"Crew Appreciation" charge on Australia & NZ cruises?

[Mary loves to travel]

I'm wondering if I'm interpreting this correctly:    on an upcoming "Round Australia" cruise, when reading the terms & conditions around the Plus and Premiere packages, it seems to state that Crew Appreciation is already included in the cruise fare for an Australia cruise:

 

 "Crew Appreciation paid on behalf of the guest varies based on stateroom type (up to 4 guests per stateroom). Princess Plus does not include other service charges. Although Crew Appreciation is listed as part of the Princess Plus package, on Australia and New Zealand voyages Crew Appreciation is already included in the cruise fare and therefore all guests, regardless of whether they book the Princess Plus package, will receive Crew Appreciation and no substitution or refund will be provided for such part of the package."

 

I'm reading this as saying that whether you buy a package or not, the Crew Appreciation is included in the cruise fare (BUT they're not adjusting the price of the package).

 

So, here's the question:   I'm not Australian, but are we reading this correctly that Crew Appreciation will *NOT* be added onto our daily bill, it's already part of the cruise fare?

 

Thanks,

Mary

[1025cruise]

Correct. Crew Appreciation is included in the cruise fare as the Australian tipping culture is much different.

[likeadisguise]

It's included for guests from Australia (paying in AUD). Guests who booked outside AU/NZ do have the daily charge added to their folio. 

[Mary loves to travel]

Votes are running 1-1 so far 😄

 

In a surprising twist, there seems to be an error on the P website 

[Thrak]

If you are Australian the gratuities are baked into the fare. If you are from the US they still charge the gratuities. If you have the Plus or Premier fare it's a moot point.

 

Edit: If you are from the US and book an Australian cruise all of your "given" OBC - Shareholder, Future Cruise Credit, Military - is converted 1:1 into AUD so you end up losing a fair amount of "actual" money. If you are Australian and book a US cruise all of that OBC is converted 1:1 from AUD to USD and you gain a significant amount of "actual" money. That's just the way it's done.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Thrak

[Mary loves to travel]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

If you are Australian the gratuities are baked into the fare. If you are from the US they still charge the gratuities. If you have the Plus or Premier fare it's a moot point.

I suspect this is correct.    It was exciting there for a bit when I thought maybe the grats were already covered 🙂

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, Mary loves to travel said:

I suspect this is correct.    It was exciting there for a bit when I thought maybe the grats were already covered 🙂

They are still part of Plus & Premier if a guest booking from N.A. or Europe.

[Mary loves to travel]

2 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

They are still part of Plus & Premier if a guest booking from N.A. or Europe.

For a bit, though, it looked like they were covered even without booking a Plus or Premiere package.

[Mary loves to travel]

8 minutes ago, Thrak said:

If you are Australian the gratuities are baked into the fare. If you are from the US they still charge the gratuities. If you have the Plus or Premier fare it's a moot point.

 

Edit: If you are from the US and book an Australian cruise all of your "given" OBC - Shareholder, Future Cruise Credit, Military - is converted 1:1 into AUD so you end up losing a fair amount of "actual" money. If you are Australian and book a US cruise all of that OBC is converted 1:1 from AUD to USD and you gain a significant amount of "actual" money. That's just the way it's done.

 

I noticed that!    Hmm, I wonder which currency will be  used when charging us our daily Crew Appreciation?

 

 

[Thrak]

7 minutes ago, Mary loves to travel said:

 

I noticed that!    Hmm, I wonder which currency will be  used when charging us our daily Crew Appreciation?

 

 

 

If you have Plus or Premier who cares? If you are actually paying them then all shipboard transactions on an Australian cruise are in AUD.

[Mary loves to travel]

35 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

If you have Plus or Premier who cares? If you are actually paying them then all shipboard transactions on an Australian cruise are in AUD.

We most likely won’t get either package.    
So, charging crew appreciation onboard in AUD balances out the OBC conversion 1:1 to AUD, I think.  
 

ETA will Princess use the same conversion rate - so 16 AUD per day Crew Appreciation?

Edited July 13, 2023 by Mary loves to travel

[Ombud]

you can see it on the website under payments tab:

Math doesn't work out. Can someone explain it to me? 21 nights in a balcony  .... its 14.50 a day. Is Australia a different rate? 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Ombud

[Thrak]

50 minutes ago, Ombud said:

you can see it on the website under payments tab:

Math doesn't work out. Can someone explain it to me? 21 nights in a balcony  .... its 14.50 a day. Is Australia a different rate? 

 

 

 

 

Ummmm... 14.5 x 21 = 304.5

 

What's the issue?

[Ombud]

2 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Ummmm... 14.5 x 21 = 304.5

 

What's the issue?

11/23/23 Enchanted Princess 15 nights in E425 = $240.00 (16 night)

4/6/24 Royal Princess 21 nights in E421 = A$304.50 (14.5 night)

Both cruises are Royal class obstructed midship balconies so why aren't the gratuities the same rate. Are they less in Australia? 

[Thrak]

51 minutes ago, Ombud said:

11/23/23 Enchanted Princess 15 nights in E425 = $240.00 (16 night)

4/6/24 Royal Princess 21 nights in E421 = A$304.50 (14.5 night)

Both cruises are Royal class obstructed midship balconies so why aren't the gratuities the same rate. Are they less in Australia? 

 

Okay, sorry. I apparently missed a prior post. That "should" teach me to be more careful but, sadly, I will certainly blunder again. As for Australian gratuities... I have no clue. I know they are baked into the fare if you book an Australian cruise from Australia and are something I don't worry about with the Plus fare.

 

Hmmm... Okay, I just checked my upcoming Australia cruises.

 

Australia/New Zealand Cruises - This Fall

First one is with Plus 50. 14 day cruise in a Caribe balcony on Grand Princess.

Crew Appreciation Included (mini Suites and Below) $203 = $14.50/day

 

Second One is with the "new" Plus package. 4 days in the same cabin as above. $64 = $16/day   Third One is also with the "new" Plus package. 14 days still in the same cabin. Crew Appreciation Included (mini Suites and Below) $224 = $16/day   Mexican Rivera for Total Eclipse - April of 2024 Booked with Plus 50. 10 days in Balcony cabin. Crew Appreciation Included (mini Suites and Below) $145 = $14.5/day     It seems that when I am booked with the "old" Plus package" listed as Plus 50 the gratuity is less.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Thrak

[Ombud]

@Thrak if you have an upcoming Australia cruise, what are the gratuities? @Mary loves to travel are you charged $16 night? I am also asking on the roll call. 

 

Further clarification: the Australian cruise was initially a Sept 2020 voyage and has been redeployed 3 times. Could the gratuities be stuck at a lower rate or are Australian cruises at a lower rate??

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Ombud

[Thrak]

15 minutes ago, Ombud said:

@Thrak if you have an upcoming Australia cruise, what are the gratuities? @Mary loves to travel are you charged $16 night? I am also asking on the roll call. 

 

Further clarification: the Australian cruise was initially a Sept 2020 voyage and has been redeployed 3 times. Could the gratuities be stuck at a lower rate or are Australian cruises at a lower rate??

 

 

 

Typing at the same time. See post just before yours. It seems that the Plus 50 fare has lower gratuities listed than the "new" Plus fare. 😵

Edited July 13, 2023 by Thrak

[Astro Flyer]

Here’s what my 28 day Around Australia cruise in 2025 shows for tips when booked from the US.

 

1) $448/pp = $16/day/pp in USD

 

2) OBC is in AUD & converting $16 to AUD that is $23.48 AUD at the current exchange rate.

 

I’ve been asking on the OZ/NZ board about experiences & the consensus has been my tips will be charged in AUD equivalent to $16…$23.48 AUD. My $750 OBC everywhere else in the world except in Australia where it’s $750 AUD converts to only $511.21 in USD…about a 1/3 reduction in value.

 

Reducing my OBC by 1/3 and charging tips in AUD equivalent to $16 further reduces the value of my OBC when cruising in Oz.

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Astro Flyer

[Mary loves to travel]

@Astro Flyer that’s exactly the situation I suspected!   A little unfair, to say the least.    
 

My confirmation document does show OBC as a 1:1 conversion to AUD.   It says All OBC will be credited in AUD.    Wonder if that’s to do with Oz law?

 

Hmmm.   So if I have no package, and prepay Crew Appreciation, certainly the regular conversion rate will be used (~ 1USD: 1.45AUD) ?

 

Mary

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, Mary loves to travel said:

@Astro Flyer that’s exactly the situation I suspected!   A little unfair, to say the least.    
 

My confirmation document does show OBC as a 1:1 conversion to AUD.   It says All OBC will be credited in AUD.    Wonder if that’s to do with Oz law?

 

Hmmm.   So if I have no package, and prepay Crew Appreciation, certainly the regular conversion rate will be used (~ 1USD: 1.45AUD) ?

 

Mary

While I do not have direct experiences about other cruise lines’ procedures, based on answers I received on the OZ/NZ board other cruise lines do not follow the Princess procedure. Thus apparently the Princess procedure is not required by Oz law but appears to be how Princess saves money by significantly reducing the value of OBC which I also feel is unfair.

 

I don’t have any package that includes tips & to prepay them it’d be their standard $16/day/pp (obstructed OV cabin). When using the AUD devalued OBC & onboard charging tips in AUD equivalent to $16 USD your $1 USD is converted to $1.45 AUD…$23.48 AUD per person per day.

 

Hopefully someone will either confirm or will correct the procedure my research has revealed.

 

[daydreamer16]

I'm on a trans Pacific cruise that starts in Sydney but we board in Auckland. Does that mean OBC will be in AUD? We end in San Francisco.

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, daydreamer16 said:

I'm on a trans Pacific cruise that starts in Sydney but we board in Auckland. Does that mean OBC will be in AUD? We end in San Francisco.

After our 2025 around Oz cruise ending in Brisbane we fly to Auckland to cruise 22 days to LA and the OBC is in USD. In 2009 we sailed Sydney to LA and OBC was in USD although things could have changed.

 

[Thrak]

Look at the CCL doc regarding Shareholder OBC. At the top it clearly states that the OBC will be in various currencies depending on the sailing. It's how Princess does things.

 

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[daydreamer16]

4 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

After our 2025 around Oz cruise ending in Brisbane we fly to Auckland to cruise 22 days to LA and the OBC is in USD. In 2009 we sailed Sydney to LA and OBC was in USD although things could have changed.

 

Thanks!

[Wanderers2]

9 hours ago, daydreamer16 said:

I'm on a trans Pacific cruise that starts in Sydney but we board in Auckland. Does that mean OBC will be in AUD? We end in San Francisco.

If you log into your Princess account (not the app) & go to the Travel Summary for your cruise it will tell you what currency you will be charged.