JimmyVWine

The rules are set by Princess, not by posters on CC. So ask. And if told “no”, accept that graciously and either board separately before them, or hang back and board together. We’ve boarded in Port Everglades where the early boarding people outnumbered the others and adding even more people to that mass would have been unacceptable. We’ve also boarded in Athens where the P/E lounge has 7 people in it (no lie) at 11:00 when boarding started and adding some additional family members or traveling companions would not have affected anyone. Princess might even view this as a marketing opportunity to give the newbies a taste of what is to come if they book more cruises. Maybe that would upset some here, but they don’t make the rules. So ask politely and don’t make a scene if you don’t get the answer you were hoping for.

Wish I could “Like” this a thousand times.

Giving a little extra to someone who just spent 4 hours sharing with me their history, culture, food, music, art and passion for their homeland is most certainly not “charity”. It is a gratuity, which shares the same etymology as the word “grateful.” gratuity noun gra·tu·i·ty grə-ˈtü-ə-tē plural gratuities : something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service Synonyms : TIP Charity would be giving money to someone on the street who is soliciting money with no expectation that there will be anything exchanged in return. The money given to someone who has provided me with an unforgettable experience, taught me things I did not know, and allowed me to see a part of the world in a new light fits squarely within the definition of “gratuity/tip”. It breaks my heart that people cannot understand the difference. Especially people who place so much value on foreign travel.

Yup. Never turned down.

Bottom line: ”I can’t believe that a guy in my tour group today tried to stuff a $5 bill in my hand at the end of the tour. I sure gave him a piece of my mind. I’m going to contact Princess and demand that they notify passengers to stop this behavior.” …..said no tour guide anywhere, at any time. We are on vacation. One that we are fortunate and blessed enough to afford. The collective $60 that the guide receives means way more to her and her family than the $5 that you parted with means to you. My wife’s favorite saying is: “Be the reason that someone else smiles today.” I think it fits here.

I think these are the 5% I alluded to earlier. From the same source: In China, Myanmar, Singapore, and Taipei, tipping is deemed unnecessary; however, a few trendy restaurants in China are starting to accept tips, so who knows what the future holds? Other Asian countries, like Japan and Nepal, strictly believe good service is simply part of life, so tipping should only reward good service.

Well, I could agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong. Tipping in the Americas In a nutshell: Throughout North, Central, and South America, it is customary to leave gratuity since tips can be a substantial part of a server’s income. Tipping in Europe In a nutshell: Leaving larger tips of 15-20% is unnecessary and sometimes considered ignorant since many countries within the European Union already have laws in place to accommodate gratuity. Tipping in the Middle East & Parts of Africa In a nutshell: Similar to the Americas, tipping is customary and expected by servers in Africa and the Middle East. The amount varies by restaurant and economic state of the country. Tipping in East Asia & the South Pacific In a nutshell: Outside of tourist areas, countries in East Asia and the South Pacific do not have much of a tipping culture so gratuity is not expected and may even be turned down. Due to an influx of tourism, countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and parts of Turkey are becoming more open to receiving tips; however, tipping is still not considered customary, so it’s not a faux pas if you don’t leave one. In Australia and New Zealand, servers and drivers also don’t expect tips, but appreciate it if you round up the bill. So if you are keeping score, the only places where tipping or rounding up is unwelcome is in non-touristy parts is East and Southeast Asia. And since I am a tourist, I will be in the touristy areas.

I always research the tipping culture before I go to a country where I am unsure. The funny thing is, 95% of the time I learn that tipping is appropriate. The number of foreign cultures that don’t tip is a very, very, very (did I say very?) small subset.

Maybe we run in different circles. I’ve never taken an excursion (Princess or private) where anyone ever asked me for a tip let alone begged. Tipping has always been discreet and initiated by the customer. I have had tour guides on bus trips mention that the bus driver appreciates tips. But never a guide who pled for their own.

Many (most in fact) excursions, though purchased through Princess are operated by independent tour companies. Think about it. When a Princess ship ports in Belize on the same Tuesday as a Carnival ship, an RCCL ship and an NCL ship and people from all those ships want to go cave tubing, they don’t all go on trips owned and operated by the cruise line. They all go with “Tubing Adventures”, the same company you could book with if you went on Wednesday if you were on a land-based vacation. Otherwise these tour operations would only work one or two days a week when ships are in port. Princess doesn’t operate zip lines. They just act as a booking agent. So the person you are tipping is a local Belizian resident who works for an independent company. Yes, those figures seem low. And it never makes sense to me to suggest non-round numbers. $2? $4? What are you going to do? Hand your guide a $5 bill and ask for change? Awkward! And petty.

No. My calculations are not off. The cash value of the minibar setup is around $80 for two people in the cabin. In order to get the benefit of upgrading to Premier, each person in the cabin has to SPEND $60 per day. For a 7 day cruise for 2 people that would be $840 in cash outlay to get a “free” upgrade. That is a nonstarter for the customer. And the value of the upgrade is $20 per day. For 2 people on a 7 day cruise Princess would be exchanging an $80 cash value minibar for $280 in package upgrades. That is a nonstarter for Princess. Nobody wins here. And the point that you are missing is that the upgrade does not provide the customer with any free alcohol. All it does is allow prepaid drinks whereas the minibar is free. Let’s say that the minibar recipient trades all of their liquor bottles for gin and is going to have one gin and tonic per day. The minibar setup allows them to drink that for free. They then supplement that drink with two other cocktails per day at the bar for a cost of $20 per day. Over the course of 7 days that comes to $140. Under your proposal that same customer gets all three cocktails from the bars and pays nothing at the bar for those drinks. But they paid $420 for the privilege of paying nothing at the bar. How is that a win?

I don't see any inconsistency or hypocrisy given what was contained in the first post. Nothing wrong with returning to status quo ante and wanting to keep it there.

Well, obviously! Duhhh. 🤸‍♀️

And if they publish in the Patter that "We kindly request that you observe our White and Gold Theme this evening," is wearing White and Gold "required" or merely a "suggestion." And...If I wear a White t-shirt and Gold gym shorts, does the wearing of the White and Gold cancel out the fact that I am wearing a t-shirt and shorts, or will I be sent to the buffet? 😜

Sorry, but no.

And worse than that...the discount only kicks in after you have spent an additional $60 per day. A "free" bump up from Plus to Premier would be a non-starter from the customer's standpoint, and the provision of the Plus Package for free is a non-starter from Princess' standpoint.

And I would submit that after several drinks, a patron would likely benefit from a light pour.

Maybe it varies by ship or cabin level, but on Regal in October in a Mini-Suite, we got the old-school round bars of soap wrapped in paper. A new one every day.

But in your example there is an actual "switch." If you fill out your sentence a bit more, here is what you get: Advertising a low price on one product that is not available with the intent of attracting potential customers to lure them to purchase a substitute product at a higher price is also bait and switch. Without the "switch" the definition does not apply. If Princess has an unintentional, accidental, no harm intended glitch with its website that shows a BA level cabin available for $500 for a weeklong cruise, and the would-be purchase is unable to lock that cabin in at that price on the web, and calls Princess and is told over the phone that the price on the web is wrong and that the actual price is $1,100, that is not a bait and "switch." It is a web-based error. What WOULD be a bait and switch is if the CSR on the phone said: "Yes, that was the right price, but those cabins are all sold out. I don't know why one is showing up as available. But we DO have a BB level cabin that we can put you in for $900." THAT would be a bait and switch. It contains the necessary elements of deceit, intent and upselling to a different product than the one originally advertised.

I think this entire discussion has veered off into Never-Never-Land. Correct me if I am wrong, (I often am, and am not Elite (in the Princess sense) so I am not well-versed in the way the perks work), but if one eschews the mini-bar setup they can exchange that for two "coffee cards/packages". If I am right about that then Princess has concluded that the cash value of this perk is around $80. Now, someone who is Elite (in the Princess sense) and who does routinely accept the minibar can weigh in here and let us know what they think the equivalent cash value is of the minibar setup. Not in the "retail" sense, but in the "equivalent cost had I purchased drinks at a bar that equal the volume that I receive in my cabin" sense. In other words, if the minibar setup provides the equivalent volume of alcohol to make 8 cocktails (making this up here as I have no idea), and the cost of the equivalent number of cocktails at a bar would be $64 (8 x $8) and then you add in some waters and sodas, maybe you are still getting into the $80 range. Maybe it is more. Perhaps less. But the point is that the cash equivalent value of the minibar setup is under $100. So the whole notion of giving Elites the Plus package as an included perk on a 7 or 10 day cruise simply isn't going to fly. The cash equivalent of Plus is now $60 per day or $420 for a 7 day cruise. The value of the minibar (or two coffee packages) doesn't even equate to a day and a half of the Plus Package. The true cash equivalent of the minibar would be to give each Elite person (if each person gets their own minibar setup) around $80 in OBC to be used only at the bars and fresh brewed/specialty coffee stations. And if each cabin is only entitled to a single minibar setup instead of one per person, then the OBC would be reduced to $40 per person assuming two people per cabin. The idea of swapping out the minibar for hundreds and hundreds of dollars of Plus Packages or upgrades to Premier is unthinkable.

Not in my experience. I had several mixed drinks from the specialty drinks menus that actually needed to be diluted even further as they were too strong.

The minibar setup isn’t long for this world. Those “nip” bottles are an environmental disaster. I expect that their appearance on ships will go the way of plastic straws sooner rather than later. So Elites might as well start thinking about what they’d like instead and start stuffing the suggestion box now.

Correct. And yet the published material rounds up in a rather aggressive way to make them 6 ounces. But 150ml = 5.07 ounces where I come from.

Not sure even a shot or two of your favorite spirit could rescue these selections from the trash heap:

I found the following Terms And Conditions on the Princess website. Perhaps this points to the direction of the Juice Bar: ^General Princess Plus Terms: The original Princess Plus package consists of Plus Beverage Package and Wi-Fi, the upgraded Princess Plus package includes all of the foregoing original package items plus Medallion shipping, Premium Desserts, Juice Bar, and Fitness Classes. These full terms apply to both packages, except for language set off with a *, which only apply to the upgraded Princess Plus package. .....Plus Beverage Package is valid only for guests who are 21 years or older. Guests under 21 booked under Princess Plus will receive the Zero-Alcohol Drink Package and will not receive any refund for the difference. The Plus Beverage Package includes all beverages priced up to $15.00 each as listed on Princess’ menu(s). Any bottle of wine, one-liter bottles of water and canned soda package and is paid on behalf of the guest for qualifying beverages included in the Plus Beverage Package. Exclusions apply, see full terms & conditions for Plus Beverage Package for Plus Beverage Package. Wi-Fi included for one device per guest. All internet usage subject to standard Wi-Fi policies, which may limit browsing of sites due to network security and bandwidth usage and is subject to change with or without notice. Crew Appreciation paid on behalf of the guest varies based on stateroom type (up to 4 guests per stateroom). Princess Plus does not include other service charges. *Premium Desserts is limited to 2 desserts per guest per day during the voyage. Excludes SMiZE premium ice creams. Gratuities included; not valid using OceanNow feature within the MedallionClass app. Only available during open hours of the venue at which dessert is available. *Juice Bar: Only available at breakfast and lunch during the opening hours of the World Fresh Market place/other adjacent location at which juice is served; not valid using OceanNow feature within the MedallionClass app. *Fitness Classes is limited to 2 classes per guest during the entire voyage. Applies to in-person classes, must sign up for class on-board by visiting the fitness center. Exact class type, length, timing, schedule, availability, and other details will be determined by the ship type and by Princess in its sole discretion.