New Princess Speak

[caribill]

4 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

The Purser's Desk became Passenger Services.  They seem to be getting away from traditional nautical terms.

 

Next bow and stern will become "pointy end" and "blunt end."

[2 cruises a year]

21 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Next bow and stern will become "pointy end" and "blunt end."

Yep, I use that one myself. 

[greenie082756]

Thought just came to mind ~

crew incentive = carrot at the end of the stick?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

21 hours ago, simong said:

that sounds like the crew will not get the full "tip" amount and the drinks do not include tip it will be added, this sounds like a reduction of this promotion

 

Princess are actually trying to clarify by specifying that the Premier Beverage Package INCLUDES the 18% service charge (tips) on the retail value of the package, and that guest do not have to pay it as a separate charge.  I think this is being done to differentiate themselves From the NCL, who require to pay a 20% service fee on the retail value of the "Free" Beverage package they include as part of their Fee@Sea offer

[caribill]

1 hour ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

Princess are actually trying to clarify by specifying that the Premier Beverage Package INCLUDES the 18% service charge (tips) on the retail value of the package, and that guest do not have to pay it as a separate charge.  I think this is being done to differentiate themselves From the NCL, who require to pay a 20% service fee on the retail value of the "Free" Beverage package they include as part of their Fee@Sea offer

 

Nope.  Is a new phrase for"gratuities."

 

Per Princess:

"Crew Incentive paid on behalf of the guest vary based on stateroom type (up to 4 guests per stateroom)."

 

Beverage gratuities are now described as "Bar service charge is only included in the package and is paid on behalf of the guest for qualifying beverages included in the PBP."

[AtlantaCruiser72]

12 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Nope.  Is a new phrase for"gratuities."

 

Per Princess:

"Crew Incentive paid on behalf of the guest vary based on stateroom type (up to 4 guests per stateroom)."

 

Beverage gratuities are now described as "Bar service charge is only included in the package and is paid on behalf of the guest for qualifying beverages included in the PBP."

 

I was specifically referencing the language around the Premier beverage package including service charge/gratuity, which some are finding confusing.  I was NOT addressing the change in nomenclature for standard gratuities to crew incentive.

 

The pricing on Princess website shows "Premier drinks with service charge" which some people find confusing as it might indicate there will be a service charge/gratuity added onboard, but in reality they are trying to indicate it includes the service charge as part of the Princess+ program and no extra service charge/gratuity will be added for drink covered by the Premier beverage package.

 

[c-boy]

🤨  hmmm ,interesting                                                                                                                                                gratuity (ies) put the onus on the passenger/customer

 

             incentive (s)  puts the onus on the staff 

Edited May 14, 2021 by c-boy

[pms4104]

Is it possible Princess has renamed this fee because crew home countries now tax tips and gratuities ...  but crew incentives are exempt from income taxes?

Edited May 14, 2021 by pms4104

[AtlantaCruiser72]

59 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

Is it possible Princess has renamed this fee because crew home countries now tax tips and gratuities ...  but crew incentives are exempt from income taxes?

 

It's part of a larger change in nomenclature within the travel industry.  HAL calls it a Hotel Service Charge, NCL Daily Service Charge and now Princess with Crew Incentive.  Whatever you want to call it the general move is to make it a mandatory charge (akin to hotels charging "resort" or "destination" fees).  The income associated with these charges is assigned to the ships onboard revenue and therefore treated differently under tax codes for the corporation.  A similar situation exists for the airlines where things like bag fees, onboard food sales, seat allocation fees, etc are all treated different under tax code than base fare. 

 

How crew are compensated has changed dramatically over the years, and really is between the employee and the employer and not for us to question the structure.  

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by AtlantaCruiser72

[spookyfudge]

I am glad we booked our 2023 WC so early, checking prices today they are up about 15K per person without all the free perks we got.  If you want to cruise, you better book early or be prepared to spend mocha dinaros on it.

[beg3yrs]

4 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

... Whatever you want to call it the general move is to make it a mandatory charge (akin to hotels charging "resort" or "destination" fees). ...

 

But, Princess still makes it clear this is a discretionary charge. Passengers can still remove it while hotel resort or destination fees are mandatory.

[heddyjan]

Any cruises that depart from any port in Australia are always more expensive because we don’t pay gratuities.

We still do tip but it’s always discreet. Our room stewards always get a VERY generous tip each cruise which can become costly when we do B2B2B2B.

However, they work very hard, long hours and deserve every cent.

We also give the crew little gifts, especially if they are IPM in a port they were looking forward to visiting. Doesn’t have to be dear (sometimes like a fridge magnet). It just let them know we appreciate their service.

[taznremmy]

Tips are not included in our fares, and are an additional add on.  In the US we can go to Guest Services and ask to have them removed.  I personally have never done this, and in fact still tip my room steward, bartenders and waiters over and above the 'required' amount.  

[AtlantaCruiser72]

1 hour ago, taznremmy said:

Tips are not included in our fares, and are an additional add on.  In the US we can go to Guest Services and ask to have them removed.  I personally have never done this, and in fact still tip my room steward, bartenders and waiters over and above the 'required' amount.  

 

2 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

But, Princess still makes it clear this is a discretionary charge. Passengers can still remove it while hotel resort or destination fees are mandatory.

However with Princess heavily marketing Princess+ , and seeing a VERY high opt in rate for this fare code, most North American guests will never see the “crew incentive” (gratuities) on their onboard folio as it is included as part of the bundled fare. 

[caribill]

8 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

However with Princess heavily marketing Princess+ , and seeing a VERY high opt in rate for this fare code, most North American guests will never see the “crew incentive” (gratuities) on their onboard folio as it is included as part of the bundled fare. 

 

Prediction:

 

In the coming months there will be a number of posts on Cruise Critic asking "What are crew incentives?"

[dave_k58]

On 5/13/2021 at 2:25 PM, ebeluga said:

I wonder if in this case, crew incentive is compulsory and gratuity is voluntary and is on top of it.

Maybe it means that its " some of the gratuities" but not all

[Porky55]

Downunder - it isn’t called either Crew Incentive or Gratuity - because as always it’s included by law. Currently this is our only promotion 🙄

 

 

 

[getting older slowly]

Love the way company rename things.... is it trying to make the old... new ??

 

simple a spade is a spade... pretty easy.......

 

Cabins or stateroom... will become rooms

 

and the new rename. crew incentive... how about service charge.....

 

or what about put the fare up to include this.....

or include a drinks package into all fares......

both will make money which is the bottom line.....

 

finally    travelling resort  instead of ship    I don't think so....

[EatonDoolittle]

1 hour ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

Sounds way worse than gratuities.  "Crew Incentive"???   Explicitly implying that the majority of your workforce needs "incentive" to do their job in the first place is incredibly poor marketing in my opinion.

 

 

 

I had the exact same thought...what were they thinking? How insulting to the crew.

 

Just before I retired,  the HR department started using the term "Human Capital" for employees.

I was disgusted,  could only think of those colonial days of counting people like cattle and farm equipment in an inventory of one's belongings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caribill]

3 hours ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

I had the exact same thought...what were they thinking? How insulting to the crew.

 

Just before I retired,  the HR department started using the term "Human Capital" for employees.

I was disgusted,  could only think of those colonial days of counting people like cattle and farm equipment in an inventory of one's belongings. 

 

 

 

Sounds like slavery to me.

[Steelers36]

13 hours ago, heddyjan said:

Any cruises that depart from any port in Australia are always more expensive because we don’t pay gratuities.

I hope you realize you do pay them - simply baked into that higher fare, so it all works out.

[nocl]

On 5/13/2021 at 12:25 PM, ebeluga said:

I wonder if in this case, crew incentive is compulsory and gratuity is voluntary and is on top of it.

That would be interesting.

 

Under US accounting law (while the cruise lines are not US companies and do not pay much tax they are listed on US exchanges and must meet the SEC requirements for accounting) voluntary gratuities that are fully paid out to the crew are not considered either income or expense.  They are basically off the books are far as revenue and expense reporting.  If they are no longer voluntary or not all paid out to the crew then they would be considered as income and the monies paid out as expenses.  Since the amounts are certainly material, it should show up in future financial filings.  This accounting treatment is the one item that has given me confidence that the money received as gratuities are actually all paid out to the crew.

[voljeep]

7 minutes ago, nocl said:

are actually all paid out to the crew.

wouldn't mind seeing a definition of "crew" - is Jan part of the 'crew' - what about ship Captain and Officers ? -

 

Are crew incentives distributed 'per ship, per cruise'?  or fleetwide ?

[JF - retired RRT]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I hope you realize you do pay them - simply baked into that higher fare, so it all works out.

The good thing is passengers who routinely "stiff" the staff by deleting the gratuity can't do it with the AU system.

[Porky55]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I hope you realize you do pay them - simply baked into that higher fare, so it all works out.

Absolutely and I think it’s totally appropriate.
 

So many crew members we don’t interact with, leaving no way to give a tip to engine room crew, laundry crew etc. etc. By having it included cruise lines can pay crew reasonably well. 🤔

 

We still tip if and when a particular staff member provides great service.