Princess Secrets they Don't Tell You

[mrspaper]

does princess offer suite passenger amenities such as the neptune lounge on HAL

 

Thanks

I do know that if you have a suite, you can have breakfast in Sabatini's

 

Linda

[mtmorrisgirl]

Very often there are no cartons of skim milk at the buffet in the morning. Just ask and they will go and get them for you. Same with different flavors of yogurt.

[windsor26]

Anything except coffee will be required to punched on the card.

 

No wrong hot chocolate is free of a punch as is freshly brewed teas of all types. ONLY speciality coffees need a punch HOWEVER people should know that if you want to use your card in the theatre or dance room the coffee is awful as it sits for sooooo long

 

 

Glad to hear about 5lt white zinfandel PLEASE can you explain where the shop you bought it from is as we do not know FLL well Thanks

[megs1954]

No wrong hot chocolate is free of a punch as is freshly brewed teas of all types. ONLY speciality coffees need a punch

 

Does this mean I can have them make hot chocolate like they make at the coffee bar and it won't count as a punch on a coffee card?

[windsor26]

Does this mean I can have them make hot chocolate like they make at the coffee bar and it won't count as a punch on a coffee card?

 

Correct our nighttime hot chocolate is FREEEEEEE of a punch:p

[COREYATMN]

If you want to win at the casino game "Flip It", accidentally bump into the machine before you sit down. I saw some old guy keep kicking and banging this machine causing an avalanche of quarters to come crashing down.

 

Flip it is the game where you insert coins that "flip" into the air, and land in area where mechanical pushers push the coins until they fall, or continue to stack up.

 

I was glad to see these machines on the Crown Princess as they have been absent from Las Vegas casinos for several years now.

 

I have heard the tilt mechanism set off an alarm on a couple of the machines in Vegas when people were trying to jar coins loose. Maybe they don't activate the tilt alarm at sea, but they do have them.........

[pablo222]

Very often there are no cartons of skim milk at the buffet in the morning. Just ask and they will go and get them for you. Same with different flavors of yogurt.

 

I haven't seen any cartons of milk in the buffet for a year or

two. Now, just pitchers. Probably a cost savings.

[sunneesmile]

Anything except coffee will be required to punched on the card.

 

They never punched our coffee card for hot cocoa when were on the Golden in Alaska, but they did when we were in the Caribbean

[paradise4ever]

Princess added stuff to their "gifts" section. ultimate drink card, coffee card etc can now be ordered now. got a special occasion coming up, have the gifts go to your cruise. cool. check it out

[Kamloops50]

I haven't seen any cartons of milk in the buffet for a year or

two. Now, just pitchers. Probably a cost savings.

 

We have milk cartoons in the Lido , but only at breakfast.:cool:

[Smokeyham]

a) Sit a slot machine and insert your cruise card (what you called a sail card) and ask for money from your account to be loaded to the slot machine. The charge that will appear on your account is the amount you asked for with no service fee added. When you are finished at the slot machine, be sure to upload any remaining money to your cruise card (actually, it is to a ship's computer so if you lose your card, the money is not lost -- the cruise card is the vehicle to identify yourself).

 

Then you can bring your cruise card to the casino cashier and ask to be given cash for the money that has been uploaded.

 

This is great... basically a way to get a cash advance on the credit card you are using to pay for your Sail and Sign Card, without the cash advance fees. Very nice!

[madjam81]

Tip your steward when boarding:

We leave a list of things we need,feather pillows, egg crate, wine glasses, robes etc..on our bed,with a note when you have a chance and most importanly a nice tip, we do not except them to go the extra miles w/o getting something for it!!

Please give them time to bring what you have asked for, as the 1st day onboard is their busiest and everyone is asking for something!!!!!

 

If you bring wine onboard that they sell on ship:

when you bring it to dinning room, if asked tell them it was purchased onboard and you will not have to pay corkage fee..

 

Also we have paid corkage fees and sometimes they charge once then not again for rest of cruise..just depends on staff on ship. Most of ther time we just buy our wine onbsord unless they don't carry something we like and then of course we pay the corkage fee..

 

Princess has one of the most reasonably priced wine lists of any other cruise line we have been on. It is one of the reasons we love this line and we can bring our own wine onboard also!

 

Coming from a country where its not customary or expected to tip, the whole tipping thing is freaking me out a bit...assuming re removed or reduced auto tip, how much should we tip our steward when we first meet him and then how much at the ned of the cruise? I'll search other thrads too for tipping advice...Thanks

[Kamloops50]

Coming from a country where its not customary or expected to tip, the whole tipping thing is freaking me out a bit...assuming re removed or reduced auto tip, how much should we tip our steward when we first meet him and then how much at the ned of the cruise? I'll search other thrads too for tipping advice...Thanks

 

I would tip him about 20$US at the start . Then a little every few days. Then the balance on the last day.

But keep in mind , your tip (cash) will go into a pool to be spread around all the room stewards not just yours . The auto tip goes directly to the staff .

The auto tip is also :cool:for the waiter in the dining room and his helper .

[sunneesmile]

I would tip him about 20$US at the start . Then a little every few days. Then the balance on the last day.

But keep in mind , your tip (cash) will go into a pool to be spread around all the room stewards not just yours . The auto tip goes directly to the staff .

The auto tip is also :cool:for the waiter in the dining room and his helper .

 

I don't think the cash tip you hand directly to your room steward goes into a pool. One time we had a room steward who was training a new guy and he told us he was sharing the tip with the new guy. But otherwise I am sure they just keep it. The auto tip is shared with all staff except bar staff.

[Smokeyham]

Coming from a country where its not customary or expected to tip, the whole tipping thing is freaking me out a bit...assuming re removed or reduced auto tip, how much should we tip our steward when we first meet him and then how much at the ned of the cruise? I'll search other thrads too for tipping advice...Thanks

 

I understand your confusion over this. Tipping is a lot more prevalent in America than it is in Britain and some other countries.

 

There are a number of discussions on these boards as to whether or not to "pre-tip" (give a tip at the beginning of the week), or not. I don't personally "pre-tip."

 

This is a bit off-topic, so I might refer you to to this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426824&highlight=pre+tip which has a good discussion on the pros and cons of this.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[Iamcruzin]

Coming from a country where its not customary or expected to tip, the whole tipping thing is freaking me out a bit...assuming re removed or reduced auto tip, how much should we tip our steward when we first meet him and then how much at the ned of the cruise? I'll search other thrads too for tipping advice...Thanks

 

Since you are freaking out I suggest you leave the auto tip as is and don't tip above that. What I like about the auto tip is that you are leaving what is suggested and no one can imply that you are over tipping or under tipping. I think people spend far too much time and energy worrying about tipping and it is amazes me how they are so influenced by the comments on this board. Tipping is a personal choice.... the end.

[sunneesmile]

I love the auto-tip. WE have always had great service. So, the auto-tip allows us to just cruise with no worries of making sure we have cash at the end for tips. But we usually do, and we usually give some to our room steward. Our stewards have always given us awesome care

[IECalCruiser]

Coming from a country where its not customary or expected to tip, the whole tipping thing is freaking me out a bit...assuming re removed or reduced auto tip, how much should we tip our steward when we first meet him and then how much at the ned of the cruise? I'll search other threads too for tipping advice...Thanks

There have been many discussions regarding the Hotel Charge (Auto-tip). I would recommend just leaving the Hotel Charge on your bill and don't worry about other tipping on board during your cruise. You should receive a Welcome aboard! flyer that discusses the discretionary Hotel Charge and states that it will be shared amongst those staff that help provide and support your cruise experience, including the wait staff, stateroom stewards and housekeeping staff, buffet stewards, food production staff, galley staff and others.

 

• The only exception for Princess Staff would be to tip the delivery person a couple of $$ if you order from Room Service.
  
• The Spa is a contract service on board and does not share the Hotel Charge. If you visit the Spa they should put a gratuity on your bill and that should be sufficient.
  
• If you order any extra charge drinks (soft drink, specialty coffee, wine, beer, etc.) there will be a 15% mandatory service charge added.
  
• If you go to a specialty restaurant with a cover charge such a Sabatini's no additional tip is required. This has been confirmed by Cruise Critic in discussion with the cruise lines (not by posts on threads).
  
• We have not tipped our room steward in advance and have received good service on every one of our nine prior Princess Cruises. This might be different if we would be the "Passengers from H***!" and demand who knows what extra service.
  
• Any cash given to your room steward or your wait staff must be turned in to the Purser identified by name and cabin number. If you have removed or reduced the Hotel Charge, the amount less than or equal to their share of the Hotel Charge will go into the "Pool" and not to them individually. When we have tipped at the end of the cruise the staff has made certain that they have our names and cabin numbers. Staff who do not follow the rules regarding tips are subject to be fired.
  
• If you have left the Hotel Charge on you bill, but have received exceptional service and want to reward the staff you can still provide an additional small tip at the end of the cruise. If we are in traditional dining we will often tip the two wait staff a total of $30-$40/week and the room steward $20-$30/week depending upon service level and special requests.
  
• Another method to rewarding the staff is to fill out a "You Make a Difference" card available at the Passenger Services Desk. These comments are taken into account when reviewing staff performance and we usually submit several each cruise for staff who have gone beyond.
  

The bottom line is just leave the full Hotel Charge on you bill, don't worry about further tipping and Enjoy Your Cruise!

[madjam81]

There have been many discussions regarding the Hotel Charge (Auto-tip). I would recommend just leaving the Hotel Charge on your bill and don't worry about other tipping on board during your cruise. You should receive a Welcome aboard! flyer that discusses the discretionary Hotel Charge and states that it will be shared amongst those staff that help provide and support your cruise experience, including the wait staff, stateroom stewards and housekeeping staff, buffet stewards, food production staff, galley staff and others.

 

• The only exception for Princess Staff would be to tip the delivery person a couple of $$ if you order from Room Service.
  
• The Spa is a contract service on board and does not share the Hotel Charge. If you visit the Spa they should put a gratuity on your bill and that should be sufficient.
  
• If you order any extra charge drinks (soft drink, specialty coffee, wine, beer, etc.) there will be a 15% mandatory service charge added.
  
• If you go to a specialty restaurant with a cover charge such a Sabatini's no additional tip is required. This has been confirmed by Cruise Critic in discussion with the cruise lines (not by posts on threads).
  
• We have not tipped our room steward in advance and have received good service on every one of our nine prior Princess Cruises. This might be different if we would be the "Passengers from H***!" and demand who knows what extra service.
  
• Any cash given to your room steward or your wait staff must be turned in to the Purser identified by name and cabin number. If you have removed or reduced the Hotel Charge, the amount less than or equal to their share of the Hotel Charge will go into the "Pool" and not to them individually. When we have tipped at the end of the cruise the staff has made certain that they have our names and cabin numbers. Staff who do not follow the rules regarding tips are subject to be fired.
  
• If you have left the Hotel Charge on you bill, but have received exceptional service and want to reward the staff you can still provide an additional small tip at the end of the cruise. If we are in traditional dining we will often tip the two wait staff a total of $30-$40/week and the room steward $20-$30/week depending upon service level and special requests.
  
• Another method to rewarding the staff is to fill out a "You Make a Difference" card available at the Passenger Services Desk. These comments are taken into account when reviewing staff performance and we usually submit several each cruise for staff who have gone beyond.
  

The bottom line is just leave the full Hotel Charge on you bill, don't worry about further tipping and Enjoy Your Cruise!

 

I have now read probably every post every written on this site on tipping and feel much more educated. IECalcruiser, what a great summary - much appreciated. We'll leave the auto-tip on, not "pre-tip" and tip our room steward at the end if we get great service. As we are Anytime Dining I'll work out what extra tip if any we pay anyone else who has gone above and beyond once the cruise is nearly over! No more tip questions from me. Onto the next research topic!

[podemos]

Just returned from the Ruby (Grand Med sailing). I was wondering why the "skimmed milk" tasted so creamy, and then discovered that it is actually watered down cream/full fat milk! No joke, I asked for it in the buffet during breakfast and saw the waiter mix the coffee milk/cream with water. I don't know if this is only for the European sailings as I believe skimmed milk isn't available in Italy/France/Spain where they get their supplies.

[Scotoco]

I always take the auto tips off. I only tip the Waiter, busboy and cabin steward. I do not believe the head waiter or the maitre d should get a tip for supervising. We also tip room service.

[butternut1]

I always take the auto tips off. I only tip the Waiter, busboy and cabin steward. I do not believe the head waiter or the maitre d should get a tip for supervising. We also tip room service.

I understand exactly what you mean. We had thought about doing this as well. However, we then found out that when you turn off the auto-tips, the tips that you give personally to each of these people have to be turned in by each person and then distributed amongst everyone that would have received money from the auto-tips. Now, if you leave the auto tips on and also decide to tip your room steward, head waiter, etc., they can keep that tip for themselves and not have to turn those tips in. We decided that it was best just to leave the auto tip on and then tip each person as we see fit.

[floridarob]

I understand exactly what you mean. We had thought about doing this as well. However, we then found out that when you turn off the auto-tips, the tips that you give personally to each of these people have to be turned in by each person and then distributed amongst everyone that would have received money from the auto-tips. Now, if you leave the auto tips on and also decide to tip your room steward, head waiter, etc., they can keep that tip for themselves and not have to turn those tips in. We decided that it was best just to leave the auto tip on and then tip each person as we see fit.

 

 

Whenever I explained the tipping procedures to people asking to have them removed and they still insisted that they wanted them removed... only indicated to me that they really wanted to tip less or nothing at all, it's the only explanation there is, right?

 

When I explained this and people said , ok, leave the tips on ....they are the ones that genuinely wanted to tip and perhaps tip more for better service.

 

You would be OVERWHELMED at how many people remove tips and don't leave a dime.... they rationalize that by saying it's not in their culture to tip.... and I wonder how we are told to respect cultures of other countries when we visit there, what if we just said , no that's ok, I want to wear my bathing suit in that mosque:rolleyes:

[robgvic]

How did Princess secrets end up on the tipping issue again. Perhaps it is time for this topic to be removed

[mrspaper]

It's OK for things to come around again. The thread is so long, it's possible someone hasn't read the entire thing and missed it. It probably belongs better on a thread of it's own, since it's really not a secret, but I have tolerance for things.