Gratuities for a 5 night

[madelyn]

I just booked our first cruise this morning and knew about the $12 per person per night for gratuities that are charged to your stateroom account. Envelopes are left for additional gratuities you want to leave. Is this typically left in cash or can you charge the additional gratuities to your account? And for those of you who tip extra, what additional amounts have you left? Not sure if it matters, but our cruise is a 4 night for a family of 5 in two staterooms.

[PrincessShmoo]

Originally Posted by madelyn

I just booked our first cruise this morning and knew about the $12 per person per night for gratuities that are charged to your stateroom account. Envelopes are left for additional gratuities you want to leave. Is this typically left in cash or can you charge the additional gratuities to your account? And for those of you who tip extra, what additional amounts have you left? Not sure if it matters, but our cruise is a 4 night for a family of 5 in two staterooms.

What you actually receive in your room at the end of your cruise will be 2-part coupons with the name and position of the person being tipped and how much that tip is (based on what you have already charged to your onboard account). You tear the coupon in half, placing half in the correct envelope for handing out as tips. At this time you may add additional cash to the envelope, if you wish.

Or, if you know you want to up the tips on your account, you can go to Guest Services at any time to adjust how much you have charged in tips.

[Ancaster]

My friend is a seasoned DCer.
She says go to Guest Services and modify the amount to $0.
At the end, use the envelopes.

... but I can't remember if she has been since last April'12 when the new policy took effect.

My suggested is $240 ($12x4x5) and I plan to bring $300 to cover it and I wouldn't mind doing what she said, then distribute accordingly at the end. Does anyone think it's presumptuous that they decide? Not you? I'm not talking about the amount because my total will exceed the suggested, but the concept.

Going by their method, each person receiving gets the base amount regardless of service (although I doubt bad service is going to occur).

Can what she said be currently done?

[kcashner]

Originally Posted by Ancaster

My friend is a seasoned DCer.
She says go to Guest Services and modify the amount to $0.
At the end, use the envelopes.

... but I can't remember if she has been since last April'12 when the new policy took effect.

My suggested is $240 ($12x4x5) and I plan to bring $300 to cover it and I wouldn't mind doing what she said, then distribute accordingly at the end. Does anyone think it's presumptuous that they decide? Not you? I'm not talking about the amount because my total will exceed the suggested, but the concept.

Going by their method, each person receiving gets the base amount regardless of service (although I doubt bad service is going to occur).

Can what she said be currently done?

YOU retain control of the tipping. What your friend said CAN be done--you can go to GS and adjust the tips to $0 and then tip in cash. You can also go to GA and adjust the tips up or down any way you want to each individual.

Some background may help here. The automatic tipping was started on the Magic during the 2011 Med cruises because the CMs were not being tipped in the Med the way they are in the Caribbean...probably due to different tipping standards in that part of the world. It was continued on the Magic when it returned to the US. The experiment must have been considered a success because it was then expanded to the rest of the line.

You can increase tips in 2 ways--either go to GS and adjust them OR just add some cash to the envelopes along with the coupon. You can decrease tips by going to GS and doing so. If you do nothing, the standard tip will be charged to your account and the coupons delivered to your room.

Actually, the "standard tip" situation is exactly what we have encountered on other lines. I don't think it is presumptuous because YOU retain the ability to adjust it. I have only very rarely adjusted a tip downward. Once we had a HORRIBLE server but an assistant who more than made up for him. I gave him the assistant amount (which was more than he deserved), and gave the assistant the server amount + more. There may have been one other situation where I did a downward adjustment, but that's just not the norm on DCL. I'm not one of the people who doubles or triples the "suggested" tips, but I usually add a bit over the suggested because we typically have excellent service.

I have always chosen to charge my tips since my favorite server said this was easiest for him AND it gives me Disney reward dollars toward my next cruise.

Again, each guest retains the choice of how they wish to do it. The only thing that has changed is the "default" system. Do nothing and the suggested tip is charged to your KTTW.

[Ancaster]

^Thanks!

Can you settle with a credit card at the end?

(Funny, we'll probably succumb to the default method anyway... one less thing to think about)

[Namsupak]

On check-in you can give a credit card and then all the onboard charges can be charged to your account.