How Much To Tip A Royal Genie With Chart

Table Of Content

• You don’t have to book your excursions through Royal Caribbean
• How Much Are Gratuities on Royal Caribbean Cruises?
• Top Cruise Tips
• Is Additional Tipping Expected after Paying Gratuities?
• Consider upgrading to a balcony cabin or trying RoyalUp
• How Much To Tip A Royal Genie
• How To Prepay Gratuities on Royal Caribbean

In turn, booking a European cruise — with plenty of sightseeing and historical sites to explore — might make you feel accomplished but not any more refreshed than when you left home. You can also use the days of your cruise as an opportunity to enhance daily routines you need to stay focused and healthy at home. For example, while you might continue to wake up early on your cruise to exercise or meditate, you can also indulge in daytime naps whenever you feel like it, or have a cocktail — or two!

You don’t have to book your excursions through Royal Caribbean

Many passengers, however, still like to leave extra tips for their stateroom attendant and dining room waiters at the end of the cruise. Some jobs might even allow you to shift your hours when you're traveling, getting up early or working late in order to take advantage of time in cruise ports with your family or friends. This can be especially beneficial when you're working around school vacations and taking your own job requirements into consideration. Even if you only end up having a few days at sea, that's plenty of time to find amazing adventures. Choosing your destination carefully is also a travel tip that can help your vacation feel more relaxing. Picking an itinerary with more chill time and less sightseeing makes a big difference.

How Much Are Gratuities on Royal Caribbean Cruises?

Outside of clothing, there are other essentials you should pack for an Alaska cruise. While not required, bringing items like motion-sickness medication, binoculars, and cabin essentials like outlet adapters are helpful to have handy. One of my favorite aspects of cruising to Alaska is the pre-cruise stay in Seattle or Vancouver. Not only do both of these cities offer breathtaking natural scenery, but they boast an impressive amount of things to do within the city, too. At the end of the day, enjoying a vacation without taking time off is not as insurmountable a challenge as it may seem, particularly if you can strike a balance between relaxation and productivity.

Royal Caribbean Raising Gratuity Rates for All Passengers - Cruise Hive

Royal Caribbean Raising Gratuity Rates for All Passengers.

Posted: Wed, 01 Nov 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Top Cruise Tips

It also doesn't matter which ship you're on, as gratuities onboard the brand-new Icon of the Seas will be the same price as those on Enchantment of the Seas, a Vision Class vessel that launched in 1997. If you want to recognise outstanding service by a particular crew member, then head to the Guest Services desk and fill out a ‘WOW card’. Your positive feedback will go on their permanent file, which can help them to get promotions and pay rises. You may also wish to give some cash to porters who help with your luggage outside of the ship, particularly if you start your cruise in the United States where this is customary. Some people like to give gifts such as chocolates or wine to the crew members.

Is Additional Tipping Expected after Paying Gratuities?

Doing research will help you pack correctly, plan your travel logistics without any issues, and book that once-in-a-lifetime excursion you’ve dreamed about for years. Although the service comes with a small fee in addition to any airline baggage fees, it offers unparalleled convenience for travelers. One of my favorite Alaska cruise “hacks” is to utilize Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s luggage valet service. Dinner in the Main Dining Room is a traditional part of any cruise experience, but think twice before selecting your dining time.

That's because some cruise lines tack daily service fees onto passenger bills — yet many travelers still hand out additional cash gratuities, either as a matter of course or for exemplary service. You can prepay gratuities at any time up to 48 hours before your sail date. If you booked with a travel agent, contact your travel agent and they can add gratuities to your booking.

When your cruise concludes, if the port workers aid in getting your bags to your car or a taxi, the same amount would be courteous. Tipping isn't mandatory on a cruise, but you should consider that gratuities distributed onboard a modern cruise ship are much more than mere bonuses. The big advantage to paying cruise tips in advance is that you lock in the current rate. If your line raises the rate between the time you pay and the time you sail, you won't pay more.

Royal Caribbean raises automatic gratuity rate, beginning in November - Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean raises automatic gratuity rate, beginning in November.

Posted: Tue, 31 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Wine ordered with meals will generally have a 15% service charge automatically applied. If the service has been exceptional, consider a tip of $10 to $15 at the end of your cruise. The baggage handlers who take your bags upon arrival at the port don't typically work for the cruise line and therefore won't share in the onboard tip pool. Consider treating them as you would a bellman at a hotel -- a customary $1 or $2 per bag will do.

If you have not yet booked excursions for your 2024 Alaska cruise, book them as soon as possible. How much time you can take off work depends not only on your company and the terms of your employment but also on the needs of your team and the demands of your job. If you're an accountant, taking unpaid time off might be a taller order in March than it is after tax day has passed. Likewise, if you work on a small team and have a colleague out on leave, you might not be able to take unpaid time off at all.

Royal Caribbean offers guests the choice of prepaying gratuities for select crew members on its ships. Unlike some cruise lines that have age limits for young passengers, everyone pays the daily gratuity amount on Royal Caribbean. On Royal Caribbean cruises, a standard gratuity fee of $16.00 per person, per day is charged, while guests staying in Grand Suites and higher categories pay $18.50 per person, per day. Still, some people do leave a little extra for crew members who go above and beyond. Others tip their room service or waitstaff at their favorite bar, either early in the cruise in the hope of getting better service or at the end to thank them for enhancing the vacation experience. How much to tip extra on a cruise is entirely up to you because it is in no way required.

The gratuities on Royal Caribbean Cruises are automatically added to the SeaPass account of the guests if they have not been pre-paid prior to boarding. You can get the gratuity charges added to your daily bill onboard the ship or you can choose to prepay it while booking the cruise. Think of the daily gratuity charge as a tip for the work that crew members do throughout the day and night during your cruise vacation. Guests must pay a set amount per person, per day for daily gratuities, with the amount based on the stateroom type. Today, a family of four in a balcony cabin on a 7-night cruise will pay $504 in gratuities, whereas the same family in a suite will pay $574.

At the end of the cruise, Royal Caribbean charges the credit card linked to your account for everything purchased onboard throughout the trip — as well as gratuities. In addition to the daily gratuity, select onboard purchases are subject to extra service charges, such as alcoholic and select non-alcoholic beverages (including Royal Caribbean drink packages) and spa treatments. In short, port fees are fees charged by the ports of call to the cruise line, who then pass these fees on to passengers.

On September 7th, 2022, RCI's cruise gratuities were increased to US$16 (Junior Suites and below) while Grand Suite and above categories were charged US$18,50 pp per day. Instead of getting upset over a cold, rainy day in port, maintain a positive attitude. Find a cozy saloon to enjoy a warm Irish coffee, or bundle up in your rain gear and make the most of the day. Cheap cruises are never a guarantee, but one trend we have noticed in the past few years is that Alaska cruises in the shoulder season are often heavily discounted at the last minute. One of our favorite “tricks” when planning an Alaska cruise on Royal Caribbean is to take advantage of cheap last-minute sailings.

Alaska, for instance, is known for having more expensive docking fees than The Bahamas or Europe. In short, gratuities should not be viewed as an optional extra, but more as a required service fee, which ensures fare wages for the hardworking cruise crew. Accordingly, when planning your cruise vacation budget, be sure to factor in the estimated cost of gratuities for the duration of your sailing.

In most instances, a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft is the most convenient option. However, your hotel may also provide a shuttle, or you could even take the light rail from the airport to downtown. If your flight doesn’t arrive until 11PM the night before your cruise, it probably isn’t worth it to travel to the city center.

I've had bartenders who recognize me after two or three visits and remember my go-to drink order throughout the sailing. If, for example, the online Cruise Planner is advertising the daily rate of the Deluxe Beverage Package at $75.99, you'll have to multiply that by 18% (0.18) to get the actual cost. Thankfully, this means that you won't have to worry about tipping for each drink that you order. If you like to pay for your cruise monthly, then you can add the gratuities to your monthly payment. The breakdown of gratuities is carefully worked out to be fair for all crew members. If you tip individuals instead, you may be doing a disservice to staff members who you haven’t met personally, such as the kitchen staff or cleaners.