royal caribbean my time dining gratuities

Maximum of 10 guests per reservation. If you want to reserve it on-board then visit Guest Services. There is no special dress code for My Time Dining it has the same dress code as traditional dining. When booking a Royal Caribbean cruise, you have two options for dining: My Time Dining and Traditional Dining. If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies. It can be awkward to eat with a complete stranger, and this dining option also makes it easier for folks who just want to enjoy their getaway at sea. The same applies if you want to switch from My Time Dining back to traditional dining. 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. If youre already booked and have chosen the flexible option, you can easily pre-reserve specific days and times online. 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. Seating can also be reserved while onboard. It is much simpler, and fairer, to leave them in place. MY FAMILY TIME DINING MY TIME DINING DAILY RESERVATIONS Awards FOLLOW US JOIN CROWN & ANCHOR SOCIETY CALL US NOW +971 4 331 4299 0000828884 00000 n xdOHTQ7Ho1bJ!IP"th+5ha0P"..\h! hQhE9; On a cruise ship there are so many activities and fun shows, that it can be easy to lose tract of time, and not having to worry about being at diner at a specific time works for some people. TPG values it at $1,600. What happens if I cancel the gratuities? Here's how it works on Royal Caribbean: As of September 7 th, 2022, the automatic service gratuity of $16.00 USD per . Quote tiny260 Members 2.4k LocationOklahoma Posted January 11, 2019 I think you probably have had you questions answered already but I wanted to show an example. Since they are not . Any amount is fine and will be appreciated by the hard-working crew. You will be able to see the exact times that My Time Dining is offered each evening once you book your cruise. On a typical seven-night cruise, thats nearly $600 in fees. If you are unable to book show times in advance via the Cruise Planner when you are making your My Time Dining reservations, you may end up booking a dinner time that clashes with one of the shows. Can they join me in the My Time Dining Room. Royal Caribbean does make it easy to enjoy flexible dining with My Time Dining, so just make sure you sign up to it if you want to decide when you eat each day. If you do not prepay gratuities, they will be charged to your onboard account automatically, on a daily basis. Theres also a dining hotline you can call from the phone in your stateroom to make changes to your reservations. If you have selected My Time Dining for your next Royal Caribbean Cruise vacation, here's everything you need to know about how to book My Time Dining and secure your nightly dining reservations. Rather, you will be seated wherever there is availability. please click here to update it. Instant Real Time Pricing 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. 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. Read on to learn all about cruise ship tipping culture and how much you'll need to tip on your next cruise, based on which cruise line you're sailing. The old way of MTD had forced you to prepay gratuities but that changed some time ago. The flexible option allows you to select your own dining time and table companions on a daily basis. Or do they not notice those "add on" charges? As I mentioned, most of the time you will be eating with just your party, but if you prefer to eat with others you can still request it. Jon lives in the foothills of North Carolina and wishes there were a cruise port that far inland. 0000913926 00000 n 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{$ In many cases, the service charges are adjustable. View All Cruises All rights reserved. Finally, the evening shows are often scheduled around Traditional Dining times with early and late showings. And that they aren't simply following the outdated information still present on Royal's website as pointed out above? 0000897748 00000 n A list of those who do this is available to the staff. 0000017159 00000 n The big advantage to paying cruise tips in advance is that you lock in the current rate. Read on to learn what My Time Dining is, the benefits that it offers, and how to book. That said, if you want to, you can often adjust the charges (either up or down) while youre on board by visiting the guest relations desk. 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. They are per person. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); About Us | The standard gratuities of $13.50 per person per day for JS and below, and $16.50 per person per day for GS and better. 0000006450 00000 n Paste as plain text instead, 0000911365 00000 n 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. Itll be one less thing on your final bill at the end of the cruise. We do not prepay gratuities because we always have OBC and they will be deducted from the OBC daily. 0000883078 00000 n Flexible seating works very much like standard restaurant seating. 0000913572 00000 n 0000420293 00000 n This also applies to sailings departing from Australia and New Zealand. Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. To this day it still references dynamic dining in the cruise planner even though that is long gone. KA^tQmy9*yE'6C'VBz@JKz+I_0U{:$asg* \ endstream endobj 157 0 obj <>/Size 28/Type/XRef>>stream 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. 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. Enrollment required. This is an unfair statement. Note that this only applies to dinner in the Main Dining Room. Just make sure to turn up at the reserved time. 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. 0000003388 00000 n Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPGs editors and is not influenced by the card issuer. She also told us about gratuities added to the Seapss account. 0000897240 00000 n Even if you initially booked Traditional Dining, you can call your travel agent or Royal Caribbean directly to change to My Time. See what a point or mile is worth with our appraisals of a loyalty programs currency, based on redemption values. My Family Time dining is currently unavailable throughout our fleet. If we paid the gratuities up front when onboard would we still have able to do MTD? If you have multiple people in your stateroom or travel party, you can make multiple reservations each evening to accommodate everyone's preferences. Still, some critics see the charges as a sneaky way for cruise lines to make their fares appear lower than they really are. All sent to your inbox. If anyone on our team wouldnt recommend it to a friend or a family member, we wouldnt recommend it on The Points Guy either. 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. 0000011404 00000 n 0000427335 00000 n There is a $9.75 gratuity per day that is required and this actually covers not only the wait staff but your room steward as well. 0000916095 00000 n Do I have to pre-reserve My Time Dining through Cruise Planner? 0000891340 00000 n 0000841664 00000 n Guests who have signed up for My Time Dining will have their SeaPass card designated with the dining room and deck number. Have you noticed over the years that daily grats have been increasing almost every year to make up for the non tippers. Member Title: 100,000+ Club. All of the gratuities are divided equally among the wait staff. 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. Royal Caribbean charges a gratuity of $16.00 per person, per day. So with My Time Dining, you might lose some of that experience, but the flexibility of your own table and time is often preferable anyway. You do have to prepay your gratuities in order to sign up to My Time Dining. Someone else that pays more will take up the slack for you. From there, you can go ahead and make a reservation for each night of your cruise. 0000426236 00000 n If you keep things as they are, everyone who is supposed to be tipped, WILL be tipped. 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. 0000767892 00000 n My Time Dining is one of the options you'll get to choose from when you book your cruise. The annual airline fee statement credit can be complicated to take advantage of compared to the broader travel credits offered by competing premium cards. It truly depends, though. |, 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. 0000417807 00000 n If you tip personally in cash, those people must turn it in or face dismissal. During peak dinner times, you may have to wait as long as 45 minutes for a table. Just head over to the Main Dining Room to speak with a head waiter, and they will assist you! I don't know if you have cruised before, but the gratuities cover more than your wait staff in My Time Dining. Would we pay them on the first day onboard? 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. You also do not get to know the wait staff as well, since you may be seated in a different area every night. 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. I am not trying to get out of tipping, I would like to be convinced that the automatic charge actually gets passed on to the crew?? 0000421346 00000 n That is not the case anymore but Royal is not great about updating their website information (I've heard they still talk about Dynamic Dining on Quantum class ships which only lasted one year). At most lines, you can pay your service charges in advance of sailing (at the same time you pay your cruise fare). If you feel anyone has been particularly helpful you can always tip them extra in cash. Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival have slightly different daily gratuities. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit. I am looking at cancelling my gratuities when I get on board so I can pay these personally. 0000417581 00000 n 0000898322 00000 n What happens if I cancel the gratuities? Pasted as rich text. Royal Caribbeans award winning dining program, My Time Dining, offers flexible and traditional options. 0000003714 00000 n 0000417013 00000 n John2195, June 24, 2017 in Royal Caribbean International. 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. This is where you'll not only be able to make your My Time Dining reservations, but also where you can reserve shore excursions, drink packages, and more. I noticed the My Time doesn't offer reservations until 6:45. Your browser is outdated and does not support many of the modern features of this website, Traditional dining guests may be seated with other parties to form a larger table, which can be fun if youre confident enough to make new friends. 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 You will be able to see the exact times that My Time Dining is offered each evening once you book your cruise. Never feel pressured to add an extra tip when you've already paid one. Search Multiple Sites at Once Hi! Here is why some people dislike the more informal dining option. Enrollment required. For your convenience, prepaid gratuities are automatically added to your flexible option reservations. Those grats are also handed out to WJ staff, cafe staff, etc. 0000819210 00000 n 0000916923 00000 n We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. The others could make a separate My Time Dining reservation for 8:15pm. We always choose My Time dinning. Jon got hooked on cruising after his first cruise on his honeymoon, and today he is always looking for cruise deals and reading information about the cruise industry. In this case, no gratuities will be charged to your onboard account. u"7QV-gL)qO^>#~r{e7|W(WFAX>B|zj&u{P$LEi7+?X!^ Get up to $300 back per calendar year on the Equinox+ digital fitness app, or eligible Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card. That is not the case anymore but Royal is not great about updating their website information. 0000892388 00000 n Ive worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and now my blog helps over a million people to plan their cruises each month. Additional cash gifts are not expected. You may request a certain waiter each night, and we will work to seat your party in his or her area depending on availability. 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. 0000722800 00000 n In exchange for the annual fee, you'll unlock access to the Amex Membership Rewards program that let you access airline and hotel transfer partners, along with new lifestyle and travel credits. The mandatory 20% gratuity comes out to nearly $22 per day. If youre not someone who has cruised before, you might not be aware of traditional dining times on cruise ships. If you want, you can even try to switch onboard. ;). With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! 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. Reservations are highly recommended, as the wait time can be long if you choose to eat during the prime dinner hours of 6:30-8:00pm. This card is also incredibly rewarding for travel purchases, helping you rack up a ton of Membership Rewards points for your next award trip. Related: The best cruise booking perks and which ones are actually free. 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. But its definitely not for everyone. What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? A list of those who do this is available to the staff. 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. 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. 0000419307 00000 n 0000737875 00000 n 0000003836 00000 n Youll be told which restaurant to go to based on your choice. Passengers in mini-suites pay $17, while those in bigger suites pay $18. 0000419636 00000 n 0000747552 00000 n Love Cruise Fever?Sign Up to Our FREE Newsletter! The Amex Platinum comes with access to a premium concierge service that can help you with everything from booking hard-to-get reservations to finding destination guides to help you plan out your next getaway. Automatic gratuity charge: $16 to $18.50 per . In this line of thinking, lines with these charges are essentially breaking out a good chunk of onboard labor costs as a separate line item on your bill. Posted June 24, 2017. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Dine as you want, when you want. Started June 21, 2021, By Started October 12, 2018, Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Others tip their room service or wait staff 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. Wondering if anyone can help out with this? One thing Ive read over and over again from people who really like My Time Dining is that they dont have to worry so much about what time dinner is. And that's before you add in any additional tips you wish to give to your room service or favorite bartender or autogratuities tacked on to bar, restaurant and spa bills. My Time Dining is now a choice within the booking process. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. 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. You can even switch from My Time Dining to Traditional if you booked before understanding the differences, but you might end up with late dining depending on when you make the change, as early tends to book up quickly. Related: A beginners guide to picking a cruise line. You can wait to make your My Time Dining reservations until you board your cruise ship. 0000418111 00000 n Clear editor. 0000901423 00000 n My Time Dining is great for guests who wish to experience a flexible dining schedule onboard their cruise. Due to availability, however, you may not have as many times to choose from. You can, of course, request a specific table and waiter, but they may not be able to honor this. Alternatively, you can have the charges added to your room bill on board. The flexibility of My Time Dining comes with responsibility. Related: Use these credit cards to maximize your next cruise vacation. 0000911056 00000 n Start with these stories: The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. 0000005051 00000 n You will have to make each reservation individually and add them to your cart one-by-one. Sometimes it's worth a large investment to reap the benefits of a great credit card. 0000844607 00000 n You do have to prepay your gratuities in order to sign up to My Time Dining. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Depending on the choice of the guests on board, there may be designated restaurants for those on a traditional dining plan and those on a My Time Dining plan. This dining option requires you to "pre pay" your gratuities. Smart cruise advice, cruise deals, and breaking news. Royal Caribbean "My Time Dining" Review. I will pay for fantastic service but can't stand getting it shoved in my face and HAVE TO pay gratuities. They will be seated in one of the main dining rooms. 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. You can then book dinner in the Main Dining Room for any time you want, or just walk in without a reservation. If you are purchasing a dining package or plan on eating dinner in one of the other complimentary venues, you may not find yourself putting too much thought into what dining style you'd prefer. What happens if I cancel the gratuities? 0000006046 00000 n This website uses cookies in order to offer you the most relevant information. 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. That's exactly the case with the Amex Platinum card. 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. If you want to walk in then you might have to wait for a suitable one to become available, while if youve booked it should be ready for you when you arrive. 0000812508 00000 n Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. Reservations arestronglyrecommended in order to avoid a delay in seating. $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. What we experienced was that their program is NOT really "My time dining", it is RESERVATION time dining. MY FAMILY TIME DINING MY TIME DINING DAILY RESERVATIONS Awards FOLLOW US JOIN CROWN & ANCHOR SOCIETY CALL US NOW +971 4 331 4299 Some dont charge a service fee at all. Planning a cruise? To ensure quick seating, we encourage guests who have selected the Flexible option to place a reservation for each evening. Piano bar regulars know that a cash tip will increase the chances of the pianist choosing and performing your song request. Seating can also be reserved while onboard. 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?! 0000905280 00000 n Also, once you have been seated and your meal is being served, no other guests will be sat at your table. Well, this is NOT the only option and you can still choose to eat in the traditional manner. There will be a My Time Dining check-in desk at the entrance to the dining room with wait staff to greet guests. Learn the cruise secrets most people don't know and cruise like a boss. 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. 0000909755 00000 n I'm so sorry that this post wasn't useful for you! 0000019459 00000 n Probably because it makes it less confusing than diving up the tips. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Tipping on a cruise does not have to be complicated, but you need to understand the big picture to budget for your vacation appropriately. Should they have been paid at the time of booking? Its much better if youre someone who likes to play it by ear for dinner, based on how hungry you are. This website uses cookies in order to offer you the most relevant information. *Please see all applicable Terms & Conditions for Promotions. Can I participate in My Time Dining but make a reservation for a specific time? Do you have Cruise Fever too? My Time Dining is now a choice within the booking process. Be the first to rate this post. 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. has written about cruising for more than 25 years and for many years oversaw USA Todays award-winning cruise site. Gratuities haven't been going up "almost every year." We have my time dining and according to the threads it looks like the gratuities are asked to be prepaid. However, each ship does also offer specialty dining for an additional fee. If you would like a specific waiter or table, they are more likely to be able to accommodate your request with advance reservations (however, please note this is based on availability). You can do this before the cruise, or during your voyage. The longer you wait to arrive, however, the longer you will have to wait for an available table. Can I reserve the same table or waiter at the same time in My Time Dining? Have our travel agency partner get you a free quote for a Royal Caribbean cruise. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu. Reservations are strongly recommended. And, unlike the typical service fee or resort fee found at a land resort, they are not per room. You can post now and register later. Check here before booking an award fare. 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. Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings, which requires a minimum two-night stay, through American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card. Looking for the Best Cruise Deals? The high annual fee is only worth it if youre taking full advantage of the cards benefits. Please note, you can only choose one dining style per sailing so once they join you they must use My Time Dining for the rest of the cruise. Below is a line-by-line look at policies for automatic gratuity charges (called service charges or crew appreciation charges at some lines). Welcome aboard! Im really asking the opposite - We havent prepaid gratuities, but the agent has booked us in for My Time Dining! 0000426585 00000 n 0000735845 00000 n Then, contact one with a best-price guarantee and have them beat it! Your statement You cannot sign up for My Time Dining until you are on board the vessel is incorrect you can do this online when you book the Cruise. 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. You dont have to attend dinner at the same time, and you can arrange a table that works for you. Like what you see? I will HAPPILY pay my gratuities, and feel that having them paid in advance is very convenient, andprobably saves me some money. It gives passengers prepaid gratuities, a single-device Wi-Fi plan and a basic beverage package for a single bundled price of $50 per person, per day. Can they join me in the My Time Dining Room? Every Royal Caribbean ship includes meals at many included restaurants, including the main dining room and the buffet. 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. 0000005911 00000 n The traditional dining experience allows you the choice of either early or late seating times for each day of your cruise. When you are reserving your cruise, you will be given the option to select "Traditional Dining" or "My Time Dining.". I am looking at cancelling my gratuities when I get on board. However, a lot of people do uphold the dress code, so if you turn up in a t-shirt and shorts then you may look out of place. If you want to use My Time Dining you must pay for tips in advance. At least, thats how it is supposed to work. 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.

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