Star Princess - Exceptional apart from....

[P&OMAN]

Just back from a fantastic 12 day cruise round Italy and the Greek Islands on the Star Princess with blue sky and roasting temperature every day.

 

As a result of our numerous cruises with P&O we were on elite status, the top tier. This gave us

 

Free laundry

Free one one off mini bar

No queueing for tenders

Priority embarkation

Canopes in room prior to formal nights

Reduced drink prices and snacks in Skywalkers every evening

 

Only one or two nigles.

 

Buffet food never hot, always luke warm.

 

Dress code not adhered to especially on formal nights, when I spoke to the head waiter about this his reply was that he did not want confrontation.

 

Drinks were very expensive, however Princess did allow you to take alcohol on board and consume in your cabin or up on deck.

 

Tips - $11.50 pp per day. A lot more than P&O

 

Because of this reduced our auto tip down to $5.00 pp per day. Then tipped our wonderful stateroom girl, head waiter in the Capri restaurant and our favourite bar staff seperatley.

 

Off on the Azura transatlantic at the end of October.

[aquilegia]

As you reduced the auto tips, your cabin steward and head waiter will not have been able to keep the money you gave them, but will have had to hand it in to the pool. The bar staff on the other hand will have been able to keep their tips because they are not a part of the auto tip system, their tips come from the 15% automatically added on to the cost of drinks, which you will have paid in full.

[Pam in CA]

Because of this reduced our auto tip down to $5.00 pp per day. Then tipped our wonderful stateroom girl, head waiter in the Capri restaurant and our favourite bar staff seperatley.

Unfortunately, the message you sent to Princess is that your cabin steward and waitstaff were inadequate and you weren't happy with them. The tip that you reduced was for them as well as all those in the buffet and dining room who usually provide excellent service for breakfast, lunch, snacks, afternoon tea, etc. By reducing the tip and tipping extra to a few, that all went into the tipping pool as they are required to do so if someone has removed or reduced the tip. They got to see your tip before turning it in and if the total amount of your extra tips didn't add up to the auto-tip, they received less than they would have. Plus, they are notified when you reduced the tip so they were aware you were unhappy with their service.

[pablo222]

Tips - $11.50 pp per day. A lot more than P&O

 

Because of this reduced our auto tip down to $5.00 pp per day. Then tipped our wonderful stateroom girl, head waiter in the Capri restaurant and our favourite bar staff seperatley.

 

Did the wait-staff do something to cause you to disrespect them?

[Toto2Kansas]

Drinks were very expensive, however Princess did allow you to take alcohol on board and consume in your cabin or up on deck.

 

Tips - $11.50 pp per day. A lot more than P&O

 

Because of this reduced our auto tip down to $5.00 pp per day. Then tipped our wonderful stateroom girl, head waiter in the Capri restaurant and our favourite bar staff seperatley.

 

Off on the Azura transatlantic at the end of October.

 

Princess drink prices we have found very reasonable compared to other cruise lines, although besides P&O I am not sure which others you have sailed with. But don't be shocked if you try another line and the drink prices are much higher. Some cruise lines even xray your luggage now looking for any liquids which might be smuggled onboard to consume in your cabin, so be alert that this can happen on other lines.

As for alcohol. Princess allows wine and champagne to be brought onboard for either 'IN CABIN CONSUMPTION' or it can be taken to one of the dining venues and a corkage fee paid. You are not, on the other hand, supposed to bring regular alcohol (rum, vodka etc) onboard or to take any self supplied alcohol on deck to consume (I am not sure where you got this thought, but I would guess you didn't read this anywhere in the Princess rules).

 

I agree with Pam, by reducing the tip, you told the cruise line and staff that the service was not as it should be. So, they were stiffed out of their regular tips, and you also stiffed the bar staff by carrying your own drinks around the passenger decks, as they didn't get the gratuity from the normal drink purchases.

 

Sorry, but although I am sure you meant your mini review to be balanced, I feel you did as you like onboard, with drinks and tips, and put yourself first as to what you wanted to do to save yourself a bit of money even though I am sure you knew what you were getting into when you booked. :mad:

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

To be fair to the OP as he cruises a lot with P&O he was not to understand the Princess rules regarding the auto tip

 

many who cruise often with Princess do not understand them.

 

just shows Princess needs to reduce the auto tip, increase the cruise fare

and start offering the product they build there name on.

 

 

yours Shogun

[englishbird]

I always reduce my auto tips. I like to tip the people that I personally come into contact with. I understand that the room steward then has to pool the money, but I m sure they still end up with a good pot of tips at the end of the cruise.

 

Most of my tips go to bar staff, who get to keep the money for themselves. I always freedom dine, so never have the same waiter/ess to tip there.

 

I think that auto tipping is Princess way of paying their staff a very low wage. As the original poster says, P&O do not have auto tipping. Their staff are paid a much better wage.

 

One other point to take in to account is, that here in the UK we are not a tipping culture, where as in the US, everybody seems to expect a tip.

 

:D:D:D

[Liz54]

One other point to take in to account is, that here in the UK we are not a tipping culture, where as in the US, everybody seems to expect a tip.

 

Sorry if this sounds crabby but if you are going to dig in and only operate on UK conventions, perhaps your next vacation should take place in the UK.

 

As far as removing the auto tip - Other posters are correct you may intend that your steward and some otrhers will get more, they will not. Furthermore removal of the autotip created difficulties for them.

 

I think Princess auto-tip is minimal given the level of service I have experienced.

[Toto2Kansas]

One other point to take in to account is, that here in the UK we are not a tipping culture, where as in the US, everybody seems to expect a tip.

 

Sorry if this sounds crabby but if you are going to dig in and only operate on UK conventions, perhaps your next vacation should take place in the UK.

 

.

You typed exactly what I was thinking. ;) To me if you plan to cruise other cruise lines, then you should look into the way things are taken care of onboard those different lines (such as gratuities and drinks). If they aren't what you are used to, and you don't agree with the way they are handled, or the prices, then maybe that cruise line is not the one you need to choose since it does not fit your lifestyle or the way you are used to doing things.

[P&OMAN]

I agree with Pam, by reducing the tip, you told the cruise line and staff that the service was not as it should be. So, they were stiffed out of their regular tips, and you also stiffed the bar staff by carrying your own drinks around the passenger decks, as they didn't get the gratuity from the normal drink purchases.

 

No this was not the case. I was not telling the cruise line and staff that the service was not as it should be apart from the luke warm food in the Horizon buffet. When my wife talked to the buffet staff about his we were told to go the main dining room for our breakfast and lunch, not the kind of response we were looking for.

 

Regarding tips. P&O the sister company of Princess recommend a toal amoungt of £3.50 per ($5.25) person per day, in addition there is no 15% gratuiti added to the drinks price. By the way I did purchase plenty of drinks from the bar througout the cruise.

 

As it was my total tips to the princess staff was over 200 dollars.

 

 

I also plenty of people with there own drinks being consumed up on deck which had been purchased off the ship.

[ibethenanya]

I agree with Pam, by reducing the tip, you told the cruise line and staff that the service was not as it should be. So, they were stiffed out of their regular tips, and you also stiffed the bar staff by carrying your own drinks around the passenger decks, as they didn't get the gratuity from the normal drink purchases.

 

No this was not the case. I was not telling the cruise line and staff that the service was not as it should be apart from the luke warm food in the Horizon buffet. When my wife talked to the buffet staff about his we were told to go the main dining room for our breakfast and lunch, not the kind of response we were looking for.

 

Regarding tips. P&O the sister company of Princess recommend a toal amoungt of £3.50 per ($5.25) person per day, in addition there is no 15% gratuiti added to the drinks price. By the way I did purchase plenty of drinks from the bar througout the cruise.

 

As it was my total tips to the princess staff was over 200 dollars.

 

 

I also plenty of people with there own drinks being consumed up on deck which had been purchased off the ship.

 

The point is you were not on P&O, you were on Princess. They are separate lines owned by the same corporation and have separate fees and charges. This is like going to Harrods and saying you want to pay WalMart prices.

[Astro Flyer]

Everything posted by others is true including the one saying the UK does not tip like in the USA. I don't however agree with the OP's rationalization for reducing their tip. If that's $200 for 2 passengers for 12 days you still gave less than the auto tips.

 

The overwhelming posts about tip removal or reduction are from those in the UK. Before I travel, I research tipping norms in countries & follow those guidelines. However many from the UK want to use those from home as a way to justify reducing or eliminating tips. Why not follow the tipping guidelines of where you travel? Including on an American cruise line with automatic tips. By removing the auto tip, it said you were unhappy with the service & it hurts their hard working employees.

 

The OP enjoyed their cruise yet cut tips...very contradictory to me. When in Rome, do as the Romans...when on a US ship, tip like Americans & not as at home in the UK. :rolleyes:

[ONT-CA]

Until Princess sees the wisdom in making this reasonable Hotel Charge of $11.50 per day mandatory (as are all other charges aboard) why on earth do passengers delve into how and why they stiffed the working staff? As the charge is at the moment at your discretion then please remain discreet about your decision.

[Shogun]

Hi Astro Flyer

 

One very big issue for us Brits about the auto tip

 

is knowone tells you about it,

 

I have never had a TA worn me to budget for this

 

quite the opposite I have been told a few times that Princess takes cares

 

of the tips.

 

I for one would be happy if Princess just removed the auto tip for UK bookings and included it the cruise fare.

 

yours Shogun

[BEAV]

Hypothetically speaking, if a P&O employee receives a $75 salary and $25 in auto-gratuities while his/her counterpart at Princess receives a $50 salary and $50 in auto-tips, then how (or why) should cultural differences even enter the picture?

 

IMO, any reducing of auto-tips aboard Princess can only be interpretted as sending the message you weren't satisfied with the service.

[Toto2Kansas]

Shogun,

I respect that fact that some in the UK are given the wrong information about Princess and gratuities by their travel agents, but anyone who has access to cruise critic with more than a few posts could have helped themselves to any and all information needed to be prepared, and to budget correctly if they wish to book a cruise other than P&O (which they are used to booking). So, to me, and I am sure to many others, with belonging to Cruise Critic, saying you didn't know how it was handled/charged is more or less just an excuse.

 

When we have visited the UK, there are some things we see we have also not agreed with, including some charges for things, but we do as expected in the country we visit and research what is expected before we go, we do not do as we are 'use to doing at home', and use that for an excuse.

[4cats4me]

Very disrespectful to not give the full tip for good service.:rolleyes:

[jools222]

Shogun,

I respect that fact that some in the UK are given the wrong information about Princess and gratuities by their travel agents, but anyone who has access to cruise critic with more than a few posts could have helped themselves to any and all information needed to be prepared, and to budget correctly if they wish to book a cruise other than P&O (which they are used to booking). So, to me, and I am sure to many others, with belonging to Cruise Critic, saying you didn't know how it was handled/charged is more or less just an excuse.

 

When we have visited the UK, there are some things we see we have also not agreed with, including some charges for things, but we do as expected in the country we visit and research what is expected before we go, we do not do as we are 'use to doing at home', and use that for an excuse.

 

I think it is fair to say that cruise critic is not widely used or advertised here in UK especially by those new to cruising. I am relatively new to cruising with only 4 previous trips & I stumbled across the site but I genuinely believe that it is often the fault of TAs not making it clear. Whilst it is no excuse for removing the tip (which I never do) it is still cause for complaint when a new cruiser finds there is an additional sum to be added to the bill which often represents around 10% on top of their holiday booking. I believe we also pay more for our cruises so I think it is fair to be patient with those who dont understand the system. Please also bear in mind that no UK cruise lines (Thomson, Olsen or P&O) have the tips system so for people going to American cruising for the first time may find the concept very different & often unexpected.

[Astro Flyer]

Besides Toto's excellent comments, the auto tip is on Princess' website. To me, not knowing what to expect when traveling is merely an excuse. When traveling, it's my resonsibilty to prepare myself. The info is there for those willing to find the answers.

 

I know that cultural differences are a sensitive issue on CC & I can appreciate those differences. When in the UK or anyplace else, it is my responsible to learn & to follow their customs. So on a US based ship, why not follow those customs including the auto tip & to not reduce or remove it. There are other ways to deal with problems & reducing/removing tips is not the correct way to do it.

[Liz54]

While I agree with Jools for some passengers, the OP is a very seasoned cruiser with several Princess cruises in their past. If Brits get poor info from their travel agents they should definately follow up with them and copy Princess in the US.But its still unfair to penalize the harworking crew.

[Dodger Blue]

The problem, in my opinion, is the Princess system of tipping. Frankly,the best way to "tip" is to make it 100% voluntary. I know, I know, that means that many passengers simply won't tip at all, but you should be "tipping" or paying extra for exemplary service, not what you've paid for. The OP tried to do that, but the Princess system is set up so that everyone in penalized if you change the auto tip. You should be able to reward those who deserve it without rewarding those who don't. By reducing the auto tip, that automatically kicks in the "pooling" process. In other words regardless of how much extra you gave those who deserved it, it's shared with those who don't! I know that eliminating the auto tip can wind up penalizing the staff, but if Princess wants to use the auto tip as their way to pay the staff appropriately, they ought to simply reflect that in the price of the cruise and let people tip accordingly!

[trikeman]

I admit that I'm not as experienced as a cruiser as Toto and some of the others. That being said would it not have been more appropriate to have taken the name and country of origin of the person (which is on all name tags) and reported them to someone in authority? :confused:

[Sapphire723]

Besides Toto's excellent comments, the auto tip is on Princess' website. To me, not knowing what to expect when traveling is merely an excuse. When traveling, it's my resonsibilty to prepare myself. The info is there for those willing to find the answers.

 

I know that cultural differences are a sensitive issue on CC & I can appreciate those differences. When in the UK or anyplace else, it is my responsible to learn & to follow their customs. So on a US based ship, why not follow those customs including the auto tip & to not reduce or remove it. There are other ways to deal with problems & reducing/removing tips is not the correct way to do it.

 

Exactly. Every time I visit a foreign country, I research their tipping norms including the amount and the way that the tip should be handled. I don't expect the rest of the world to conform to my culture when I am a guest in their area.

[Dietemann]

Unfortunately, the message you sent to Princess is that your cabin steward and waitstaff were inadequate and you weren't happy with them. The tip that you reduced was for them as well as all those in the buffet and dining room who usually provide excellent service for breakfast, lunch, snacks, afternoon tea, etc. By reducing the tip and tipping extra to a few, that all went into the tipping pool as they are required to do so if someone has removed or reduced the tip.

It's too bad that some cruisers don't seem to get that the autotip on Princess not only goes to your cabin steward, but also to all servers and even people behind the scenes who provide you with the Princess cruising ambiance, but whom you never encounter.

[freetocruise]

 

No this was not the case. I was not telling the cruise line and staff that the service was not as it should be apart from the luke warm food in the Horizon buffet.

 

 

Although you said nothing verbally, when you reduce the recommended amount, the message that is sent loud and clear is that you were unhappy with the service.