Princess increased auto tipping

[texasgirl29]

We seldom carry cash, we put everything on a credit card so we know where our money goes. Cash has a way of slipping through your fingers. Having auto-tipping is convenient--it's paid, it's done, enjoy your cruise. Everyone of these whiners over an extra $1 or 50 cents a day because of their "principles" makes me want to respond, "Seriously?"

[spunkie4]

We just returned from 37 days on the Emerald; thus, I am not going to read through this entire thread.

 

While on the last portion, the 11-day Baltic, our gratuity increased. When we asked the Purser, his response was that all 17 Princess ships increased the gratuity.

 

I think gratuity should be an item that cannot be removed. I was appalled at the number of cruises on the Baltic who were very vocal about having the gratuity removed.

[Shogun]

Hi spunkie4

 

my reason for adding it into the cruise fare.

 

that way all have to pay.

 

yours Shogun

[spunkie4]

Hi spunkie4

 

my reason for adding it into the cruise fare.

 

that way all have to pay.

 

yours Shogun

 

 

Shogun:

 

I agree 100%

 

Shirley

[cruzsnooze]

When anyone dictates the daily amount they are charging my account it is not a tip but a service fee. When will cruise lines they have to pay their own staff and not put them at the passengers mercy.

[cruzsnooze]

 

 

 

I think gratuity should be an item that cannot be removed. I was appalled at the number of cruises on the Baltic who were very vocal about having the gratuity removed.

If it cannot be removed it is part of the fare disguised as a gratuity.

[6pack]

Hi spunkie4

 

my reason for adding it into the cruise fare.

 

that way all have to pay.

 

yours Shogun

 

I almost agree with your comments, however if I ever receive less than good service I want to have the ability to remove it! Although this has NEVER happened, it could and I want to have the ability to adjust. IMO, I think this is what keeps the service level so high on Princess.

[Opinions]

Would you pay for services on word alone, as in you owe me so much? I doubt it. We wouldn't. No, we must have an invoice and it is the invoice that represents the charges and this invoice in question says quite clearly that the daily entry in question is a charge.

 

Of course it is a "charge"...HAL says it is a charge for a gratuity...If anyone truly believes this is not a charge for the gratuity then I hope they are leaving a full gratuity to these hard working people...Not just a little more than the daily "charge"...I believe HAL when they say the daily charge is a "gratuity"...It is what they tell me before I book a cruise and pay for my cruise...And yes I take this daily "charge" in mind when I give additional "gratuities" on board.

[Ethel5]

Even if Princess didn't raise the fee, there are those who would look for any excuse to not pay it.

[Rollexx]

I just finished reading an interesting book by a former Carnival employee..

"The truth about Cruise Ships". The author Jay Herring, a former I/T officer for Carnival, tells what life was like at sea for Officer, Staff, and Crew ranked employees. Much of the book is about the after hour drinking and hook ups between Officers and Staff members but he also tells what life was like for the crew ranked employees. Not a pretty picture.

I knew that crew members were paid well below minimum wage but not just HOW much. .15 cents an hour.. about $50 a week. The industry gets

away with this by registering their ships outside the US.

So....... it is what it is. If you enjoy cheap cruising like I do, just treat

the autotip as part of the price of admission and avoid all this debate.

IMHO anyone who removes the autotip knowing just how little the crew is paid should be keelhauled.

[6pack]

I just finished reading an interesting book by a former Carnival employee..

"The truth about Cruise Ships". The author Jay Herring, a former I/T officer for Carnival, tells what life was like at sea for Officer, Staff, and Crew ranked employees. Much of the book is about the after hour drinking and hook ups between Officers and Staff members but he also tells what life was like for the crew ranked employees. Not a pretty picture.

I knew that crew members were paid well below minimum wage but not just HOW much. .15 cents an hour.. about $50 a week. The industry gets

away with this by registering their ships outside the US.

So....... it is what it is. If you enjoy cheap cruising like I do, just treat

the autotip as part of the price of admission and avoid all this debate.

IMHO anyone who removes the autotip knowing just how little the crew is paid should be keelhauled.

 

Thanks for passing along this book and Author. Absolutely agree with your comments.

[oskidunker]

as the service is always excellent in 15 cruises. But I would reduce it if the service was bad.Once the dining room waiters were less than helpful but I still left it on.

[77Network]

There seems to be a lot of messages on here that try to explain some convoluted pooled tipping system with a base shared amount and then the cash money somehow gets redistributed back to the person it was given to. The whole thing just seemed too confusing to me to be workable so I decided to just ask Princess what the system is.

 

I just got of the Sapphire today. Yesterday, I asked our room attendant if he had to turn in his tips. He told us that he does not turn them in and that he keeps all tips that are given to him. He said this is true even if we remove the hotel discretionary charge. So I went to the service desk and asked her the same question. She told me the same thing. They don't turn in their tips. She said that if we left the $12 charge on our account that the room attendant would get 30% of the amount.

 

Except for 3 times, we ate all of our meals on our balcony. We ate the first night in the dining room and we had breakfast twice in Sabatinis. We only saw the inside of the dining room once so it did not seem fair to me that the people in the dining rooms were getting our tips especially when it was our room attendant who was having to clean up all our dishes. I explained this to the service desk lady and she was the one who suggested that we lower the hotel discretionary charge and then tip them out ourselves. She then did lower it for us. I had been tipping room service the whole time anyway so they were taken care of. I went and found the Sabatinis waiter and gave him some cash. I gave cash to our room attendant. I went back to the dining room, but was unable to remember who the waiter was or even where I was sitting so I ended up stiffing that guy.

 

So anyway, I don't know where the other posters got their info or if it is correct. I am just telling you what the staff on the sapphire told me when I asked them.

[Pia1913]

There seems to be a lot of messages on here that try to explain some convoluted pooled tipping system with a base shared amount and then the cash money somehow gets redistributed back to the person it was given to. The whole thing just seemed too confusing to me to be workable so I decided to just ask Princess what the system is.

 

I just got of the Sapphire today. Yesterday, I asked our room attendant if he had to turn in his tips. He told us that he does not turn them in and that he keeps all tips that are given to him. He said this is true even if we remove the hotel discretionary charge. So I went to the service desk and asked her the same question. She told me the same thing. They don't turn in their tips. She said that if we left the $12 charge on our account that the room attendant would get 30% of the amount.

 

Except for 3 times, we ate all of our meals on our balcony. We ate the first night in the dining room and we had breakfast twice in Sabatinis. We only saw the inside of the dining room once so it did not seem fair to me that the people in the dining rooms were getting our tips especially when it was our room attendant who was having to clean up all our dishes. I explained this to the service desk lady and she was the one who suggested that we lower the hotel discretionary charge and then tip them out ourselves. She then did lower it for us. I had been tipping room service the whole time anyway so they were taken care of. I went and found the Sabatinis waiter and gave him some cash. I gave cash to our room attendant. I went back to the dining room, but was unable to remember who the waiter was or even where I was sitting so I ended up stiffing that guy.

 

So anyway, I don't know where the other posters got their info or if it is correct. I am just telling you what the staff on the sapphire told me when I asked them.

 

You say they lowered the amount on your account? Lowered it to what? A one time reduction or by the day?

[FLACRUISER99]

I just finished reading an interesting book by a former Carnival employee..

"The truth about Cruise Ships". The author Jay Herring, a former I/T officer for Carnival, tells what life was like at sea for Officer, Staff, and Crew ranked employees. Much of the book is about the after hour drinking and hook ups between Officers and Staff members but he also tells what life was like for the crew ranked employees. Not a pretty picture.

I knew that crew members were paid well below minimum wage but not just HOW much. .15 cents an hour.. about $50 a week. The industry gets

away with this by registering their ships outside the US.

So....... it is what it is. If you enjoy cheap cruising like I do, just treat

the autotip as part of the price of admission and avoid all this debate.

IMHO anyone who removes the autotip knowing just how little the crew is paid should be keelhauled.

First off I always tip at least the mininum amount and have never removed the "autotip" on lines that do this and usually leave extra. That being said, the demand for crew ship jobs is very high in most if not all of the countries that supply these jobs. Because of this only the best candidates are chosen. In these countries even the $50/week is more then they could make at home and don't forget all room, board, medical needs and food is supplied! The point I am trying to make is the Cruise industry is giving their crew a better life then they would have had at home. BTY, I admit I am biased because I am a believer in a "Free market Economy"!

[hockey grannys go 4]

Just got off of th Coral yesterday was was still 11.00pp for mini's. When does this go into effect.

 

Marilyn

just got off the emerald did TA gratuity $10.50 did btob Baltic gratuity $11.50 notice from Princess on patter of the increase changed in the middle of cruise even though we booked this as a 28 day cruise.

[calliecat]

Maybe Princess should just add the tip to the cost of the cruise. That way there won't be a discussion thread about tipping or not tipping. You either pay the price of the cruise (with the tip included) or you don't go. We also give cash at the end of our cruise to our cabin steward and our waiter and junior waiter.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I don't quite understand the folks who say that they are removing their autotips as a result of the increase in the autocharge. In 253 nights on Princess, we've removed exactly one day's autotip for our cabin steward (when our cabin was uninhabitable when we embarked). Removing that $3.50pp, or whatever it was, and providing a written reason for the removal, resulted in the housekeeping supervisor, hotel director and customer services manager (or some such titled person) all calling and/or stopping by our cabin to make sure our issue had finally been resolved to our satisfaction. Princess does not take removal of autotips lightly, and it amazes me that people might do so as a retaliatory measure.

[NSWP]

Maybe Princess should just add the tip to the cost of the cruise. That way there won't be a discussion thread about tipping or not tipping. You either pay the price of the cruise (with the tip included) or you don't go. We also give cash at the end of our cruise to our cabin steward and our waiter and junior waiter.

Good idea, I concur.

[Nanatravel]

I just found out the auto tip for a mini suite went from $11pp to $12pp.

 

While I do not have a problem with this increase and the crew deserves it-I was surprised to find out the increase here on Cruise Critic vs recieveing something from Princess Cruises.

They also failed to tell me the change in itinerary from Belieze to Costa Maya Mexico for Dec 10th Voyage on Crown Princess.

 

Princess needs to improve there communication to those who booked already on changes.

 

I too was a little surprised to find the balcony cabin Automatic Tip at $11.50 per person per day when we boarded on 5/22. I'm the ta also. I don't think we were ever notified, but then it's not a deal breaker. We still tipped a little bit more to our waitress and gave our steward a GPB bill as extra to use in many of the ports. These folks did a great job especially with the extra "cleaning" and serving duties they had to perform during the Norovirus outbreak.