Sun Princess - auto gratuities question

[soccerref]

Hi there, my DH and I will be sailing on Sun Princess on 30th July. I believe that everything is charged in Aus dollars and I wondered if anyone could tell me what the daily automatic gratuity is per person.

 

We are really looking forward to our first trip to Australia.

[Kinkacruiser]

I beleive the auto-tip was removed in May 2011 on Princess ships ex. Australia. Yes, the ship account is in AUD. Hope you enjoy your time here.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Hi there, my DH and I will be sailing on Sun Princess on 30th July. I believe that everything is charged in Aus dollars and I wondered if anyone could tell me what the daily automatic gratuity is per person.

 

We are really looking forward to our first trip to Australia.

 

Anna is right..... there will be no more auto tipping on Australian based ships from this month onwards..... great news for the Australian cruising industry. Just like you in the UK, tipping is not normal here in Australia so they finally realised this fact and have done away with them.

 

I, and many others, thought that the fares would rise due to this fact but at the moment it doesn't seem to be the case.... time will tell though.

 

Enjoy your holiday downunder. The Sun Princess holds a special place in my heart as it was the first ship I sailed on. :D

[2CtheC]

Just did a short B2B on the Sun Princess 2 weeks ago. The first half had the auto tipping added to our account, but wasn't there for the second half (because the cruise ends in May I guess).

[Kiln Wood]

Hi there, my DH and I will be sailing on Sun Princess on 30th July. I believe that everything is charged in Aus dollars and I wondered if anyone could tell me what the daily automatic gratuity is per person.

 

We are really looking forward to our first trip to Australia.

 

DH and I sailed on the Sun Princess "Around Australia" for 29 days in 2008, and we had a WONDERFUL time on our first trip to Australia! Hope you do too and ENJOY your cruise!!!

[bobhsv]

Hi,

So does this new rule re the auto tip being abolished include the Sea Princess cruises from Sydney?

Jen

[Kinkacruiser]

Sea Princess is also included, Jen. You must be on one of her first departures after she arrives. I'll be keen to hear what people think of her.

[bobhsv]

Sea Princess is also included, Jen. You must be on one of her first departures after she arrives. I'll be keen to hear what people think of her.

 

Thanks Anna for the info. Yes, I think we are on the second cruise out from Sydney, however have heard from friends in the states that she is supurb....and these friends cruise a lot. Will be interesting though to compare, as we were on the first Rhapsody cruise leaving Oz, way back, and they weren't prepared for some of the ozzies. Lots of complaints then re the lack of tipping. I remember the cruise after ours had complaints from passengers that staff were not happy...then RCCL must have realised and sorted things out. Bob and I, on the other hand always like to tip, and we had a great cruise without any complaints at all. Having said all this, Princess would be on top of all this, as the Diamond has been here.

Jen:)

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Just did a short B2B on the Sun Princess 2 weeks ago. The first half had the auto tipping added to our account, but wasn't there for the second half (because the cruise ends in May I guess).

 

Yeah, it just made it into the cherry blossom cruise and consequently the 2 dayer tacked on the end..... oh well, the ones for next year won't have it on. :)

[davaller]

Hi all

The first full cruise with out tipping on the Sun starts tomorrow the 3rd May we will be boarding on the next one 18th June for 25 days Freo to Asia return it is only for round trips from and to Australia Sun /Sea/ Dawn do not Know about the Diamond but do know there is tipping on it the 4th Feb 2012 39 days Sydney/Singapore as we are booked on that one win some lose some this will start a few remarks from some one the other side of the world bit it brings it back to what is was when cruising started here in the sixties/seventy,s you tipped who you wanted to at the end of the cruise

 

Davaller:D

[soccerref]

Thank you for your prompt responses. I assume from your replies that we will tip on a personal basis if we feel it is appropriate. If this is the case, what would be considered an adequate amount?

 

Also thank you for your good wishes. We are counting the days now.

[2CtheC]

Hi all

The first full cruise with out tipping on the Sun starts tomorrow the 3rd May we will be boarding on the next one 18th June for 25 days Freo to Asia return it is only for round trips from and to Australia Sun /Sea/ Dawn do not Know about the Diamond but do know there is tipping on it the 4th Feb 2012 39 days Sydney/Singapore as we are booked on that one win some lose some this will start a few remarks from some one the other side of the world bit it brings it back to what is was when cruising started here in the sixties/seventy,s you tipped who you wanted to at the end of the cruise

 

Davaller:D

We found the second half of our B2B, which is the current Sun cruise finishing tomorrow in Freo, didn't have any 'Hotel Charge' on that one from the beginning.

[Kinkacruiser]

Thanks Anna for the info. Yes, I think we are on the second cruise out from Sydney, however have heard from friends in the states that she is supurb....and these friends cruise a lot. Will be interesting though to compare, as we were on the first Rhapsody cruise leaving Oz, way back, and they weren't prepared for some of the ozzies. Lots of complaints then re the lack of tipping. I remember the cruise after ours had complaints from passengers that staff were not happy...then RCCL must have realised and sorted things out. Bob and I, on the other hand always like to tip, and we had a great cruise without any complaints at all. Having said all this, Princess would be on top of all this, as the Diamond has been here.

Jen:)

Hi Jen,

If you check out her Sept 2010 refurbishing on the Princess site, you'll note that she looks just like the Sun and Dawn Princess, albeit a few years younger. There is also a video of the Sun, Dawn and Sea Princesses on that site.

I like the familiarity of these ships (and their size), as you feel at home straight away.

You could find that removing the auto-tip encourages people to tip more. Then again, maybe there will be no smoked salmon served in the buffet???

The drink waiters will still be happy (15% tip on drinks is included), especially on the Aussie ships.

[kiwipete]

Sea Princess is also included, Jen. You must be on one of her first departures after she arrives. I'll be keen to hear what people think of her.

 

Hi Anna

 

We did the 10 day return cruise San Fran to Alaska on Sea Princess last june and found her to be just fine.

 

The balcony's are small, as with Sun and Dawn and the cabin a lot smaller than on Diamond. Nevertheless we loved the Sea Princess, the crew and Alaska and hope to do it again (for the third time)

 

We found the crew to be just great with the Captain and 5 other senior crew turning up to our M & G.

 

Altogether just a great atmosphere on board. I hope Dawn turns out to be the same when we go on her around Aussie in September.

[bobhsv]

You could find that removing the auto-tip encourages people to tip more. Then again, maybe there will be no smoked salmon served in the buffet???

The drink waiters will still be happy (15% tip on drinks is included), especially on the Aussie ships.

 

Hi Anna,

What....no more smoked salmon:eek: I for one, look forward to this, surely they still have it. If this is the case, then I will have to have extra sweets:)

 

Kiwipete, Did you like the start of the race on Sunday?? Apologise as not cruise related.....oh yes, and 'Go Holden':D

 

Jen

[Flipper133]

You could find that removing the auto-tip encourages people to tip more. The drink waiters will still be happy (15% tip on drinks is included), especially on the Aussie ships.

 

I am a little confused. My reading of the press releases by Princess and the promos being done by TAs, is that NO Gratuities will apply to Princess ships based in Australia. I am sure that I read somewhere that this would mean no daily Auto tipping (otherwise known as the "Hotel Charge") will be added to your account, and additionally there will be no auto tip on beverages.

 

Certainly I found on the SP in 2009 that the added % to your bar bill (cant remember if it was 10 or 15) made a lot of difference over the period of a 17 day cruise.

 

However there seems to be some uncertainty on this...so as it has only now come in, we will have to wait and check with CC members who have experienced this new environment first hand.

[Kinkacruiser]

This may well be the case Flipper. We'll have to see what current Princess passengers deliver on this topic. It could be that the tip is hidden in higher prices??

If the drink tip is removed, then there could be less bar service. On past Aus Princess cruises, the drink waiters would be hovering about the drinkers/smokers area.

[Flipper133]

aah, "Hovering Waiters" I fancy I have seen a few of them...but usually around the areas where passengers are lying in the sun and don't want to risk losing their sun loungers.

 

For me, I prefer to prop up a bar - Sundowners on the SunP is a favourite...I now try to avoid the sunbathing thing ever since having a serious melanoma scare last year. It used to annoy me that I had to tip a bar steward just for popping a stubby ! :mad:

 

Different thing if a waiter takes your order from where you are lounging and then returns with your drinks all served up. Thats why it has to be discretionary.