Newbie to Princess

[amajaa]

Hi, only sailed P & O, Cunard and RCI before so a few questions please.

 

What is the gratuity policy on Princess? We always leave our tips on to come off automatically on P & O as only £6 pppd. Also have left on automatically on Cunard and RCI although a lot more expensive. What do most people do on Princess?

 

Sailing from Southampton will people dress up for dinner. I have a few sequinned long dresses but expect I will look out of places If I wear them, judging by the clothes worn on the Cruise program about Princess shown in UK recently. Also men didn't seem to wear dinner jackets and bow ties so should hubby take his? Any advice please?

[paul929207]

We leave on the autotip. It is so much easier. I believe it is $13.95 for balcony and lower categories. Something like $14.50 and $15.50 for mini and full suites respectively.

[LoriPhil]

We leave the autotip on which allows us to contribute to all the "behind the scenes" people who make the cruise great. If you remove autotip and tip directly, the employee is required to put that tip into the pool for distribution, so they probably end up getting less than if the autotip was on. We do give the steward an extra $20 when we board as well, but let them know the autotip is on. We also complete the "you made a difference" card at the end of the cruise.

 

Congratulations on choosing Princess - I hope you enjoy your cruise!

[satxdiver]

The vast majority leave the gratuities on their folio. The consensus here is that one leaves the gratuities alone.

 

Princess has dedicated formal nights which are loosely enforced. Some will appear in a tux or full gown while for men suits and women cocktail dress or pants suit is the norm. You are never out of place wearing nice clothing but I would not expect to see men wearing dinner jackets on formal nights. We did the British Isles cruise last year and suits on men were the predominate feature.

[skynight]

Hi, only sailed P & O, Cunard and RCI before so a few questions please.

 

What is the gratuity policy on Princess? We always leave our tips on to come off automatically on P & O as only £6 pppd. Also have left on automatically on Cunard and RCI although a lot more expensive. What do most people do on Princess?

 

Sailing from Southampton will people dress up for dinner. I have a few sequinned long dresses but expect I will look out of places If I wear them, judging by the clothes worn on the Cruise program about Princess shown in UK recently. Also men didn't seem to wear dinner jackets and bow ties so should hubby take his? Any advice please?

The hotel gratuity covers your cabin steward, wait staff in the DR and other venues such as the buffet, as well as specialty restaurants.It also covers support staff you do not see. The gratuity is charged per person per day and varies according to your cabin category:

US$15.50 per guest for suites, US$14.50 per guest formini-suites and club class, and US$13.50 per guest for interior, oceanview, andbalcony staterooms.

It is recommended that you keep the auto-tip in place. There are lots and lots of discussions about this subject. We always provide an extra cash tip to our cabin steward at the end of the cruise, which is in addition to the auto-tip. We also provide additional cash tips to our waiter and assistant waiter when we have had traditional fixed seat dining. When going to a specialty dining restaurant we will give an additional cash tip if the service was good.

In addition there is a 15% gratuity added to all beverage purchases. Beverage waiters are not covered under the hotel charge.

This is the evening dress guidelines:

Smart Casual

Guest attire should be in keeping with what they would wear to a nicerestaurant at home; Skirts/dresses, slacks, and sweaters for ladies, Pants and open-neck shirts for men

Inappropriatedinner wear such as pool or beach attire, shorts, ball caps and casual jeans(with fraying and/or holes) are not permitted in the dining rooms. Shoes mustbe worn.

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the TraditionalDining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests., Eveninggowns and cocktail dresses for women, Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

Comments: These guidelines are for the DR's. In the remaining public areas of the ship you may dress casual all the time. This includes the buffet and any lounges or theater.

Our formal night experience on cruises from Southampton is that you will find many men in tux or dinner jackets, maybe around 20/25%. Most of the other men will be in jacket and tie. Women are usually in very nice outfits, but not many are actually in gowns.

Hope this information is helpful.

[easyboy]

Just got off in Southampton last month. More dress up on formal nights than in other itineraries. Some were in tux and long gowns, but not as many as in previous years. Most are in suit and cocktail dress, at least in our British Isles sailing. Smart casual is typical on non-formal nights.

 

 

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[amajaa]

The vast majority leave the gratuities on their folio. The consensus here is that one leaves the gratuities alone.

 

Princess has dedicated formal nights which are loosely enforced. Some will appear in a tux or full gown while for men suits and women cocktail dress or pants suit is the norm. You are never out of place wearing nice clothing but I would not expect to see men wearing dinner jackets on formal nights. We did the British Isles cruise last year and suits on men were the predominate feature.

 

Thanks to all replies. Yes I was going to leave autotips on, just wondered what the norm was on Princess.

 

A dinner jacket is what you call a tux in America so I guess some do wear then when sailing round trip from UK. It was only that while watching The Cruise on telly no one seemed to look very smart at all even on formal nights, so I thought best to check.

[floridalover5623]

T

Smart Casual

Guest attire should be in keeping with what they would wear to a nicerestaurant at home; Skirts/dresses, slacks, and sweaters for ladies, Pants and open-neck shirts for men

Inappropriatedinner wear such as pool or beach attire, shorts, ball caps and casual jeans(with fraying and/or holes) are not permitted in the dining rooms. Shoes mustbe worn.

Formal

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the TraditionalDining and Anytime Dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests., Eveninggowns and cocktail dresses for women, Tuxedos, dinner jackets or dark suits with a tie for men

Or, at the very least, a shirt, tie and slacks are still appropriate on formal nights.

[c-boy]

Or, at the very least, a shirt, tie and slacks are still appropriate on formal nights.

especially after three days of hittin the buffet line and one cannot fit into their sport coat ;)

[floridalover5623]

especially after three days of hittin the buffet line and one cannot fit into their sport coat ;)

I know where mine is kept.....at home on the rack. I couldn't tell you if it fits today or not. Probably haven't tried it on in over 10 years and don't plan to.