Gratuities included

[MMDown Under]

Researching overseas cruises, I've noticed gratuities are included sometimes. 

 

Recent Azamara Cruises include gratuities. 

 

This makes a huge difference to Aussies, with our weak dollar.

[arxcards]

27 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Researching overseas cruises, I've noticed gratuities are included sometimes. 

 

Recent Azamara Cruises include gratuities. 

 

This makes a huge difference to Aussies, with our weak dollar.

Pay for it in your fare or pay for it up to 55 days after you disembark. Either way you pay, and you are flipping a coin as to whether the dollar will be weaker or stronger now vs later.

[MMDown Under]

12 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Pay for it in your fare or pay for it up to 55 days after you disembark. Either way you pay, and you are flipping a coin as to whether the dollar will be weaker or stronger now vs later.

I'm sorry I don't understand your answer.

 

Inside cabin fare for 16 day Azamara Norwegian Cruise from $3392 pp plus $500USCredit, with no gratuities.

 

I got $1.45US for my Australian Dollar on my first trip to the US, so I understand the effects of the current weakness of our dollar.

[Kristelle]

apart from the dollar exchange aspect - I like all gratuities included trips (cruise or land trips) because it makes it easier, we are not used to tipping and saves the hassle of working out how much/when to tip if it is all included in cost and paid upfront

[arxcards]

30 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I'm sorry I don't understand your answer.

 

Inside cabin fare for 16 day Azamara Norwegian Cruise from $3392 pp plus $500USCredit, with no gratuities.

 

I got $1.45US for my Australian Dollar on my first trip to the US, so I understand the effects of the current weakness of our dollar.

Yes, I like to pay upfront too, but pay close attention to a discounted fare first. OBC is money spent, not saved. They are giving you OBC as an incentive vs giving you a bigger discount on the fare. They get the OBC back from you on the ship, so your $500 credit only really costs them $200.

 

Paying upfront for inclusives with a weak dollar is no different to getting a bigger upfront discount and paying onboard with a weaker dollar later. The $3392pp doesn't include $549pp in port charges, so it is $3941pp for a cruise that is just 6 weeks away. The $500 OBC is per cabin, not per person. Nice itinerary though

 

As an interesting glitch, they are also showing you can book the same inside cabin as a guarantee for just $790,000pp

 

[MMDown Under]

5 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Yes, I like to pay upfront too, but pay close attention to a discounted fare first. OBC is money spent, not saved. They are giving you OBC as an incentive vs giving you a bigger discount on the fare. They get the OBC back from you on the ship, so your $500 credit only really costs them $200.

 

Paying upfront for inclusives with a weak dollar is no different to getting a bigger upfront discount and paying onboard with a weaker dollar later. The $3392pp doesn't include $549pp in port charges, so it is $3941pp for a cruise that is just 6 weeks away. The $500 OBC is per cabin, not per person. Nice itinerary though

 

As an interesting glitch, they are also showing you can book the same inside cabin as a guarantee for just $790,000pp

 

The most OBC I’ve ever had was $50 refundable.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Researching overseas cruises, I've noticed gratuities are included sometimes. 

 

Recent Azamara Cruises include gratuities. 

 

This makes a huge difference to Aussies, with our weak dollar.

The luxury lines often include gratuities, internet, drinks, even excursions in their fares but, of course, you pay a lot more on those lines. 

 

Some mass market cruise lines offer fares with various combinations of gratuities, drinks, internet, sometimes some speciality dining  and sometimes some excursions:

- Princess Plus and Premier fares cover drinks, internet, and gratuities on US cruises (but not if booked in Australia by the looks of it - our upcoming Japan cruise offers the option of prepaying the gratuities so it looks like it isn't covered by the package).

- HAL had a package that had all those plus two speciality dinners and $200pp excursion credits. 

- Celebrity have deals where gratuities are included. It used to be "Pick your Perk(s)" where you could choose gratuities and/or drinks package and/or internet and/or OBC. I'm not sure what they offer these days 

 

It certainly does make it easier with the overseas trips. No more stressing out over what the exchange rate is doing. 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by OzKiwiJJ

[MMDown Under]

7 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The luxury lines often include gratuities, internet, drinks, even excursions in their fares but, of course, you pay a lot more on those lines. 

 

Some mass market cruise lines offer fares with various combinations of gratuities, drinks, internet, sometimes some speciality dining  and sometimes some excursions:

- Princess Plus and Premier fares cover drinks, internet, and gratuities on US cruises (but not if booked in Australia by the looks of it - our upcoming Japan cruise offers the option of prepaying the gratuities so it looks like it isn't covered by the package).

- HAL had a package that had all those plus two speciality dinners and $200pp excursion credits. 

 

It certainly does make it easier with the overseas trips. No more stressing out over what the exchange rate is doing. 

 

 

I pay more because I travel on small ships, which I prefer.

[Aussieflyer]

Silversea is one that includes gratuities, drinks and excursions - but it does cost more per person - not just because of these but also because of the number of pax and pax/staff ratio.

[sayaguru]

On 6/13/2023 at 8:34 AM, MMDown Under said:

I'm sorry I don't understand your answer.

 

Inside cabin fare for 16 day Azamara Norwegian Cruise from $3392 pp plus $500USCredit, with no gratuities.

 

I got $1.45US for my Australian Dollar on my first trip to the US, so I understand the effects of the current weakness of our dollar.

It's calculated into the fare. Some cruiselines have the option to include gratuities or not. There is a price difference. It seems Azamara dont give you a choice. I love Azamara.  

[MMDown Under]

8 minutes ago, sayaguru said:

It's calculated into the fare. Some cruiselines have the option to include gratuities or not. There is a price difference. It seems Azamara dont give you a choice. I love Azamara.  

me too  id love to cruise with them again.