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Prepaying gratuities


sammybonny
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I am considering prepaying our gratuities for our upcoming cruise on Royal Princess in 3 weeks as the exchange rate will make it a bit cheaper.

Although I have no plans to do so (unless the service is particularly bad) is it still possible to amend or remove the tips when onboard?

 

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Had you looked into purchasing on board credit instead? I’ve read of others doing this. This would then be used to pay gratuity on board

 

 

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Sounds like a better option I hadn't thought of that.

 

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You can purchase as much OBC as you wish...and then apply it to whatever expenses you charge while on board. That way, if you want to adjust the gratuities, you retain that option. You can also purchase in advance and use it to purchase excursions in advance as prices often increase on board!

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Sigh... I always hate to see threads where people even vaguely consider removing the gratuities. The only time I have ever been angry on a Princess cruise was when I saw people lining up to remove the gratuities. I figure if you can afford to cruise you can afford not to remove part of someones salary.

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Sigh... I always hate to see threads where people even vaguely consider removing the gratuities. The only time I have ever been angry on a Princess cruise was when I saw people lining up to remove the gratuities. I figure if you can afford to cruise you can afford not to remove part of someones salary.

Agree with you! If the service is really bad, which happened to us twice with the room steward, we just do not tip extra at the end of the cruise.

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Sigh... I always hate to see threads where people even vaguely consider removing the gratuities. The only time I have ever been angry on a Princess cruise was when I saw people lining up to remove the gratuities. I figure if you can afford to cruise you can afford not to remove part of someones salary.

Since 2003, we have never removed the automatic gratuities. We've always considered the automatic gratuities a "starting point". If the service is really bad, (which we've never had any bad service on NCL, RCL or Celebrity), that is the "ending point", that's all they get. But if the service is really great which most of the time, it is, that "starting point" is enhanced by our tip envelopes presented at the end of our cruise.

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FYI - if anyone thinks that removing gratuities will reduce the amount of pay going to their room stewart or server it does not. The gratuities go into a big pot and are later divided to the crew based on a Princess formula.

 

The best thing to do is to give a bad review or complain at the desk.

 

I once overheard a passenger telling another passenger how to remove their gratuities and that they always remove theirs. They said if the crew doesn’t like it then they should find another job. I also noticed how badly he was treating the staff in the IC.

 

I have never had a crew member treat us where I would have even thought to remove a gratuity. In fact, I have always tipped extra to the MDR Staff & Room Stewart and sometimes to a crew member who gives extra special service.

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The only time I have ever been angry on a Princess cruise was when I saw people lining up to remove the gratuities. I figure if you can afford to cruise you can afford not to remove part of someones salary.

Why should you be angry with what anyone else does? I always decrease the gratuity to a reasonable amount so go ahead and waste your energy being angry. It's a personal decision that doesn't effect you. FYI your gratuity doesn't even reach crew, they get what they get from Princess on a predetermined amount so what one does with adding or removing grats doesn't effect crew.

Princess can put all the money they collected from partial and unused coffee cards into the tip pool !!!

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Just out of curiosity, how do you know that a steward expects extra?

 

Tom

You're joking of course.

But if not, they all do since it's become part of what most people are doing lately.

 

FYI - if anyone thinks that removing gratuities will reduce the amount of pay going to their room stewart or server it does not. The gratuities go into a big pot and are later divided to the crew based on a Princess formula.

That's true except we usually give them something extra that can't be turned in.

If it's cash we always do it where they can't be seen so then it's up to them to decide for themselves what's proper.

 

The best thing to do is to give a bad review or complain at the desk.

 

I once overheard a passenger telling another passenger how to remove their gratuities and that they always remove theirs. They said if the crew doesn’t like it then they should find another job. I also noticed how badly he was treating the staff in the IC.

 

I have never had a crew member treat us where I would have even thought to remove a gratuity. In fact, I have always tipped extra to the MDR Staff & Room Stewart and sometimes to a crew member who gives extra special service.

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Why should you be angry with what anyone else does? I always decrease the gratuity to a reasonable amount so go ahead and waste your energy being angry. It's a personal decision that doesn't effect you. FYI your gratuity doesn't even reach crew, they get what they get from Princess on a predetermined amount so what one does with adding or removing grats doesn't effect crew.

Princess can put all the money they collected from partial and unused coffee cards into the tip pool !!!

 

No, you are incorrect. It does affect (not effect) the crew, at least the portion of the crew that receive their pro-rata share of the "tip pool."

 

 

Tom

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We're on a B2B in Alaska this summer and have prepaid our gratuities. We never reduce the amount but will complain to the proper level of management if we receive poor service which on Princess has never happened.

 

We always give an additional amount to the room staff, and dining room staff (if we end up sitting at the same table most nights even with anytime dining).

 

Since I doubt if our dollar is going to get any better in the next 45 days, I think I'll buy at least half of the USD cash I need now and hope for the best later. We did buy some OBC as the exchange was favorable and will cover most of our on board expenses.

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No, you are incorrect. It does affect (not effect) the crew, at least the portion of the crew that receive their pro-rata share of the "tip pool."

 

 

Tom

Please show me the policy to prove your point. Where is the info of such a pro-rata pool? There is none and the crew get paid a certain amount per person per day. The crew loves their salary because they stay for years and manage to support their extended families and live better off then working in their home countries. They prey on sympathetic Americans to over pay with extra cash. No where is tipping so obnoxious as in the USA.

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I am considering prepaying our gratuities for our upcoming cruise on Royal Princess in 3 weeks as the exchange rate will make it a bit cheaper.

Although I have no plans to do so (unless the service is particularly bad) is it still possible to amend or remove the tips when onboard?

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Forums mobile app

Just to add we have always paid the full amount of gratuities and have never needed to reduce or have them removed from our account on the many cruises we have done. There may be a first time and I would like the option to be able to do so if our complaints were substantial and were not rectified, however this would not be done lightly.

 

We have always received good service on all the cruiselines we have sailed with and the crew we have seen work very hard for the low wages they earn and deserve their tips.[emoji3]

 

 

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I've never understood the point of tipping someone over and above the daily gratuities. Aren't they required to report all tips and turn them in to the tip pool?

 

My understanding is that they report them but are only required to turn them in to the tip pool if you removed your recommended gratuities. When you do tip extra they ask for your name and room number to make sure you did not remove the normal gratuities.

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Please show me the policy to prove your point. Where is the info of such a pro-rata pool? There is none and the crew get paid a certain amount per person per day. The crew loves their salary because they stay for years and manage to support their extended families and live better off then working in their home countries. They prey on sympathetic Americans to over pay with extra cash. No where is tipping so obnoxious as in the USA.

 

I also was skeptical until I talked once with the Matradee in one of the dining rooms. He also said that the tip pool is by class of ships. Comment cards have much to do with their portion of the tip pool as does seniority.

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Please show me the policy to prove your point. Where is the info of such a pro-rata pool? There is none and the crew get paid a certain amount per person per day. The crew loves their salary because they stay for years and manage to support their extended families and live better off then working in their home countries. They prey on sympathetic Americans to over pay with extra cash. No where is tipping so obnoxious as in the USA.

 

 

Princess Hotel Charge (Auto-Tip) – Standard Policies

 

Official Princess standard guidelines as follows for ships other than those based in australia, however individual ship’s pursers have latitude to modify the process as appropriate for their ships.

 

1> The auto-tip added to your bill is pooled among dining servers and housekeeping and their support staff. If you remove the hotel charge any cash tips are put into the pool up to the pool amount. If you retain the hotel charge, the individual receives the additional amount. It is that individuals decision to ‘tip-out’ any support staff from the overage.

1a (added 4/25/14) – It has been reported that Princess now pools the hotel charge across ship classes in an effort to make things a little more consistent for crew members. A point system is in place that determines how gratuities are divided (the exact nature of the point system is not available). The individuals involved in the pool have not changed.

 

2> The 15% bar charge added to bills are pooled among the bar and bar support staff. I have not confirmed if this is across all bars or specific to venue. Cash tips given directly to a server or bartender are retained by that individual. Tip outs are at the discretion of the individual, tho most servers will feed a little back to the bartender, and the bartender often tips out to the support staff. It’s also not unheard of for bar staff to tip out a particularly productive server, hence the sometimes hard sell.

 

3> Casino tips are pooled among all dealers and cashiers (not sure if even split) and MUST be deposited in tip boxes by the dealer/host. Drink tips in the casino follow the rules above.

 

4> Servers in specialty restaurants receive a portion of the service charge (pooled). They would not tell me what this amount is. Additional tips may be kept or pooled depending on the policy at that particular venue and ship. There does not appear to be a corporate guideline for this.

 

5> Tips given to other activity/support staff (passenger services, kids programs, etc) are generally pooled by department but there is no set policy.

 

Again, I must stress these are Princess guidelines as confirmed by corporate, however specifics may vary from cruise to cruise based on ship operations policies. If you have questions on your cruise, the purser may be the best resource to ask.

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