tipping

[magandy]

Well said SwissDave:)

[Happy2cruise]

It was explained to us by a crew member that if auto tips are on and passengers chose to tip extra, crew member gets to keep the extra tip. If auto tips are removed and passenger gives crew member an "extra" tip, that tip must be turned in and crew member cannot keep it.

 

IMO, think of the auto tip as part of the cruise fare and keep it on. If you want to tip extra do knowing that crew member will benefit then.

[Big Chippy]

Cabin Stewards and Waiters do know if auto tips have been removed and can't keep cash tips if the auto's have been removed.

I regard auto tips as part of the overall cost of the cruise, always leave them on and tip extra in cash if I consider it appropriate, which it invariably is.

[Loonbeam]

From my FAQ:

 

Princess Hotel Charge (Auto-Tip) – Standard Policies

 

Official Princess standard guidelines as follows for ships other than those based in australia, however individual ship’s pursers have latitude to modify the process as appropriate for their ships.

 

1> The auto-tip added to your bill is pooled among dining servers and housekeeping and their support staff. If you remove the hotel charge any cash tips are put into the pool up to the pool amount. If you retain the hotel charge, the individual receives the additional amount. It is that individuals decision to ‘tip-out’ any support staff from the overage.

 

2> The 15% bar charge added to bills are pooled among the bar and bar support staff. I have not confirmed if this is across all bars or specific to venue. Cash tips given directly to a server or bartender are retained by that individual. Tip outs are at the discretion of the individual, tho most servers will feed a little back to the bartender, and the bartender often tips out to the support staff. It’s also not unheard of for bar staff to tip out a particularly productive server, hence the sometimes hard sell.

 

3> Casino tips are pooled among all dealers and cashiers (not sure if even split) and MUST be deposited in tip boxes by the dealer/host. Drink tips in the casino follow the rules above.

 

4> Servers in specialty restaurants receive a portion of the service charge (pooled). They would not tell me what this amount is. Additional tips may be kept or pooled depending on the policy at that particular venue and ship. There does not appear to be a corporate guideline for this.

 

5> Tips given to other activity/support staff (passenger services, kids programs, etc) are generally pooled by department but there is no set policy.

 

Again, I must stress these are Princess guidelines as confirmed by corporate, however specifics may vary from cruise to cruise based on ship operations policies. If you have questions on your cruise, the purser may be the best resource to ask.

 

This entry was posted in Tipping on January 9, 2013.

[donh1]

The whole idea of withdrawing the auto-tips is wrong. To say you are going to reward your cabin steward waiter and assistant waiter with an appropriate tip misses so many people. If they would just give it a little thought. I tip waiters for all three meals , breakfast lunch and dinner when having meals in restaurants. At a buffet restaurant I leave a smaller tip. Just how does a person who withdraws the auto-tip compensate the breakfast and lunch waiters. How about the guy with beads of sweat who is flipping burgers by the pool. He deserves something. I strongly believe that removing the auto tip is simply stiffing the crew members. Those persons should be ashamed of themselves. I also appreciate that some cultures do not tip. BUT ... " In Rome do as the Romans "

[PeterTellus]

Just curious, does Princess give a breakdown of how the $11.50 is broken down. I just leave it but am just curious. Other lines gave a specific breakdown.

[beg3yrs]

From my FAQ: Official Princess standard guidelines as follows for ships other than those based in australia, however individual ship’s pursers have latitude to modify the process as appropriate for their ships.

 

Nice FAQ Loonbeam. That's a lot of work and it is appreciated.

 

Our next cruise is on the Dawn. Does anybody know the guidelines for the Australia-based ships?

 

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Pam in CA]

Our next cruise is on the Dawn. Does anybody know the guidelines for the Australia-based ships?

Tips are included in the fare.

[JimmyVWine]

Frankly, I have no idea how Princess handles tipping and it appears than neither does anyone else here. I truly wish they'd address what really goes on so we could stop endlessly speculating about what actually happens with the tips, auto and otherwise.

 

How on earth did you connect those dots? The answers here have been consistent and emphatic. Seems like there are plenty of people here who know how Princess handles tipping and have shared that information over and over again. Perhaps you just don't like the answer, so you couch it as "endless speculating"?

[beg3yrs]

Tips are included in the fare.

 

Pam, thanks for the quick answer, but ...

 

Is this first-hand knowledge, i.e. did you personally experience this?

 

I ask because I've "read it on the Internet so it must be true" that tips are included in cruise fares for the Aussies and Kiwis (part of the screaming discussions about why their cruise fares are so much higher than those booked in the USA), but not for the USA folk who do get charged the auto-tip.

 

Searching the Princess (USA) web-site hasn't turned up much other than a statement saying gratuities are not included in the cruise fare (I'm not saying there isn't an auto-tip, from experience I know there is, just that I couldn't find it documented).

 

I also ask because if there may also be some other differences as well.

[SwissDave]

Tips are included in the fare.

 

Ok, I'm going to add confusion, sorry.....

 

I thought it was only included if booked in Australia and for everyone else they are expected to still pay them?

[beg3yrs]

I finally found documentation about auto-tip on page 22 of the Cruise Answer Book (you have to search for "Gratuity" or "Gratuities", not "tip"). It has the usual information but does not specify a difference for the Australia-based ships. Of course this is on the Princess USA web-site.

 

So, I still don't have a first-hand answer ...

[Pam in CA]

Ok, I'm going to add confusion, sorry.....

 

I thought it was only included if booked in Australia and for everyone else they are expected to still pay them?

Dave, you may be correct. I'm using TapaTalk so I can't see where people are from. I was responding as though the poster were in Australia.

[beg3yrs]

Dave, you may be correct. I'm using TapaTalk so I can't see where people are from. I was responding as though the poster were in Australia.

 

LOL, Australia versus Arizona. Both start and end with the same letter. Both have some nasty animals too.

 

Thanks for the input Pam and Dave. It is looking like for US folk the tipping procedures will be the same, just everything is in Australian dollars.

 

Come on USD, keep getting stronger!!! The previous statement was in no way intended to denigrate the currencies of other nations. It is simply an indication of beg3yrs' desire to save a little money on his next holiday.

[Astro Flyer]

:)Since this is a tipping thread and I am new to cruising. I have a question that no one seems to address. Why do we wait till the end of the cruise to tip by envelope? At this time I will be leaving on the auto tip and tipping daily to reflect quality of service. Hopefully that will let the staff know if they do a great job they will get great tips.:cool:

How to give extra tips beyond the auto tips is a personal decision & tipping by envelope at the end of a cruise could be a cruise tradition from the days before auto tips became the norm.

 

 

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[NearEnough]

Tipping is a sore point in Australia - not customary and often considered rather insulting. (We're an independent lot!!!!) I personally have turned down tips (working as a tour escort). However, I always leave my tipping on on cruises where this is the custom. I also tip in countries where this is the custom. A few years ago I knew a gentleman who ran a Seaman's Mission - in the US. I asked him about the tipping and whether or not the crew actually got the auto tipping. He avoided giving me a direct answer but eventually suggested it was part of the wages. Drinks on Australian cruises are definitely more expensive than cruises from other countries - no tipping.

[bigguy1]

Tips are included in the fare.

 

If gratuities are included in Australian based cruises, why not raise the base fare and include gratuities on the US based cruises? That way, one can tip anyone they want to and the individual can keep the tip. As previously stated, the gratuity is part of the cost of the cruise. More importantly, we would not have threads such as this one.

[JimmyVWine]

If gratuities are included in Australian based cruises, why not raise the base fare and include gratuities on the US based cruises? That way, one can tip anyone they want to and the individual can keep the tip. As previously stated, the gratuity is part of the cost of the cruise. More importantly, we would not have threads such as this one.

I think a lot of it has to do with optics. If tipping were included in the base fare with a notation that any additional gratutities are "optional", many people would still tip above the included fare since tipping on cruise ships is so traditional. (Maybe tradition is not something that springs to mind with newer cruisers. But for people who have been vacationing or trans-oceaning on ships for decades, the ol' tip envelope is as much a part of the ship as the buffet.) So if people pay up front and then pay again even though doing so is optional, the total cost of their cruise will increase and the Princess product will suffer in head-to-head comparisons with other lines. In Australia they can do it because there is no tradition of tipping, so the net price paid won't shift upwards.

 

Consider that the only profit that major airlines are making these days comes from "add on" fees. So why not just raise fares by $50-$75 and make those "add ons" free? Same optics. Smarter people than me have considered this for years and it has yet to be implemented, so they must have studied the impact and decided that it is a bad idea.

[Astro Flyer]

If gratuities are included in Australian based cruises, why not raise the base fare and include gratuities on the US based cruises? That way, one can tip anyone they want to and the individual can keep the tip. As previously stated, the gratuity is part of the cost of the cruise. More importantly, we would not have threads such as this one.

Based on previous posts having tips are financially better for staff & the cruise line.

 

I've read that employees pay a percentage of their base salary to the recruiters cruise lines use to get qualified employees. Also cruise lines pay travel agent commissions based on the basic price.

 

Thus increasing the cost to include tips would result in higher commissions to agents & recruiters and less money for the cruise line & staff.

 

I don't know why tips are included in AUS but do recall at one time that RCL had mandatory auto tips for UK cruises and that both countries do not have a big tipping culture like some other countries such as the USA.

[Loonbeam]

Correct:

 

The current system is much better for all parties..

 

1> Crew pays a percentage of guaranteed wages to their agency in a lot of cases. 'Tips' are not guaranteed. Thus they get to keep them.

 

2> Princess would have to pay taxes on the higher revenues (partially offset by higher wages). There are other tax benefits.

 

3> Passengers do not need to incur the extra expense until on board, and do not have to include it in calculating trip insurance, nor pay any taxes on the additional amount.

 

Based on previous posts having tips are financially better for staff & the cruise line.

 

I've read that employees pay a percentage of their base salary to the recruiters cruise lines use to get qualified employees. Also cruise lines pay travel agent commissions based on the basic price.

 

Thus increasing the cost to include tips would result in higher commissions to agents & recruiters and less money for the cruise line & staff.

 

I don't know why tips are included in AUS but do recall at one time that RCL had mandatory auto tips for UK cruises and that both countries do not have a big tipping culture like some other countries such as the USA.

[Happy2cruise]

Not sure if it's true or not but have heard it mentioned on cruises several times that on the last night some people don't go to the dining room because they do not want to give that extra tip to the waiters on the final night.

[Astro Flyer]

Not sure if it's true or not but have heard it mentioned on cruises several times that on the last night some people don't go to the dining room because they do not want to give that extra tip to the waiters on the final night.

Also sometimes those who remove auto tips will also be a no-show on the last night in the MDR to avoid cash tipping. It's also a reason why the line at the PSD desk can be so long during the last full day as some remove all auto tips at the end of the cruise. :(

[Pam in CA]

Correct:

 

The current system is much better for all parties..

 

1> Crew pays a percentage of guaranteed wages to their agency in a lot of cases. 'Tips' are not guaranteed. Thus they get to keep them.

 

2> Princess would have to pay taxes on the higher revenues (partially offset by higher wages). There are other tax benefits.

 

3> Passengers do not need to incur the extra expense until on board, and do not have to include it in calculating trip insurance, nor pay any taxes on the additional amount.

Another reason has to do with the Princess (and thus, Carnival Corporation) profits. If tips were included, it would change the way Carnival Corporation declares profits which would affect the stock price. Follow the money. :)

[CZEE]

How on earth did you connect those dots? The answers here have been consistent and emphatic. Seems like there are plenty of people here who know how Princess handles tipping and have shared that information over and over again. Perhaps you just don't like the answer, so you couch it as "endless speculating"?

 

There is noting definitive--only experiences and speculation. Even the post written as policy has personal pronouns in it. I deal in facts, not speculation and experiences--which are not facts.

[Blk_Amish]

Not sure if it's true or not but have heard it mentioned on cruises several times that on the last night some people don't go to the dining room because they do not want to give that extra tip to the waiters on the final night.

 

What extra tip and for what?. I assume you are taking beyond the suggested amount.

You book your cruise, budget for 'suggested tip, pay for excursions, and now go into hiding because the well ran dry?