Gratuities

[blondietoo]

Can anyone tell me what the gratuities are per person in a PH3??

Thank you in advance

[mauibabes]

$23 a day pp will be charged to your account and if you are very well treated, I am sure your Butler and Stewards would welcome anything extra you might like to give them. 
Mauibabes

[blondietoo]

1 hour ago, blondietoo said:

Can anyone tell me what the gratuities are per person in a PH3??

Thank you in advance

Thank you. Oh yes we tip extra for excellent service!!

[Marmaduke]

Can you use O life OBC to pay the gratuities and what is the current rate for standard balcony cabins ?

[1985rz1]

3 hours ago, Marmaduke said:

Can you use O life OBC to pay the gratuities and what is the current rate for standard balcony cabins ?

Yes, you can use SBC.  Standard stateroom rate is $15 per person per day.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Marmaduke said:

Can you use O life OBC to pay the gratuities and what is the current rate for standard balcony cabins ?

 A good place to get answers to basic questions

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/

Gratuities are $16 pd PP  they cover  Housekeeping & Restaurant staff

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005476793-What-is-your-gratuity-policy-

 

[PSR]

On a slightly different topic, does Oceania put a hold amount on your credit card? If so, how much is it per day? Thanks.

[LHT28]

26 minutes ago, PSR said:

On a slightly different topic, does Oceania put a hold amount on your credit card? If so, how much is it per day? Thanks.

If they do I never noticed

Maybe call & ask them

[retrembl]

On 5/12/2022 at 8:53 PM, mauibabes said:

$23 a day pp will be charged to your account and if you are very well treated, I am sure your Butler and Stewards would welcome anything extra you might like to give them. 
Mauibabes

$23.00 per day pp. Is a little pricy considering Princess and other only charge your account $16.50 per day pp for a suite.  Can someone explain why the grats are $6.50 per day pp higher than other cruise lines. I'm not at odds with tipping, just don't know how the gratuity is distributed, and what you get for an additional $13.00 per day.

[basor]

19 minutes ago, retrembl said:

$23.00 per day pp. Is a little pricy considering Princess and other only charge your account $16.50 per day pp for a suite.  Can someone explain why the grats are $6.50 per day pp higher than other cruise lines. I'm not at odds with tipping, just don't know how the gratuity is distributed, and what you get for an additional $13.00 per day.

Suites on Princess do not come with a butler., addittional free reservations at specialty restaurants, course by course serving of meals from the GDR and any specialty dining room in your cabin, etc.

[jondfk]

49 minutes ago, retrembl said:

$23.00 per day pp. Is a little pricy considering Princess and other only charge your account $16.50 per day pp for a suite.  Can someone explain why the grats are $6.50 per day pp higher than other cruise lines. I'm not at odds with tipping, just don't know how the gratuity is distributed, and what you get for an additional $13.00 per day.

Recent O newby here with lots of Princess experience.  As mentioned the most apparent difference is the butler, we used a small fraction of what he could have done, but felt there was real value in the added service.  Breakfast in the cabin became our norm, something that really doesn’t appeal to me on larger lines.  Additionally he handled a few small requests, like lime wedges for my water for example.  We could have asked for so much more.

 

in addition you effectively have two cabin stewards though I can’t say their combined service was especially superior.  
 

That said we ended up feeling that the standard gratuity was appropriate for the service received.  We added a bit for our butler but none for the stewards.  I tipped one especially helpful bartender and bar server but no one else.

[mauibabes]

Retrembl,

Most importantly, you are NOT on Princess. 🤪🙏  Based on the  service we have gotten when in a PH, we are glad to pay the fantastic staff for their services. I have to admit, as a Platinum O Club member, Oceania has given us Free Gratuities for over 10 years and we always provide extra tips for the staff.  This has been especially true since Oceania returned to sailing last August.  
Ciao, Mauibabes

[retrembl]

1 hour ago, jondfk said:

Recent O newby here with lots of Princess experience.  As mentioned the most apparent difference is the butler, we used a small fraction of what he could have done, but felt there was real value in the added service.  Breakfast in the cabin became our norm, something that really doesn’t appeal to me on larger lines.  Additionally he handled a few small requests, like lime wedges for my water for example.  We could have asked for so much more.

 

in addition you effectively have two cabin stewards though I can’t say their combined service was especially superior.  
 

That said we ended up feeling that the standard gratuity was appropriate for the service received.  We added a bit for our butler but none for the stewards.  I tipped one especially helpful bartender and bar server but no one else.

Thanks for your input.  We've cruise many times with Princess and HAL.Princess Mini Suite is approx 323SF including Balcony. HAL SS cat is approx 380SF.  So agree Ocieania PH3 at 420SF Approx 10% larger than HAL and approx 30%  larger than Princess.

This will be our 1st sailing with Oceania.  With your info we are looking forward to seeing London, Copenhagen and all the ports between.  Again thanks

[osandomir]

3 hours ago, retrembl said:

Thanks for your input.  We've cruise many times with Princess and HAL.Princess Mini Suite is approx 323SF including Balcony. HAL SS cat is approx 380SF.  So agree Ocieania PH3 at 420SF Approx 10% larger than HAL and approx 30%  larger than Princess.

This will be our 1st sailing with Oceania.  With your info we are looking forward to seeing London, Copenhagen and all the ports between.  Again thanks

As it was mentioned before, it’s not about the size but about the service. You will have a chance to see it for yourself when you sail with Oceania… Or if you still think the gratuities are not reasonable you always can go back to the other cruise lines.

[LHT28]

15 hours ago, retrembl said:

I'm not at odds with tipping, just don't know how the gratuity is distributed, and what you get for an additional $13.00 per day.

you get  a Butler & his services

They  will serve you meals in your suite  bring afternoon canapes make extra specialty reservations if requested   even draw you a bath if they are asked 

😄

[Misssmb]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

you get  a Butler & his services

They  will serve you meals in your suite  bring afternoon canapes make extra specialty reservations if requested   even draw you a bath if they are asked 

😄

Our last butler was so wonderful, that every day at 4 o’clock he brought us two glasses of champagne, afternoon canapés and chocolate covered strawberries! One day after touring all day we were sitting in our robes on the balcony and snoozing a little bit and I woke up and there he was standing with the champagne! Now that is service!

[Rosroz]

I have absolutely no problem in tipping where it is deserved , but what I do object to is that miserly Corporates expect us to subsidise their staffs wages , while they are raking it in , many of the crew come from very poor backgrounds and work away to give their families a better life and if I hear anyone on a ship say oh but they are better off than they would  be at home , I will scream ! Most of them speak several other languages  and are highly educated unlike some the customers they serve and I’ve seen them being treated very poorly by some guests and they don’t deserve it. 
I always give extra for someone who goes over and above .

Edited June 10, 2022 by Rosroz

[firsttimers68]

1 hour ago, Rosroz said:

I have absolutely no problem in tipping where it is deserved , but what I do object to is that miserly Corporates expect us to subsidise their staffs wages , while they are raking it in , many of the crew come from very poor backgrounds and work away to give their families a better life and if I hear anyone on a ship say oh but they are better off than they would  be at home , I will scream ! Most of them speak several other languages  and are highly educated unlike some the customers they serve and I’ve seen them being treated very poorly by some guests and they don’t deserve it. 
I always give extra for someone who goes over and above .

I agree! We have been so incredibly lucky not only to take multiple cruises but to meet such wonderful people who work onboard. Some of them have just gone that extra mile, so we discreetly give them a bit extra at the end of our cruise. I know it's a bone of contention with many but it's my choice. I'm fortunate in life so I try and share a bit of that.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, firsttimers68 said:

I agree! We have been so incredibly lucky not only to take multiple cruises but to meet such wonderful people who work onboard. Some of them have just gone that extra mile, so we discreetly give them a bit extra at the end of our cruise. I know it's a bone of contention with many but it's my choice. I'm fortunate in life so I try and share a bit of that.

You do not need to  worry  about tipping extra   that is your personal choice

 

If you remove the daily gratuity then the crew have to turn in any tips given them discreetly or not

 

We give  extra tips to some .. we put in an envelope with a note of thanks  & our name & cabin number so the Purser will know it is EXTRA as we have PPG 

We also make a not in the final cruise comments  about the staff member  by name  so they may get  a rise in position or whatever they may be in line for

JMO