UK cruises, new gratuities

[pablo222]

The doubled was a slight exaggeration, but our tips have gone up %60, so your new daily tip would be $20.72 a day.

 

I still don't understand this.

 

I thought princess asked for some amount -- like $12.95 / day.

 

And then, the $12.95/day was converted into whatever local

currency your cruised is priced in...

[antsp]

I still don't understand this.

 

I thought princess asked for some amount -- like $12.95 / day.

 

And then, the $12.95/day was converted into whatever local

currency your cruised is priced in...

 

OK, our last cruise it cost £6.70 a day, now it's £11.06, I apologise I said double, but do you see what I'm saying

[pablo222]

OK, our last cruise it cost £6.70 a day, now it's £11.06, I apologise I said double, but do you see what I'm saying

 

Is that due to both princess increasing the charge,

and a change in exchange rate?

[antsp]

Is that due to both princess increasing the charge,

and a change in exchange rate?

 

Yes, mainly the £ dropping from 1.60 to 1.23. It hurts but we will still pay, but you can understand why many won't.

[pablo222]

Yes, mainly the £ dropping from 1.60 to 1.23. It hurts but we will still pay, but you can understand why many won't.

 

Thank you for the explaination.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Its starting to get expensive, for our next 10 day cruise for the 3 of us it's over £300, that to me is getting out of hand. If Princess wants to keep attracting UK passengers they are going to have do something, for the first time in my cruising life I'm seriously considering reducing our tips.

 

So you think that tipping £10 a day per person is too much? If you were to holiday in the US, do you think you would pay less? Would you leave nothing for the waitperson? Nothing for the housekeeping staff? US rules on Princess. Cruise another line if you don't like the customery tips.

 

But you said you were going to stiff the help because £10 is too much to spend. So I guess that's your solution. Alternatively, if only 2 of you go, that's only £200 for the 10 days, so you could save £100 by leaving someone at the dock. ;)

[RDC1]

But they do in some markets. Like in Australia on some cruise lines. So why could they not do it everywhere?

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/articles.cfm?ID=1591

 

 

You pay for the cruise and I assume the price of the cruise has been adjusted accordingly to include the cost of the gratuities that would have accrued. Yes, this means there is no opt out of gratuities. And, there is nothing stopping you from tipping further to individual staff that have provided you exceptional service. Would be interesting to hear from staff working on these Australian based ships how they like this system of gratuity collection.

 

In some markets where CCL has specific corporate entities and where the ships fully sale in those markets and entities, they will do things differently in the case of Australia there are ships saling fully under the Princess australia corporate structure and as such they use Aud as base currency, they include things in their fares, that are broken out elsewhere, such as tips and they limit the sales of packages. Competing companies that do not have a corporate entity there would have more freedoms when it comes to local laws and requirements. PS the alcohol limitations comes from a death on board of a P&O ship and the resulting Australian government investigation and recommendations

 

In China they operate under a different structure and different fare rules there. Actually the ships are chartered there and all sales are through a Chinese company.

 

The reasons why they don't in general

 

1. Competition. They will not include tips in fare until their competition does.

2. Current contracts for a number of entities are paid based upon fare amounts, contracts would need to be rewritten.

3. Accounting and financial reporting. Since CCL is listed on the US stock exchange they must follow US financial reporting rules. Tips, where the passenger can remove or change the amount, and are fully distributed to employees are not considered as revenue on receipt nor as an expense when they are paid out. They are not in the books. While including them is tax neutral, it would result in a lowering of the net margin. A number tracked closely by analysts and impact stock price. If they make the change and their competition doesn't CCL's margin would look worse.

4. Tips are treated differently than salary when it comes to income taxes and retirement system payments in many countries that the crew comes from. Including it in salary would result in higher tax payments and retirement system payments by many members of the crew.

 

PS if all of the cruise companies were to get together and say lets change the system and include them, it would be considered to be collusion under US anti trust laws. So all a company can do is to try it and see if the other follow. I believe one of the CCL companies included port fees in the fare listed on their web site for a few months. No one else followed and the experiment ended.

Edited October 12, 2016 by RDC1

[GUT2407]

You could of course always contact Passenger Services and have your gratuity adjusted or ask to have it removed, but using the aftermath of the self-inflicted carnage that the Brexit vote is causing is a pretty poor excuse for not paying gratuities.

 

Living in the States, gratuities (aka tipping) are just a fact of life - doesn't help that here in So Cal the minimum wage won't buy you a shoe-box to live-in - but yes "When in Rome" etc... and Princess are a US company (figuratively speaking just up the road) even if there ships fly under a flag of convenience. Truthfully however, in the grand scheme of things, gratuities are a bit like adding the CDW to your rental car or the cost of travel insurance... the 15% surcharge on a drink is still cheaper than VAT.

 

Last Princess ship I sailed was registered in Bermuda I think, so not USA at all.

[GUT2407]

When I saw that the gratuities were going up for our upcoming cruise, I immediately prepaid. I guess that makes me a minor league cheapskate compared to those who remove or reduce theirs. :D

 

Didn't know these things had degrees, is that like " -a little pregnant"???

[GUT2407]

Just include gratuities in the price of the cruise. That solves all the problems!:rolleyes:

 

Works fine here in Aus but some say the whole world will implode if they do that.

[antsp]

So you think that tipping £10 a day per person is too much? If you were to holiday in the US, do you think you would pay less? Would you leave nothing for the waitperson? Nothing for the housekeeping staff? US rules on Princess. Cruise another line if you don't like the customery tips.

 

But you said you were going to stiff the help because £10 is too much to spend. So I guess that's your solution. Alternatively, if only 2 of you go, that's only £200 for the 10 days, so you could save £100 by leaving someone at the dock. ;)

 

Is $21 to much. How much is to much, what's the braking point.

[caribill]

I believe one of the CCL companies included port fees in the fare listed on their web site for a few months. No one else followed and the experiment ended.

 

That was Princess.

 

For a short while they advertised "the price you see is the price you pay" and this was well received by posters on Princess Cruise Critic threads.

[CCFC]

Port fees are included in the fare for UK cruisers, as its the law all the other cruise lines include it too.

Edited October 12, 2016 by CCFC

[Esprit]

.......

 

 

3. Accounting and financial reporting. Since CCL is listed on the US stock exchange they must follow US financial reporting rules. Tips, where the passenger can remove or change the amount, and are fully distributed to employees are not considered as revenue on receipt nor as an expense when they are paid out. They are not in the books. While including them is tax neutral, it would result in a lowering of the net margin. A number tracked closely by analysts and impact stock price. If they make the change and their competition doesn't CCL's margin would look worse...............

..............

___________________________________________________________________________________________

 

What a load of rubbish.

 

CCL is also listed on the FTSE stock market as it is a dual listed company.

The financial reporting rules are not American either. Companies must abide by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

 

P&O is a brand within Carnival Corporation and their auto tip is half what Princess add. The waiters/stewards are not employed under UK legislation either.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Esprit
typo

[antsp]

The tipping culture in the US is insane, a customer of mine recently visited Florida, between landing at the airport and getting to his hotel room he was expected to tip 6 separate people

 

1, Wheelchair assistance at airport

2, baggage guys at airport

3, car hire bus driver

4, valet parking at hotel

5, Bell hop who took his bags to hotel reception

6, Bell hop who took his bags to his room.

 

This is not connected to cruising but the US should be ashamed of the way it as it pays staff and the way all these people put there hand out begging for money.

Edited October 12, 2016 by antsp

[Griller]

I find I am thinking about the auto gratuity on Princess more as it goes up and up.

While I was quite happy to leave it on in full before now I am wondering when enough is enough.

Even the Americans who totally believe in the tipping system as it stands must have a breaking point?

What if Princess put it up to $25 a day per person? Or $50 Would that still be OK?

And of course the fares have gone up, and so has the amount charged for alleged port dues and taxes.

Yes its all got rather more expensive, but still worth it to me at the moment.

[nipponcruiser]

I find I am thinking about the auto gratuity on Princess more as it goes up and up.

While I was quite happy to leave it on in full before now I am wondering when enough is enough.

Even the Americans who totally believe in the tipping system as it stands must have a breaking point?

What if Princess put it up to $25 a day per person? Or $50 Would that still be OK?

And of course the fares have gone up, and so has the amount charged for alleged port dues and taxes.

Yes its all got rather more expensive, but still worth it to me at the moment.

 

On cruises we have been on, these have like tripled in the last 3 years or so.....eg: 7 day Mexican Riviera have gone from approximately $50 to close to $150 per person.....10 day Sea of Cortez from approximately $60 to close to $200 per person.......15 day Hawaii from approximately $50 to close to $150 per person and 28 day LA/South Pacific from $75 to close to $200 per person.

Something does NOT add up with the port charges/taxes/fees...I am sure ALL the cruise-lines MANIPULATE these to their advantage.

[cruzsnooze]

I think I have the solution to anytime dining.

Swipe the passenger's card.

If they have not cancelled tips, seat them.

If they have cancelled tips give them a pager.

 

Optional: activate the pager sometime later during the cruise

 

I have a better idea

If they followed like sheep and paid the extortion rate then shear them like sheep. Eliminates the need for pagers altogether.

It amazes me how people think their opinion is 100% right and everyone else should abide by it. The definition of opinion is "a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge"

People think their gratuity stays on the ship they sailed on but it does not. It gets pooled by corp. and based on class of ship and seniority of staff members gets distributed. If you really want your waiter or cabin steward to get your full tip you need to hand them cash and discreetly. If they are required to turn it in then it's their decision not mine anymore.

[BritinSoCal]

The tipping culture in the US is insane, a customer of mine recently visited Florida, between landing at the airport and getting to his hotel room he was expected to tip 6 separate people

 

1, Wheelchair assistance at airport

2, baggage guys at airport

3, car hire bus driver

4, valet parking at hotel

5, Bell hop who took his bags to hotel reception

6, Bell hop who took his bags to his room.

 

This is not connected to cruising but the US should be ashamed of the way it as it pays staff and the way all these people put there hand out begging for money.

 

As an Expat - yes, the tipping culture here in the States is crazy, but there are reasons for this - firstly just Google the Federal minimum tipped wage and then look at Florida... Even in California, which by my European perspective is somewhat enlightened (or crazy, commie, pinko, Libertards - depending on your point of view), you're not going to be able to subsist in most of the major cities here on the state minimum. But it's not just a US problem though is it? I see articles in the UK press all the time about a "national living wage."

 

However, it's fairly customary to tip at full service hotels the world over - it is in my experience.

 

When we first moved here Sterling was trading in the upper 1.90s - I suspect no UK cruiser was complaining about the cost of gratuities then. So while I can appreciate the hurt, this is a currency fluctuation issue rather than a Princess issue - does mean my next trip back to Blight though won't put as huge a dent in my wallet though :D

[BritinSoCal]

Last Princess ship I sailed was registered in Bermuda I think, so not USA at all.

 

See my comment about "sailing under a flag of convenience" - always get a little sniffy when I see the red duster....

[BritinSoCal]

.......

 

P&O is a brand within Carnival Corporation and their auto tip is half what Princess add. The waiters/stewards are not employed under UK legislation either.

 

Didn't they get named and shamed for paying their hotel staff as low as 80p an hour a few years back?

[Griller]

See my comment about "sailing under a flag of convenience" - always get a little sniffy when I see the red duster....

 

Indeed Bermuda is a very convenient flag, British yet not EU - it means amongst other benefits that Princess don't have to pay EU workers properly.

[BritinSoCal]

 

Indeed Bermuda is a very convenient flag, British yet not EU - it means amongst other benefits that Princess don't have to pay EU workers properly.

 

My countrymen believe they've solved the "EU" issue...

[CCFC]

My countrymen believe they've solved the "EU" issue...

 

We sure have, Rule Britannia!

[Griller]

We sure have, Rule Britannia!

 

That's much like saying Pres Bush solved the high gas price by the Gulf War.

 

Really had the opposite effect. Although now oil is cheap again.

 

Pound to Euro parity isn't really good for most UK people, nor is a strong dollar against the pound. But maybe it may help trade for a while until rampant inflation hits GB on imported goods. And nearly everything is imported.