Diamond Princess. Gratuities included or not?

[Opua Kiwi]

Yes, no change.

Still AUD ships when based in Aus for the season, so no daily auto gratuities.

 

PLUS: there is now a change for those ships which reposition out of Aus at the end of the season.

 

On the repositioning trip leaving Aus they are currently a USD ship.

From 2018 they operate that trip still as a AUD ship.

[GUT2407]

The last post in this thread is dated May 2015. Anyone know if the same gratuity issue for sailings in and out of Australian ports is still in place for 2016/2017 cruising season.

 

Just booked South Pacific cruise for April 2017, Golden Princess in and out of Melbourne. I've searched everywhere and can't find an answer.

 

FYI we did Melbourne to Auckland cruise on the Golden in Jan 2016. Because it started in Melbourne and was returning to Melbourne we weren't charged automatic gratuities, even though we departed the ship in Aucland.

 

What Opua Kiwi said. Save I thought the change for repositioning cruises kicked in in September.

Edited April 26, 2016 by GUT2407

[mrs and mrs]

So we are on the golden from china back to Sydney.

All Inclusive Beveridge Package=au $61.99 per/day

Coffee Card=au $39.22

Soda and More=au $8.86 per/day

Is this a repositioning cruise back to AU.

Are gratuities included in the AIBP I cant seem to get an answer from princess,some say they are included some say they are not.

Bit of a bind for us,the early part of the cruise is quite port intensive,so that means to us very little drinking,but the second half has lots of sea days,which obviously to us means more drinking.Its the gratuities,on drinks we don't understand,18% .iIwould like to know,if you have the aibp,are the grats included,if so this means,it could be valuable to us.There also is a daily grats,which totals $712.12 for the cruise.(have no-prob with this,its just the aibp we cant grasp.

[NSWP]

No additional auto tips, wife and grand daughter were on Diamond, Syd-NZ-Syd in January.

[Opua Kiwi]

Are gratuities included in the AIBP I cant seem to get an answer from princess,some say they are included some say they are not.

When you select the beverage package on your cruise personaliser, it should / may say on the top line, "gratuities are included in the price"

 

That is my understanding, but not 100% sure.

 

PS: It would be 15% not 18% on Princess USD ships.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Opua Kiwi

[Aus Traveller]

So we are on the golden from china back to Sydney.

All Inclusive Beveridge Package=au $61.99 per/day

Coffee Card=au $39.22

Soda and More=au $8.86 per/day

Is this a repositioning cruise back to AU.

Are gratuities included in the AIBP I cant seem to get an answer from princess,some say they are included some say they are not.

Bit of a bind for us,the early part of the cruise is quite port intensive,so that means to us very little drinking,but the second half has lots of sea days,which obviously to us means more drinking.Its the gratuities,on drinks we don't understand,18% .iIwould like to know,if you have the aibp,are the grats included,if so this means,it could be valuable to us.There also is a daily grats,which totals $712.12 for the cruise.(have no-prob with this,its just the aibp we cant grasp.

You indicate that the currency that the ship is operating on for your cruise is AUD. Therefore I am pretty sure that there will be no additional automatic gratuities and certainly no gratuity on drinks. :)

[mrs and mrs]

Thanks opua and aus trav.

Ok heres the latest gig from princess.

Currency on board is usd,

No grats on drinks the price is the price,

No extra grats on aibp,

The grats on any drinks are covered by the all-over gratuity charge of $14.00 a day each person.

Could this be the first ever usd currancy cruise that dosent have grats on drinks.:confused::)The aibp covers drinks to $14.00.

Edited April 28, 2016 by mrs and mrs

[Opua Kiwi]

No extra grats on aibp,

The grats on any drinks are covered by the all-over gratuity charge of $14.00 a day each person.

Could this be the first ever usd currancy cruise that dosent have grats on drinks.:confused::)The aibp covers drinks to $14.00.

No extra grats on the AIBP sounds correct.

BUT...the rest is strange.

 

Are you in an inside, O/V, balcony ?

If so, the daily grats should be US 12.95.

 

US 12.95 x 25 days x 2 people is US 647.50.

IF Princess is still using their USD / AUD exchange of 1.10 , that US 647.50 would equate to AUD 712.25.

This is within 13 cents of the daily grats figure you quoted in post #28.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Opua Kiwi

[mrs and mrs]

No extra grats on the AIBP sounds correct.

BUT...the rest is strange.

 

Are you in an inside, O/V, balcony ?

If so, the daily grats should be US 12.95.

 

US 12.95 x 25 days x 2 people is US 647.50.

IF Princess is still using their USD / AUD exchange of 1.10 , that US 647.50 would equate to AUD 712.25.

This is within 13 cents of the daily grats figure you quoted in post #28.

 

Ok Inside,Daily Grats=AUD $712.25,that is correct.

No extra grats on AIBP,correct.

No Grats on drinks,correct.

But onboard currancy is USD,this is what is was told.Seems strange,yes.

Will ring again later in day.

Confidant in what i was told,no im not confidant that the info is correct,that i was given.Especially about no grats on drinks

[OzKiwiJJ]

I disembarked from Golden in Hong Kong yesterday.

 

I paid AU $61.99 per day for the AIBP and it covered drinks up to US $10 which is the gratuity inclusive maximum price on USD cruises. We thought it was good value at that AUD price - the AIBP is US $56.35 grats inclusive if you buy it onboard. Even on port days we broke even with a cocktail before dinner, wine during dinner, and a post-dinner liqueur.

 

Check the exchange rate re prepaying the grats. It usually works out cheaper to pay it in advance in AUD but I haven't seen what the exchange rate is doing over the last three weeks - too busy relaxing!:D

 

We had a wonderful cruise. Golden is great, except for the ridiculously small showers in most cabins.

 

If you have any more questions I'll be happy to answer them next week, once I get home to my laptop. ;)

[mrs and mrs]

I disembarked from Golden in Hong Kong yesterday.

 

I paid AU $61.99 per day for the AIBP and it covered drinks up to US $10 which is the gratuity inclusive maximum price on USD cruises. We thought it was good value at that AUD price - the AIBP is US $56.35 grats inclusive if you buy it onboard. Even on port days we broke even with a cocktail before dinner, wine during dinner, and a post-dinner liqueur.

 

Check the exchange rate re prepaying the grats. It usually works out cheaper to pay it in advance in AUD but I haven't seen what the exchange rate is doing over the last three weeks - too busy relaxing!:D

 

We had a wonderful cruise. Golden is great, except for the ridiculously small showers in most cabins.

 

:

 

If you have any more questions I'll be happy to answer them next week, once I get home to my laptop. ;)

 

will do,and will do a bit more investigating,i suppose if i ask them 20 times i might get the right answer.Everything pre-cruise is in AU,yet the onboard currancy is USD,i think we are getting a great deal or so it seems.The one thatr really confused me was no grats on buying individual drinks,now that applies to aus to aus cruises,this is china to aus.:)

[mrs and mrs]

E-mail from Princess this morning,onboard currency now changed from USD to AUD,:confused:

[Aus Traveller]

E-mail from Princess this morning,onboard currency now changed from USD to AUD,:confused:

That's great. :) So there should be no automatic gratuities and definitely no 15% gratuity on drinks.

[Opua Kiwi]

Indeed, that is good news.

 

There was just so much confusion in this part of the world with the changeover between USD / AUD in regards their repositioning trips.

[mrs and mrs]

That's great. :) So there should be no automatic gratuities and definitely no 15% gratuity on drinks.

 

Seems so but im still presuming we are still paying daily gratuity schedule of $14 per/day,will check.But then again you should be right no auto grats,as they now are seeming to be classing this as an aus cruise.Lots of confusion on the roll call for people who have paid for pre-obc,it appears they will now lose out,after having getting $1aud to .90 usd,not sure about this one though.Seems the cruise is exciting enough already 5 1/2 mnths out.:)

Edited April 29, 2016 by mrs and mrs

[mrs and mrs]

Have checked and can not find the approx$14 a day grat charge each,will confirm via phone though.So if not we are $712 better off.Now will wait for the aibp to reduce from $61.99 to $53.00.My opinion is that this cruise is being treated as a re positioning cruise back to aus for the golden.Havent a clue if im right,but we are taking the money and a running.

[Womble99]

Lots of confusion on the roll call for people who have paid for pre-obc,it appears they will now lose out,after having getting $1aud to .90 usd,not sure about this one though.Seems the cruise is exciting enough already 5 1/2 mnths out.:)

 

They shouldn't lose out as they would have the option of cancelling their prepaid obc and getting their money back at the rate they paid. Guess it would come down to personal choice to keep it as obc or ask for a refund and repurchase in AUD prior to the cruise ;)

[mum and son]

So, I'm cruising B2B on the Emerald Princess to/from Sydney in January and when I go to purchase the beverage package in the cruise personaliser it says that the beverage package is $73.75pp/pd for drinks up to $14 each... but the Princess Aus website says the beverage package is $59AUD pp/pd for drinks up to $10 each. Haha... and the booking summary page in the personaliser has an advert for prebooking your beverage package including drinks up to $10 each and when I click on the link it takes me to the aforementioned purchase page stating it's for drinks up to $14 each. This is ridiculous.

 

Huh :confused::confused::confused:

 

Can anyone shed some light on this little discrepancy? My Oz online agent also quoted me $59pp/pd AUD as they looked up the website as well...

Edited May 10, 2016 by mum and son

[cheznandy]

So, I'm cruising B2B on the Emerald Princess to/from Sydney in January and when I go to purchase the beverage package in the cruise personaliser it says that the beverage package is $73.75pp/pd for drinks up to $14 each... but the Princess Aus website says the beverage package is $59AUD pp/pd for drinks up to $10 each. Haha... and the booking summary page in the personaliser has an advert for prebooking your beverage package including drinks up to $10 each and when I click on the link it takes me to the aforementioned purchase page stating it's for drinks up to $14 each. This is ridiculous.

 

Huh :confused::confused::confused:

 

Can anyone shed some light on this little discrepancy? My Oz online agent also quoted me $59pp/pd AUD as they looked up the website as well...

 

Libby,

 

Drink packages onboard are $59AUD while the ships are cruising in Australia.

There is a glitch on the Princess site that converts the price (must be from USD) my contact at Princess confirmed this.

Onboard Princess recently passengers that bought online for the $73 were being reimbursed. No advantage to buying online before boarding if charged in AUD and AUD is being used onboard. Plenty of places to buy when you board, staff will be very happy to sell you one!

[mum and son]

The Princess website only makes reference to the following:

 

"All prices onboard Sun Princess®, Dawn Princess® and Sea Princess® cruises departing from and returning to Australia are in Australian Dollars. Prices onboard all other Princess Cruises’® departures are in US Dollars."

 

So this has now changed? I'm on the Emerald Princess from Sydney to Sydney. I've got 23 family members booked in 8 different cabins for this cruise so it will mean a huge chunk if gratuities are already included or not...

Edited May 10, 2016 by mum and son

[mum and son]

Libby,

 

Drink packages onboard are $59AUD while the ships are cruising in Australia.

There is a glitch on the Princess site that converts the price (must be from USD) my contact at Princess confirmed this.

Onboard Princess recently passengers that bought online for the $73 were being reimbursed. No advantage to buying online before boarding if charged in AUD and AUD is being used onboard. Plenty of places to buy when you board, staff will be very happy to sell you one!

 

Thanks so much for that information. It had me worried. Regardless, I had printed the webpage where I saw the $59 and was prepared to take up the fight onboard if I had to :D.

[icat2000]

The Princess website only makes reference to the following:

 

"All prices onboard Sun Princess®, Dawn Princess® and Sea Princess® cruises departing from and returning to Australia are in Australian Dollars. Prices onboard all other Princess Cruises’® departures are in US Dollars."

 

So this has now changed? I'm on the Emerald Princess from Sydney to Sydney. I've got 23 family members booked in 8 different cabins for this cruise so it will mean a huge chunk if gratuities are already included or not... and the drinks packages are over $70 pp/pd!!

 

Your cruise has grats included. That information is old. Emerald and Golden Princess are all in Australian dollars starting and ending in Australian ports.

[mum and son]

Your cruise has grats included. That information is old. Emerald and Golden Princess are all in Australian dollars starting and ending in Australian ports.

 

Best news I've heard all day Sarah! It saves our group about $3500 for the cruise. Wahoooooo...

[cheznandy]

Libby if you go to your cruise personaliser on the Princess site it will tell you that the folio charges are in AUD, just to put your mind at ease.

 

As Sarah said, Golden and Emerald are AUD.

 

You will be popular with your family!!

[mum and son]

And to top it off, tonight the Aussie princess site is quoting cruise prices in US dollars! I think I could build a better website.

 

Mind you, it is much better than the P&O site... at least I can locate the cruise I'm looking for on princess :eek:.