gratuities on Princess

[Cuizer2]

People can be ignorant.

 

Just because someone is clueless and cannot think for themselves is no reason to call them ignorant.

[shredie]

Just because someone is clueless and cannot think for themselves is no reason to call them ignorant.

 

Isn't that the definition of "ignorant"? ;) These tipping threads sure do bring out the best in people. :p

[iceleven]

Why are tips not included in the fare? (Non Australian)

 

There are advantages to line, crew and passengers by doing it this way. For the crew, many of them pay a fee to their agency based on their contracted pay rate. Tips are not included in that rate, any guaranteed income (which is what it would be if included in fare) would be. Thus, the staff keeps a higher percentage of tips.

 

For the line, they pay less on contract, which helps them keep fares appearing lower, plus there are tax advantages. The downside is the effort involved in administering the system.

 

For passengers, the hotel charge is not charged until on board. This means it does not have to appear on a credit card charge 75 days out and does not have to be counted for taxes and trip insurance costs as it would if included in the fare.

 

THANK YOU! Wish your response could be made into a sticky. It would help keep these frequent threads from popping up every few weeks.

 

Also, the cruise lines should just call them "Hotel Charges" instead of gratuities.

[RocketMan275]

THANK YOU! Wish your response could be made into a sticky. It would help keep these frequent threads from popping up every few weeks.

 

Also, the cruise lines should just call them "Hotel Charges" instead of gratuities.

 

CactusRose provided a very logical argument for why these charges are processed the way they are. Those complaining about these charges are completely unmoved by this argument. Their basic issue is that they that they don't want to pay them either as a separate fee or as a part of the cruise fare. They are convinced that the cruise line can/should pay these fees out of profits without increasing fares.

 

You could post all the stickies you want without affecting a single thing.

[iceleven]

CactusRose provided a very logical argument for why these charges are processed the way they are. Those complaining about these charges are completely unmoved by this argument. Their basic issue is that they that they don't want to pay them either as a separate fee or as a part of the cruise fare. They are convinced that the cruise line can/should pay these fees out of profits without increasing fares.

 

You could post all the stickies you want without affecting a single thing.

 

That may be so but ALL land hotels have a "Hotel Charge" of which everyone has to pay and a cruise ship is nothing more than a hotel on water. Confirmation bias is quite active on these boards. :p

[RocketMan275]

That may be so but ALL land hotels have a "Hotel Charge" of which everyone has to pay and a cruise ship is nothing more than a hotel on water. Confirmation bias is quite active on these boards. :p

 

Which has nothing to do with the reasons why cruise lines use the system described by CactusRose. As you say: "Confirmation bias is quite active on these boards.":p:p

[Mrs.Gosse]

Not going to read all the responses ( 11 pages!) But when we additionally tip those who do well , their reaction Does not imply to me that they don't get to keep it. They are always so grateful. We tip periodically throughout and then people like the maitre d in Sabatini's that we see every day, we tip at the end.

[Cuizer2]

You could post all the stickies you want without affecting a single thing.

 

I don't know, given enough stickies, things could get sticker.

[AZbeachboy]

Just because someone is clueless and cannot think for themselves is no reason to call them ignorant.

 

That was not a put down. It was just saying that some people are not aware of how things operate or where to get information. Some just never think except when affects them. It's not a bad word, just describes a situation. I don't think anyone is trying to be mean. For a tipping thread this has been pretty mild.

[AZbeachboy]

That may be so but ALL land hotels have a "Hotel Charge" of which everyone has to pay and a cruise ship is nothing more than a hotel on water. Confirmation bias is quite active on these boards. :p

 

There may be some resort hotels that have a resort charge, but not all land hotels have a hotel charge outside of the nightly rate. I know, I stayed in a Holiday Inn last night and it made me an expert on travel.:D

[AZbeachboy]

Since the last few post have been off subject and suggest we are past the confirmation bias stage and have entered the attitude polarization stage.

[RocketMan275]

Since the last few post have been off subject and suggest we are past the confirmation bias stage and have entered the attitude polarization stage.

 

We are doomed!

[Cuizer2]

I know, I stayed in a Holiday Inn last night and it made me an expert on travel.:D

 

Wrong hotel. You need to stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Cuizer2

[iceleven]

OK, so I messed up in claiming all land hotels have a "hotel charge" but they do have added-on taxes, depending on the state, county, city your hotel is located and it's anywhere from 9%-19% added to the cost of the room. It has a variety of names, i.e., occupancy tax, hospitality tax, etc. And yes, there are lots of hotels that charge still yet an additional "resort fee" and they can vary in price depending on just how much they can claim it is a resort. Just for an example, add an additional $30 to your daily rate.

 

Would a floating hotel with meals included, swimming pools, entertainment, spas, etc., be considered a (floating) resort? ;)

 

All I am saying is that Princess can CHANGE the name of what they are calling the daily added-on "gratuity" and perhaps...just perhaps over time newer cruisers would have less reason to bring up these Ad nauseam threads because Princess will have added the facts to their website and hopefully not in such small lettering that no one will read.

Hope springs eternal.

[AZbeachboy]

OK, so I messed up in claiming all land hotels have a "hotel charge" but they do have added-on taxes, depending on the state, county, city your hotel is located and it's anywhere from 9%-19% added to the cost of the room. It has a variety of names, i.e., occupancy tax, hospitality tax, etc. And yes, there are lots of hotels that charge still yet an additional "resort fee" and they can vary in price depending on just how much they can claim it is a resort. Just for an example, add an additional $30 to your daily rate.

 

Would a floating hotel with meals included, swimming pools, entertainment, spas, etc., be considered a (floating) resort? ;)

 

All I am saying is that Princess can CHANGE the name of what they are calling the daily added-on "gratuity" and perhaps...just perhaps over time newer cruisers would have less reason to bring up these Ad nauseam threads because Princess will have added the facts to their website and hopefully not in such small lettering that no one will read.

Hope springs eternal.

 

I agree with your future assessment. Change occurs gradually. I think because we cannot take too much of it. But, I think like tipping has changed from when I was growing up. There were certain principles that now do not seem to matter. You use to not tip on tax, which most places include when they suggest an amount. You never tipped a shop owner or manager. Everyone expect that now. It was only 10% until the New York unions got a hold of the issue. That was a double whammy, not only did you pay for the higher cost of a meal but you paid a higher % as well.

 

If we do not discuss those things change will never happen either way. So fair is fair depending on how each of us see what fair is.

[RocketMan275]

OK, so I messed up in claiming all land hotels have a "hotel charge" but they do have added-on taxes, depending on the state, county, city your hotel is located and it's anywhere from 9%-19% added to the cost of the room. It has a variety of names, i.e., occupancy tax, hospitality tax, etc. And yes, there are lots of hotels that charge still yet an additional "resort fee" and they can vary in price depending on just how much they can claim it is a resort. Just for an example, add an additional $30 to your daily rate.

 

Would a floating hotel with meals included, swimming pools, entertainment, spas, etc., be considered a (floating) resort? ;)

 

All I am saying is that Princess can CHANGE the name of what they are calling the daily added-on "gratuity" and perhaps...just perhaps over time newer cruisers would have less reason to bring up these Ad nauseam threads because Princess will have added the facts to their website and hopefully not in such small lettering that no one will read.

Hope springs eternal.

 

You are correct in that Princess could call this pretty much anything they want but it does not follow that there would be fewer threads challenging these charges.

 

Basically, these threads revolve around the issue of why do I have to pay this charge? Claiming cultural reasons for not paying is simply a smokescreen. The bottom line for those complaining about these charges is that someone else, the cruise line, should pay them.

 

Sooner or later those cultural warriors will claim the cruise line should pay a 'living wage' and eliminate gratuities. It's a rare occasion when they ask for a fare increase to cover the 'living wage'. How the cruise line is to make a profit, finance new ships, pay a 'living wage', and maintain the current low fare structure is never explained. FWIW, the crew is making a 'living wage' considering the standard of living in their home countries.

[caribill]

Of what you eat.

 

And how do you determine the value of what you eat at the buffet or in a dining room since there are no prices on the menu?

Edited October 22, 2015 by caribill

[caribill]

Many people on cruise critic are almost always surprised to learn that the world does not revolve around "People on this board".

 

The majority of posters on this forum are very familiar with Princess pricing policies so knew when "what you see is what you pay" was in effect that they did not have to add extra fees and taxes to come up with the actual booking price. It really simplified the process.

 

However, for new cruisers who are unfamiliar with that kind of pricing, it could appear Princess cost more than a similar cruise on other cruise lines. It must have affected bookings since Princess stopped that practice within a month or two.

[AZbeachboy]

Wrong hotel. You need to stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

 

 

I realized that later. Thanks

[Cuizer2]

And how do you determine the value of what you eat at the buffet or in a dining room since there are no prices on the menu?

 

The price of an item and the value of the item are two different things.

[AZbeachboy]

The price of an item and the value of the item are two different things.

 

 

Why tip at a buffet?

[Cuizer2]

Why tip at a buffet?

 

So you can dump the contents of your plate on the person cutting in line in front of you.

[Steelers36]

OK, so I messed up in claiming all land hotels have a "hotel charge" but they do have added-on taxes, depending on the state, county, city your hotel is located and it's anywhere from 9%-19% added to the cost of the room. It has a variety of names, i.e., occupancy tax, hospitality tax, etc. And yes, there are lots of hotels that charge still yet an additional "resort fee" and they can vary in price depending on just how much they can claim it is a resort. Just for an example, add an additional $30 to your daily rate.

 

Would a floating hotel with meals included, swimming pools, entertainment, spas, etc., be considered a (floating) resort? ;)

 

All I am saying is that Princess can CHANGE the name of what they are calling the daily added-on "gratuity" and perhaps...just perhaps over time newer cruisers would have less reason to bring up these Ad nauseam threads because Princess will have added the facts to their website and hopefully not in such small lettering that no one will read.

Hope springs eternal.

 

Wait a second. Hotel occupancy and other taxes at land-based establishments do not go either to the hotel chain nor to the employees as gratuities. They go to local and state government bodies.

 

Resort fees do go to the hotels, but I've never seen it claimed that those monies are distributed to resort staff as gratuities.

 

Princess is charging for daily gratuities that do go directly to the covered staff.

 

Seems like and apples and oranges argument to me.

 

The only issue to me seems to be an option choice:

(a) Status Quo

(b) Increase the cruise cost per person by the daily gratuity times the number of nights and eliminate the separate gratuity charge.

 

IMO, it's 6-of-one and a half-dozen of the other. I add the gratuity cost to our trip cost and both go into the cost of of the vacation, along with transportation to/from the port.

[Pierlesscruisers]

The price of an item and the value of the item are two different things.

 

Very true.

 

Tom

[Steelers36]

And how do you determine the value of what you eat at the buffet or in a dining room since there are no prices on the menu?

 

True, but it doesn't stretch the imagination to presume a couple is getting at least $100 of food per day considering, 3 full meals, plus snacks in between and after. And even if using the buffet for some meals, there is still service involved. I tip at a buffet, but not as much as full-service restaurant.

 

So, back to the $100 figure. Or $50/person. 15% is $7.50. Measure that against the daily gratuity charge and I don't think there should be any complaints. And I am sure most people are getting much more than $50 worth of food each day (assuming you were buying it all elsewhere).

 

Play with the numbers (total food value and tip %) and I think we get off pretty well. I believe I used very low numbers above to illustrate the point.

 

And then there is the cabin service. And other staff share in the tip pool as well. After you get a realistic restaurant/food tip, I think there isn't much left for stewards and housekeeping.