2 Staterooms - reserved as 3 + 3, but staying 4 + 2

[dvcdisney]

Hi. This came up in one of the threads but I didn't want to hijack the thread from the OP, so I thought I should post a new question.

If I reserved 2 staterooms with 3 guests in each, but in reality it will be 4+2, how do I handle the stateroom host gratuity IF they are two different stateroom hosts?

I chose the staterooms close to each other, but I know that doesn't guarantee we will get the same host.

Any suggestions and experience with this would be much appreciated.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

They may not let you stay 4+2 if the rooms have different muster stations. If one muster station is full (meaning life boat capacity is reached) they won’t let you add an extra person to a room in that station. That is why you will see rooms that hold more people but the system won’t let you book that max that the room will hold.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

They may not let you stay 4+2 if the rooms have different muster stations. If one muster station is full (meaning life boat capacity is reached) they won’t let you add an extra person to a room in that station. That is why you will see rooms that hold more people but the system won’t let you book that max that the room will hold.

DCL doesn't care how they sleep once on the ship, but if the two rooms have different muster stations, the person #4 will have to go to the muster station for the room in which they are booked, not the room in which they are staying.

To answer the OP, I would pay the full gratuity to the stateroom host for the room in which the 4th person is assigned, i.e. $4 per night of the cruise, plus add an additional $4 per night to the gratuity of the room in which the person is staying.

 

[dvcdisney]

They may not let you stay 4+2 if the rooms have different muster stations. If one muster station is full (meaning life boat capacity is reached) they won’t let you add an extra person to a room in that station. That is why you will see rooms that hold more people but the system won’t let you book that max that the room will hold.

If our muster stations are different, I know that we have to go to the one that's on our Key.

I have been told that we are allowed to stay at the other room as long as it has the allowable amount of bedding.

 

[dvcdisney]

DCL doesn't care how they sleep once on the ship, but if the two rooms have different muster stations, the person #4 will have to go to the muster station for the room in which they are booked, not the room in which they are staying.

To answer the OP, I would pay the full gratuity to the stateroom host for the room in which the 4th person is assigned, i.e. $4 per night of the cruise, plus add an additional $4 per night to the gratuity of the room in which the person is staying.

Even if I am not staying at the other room?

I only booked it this way so that both rooms have our CC status. I have no intention of ever using the room I'm reserved in.

But wouldn't this mean I am paying twice for myself but only staying in one room? I understand what you're saying and I agree if I was going to switch back and forth. If that's the case, then I would, absolutely, pay both gratuities since I would be in both rooms. But like I said, I won't stay there and only booked myself in one room and my husband in the other so that the second room has the same CC status.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Even if I am not staying at the other room?

I only booked it this way so that both rooms have our CC status. I have no intention of ever using the room I'm reserved in.

But wouldn't this mean I am paying twice for myself but only staying in one room? I understand what you're saying and I agree if I was going to switch back and forth. If that's the case, then I would, absolutely, pay both gratuities since I would be in both rooms. But like I said, I won't stay there and only booked myself in one room and my husband in the other so that the second room has the same CC status.

Yes, you are paying twice for yourself but you are not cheating the other stateroom host out of money they are expecting to earn for the room they are servicing.

 

[dvcdisney]

Yes, you are paying twice for yourself but you are not cheating the other stateroom host out of money they are expecting to earn for the room they are servicing.

How am I cheating the other stateroom host? The host wouldn't be cleaning for me. That room can be booked for 2 people. So, if I had reserved the room for 4 + 2 instead, would that make a difference?

I assumed gratuity is based on the number of people staying in the stateroom. If I was to stay in both, then I should be counted as 2. But I am not staying in both.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand how I'm cheating the stateroom host if I don't stay in that room. Are the stateroom hosts allocated a number of guests or a number of staterooms?

 

[hcox31]

How am I cheating the other stateroom host? The host wouldn't be cleaning for me. That room can be booked for 2 people. So, if I had reserved the room for 4 + 2 instead, would that make a difference?

I assumed gratuity is based on the number of people staying in the stateroom. If I was to stay in both, then I should be counted as 2. But I am not staying in both.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand how I'm cheating the stateroom host if I don't stay in that room. Are the stateroom hosts allocated a number of guests or a number of staterooms?

I think what they mean above is
if Room A has Host A... on paper has 3 people and therefore Host A gets tips for 3 people.
Room B has 3 people on paper and room host B gets tips for 3 people

Therefore Host A is getting paid for 3 but serving 4. You yourself likely aren't booked as a guest in both rooms...

 

[lilsonicfan]

I may be the odd one out here but I'm not sure I would calculate it down to the dollar here. If you did have the same stateroom host then I wouldn't worry of course. If you had a different one, I would likely increase the tip to the host who now has 4 instead of 3, but personally I would rather do it as an increased tip of a certain amount, say $20-30.

 

[dvcdisney]

I think what they mean above is
if Room A has Host A... on paper has 3 people and therefore Host A gets tips for 3 people.
Room B has 3 people on paper and room host B gets tips for 3 people

Therefore Host A is getting paid for 3 but serving 4. You yourself likely aren't booked as a guest in both rooms...

In your scenario, you are correct, I am not booked in both rooms, I am booked in Room B, but staying in Room A.

If I am staying in Room A, then I should provide the gratuity to Host A.

What I don't understand is that even if Host B assumes there is 3 guests, if they only have to service for 2 guests, wouldn't they expect to only get gratuity for 2 guests?

If the hosts are allocated the stateroom based on the number of guests in each stateroom, then I see why there would be an issue.

However, if the hosts are allocated staterooms based on the number of staterooms, then there is no expectation that each room would be filled to capacity and hence may only give the host gratuities per number of people staying in the room which is the number of guests they will be cleaning for.

 

[dvcdisney]

I may be the odd one out here but I'm not sure I would calculate it down to the dollar here. If you did have the same stateroom host then I wouldn't worry of course. If you had a different one, I would likely increase the tip to the host who now has 4 instead of 3, but personally I would rather do it as an increased tip of a certain amount, say $20-30.

Sorry for the confusion, I had no intention of not providing full gratuity. There are 6 of us in 2 rooms and we would provide gratuities for 6 guests...although each room is booked for 3 + 3...I intended to provide the room that will be having 4 guests with the equivalent of 4 gratuities since that host would be cleaning after 4 people. Since there would only be 2 in the other stateroom, my intention is to provide that host with gratuity for 2 guests since they are only servicing the stateroom for 2 guests.

I was just wondering how I would be able to do that. Do I explain to guest services what I'm doing and ask them to transfer my gratuity over to the particular host?

So the hosts are aware, I would ensure I explain the situation to them.

And yes, this is much easier if we had the same hosts.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Are you sure that the room you want to sleep 4 actually has 4 beds?

 

[dvcdisney]

Are you sure that the room you want to sleep 4 actually has 4 beds?

Yes. Absolutely. I had originally booked 4 in that room.

 

[laceltris3]

If you're just doing it to get the benefits of the CC status to people who are staying in a room that haven't earned that status, is an extra $4 a night really so much to ask? I usually extra cash for heac tipped position, so I suppose I would pay the host for 3, and then maybe only give an extra $10-20, and then tip for 4 people to the other guests and give an extra $20-40 to that host.

 

[Dug720]

In your scenario, you are correct, I am not booked in both rooms, I am booked in Room B, but staying in Room A.

If I am staying in Room A, then I should provide the gratuity to Host A.

What I don't understand is that even if Host B assumes there is 3 guests, if they only have to service for 2 guests, wouldn't they expect to only get gratuity for 2 guests?

If the hosts are allocated the stateroom based on the number of guests in each stateroom, then I see why there would be an issue.

However, if the hosts are allocated staterooms based on the number of staterooms, then there is no expectation that each room would be filled to capacity and hence may only give the host gratuities per number of people staying in the room which is the number of guests they will be cleaning for.

But tips are allocated per person on paper in the cabin. Not per cabin. That is why.

 

[dvcdisney]

If you're just doing it to get the benefits of the CC status to people who are staying in a room that haven't earned that status, is an extra $4 a night really so much to ask? I usually extra cash for heac tipped position, so I suppose I would pay the host for 3, and then maybe only give an extra $10-20, and then tip for 4 people to the other guests and give an extra $20-40 to that host.

The purpose of booking for CC status has nothing to do with whether a host should get the gratuity. I can understand others saying that the hosts expects 3 to be in the stateroom so they would expect gratuity to equal 3 guests. I can see that.

But my point is being missed...

I believe that the hosts should receive the gratuity that they worked for. If they are only 2 guest staying in the room, they are only cleaning for those 2 guests. I believe they would expect to receive gratuity from 2 guests. In the same way, the host who have to clean after 4 guests should receive gratuity from 4 guests.

 

[DisUniversal]

The gratuities are added automatically according to how the staterooms were booked. I'd just leave things as-is. The stateroom hosts each expect gratuities based on 3 guests for room and that's the way things should be left...maybe add a couple extra dollars for the host that serviced the room with 4 guests, but even then...how much extra work would they have done besides changing out an extra clean towel each day? If they have to pull down an make an extra bed, add a little...unless the same host services both rooms, in which case it all works out even.

 

[dvcdisney]

But tips are allocated per person on paper in the cabin. Not per cabin. That is why.

But are the hosts allocated to the number of staterooms based on the total number of guests? For instance, if a host is expected to have 20 guests, they will be given 10 staterooms with 2 registered guest in each (just an example).

Or are the hosts assigned a specific number of staterooms? For instance, a host would be given 10 staterooms, no matter how many guest in each.

If it's the former, I can see why this would be an issue and the hosts would have an expectation.

If it's the latter, then the host would not have this expectation. The number of guests they would service would differ in each cruise.

Again, I have no intention of not giving a gratuity when they have provided me with service. That would be inappropriate. I'm not sure why I would provide gratuity for a host that haven't provided me with service.

 

[Dug720]

But are the hosts allocated to the number of staterooms based on the total number of guests? For instance, if a host is expected to have 20 guests, they will be given 10 staterooms with 2 registered guest in each (just an example).

Or are the hosts assigned a specific number of staterooms? For instance, a host would be given 10 staterooms, no matter how many guest in each.

If it's the former, I can see why this would be an issue and the hosts would have an expectation.

If it's the latter, then the host would not have this expectation. The number of guests they would service would differ in each cruise.

Again, I have no intention of not giving a gratuity when they have provided me with service. That would be inappropriate. I'm not sure why I would provide gratuity for a host that haven't provided me with service.

They are allocated staterooms, BUT I suspect that if there is a heavy occupancy in some they might have one or two taken off and shifted to someone with a lower occupancy rate if there is a big discrepancy in adjacent stations. The gratuities, however, are allocated based on the number of people in the cabin. When they see their list, they see the number of guests allocated to their assigned staterooms. They could have all two person cabins one cruise and all four person cabins another - and they would know that the week they have all two the tips will likely be lower than the week they have all four.

To me it's the principal of the thing. Like the time my sister got permission to eat with me and we got changed to a new table. I left my dining room gratuities as-was because it was not the fault of my originally assigned servers that I changed tables and I personally did not think it was right to cause them to lose that money - even though I was only one person and there were still 2 people assigned to that table. My conscience didn't feel right stiffing them money they expected when they got their assignments just because of circumstances they had nothing to do with. I also tipped the servers we had their base tips plus some. And yes, though I cruise solo, I will usually double my stateroom host's gratuities because it's not their fault I am traveling solo. And they hardly have to do anything in my cabin. But I get that not everyone has the same conscience.

You do you.

 

[dvcdisney]

The gratuities are added automatically according to how the staterooms were booked. I'd just leave things as-is. The stateroom hosts each expect gratuities based on 3 guests for room and that's the way things should be left...maybe add a couple extra dollars for the host that serviced the room with 4 guests, but even then...how much extra work would they have done besides changing out an extra clean towel each day? If they have to pull down an make an extra bed, add a little...unless the same host services both rooms, in which case it all works out even.

I do hope that we have the same host. I have booked both rooms close to each other so it's more likely that way. But you never know. And I don't know how they assign the staterooms.

I understand what you're suggesting, but I would have an issue not providing the one host with full gratuity even if it's just an extra towel or so. And no there would be no change to the bedding since all beds would need to be made.