Princess Cruises Increases Gratuities

[umbluemusic]

I'm a budget oriented person, so I'm prepaying them now. We still bring extra for our wait staff and steward, as well as some of the servers if we see them regularly, but we can't afford to cruise often and $40 is $40 - if I can save it and pay now, I will! Thanks for the heads up, OP - I totally wouldn't have checked it and then when I went to prepay gratuities before we left I'd be off on my budget.

[Treven]

I agree, this ain't no big deal.

[RMM34667]

Can you prepay your gratuities before you pay off your cruise? My January cruise final payment is in November. Can I prepay now?

[pcur]

Interesting that they would announce this in the final days of their "3 For Free" promo that includes free gratuities.

Edited October 3, 2015 by pcur

[AlaskaGolden]

Can you prepay your gratuities before you pay off your cruise? My January cruise final payment is in November. Can I prepay now?

 

Yes, we paid our gratuities months ago for our January 2016 cruise. But final payment isn't due until later this month.

 

We needed a few extra points for an on-board credit on the Princess Rewards Visa card so we paid the gratuities to get the points and then the credit. We just realized we can get another on-board credit after final payment. :D

[GUT2407]

I guess in regions where they just include them in the fare, fares will go up $2 a day, not a big deal.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I was worried this day would come after hearing about the big increases on other cruise lines. If they had just increased them by $0.50 or $1.00, I wouldn't even be commenting, but this was a hefty increase.

[Potstech]

I have no problem with paying another $1.95 per night. However, I don't think Princess should change the price for people who have already booked.

 

I agree.

 

That will be $1.45 for balcony and below 12.50 to 13.95.

[RMM34667]

You know what? I am not going to prepay now. I would save about $20 on my upcoming 5 day January cruise. I spend more than that daily on scratch tickets.

[Xyla]

I appreciate the info. There are 6 of us cruising in January so it's definitely worth it to prepay.

[Rhonbru]

I appreciate the info. There are 6 of us cruising in January so it's definitely worth it to prepay.

 

I know it is not much per day but I have to save and budget for my holiday and this will mean I have pay more....I think I will prepay for my january trip too

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing.

 

Keith

[sprinkles]

Thanks for the heads up Alaska. I spent yesterday organizing my Feb 3rd cruise. I just went ahead and pepaid gratuities. Not trying to be cheap, I always tip room steward and others extra, don't mind the increase in the future. But like someone else said $40 bucks is $40 bucks.

 

Thanks again.

 

Happy sailing everybody!

Tammy

Edited October 3, 2015 by sprinkles
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[Ron the Rev]

We have a January 10 day cruise coming up, so the increase adds up to $40. Not a big deal, but $40 is $40. I prepaid. Thanks for the info!

 

Janet

 

P.S. We always tip extra as determined by the level of service. No worries!;)

Same here. Tipping is not a problem for us.

[EndersFoul]

We booked our January 3rd cruise with the gratuities paid for with the Princess deal, are they going to honor the deal and cover the full amount or will we have to pay the difference?

[BigGuy25]

Just FYI ... I hadn't heard about this increase (I don't have an issue with it) and wanted the "official" word before I prepaid. Here's what's on the Princess website in the Onboard Experience section:

 

"To simplify the tipping process for our guests, a discretionary gratuity of $12 per person for mini-suites and suites, and $11.50 per guest in all other staterooms per day (including children) will be automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. Effective on voyages departing on or after January 1, 2016, the gratuity charge will be $13.95 per guest for mini-suites and suites, and $12.95 per guest for interior, oceanview, and balcony staterooms. This gratuity will be shared amongst those staff who help provide and support your cruise experience, including all waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, and housekeeping staff across the fleet."

[skynight]

11% is quite a COLA

 

It really isn't COLA. It is that on other cruise lines that have a higher auto-tip, crew can receive more compensation. In order for Princess to maintain a crew that is at least equal to crew on other lines, Princess needs to match or better their compensation.

[framer]

If they manned up they would have just made it $13 and $14. Wimpy pricing IMHO. Sorry on stuff like that I hate 95 cent pricing.

 

framer

[whatcruiseisnext]

I was worried this day would come after hearing about the big increases on other cruise lines. If they had just increased them by $0.50 or $1.00, I wouldn't even be commenting, but this was a hefty increase.

 

Hefty? You are kidding, right? The staff works very hard. Prices have gone up everywhere for everything. This is nowhere near "hefty" increase.

Edited October 3, 2015 by whatcruiseisnext

[Carole_T]

It is posted under Gratuities under FAQ: ONBOARD EXPERIENCE.

 

Of course, everyone should be expected to reread the FAQ every couple of days to make sure nothing has changed.:rolleyes:

 

Right!! You know I'm all over that!!:p

[CruiseNut24]

How do we know Princess wont charge the additional gratuity amount if we pre pay? Did not see this under the FAQ???

[dfields1814]

Thanks for the information. I just prepaid and saved about $70. I usually tip a bit extra at the end of the cruise.

[Renmar]

Hefty? You are kidding, right? The staff works very hard. Prices have gone up everywhere for everything. This is nowhere near "hefty" increase.

What is "Peanuts" to one person might be "Hefty" to an other. Who are we to decide for other people?

 

Theo

[palolake]

This is probably a stupid question but will the payment be charged to our credit card now?

[GUT2407]

This is probably a stupid question but will the payment be charged to our credit card now?

 

If you pre-pay?

 

 

Yes.