Question about gratuities...

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

.  Most important, we always fill out the survey post cruise.  We learned they only get to recognized onboard if we do so within 3 days at the end of the cruise.  
I text myself all the names of the staff that we’ve gotten to know to make sure I don’t forget anyone that gave us extra special care.  

 

That’s horrible, if true.  It can take several days to get back home and a couple more to feel normal enough to tackle the survey.  It should count as long as the survey is still open to be completed.

 

I ask permission to photograph name tags with my phone as a reminder of the crew members who have made our cruise a great experience.

 

On our last night on the CB in March, I pointed out a crew member to a uniformed officer and demanded he be promoted immediately because he was responsible for my cruise being perfect. I’m sure it didn’t count but it got a smile from both of them.

[thinfool]

When you board the ship, heading for your cabin, and you see no housekeeping crew in the ever-so-long hallway, you will know that the ship or cruiseline is not paying their help.

[mtnesterz]

What you, the OP, posted is true except the mandatory part. If you book the standard fare, you may adjust/remove tips. If you buy a package, then that tip is not adjustable, because you've "bought" it.

For your automatic tips the cruise line takes a distribution fee, rumored to be 10%. 

Lets dispel the often mentioned rumor now that crew must turn in envelope tips. They don't.

What do we wish was the case, you ask? I'd prefer they used the pricing model of the Luxury lines where the fare and wages reflects no tipping. For this reason:

Consider a Royal class ship, currently Princess' largest class ship, the Royal has 1346 crew. If you want to tip individually, just saying, that's a lot of envelope licking. Who gets the tips? Here's what Princess says:

The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses, to crewmembers fleetwide who interact directly with guests and/or behind the scenes throughout every cruise, including those in the Bar, Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue areas.

[Cruise Raider]

21 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

That’s horrible, if true.  It can take several days to get back home and a couple more to feel normal enough to tackle the survey.  It should count as long as the survey is still open to be completed.

 

I ask permission to photograph name tags with my phone as a reminder of the crew members who have made our cruise a great experience.

 

On our last night on the CB in March, I pointed out a crew member to a uniformed officer and demanded he be promoted immediately because he was responsible for my cruise being perfect. I’m sure it didn’t count but it got a smile from both of them.

 

I oftentimes just take a photo of their name tag as well.  

I believe it is true that the survey has to be submitted for the crew members to get recognition onboard from their direct supervisors, however, it will still go towards the count of good reviews at corporate headquarters if you return it later than the 3 days.  That survey often takes me two hours to complete, so I'm usually busy with other things.  Now, I have whittled it down to take an hour, I include names but maybe not quite as many personalized comments so I can get it done in time.  

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

35 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I ask permission to photograph name tags with my phone as a reminder of the crew members who have made our cruise a great experience.

I do the same thing. I can't remember names!

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, 10cruise said:

For those of you who like to present a baggie of gifts to your cabin steward along with cash, stop doing that.  Give them extra cash instead.  Most of these workers are there to make money to send back home to family. They really do prefer cash and not miscellaneous gifts which they probably already have and the limited space to keep your gifts.  They, of course, will smile and say thank you but like I just said they prefer the extra cash to send home to help support their families.  It is a nice gesture and thoughtful, but it makes you feel good instead.   

Yknow I've been told that about chocolates but they disappear!! 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Ombud

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

we leave the CA in place as we have PLUS, then Premier

we are working on a 'bribe bag' to give our steward upon meeting him / her the on embarkation day.

for a little 5 day cruise - so far it contains (and my wife was working on this bag this morning) a thank-you in advance for ... with a $20 inside.  It also contains a nice fingernail clipper set, a mini flashlight, some lip balm, some candies and whatever else she may pick up between now and then.

 

we/she also made up some little bags for certain crew members we come across (Vines, for sure) that include the mini flashlight, lip balm and whatever else she comes across between now and then.  Those people I will tip directly as warrants.

 

Just to be clear, any bags are in addition to cash tips - not in lieu of 

I know that your gesture of gift bags comes directly from your kind heart and you and your wife are being extremely thoughtful.  However, when I see you are including nail clippers and a mini flashlight, I cringe a little bit.  I would leave those items out and just go with the card,  $20.00 cash and the candies.  Just my opinion and not meant to offend or judge.

[SCX22]

Just remember that no one throws away cash.  (Meant in the literal sense, not figuratively.)  Anything else has the potential of ending up in the trash bin.

[voljeep]

4 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

I know that your gesture of gift bags comes directly from your kind heart and you and your wife are being extremely thoughtful.  However, when I see you are including nail clippers and a mini flashlight, I cringe a little bit.  I would leave those items out and just go with the card,  $20.00 cash and the candies.  Just my opinion and not meant to offend or judge.

maybe they can barter them for some cigs or weed, then

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, 10cruise said:

For those of you who like to present a baggie of gifts to your cabin steward along with cash, stop doing that.  Give them extra cash instead.  Most of these workers are there to make money to send back home to family. They really do prefer cash and not miscellaneous gifts which they probably already have and the limited space to keep your gifts.  They, of course, will smile and say thank you but like I just said they prefer the extra cash to send home to help support their families.  It is a nice gesture and thoughtful, but it makes you feel good instead.   

 

You do you and stop telling other people how to show their appreciation.  

 

[Panti]

Hi there! A question about gratuities?….. We purchased the premiere package for our upcoming 14 day Mediterranean and Transatlantic cruise. So the Crew Appreciation is included in that, but (for those like minded folks who like to show extra appreciation)  how much  is an appropriate amount to tip our cabin steward and chief matre’d, at the end of the cruise? 

[Ombud]

22 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

Just remember that no one throws away cash.  (Meant in the literal sense, not figuratively.)  Anything else has the potential of ending up in the trash bin.

Figurative I am throwing away a lot of it this year 🤑 

 

For those who set out candies do they like jelly bellies??? I can't get large bags of individually wrapped macadamia nuts like @cre8iv1 but I recently saw little individual bags of jelly bellies & it's sort of local to me (closer to Ghirardelli but Jelly Bellies is sort of over the bridge ..... believe it or not not everyone likes chocolate)

 

And yes, I pick my 3 favorites and give them a shout out on the survey. I used to cruise A LOT on one ship with 2 favorite barristas at IC.  Noticed one was missing on a following cruise then found him in Princess Live during the day. Turns out they get "promoted" if they get a lot of shout outs. 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Ombud

[memoak]

19 minutes ago, Panti said:

Hi there! A question about gratuities?….. We purchased the premiere package for our upcoming 14 day Mediterranean and Transatlantic cruise. So the Crew Appreciation is included in that, but (for those like minded folks who like to show extra appreciation)  how much  is an appropriate amount to tip our cabin steward and chief matre’d, at the end of the cruise? 

Extra tips are strictly and individual decision. 

[memoak]

11 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Figurative I am throwing away a lot of it this year 🤑 

 

For those who set out candies do they like jelly bellies??? I can't get large bags of individually wrapped macadamia nuts like @cre8iv1 but I recently saw little individual bags of jelly bellies & it's sort of local to me (closer to Ghirardelli but Jelly Bellies is sort of over the bridge ..... believe it or not not everyone likes chocolate)

 

And yes, I pick my 3 favorites and give them a shout out on the survey. I used to cruise A LOT on one ship with 2 favorite barristas at IC.  Noticed one was missing on a following cruise then found him in Princess Live during the day. Turns out they get "promoted" if they get a lot of shout outs. 

 

 

Also remember people have allergies. Many candies contain nuts. In fact regular M&M candies have used peanuts as fillers for years

[theloo]

2 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

It’s easy to add extra cash tips, since it feels “free” if it’s paid through credits. 

When Princess removes that option, it will then become a very interesting topic on these boards. 

Is this your experience recently?  I was on my first cruise in years this past July.  I had a fair amount of refundable OBC left at the end of the cruise.  I asked to use it for extra gratuities, but was refused; was told I needed to leave extra tips in cash only and was handed some envelopes.  I still haven't received that refundable OBC either.

[c-boy]

22 minutes ago, Panti said:

Hi there! A question about gratuities?….. We purchased the premiere package for our upcoming 14 day Mediterranean and Transatlantic cruise. So the Crew Appreciation is included in that, but (for those like minded folks who like to show extra appreciation)  how much  is an appropriate amount to tip our cabin steward and chief matre’d, at the end of the cruise? 

Here, one hundred dollars a week each .

[cruzsnooze]

The crew gratuity is pooled across the entire fleet so we are supplementing countries that do not tip like Australia and New Zealand. Princess keeps a percentage of the grats for administrative purposes. The gratuity is used for crew incentives and parties so they don't get a lot of what you think are going into the tipping pool. I reduce my daily gratuity to $10 PP PD which I believe is fair given all the circumstances but you may disagree.

[david63]

2 hours ago, thinfool said:

When you board the ship, heading for your cabin, and you see no housekeeping crew in the ever-so-long hallway, you will know that the ship or cruiseline is not paying their help.

What is the connection between not paying their crew enough and them having done their job? I doubt for one minute you would want to be fighting your way between housekeeping crew when you are trying to get to your cabin with your luggage.

1 hour ago, mtnesterz said:

Lets dispel the often mentioned rumor now that crew must turn in envelope tips.

Do you know that for a fact and if so where is the proof?

[BamaVol]

2 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

The crew gratuity is pooled across the entire fleet so we are supplementing countries that do not tip like Australia and New Zealand. Princess keeps a percentage of the grats for administrative purposes. The gratuity is used for crew incentives and parties so they don't get a lot of what you think are going into the tipping pool. I reduce my daily gratuity to $10 PP PD which I believe is fair given all the circumstances but you may disagree.

Just my opinion, but I despise the word “fair”. In my mind, fair is when two or more parties agree to something, however reluctantly.  Fair is not something one side determines.  

[Steelers36]

25 minutes ago, Panti said:

Hi there! A question about gratuities?….. We purchased the premiere package for our upcoming 14 day Mediterranean and Transatlantic cruise. So the Crew Appreciation is included in that, but (for those like minded folks who like to show extra appreciation)  how much  is an appropriate amount to tip our cabin steward and chief maitre d', at the end of the cruise? 

IDK why you would be looking to tip the MD (now DRO) who is quite removed generally from your dinner service.  I'd be more inclined to reward the two waiters.  If a HW does something extra for you, then I would consider that.  Even a DR Mgr is up the chain for tips.  Example:  On a ship last Fall, he made extra effort to get us setup for same table each night and moved us on request.  He refused any money I wanted to give him.  In this case, he got complimented for providing the TD experience that Princess promises but must be asked for.  

 

As for cabin steward, how much do we suppose of the $16 is allocated to the hotel staff versus DR staff, etc?  I don't have any guidance there other than what you are comfortable with and based on services provided.  Did you ask for a lot of extra things?  Is the cabin often messy for them to clean up?  Not applicable to your situation I gather, but is it a cabin where the sofa bed or bunks are used, so there is extra work?  

[david63]

3 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

we are supplementing countries that do not tip like Australia and New Zealand

I believe that the crew appreciation is built into the cruise price in those countries so you are supplementing anything - in fact the oppsite is true that the Australians abd New Zealanders are supplementing those who remove the crew appreciation.

[cruzsnooze]

Just now, david63 said:

I believe that the crew appreciation is built into the cruise price in those countries so you are supplementing anything - in fact the oppsite is true that the Australians abd New Zealanders are supplementing those who remove the crew appreciation.

Not really since looking at the prices of sailing from those countries is similar and frequently less.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, Greytgrey said:

I've never cruised Princess before, but on other cruise lines have consistently paid the "suggested" gratuity, and then also tipped as compelled beyond that. Someone over on the Princess subreddit said that they'd talked to Princess crew and been told that the gratuities that are paid through guest services (pre-paid/suggested/mandatory whatever you want to call it) are all factored into their salary and they don't get more if you leave the tips on or less if you don't. So this person worked out a system in which they took off the suggested gratuities and instead paid the individual people they had face-to-face interactions with a certain amount per day, which they said worked out to be a lot less than the suggested gratuities, and plus it made sure that the crew member actually got the cash. 

I think you should go with your first instinct and past practice.  I don't give much credence to random unknown posters on internet.  Your poster also ended up paying less money than the asked-for CA amount.  Doesn't sound to me like they were trying to help the crew out at all.

 

[Happiest when cruising]

12 minutes ago, theloo said:

Is this your experience recently?  I was on my first cruise in years this past July.  I had a fair amount of refundable OBC left at the end of the cruise.  I asked to use it for extra gratuities, but was refused; was told I needed to leave extra tips in cash only and was handed some envelopes.  I still haven't received that refundable OBC either.

I may have not worded that correctly.

What I meant was… people can use their own cash for extra tips, as the daily amount charged to your folio can be “paid” with OBC. So, it feels like I have extra money to give.
Of course, that’s for those of us that don’t purchase any kind of bundled cruise package. 
 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

5 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

First of all...be prepared for a firestorm!  This is one of those topics that absolutely get people riled up.

To the OP @Greytgrey...remember what I said back in Post #2? 😄