JimmyVWine

It’s a PSA. No question asked. No response required. But that won’t stop this thread from veering into the realms of tipping, (do you tip the people who bring your meals to you in your cabin); dress codes (if you have to eat dinner in your cabin on formal night, what attire is acceptable); and special desserts (can you get them delivered to your cabin?). And I am certain that someone will eventually ask the OP if they had Plus-50 and if so, we’re they charged extra for $14 glasses of wine. Just saying.

My research is revealing conflicting information. My Princess itinerary does not show that this is a tender port despite showing others as being so, but my research suggests that "larger ships" meaning those larger than 300m will anchor and passengers will tender. I also found a port schedule that shows that we will be the only ship in port that day, but as between the choices of "Deep Water Berth" and "Anchor" we are shown as the latter. Can anyone who traveled to Wales last year offer up their experience? My cruise will be the first of the season this year, so I won't have any intel from an earlier 2023 cruise. Need this information for purposes of trying to figure out our train schedule. Walking off the ship certainly means an earlier arrival at the train station than waiting for a tender would. Not taking a Princess Excursion so we will not have any priority tender privileges. Thanks.

Exactly. Princess has deliberately omitted cash tips from its sharing program. It includes in that program only the "Crew Appreciation" which is an automatically charged fixed amount and the 18% Service Charges.

And this is the key phrasing. Extra CASH payments provided at the discretion of the passenger are neither "Crew Appreciation" nor "Service Charges". "Crew Appreciation" is a term of art that applies to the set amount automatically included in your Package or charged to your account unless you remove it. "Service Charges" is a specific term that pertains to the 18% automatically added to each purchase and paid by credit card, (hence the reference to "net of credit card transaction fees.") Had Princess wanted to include "...and any other discretionary cash gratuities" into this paragraph, it would have done so. The omission was not accidental or an oversight.

So how long before Plus goes up to $70 and includes Lavazza coffees, but those who paid $60 can only get bilge water unless they upgrade?

NesPrincess??

But were you able to reserve a table each night at the same time? That is the issue.

Fixed it.

Day. Month. Year. Doesn't matter. It all gets reduced to hourly wage. Sort of like saying: "My car holds 15 gallons of gas and I have a range of 350 miles. And I drive 1,400 miles in a month, and I buy 60 gallons of gas each month. But I am talking about my car's range, not how many miles per gallon it gets." But you are.

Not trying to get ahead of ourselves here, but don't you think that if Princess partnered with Nespresso for the installation of machines that the contract would mandate the inclusion of Nespresso pods in the rooms as well? Not saying that you couldn't bring your own. But in all of the hotels that I have stayed in that have Nespresso machines in them, I cannot remember a single time when the pods provided alongside were anything other than Nespresso. (Which I happen to like by the way.)

I am trying to wrap my head around the team and staff meetings that accompanied this rollout: "You make the special dessert using gelato. And then you adorn it with all the other crap. If you run out of the other crap, but still have gelato available, the people who purchased the Packages should be told "No, we don't have any available. Please come back later." But you should serve gelato to the next person in line who does not have a Package. Likewise, if you run out of the special serving glasses, you should tell the people who purchased Packages that you cannot serve them the special desserts at this time, and ask them to come back at a later time. But you should serve gelato to the next person in line who does not have a package in whatever glassware you have available. And if a person with a Package says that they do not need any of the extra crap and do not care about the fancy glass, and all they want is the exact amount of gelato that comes with the special dessert, served to them in whatever dish or bowl is handy, you must tell them that you cannot do that. But when the next person in line without a Package asks for that exact same thing, you should serve it to them" Did I miss anything, because I'm pretty sure this sums up the rollout, and suggests that these Team Leaders and the people to whom they report do not listen to the words that come out of their own mouths. I'd love to see the case study from a Business School that establishes that this is a good business model.

Light day for most crew members! Your point is a good one, and becomes even more stark when the denominator is 14. Sure you are. You posted in bold what the daily total comes out to be, and a day is nothing more than a collection of hours. You can't speak to "daily pay" and then claim that this is unrelated to "hourly wage."

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do enjoy an espresso in the afternoon. I've always enjoyed Lavazza so I suspect that this will be a good thing. I have always found the espresso in the IC to be "adequate" and nothing more. I suspect that this means a changeover to branded service ware which would be a shame, but I get it. I like the Princess themed espresso cups, but I suspect those are headed toward retirement. I assume that the picture in the press release reveals the future state.

See the new thread on "What Does The Room Steward Do" and read post #9.

Plenty of folks. There have been numerous threads on the topic over the years. Almost as many as those dealing with dress codes.

What I find amusing is that some of the people who insist that they are achieving a higher level of service are some of the same people who insist that all tips must be turned in to the finance department: I tipped that poor soul who had to bring me my latte in the middle of the night. (But he doesn't get to keep the tip.) That bartender was so harried that I thought she deserved something extra, so I gave her a couple of dollars. (But she wasn't allowed to keep the tip) The service at Crown Grill was superb so we left a $10 tip. (Which they have to turn in and can't keep.) I tip the bartender well on the first day and he treats me like royalty for the rest of the cruise. (Even though he does not get to keep the tip that supposedly caused him to move me to the top of his list.) Seems to me that if you believe that a tip results in better service, then one is compelled to agree that the person being tipped is reaping the benefit of the largesse.

The Press Release says: "Starting in mid-March..." It does not in which year. 😁 But seriously, it is March 23. Are you really going to hold Princess to an Ides of March deadline? Were you hoping for the Julius Caesar Special--the "E Tu" tutti frutti?

Regal is sailing with the same number of passengers and the same number of dining staff today as it did in December, 2019 when TD was an option. If Princess had the ability to make TD operate then, it has the capacity to have DMW function on pretty much the same basis now. All you have to do is look at the early dining situation to see that this bears out. Under TD, there was a 5:30 seating. The staff seated and served as many people as they could accommodate at that time. Let's say that the number was 400 people. Under DMW, that EXACT same number of people could use the app and make reservations for 5:30-6:00 and there would be the ability to seat them. The numbers are the numbers. Whether those people desire the same table each night is unknowable, but if everyone did, there is no reason why they could not be accommodated. And if they don't want the same table each night, then the 400 people play musical chairs, but they all get a seat. There are no reports here to suggest that the dining patterns of cruisers has changed. 400 people are going to show up to dine early so that they can make the shows and performances around the ship. And the first 400 people who use the app to make that reservation will win the game. And if only 300 people do that, then the winners are those 300 people plus the first 100 who show up in the "No Reservations" line. The MDRs are not half full. Especially at 6:00. They are filled pretty much to capacity. The issue isn't with the dining room. It is with the people who aren't playing the game to win.

Uh.... no.

Yes Yes, but you will have to pay some fees. (Now, one could just hide wine in their luggage, and then when asked "Do you have anything to declare?" at the customs area, lie. But that would be smuggling and I am not advising that approach.) When the customs people ask you if you have anything to declare, this is exactly what they are talking about. If you say: "Yes, I have 9 liters of wine that I am bringing in to the country", you will (probably) be asked to pay a fee. But it may not be much. Here is the Customs website info. Scroll down to "Alcoholic Beverages". https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/customs-duty-info

The AARP tech capabilities make Princess look like NASA.

Is your question: "How much wine can I take ON TO THE SHIP" in Italy"; or "How much wine can I take OFF THE SHIP once I arrive in Florida?" Different answers. First is unlimited as far as I know. Second is limited based on customs and importation laws.

I live near a store that loves to give change in $1 Susan B Anthony coins and $2 Jefferson bills. I have a hard enough time getting other merchants to take them. (People under the age of 30 refuse to believe that they are real!). I can't imagine what the crew members encounter in countries around the world.

You are correct. Thanks for the correction. I suppose we could, but then we would say: "I'm going to TAP the bartender" which could imply either an unwanted touching or something far more vulgar! 😉