I always prepay EVERYTHING (gratuities, specialty dining, excursions, drink packages, etc...)because I just want to enjoy the cruise and not stress about anything.

We have always pre-paid. From the beginning of our cruising 20 years ago, we’ve always tipped extra at the bar we think we will be at the most and leave something on the bed each morning before we leave in the am. Last cruise the regular bartender waved as we walked up and had our drinks ready before we got there. A few years back the cabin steward left a heart felt note saying how much he and his family appreciated it. BTW we leave a note on the first morning as on one occasion the attendant was concerned it was a test. The note says yes this is for you.

It's not a Gratuity when they are mandatory, it, a service charge.

Service charges are designated as business funds, so the business owner can choose how to allocate the total. That means workers on the ship won’t see your gratuities (AKA service charges) unless you hand them cash tips. Tipping has become customary and it has gotten out of control. It is customary to tip everyone who has provided a service for which they are paid for already. Tipping is supposed to be done when someone has went above and beyond their “normal” duties as assigned, not as a supplement to their wages that the business fails to pay them.

First! I always prepay gratuities. I like having everything that I can paid before I cruise. I also take some cash with me to tip those that go above and beyond. Gratuities average about $500 per cruise for my family.

After NCL taking 90 days to refund our cash, we’re paying everything, including gratuities, at the last moment, for all future cruises.

Why don't they just include them in the cost of the cruise because really they are NOT gratuities they are just trying to fool the customer into thinking they are giving you a cheaper price . Gratuities are something you give freely at the amount you think fair if given good service not told to give set amounts this is why in Australia they are NOT allowed to charge them it is up to you if you wish to TIP some crew member. Pay the crew the correct wage in the first place Also in Australia TIPS are NOT taxed

I use to always prepay to get it done but after a bad experience with room steward, I now pay during my cruise. Amazingly, the service has gotten so much better that I give extra cash on the final evening of my cruises now. 👍

After 15 amazing cruises and connecting with so many talented, generous crew members over the years, we now view prepaid gratuities as just part of the cost of cruising. We always bring extra cash and thank you cards onboard for special requests, room service, or for those times when someone goes above and beyond. I am always glad we do this, so we don’t miss an opportunity to show our appreciation. Never once have I regretted it. For me, it’s all part of the experience. Thanks for the great tip Tony! Awesome video 👍👍👍

Usually when I Hand the workers my card for a alcoholic drink even though I have the top beverage package I fold a one dollar bill and hand that over with my card , it isn’t much but I would drink a fair bit on the cruise and even though it’s only a dollar per drink and I have paid for the package already it goes directly into the bar staff pocket they usually share the tips they get anyway which is good and I found at times when it’s extremely busy I will get served more frequently than other people and I actually had one time there when it was 2 deep at the bar with people waiting for drinks and as I walked towards the bar they had my drink ready and handed it through the 2 lines of people to me it made me feeling a bit special and it definitely had people at the bar wondering while I was getting special treatment😆. Also on your advice I’m pretty sure from a video awhile ago we leave money for the room cleaner , it’s only five dollars at a time each day but it’s probably a big help to them when they do a great job.

In Australia there are no gratuity charges. The crew are paid more when working in Aust waters

When I get on board I have always gone to guest services and have gratuities taken off and at end of cruise I go give staff I was in contact with thier own tip. Have always done that and will continue to do it...

I didn't for my first cruise, I gave the money directly to my steward! Every cruise since then, I've prepaid.

I absolutely despise this practice of prepaying gratuities. I've always thought of myself as a very generous tipper when the service is good. The cruise lines have turned tipping into an expected wage subsidy for their underpaid and overworked employees because they do everything they can possibly do to make certain you know a certain minimum gratuity is expected, while winking and telling you it's really up to you. They have basically turned it into a tithing type situation and use guilt, normally reserved for churches and charities, to make sure you pay. So, let's just call it what it is; it's a service charge that you can adjust downward only under extenuating circumstances. They always reserve the right to pressure you like you're at a timeshare presentation in order to get you to pay.

No- why give the cruise lines an interest free loan? Especially now, when your cruise may be cancelled and they take 60+ days to issue a refund!

Oh Yesssssss! I always prepay! My Steward and servers may get additional tip if we are treated very well! Yfs

We always prepay and give more to certain people - cabin steward, waiters and helpers, bartenders. Usually, we spend more on the extra gratuities than the billed gratuities 🤗

I always prepay my gratuities, but I often end up adding extra when I'm onboard because our service people do such a great job!

We pay at the end and let it go to the credit card. We pay off the credit card in full each month.

Just put them in as part of the cruise price, and then tell the customers there are no gratuities, period. Enough said. I hate playing this price game so cruises can make their published price look less than it is. I know you can argue about gratuities before you disembark, but who wants to do that. It's like all those hotels in Las Vegas that have mandatory "resort fees." The price of the room on a travel website might say "Stay at the Bellagio for $10 per night." Then at checkout you see a $300 per day "resort fee." This is a bunch of crap.

I had to wait almost 90 days to get my cruise fare refunded for a cancelled cruise. I don't want to give them even more money to hold on to by prepaying anything more than necessary. But if you like them holding onto it, by all means prepay.

I love pre paying for everything I can, so I walk on the ship with a clear credit card!!

Prepay and give cabin steward a cash bonus.

I remove the tips. Tipping in America is out of control and abusive.

I prepay unless I know I'll have at least $300 in OBC then I just use that for gratuities

I once got held on the cruise ship because I had a credit. They wanted us to go back to customer service and get our 3.50 before we left the ship. We finally convinced them we didn't care and they let us off.

Just cruised 4 first time, and yes I prepaid gratuities! Thanks 4 information.

We prepaid for our two fall cruises. We have enough OBCs for Cheers on the first cruise including tips.

While I do prepay my gratuities, I’ve always had a sore spot about this toward the cruise companies. I think they should pay workers a fair salary. That shouldn’t be my responsibility. They are not as poor and broke as they would have you believe. I’m sure many execs in these companies are making millions.

I prepay everything I can. I even make sure I have some Cruise cash I use that at the casino 😁

I really like the editing on this Tony! Super cool.

Only time I haven't prepaid gratuities is when it wasn't possible....in the 1990s. It was the envelope system with cash or vouchers.

I always pre-pay gratuities and other packages I want so I dont have to bother with it on vacation.

I never prepay... just link my credit card to it.. and pay it off within 30 days... no need to give them the same money earlier... and yes, I've often seen my OBC deducted by the gratuities... and yes, I give some extra cash to cabin steward or wait staff, if we have received excellent service.. and mention the crew members on those recognition cards that the cruise lines give us.

Paying complements to staff that have given you good service is also important. In a restaurant praise your waiter with the head waiter present. Keep a record of the names of waiters and room service attendants and mention them in the customer survey after the holiday. It could help their career development.

We prepay and add tips for exceptional service. The major issue I have with it is that I want the tips to go to the staff that actually had interaction with me and my family. Those are the ones that would be getting my money if I were tipping of my own accord.

When we first cruised about 4 years ago, I was sceptical. Once we were on board, every day it was there on the TV account system. With RCI we were paying at least 30 bucks a day for 2 of us. On a 14 day cruise that's a lot! BUT I have to say that the people on board really earned it👍🙂. Now we usually pay up front so it's done. The stateroom attendants are always superb so no problem as they probably get paid peanuts anyway. We always give extra to the steward and bar staff. Let's get cruising!

I agree, the more you pay in advance the more you’ll enjoy the cruise. You won’t have to think about the cost of your vacation as you have made all necessary payments and don’t have to think about additional costs. Except the extras items you purchase along the way.

I have not prepaid gratuities on past sailings but after watching your video, I went and prepaid gratuities for our cruise on July 28th. I remember getting my final bill on past cruises and having sticker shock because the gratuities were out of sight and mind up until that point.

I prepay my gratuities and we also prepay drinks package and excursions. I agree with you - I want my cruise to be ‘all inclusive’ before I leave.

We always prepay and give the steward and MDR server extra. In addition I bring thank you cards with cash in them and give them to people that go above and beyond. Don't forget to bring cash for taxi drivers and porters.

You can adjust gratuity to $0.00 at the end of the cruise . I always do that and pay my tips in cash. I don't trust cruises to give 100% of gratuity to the staff. I Would only recommend it if you are a GENEROUS tipper

Over here in Europe(at least in Scandinavia) the gratituities are automatically added to the cruise fare when booking, so we have always paid them in advance, then on board we usually pay extra to those who has given us over the top service 👍

1st Time Cruiser, Definitely Prepaid My Gratuities

I NEVER prepay gratuities. Why would you have stress? I pay as I get service. I already prepay the cruise and that’s already a lot of money. I Why would anyone be held back if they have good credit with decent credit limit. I do expect a balance so it’s irrelevant whether it’s later. Paying later also gives me some breathing room after final payment of the cruise. I have another 4 to 6 months of no bills until the credit card grace period of the on-board charges are due.

Does pre-pay cancel the 18% charged on drinks since it was prepaid or is that still an add-on on top of the pre-pay? (Carnival)

NCL and probably other US boats add gratuitity to every bar bill - Greedy people no way staff get that - Cancel Gratuities every time

You will Always check your bill. Its goes without saying that we are always interested if something has been charged without your knowledge. We have been charged for drinks even though we had the drinks packaged. Paying gratuities is always a controversial subject. If you want to pay after the cruise then do it. We have paid before and after plus if we are not happy then we give to those services that we thought deserved it. We have also tipped during because we felt that the service was above what we are used to.

First thing I do when I get on a ship is take off the gratuities. I'm not there to top up poorly paid staff. This has to be the only industry on the planet that you pay for good service before you even get it. I'm aware this is a controversial view but I'm not going to change how I see it, simple as that

Great stuff Tony! This is so perfect for all the newest cruiser!

What if I don't like my service?

No mandatory gratuity. I tip as service rendered. I feel my room Attendant should get the most. I take the total i would have paid. And give it to the worker when good service is given.

I think either answer is correct. Veteran cruiser...(23 I think). I tell the desk to do '1/2 of prepay'. Yes-- it's doable. I tip cash (sometimes daily) for room service. End of the week...I'll add a few more $$ at the desk.

You are talking like it's mandatory, it's not. I always remove my prepaid gratuities. I do tip, but I tip who I want to tip and how much I want to tip.

I would normally agree, but we have $650 of OBC for our upcoming cruise, so we’ll use that instead of paying out of pocket.

Hey tony love the videos keep up the good work......ps i lime your shirt where you get it so i could sport one too....👍👍👍👍👍👍

I like to give the bulk of the tips to my cabin steward. They take care of your room at least twice a day. The dining room I only use once a day. Sometimes I skip dinner. Tip according to the way you use the facilities.

The amount also depends on your cabin category.

I never pay that gratuity nonsense. Instead, I pay tips to individuals.

I never prepay but i dont take them off either even though i never use the MDR. I don't see the point of gratuities before servcies are rendered. I tip cash too

I prepay and like that process. I also tip during the cruise. Often to the people who don’t usually get tipped. The bathroom steward, the girl squirting hands before going into dinner.

What a farce. The whole idea of gratuities is to reward service. Paying before you start means it is not a gratuity, simply a surcharge!

We don't prepay. We pay at the same time we pay off the shipboard account. We never hedge on the prepay and we always tip additional cash. Half a century ago when I was poor I had a friend who worked as a hotel maid and she mention how some guests left tips and how much that helped her. Working as a taxi driver and a parking attendant I also learned to appreciated a little extra.

I pay the Gratuities once I arrive at the port and checking in. That means I have survived my flight and woke up the day of sailing - with enough time to actually make it onboard. I also give the person taking care of my room an additional tip with all $2 Dollar 💵 Bills. They always get a kick out of it (Preorder $200 bucks in $2 dollar bills at Bank) and dish those out for cab rides; or tips at the destination island or resort. They always give me better service 👍🏽

Prepay is so easy; and yes, I still get the same wonderful service from my wait staff and stateroom attendant.

I always pay ahead and then tip extra to people who deserve it. Makes it stress free!

I don't pay anything in life until I have to!! I draw interest on my money.

No way Jose. I am English and therefore not really acclimatised to the North American tipping culture. Don't get me wrong, I am more than happy to tip for exceptional service. But, and it is a big but, I paid a good price for the cruise that my wife and I are taking and the money we paid is paying for the cruise, the crew's salaries and everything else that we get on the ship. The cruise companies (and their shareholders) already make more than enough money to pay their employees. I am not there, as a customer, to subsidise their wages. They took the job, they signed up to the contract. It feels rather manipulative for the cruise corporations to expect me to not only to pay the price for the cruise but then additionally pay an extra fee to offset their inability to pay their people a reasonable wage. I will be removing the daily gratuities on my next cruise (Caribbean Princess Iceland and Greenland July 2024) as I have done for my last 35 cruises and will reward exceptional service in the same way I have done since my first cruise in 2001. Good evening and happy cruising from a (rather Chilly) Otford, Kent, UK.

We prepay and then tip.$20 each to our cabin stewart and our dinning room waiters at the begining of the cruise. It gets us top of the line service

Omg thanks soooo much for the onboard credit suggestion. I have a lot for my rescheduled cruise next year. I never thought to use it that way since I alway prepay gratuities

For me, the issue isn't should I prepay gratuities, but rather should I pay them at all.

I always prepay gratuity! I tip extra for excellent service. I don't want the surprise at the end!

Yes this a new concept! Thank you for explaining this!

I have paid in advance but a few years ago I just decided to pay on the ship since there was no need to give the cruise line money in advance. I always plan a budget with the gratuities in mind. Generally I just put it on a credit card and pay it once we get home.

I'm in the minority, I never prepay gratuities. Why prepay it and let the cruise line draw interest on it months in advance? It's the simple principle of the time value of money. A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. So I don't pay it until I have to. Now I have a question for you Tony or anyone you might know, regarding this business of tipping extra. Ever since forced gratuities have become a thing, that's all I've ever paid. I've been told by SEVERAL people on Cruisecritic.com forums, that if you do leave cash for your room steward, that this money will NOT go to the your room steward but in fact goes to a pool of tips to be divided. Is there anybody who can confirm or debunk this, and not just speculation, but actual knowledge/evidence?

I usually let the gratuities hit my credit card at the end of the cruise . I give extra to the people that take good care of me along the way.....which ensures good service....

Im cancelling my gratuities and giving as I go.

its a matter of who has a thicker skin, the staff or the consumer, especially when tips is already prepaid. staff pretends that they deserve more tips, or consumer feels the staff was only doing his/her job.

Gratuities AKA money grab.

I really don’t believe in pre paying gratuity or tips, the whole point is it depends on the service and I can’t pre tip on service I haven’t received yet. Also if there’s a automatic gratuity, that’ll be the exact amount I pay😂nothing extra outside of it.

We prepay gratuity charges! We have given our room stewardist a good tip during the cruise as well.

My last cruise, 15 day Hawaiian, I walked off of the ship with a bill to my credit card of $9.82. I used every penny of my OBC and had to pay a little bit more for my souvenir. I always pay for whatever I can in advance, including booking shore excursions privately so they can be paid off before departure too. There is nothing worse for me than to come home from a lovely vacation to a skyrocketing charge bill the next month.

I will say we are a family of 7. 5 kids from 12 to 5. I am going on a girl's trip $100 no biggy happy to prepay the gratuity, no pain. It hurts for our family of 7 in October $700 gratuity. I am happy for our OBC for our October trip.

I always prepay..and carry extra cash for those who go above and beyond. --Onboard credit is always a good choice as well.

Always we prepay everything. Even if we have on board credit.we usually let our daughter use any credit, makes her feel special. And unless we have poor service, never happened yet, we always tip exceptional bar tenders more (alchemy bar) and always tip our room stewards extra the first day.

We don't pre-pay but we also don't budget so it doesn't matter what gets charged when. I always use a credit card for the M-Life points or Delta sky miles.

I always pre pay gratuity plus as extra incentive, I tip cash for exceptional service. The automatic gratuity isn’t much for all the work these staff members perform.

We always prepay, makes things easy.

i personally like to pre pay to not have to worry about it

I look for the gratitudes being paid as a perk or prepay and give extra at the end to those who did well during the cruise.

Tony what are your thoughts on paying gratuities for children? Age 9 specifically on Carnival? Thanks

We do exactly what you said. Pre-pay unless we have OBC.

I always pay on board and then tip Room and dining room staff at the end of the cruise .

Nice background. We pay in advance if there's a significant discount. Last cruise, they didn't take it out in advance. We thought they had. There wasn't a discount, so we didn't lose anything, and on board credit covered the charges.

I always prepay my gratuities, plus extra cash tips to servers, room, etc.

I like the new look!!!

Thank you Is my first cruise this is a good information I dont have this concept clear

Going on my first cruise. I have pre paid alot of thing. My agent has been 👍

They actually can’t hold you on the ship by force. Plenty of maritime lawyers have dealt with this same thing.

I only one time I didn't prepay my gratuities. That was on Carnival I didn't understand that I had to add them before booking the cruise. I was used NCL they will let you add them after you booked the cruise but before final payment. I know now. It was to stressful thanking about them not being paid. I always prepay now. Even if I have on board credit. I can always use on board credit for something else like speciality dinning or drinks or excursions or spa