Instant Real Time Pricing You will be able to see the exact times that My Time Dining is offered each evening once you book your cruise. (Enrollment required for select benefits.). Still, some critics see the charges as a sneaky way for cruise lines to make their fares appear lower than they really are. gratuities amongst the other My Time Dining waiters; feel free to reward your waiter with an extra tip for providing excellent service . The mandatory 20% gratuity comes out to nearly $22 per day. By his definition the answer is yes. However, as mentioned, it is usually just easier and more convenient to leave the auto-gratuity/service charge/hotel charge (it is called different things on different cruise lines) in place. Youll be told which restaurant to go to based on your choice. 0000417807 00000 n This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. Unlike Traditional Dining, you will not be seated at the same table with the same wait staff if your choose My Time. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. 0000891478 00000 n $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card on one or more of the following: Audible, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The New York Times. Flexible seating works very much like standard restaurant seating. Powered by Cruiseline.com, spoke with royal Carib rep today who said prepaid grats are now out if you are using My Time Dining. Below is a line-by-line look at policies for automatic gratuity charges (called service charges or crew appreciation charges at some lines). Traditional dining is great for anyone who enjoys the classic cruise dinner experience, meeting new people and enjoying a dedicated waiter for the duration of your sailing. This is why we recommend making reservations for My Time Dining, whether that be in advance via the Cruise Planner or onboard by speaking with a head waiter. This card is also incredibly rewarding for travel purchases, helping you rack up a ton of Membership Rewards points for your next award trip. CC Help Jenn Those grats are also handed out to WJ staff, cafe staff, etc. You will be seated with whomever you arrive to the dining room with. What happens if I cancel the gratuities? Cheap people have been around for years. My Time Dining usually begins around 6:00pm and lasts until 9:30pm, giving you a wide range of times to choose from. Wondering if anyone can help out with this? Thats the whole point of the service charge. You can reserve My Time Dining when you first book your cruise, or by logging onto the Royal Caribbean website to amend your booking. Callummck Our dining options have been reimagined to give you a culinary experience at sea as vast, varied and eye-opening as dining in the worlds most cosmopolitan cities. 0000901330 00000 n If you arrive as soon as the Main Dining Rooms open, you will be able to be seated shortly. trailer <]>> startxref 0 %%EOF 158 0 obj <>stream Our points-obsessed staff uses a plethora of credit cards on a daily basis. All rights reserved. 0000418111 00000 n Cruise lines say they pass the money collected from service charges to the shipboard crew. xbbba`b``0 u B endstream endobj 29 0 obj <>/ViewerPreferences<>/Metadata 6 0 R/AcroForm 30 0 R/Pages 5 0 R/StructTreeRoot 8 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 30 0 obj <>/Encoding<>>>>> endobj 31 0 obj <>/Shading<>/ColorSpace<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC/ImageI]/Properties<>/MC1<<>>/MC2<<>>/MC3<<>>>>/ExtGState<>>>/Type/Page>> endobj 32 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 162 85 0 R] endobj 33 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 140 80 0 R] endobj 34 0 obj <> endobj 35 0 obj <> endobj 36 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 147 75 0 R] endobj 37 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 120 96 0 R] endobj 38 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 210 122 0 R] endobj 39 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 77 93 0 R] endobj 40 0 obj [/Separation/PANTONE#20281#20CV/DeviceCMYK<>] endobj 41 0 obj [/DeviceN[/Cyan/Magenta/Yellow]/DeviceCMYK 114 0 R 116 0 R] endobj 42 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 128 101 0 R] endobj 43 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 192 121 0 R] endobj 44 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 128 110 0 R] endobj 45 0 obj [/Separation/PANTONE#202727#20C/DeviceCMYK<>] endobj 46 0 obj [/Indexed 47 0 R 3 66 0 R] endobj 47 0 obj [/ICCBased 65 0 R] endobj 48 0 obj <>stream 0000906618 00000 n Note that if you purchase a dining or beverage package, the cruise line will charge you gratuities based on a percentage of the package price. Well, this is NOT the only option and you can still choose to eat in the traditional manner. No reservation is needed, but Royal Caribbean strongly encourages you to get a reservation if you dont want to spend a lot of time waiting when you go to dinner. Additional cash gifts are not expected. Answer (1 of 4): Fares purchased on the Australian website will always include pre-paid gratuities. 19952023, The Independent Traveler, Inc. The folks who WERVE YOU are the ones who get your tips. We know booking a cruise can be a complicated process, so if you need any help or would even like us to fill out your information for you please get in touch. 0000897170 00000 n What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? 0000006679 00000 n ;) Can we opt out of those added on charges also?? That said, the total number of lines with a service fee has been shrinking over the years. 0000828837 00000 n Compare the cost in points or miles to cash, and see which option is best. Booking MTD on certain ships requires individual checkouts for each night while other ships you can make reservations for the whole cruise and check out once. Australians typically do not tip because the minimum wage in Australia is $20.33 AUD/hr ($14.56 USD/hr). To this day it still references dynamic dining in the cruise planner even though that is long gone. Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Unsubscribe whenever you want. Related: A beginners guide to picking a cruise line. We do not prepay gratuities because we always have OBC and they will be deducted from the OBC daily. Additionally, several major lines in the past couple of years have begun offering bundle pricing to customers who pay for cruise tips, Wi-Fi charges and an onboard drinks package all at once in advance of sailing, potentially at a discount. Privacy Policy | This can trick many cruisers into tipping twice. Display as a link instead, In many cases, the service charges are adjustable. April 7, 2008. What happens if I cancel the gratuities? One additional reason that you might pre-pay in the future is that Royal can change these rates at anytime, if you have them pre-paid, you are locked in to that rate. Guests can only participate in one dining style per sailing. She also told us about gratuities added to the Seapss account. If you are choosing My Time Dining because you are not a fan of either set dining times, you will need to ensure that you make nightly reservations as soon as possible via the Cruise Planner. Related: 9 times you do not need to tip on a cruise. 0000841939 00000 n Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to bea useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. You can then book dinner in the Main Dining Room for any time you want, or just walk in without a reservation. By Brilliance of the Seas is operated by RCL (UK) Ltd., a subsidiary of Royal . 2010 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Still need help? There will be a My Time Dining check-in desk at the entrance to the dining room with wait staff to greet guests. Improve earnings, maximize rewards and track progress toward dream trips. 0000002916 00000 n Our dining options have been reimagined to give you a culinary experience at sea as vast, varied and eye-opening as dining in the worlds most cosmopolitan cities. The others could make a separate My Time Dining reservation for 8:15pm. Sorry- Im not expressing myself too well! To request a call back from one of our cruise experts, kindly provide us with the details requested bellow and we will get back to you as soon as possible. The actual times, however, will vary by sailing. 0000897748 00000 n 156.1k. If you have a smaller party, you might find that you do not have to wait as long as larger parties. Some guests choose to recognize particularly exceptional service with an additional cash gratuity on the last night of their cruise. At the same time, you will be able to add prepaid gratuities and vacation protection, if you choose to do so. 0000021713 00000 n The buffet restaurant doesnt offer reservations and you can visit it whenever you want. The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, applied to each guest's SeaPass account on a daily basis. 0000425403 00000 n If you dont like tipping in advance to your service, and you would rather leave generous tips individually, there is nothing stopping you from going the extra mile to tip your waiter or waitress each night you use the My Time Dining option. If you pay them onboard, it will be charged automatically each day of the cruise. Due to availability, however, you may not have as many times to choose from. I understand that once upon a time prepaid gratuities were required for MTD. E{3bEi_,FdTneL m!TlmJ=&esmh~rqbo)q9V'{7_LA74us i%@MZC1twwBjkC%{'BLTzP64Z{C@gC;qdF\u4:}NiIYmKzuu>k&dOWd1ydzW ]EhWJt*iLAcGMUyhvjw%m&_I;jxt' jg|zn~7_{ksiY15M HHnV6@,,TnMv9GU{$ If you are adjusting a gratuity charge downward, expect to be asked about the reasons behind the adjustment. 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. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Please don't disrupt the system that works that was put in place that is fair to crew and guests . $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. You may tip extra if you feel you have been "WOW'd". However, if you dont sign up for My Time Dining within the first two days of your cruise, then youre stuck with traditional dining times. If you keep things as they are, everyone who is supposed to be tipped, WILL be tipped. Gratuities haven't been going up "almost every year." Who knows? If you want to use My Time Dining you must pay for tips in advance. Since you stated that you have already paid you cruise in full I would not go back to your TA just to pay them, I would just pay them at the end of the cruise when you settle your account, there are 2 different rates, one for regular rooms which I believe is $14.50 per day, per person, what you see on my picture is for a suite which is $16.50 PD, PP. That is really the biggest flaw with My Time Dining. 0000897240 00000 n You will be able to see the exact times that My Time Dining is offered each evening once you book your cruise. Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPGs editors and is not influenced by the card issuer. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays. You may find that you are split up at different tables that are not located near each other. You dont have to do anything. Are you sure that isn't an Iglu Cruise rule? Plus Ups are excluded. If you get one of these packages for free as a booking perk, as with the aforementioned Norwegian Cruise Line promotion, you may still be required to pay the gratuities on the free perk. We hate spam as much as lounge chair hogs. So therefore it does not show on our invoice. 0000417013 00000 n Prior to checking out, you will have to make a decision on dining style. The exact times, however, will vary according to your cruise itinerary. The high annual fee is only worth it if youre taking full advantage of the cards benefits. You can, of course, request a specific table and waiter, but they may not be able to honor this. LauraS 0000006404 00000 n 0000427335 00000 n 0000906914 00000 n %PDF-1.4 % If you dislike tipping on cruise ships, but can't afford to sail on an all-inclusive line, look for promotions when cruise lines with service charges throw in free gratuities as a booking incentive. A list of those who do this is available to the staff. For lines that do have them, service and gratuity charges are touted as a convenient alternative to the practice of cash tipping on cruise ships something that once was common. If you feel anyone has been particularly helpful you can always tip them extra in cash. If you cancel prepaid gratuities, you can visit Guest Services once you are onboard and request they discontinue automatic gratuties. It is recommended that you book a table though. You can do this before the cruise, or during your voyage. Have you noticed over the years that daily grats have been increasing almost every year to make up for the non tippers. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Should they have been paid at the time of booking? *Please see all applicable Terms & Conditions for Promotions. Speciality restaurants require reservations but they dont have traditional dining times. The agent asked us which dining option wed like and we chose my time. 0000027181 00000 n Learn the cruise secrets most people don't know and cruise like a boss. I sailed on the explorer last year and the trick then was we could only cancel them on day 3 of the trip[obviously hopeing for a lot of forgetful customers] its a damn cheek that they are desperately trying to take this right for the customer to cancel ,,after all I never had gratuities for slogging my guts out in the kitchens and bakeries in my career and I don't suppose many ouy there do either. The current welcome offer on this card is quite lucrative. Their website explains it as such: "By selecting My Time Dini. Lines with such charges include both of the two giants of the cruise business, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line, as well as Norwegian, MSC Cruises and Princess Cruises. The same applies if you want to switch from My Time Dining back to traditional dining. 0000022522 00000 n You can, however, always tell your waitstaff that you have other plans, and they will do their best to serve you as quickly as possible. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Dine as you want, when you want. The extra cost of the automatic gratuity charges can be a shock to first-time cruisers. It isn't a hidden charge, since we all know about the charge and of course it subsidizes the wage bill. 0000026625 00000 n has written about cruising for more than 25 years and for many years oversaw USA Todays award-winning cruise site. but it's so much better to leave the automatic tips in place and just give extra cash to those you feel deserve it. Copyrights |, www.royalcaribbean.ae is part of Royal Caribbean Arabia owned by Safeen Tourism LLC the Sole Middle East Representative of Royal Caribbean International, 2023 All Rights Reserved | ROYAL CARIBBEAN ARABIA. I am looking at cancelling my gratuities when I get on board so I can pay these personally. Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. You will see the same helpful crew members waiting on you in the WJ as you did last night in the MDR. To ensure quick seating, we encourage guests who have selected the Flexible option to place a reservation for each evening. For your convenience, prepaid gratuities are automatically added to your flexible option reservations. Earn 5X Membership Rewards Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. 0000735845 00000 n I suspect that the automatic tipping is a hidden charge for the customers who already paid to go on the cruise to subsidise the company's wage bill. A lot of people still prefer the idea of traditional dining where you sit for dinner at the same time every evening, with the same party and with the same waiter. If you leave the service charge on your room bill, you are not expected to leave additional cruise tips for your room attendant or waiters. January 11, 2019 in Royal Caribbean Discussion. My Time Dining is now a choice within the booking process. 0000898322 00000 n It has its advantages, but for a lot of people, its too restrictive. Pasted as rich text. That's exactly the case with the Amex Platinum card. The recommended dress code for the Main Dining Room for traditional dining or My Time Dining is smart casual. 0000005911 00000 n 0000844607 00000 n The wait. Heres my confusion: I understand prepaid gratuities is required for My Time Dining. Have you noticed over the years that daily grats have been increasing almost every year to make up for the non tippers. You can disable the usage of cookies by changing the settings of your browser. 0000902161 00000 n Planning a cruise? Understood, and many passengers also feel this way. You definitely won't go hungry during your sailing, even if you don't purchase any dining extras. . This allows you to decide when you want to eat, and who you want to sit with, instead of traditional dining where you have set times and sit with the same group each day. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Still, not all lines have service fees that high. Still reserve a table if you can otherwise, you might be waiting with a grumbling stomach until a table becomes free if you just walk in. Once they go to the My Time Dining desk to be seated for dinner, the waiter will look up the guests stateroom and pull any special dietary needs or amenities purchased for them. Throughout the cruise, you may be able to change your My Time Dining reservations on the app or by calling the dining hotline from your stateroom's telephone, but it is dependent on availability. 0000014304 00000 n 0000006636 00000 n You can save even more $$$ by eating in the Lido on the last evening and avoiding your cabin steward that night also ? 0000017159 00000 n Every Royal Caribbean ship includes meals at many included restaurants, including the main dining room and the buffet. Alternatively, you can have the charges added to your room bill on board. Feel free to leave a comment below to let the community at Cruise Fever know how you feel about My Time Dining in the comment section below. But its definitely not for everyone. You also will not be able to switch after the second day, so you'll want to visit Guest Services and/or the Main Dining Room when you embark-- Guests can only participate in one dining style per sailing. The rates listed are per person, per day. Im really asking the opposite - We havent prepaid gratuities, but the agent has booked us in for My Time Dining! There is a $9.75 gratuity per day that is required and this actually covers not only the wait staff but your room steward. American Express has expanded The Centurion Network to include 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide. Kudos to NCL for no longer allowing grats to be removed onboard. ?xtp~?f~j)Br$7q,,"Sf%SXAii%1O=]rlsE"V3ueGWY^U?h2/?7>V1yP GoW}wA[5!>0yuoe Online, you can only book My Time Dining for up to eight guests. Your link has been automatically embedded. I am looking at cancelling my gratuities when I get on board so I can pay these personally. These 9 Drinks Are Free on Royal Caribbean Cruises. Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. However, many people now prefer to enjoy more flexibility with dinner, so cruise lines have either done away with traditional dining altogether or set up an alternative option. When making a reservation you will be offered "My Time" or traditional dining times (i.e., 5:30 pm & 8:00 pm). There are even more places your Platinum Card can get you complimentary entry and exclusive perks. On a Royal Caribbean cruise, you need to register for My Time Dining if you don't want a set dining time. It is more difficult for the Main Dining Room to accommodate larger groups with My Time Dining, as there are fewer tables set for bigger parties. This dining option requires you to "pre pay" your gratuities. Still need help? Details: Gratuities are included in the fare. All rights reserved. 0000426585 00000 n 0000003555 00000 n But I remember the days before MTD and Automatic Tips when, on the last night, TIP Night, people would eat at other venues and skip out on tipping the wait staff. 0000022110 00000 n Now you have a choice to prepay gratuities or not with either Traditional or MTD. What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? Main Dining Room on Allure of the Seas With My Time Dining, you can simply walk up to the host stand to be seated or make reservations in advance for your preferred time. Note, however, that this means you may not be able to have as flexible of a dining experience as you might be hoping for, especially if prime reservations have been secured in advance by other guests. 0000767892 00000 n That means, if you decide to visit the Main Dining Room on day 3 of your cruise, you wont be able to choose your time. The group we are going with have all chosen the early 5pm dinner reservation. We want to do MTD, but Im asking will this stand without finding a way to prepay the gratuities beforehand (Id guessed it would have been in Cruise Planner but evidently not), The gratuities is distributed amongst the entire cruise staff including the dining staff. Our new My Time Dining option allows you the flexibility to choose when you want to dine each evening, giving you the chance to enjoy your meals at your own pace. TPG values it at $1,600. 28 0 obj <> endobj xref 28 131 0000000016 00000 n You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. If anyone on our team wouldnt recommend it to a friend or a family member, we wouldnt recommend it on The Points Guy either. 0000905656 00000 n You need to contact your TA and have her add it to your invoice in order to prepay gratuities. 0000911056 00000 n The old way of MTD had forced you to prepay gratuities but that changed some time ago. 0000006714 00000 n My Time Dining is now a choice within the booking process. If, for instance, you plan on staying late in port one day but still wish to eat in the Main Dining Room, you could make a reservation for later in the evening, rather than miss out on the experience because you have early dining. Your browser is outdated and does not support many of the modern features of this website, Unlike traditional dining where a dining time is assigned to you guests who opt for My Time Dining can eat in the Main Dining Room anytime they like during dinner hours, according to times availability. Best card for premium perks while traveling, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, The Business Platinum Card from American Express, Disney Cruise Lines Castaway Club loyalty program: Everything you need to know, 21 new Hyatt hotels where you can get 500 extra points per night, My first cruise to the Galapagos: The good, the bad and the absolutely adorable. And that they aren't simply following the outdated information still present on Royal's website as pointed out above? If you're wondering how much you should tip on the specific cruise line you're considering or have already looked, we've compiled that information here. It's kind of a runaround to personally get to everyone who is included (my opinion). How much to tip on a cruise is a question that trips up many first-timers. You can then book dinner in the Main Dining Room for any time you want, or just walk in without a reservation. Love Cruise Fever?Sign Up to Our FREE Newsletter! Breeze through security with CLEAR lanes available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your membership when you use your Card. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos, Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Policy regarding COVID related Discussions. Maximum of 10 guests per reservation. A list of those who do this is available to the staff. 0000005096 00000 n Many cruise lines will tack an automatic gratuity charge onto the bill for extra-fee drinks, restaurant meals and spa treatments. If you prefer to pay for tips once you're on board your cruise, youll generally find that the gratuities automatically appear on your bill. Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. At least, thats how it is supposed to work. You dont have to attend dinner at the same time, and you can arrange a table that works for you. The best way to fully take advantage of the My Time Dining program is to make your reservations before you board the ship! I take any thread older than a year (sometimes less) with a grain of salt. Enrollment required. For your convenience, prepaid gratuities are automatically added to your flexible option reservations. 0000896807 00000 n Getting to know the staff and allowing them to get to know you is also a fun part of cruising for some people and My Time Dining would severely limit activity. Contact Us Get support by Phone or Email 866-562-7625 Email Your Questions The guest relations staff will want to know if youve experienced particular service issues. Aside from formal nights, there is no enforced dress code except that bare feet and tank tops are not allowed in the Main Dining Room. If the gratuities are pre-paid, it should be part of the cruise booking. Ships registered in the Bahamas. 0000419636 00000 n Fortunately, Royal Caribbean still offers both traditional and My Time Dining options. Traditional seating will mean that guests will keep the same wait staff and dining companions throughout the cruise. Search Now Even if you only plan to eat in the Main Dining Room a couple of times during your cruise, it often makes sense to choose My Time Dining so that you can pick the time you want. Then, Norwegian Cruise Line decided to shake things up a bit with "freestyle dining", an innovation that allows guests to eat dinner anytime . You will have to make each reservation individually and add them to your cart one-by-one. We do not prepay gratuities because we always have OBC and they will be deducted from the OBC daily. 0000891696 00000 n We can honor requests to change only once based on availability. Maximum of 10 guests per reservation. Our new My Time Dining option allows you the flexibility to choose when you want to dine each evening, giving you the chance to enjoy your meals at your own pace. My partner and I prefer a later dinner and have selected My Time dining however we'd still like to join them for dinner at least 1-2 nights. 0000747552 00000 n If you tip personally in cash, those people must turn it in or face dismissal. Even if I opt out of automatic gratuities? Reservations arestronglyrecommended in order to avoid a delay in seating (reservations will be taken once onboard, based on availability). If you are asking by prepaying gratuities in advance does that force you to do MTD, then the answer is no. You'd likely pay it at final payment date. My confusion is to do with the My Time Dining - If gratuities havent been prepaid, do we still have the My Time Dining thats on the invoice?! For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit. Automatic gratuity charge: None. If you do get the same waiter every night, theyll remember your name and your preferences. You can choose a different time each day, so you can fit dinner around the rest of your onshore and onboard plans. It's easy, convenient, and if you wish to recognize outstanding service you can always tip extra cash personally. How Does Royal Caribbeans My Time Dining Work? KA^tQmy9*yE'6C'VBz@JKz+I_0U{:$asg* \ endstream endobj 157 0 obj <>/Size 28/Type/XRef>>stream That explains it and answers my question- youre right, it does still say it on parts of the website. Their memory is incredible and they really do make you feel special. Unlike traditional dining - where a dining time is assigned to you - guests who opt for My Time Dining can eat in the Main Dining Room whenever they like during dining hours, according to availability.

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