Will Princess follow Royal Caribbean on tips?

[BamaVol]

14 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

They deserve to be paid a living wage by their employer, not me.  The whole US based tipping culture is out of control.  

This is how they are paid. The industry doesn’t want to mark up the basic cruise prices and scare away business. Just like restaurants don’t want to advertise yesterdays $30 steak as now costing $36. Has the tipping culture been reversed in other countries or did all of them start out the way they are?  

[PescadoAmarillo]

7 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

The crew at princess are on a fixed salary. They do not get any extra money from auto gratuities each month. I had suspected this for quite sometime. I have had enough crew members confirm this that I am now certain of it.  Crew do not volunteer this information and they are not supposed to discuss their compensation. 

 

I don’t expect anyone here to believe me and that’s totally fine. So believe it or not makes no difference to me.  I know there are many, like me, who have a closer relationship with some crew than the average passenger and can discreetly confirm this for themselves. 

This is from the Princess website (go to onboard FAQs regarding Crew Appreciation -click on the link “to learn more see our Crew Appreciation and Service Charge Policy). I don’t recall exactly when this verbiage changed but it made me wonder if the crew who served me were actually getting anything “extra”. This wording allows Princess to collect the auto grats and use it to pay salaries.  

 

The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses,

 

 

But is it your understanding that the crew still gets to keep tips over and above the standard service charge? That’s all I really concern myself with. I trust that the crew believes their standard compensation to be fair, regardless of whether it comes from me or Princess; otherwise, they wouldn’t spend months away from their homes and families to work on ships. But I recently found out that crew mentions on the post cruise surveys submitted more than three days after the cruise ends are basically disregarded. I’m not sure I can withstand finding out that any extra tips we distribute don’t benefit the crew members they’re intended for too. 

[BlerkOne]

8 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

The crew at princess are on a fixed salary. They do not get any extra money from auto gratuities each month. I had suspected this for quite sometime. I have had enough crew members confirm this that I am now certain of it.  Crew do not volunteer this information and they are not supposed to discuss their compensation. 

 

I don’t expect anyone here to believe me and that’s totally fine. So believe it or not makes no difference to me.  I know there are many, like me, who have a closer relationship with some crew than the average passenger and can discreetly confirm this for themselves. 

This is from the Princess website (go to onboard FAQs regarding Crew Appreciation -click on the link “to learn more see our Crew Appreciation and Service Charge Policy). I don’t recall exactly when this verbiage changed but it made me wonder if the crew who served me were actually getting anything “extra”. This wording allows Princess to collect the auto grats and use it to pay salaries.  

 

The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses,

 

 

Throughout the year could be monthly. or even weekly. AFAIK, Princess is by far the most transparent, though.

 

There are no facts to indicate Princess pays salaries from auto grats.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

There are no facts to indicate Princess pays salaries from auto grats.

I would assume that overhead (of which employee salaries are a part) gets paid from the aggregation of all revenue sources, (or which auto gratuities are a part.)  Now that gratuities are baked into the packages in a way that cannot be retracted, and given the popularity of the packages, the revenue stream from auto gratuities is much easier to predict and account for, and there is no reason why that source of revenue would not be included within the aggregate of all revenue from which overhead is paid. 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

5 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

I’m not shocked by this and it alone will not make me stop cruising.  Look anywhere on land and you will find a hike in prices, at least here in the US.  
Why would we think that the crew’s compensation should be anything different?  
My guess is that Princess will make an announcement for a raise in price on the the crew appreciation, gratuities, tips, whatever you’d like to call them, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I also believe the price of the packages will be raised by the New Year.  
 

You are making the mistake there by linking the CA paid by the passenger and the wages paid to the crew. I am not convinced that the two are actually linked. Neither am I convinced that an increase in CA will result in any increase in crew wages.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

I would assume that overhead (of which employee salaries are a part) gets paid from the aggregation of all revenue sources, (or which auto gratuities are a part.)  Now that gratuities are baked into the packages in a way that cannot be retracted, and given the popularity of the packages, the revenue stream from auto gratuities is much easier to predict and account for, and there is no reason why that source of revenue would not be included within the aggregate of all revenue from which overhead is paid. 

Other than GAAP and a few other reasons requiring proper accounting of financial matters. If Princess were to use the funds to pay salaries then Princess would be required to declare the gratuities as income to Princess which they are not. In addition, you should assume that the gratuities are kept in a separate account from general revenue. Princess isn't a Mom and Pop business where anything goes.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Snaxmuppet said:

You are making the mistake there by linking the CA paid by the passenger and the wages paid to the crew. I am not convinced that the two are actually linked. Neither am I convinced that an increase in CA will result in any increase in crew wages.

Gratuities are not wages but are part of total compensation.

 

Princess is transparent with their policy, which is more than I can say for any other cruise line.

https://www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/

 

 

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

you should assume that the gratuities are kept in a separate account from general revenue

I do not have to assume that, now that they are built into the packages, are non-negotiable, and the money is not handed over to the employees who earned the money for services rendered.  Princess is not a Mon and Pop operation that can take in money called a "gratuity" and then not turn it over to the employees, and instead keep it in a separate account that gets treated as something other than income.  

[Outerdog]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Princess is transparent with their policy, which is more than I can say for any other cruise line.

https://www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/

 

That is a public-facing policy as the Crew Appreciation and Service Charges apply to the passenger. It is not a compensation policy, employment contract, or anything similar.

 

What it does say is that the revenues collected from these charges are pooled across the fleet and use for compensation and bonuses.  In other words, the charges are revenues just like any other fare revenue and are used to fulfill employment contracts, the contents of which are not known to most passengers. 

 

Whether they are paid a la carte or as part of a package, they are just cash as far as Princess is concerned. There is nothing special about those dollars compared to anything else.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Outerdog

[BlerkOne]

44 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

 

That is a public-facing policy as the Crew Appreciation and Service Charges apply to the passenger. It is not a compensation policy, employment contract, or anything similar.

 

What it does say is that the revenues collected from these charges are pooled across the fleet and use for compensation and bonuses.  In other words, the charges are revenues just like any other fare revenue and are used to fulfill employment contracts, the contents of which are not known to most passengers. 

 

Whether they are paid a la carte or as part of a package, they are just cash as far as Princess is concerned. There is nothing special about those dollars compared to anything else.

 It is published statement by a publicly trade corporation. They are absolutely not treated the same as other sources. Two examples- if a cruise is cancelled or someone cancels a cruise the appropriate funds have to be refunded from the appropriate buckets. If someone upgrades from one package to another, the difference still has to be properly accounted for.

 

The employees will be paid their salary whether or not a cruise occurs. Monies such as cruise deposits, crew appreciation, etc are liabilities until the cruise occurs.

 

The actual dollars can all be in the same account but not the same accounting entry.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 11/1/2023 at 10:34 AM, PescadoAmarillo said:

But is it your understanding that the crew still gets to keep tips over and above the standard service charge?

Hi @PescadoAmarillo. Yes crew will be happy to confirm that cash tips are for them to keep, both officers and non officer members will answer this openly. This is something that changed as soon as the company restarted in July 2021.  However, when asking about the compensation and the crew appreciation fee, discussing this is definitely discouraged.  I know you and DH will easily be able to discretely confirm this to your satisfaction as you are well known to many crew. I’m still sad you weren’t able to join us on that 34 day Sapphire sailing leaving soon!  

Edited November 4, 2023 by HaveDogWillTravel

[jwattle]

On 11/1/2023 at 1:15 PM, Cruise Junky said:

They deserve to be paid a living wage by their employer, not me.  The whole US based tipping culture is out of control.  

 

On 11/1/2023 at 2:15 PM, Cruise Junky said:

I disagree. I think they know a certain percentage of cruisers remove all tips. The people that leave them on are picking up their share.  And this is exactly American tipping culture. Pay them the minimum and make it up with tips.  That’s not English, Canadian, Australian or any other culture.  

It's all well and good to call it a US tipping culture, but we've been in Australia for two days now (LOVING it!! <3) and at EVERY restaurant and the cabs, our credit card receipts have a line for gratuity, bar none, full stop.

[PrincessLuver]

So gladI had popcorn leftover from the "What Should I Wear" thread.....chomp...chomp....chomp!

[CruizinSusan70]

On 11/1/2023 at 8:28 AM, kywildcatfanone said:

From what I have read online, it hasn't impacted package buyers to any real degree on Celebrity, so give it a little time, and I suspect it's coming to Carnival's brands.  

We're not loyal to any specific cruise line, but this change on Celebrity combined with the increase in price between their classic and premium drinks packages and the fact that both occupants of the cabin must now purchase the upgrade if only one wished to in the past has caused us to no longer book any future cruises on Celebrity.

If my DH wanted to upgrade in the past, it was 10 per day plus 20% grat or 12 per day.  The difference is now 20 plus 20% times 2 people or 48 per day.

If you don't have the premium package, you can't order any of the specialty drinks at Eden, the World Class Bar or the Martini Bar.

And of course the daily gratuity charge would also be added onto the bottom line cost.  This combination results in Celebrity no longer being a value purchase for us.

[SinbadThePorter]

3 hours ago, jwattle said:

 

It's all well and good to call it a US tipping culture, but we've been in Australia for two days now (LOVING it!! <3) and at EVERY restaurant and the cabs, our credit card receipts have a line for gratuity, bar none, full stop.

 

I can assure you that that line is there for American tourists. If you are willing to give away money, nobody will stop you.

[jwattle]

1 hour ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I can assure you that that line is there for American tourists. If you are willing to give away money, nobody will stop you.

My point was that other countries are getting into and/or accepting the tips,  as opposed to being offended by or turning their nose up at them, as some had previously implied. 

[c-boy]

2 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I can assure you that that line is there for American tourists. If you are willing to give away money, nobody will stop you.

Well, that's very accommodating of them.  They get 4 stars on yelp... or that too many ⭐'s ?

Edited November 5, 2023 by c-boy

[SinbadThePorter]

1 hour ago, jwattle said:

My point was that other countries are getting into and/or accepting the tips,  as opposed to being offended by or turning their nose up at them, as some had previously implied. 

 

Do you mean that US tipping culture is infecting other countries, who have completely different employment conditions? I'd agree. Very few people will turn down free money, especially if it is offered over and over again.

[2022cruisey]

6 hours ago, jwattle said:

 

It's all well and good to call it a US tipping culture, but we've been in Australia for two days now (LOVING it!! <3) and at EVERY restaurant and the cabs, our credit card receipts have a line for gratuity, bar none, full stop.

That is because the credit card software is ubiquitous, not that you are expected to tip.  When this software was introduced many people were very annoyed in Australia.  Now we just ignore it.

[jwattle]

12 minutes ago, 2022cruisey said:

That is because the credit card software is ubiquitous, not that you are expected to tip.  When this software was introduced many people were very annoyed in Australia.  Now we just ignore it.

Thank you! I appreciate the heads up because I hate looking like a dumb tourist 🙂

 

 

[cruzsnooze]

On 10/31/2023 at 3:56 PM, phabric said:

Effective Nov 1, tips are increasing on RCL -

- junior suites and below -from $16 to $18

- suites - from $18 to $20.50

They have until Nov 11 to prepay or once onboard will have to pay new rate.

 

Will Princess increase their rates?

Is it mandatory or can it be adjusted at guest services. 

[memoak]

29 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

Is it mandatory or can it be adjusted at guest services. 

I don’t know why anyone would assume that Princess would follow Royal on tips when Royal did not follow Princess on sit down pizza restaurant prices

[CruizinSusan70]

10 hours ago, memoak said:

I don’t know why anyone would assume that Princess would follow Royal on tips when Royal did not follow Princess on sit down pizza restaurant prices

Royal doesn't have any sit down pizza restaurants.  Sorrento's is garbage pizza to go.

[BamaVol]

On 11/1/2023 at 7:21 PM, BlerkOne said:

 It is published statement by a publicly trade corporation. They are absolutely not treated the same as other sources. Two examples- if a cruise is cancelled or someone cancels a cruise the appropriate funds have to be refunded from the appropriate buckets. If someone upgrades from one package to another, the difference still has to be properly accounted for.

 

The employees will be paid their salary whether or not a cruise occurs. Monies such as cruise deposits, crew appreciation, etc are liabilities until the cruise occurs.

 

The actual dollars can all be in the same account but not the same accounting entry.

What portion of a Plus package is CA?  
 

 

[PescadoAmarillo]

On 11/4/2023 at 9:03 AM, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Hi @PescadoAmarillo. Yes crew will be happy to confirm that cash tips are for them to keep, both officers and non officer members will answer this openly. This is something that changed as soon as the company restarted in July 2021.  However, when asking about the compensation and the crew appreciation fee, discussing this is definitely discouraged.  I know you and DH will easily be able to discretely confirm this to your satisfaction as you are well known to many crew. I’m still sad you weren’t able to join us on that 34 day Sapphire sailing leaving soon!  

Thank you for this information, and also your info on the other current tipping thread. Since we’ve been booking Plus packages for shorter cruises, it really doesn’t affect us at the present time, but it’s good to know for the future (and to have what you were told backed up by others). I won’t ask or confirm, but appreciate when others who do share the info here.
 

My heart will be with you on the Sapphire, but I’ll feel confident for the rest of my life that cancelling was the right choice. Family definitely comes first. I hope you have a wonderful time!