Help me understand paying for things and tipping

[katyringo]

What things do you pay for in- advance other than your cruise fare?

Pre- paid gratuity: is this paid for before the trip or added to your on board account?

Port adventures, special meals: before or added to account?

On board gifts?

Photo package?

For additional tips do I need to bring cash?

Is my understanding correct that if I want to pay with Disney gift cards I have to add them under gifts to our account?



Thank You!

 

[Calantha]

What things do you pay for in- advance other than your cruise fare?

Pre- paid gratuity: is this paid for before the trip or added to your on board account?

Port adventures, special meals: before or added to account?

On board gifts?

Photo package?

For additional tips do I need to bring cash?

Is my understanding correct that if I want to pay with Disney gift cards I have to add them under gifts to our account?



Thank You!

You don't have to pay anything in advance but cruise fare.

Can't comment on pre-paid gratuity

Port adventures and up-charge dining - charged at time of services (also still charged if you fail to cancel in time)

On-board gifts - anything ordered from the website you pay for at that time.

Photo package - last full day

I pay extra tips in cash, some people just go down to Guest Services and add more.

I pre-add gift cards through on-board gifts, but I think you can just do it on the ship too, but I hate standing in any more lines than I have to.

 

[CamColt]

You don't have to pay anything in advance but cruise fare.

Can't comment on pre-paid gratuity

Port adventures and up-charge dining - charged at time of services (also still charged if you fail to cancel in time)

On-board gifts - anything ordered from the website you pay for at that time.

Photo package - last full day

I pay extra tips in cash, some people just go down to Guest Services and add more.

I pre-add gift cards through on-board gifts, but I think you can just do it on the ship too, but I hate standing in any more lines than I have to.

That is correct. You CAN put your gift cards on your account at Guest Services if you prefer to do it that way. You may want to combine them in advance on the Disney Gift Card site (up to $1000.00 per card), to save time.

 

[Skippyboo]

I did prepaid gratuity on my cruise in November. It just put the tips onto your balance due. They will give you envelopes for your tips the day before departure. We added some cash in addition to normal prepaid tip for our room steward

 

[Mommb]

If you want to pre-pay gratuities, you can by calling your travel agent if you used one or Disney Cruise Line if you didn’t. If you do not pre-pay, the standard amount of gratuities will be charged to your account onboard, but you can make adjustments by visiting Guest Services.

Shore excursions, specialty dining, and spa services can be booked in advance but are charged to your account onboard.

Onboard gifts can be ordered by people not sailing, so hey are charged at time of purchase.

You can use gift cards to buy onboard credits in advance, or you can bring them to guest services to make payments toward your onboard account.

The only gratuities that need to be paid in cash are for luggage porters before boarding, shore excursion guides, and room service if you aren’t ordering anything with an additional cost. Anything for which you sign a receipt (including spa treatments, specialty dining, and beverages) will have a gratuity automatically included and a line to add an additional amount to be charged to your account. If you want to add additional gratuities for stateroom hosts and dining servers, you can either use cash or go to Guest Services to adjust the amount charged to your account.