Princess gratuities

[Bizziecruzer]

Just received this via email.....

Important Update On Your Upcoming Voyage

Dear Our Valued Guests,

Effective immediately, our daily crew appreciation amounts have increased by $1 per person, per day. Please visit princess.com for detailed information about your specific cruise.

All of the Crew Appreciation and Service Charge payments made by all guests on all ships in our fleet are pooled, net of credit card transaction fees. The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses, to crew members 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.

Guests have complete discretion to adjust this crew appreciation while onboard; however, crew appreciation may only be adjusted prior to disembarking the ship and not refundable post cruise.

For Australian and New Zealand guests sailing on cruises departing from Australia or New Zealand where the onboard currency is AUD, a daily amount will no longer be added to your onboard account.

With gratitude,

Princess Cruises

[joejoe 59]

We have a 28 day cruise booked in 2026, so even a $1 increase a day has just added $560 to our cost's. 

It seems ridiculous to me to read it goes towards crew bonuses, yet we can adjust it if we wish. I doubt they go without their bonus.

Shore excursions have also gone up. A tour I looked at one day was $249 US next day $299 US.

Edited October 8 by joejoe 59

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, joejoe 59 said:

We have a 28 day cruise booked in 2026, so even a $1 increase a day has just added $560 to our cost's. 

It seems ridiculous to me to read it goes towards crew bonuses, yet we can adjust it if we wish. I doubt they go without their bonus.

Shore excursions have also gone up. A tour I looked at one day was $249 US next day $299 US.

Huh? How many people on your booking? $1 extra a day for two people on a 28 day cruise is only $56, not $560.

[joejoe 59]

44 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Huh? How many people on your booking? $1 extra a day for two people on a 28 day cruise is only $56, not $560.

Haha, let's blame the heat & paint fumes in our house from reno's for adding a 0.

[arxcards]

This was announced a few weeks back. I had the option of jumping-in and prepaying tips, but didn't see the point of paying so early. In the grand scheme of things, our $US62 extra is not a big deal for 31 days of cruising.

 

The tours do jump around. Yes, they have huge mark-ups, but the base pricing of them is set by the tour operator. If the operator puts their price up, so will Princess to keep their inflated margin.