gratuities on Princess

[Kaz53]

I am new to Princess cruising, normally go with P&O & they have an option to opt out of gratuities & pay who you want it to go to. Can you do this on Princess?

[Sea Hag]

You can opt out, but if you do then all the money you give to individuals has to be turned in to go into the common tip pool. Defeats the purpose, huh? Much better to just leave things as they are and give additional to people who are really outstanding.

[chrysalis]

This should help you....and note the item on tipping directly.

 

http://www.loonbeam.com/PrincessFAQ/?cat=2

[caribill]

You can opt out, but if you do then all the money you give to individuals has to be turned in to go into the common tip pool. Defeats the purpose, huh? Much better to just leave things as they are and give additional to people who are really outstanding.

 

OP is from the UK where tipping is not part of the usual culture.

[WISH84]

Much better to just leave things as they are and give additional to people who are really outstanding.

 

We never take off the gratuities. NEVER.

 

We do tip, in cash, when we feel they have deserved it.

 

Having said that... I've always believed the additional tips we give still go into the pool and get distributed. Under your statement you seem to believe (and I'm acknowledging that maybe you are correct) the additional tips are kept by the person you give them to. If this were/is the case, then wouldn't that make the argument for removing the auto tips and only tipping those you feel actually deserve it?

 

:confused:

[fishywood]

... I've always believed the additional tips we give still go into the pool and get distributed. Under your statement you seem to believe (and I'm acknowledging that maybe you are correct) the additional tips are kept by the person you give them to. If this were/is the case, then wouldn't that make the argument for removing the auto tips and only tipping those you feel actually deserve it?

 

:confused:

 

If you do not remove the auto gratuities any cash tips can be kept by the crew member you bestow them to.

 

But if you DO remove the auto gratuities--as the OP plans to--any crew member MUST turn the cash tips into the pool.

 

When someone removes the tips from their stateroom charge their steward and dining room team is notified. Waiting until late the final night before disembarkation won't work as should you proffer the old-school envelope to your steward or waiter they MUST write the cabin number on it and turn it in; if it turns out that passenger did not remove auto-tips the envelope is returned to them. If a crew member is caught pocketing the envelope or any cash given to them without verifying that passenger's auto-tip status they can be fired on the spot.

 

(Many people will now claim that what I said in the above paragraph is mere scuttlebutt propagated by the cruise lines to pressure us not to remove the auto tips. But if like most all of us you feel that the crew is more than deserving of our tips--do you want to take that chance?)

[WISH84]

(Many people will now claim that what I said in the above paragraph is mere scuttlebutt propagated by the cruise lines to pressure us not to remove the auto tips. But if like most all of us you feel that the crew is more than deserving of our tips--do you want to take that chance?)

 

Funny, cuz I was kinda thinking that while reading this. :cool:

 

Mr. Heald over on Carnival will swear up and down that the staff are NEVER informed of ANY guest who has removed the tips from their account and many avid CC members will say they do tell them and even post pictures of a list someone once saw. (yes, I know this is a Princess board.. LOL)

 

And that was kind of my point.. unless the crew ARE told you have removed the tips, how would they know they can keep the cash tips you have given them for going over-and-above? This my believe that ALL cash tips are thrown into the pool.

 

Whether they are or aren't isn't really my concern, the fact that I hand over the tip to the individual I want to personally reward is what I'm really after. What they chose to do or are required to do after that.. simply isn't my affair.

 

Cheers! :)

[Colo Cruiser]

I am new to Princess cruising, normally go with P&O & they have an option to opt out of gratuities & pay who you want it to go to. Can you do this on Princess?

 

 

Yes but.........

There are crew that you don't have contact with. How will you compensate them?

[fishywood]

...the fact that I hand over the tip to the individual I want to personally reward is what I'm really after. What they chose to do or are required to do after that.. simply isn't my affair.

 

Cheers! :)

 

Interesting perspective. So the real purpose of tipping is to allow the giver to feel gratuitous, rather than actually reward the recipient?

 

I suppose this is why many crew members prefer to have their name mentioned positively on a comment card or the end-of-cruise survey rather than extra cash as that is what earns them their main goal: another contract onboard. So from that perspective it kinda does make sense to pool every dollar tipped by whichever method (even though the preceding posts in this thread are the first time I have ever heard that mooted as possible).

[Thrak]

We just finished a 17 day cruise. Our waitstaff person (Faye - Provence Dining Room - Coral Princess) was the BEST we have ever had. I did hand her an envelope on the last night of the cruise (I noticed we were the only couple at dinner that night!). We don't remove the auto-tip. I also left an envelope for our Steward. On each envelope I put the person's name, position, and my cabin number. I don't tip a huge amount (I'm not wealthy) but I do like to reward those who go "the extra mile".

 

Of course I also dropped the "made a difference" card into the box for Faye and a few other onboard staff members and then also praised them in the online survey from Princess. These people made our cruise extra special and deserved recognition.

[Colo Cruiser]

We just finished a 17 day cruise. Our waitstaff person (Faye - Provence Dining Room - Coral Princess) was the BEST we have ever had. I did hand her an envelope on the last night of the cruise (I noticed we were the only couple at dinner that night!). We don't remove the auto-tip. I also left an envelope for our Steward. On each envelope I put the person's name, position, and my cabin number. I don't tip a huge amount (I'm not wealthy) but I do like to reward those who go "the extra mile".

 

Of course I also dropped the "made a difference" card into the box for Faye and a few other onboard staff members and then also praised them in the online survey from Princess. These people made our cruise extra special and deserved recognition.

 

 

We love Faye!!

[WISH84]

Interesting perspective. So the real purpose of tipping is to allow the giver to feel gratuitous, rather than actually reward the recipient?).

 

 

That's a twisted perspective. What I was after (trying to say) is I want that individual to know I appreciate the service they provide. We also mention them by name in our surveys. But since this thread was about tipping and not name recognition, I didn't mention that aspect.

[cb at sea]

The folks who get the tips is determined by the cruise line as to WHO should be tipped. Leave your tips on....the folks who serve you will be VERYY happy! Their rules....abide by them.

[OCruisers]

The "Auto Tip" is so the best way to do it!

Any additional cash tips can be given to any you wish.

[Pierlesscruisers]

I've always believed the additional tips we give still go into the pool and get distributed. Under your statement you seem to believe (and I'm acknowledging that maybe you are correct) the additional tips are kept by the person you give them to. If this were/is the case, then wouldn't that make the argument for removing the auto tips and only tipping those you feel actually deserve it?

 

In a previous thread I got tired of hearing so many different stories about how the system worked that I sent an email to Princess and asked about it. According to what I received from them, this is basically the way the system works. You tip a dining room waiter or seward. That money is turned in by the person. At some point at the end of the cruise, the system is checked to see if you have removed the auto-tip. If it has been removed, then the tips are added to the pool. If the auto-tip is still in place, then the tip is returned to the employee and it is his/hers to do with as they wish. (Note: I have been asked by dining room personnel for my name and room number which they then wrote on the envelope I had given them. This would tend to support what I just wrote, I believe.) At some point or points over the year, using some internal Princess procedure, the tips from all the ships in the Princess fleet are pooled and distributed equally to all of the eligible employees system-wide. How this distribution is computed I do not know and it seems that it would be difficult to do since employees are constantly joining/leaving the crews since they are all on individual contracts but that's another subject completely.

 

Anyway, that is the way that the system was explained to me. Take it for what it's worth.

 

Tom

Edited October 13, 2015 by Pierlesscruisers
Added a title

[Te Aroha]

I am new to Princess cruising, normally go with P&O & they have an option to opt out of gratuities & pay who you want it to go to. Can you do this on Princess?

 

To answer your question yes you can do the same as you have done on P&O,

 

What you are being told above is the standard answer you will get on asking this question. The American based ships (currency on board is in US$) all operate under this system for tipping.

 

The Australian based ships are different but only for Australian and New Zealand citizens. The law here does not allow for a cruise to be advertised and not show the full price including extras like tips. So no tips are added to Australian or New Zealand passport holders on these ships but they are for any other nationality. They are included in our fare. We also do not tip in every day life here.

 

I feel your pain, as tipping is not part of your or our culture. It is very hard to explain on the boards how we feel about this practice and we often have these discussions.

 

We sailed around Japan last year and discovered that the Japanese are also not used to tipping like this and were actually offended if you tried to tip anyone on shore, so how they handled the added tips on the cruise would have been interesting to find out.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Funny, cuz I was kinda thinking that while reading this. :cool:

 

Mr. Heald over on Carnival will swear up and down that the staff are NEVER informed of ANY guest who has removed the tips from their account and many avid CC members will say they do tell them and even post pictures of a list someone once saw. (yes, I know this is a Princess board.. LOL)

 

And that was kind of my point.. unless the crew ARE told you have removed the tips, how would they know they can keep the cash tips you have given them for going over-and-above? This my believe that ALL cash tips are thrown into the pool.

 

Whether they are or aren't isn't really my concern, the fact that I hand over the tip to the individual I want to personally reward is what I'm really after. What they chose to do or are required to do after that.. simply isn't my affair.

 

Cheers! :)

 

As said many times in the many tipping threads, when you hand over money directly to a cabin steward or waitstaff member, they are required to hand over the money to their supervisor, along with your cabin number. At the end of the cruise, the cabin number is checked against the "list" and if you did not remove the autograt, the crew member gets the amount back. But if you did remove the tips from your account, that money gets put into the tipping pool. So anyone you tried to reward "directly" actually gets only a portion of that money.

[riclop]

Why would you they all work very hard. We tip extra if someone deserves it.

[caribill]

In a previous thread I got tired of hearing so many different stories about how the system worked that I sent an email to Princess and asked about it. According to what I received from them, this is basically the way the system works. You tip a dining room waiter or seward. That money is turned in by the person. At some point at the end of the cruise, the system is checked to see if you have removed the auto-tip. If it has been removed, then the tips are added to the pool. If the auto-tip is still in place, then the tip is returned to the employee and it is his/hers to do with as they wish. (Note: I have been asked by dining room personnel for my name and room number which they then wrote on the envelope I had given them. This would tend to support what I just wrote, I believe.) At some point or points over the year, using some internal Princess procedure, the tips from all the ships in the Princess fleet are pooled and distributed equally to all of the eligible employees system-wide. How this distribution is computed I do not know and it seems that it would be difficult to do since employees are constantly joining/leaving the crews since they are all on individual contracts but that's another subject completely.

 

Anyway, that is the way that the system was explained to me. Take it for what it's worth.

 

 

The part in red is not the way it works. I asked on board a supervisor in the personnel area and was told there is no sharing at all of tips with another ship.

[Pierlesscruisers]

The part in red is not the way it works. I asked on board a supervisor in the personnel area and was told there is no sharing at all of tips with another ship.

 

Tell Princess that. I'm telling you what the people at Princess told me.

 

Tom

[crg33]

On Princess in Australia gratuities are not added to your bill as other cruise lines so just slip your tip to whoever you feel deserves it. You will find this listed in your terms & conditions. This applies to Dawn, Sea & Sun Princess.

[caribill]

Tell Princess that. I'm telling you what the people at Princess told me.

 

 

I know you are quoting what Princess told you. However, whoever sent that information to you sent incorrect information.

 

In effect, I did tell Princess that when I asked the on board personnel supervisor (in charge of crew payroll).

Edited October 13, 2015 by caribill

[Te Aroha]

On Princess in Australia gratuities are not added to your bill as other cruise lines so just slip your tip to whoever you feel deserves it. You will find this listed in your terms & conditions. This applies to Dawn, Sea & Sun Princess.

 

This only applies to Australian and New Zealand passport holders. Everyone else has them added to their on board account.

[babygoo]

Tipping is indeed part of our culture; we tip for what we believe is a good service.

[PrincessLuver]

I am new to Princess cruising, normally go with P&O & they have an option to opt out of gratuities & pay who you want it to go to. Can you do this on Princess?

 

The answer is yes and who and how much you tip is your choice.....it is only your business and no one else's.....even though people on here would have you believe that everyone including the dock workers know who and how much you are tipping at any given point of your cruise....it is OK to do your thing on Princess....:)