Crew Incentives

[cruzsnooze]

Seems to me Princess has incorporated more crew then before into the tipping pool. Sounds like we are now going to pay most of the crews salary in departments that weren't included before. Bars and dining and cabin steward were the norm. But onboard revenue areas? Is that shore excursions, stores, cruise director (think bingo as revenue), the list is endless. 

 

CREW INCENTIVE PAYMENT INFORMATION

To simplify the tipping process for our guests, a discretionary crew incentive of USD 16.50 per guest for suites, USD 15.50 per guest for mini-suites, and USD 14.50 per guest for interior, oceanview, and balcony staterooms, per day (including children) will be automatically added to your shipboard account. This crew incentive will be shared amongst those staff that help provide and support your cruise experience, including those in the Bar, Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue areas. For your convenience, the crew incentive can be pre-paid before you sail by calling us or logging in to your Cruise Personalizer online at http://www.princess.com/cruisepersonalizer. Pre-paid crew incentives may be added up to two days prior to your embarkation.
You have complete discretion to adjust the crew incentive while onboard, but the crew incentive may only be adjusted prior to disembarking the ship. If included as part of a promotion or package, it cannot be adjusted or refunded.

[chrysalis]

one way or another, passengers have been paying crew salaries anyways....

[AZjohn]

I guess it is what it is (and agree with @chrysalis). How they divide it up is not my concern but, I hope it's fair to all the employees.

[skynight]

It is part of a bonus pool. Not sure how the accounting actually works. Believe bar staff actually received their bonus payments from the 18% beverage gratuity pool. Maybe with the plus fares the internal bonus pool accounting had to be adjusted. Previous wording was more like who you see and those you don't. 

[MissyKish]

A post from someone who says "I tip in cash because the cruise line keeps the money" in 3, 2, 1..go

[LACruiser88]

Not to start another crazy thread re:tipping, we will continue to give additional tips to those that go beyond the call of duty...

[chengkp75]

Did the DSC go up, or is the "pool" just larger?  If the DSC is the same, what difference does it make who it goes to?

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Did the DSC go up, or is the "pool" just larger?  If the DSC is the same, what difference does it make who it goes to?

 

It seems to me that those crew members who were in the smaller list who received a part of the DSC will now be receiving less than before.  

 

Including employment categories of entertainment and onboard revenue areas?  Why should any DSC that I pay go to a shop or casino employee?  Or a singer/dancer/entertainer of whatever "talent"?  These people are contractual employees of companies that not directly connected to the cruise line.  

[mtnesterz]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

...what difference does it make who it goes to?

It's a reasonable question to ask anytime money leaves one's pocket. Are gratuities spread throughout that particular ship or across the line? If money goes up the line, does that include shoreside jobs, including the executives? It would be nice to learn and would be appreciated, if you know.

[skynight]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Did the DSC go up, or is the "pool" just larger?  If the DSC is the same, what difference does it make who it goes to?

No increase has been announced by Princess. The FAQ's state the same amount as before. I don't think that the pool has increased. It is just that it is now further explained. Below is what it now says in the FAQ's. My thought is that this is how it always was. Who are these entertainment staff? Probably a portion of the pool is used to provide bonuses to non officer staff such as sound and lighting, Princess Orchestra, maybe the singers/dancers. Doubtful any officer level would receive bonuses from this pool, but it's not ours to worry. The FAQ's also address service charges and plus packages. Of note is that specialty dining has a 17% service charge and that is included in the price of the specialty dining. I don't know if the price of specialty dining has increased from $29 to $34 or if this is how it has always been. I can't access specialty dining on my booked cruises. It's missing.

"A crew incentive is a daily amount added to your onboard account, which is shared among the many members of our crew in hotel, dining and entertainment throughout the fleet who help make your cruise experience special."

 

 

[cruzsnooze]

6 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

It's a reasonable question to ask anytime money leaves one's pocket. Are gratuities spread throughout that particular ship or across the line? If money goes up the line, does that include shoreside jobs, including the executives? It would be nice to learn and would be appreciated, if you know.

They are spread across the entire line. I personally want to know who I'm tipping, it is my money after all. Previously the entertainment and revenue dept were not included so I'm curious who they mean. 

[chengkp75]

The fault is in the logic of thinking of this money as "gratuities" or "tips", which it is not, as even Princess' description explains.  It is a crew "incentive", meaning it is a means of incentivizing the entire pool of employees to all perform their duties to the highest level, or all will suffer.  Whether or not the crew get less of the DSC each, due to a larger pool, there is a minimum wage that the crew member gets, even if everyone on the ship removes their DSC completely.  Also, if the DSC portion, per crew member, goes down, does this mean the contracted wage has gone down for all jobs, or does this mean the "fixed" portion of the crews' wage has gone up slightly to make up for the lowered DSC portion?  Will the crew sign on for a lesser wage?  Do you ask how the fare you pay for the cruise is divided among the crew?  I don't understand the fixation of how the DSC is divided.  Consider it a fixed portion of the cruise cost and be done with it.  It is not a "gratuity" or "tip" for good service, it is a "service charge" for the cruise line having provided you a service.  If you feel the cruise line has failed to provide adequate service, remove or amend the DSC.  

[Grego]

18 hours ago, chrysalis said:

one way or another, passengers have been paying crew salaries anyways....

But of course!  Not a mystery here.

[Grego]

9 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The fault is in the logic of thinking of this money as "gratuities" or "tips", which it is not, as even Princess' description explains.  It is a crew "incentive", meaning it is a means of incentivizing the entire pool of employees to all perform their duties to the highest level, or all will suffer.  Whether or not the crew get less of the DSC each, due to a larger pool, there is a minimum wage that the crew member gets, even if everyone on the ship removes their DSC completely.  Also, if the DSC portion, per crew member, goes down, does this mean the contracted wage has gone down for all jobs, or does this mean the "fixed" portion of the crews' wage has gone up slightly to make up for the lowered DSC portion?  Will the crew sign on for a lesser wage?  Do you ask how the fare you pay for the cruise is divided among the crew?  I don't understand the fixation of how the DSC is divided.  Consider it a fixed portion of the cruise cost and be done with it.  It is not a "gratuity" or "tip" for good service, it is a "service charge" for the cruise line having provided you a service.  If you feel the cruise line has failed to provide adequate service, remove or amend the DSC.  

Amen!

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

The fault is in the logic of thinking of this money as "gratuities" or "tips", which it is not, as even Princess' description explains.  It is a crew "incentive", meaning it is a means of incentivizing the entire pool of employees to all perform their duties to the highest level, or all will suffer.  Whether or not the crew get less of the DSC each, due to a larger pool, there is a minimum wage that the crew member gets, even if everyone on the ship removes their DSC completely.  Also, if the DSC portion, per crew member, goes down, does this mean the contracted wage has gone down for all jobs, or does this mean the "fixed" portion of the crews' wage has gone up slightly to make up for the lowered DSC portion?  Will the crew sign on for a lesser wage?  Do you ask how the fare you pay for the cruise is divided among the crew?  I don't understand the fixation of how the DSC is divided.  Consider it a fixed portion of the cruise cost and be done with it.  It is not a "gratuity" or "tip" for good service, it is a "service charge" for the cruise line having provided you a service.  If you feel the cruise line has failed to provide adequate service, remove or amend the DSC.  

We always felt that it was just part of the overall price. We liked when they added it on the shipboard account as opposed to we had to have the right bills to stuff the envelopes.

[skynight]

7 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

They are spread across the entire line. I personally want to know who I'm tipping, it is my money after all. Previously the entertainment and revenue dept were not included so I'm curious who they mean. 

How do you know that in the past some of the entertainment staff were not included in the bonus pool?I'm not sure who Princess means by on board revenue. If you notice that description is not included in the updated FAQ text. As mentioned in post 10, this is most likely how it has been in the past. A modified bonus system which includes many of the same staff may go as far back to the days when envelopes were giving to certain staff at the end of the cruise. 

[TinaLee]

My thinking when I read this was more along the lines of them attempting to discourage people from having the "incentives" taken off their accounts because they want to "tip in cash" - and then the only people they tip are their room steward, waiter, and bus person. Even before this explanation I always felt that was unfair, because I felt that the kitchen staff, the folks at the buffets, Alfredo's, etc., should be part of the pool. I just pay the incentive and tip extra to anyone who makes my cruise a happier experience! 

[billco]

14 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

It's a reasonable question to ask anytime money leaves one's pocket. Are gratuities spread throughout that particular ship or across the line? If money goes up the line, does that include shoreside jobs, including the executives? It would be nice to learn and would be appreciated, if you know.

I don't care how the DSC is distributed any more than I care about how the cruise fare is distributed.

[Doug R.]

Let the bellowing and whining start! It is what it is people and no amount of debate and conjecture is going to change a thing.  

[mtnesterz]

3 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The fault is in the logic of thinking of this money as "gratuities" or "tips", which it is not, as even Princess' description explains.  It is a crew "incentive", meaning it is a means of incentivizing the entire pool of employees their employees to the highest level.... If you feel the cruise line has failed to provide adequate service, remove or amend the DSC.  

Thank you for responding to my question. "Gratuity" was Princess' previously used term, not mine. And, as another poster put it, not bellowing or whining. Just curious. Figured you'd know. 

[nini]

And as before, we will keep the daily charges on our bill AND then tip cash for those staff who are fabulous... typically our cabin steward, etc.

[Crystabel]

13 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The fault is in the logic of thinking of this money as "gratuities" or "tips", which it is not, as even Princess' description explains.  It is a crew "incentive", meaning it is a means of incentivizing the entire pool of employees to all perform their duties to the highest level, or all will suffer.  Whether or not the crew get less of the DSC each, due to a larger pool, there is a minimum wage that the crew member gets, even if everyone on the ship removes their DSC completely.  Also, if the DSC portion, per crew member, goes down, does this mean the contracted wage has gone down for all jobs, or does this mean the "fixed" portion of the crews' wage has gone up slightly to make up for the lowered DSC portion?  Will the crew sign on for a lesser wage?  Do you ask how the fare you pay for the cruise is divided among the crew?  I don't understand the fixation of how the DSC is divided.  Consider it a fixed portion of the cruise cost and be done with it.  It is not a "gratuity" or "tip" for good service, it is a "service charge" for the cruise line having provided you a service.  If you feel the cruise line has failed to provide adequate service, remove or amend the DSC.  

Well said! 

[caribill]

20 hours ago, skynight said:

How do you know that in the past some of the entertainment staff were not included in the bonus pool?

 

Before they had the auto-tip, the suggested amounts of gratuities never included the entertainment staff.

 

After they started the auto-tip, the descriptions of whom it covered never included the entertainment staff (until now).

[skynight]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Before they had the auto-tip, the suggested amounts of gratuities never included the entertainment staff.

 

After they started the auto-tip, the descriptions of whom it covered never included the entertainment staff (until now).

You statement is correct. But do you really know that any or all of the of the staff in the entertainment department never shared in the bonus pool. Previous text mentioned ship personnel that you don't see or have contact with. Think broadly regarding entertainment staff. They are not just the out front CD staff, and contract entertainers you see every day. There are others with whom you have little contact such as audio & lighting staff.

Lets assume that in the past entertainment department staff did not receive bonuses from the pool. Maybe Princess wants to now include them. Nothing wrong with that change of direction.

I do not think that actual guest performers, musicians such as a Crooner's piano player, guitar/singer and music groups, hired by contract, would be included in any bonus pool. These are the most visible entertainers.  

[2 cruises a year]

On 6/3/2021 at 2:28 AM, chengkp75 said:

The fault is in the logic of thinking of this money as "gratuities" or "tips", which it is not, as even Princess' description explains.  It is a crew "incentive", meaning it is a means of incentivizing the entire pool of employees to all perform their duties to the highest level, or all will suffer.  Whether or not the crew get less of the DSC each, due to a larger pool, there is a minimum wage that the crew member gets, even if everyone on the ship removes their DSC completely.  Also, if the DSC portion, per crew member, goes down, does this mean the contracted wage has gone down for all jobs, or does this mean the "fixed" portion of the crews' wage has gone up slightly to make up for the lowered DSC portion?  Will the crew sign on for a lesser wage?  Do you ask how the fare you pay for the cruise is divided among the crew?  I don't understand the fixation of how the DSC is divided.  Consider it a fixed portion of the cruise cost and be done with it.  It is not a "gratuity" or "tip" for good service, it is a "service charge" for the cruise line having provided you a service.  If you feel the cruise line has failed to provide adequate service, remove or amend the DSC.  

Or if you don't like the Cruise Lines policy, find a Cruise Line that suits you.