This woman refused to pay Royal Caribbean’s pre-paid gratuities, then she got a call from the cruise ship: ‘I literally hung up’

A Massachusetts woman has shared her unusual experience at Royal Caribbean. According to Brobible, this woman claimed that the cruise ship’s pre-paid gratuities didn’t go to its workers, so she refused to pay them. However, Royal Caribbean later called her and asked about the unpaid gratuities. No comments from the cruise line were found after the story gained traction on social media.

The woman, whose name appears to be Juelz per her TikTok profile, shared this experience with her audience. Juelz claimed that she always “thought you had to do the prepaid gratuities up front,” but this time she didn’t because she saw a “girl’s” video in which she claimed that these gratuities allegedly don’t go to the employees. Juelz also claimed that she has worked in the industry and that “tipping culture” is important to her.

Apparently, she wanted to tip the employees with cash herself. The woman claimed that after she skipped the pre-paid gratuities, Royal Caribbean called her. Juelz recalled, “Right after I book that cruise, guess who decided to call me, and guess what? They want to talk about pre-paid gratuities. I literally hung up the phone like, no, don’t worry. They’ll be getting cash tips from my pocket when I’m on there.”

Her audience shared similar views

According to Royal Caribbean’s website, the cruise line asks customers to pay gratuities in advance. These are then “applied toward the compensation of onboard crew members, including dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants, hotel services teams, and others who work to enhance the overall cruise experience.” However, those who decide not to pay gratuities up front will have daily service charges reportedly between $18.50 and $21.

Juelz’s TikTok reached a significant number of people (over 20,000 views). Several shared their opinions on the cruise ship issue. One said, “I’ve always refunded the gratuities and tipped in cash. That was they get it directly.” Another appeared to have a similar opinion as Julelz, writing, “I will not be paying RC these tips! I will give cash.” Apart from these, one had a different opinion.

They stated, “That is false information. My daughter works for them. Those bartenders make more than I do as a RN.” However, this person didn’t provide any evidence to back this statement. This seemed to be the audience’s feedback on Juelz’s story. Her claims are not independently verified. Royal Caribbean has not publicly commented on this matter.