Gratuities Going Up $1 Per Day Effective May 21, 2019

[AF-1]

Kingofcool1947;  hotels charge resort fees but include wifi and bottled water;  a ship does not.  I have no problem with an extra dollar per day.  Still a bargin for tipping

[Cruise Junky]

33 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:Like others have suggested, Princess should change it  to a “ resort fee” rather than gratuities.  Make it part of the upfront cost of a cruise, mandatory,  and non-removable by PAXs.    Just like if you stay at a top tier hotel/resort land based resort you pay a resort fee.   Isn’t that what these ships are?  Resorts at sea?    As always, extra grats  at your own discretion, as it is now.

That way, customers (PAXs)  have a choice of which cruise line fits their budget.   

Agreed. I would never in a million years remove them but I am getting sick and tired of footing the Bill for those that opt out. Make them mandatory and everyone pays their fair share. 

[kywildcatfanone]

Yep, just make the fee mandatory.  If you don't want to call it something that would be considered additional cruise fare (i.e. a resort fee), then make the tips mandatory and be done with it.  If people are removing them on the last day just to save a few dollars, that is wrong.

 

But Princess raising gratuities because some people remove them only punishes the actual paying customers.

[Buddy2004]

On 4/26/2019 at 3:35 AM, joybook said:

I would also question paying for the gratuities in advance. As I see it all you are doing is increasing the massive financial float Princess has - why let them invest your money and increase their profits when you can do it yourself? Pay them later only when you have to.

I have paid it but only because on our Princess profile it is in Canadian $. So saving some. Our cruise is not until Oct so don't know what the Canadian $ will be doing then. Hopefully not a lot lower.

[Buddy2004]

On 4/26/2019 at 7:46 AM, CTGirl said:

I am curious as to where you got your information.  I have a b2b cruise starting on May 18, the second on May 25th.  I don't see the increase in gratuities anywhere in my cruise personalizer nor in the FAQ's.  So I just Princess and the woman I talked to has not been given any information either about an increase.

There are 8 of us going on a cruise in Oct and only one of us recived the email telling her of the increase in gratuities. She sent us all a copy of the email.

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

But Princess raising gratuities because some people remove them only punishes the actual paying customers.

Is Princess raising gratuities because some people remove them?? I feel this is an assumption on your part and I can see no reason to justify it. 🙂 Maybe it is simply inflation since the last rise in gratuities that someone said was three years ago.

 

Here is the statement from Princess:

"Dear Princess Guest:

To ensure our guest service on board remains among the best in the cruise industry, Princess Cruises has increased the daily gratuity charge for all voyages departing on or after May 21, 2019."

[kywildcatfanone]

Read the thread. 

[Buddy2004]

On 4/26/2019 at 10:43 AM, steelers36 said:

You cannot pre-pay grats via Cruise Personalizer using OBC on file.  Only Princess Excursions.

 

Thats true, I paid with my credit card. 

[elliair]

  On 4/26/2019 at 10:12 AM, RMMariner said:

 

Agreed. Just make them a hotel charge. Do not know what percentage actually pull their tips, but just make it a mandatory charge. Tired of subsidizing the people who sneak down and pull their tips on the last day.

-------------------------

 

There's no way to stop people from pulling their tips on the last day.  Only Princess can make it a mandatory fee and not allow the gratuities to be removed.  Until that happens we'll all be subsidizing those who chose not to pay the gratuities.  It's a choice and people take advantage of it.

[GUT2407]

10 minutes ago, elliair said:

 

Agreed. Just make them a hotel charge. Do not know what percentage actually pull their tips, but just make it a mandatory charge. Tired of subsidizing the people who sneak down and pull their tips on the last day.

-------------------------

 

There's no way to stop people from pulling their tips on the last day.  Only Princess can make it a mandatory fee and not allow the gratuities to be removed.  Until that happens we'll all be subsidizing those who chose not to pay the gratuities.  It's a choice and people take advantage of it.

How would that be any different than just including it in the fare??

[zalusky]

6 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Like others have suggested, Princess should change it  to a “ resort fee” rather than gratuities.  Make it part of the upfront cost of a cruise, mandatory,  and non-removable by PAXs.    Just like if you stay at a top tier hotel/resort land based resort you pay a resort fee.   Isn’t that what these ships are?  Resorts at sea?    As always, extra grats  at your own discretion, as it is now.

That way, customers (PAXs)  have a choice of which cruise line fits their budget.   

 

Bogus.  I want to see the full fare advertised up front.  None of these secondary mandatory categories.  It’s like mandatory baggage fees which exists to make it more difficult to do price compares.  

 

The other things likes drinks, restaurants, and ship credits are fine to list as perks and be part of promos but not MANDATORY fees (imho).

 

These are not tips but off the book salaries.

Edited May 1, 2019 by zalusky

[xDisconnections]

6 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Like others have suggested, Princess should change it  to a “ resort fee” rather than gratuities.  Make it part of the upfront cost of a cruise, mandatory,  and non-removable by PAXs.    Just like if you stay at a top tier hotel/resort land based resort you pay a resort fee.   Isn’t that what these ships are?  Resorts at sea?    As always, extra grats  at your own discretion, as it is now.

That way, customers (PAXs)  have a choice of which cruise line fits their budget.   

Resort fees aren’t as mandatory as you think they are unless you’re booking through a third party. Some hotel chains waive these for their highest tier guests staying under award stays and others will either waive the resort fee or provide a discount/replacement benefit should Internet be included in such fee.

 

In terms of service recovery, the resort fee is the first thing to get adjusted off.

Edited May 1, 2019 by xDisconnections

[Kingofcool1947]

22 minutes ago, zalusky said:

 

Bogus.  I want to see the full fare advertised up front.  None of these secondary mandatory categories.  It’s like mandatory baggage fees which exists to make it more difficult to do price compares.  

 

The other things likes drinks, restaurants, and ship credits are fine to list as perks and be part of promos but not MANDATORY fees (imho).

 

These are not tips but off the book salaries.

Then Princess should include grats (resort fee) it in the cost of the full advertised fare.   Make it non-negotiable.  Cannot be removed.  Then there would not be those kind of PAXs who pull their grats on the last day.

Customers shopping for a cruise can either accept the inclusive fare,  or find another cruise line that fits their budget?

[CTGirl]

5 hours ago, Buddy2004 said:

There are 8 of us going on a cruise in Oct and only one of us recived the email telling her of the increase in gratuities. She sent us all a copy of the email.

Thanks, I just received an email yesterday.  We have a b2b cruise coming up soon.  The first cruise will not be affected but the second one will.

[Elorac123]

8 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Then Princess should include grats (resort fee) it in the cost of the full advertised fare.   Make it non-negotiable.  Cannot be removed.  Then there would not be those kind of PAXs who pull their grats on the last day.

Customers shopping for a cruise can either accept the inclusive fare,  or find another cruise line that fits their budget?

That is how we are priced in Australia, works for us

Cheers Carole

[Kingofcool1947]

47 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

Resort fees aren’t as mandatory as you think they are unless you’re booking through a third party. Some hotel chains waive these for their highest tier guests staying under award stays and others will either waive the resort fee or provide a discount/replacement benefit should Internet be included in such fee.

 

In terms of service recovery, the resort fee is the first thing to get adjusted off.

 

Make the cruise “resort fee/gratuities” non-negotiable, mandatory, and included in the advertised cruise fare.  Non-removable.  Fixed amount.  For everyone.  Make it fair for all.   Does away with those kind of PAXs who remove  grats.

And, of course,  extra tipping is still optional,  at one’s  discretion.

That way customers can decide if that cruise lines fare is within their budget.  Or find another cruise that is.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[xDisconnections]

20 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Make the cruise “resort fee/gratuities” non-negotiable, mandatory, and included in the advertised cruise fare.  Non-removable.  Fixed amount.  For everyone.  Make it fair for all.   And, of course,  extra tipping is still optional,  at your discretion.

That way customers can decide if that cruise lines fare is within their budget.  Or find another cruise that is.

 

 

 

 

 

In which hotel program would gratuities ever be included in the resort fee? The whole purpose of the resort fee is for hotels to ensure additional revenue is collected from guests staying at rates being much lower than the property's ADR. This is solely for reservations where the hotel is being paid peanuts/cost per occupied room when guests are using their rewards points or paying wholesales rates through Priceline, etc.

 

By your logic, call it a service charge. Princess determines their policy and their suggested amount. Princess appears not to care if guests remove them as long as the employees are still being compensated for their contracted minimum amount thus preventing Princess from supplementing any monetary compensation they received. This is for Princess to decide... not any of us on a message board. As of now, it's fair.

Edited May 1, 2019 by xDisconnections

[Kingofcool1947]

9 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

In which hotel program would gratuities ever be included in the resort fee? The whole purpose of the resort fee is for hotels to ensure additional revenue is collected from guests staying at rates being much lower than the property's ADR. This is solely for reservations where the hotel is being paid peanuts/cost per occupied room when guests are using their rewards points or paying wholesales rates through Priceline, etc.

 

By your logic, call it a service charge. As of now, it's fair. Princess determines their policy and their suggested amount and Princess appears not to care if guests remove them as long as the employees are still being compensated for their contracted minimum amount thus preventing Princess from supplementing any monetary compensation they received lower than the contracted minimum. This is for Princess to decide... not any of us on a message board. 

Then call it a “service charge”.  Whatever you like to call it.   But do like the Aussies.  Make it mandatory, built into the fare.  Non-negotiable, non-removable.   No tip pulling at the end of the cruise like some PAXs do.  Make it fair for everyone.

Edited May 1, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[xDisconnections]

22 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Then call it a “service charge”.  Whatever you like to call it.   But do like the Aussies.  Make it mandatory, built into the fare.  Non-negotiable, non-removable.   No tip pulling at the end of the cruise.  Make it fair for everyone.

It certainly matters what it is referred to as. Gratuities, service charges, resort fees, property facility fees, environmental cleaning fees and destination fees are all different types of fees and have different verbiages that accompany them.

 

Playing devil's advocate, how is the current system not fair? Princess sets the policy of which the passengers agree to abide by. When the employees sign their contracts, they are aware they are guaranteed to a contracted minimum. If their compensation drops below this amount, it would be supplemented by Princess similar to how waitstaff in the USA are compensated when their tips do not bring them up to minimum wage. You keep stating to make it fair for everyone but I'm struggling to see how you believe the current system is not fair. Is it because some people are tipping -- or not tipping -- in the manner of which they prefer in accordance with policies and standard operating procedures provided by the cruise line?

 

Australia and other countries have very different cultures than certain areas around the world.

Edited May 1, 2019 by xDisconnections

[elliair]

2 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

How would that be any different than just including it in the fare??

That's what I said, include the gratuities in the fare.  End of people pulling the gratuities at the end of the cruise.  If one thinks their steward went far and beyond service, then give them extra.  I'm seeing many "extras" added onto to restaurant bills.  More added for medical insurance, more added for homeless taxes, on and on.  Price yourselves out of a business, and me out of cruising.  Pick your poison.

[richmke]

I wonder if the Staff can see who pre-paid gratuities. Would they then give those people better service?

[xDisconnections]

3 minutes ago, richmke said:

I wonder if the Staff can see who pre-paid gratuities. Would they then give those people better service?

They can. Generally speaking, they should be receiving an equal level of service as any other passenger would be receiving.

 

Realistically, they can provide worse service to those who prepaid if they wanted because they have already been prepaid and have a lower liklihood to be removed.

[xDisconnections]

23 minutes ago, elliair said:

That's what I said, include the gratuities in the fare.  End of people pulling the gratuities at the end of the cruise.  If one thinks their steward went far and beyond service, then give them extra.  I'm seeing many "extras" added onto to restaurant bills.  More added for medical insurance, more added for homeless taxes, on and on.  Price yourselves out of a business, and me out of cruising.  Pick your poison.

Higher cruise fares displayed upfront will equate to some people opting not to reserve or search for cheaper options. Lower lead in pricing is a type of social engineering Princess chooses to utilize in regards to their yield management to increase the amount of booking confirmations and ensure higher occupancy levels against their comp set.

[GUT2407]

4 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Higher cruise fares displayed upfront will equate to some people opting not to reserve or search for cheaper options. Lower lead in pricing is a type of social engineering Princess chooses to utilize in regards to their yield management to increase the amount of booking confirmations and ensure higher occupancy levels against their comp set.

Yet Princess were one of the first to do it in Australia and grew quicker than those followed Suit years later

[MissP22]

13 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Never understood the policy on many cruise lines of paying gratuities upfront before the cruise. I was always of the belief that a gratuity was a tip for good service received. How do you know you are going to get good service months in advance prior to your cruise.

That's what it used to mean but lately people have come to believe that it's no longer an option & MUST be paid no matter what. 

 

11 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

Agreed. I would never in a million years remove them but I am getting sick and tired of footing the Bill for those that opt out. Make them mandatory and everyone pays their fair share. 

I do agree that they do deserve gratuities but what about that one chance that you did have to adjust them because of something that really caused the cruise to be unacceptable? By eliminating the option of adjustments or removal you've given them a blank check to perform however they want. 

 

I suggest that elimination a specific department from your gratuities might be a  better option then just eliminating them altogether so that everyone else doesn't suffer. 

If Princess would then let the other crew members in that department know the individuals that caused the gratuities to be eliminated for poor performance, I'm sure the problem would quickly correct itself. 

5 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Then Princess should include grats (resort fee) it in the cost of the full advertised fare.   Make it non-negotiable.  Cannot be removed.  Then there would not be those kind of PAXs who pull their grats on the last day.

Customers shopping for a cruise can either accept the inclusive fare,  or find another cruise line that fits their budget?

That option doesn't sell cruises especially when the other cruise lines don't do the same. Most people shop for price first & not worry about the extras they'll spend on the ship.