Automatic Gratuities

[Teacher_91]

I've done a search but didn't find what I was looking for....

Can someone tell me the amount per day per person that Princess adds in to your 'end of cruise' bill? I understand that this amount is just a 'guide line' and I'm able to add more (or subtract) to the amount as desired.

Also, I read somewhere that it is possible to 'pre-pay' the gratuities. How does that work? I'm the kind of traveler that likes to have as MANY things paid for in advance as possible!

Thanks & TGIF! :D

[paul929207]

Princess charges $12.00 per person per day for passengers in suites (mini and full), and $11.50 for all other passengers.

 

To pre-pay gratuities or anything else on your onboard account, just call Princess at 800-PRINCESS

[Woobstr112G]

I've done a search but didn't find what I was looking for....

 

Can someone tell me the amount per day per person that Princess adds in to your 'end of cruise' bill? I understand that this amount is just a 'guide line' and I'm able to add more (or subtract) to the amount as desired.

 

Also, I read somewhere that it is possible to 'pre-pay' the gratuities. How does that work? I'm the kind of traveler that likes to have as MANY things paid for in advance as possible!

 

Thanks & TGIF! :D

 

As Paul said, call customer service to pre pay your gratuties. Here is the link for the order #. It's the second one down on the page.....:):):)

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/onboard_credit/Index.jsp

 

Bob

[Kmkub]

Yikes - when did it go up again?

 

I've been keeping an expense spreadsheet for months. When I started, the per person/per day amount was $10.50 for a mini, then it went up to $11 a few weeks ago. Now it's $12?

 

I wonder how much more it will be by the time we sail! :rolleyes:

[paul929207]

Yikes - when did it go up again?

 

I've been keeping an expense spreadsheet for months. When I started, the per person/per day amount was $10.50 for a mini, then it went up to $11 a few weeks ago. Now it's $12?

 

I wonder how much more it will be by the time we sail! :rolleyes:

It was $11 for a mini and a full suite for years. It had been $1050 for non-suite passengers. As I recall they announced the increase in the spring.

[bestmom1]

If you think that there is a change that you will "adjust", don't pre-pay. By adjust, I mean reduce. You might still be able to make a reduction, but it would be far more difficult. If you want to honor outstanding service, simply hand the person an envelope with cash and a nice note.

BTW if you feel so inclined, you should also make a comment to that effect in your end of cruise survey naming the staff member that provided the extra service. Those are the number one means of getting promotions for crew.

Liz

[enborgle]

Is there any way to pre-pay gratuities online or is the option only available by phone? Can I still call Princess to pre-pay if I used a travel agent to book, or does it need to go through them?

[paul929207]

I book thru a TA, but call Princess to order flowers. I would think they would also accept prepayment of tips at the 800 number

[Teacher_91]

If you think that there is a change that you will "adjust", don't pre-pay. By adjust, I mean reduce. You might still be able to make a reduction, but it would be far more difficult. If you want to honor outstanding service, simply hand the person an envelope with cash and a nice note.

BTW if you feel so inclined, you should also make a comment to that effect in your end of cruise survey naming the staff member that provided the extra service. Those are the number one means of getting promotions for crew.

Liz

 

 

I can't imagine an occasion when I'd 'reduce' the standard tip, so I will 'cover' that amount and add accordingly! ;)

Thanks to everyone who replied! As always CC readers are quick to provide information. I LOVE this site! :)

[jeromep]

If you think that there is a change that you will "adjust", don't pre-pay. By adjust, I mean reduce. You might still be able to make a reduction, but it would be far more difficult. If you want to honor outstanding service, simply hand the person an envelope with cash and a nice note.

BTW if you feel so inclined, you should also make a comment to that effect in your end of cruise survey naming the staff member that provided the extra service. Those are the number one means of getting promotions for crew.

Liz

My memory is a little bit hazy, but the auto tip amounts went up some time in 2011, probaby in February or March; what I do recall is seeing the auto tip amount change on Princess's web site when I was poking around and using the Cruise Personalizer last year when I was setting up our last cruise.

 

We paid $12pp in our mini-suite and at the end of the cruise felt that it was a very appropriate amount considering that the auto-tip is shared amongst many service staff members, not just your cabin steward. We had some cash left over and left it in an envelope for our cabin steward at the end of the cruise. We wanted to leave more, but that was all that was left. The plus is that we were under the impression that if we left auto-tip in place, that at the end of the cruise if you paid your steward cash they kept it and didn't have to share with other departments. If I'm wrong I ask for correction.

 

We did take advantage of the "customer comment" cards that are available at passenger services to compliment a number of staffers who were helpful and really made an outstanding effort, our cabin steward was one of them.

 

As for prepaying your gratuities, I can see the logic in doing that if you are following a strict budget and don't wish to have those items on your onboard account bill at the end of the cruise, however looking at our last on-board bill, the auto-tip was one of the smallest charges we had on the bill, so it wasn't a big deal.

[carnivalcruise2006]

$11.50 per person in a regular room / we are in a balcony on the crown

[paul929207]

My memory is a little bit hazy, but the auto tip amounts went up some time in 2011, probaby in February or March; what I do recall is seeing the auto tip amount change on Princess's web site when I was poking around and using the Cruise Personalizer last year when I was setting up our last cruise.

 

We paid $12pp in our mini-suite and at the end of the cruise felt that it was a very appropriate amount considering that the auto-tip is shared amongst many service staff members, not just your cabin steward. We had some cash left over and left it in an envelope for our cabin steward at the end of the cruise. We wanted to leave more, but that was all that was left. The plus is that we were under the impression that if we left auto-tip in place, that at the end of the cruise if you paid your steward cash they kept it and didn't have to share with other departments. If I'm wrong I ask for correction.

 

We did take advantage of the "customer comment" cards that are available at passenger services to compliment a number of staffers who were helpful and really made an outstanding effort, our cabin steward was one of them.

 

As for prepaying your gratuities, I can see the logic in doing that if you are following a strict budget and don't wish to have those items on your onboard account bill at the end of the cruise, however looking at our last on-board bill, the auto-tip was one of the smallest charges we had on the bill, so it wasn't a big deal.

The change was announced early last year (2011). We were on the Ocean Princess for b2b in April and May and paid the old amount. It was either just before or during the cruise that I heard of the increase.

[caribill]

My memory is a little bit hazy, but the auto tip amounts went up some time in 2011, probaby in February or March.

 

It was in mid-May.

 

We were on a b2b and were charged the old rate on the first segment and the new rate on the second segment.

[Kmkub]

Thanks for the clarification. When I updated my spreadsheet, I'm willing to bet I went down 50 cents instead of up.

 

lol.... Oh well... what's $14 extra dollars at this point? :D

[shepp]

If you think that there is a change that you will "adjust", don't pre-pay. By adjust, I mean reduce. You might still be able to make a reduction, but it would be far more difficult. If you want to honor outstanding service, simply hand the person an envelope with cash and a nice note.

 

As has been explained at length in other threads, reducing your auto-tip ensures that the people you give cash won't get to keep all of it, and doing away with AT entirely means they won't be able to keep any of it.

[Teacher_91]

Thanks for the clarification. When I updated my spreadsheet, I'm willing to bet I went down 50 cents instead of up.

 

lol.... Oh well... what's $14 extra dollars at this point? :D

 

 

Ha-ha! Right you are! :)

[bestmom1]

As has been explained at length in other threads, reducing your auto-tip ensures that the people you give cash won't get to keep all of it, and doing away with AT entirely means they won't be able to keep any of it.

 

I see that I wasn't clear in my post. What I meant was if you left auto tip in place and then wanted to honor extra service, beyond the auto tip amount, give them cash, a thank you note and a survey comment.

 

Sorry for any confusion I caused.

Liz

[paul929207]

I see that I wasn't clear in my post. What I meant was if you left auto tip in place and then wanted to honor extra service, beyond the auto tip amount, give them cash, a thank you note and a survey comment.

 

Sorry for any confusion I caused.

Liz

Yes, if you leave the autotip in place and give extra cash, the person you give it to can keep it.

[vidasolymar]

Just a note of warning, we prepaid our gratuities on our B2B cruise in December and our accounting was a mess. When you prepay anything (I am like you and prefer to have everything prepaid and not have to worry) such as tips, internet, etc... it will show up in your folio as a credit, and they will still bill your account the $11.50/$12.00 pp per day. Plus even though we were in the same room my husband and I had separate accounts for some reason, so for example my husband's card had all the credit while mine did not. YOu have to ask them to separate or divide up the credits to both accounts. The first week of our cruise, our prepaid gratuity and prepaid internet credit never showed up and we did not even think to check for this until the end of 6 nights. They straightened it out without a problem, but still we had to wait in a long line and take the time out to do this. For the second week we added cash to our account (trying not to use the credit card) and after the mess the first week, the next day when no one was in line I had them quickly print out my folio and you guessed it...the cash we put on our account was not credited to our account. I was able to produce the receipt from the previous day and after much back and forth behind the doors, the person at the desk said "the computers have not yet caught up but the credit should be there soon". Well it did show up but took two days. Also any credit you have (prepaid gratuities or putting cash on your account) will show up as a (-) on your folio and all charges show up as (+), so it is a bit confusing until you figure this out. At any rate because of this confusion I really don't know if I would prepay or add cash to my account again on a future cruise. Also I would have them print you out a copy of your folio mid cruise so that you can check it over when you have a bit of time rather then waiting until the last night when you are busy packing and the lines are huge in case you need to deal with any wrong charges etc...

[Teacher_91]

Just a note of warning, we prepaid our gratuities on our B2B cruise in December and our accounting was a mess. When you prepay anything (I am like you and prefer to have everything prepaid and not have to worry) such as tips, internet, etc... it will show up in your folio as a credit, and they will still bill your account the $11.50/$12.00 pp per day. Plus even though we were in the same room my husband and I had separate accounts for some reason, so for example my husband's card had all the credit while mine did not. YOu have to ask them to separate or divide up the credits to both accounts. The first week of our cruise, our prepaid gratuity and prepaid internet credit never showed up and we did not even think to check for this until the end of 6 nights. They straightened it out without a problem, but still we had to wait in a long line and take the time out to do this. For the second week we added cash to our account (trying not to use the credit card) and after the mess the first week, the next day when no one was in line I had them quickly print out my folio and you guessed it...the cash we put on our account was not credited to our account. I was able to produce the receipt from the previous day and after much back and forth behind the doors, the person at the desk said "the computers have not yet caught up but the credit should be there soon". Well it did show up but took two days. Also any credit you have (prepaid gratuities or putting cash on your account) will show up as a (-) on your folio and all charges show up as (+), so it is a bit confusing until you figure this out. At any rate because of this confusion I really don't know if I would prepay or add cash to my account again on a future cruise. Also I would have them print you out a copy of your folio mid cruise so that you can check it over when you have a bit of time rather then waiting until the last night when you are busy packing and the lines are huge in case you need to deal with any wrong charges etc...

 

Thanks for the heads up. :) As it has already been pointed out, in the scheme of things, the actual tip amount will be fairly insignificant, so to avoid the issues you've encountered, I guess we'll just pay our tips at the end of the cruise. It really is all the same, (pay now or later), but for some reason I always pay for as much (airfare, show tickets, tours, hotels, etc.) before we leave home. Maybe to avoid actually seeing in 'black & white' how much we spend on our vacations! Somehow it just seems like I've spent less if I do it a little 'here' and a little 'there'. Plus I feel mighty 'thrifty'. :D

[Pam in CA]

Just a note of warning, we prepaid our gratuities on our B2B cruise in December and our accounting was a mess. When you prepay anything (I am like you and prefer to have everything prepaid and not have to worry) such as tips, internet, etc... it will show up in your folio as a credit, and they will still bill your account the $11.50/$12.00 pp per day. Plus even though we were in the same room my husband and I had separate accounts for some reason, so for example my husband's card had all the credit while mine did not.

That's what I would have expected. The Princess onboard account is a simple credit/debit system. Your TA should have advised you of this. Being Elite, I get unlimited laundry plus a healthy Internet credit. Those charges show up on my onboard account and are credited back to me so I wind up paying nothing. What's the difference as long as you're not eventually charged?

 

Early last year, Princess maintained separate accounts for each passenger whether they were married or not. I thought that had changed to combining them but I guess not. Again, your TA should have advised you.

[VOR]

Yes, if you leave the autotip in place and give extra cash, the person you give it to can keep it.

 

How exactly do they know who gave someone a cash tip?

[Loonbeam]

Assuming Princess standard policy is being enforced, all tips must be reported to the purser. Failure to do so can result in termination of contract.

 

More practically, crew live in VERY close quarters for extended periods and many of them are paid out of the shared pool. So if someone is suddenly flush with cash, they WILL notice at some point and not be happy about it.

 

Finally, I would like to assume that most of the staff are more rule abiding than many of the cruisers...

 

How exactly do they know who gave someone a cash tip?

[Eagle Eye]

Other than convenience, what is the advantage to prepaying the tips as opposed to just letting them automatically hit the shipboard account every day?

 

Was prepaying tips something that past passengers asked for on the comment cards?

[OhioDogLover]

my thought is that if you are going to prepay the tips, why not just give yourself an onboard credit in whatever amount and not mark it for anything in particular. that would seem to accomplish both goals - the money is prepaid, and if for some reason you want to reduce the tips (it would have to be an exceptionally strange circumstance for us to do it) you can.

Personally, we like the auto tip system. No more of the envelope thing and if you want to tip more, just hand someone some cash.

Ohiodoglover