Question about gratuities...

[DrSea]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

This fee has been in effect for over a month. If you have a plus or premier package that you bought this year it is waived

Boo. No more room service for me then. 

 

I appreciate you telling me

Edited September 18, 2023 by DrSea

[startedwithamouse]

14 minutes ago, DrSea said:

So room service now is $5 per call? When was that change made? Fleet wide? 

There's a one time fee of $15 to opt in to OceanNow on your phone instead of the $5 fee for calling. 

[DrSea]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

There's a one time fee of $15 to opt in to OceanNow on your phone instead of the $5 fee for calling. 

Oh well. I missed it. Disappointed but it happens. 

 

Let's hope princess has more beef options on board now that I will not be using room service. 

[DrSea]

22 hours ago, BamaVol said:

 I did leave him a small tip to compensate for him having seen me naked when he burst into the bathroom unannounced. He did not get a mention in my survey.

He saw you naked and you tipped him?

 

That's not how it works where i am from 😉

[MissP22]

48 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Oh well. I missed it. Disappointed but it happens. 

 

Let's hope princess has more beef options on board now that I will not be using room service. 

Or at least some better ones. 

I'm getting tired of eating 🐔🐔.

[DrSea]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

So TRUE!

[Z0nker]

On 9/17/2023 at 6:10 AM, 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. 

 

From what I've read, the suggested gratuities are pooled and distributed among crew that includes folks like kitchen and laundry crew, who never or rarely see the public but who also contribute to the positive cruise experience. This person with "the system" said it's not their job to make sure that cruise lines pay people a reasonable wage (which is the same thing people who don't want to tip at restaurants say, and while it's true that corporations should pay their employees a living wage that's neither here nor there when you're actively participating in the business as it presently operates). 

 

So.

 

What say you, experienced Princess cruisers? How do you handle taking care of the people who take care of you when you're on vacation?

Best I know, everything you said is correct. We usually bring a gift for our room stew and give it to him right away. Normally it’s chocolate. We assume the guy can barter his gift if he doesn’t like it. 
 

we’ve also cash tipped our favorite bartenders (usually someone in Vines who has taken good care of us) on the last night. 

[LRCruzr]

On 9/17/2023 at 9:10 AM, 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. 

 

From what I've read, the suggested gratuities are pooled and distributed among crew that includes folks like kitchen and laundry crew, who never or rarely see the public but who also contribute to the positive cruise experience. This person with "the system" said it's not their job to make sure that cruise lines pay people a reasonable wage (which is the same thing people who don't want to tip at restaurants say, and while it's true that corporations should pay their employees a living wage that's neither here nor there when you're actively participating in the business as it presently operates). 

 

So.

 

What say you, experienced Princess cruisers? How do you handle taking care of the people who take care of you when you're on vacation?

If you want you can pay gratuities as you go. But drinks include gratuity.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 9/17/2023 at 6:10 AM, Greytgrey said:

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.

I have sailed with some of the same crew for well over 100 days in the last two years. We’ve gotten to know each other and have had many hours of conversations and experiences together on board the ship and off it.  I have finally had this confirmed to my satisfaction.  Crew are now on a fixed salary. They no longer get any additional amount from the auto gratuities monthly.  If gratuities  are removed it will in no way affect any crew member’s compensation.  Princess is really pushing the packages that include the gratuities as they use them to pay salaries that are fixed. 
 

What annoys me is that passengers are under the mistaken idea that the crew are receiving something extra when they do not. 
 

For me I like to bring the less mainstream white wines on board that I prefer and I will do that if I have a package or if I do not have a package. When I add up the costs it’s about $200 per week for me :  pre order cases of water -$7 per dozen (I drink 6 bottles a day) -thru princess, use my elite benefits to get a very reasonable $7.50 pd internet connection, pay $15 one time fee for ocean now, one specialty dining a week, a couple of casual dinings per week  & 2-3 manhattans a week….it makes no sense to buy a package. Additionally, I get more dining outside of MDR than Plus would give on two week or longer sailings. I have the gratuities removed & I use the same amount of cash (as the auto grats were) or more if warranted  to tip the crew who are on the ship that made my current sailing special. And YES it has been very well documented that crew get to keep all cash tips since the restart. 

Of course if you sail those 5-7 day short cruises the math changes a bit. 
 

Crew are discouraged from discussing their compensation so please be discrete if you want to inquire while on board. However, any and all crew will happily tell you cash tips may be kept so feel free to ask about that to confirm for yourself. 
 

 

[leck57]

23 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I have sailed with some of the same crew for well over 100 days in the last two years. We’ve gotten to know each other and have had many hours of conversations and experiences together on board the ship and off it.  I have finally had this confirmed to my satisfaction.  Crew are now on a fixed salary. They no longer get any additional amount from the auto gratuities monthly.  If gratuities  are removed it will in no way affect any crew member’s compensation.  Princess is really pushing the packages that include the gratuities as they use them to pay salaries that are fixed. 
 

What annoys me is that passengers are under the mistaken idea that the crew are receiving something extra when they do not. 
 

For me I like to bring the less mainstream white wines on board that I prefer and I will do that if I have a package or if I do not have a package. When I add up the costs it’s about $200 per week for me :  pre order cases of water -$7 per dozen (I drink 6 bottles a day) -thru princess, use my elite benefits to get a very reasonable $7.50 pd internet connection, pay $15 one time fee for ocean now, one specialty dining a week, a couple of casual dinings per week  & 2-3 manhattans a week….it makes no sense to buy a package. Additionally, I get more dining outside of MDR than Plus would give on two week or longer sailings. I have the gratuities removed & I use the same amount of cash (as the auto grats were) or more if warranted  to tip the crew who are on the ship that made my current sailing special. And YES it has been very well documented that crew get to keep all cash tips since the restart. 

Of course if you sail those 5-7 day short cruises the math changes a bit. 
 

Crew are discouraged from discussing their compensation so please be discrete if you want to inquire while on board. However, any and all crew will happily tell you cash tips may be kept so feel free to ask about that to confirm for yourself. 
 

 

 

So....if we remove the auto grats, it will not affect what the crew receive? I would do that and use that money to tip staff individually.

[david63]

42 minutes ago, leck57 said:

if we remove the auto grats, it will not affect what the crew receive?

From what has been posted - no, but if everyone did that then just watch the base price of cruises go up as you will have to pay it one way or another.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, leck57 said:

 

So....if we remove the auto grats, it will not affect what the crew receive? I would do that and use that money to tip staff individually.

That has been confirmed to my satisfaction.  And that is what I have started to do. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

20 minutes ago, david63 said:

From what has been posted - no, but if everyone did that then just watch the base price of cruises go up as you will have to pay it one way or another.

I think enough people will keep buying the Plus or Premium packages with the non removable gratuities baked in that it just won’t matter. I even buy the Premium package on a short 5 day sailing. I am getting ready to board a 34 day sailing LA to Buenos Aires where the ability to restock wine in ports will not be possible. I can pretty easily lug a case on with me solo. Since I can’t seem to figure out a way to bring on enough wine (2 cases & starting the trip solo where DH joins the second leg) to last that long I will probably buy the plus package for at least one leg.   I did buy the sailing as 2 separate legs so I can purchase Plus for one leg separate of the other. 
 

As my good friend @CruiseRaiderhas surmised more than once, the price of the Plus and Premier packages will most likely increase. When you look at other cruise lines Princess packages are much cheaper so I tend to agree that the price will go up. 
 

This year I took a 10 sailing on Oceania and an 8 day sailing on Windstar. We booked an aft balcony on Oceania and a French balcony on windstar. Both were about the size of a Princess mini suite but the living room furniture and bathrooms were much nicer. They cost about the same as a Princess Vista suite. The food on both lines was simply outstanding. And all cabin levels eat the exact same food. I like that. All filtered water, fresh juices, specialty coffees, cans of soda are all included in base fare. Both lines didn’t blink an eye when boarding or at ports if we had any kind of alcohol at all we wanted to bring. Windstar in particular had exceptional quality wines and liquors including Antiqua Vermouth.  Windstar had my favorite Alsatian white wine at a great price.  
 

We will always sail Princess as they really do Alaska so well. I also like the ease of driving to the port and taking a last minute sail with friends. But we have 2 more Windstar and 2 more Oceania sails booked as well as 3 more Princess cruises. I’m really glad Princess made the changes they did (that I don’t like) as it made me take a look at other lines. And boy I am so very happy with what I found!  

[Crystaltipps67]

On 9/18/2023 at 3:06 PM, Pine Man said:

My cruise history so far has been with P&O and, enjoyable though it has been, nobody ever provided me with service that I considered warranted additional tipping of any sort. It used to be charged on a daily basis but now it is included in the price.

 

My first Princess cruise is early next year and, reading this post, tipping appears to be something of an obsession, certainly from those 'across the pond'. So it will be interesting to see if the service I get from Princess exceeds that which I got from P&O and, in the event that it is, I might, just might, consider some sort of reward.

As a fellow Brit I suspect you, like me, will feel that you are receiving the level of service you've paid for with the CA 'charge' and won't feel the need to tip further. But that's the difference in culture between us and our friends over to pond!

[dweeb]

3 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I have sailed with some of the same crew for well over 100 days in the last two years. We’ve gotten to know each other and have had many hours of conversations and experiences together on board the ship and off it.  I have finally had this confirmed to my satisfaction.  Crew are now on a fixed salary. They no longer get any additional amount from the auto gratuities monthly.  If gratuities  are removed it will in no way affect any crew member’s compensation.  Princess is really pushing the packages that include the gratuities as they use them to pay salaries that are fixed. 
 

What annoys me is that passengers are under the mistaken idea that the crew are receiving something extra when they do not. 
 

For me I like to bring the less mainstream white wines on board that I prefer and I will do that if I have a package or if I do not have a package. When I add up the costs it’s about $200 per week for me :  pre order cases of water -$7 per dozen (I drink 6 bottles a day) -thru princess, use my elite benefits to get a very reasonable $7.50 pd internet connection, pay $15 one time fee for ocean now, one specialty dining a week, a couple of casual dinings per week  & 2-3 manhattans a week….it makes no sense to buy a package. Additionally, I get more dining outside of MDR than Plus would give on two week or longer sailings. I have the gratuities removed & I use the same amount of cash (as the auto grats were) or more if warranted  to tip the crew who are on the ship that made my current sailing special. And YES it has been very well documented that crew get to keep all cash tips since the restart. 

Of course if you sail those 5-7 day short cruises the math changes a bit. 
 

Crew are discouraged from discussing their compensation so please be discrete if you want to inquire while on board. However, any and all crew will happily tell you cash tips may be kept so feel free to ask about that to confirm for yourself. 
 

 

We have been told the same.  Also, the gratuities added to drinks are not going to the bar staff as like pre-covid.  It is now going into the fund to pay for bonuses and such.   

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by dweeb
spelling

[HaveDogWillTravel]

34 minutes ago, dweeb said:

We have been told the same.  Also, the gratuities added to drinks are not going to the bar staff as like pre-covid.  It is now going into the fund to pay for bonuses and such.   

 

Thanks for chiming in and letting me know you have also been told this by crew. It’s especially been a downgrade for bar staff. While their salary did increase it didn’t increase to the same level it was before where the base was lower but they actually got the tips. I really am bugged that passengers are misled into believing the crew is being tipped. 
 

And while every bar on every PRincess ship I’ve been on has pooled their tips by team from the restart (Crooners crew split their tips, Vines crew split theirs and so on..) this is 100% voluntary on the crews’ part. I can totally understand it too. While I hope certain members of the team get a bigger portion, it’s not my place to tell the crew what to do with this actual extra money they get and can keep. This is the only way to financially reward crew members and I am very happy to do it. 

[leck57]

6 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I think enough people will keep buying the Plus or Premium packages with the non removable gratuities baked in that it just won’t matter. 

 

 

However in Australia our Plus package doesn't include grats for any cruise. For example I'm doing a Norway/Scandinavia cruise next year and I have Plus, however the grats for the two of us are just under $1000 which are paid separately if I pay them. 

[40yearcruiser]

Since we are on the topic of tips, I would like some clarification from those from the USA who have cruised on Princess in Australia. We are booked on a 13-day cruise roundtrip from Sydney. We see that the onboard currency will be in AUD. Since we booked the cruise in the US, will our Crew Appreciation be included in the fare as it is for those booking this cruise in Australia? If it is not included (as I expect) will it be charged in AUD or in US currency?  We did not buy the Plus package because we rarely drink alcohol and it didn't make sense for us. It's confusing when you book in one currency but the onboard is another currency. 

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, 40yearcruiser said:

Since we are on the topic of tips, I would like some clarification from those from the USA who have cruised on Princess in Australia. We are booked on a 13-day cruise roundtrip from Sydney. We see that the onboard currency will be in AUD. Since we booked the cruise in the US, will our Crew Appreciation be included in the fare as it is for those booking this cruise in Australia? If it is not included (as I expect) will it be charged in AUD or in US currency?  We did not buy the Plus package because we rarely drink alcohol and it didn't make sense for us. It's confusing when you book in one currency but the onboard is another currency. 

It will be charged in USD if paid ahead; no idea if paid onboard, but it will be charged.

[PacnGoNow]

10 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Thanks for chiming in and letting me know you have also been told this by crew. It’s especially been a downgrade for bar staff. While their salary did increase it didn’t increase to the same level it was before where the base was lower but they actually got the tips. I really am bugged that passengers are misled into believing the crew is being tipped. 
 

And while every bar on every PRincess ship I’ve been on has pooled their tips by team from the restart (Crooners crew split their tips, Vines crew split theirs and so on..) this is 100% voluntary on the crews’ part. I can totally understand it too. While I hope certain members of the team get a bigger portion, it’s not my place to tell the crew what to do with this actual extra money they get and can keep. This is the only way to financially reward crew members and I am very happy to do it. 

So, if you pulled your tips and now tip individuals, how do you know how much to give the waiter, steward, bar hostess, etc?

What about the laundry employees, RS?  Just seems confusing.  TIA

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, 40yearcruiser said:

Since we are on the topic of tips, I would like some clarification from those from the USA who have cruised on Princess in Australia. We are booked on a 13-day cruise roundtrip from Sydney. We see that the onboard currency will be in AUD. Since we booked the cruise in the US, will our Crew Appreciation be included in the fare as it is for those booking this cruise in Australia? If it is not included (as I expect) will it be charged in AUD or in US currency?  We did not buy the Plus package because we rarely drink alcohol and it didn't make sense for us. It's confusing when you book in one currency but the onboard is another currency. 

If paid in advance, it is the normal USD charge.  If left to be charged to the cabin account, then it is going to be the AUD equivalent.

 

2 hours ago, jwattle said:

It will be charged in USD if paid ahead; no idea if paid onboard, but it will be charged.

 

You could find out what currency exchange rate PCL is using for USD/AUD and decide if paying in advance or on board is to your advantage. 

 

Same thing can happen in CAD.  If a Canadian books a cruise today, the rate Princess is using is 1.35.  That is a little better than the market rate right now, but that rate was higher than market not long ago.  If guest pre-pays CA via the Cruise Personalizer ahead of sailing, the rate will be fixed at 1.35 since that was the rate in effect when cruise was booked.  If guest waits until on board, the CA is charged in USD (for all but voyages around Oz area).  At the time of sailing, the guest may be able to pay those USD charges for less than 1.35, or it could cost more. 

[Steelers36]

14 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

That has been confirmed to my satisfaction.  And that is what I have started to do. 

Were you able to gain any insight on how the pool is distributed?  Is it mainly bonuses and incentives?  I believe you are saying that guest-facing crew that serve us are now on a fixed salary that supposedly has at least some CA baked in so that they get more than their old base.  But I gather you are also saying they do not get even a minimum amount from the tip pool (which consists of CA + 18% bars + other included grats in Casual and Specialty Dining tabs?

 

I would have presumed they are get some basic gratuity amount from the pool, but top performers are also getting bonuses. 

 

As someone who books Standard, it gives one pause to not affect crew income and then handout that amount (plus more) to specific individuals.  I would still be thinking I am hurting others beyond those we regularly interact with.  For us, it is three people - steward and our two waiters - as we don't frequent the bars.  I thought I was happy with the system in place, but you have blown up the concept somewhat.

[dog]

23 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I have sailed with some of the same crew for well over 100 days in the last two years. We’ve gotten to know each other and have had many hours of conversations and experiences together on board the ship and off it.  I have finally had this confirmed to my satisfaction.  Crew are now on a fixed salary. They no longer get any additional amount from the auto gratuities monthly.  If gratuities  are removed it will in no way affect any crew member’s compensation.  Princess is really pushing the packages that include the gratuities as they use them to pay salaries that are fixed. 
 

What annoys me is that passengers are under the mistaken idea that the crew are receiving something extra when they do not. 
 

For me I like to bring the less mainstream white wines on board that I prefer and I will do that if I have a package or if I do not have a package. When I add up the costs it’s about $200 per week for me :  pre order cases of water -$7 per dozen (I drink 6 bottles a day) -thru princess, use my elite benefits to get a very reasonable $7.50 pd internet connection, pay $15 one time fee for ocean now, one specialty dining a week, a couple of casual dinings per week  & 2-3 manhattans a week….it makes no sense to buy a package. Additionally, I get more dining outside of MDR than Plus would give on two week or longer sailings. I have the gratuities removed & I use the same amount of cash (as the auto grats were) or more if warranted  to tip the crew who are on the ship that made my current sailing special. And YES it has been very well documented that crew get to keep all cash tips since the restart. 

Of course if you sail those 5-7 day short cruises the math changes a bit. 
 

Crew are discouraged from discussing their compensation so please be discrete if you want to inquire while on board. However, any and all crew will happily tell you cash tips may be kept so feel free to ask about that to confirm for yourself. 
 

 

Thanks for this post. I have also been told by my friend whose DIL is crew that you are right.

[GonzoWCS]

This was a good read thanks

 

Cheers

[antsp]

11 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

So, if you pulled your tips and now tip individuals, how do you know how much to give the waiter, steward, bar hostess, etc?

What about the laundry employees, RS?  Just seems confusing.  TIA

Working on the info from the crew members, you are best removing the tip and give it to your wait staff and steward, the will receive the exact same wage, plus the tip of the passenger