Gratuities on Sun in Australia?

[lorri111]

I am pretty sure I remember reading that Princess ships based in Australia do not charge the usual gratuities directly to ships bill - we are on the Sun in Feb and just want to make sure this is still the case as I can't actually find it in any Princess literature.

[Aus Traveller]

I am pretty sure I remember reading that Princess ships based in Australia do not charge the usual gratuities directly to ships bill - we are on the Sun in Feb and just want to make sure this is still the case as I can't actually find it in any Princess literature.

The usual automatic gratuity is NOT added to on-board accounts of people who booked in Australia and NZ. The auto-gratuity is not added to on-board drinks, although the prices are higher than on Princess ships where tips are charged. No extra tips are expected, although they would be happily accepted if offered.

[RubySlippers85]

I am pretty sure I remember reading that Princess ships based in Australia do not charge the usual gratuities directly to ships bill - we are on the Sun in Feb and just want to make sure this is still the case as I can't actually find it in any Princess literature.

 

I'm pretty sure it depends which country you book from... If booking through an Australian Travel Agent then grats are already included in the fare - which is why the price to book from Australia is higher than from overseas.

 

I think I've read on here that those booking from overseas still have the grats added on for the Australian cruises with Princess - but not 100% sure.

 

Might be best to call Princess directly and ask?

[kuldalai]

It is illegal under Australian law for cruise lines to charge Australian passengers additional charges above the basic fares . Therefore Australian pax no gratuities charged to on board accounts (BUT we pay higher fares than Overseas travellers to offset this ) .

 

Overseas pax travelling on Australian based ships on Australian cruises still get slugged with the gratuities to the on board account .

[lorri111]

An interesting distinction. So it doesn't matter how you book from Australia, whether by TA or directly online with Princess (as I did), it still differentiates us from overseas passengers booking with Princess?

[satxdiver]

The Aussies and Europeans have it correct on the issue of tipping. It would be nice if the USA got away from the act of tipping.

 

As to whether you book through a TA or direct to Princess, there should not be any difference as Princess uses your home location and not how it was booked. I have fired a TA who decided to start charging me for any changes to my booking by moving the booking back to Princess. It was very easy to do.

[Bill B]

Overseas pax travelling on Australian based ships on Australian cruises still get slugged with the gratuities to the on board account .

 

So in effect, non-Australians get charged twice for gratuities - once 'hidden' and once 'up front'. If I ever book on a Princess Australia ship, I'll have the gratuity charge removed from my on board account.

[Thrak]

So in effect, non-Australians get charged twice for gratuities - once 'hidden' and once 'up front'. If I ever book on a Princess Australia ship, I'll have the gratuity charge removed from my on board account.

 

No. If you book elsewhere you don't pay as much as those who book in Australia. They have the gratuities built into the price. Booking outside of Australia you will pay less but will have the gratuities added onto your daily bill.

[iancal]

It depends......

 

our experience is that we booked Sun Princess in North America and our gratuities were added to our daily account.

 

On the PLUS side, the on board currency was AUD. Three weeks later we embarked on an RCI cruise in Australia. On board currency was USD, prices were higher. Bottom line, RCI on board prices for drinks etc were 30-40 percent higher than Sun Princess.

 

 

We booked our RCI Aus/NZ cruise while we were touring in Australia. Booked inside the final payment window. We checked with our on line US TA and the RCI North America site. Their price was 30 percent more, adjusted for currency, than the price we paid by calling in directly to the RCI Australia office. You just never know...it pays to compare prices.

[Bill B]

No. If you book elsewhere you don't pay as much as those who book in Australia. They have the gratuities built into the price. Booking outside of Australia you will pay less but will have the gratuities added onto your daily bill.

 

In that case, I'd leave the gratuities on my folio.

[wadswatcher]

No. If you book elsewhere you don't pay as much as those who book in Australia. They have the gratuities built into the price. Booking outside of Australia you will pay less but will have the gratuities added onto your daily bill.

 

 

This is not true. I booked in the USA from my travel agent and it was $2,000 more for a 14 day cruise for an inside cabin. I also checked on the Princess website and the cost was even more. I cancelled the cruise...booked with an Australian agent and saved $2,000 and now I don't have to pay gratuities so the savings is even more

 

 

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[boomerone]

This is not true. I booked in the USA from my travel agent and it was $2,000 more for a 14 day cruise for an inside cabin. I also checked on the Princess website and the cost was even more. I cancelled the cruise...booked with an Australian agent and saved $2,000 and now I don't have to pay gratuities so the savings is even more

 

 

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Hello wadswatcher---I read your post regarding booking with an Australian agent but I'm wondering how you did that. I tried but was told since I was booking the trip from a location in the USA I could not go through a foreign TA. Were you overseas when you booked? Was someone hoodwinking me? We ended up booking the trip we wanted to take from a USA TA and later learned the Aussies we are making the trip with paid Princess much less for the same cabin category as ours. I was also told that gratuities were not factored into the price we paid in the USA and we would find those automatically added to our onboard account.