Starting on January 15, Celebrity will be adding gratuities daily to each passenger's SeaPass account. Also, the amount of the gratuities is changing.

For all ships EXCEPT the XPedition, where gratuities are included in the fare, the following per person per day gratuities, which can be adjusted if the passenger so desires, apply:

Waiter $3.65
Asst Waiter $2.10
Dining Room Management $1.00

Room Steward $3.50 ($4 in Concierge/Aqua Class)
Butlers in Suites $3.50
"Other Service Personnel" $1.25

This totals $11.50 per person, per day if you're in a stateroom, $12.00 per person per day for Concierge or Aqua Class, and $15.00 per person per day if you're in a suite.

Sandy

Thanks for this report, Sandy.

I've never had a problem with gratuities being automatically added to my account. I've been waiting to see if the amounts increased. I don't have a problem with that either. They certainly earn it.

It is odd to see Celebrity be the vanguard for this. I guess RCCL figures that RCI is getting enough heat for adding charges so they'll let Celebrity share the heat. I fully anticipate RCI following suit in a few weeks.

I don't have a problem with auto tips either. As long as they can be adjusted. It is a great convenience. The amounts seem reasonable as well.

Dwayne

I don't have a problem with that either, I always like to pay everything including tips, soda card and excursions months in advance, if I am able. Maybe I'm quirky but it sure is nice getting on board and only needing spending money!
Why do they need to do that, do many passengers just skip out the last night and not give anything to the staff?? That is really cheesy

You still have the option of pre-paying the gratuities with your cruise payment. If you do that, then obviously the tips will not be added to your SeaPass account.

There are some people who don't tip, or who can't add and get the amounts wrong, or who don't want to tip for children. Putting tips on your account automatically solves more problems with staff than it may create with extra accounting.

Sandy

Yes janfred, on more than one cruise in the days when everyone did the "cash in envelope" tipping method, I've seen many empty seats at that final evening's dinner. Even on Celebrity.

I am hoping RCI does this too. There current system of charging it to your account is a hassle, because you have to go to the desk to request it and then stuff vouchers in envelopes.

being a first timer excuse this if the answers obvious, just dotting the i's so to speak. Am I right in assuming that with auto tipping that you don't tip the individual yourself? Also I've booked suite with Celebrity, does that mean I will be charged $15 a day or $15 each for my wife and I each day?

Nick.

Hi Gypster and welcome to Cruise-Chat.

The tips that are automatically added to your onboard account are for your room steward, the waiter and assistant waiter, the Maitre d' in the dining room, and assorted other "personnel" during your cruise. When you order a bar drink, the tip will already be included when you sign the bill.

This means you do not have to hand tips to these people, unless you feel you want to give them extra money. But it's not necessary.

If you're in a non-suite type of room, you'll have $11.00 per person, per day added to your bill. If you're on a 7 day cruise, this means the tips added will be $77 per person, or $154 total for two people. If you are in a suite, the tips added will be $12.00 per person, per day, or $84 per person for a 7 day cruise.

Sandy

I am not sure how Celebrity is handling the specifics. You might get vouchers and envelopes to hand out on the last evening or they may be handling the distribution of tips without any passenger involvement. Either way, you will not be expected to hand over any other money unless you want to.

Gratuities are always based on per person/per day .

quote:

You might get vouchers and envelopes to hand out on the last evening

I'm assuming that will not be the case, since everyone will be paying automatically. The vouchers are usually for those who have either pre-paid or added tips to their onboard accounts on those cruises where other passengers are putting cash into envelopes.

Sandy

Looks like Celebrity is just catching up to other cruise line policies that have been in place for many years. NCL has been employing the auto gratuity for many years. With a upscale cruise brand like Celebrity the auto tip should not be any big deal.

The days of stuffing envelopes with cash is an old style.

Call me old fashion, but I like the way Celebrity and RCI has been doing it with the vouchers. I still after all these years have a hard time "trusting" that the gratuities are being paid. I'm not at all suggesting anything here that the cruise lines are cheating the crew. But glitches happen, and it is a human sitting there typing in the information into the computer, mistakes can be made. With the voucher I have something to hand the crew member and they know their gratuity is on account. The voucher gives them proof too. When they collect their gratuities if a name was missing off the list they have the voucher to show.

You're right Cruise Fanatic. I really try to tip extra every cruise, so I know they at least got something from me. I like the voucher idea, too.

While I have no objection to this new policy, it's a shame it had to be implemented.

I have read all your posts but have to disagree.The definition of a gratuity is a reward for good service, at least it is is my eyes. How then can you prepay gratuities if you have not yet had the service? You also have to factor in the issue that we Brits do not have the American psyche of tipping. We still like the "envelope" method on cruises, and we will always "opt out" of the automatic gratuity when we cruise.

I like the idea of pre-paying. I just bury it in the cost of the whole trip and forget about it. As a result, I'm much more likely to give even more once onboard.
But I don't like the cruise line telling me I WILL pay. That sounds more like a demand notice or a tax than a gratuity.
I'm sure it makes it much easier to track the true incomes of these poor souls who break their backs for our enjoyment.

quote:

But I don't like the cruise line telling me I WILL pay. That sounds more like a demand notice or a tax than a gratuity.

The cruise lines don't like to say "you will pay" they like to use the term "for your convenience the gratuities have been added with the suggested amount"

Didn't income taxes start out being voluntary during WWII?

I've never bumped into a cruise ship employee who was't gracious. I guess I have trouble with authority!

poormom, I have to agree with your point of view. In a case were gratuities/tips are mandatory they cease being that and become a service fee.

So my question is; are the tips adjustable like Carnival's are? If so, I don't have any problems with it. I usually tip extra any way.

Dwayne

quote:

In a case were gratuities/tips are mandatory they cease being that and become a service fee.

Tips are never mandatory. Having tips added automatically avoids many problems, such as looooong lines at the Cashier's Desk or Purser's Desk the last day of the cruise, with folks wanting to cash checks. Also, for folks not wanting to be bothered with dividing cash into envelopes or multiplying the per day tips and hoping to come up with the right answers, it's a convenience.

Holland America used to have a "no tipping required" policy, but everyone tipped anyway, the same amounts as on other cruise lines.

I'm sure Celebrity can adjust or eliminate the automatically added tips if a passenger wants to do that. I would hope that if someone receives such poor service that they don't want to tip, that they have brought it to the Purser's attention long before it's time to tip.

Sandy