Paying for Tips *** DCL Makes a Change ***

[Renysmom]

Posted by my TA today:

Due to the success of a pilot program on Disney Magic ® and positive feedback from Guests, Disney Cruise Line ® is introducing the auto-application of gratuities on all Disney ships.
The process will create a more seamless experience for your Clients by automatically charging folios on embarkation day with the suggested gratuity amounts for the Server, Assistant Server, Head Server and Stateroom Host/Hostess.

Below are the effective dates:

• Disney Dream - Date to be announced
• Disney Fantasy - April 21, 2012
• Disney Magic - Already in place
• Disney Wonder ® - April 22, 2012

Clients can add pre-paid gratuities at the time of booking or when processing final payment. If the pre-paid gratuities have not been added prior to boarding, your Clients will receive a letter upon check-in explaining the automatic charge to their onboard account. Your Clients still have the option to modify or add additional gratuity amounts, or pay in cash, by stopping by the Guest Services Desk onboard.
As a reminder, a 15% gratuity is automatically added to any bar, beverage, wine and deck-service receipt.

 

[kimistry6]

Thank you for the heads up. We have already bought gift cards to cover our tips. Now I need to get to guest services and have them added to my account right away.

 

[disneyholic family]

wow!! that's a big change!!!

 

[goofymama]

My cruise documents say the same thing for our end of May cruise on the Fantasy.

 

[TIGGER/POOH4]

Here is the memo we got on the Magic last October.

 

[Daniellenbella]

Thank you for the heads up. We have already bought gift cards to cover our tips. Now I need to get to guest services and have them added to my account right away.

Do it right when you board the ship. That was our plan in Nov (to use Rewards Points) and we didn't go down until the 3rd day. We had already gone over $500 on our on board account b/c of the tips so they automatically charged our credit card on account. And I will say the feedback was NOT positive on our cruise!

 

[disneyholic family]

Do it right when you board the ship. That was our plan in Nov (to use Rewards Points) and we didn't go down until the 3rd day. We had already gone over $500 on our on board account b/c of the tips so they automatically charged our credit card on account. And I will say the feedback was NOT positive on our cruise!

what do you mean by the feedback was not positive? you mean passengers didn't like the policy of automatic gratuities?
i wonder if automatic gratuities have a negative impact on crew performance.

 

[yukongirl123]

I think I would like it better if they added to the cost of the cruise initially...

 

[PrincessShmoo]

what do you mean by the feedback was not positive? you mean passengers didn't like the policy of automatic gratuities?
i wonder if automatic gratuities have a negative impact on crew performance.

The CMs don't get the tips until the end of the cruise, as usual. So, it really shouldn't effect the performance of the staff. And you can remove/change the tips as you wish.

 

[Namsupak]

I think I would like it better if they added to the cost of the cruise initially...

Good idea but it would be more difficult to decrease gratuities if needed.

 

[plb626]

We just got off the magic last Friday and I was happy that it billed to the account. I had used a little more cash in St Maarten than I expected and was trying to figure out where the ATM was. I did learn that I should have brought my gift cards and Disney reward cards to guest services sooner, but they did credit that amount right back to my credit card. It all worked out in the end.

I had been on a different cruise line a couple of years ago and they automatically charge gratuities right to the account also. The only difference was there was a discount for the 3rd and 4th passenger in the cabin. Disney billed equally across the board. We did have a FANTASTIC servicer in the dining room, so we did tip him above the recommended amount.

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

Wow! Thanks for the heads up. This will definitely make it easier on us.

 

[jackparts]

In the past, when we sailed on Disney, I made sure to get to the purser's desk and pay the grats, etc. asap with the discounted gift cards I had prepurchased. Do not like surprises at checkout time. Now, since we are parties of 11 or 12, we will immediately be over the $500 that they charge to the credit card. Really do not like this as it removes the savings of the prepurchased gift cards even tho we can use the others that I prepurchased for onboard purchases.

 

[fairytalelover]

this is good news. makes things easier

 

[Jaxs27]

In the past, when we sailed on Disney, I made sure to get to the purser's desk and pay the grats, etc. asap with the discounted gift cards I had prepurchased. Do not like surprises at checkout time. Now, since we are parties of 11 or 12, we will immediately be over the $500 that they charge to the credit card. Really do not like this as it removes the savings of the prepurchased gift cards even tho we can use the others that I prepurchased for onboard purchases.

Couldn't you call and add those Gift Cards to your account before you even board the ship? I have added $300 in Gift Cards to my account over the phone.

 

[Disney922]

SO, we can not pay gratuties before our trip, unless it is before final payment.

I was planning on paying grats a few days before we left.

I am getting a bonus check from work and it's almost the exact amount of my grats.

Missy

 

[Keira1387]

So glad they are doing this!

 

[m1ckeym0use1]

If tips are charged at the beginning of the cruise, do they still deplete them from your OBC before charging your credit card? Or to rephrase the question, can we still use OBC to pay the tips?

 

[jackparts]

JAX27, I tried that but T/A said no. I will try again now that someone had done it. THANKS

 

[jilljill]

JAX27, I tried that but T/A said no. I will try again now that someone had done it. THANKS

You can do this yourself by using going to the DCL website and pulling up the Onboard Gifts section, there is an option for applying an onboard credit to a cabin as a gift.