Princess gratuities and Wi-Fi costs

[BRANDEE]

6 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes but they aren't cards anymore. They'll be connected to your Princess account and you can see how many coffees you have left through the Medallion app. They changed this before the pandemic but, of course, you had to use the Princess@Sea intranet site to check them. 

 

The downside is if you don't use all the coffees on the cruise where you bought the coffee package you lose them.

Hi..Just back from our Princess Cruise.  The Medallion was great when it worked , otherwise a complete failure at times.  You did have to take a look at your account every so often to make sure you were charged correctly.  Never had a problem getting charges off..it is still a work in progress according to the Medallion people on board. By the way..regarding the coffee "card"...Princess still refuses to stock sugar free syrups in the International Cafe, but there were seven other sugar flavors to use for your coffees.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Flavoured sugar for coffee? Why? Coffee should be coffee-flavoured not disguised as something else. 🤣

 

They should just make caffeine infused syrups and leave the coffee beans to serious coffee drinkers, especially as there may be a shortage of coffee beans 

Edited April 5, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[arxcards]

37 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Flavoured sugar for coffee? Why? Coffee should be coffee-flavoured not disguised as something else. 🤣

 

They should just make caffeine infused syrups and leave the coffee beans to serious coffee drinkers, especially as there may be a shortage of coffee beans 

My wife doesn't play the game either - a full on caramel latte person. Still tastes like sweet burnt coffee. Good espresso shouldn't need any sweet added. Horror-Zone brewed coffee syrup was a different deal when Sun princess first arrived - so bitter it needed 5  teaspoons of sugar + 2 scoops of ice cream.

[OzKiwiJJ]

9 minutes ago, arxcards said:

My wife doesn't play the game either - a full on caramel latte person. Still tastes like sweet burnt coffee. Good espresso shouldn't need any sweet added. Horror-Zone brewed coffee syrup was a different deal when Sun princess first arrived - so bitter it needed 5  teaspoons of sugar + 2 scoops of ice cream.

I can't stand brewed coffee any more. I drink lattes onshore but can't drink them on most ships unless they use fresh milk. UHT milk has a nasty taste when heated. I resort to regular espressos onboard (no sugar), which Rolf also drinks, and woe betide any barista that tries to give us Americanos! 🤣

[Obilix]

The Princess brochure says that on a ship leaving and returning from an Australian port and the ships currency is Australian dollars, no gratuities are required.

 

However, if the ship leaves a non Australian port and the ship currency is US dollars then gratuities are added to the account.

 

I started the booking process today for a repositioning voyage from LA to Sydney on the Majestic Princess. The currency on board is $US.

 

The TA I spoke to (and I am happy with her service) told me there would be no gratuities charged to my account. 

 

Who to believe, when the booking confirmation is silent about gratuities?

 

I know I can cancel the gratuities, and I'm happy to pay a couple of hundred dollars for tips, but not about an extra one fifth of the total fare!

[BRANDEE]

10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Flavoured sugar for coffee? Why? Coffee should be coffee-flavoured not disguised as something else. 🤣

 

They should just make caffeine infused syrups and leave the coffee beans to serious coffee drinkers, especially as there may be a shortage of coffee beans 

I kid you not..there were seven flavors to choose from..lavender, coconut, mango, salted vanilla, raspberry, etc.  But not one sugar free vanilla for diabetics who might want a little sweet in their latte.  They did have one jar of sugar free jelly at breakfast but you had to seek out the one waiter who knew which cabinet it was hiding in. 

[NSWP]

9 hours ago, Obilix said:

The Princess brochure says that on a ship leaving and returning from an Australian port and the ships currency is Australian dollars, no gratuities are required.

 

However, if the ship leaves a non Australian port and the ship currency is US dollars then gratuities are added to the account.

 

I started the booking process today for a repositioning voyage from LA to Sydney on the Majestic Princess. The currency on board is $US.

 

The TA I spoke to (and I am happy with her service) told me there would be no gratuities charged to my account. 

 

Who to believe, when the booking confirmation is silent about gratuities?

 

I know I can cancel the gratuities, and I'm happy to pay a couple of hundred dollars for tips, but not about an extra one fifth of the total fare!

In your case I would not believe your TA, I bet the US$15 whatever per day per pax is added to your onboard a/c. I would speak to Princess direct.

[Aus Traveller]

10 hours ago, Obilix said:

The Princess brochure says that on a ship leaving and returning from an Australian port and the ships currency is Australian dollars, no gratuities are required.

 

However, if the ship leaves a non Australian port and the ship currency is US dollars then gratuities are added to the account.

 

I started the booking process today for a repositioning voyage from LA to Sydney on the Majestic Princess. The currency on board is $US.

 

The TA I spoke to (and I am happy with her service) told me there would be no gratuities charged to my account. 

 

Who to believe, when the booking confirmation is silent about gratuities?

 

I know I can cancel the gratuities, and I'm happy to pay a couple of hundred dollars for tips, but not about an extra one fifth of the total fare!

Without doubt, tips will be charged to your account. On ships where this happens, remuneration from the tips pool forms the major part of the wage paid to service staff. If you cancelled the gratuities, it would not directly affect staff on your ship. I don't suggest you cancel the tips and you comment that you are happy to pay them. 🙂

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 hours ago, BRANDEE said:

I kid you not..there were seven flavors to choose from..lavender, coconut, mango, salted vanilla, raspberry, etc.  But not one sugar free vanilla for diabetics who might want a little sweet in their latte.  They did have one jar of sugar free jelly at breakfast but you had to seek out the one waiter who knew which cabinet it was hiding in. 

Why do people want to put things like lavender, mango and raspberry in coffee? Raspberry and chocolate, yes. Coconut might work with coffee in a strange way, as might salted vanilla but why salted?

 

Very remiss of them not to have sugar-free options. Do they still have sugar-free desserts in the MDR? 

 

BTW was that your first cruise since the pandemic? How did it compare to pre-pandemic cruises? Was there still the same Princess vibe? 

[arxcards]

25 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Why do people want to put things like lavender, mango and raspberry in coffee? Raspberry and chocolate, yes. Coconut might work with coffee in a strange way, as might salted vanilla but why salted?

 

Very remiss of them not to have sugar-free options. Do they still have sugar-free desserts in the MDR? 

 

BTW was that your first cruise since the pandemic? How did it compare to pre-pandemic cruises? Was there still the same Princess vibe? 

I love the idea of a bit of lavender syrup on an affogato. 

 

A lavender latte not so much.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

I love the idea of a bit of lavender syrup on an affogato. 

 

A lavender latte not so much.

I had a kahlua and salted caramel affogato the other day. It was very nice but the slightly salty note didn't quite work with the rest.

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I had a kahlua and salted caramel affogato the other day. It was very nice but the slightly salty note didn't quite work with the rest.

Sounds good. I have a bottle of Tia Maria in my fridge, a generous drop of that on top of a premium vanilla icecream goes down well.  A Tia Maria with milk and ice is also tasty.

[possum52]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Sounds good. I have a bottle of Tia Maria in my fridge, a generous drop of that on top of a premium vanilla icecream goes down well.  A Tia Maria with milk and ice is also tasty.

Baileys is also very good on Vanilla ice cream, I have also had it on chocolate ice cream.

[OzKiwiJJ]

15 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Baileys is also very good on Vanilla ice cream, I have also had it on chocolate ice cream.

Yes, and it is indeed. Try it on Maggie Beer's Burnt Fig, Honeycomb and Caramel ice cream, which also goes exceptionally well with fresh mango, it's my summer treat.

 

We never drank much Baileys before but we got hooked on it as an after dinner drink on one of our Princess cruises - the Hawaii/Tahiti one I think. Then on Ruby we discovered the Milky Way cocktail - vodka, Kahlua and Baileys! Oops! 🤣

[possum52]

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, and it is indeed. Try it on Maggie Beer's Burnt Fig, Honeycomb and Caramel ice cream, which also goes exceptionally well with fresh mango, it's my summer treat.

 

We never drank much Baileys before but we got hooked on it as an after dinner drink on one of our Princess cruises - the Hawaii/Tahiti one I think. Then on Ruby we discovered the Milky Way cocktail - vodka, Kahlua and Baileys! Oops! 🤣

My cruise after dinner drink is Baileys on ice. I haven't tried the Milky Way cocktail Julie, will have to remember to try it sometime.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, possum52 said:

My cruise after dinner drink is Baileys on ice. I haven't tried the Milky Way cocktail Julie, will have to remember to try it sometime.

Do, it's really nice.

 

We sometimes have Benedictine after dinner but Baileys on ice is our current fave.

[BRANDEE]

21 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Why do people want to put things like lavender, mango and raspberry in coffee? Raspberry and chocolate, yes. Coconut might work with coffee in a strange way, as might salted vanilla but why salted?

 

Very remiss of them not to have sugar-free options. Do they still have sugar-free desserts in the MDR? 

 

BTW was that your first cruise since the pandemic? How did it compare to pre-pandemic cruises? Was there still the same Princess vibe? 

Hi Julie,

This was our first cruise since the Ruby 2020.  Same Princess vibe even though a few changes.  Some were little and some were big.  

The Enchanted is a beautiful ship and enjoyed being on her and would return in a heartbeat. She has no promenade deck like my favorites but plenty of indoor seating and plenty of outdoor places to sit, plus four pools..well 3 1/2 really!  New and improved shower (slightly larger, a low shelf/seat for toiletries, a shower curtain that has a mesh top for light that does not attack your body and a hand held jet shower head) makes up for a slightly smaller bathroom.  You can really *****, shower and shave all at once now...lol

Small cut backs here and there will only be noticed by those who are repeaters.  I missed the nuts and knosh when drinking at the bars.

Biggest changes for me was entertainment (Princess theater stuff) and main dining room food.  Both are very subjective, but Princess has done much better in the past than what we had for our 20 day cruise. 

Service was great and only had a few hiccups when ordering from the medallion app.

Masks were recommended by time we boarded, about 1/4 kept masks on all times and a few more when in Princess theater. The crew wore masks at all times

Each port had their own requests regarding masks and one required vaccination cards.

We were covid tested day 9 , 300 were doing the b2b with us and no one was positive. Part of floor 9 was designated quarantine rooms and the elevator would not stop there.

We felt very safe and enjoyed ourselves, just like on the Ruby in March 2020.

 

We spent a few days post cruise in Florida and now home ..unpacked and planning next year's annual March cruise.

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by BRANDEE

[lyndarra]

On 4/6/2022 at 10:21 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Why do people want to put things like lavender, mango and raspberry in coffee? Raspberry and chocolate, yes. Coconut might work with coffee in a strange way, as might salted vanilla but why salted?

Because , generally, American coffee is so terrible they need to disguise the taste.😱

 

[MMDown Under]

2 hours ago, BRANDEE said:

Hi Julie,

This was our first cruise since the Ruby 2020.  Same Princess vibe even though a few changes.  Some were little and some were big.  

The Enchanted is a beautiful ship and enjoyed being on her and would return in a heartbeat. She has no promenade deck like my favorites but plenty of indoor seating and plenty of outdoor places to sit, plus four pools..well 3 1/2 really!  New and improved shower (slightly larger, a low shelf/seat for toiletries, a shower curtain that has a mesh top for light that does not attack your body and a hand held jet shower head) makes up for a slightly smaller bathroom.  You can really *****, shower and shave all at once now...lol

Small cut backs here and there will only be noticed by those who are repeaters.  I missed the nuts and knosh when drinking at the bars.

Biggest changes for me was entertainment (Princess theater stuff) and main dining room food.  Both are very subjective, but Princess has done much better in the past than what we had for our 20 day cruise. 

Service was great and only had a few hiccups when ordering from the medallion app.

Masks were recommended by time we boarded, about 1/4 kept masks on all times and a few more when in Princess theater. The crew wore masks at all times

Each port had their own requests regarding masks and one required vaccination cards.

We were covid tested day 9 , 300 were doing the b2b with us and no one was positive. Part of floor 9 was designated quarantine rooms and the elevator would not stop there.

We felt very safe ahnd enjoyed ourselves, just like on the Ruby in March 2020.

We spent a few days post cruise in Florida and now home ..unpacked and planning next year's annual March cruise.

 

Sorry you found food and entertainment wasn't as good as it used to be on Princess.  Had to smile Brandee when you said you were planning next year's annual March cruise.  When my daughter lived in London, she said everyone would be stir crazy during winter if they didn't have a holiday booked somewhere tropical in March. I guess by March everyone was wondering when winter was going to end. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, BRANDEE said:

Hi Julie,

This was our first cruise since the Ruby 2020.  Same Princess vibe even though a few changes.  Some were little and some were big.  

The Enchanted is a beautiful ship and enjoyed being on her and would return in a heartbeat. She has no promenade deck like my favorites but plenty of indoor seating and plenty of outdoor places to sit, plus four pools..well 3 1/2 really!  New and improved shower (slightly larger, a low shelf/seat for toiletries, a shower curtain that has a mesh top for light that does not attack your body and a hand held jet shower head) makes up for a slightly smaller bathroom.  You can really *****, shower and shave all at once now...lol

Small cut backs here and there will only be noticed by those who are repeaters.  I missed the nuts and knosh when drinking at the bars.

Biggest changes for me was entertainment (Princess theater stuff) and main dining room food.  Both are very subjective, but Princess has done much better in the past than what we had for our 20 day cruise. 

Service was great and only had a few hiccups when ordering from the medallion app.

Masks were recommended by time we boarded, about 1/4 kept masks on all times and a few more when in Princess theater. The crew wore masks at all times

Each port had their own requests regarding masks and one required vaccination cards.

We were covid tested day 9 , 300 were doing the b2b with us and no one was positive. Part of floor 9 was designated quarantine rooms and the elevator would not stop there.

We felt very safe and enjoyed ourselves, just like on the Ruby in March 2020.

 

We spent a few days post cruise in Florida and now home ..unpacked and planning next year's annual March cruise.

 

Thanks BRANDEE. Great to hear you enjoyed your cruise. The new and improved shower sounds much better. Princess bathrooms really are one of their weakest points.

 

I've found the MDR meals really did vary from ship to ship even though the menus were similar. I guess it depends on how good the Executive Chef is at managing their team. The best we encountered on nine Princess cruises on eight different ships was on Sea Princess in 2019. In fact all the service on that cruise was excellent and the Captain was lovely, he would wander through Crooners most nights around 7pm chatting to passengers. 

 

I can't wait until our next cruise, in late June.

[BRANDEE]

2 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Sorry you found food and entertainment wasn't as good as it used to be on Princess.  Had to smile Brandee when you said you were planning next year's annual March cruise.  When my daughter lived in London, she said everyone would be stir crazy during winter if they didn't have a holiday booked somewhere tropical in March. I guess by March everyone was wondering when winter was going to end. 

A March cruise/vacation has been a 24 yr tradition with my brother and wife.  A planned vacation gives hope thru the dreary winter in New York.  We booked today for next March.  Luckily, we spend October in Aruba so that gives us something to look forward to during the hot New York summers (we also have a pool so not so bad)!  Hoping the food and entertainment gets better.  I will say our specialty dinners were great..Crown Grill and Sabitinis and la Mer, but I am not a fan of paying extra for food that I am already paying for with the cruise fare.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, BRANDEE said:

A March cruise/vacation has been a 24 yr tradition with my brother and wife.  A planned vacation gives hope thru the dreary winter in New York.  We booked today for next March.  Luckily, we spend October in Aruba so that gives us something to look forward to during the hot New York summers (we also have a pool so not so bad)!  Hoping the food and entertainment gets better.  I will say our specialty dinners were great..Crown Grill and Sabitinis and la Mer, but I am not a fan of paying extra for food that I am already paying for with the cruise fare.

Ah, you were on Majestic. We did a short cruise on her the first time she came to Australia and the MDR meals were the worst I'd ever experienced on Princess. It sounds like it hasn't changed since. We also had a less than stellar dinner at La Mer, but loved the Chinese restaurant, Harmony. At that stage they were using the Chinese menu so there were some really interesting and unusual dishes but when I looked at the menu a while back it was much more westernized. It still had the yummy duck salad though. We're booked on Majestic in January. Hopefully the food won't be too bad then.

[CDaze71]

23 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

... Then on Ruby we discovered the Milky Way cocktail - vodka, Kahlua and Baileys! Oops! 

Now that sounds right up my ally. YUUUUM. I hope it is on the Coral and that it's AUD $16 or under, so I can get it on the drinks package. I think I will finish the night with one of these. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

45 minutes ago, CDaze71 said:

Now that sounds right up my ally. YUUUUM. I hope it is on the Coral and that it's AUD $16 or under, so I can get it on the drinks package. I think I will finish the night with one of these. 

I'm fairly sure it will be on Coral. They revamped the drinks lists late 2018 / early 2019 and I don't think they will have changed again so soon. It was on the Crooners drinks list.

[arxcards]

8 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm fairly sure it will be on Coral. They revamped the drinks lists late 2018 / early 2019 and I don't think they will have changed again so soon. It was on the Crooners drinks list.

Absolutely, It is a Crooners staple, and I have enjoyed on every Princess ship so far. They sell so many, so it is hard to imagine they would ditch it. Milky Way martini used to be made with Grey Goose, so I hope they haven't economised.