members. Is there a limit in time how many drinks/baverages I can order. Each day there will be a gratuity charge or a lump sum added at the end of the trip. Jenni. Where did you see the cheaper prices for the new cruise bookings? Jenni. For new reservations, the adjusted gratuity amounts are effective as of September 7, 2022. As a thanks for their service, its customary to provide a tip. The advantage is that you get your payment out of the way ahead of time. The previous Suite gratuity rate of $17.50 will increase to $18.50 per day per person. Royal Caribbean drinks package: Is it worth it? Guests who booked prior to September 7, 2022 can opt to prepay gratuities prior to sailing to take advantage of the current rates. The staff isnt likely to treat you any differently or even know that you arent tipping (after all, some people still like to pay cash at the end of the cruise). While the name sounds fancy, gratuities are nothing more than a tip paid to the staff members for service during the cruise.
