"Crew Appreciation" charge on Australia & NZ cruises?

[Steelers36]

23 hours ago, Ombud said:

11/23/23 Enchanted Princess 15 nights in E425 = $240.00 (16 night)

4/6/24 Royal Princess 21 nights in E421 = A$304.50 (14.5 night)

Both cruises are Royal class obstructed midship balconies so why aren't the gratuities the same rate. Are they less in Australia? 

 

22 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Okay, sorry. I apparently missed a prior post. That "should" teach me to be more careful but, sadly, I will certainly blunder again. As for Australian gratuities... I have no clue. I know they are baked into the fare if you book an Australian cruise from Australia and are something I don't worry about with the Plus fare.

 

Hmmm... Okay, I just checked my upcoming Australia cruises.

 

Australia/New Zealand Cruises - This Fall

First one is with Plus 50. 14 day cruise in a Caribe balcony on Grand Princess.

Crew Appreciation Included (mini Suites and Below) $203 = $14.50/day

 

Second One is with the "new" Plus package. 4 days in the same cabin as above. $64 = $16/day   Third One is also with the "new" Plus package. 14 days still in the same cabin. Crew Appreciation Included (mini Suites and Below) $224 = $16/day   Mexican Rivera for Total Eclipse - April of 2024 Booked with Plus 50. 10 days in Balcony cabin. Crew Appreciation Included (mini Suites and Below) $145 = $14.5/day     It seems that when I am booked with the "old" Plus package" listed as Plus 50 the gratuity is less.

 

I am sure the cruises showing $14.50 were booked prior to the CA increase date as PCL keeps the old rate for guests.  You may elect to pay the additional $1.50.   $14.50 is not an AUD amount. 

 

If not purchasing Plus/Premier, it may make sense to pre-pay the CA using Cruise Personalizer.

[Ombud]

22 hours ago, Thrak said:

Australia/New Zealand Cruises - This Fall

First one is with Plus 50. 14 day cruise in a Caribe balcony on Grand Princess.

Crew Appreciation Included (mini Suites and Below) $203 = $14.50/day

Can you come back & let us know if it's 14.50 a day or what? I *might* pre-pay if its more

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Can you come back & let us know if it's 14.50 a day or what? I *might* pre-pay if its more

He's on the Plus fare from before the last price increase.  The CA is locked in at $14.50.

[Ombud]

I know .... think Thrak usually books that but maybe he'd know anyway. Are you suggesting that my gratuities might also be locked in at 14.50 a day?? Is that A$21.02?

[Thrak]

I just pay whatever they charge. It won't matter a bit what I think is right or "correct". If I want to cruise I'm stuck with whatever they charge. I'm luck I get to cruise at all.

[daydreamer16]

20 hours ago, Wanderers2 said:

If you log into your Princess account (not the app) & go to the Travel Summary for your cruise it will tell you what currency you will be charged.

Ok thanks!

[daydreamer16]

I checked my travel summary, it's in USD! Thanks again Wanderers2!

[konatyme]

So in all this discussion about currency conversion, I'm still looking at what Mary Loves To Travel originally posted in this thread (i.e. "Although Crew Appreciation is listed as part of the Princess Plus package, on Australia and New Zealand voyages Crew Appreciation is already included in the cruise fare and therefore all guests, regardless of whether they book the Princess Plus package, will receive Crew Appreciation and no substitution or refund will be provided for such part of the package.") I guess we are to assume this is an error on the part of Princess since they don't say that it only applies to cruises booked IN Australia BY Australians?

[Steelers36]

On 7/14/2023 at 12:00 AM, Ombud said:

I know .... think Thrak usually books that but maybe he'd know anyway. Are you suggesting that my gratuities might also be locked in at 14.50 a day?? Is that A$21.02?

Your Travel Summary should detail the CA amount.  Also, if you booked prior to the increase, you should be at the old price.  What I did the last time they increased what were called Gratuities then, I paid the extra either in advance or on board because by the time we sailed, the new rates were in effect and I wanted the crew to have the new amount.

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Your Travel Summary should detail the CA amount.  Also, if you booked prior to the increase, you should be at the old price.  What I did the last time they increased what were called Gratuities then, I paid the extra either in advance or on board because by the time we sailed, the new rates were in effect and I wanted the crew to have the new amount.

My personalizer has the old rate. 

 

I don't mind MY waiter, HW, asst waiter, steward getting it (doing my own laundry). But it seems like it's just wage replacement these days. 

[Steelers36]

57 minutes ago, Ombud said:

My personalizer has the old rate. 

 

I don't mind MY waiter, HW, asst waiter, steward getting it (doing my own laundry). But it seems like it's just wage replacement these days. 

Just remembered.... PCL makes up the difference for those guests locked in at lower rate.

[Mary loves to travel]

3 hours ago, konatyme said:

So in all this discussion about currency conversion, I'm still looking at what Mary Loves To Travel originally posted in this thread (i.e. "Although Crew Appreciation is listed as part of the Princess Plus package, on Australia and New Zealand voyages Crew Appreciation is already included in the cruise fare and therefore all guests, regardless of whether they book the Princess Plus package, will receive Crew Appreciation and no substitution or refund will be provided for such part of the package.") I guess we are to assume this is an error on the part of Princess since they don't say that it only applies to cruises booked IN Australia BY Australians?

thanks for bringing this back around!     Where it really comes into play is if one might or might not buy one of the packages:    if one is normally borderline break-even on a package, knowing the Crew Appreciation won't be charged can be quite a deciding factor when evaluating the package.

I realize that people who tend to have 3-4 or more alcohol drinks will get benefit from the package either way, but for those of us who are lighter drinkers, this is important to know.

 

 

[Ombud]

@Steelers36 i thought (perhaps wrongly) that those assessed gratuities were distributed throughout the fleet .... not just to the ones who I interacted with. 

 

@Mary loves to travel precisely.  My 'carryon' bottle of wine lasts all week. I still have the bottle I traded my mini bar for in April in the cupboard. On port intensive itinaries even the wifi has lesser value TO ME. So it comes down to gratuities 

[Steelers36]

43 minutes ago, Mary loves to travel said:

thanks for bringing this back around!     Where it really comes into play is if one might or might not buy one of the packages:    if one is normally borderline break-even on a package, knowing the Crew Appreciation won't be charged can be quite a deciding factor when evaluating the package.

I realize that people who tend to have 3-4 or more alcohol drinks will get benefit from the package either way, but for those of us who are lighter drinkers, this is important to know.

 

 

I believe in the cases where the Plus/Premier packages do not include CA, the price is lower - so the math thing is still there.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

@Steelers36 i thought (perhaps wrongly) that those assessed gratuities were distributed throughout the fleet .... not just to the ones who I interacted with. 

 

@Mary loves to travel precisely.  My 'carryon' bottle of wine lasts all week. I still have the bottle I traded my mini bar for in April in the cupboard. On port intensive itinaries even the wifi has lesser value TO ME. So it comes down to gratuities 

Yes, the common knowledge is that CA is shared across the fleet.  Don't think I implied anything different. 

[Ombud]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, the common knowledge is that CA is shared across the fleet.  Don't think I implied anything different. 

Let me restate: my paying 14.5 vs 16 won't mean the crew I come in contact with will get 1.5 per day less

 

Guess I'm just rebelling against this invasive everyone-wants-a- tip ..... counter service, a oral surgeon i saw a week ago, gardeners EVERY TIME (nope they get envelopes at the holidays and they're well pd by the company), etc. 

 

 

 

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Let me restate: my paying 14.5 vs 16 won't mean the crew I come in contact with will get 1.5 per day less

 

Guess I'm just rebelling against this invasive everyone-wants-a- tip ..... counter service, a oral surgeon i saw a week ago, gardeners EVERY TIME (nope they get envelopes at the holidays and they're well pd by the company), etc. 

 

 

 

 

At an oral surgeon??!!   Oh my!.

[windsor26]

I note it has been said  the northern American ships move their CA to ACROSS THE FLEET   But I am sure (correct me if someone knows better)  the Australian gratuities are kept to the actual ship that collects them as  part of the fare we pay on CCL ships.

[Mary loves to travel]

17 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I believe in the cases where the Plus/Premier packages do not include CA, the price is lower - so the math thing is still there.

that's interesting!    So, the error on the Princess website is either where they say  "Although Crew Appreciation is listed as part of the Princess Plus package, on Australia and New Zealand voyages Crew Appreciation is already included in the cruise fare and therefore all guests, regardless of whether they book the Princess Plus package, will receive Crew Appreciation and no substitution or refund will be provided for such part of the package." .... or the error is in the Personalizer, where it's shown that we *will* be charged gratuities.

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, Mary loves to travel said:

that's interesting!    So, the error on the Princess website is either where they say  "Although Crew Appreciation is listed as part of the Princess Plus package, on Australia and New Zealand voyages Crew Appreciation is already included in the cruise fare and therefore all guests, regardless of whether they book the Princess Plus package, will receive Crew Appreciation and no substitution or refund will be provided for such part of the package." .... or the error is in the Personalizer, where it's shown that we *will* be charged gratuities.

I'd say the blue highlight is wrong because it could be standard boilerplate text, not taking into account voyage involved.  I am not sure your exact reference point.  The earlier point in bold is what makes sense to me.  So, isn't the cost of adding on Plus or Premier in Australia lower than for us booking in North America?  IDK the Australian pricing, but I believe I have read this.

[Mary loves to travel]

20 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I'd say the blue highlight is wrong because it could be standard boilerplate text, not taking into account voyage involved.  I am not sure your exact reference point.  The earlier point in bold is what makes sense to me.  So, isn't the cost of adding on Plus or Premier in Australia lower than for us booking in North America?  IDK the Australian pricing, but I believe I have read this.

Oh, that's an interesting question!

So, I just went into my personalizer to find out:   for an Australia cruise next year (starts and ends in Australia).   Currently booked with Standard fare.    To add on Plus is $60 USD per day, Premier is $80 USD per day.

 

The above yellow highlighted comes from the fine print on the "Score for '24" promotion.

 

Mary

[jwattle]

Not sure if it's been answered yet, but it IS dependent on where booked. I DO have to pay gratuities on our upcoming Australia cruise, but since we have Premier, it's included.

[Mary loves to travel]

17 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Not sure if it's been answered yet, but it IS dependent on where booked. I DO have to pay gratuities on our upcoming Australia cruise, but since we have Premier, it's included.

Thanks!   As I suspected - the error is in the fine print of the "Score for '24" promotion; apparently, it should say that gratuities are included for all Australians booking Australia & NA cruises.....

[Astro Flyer]

26 minutes ago, Mary loves to travel said:

that's interesting!    So, the error on the Princess website is either where they say  "Although Crew Appreciation is listed as part of the Princess Plus package, on Australia and New Zealand voyages Crew Appreciation is already included in the cruise fare and therefore all guests, regardless of whether they book the Princess Plus package, will receive Crew Appreciation and no substitution or refund will be provided for such part of the package." .... or the error is in the Personalizer, where it's shown that we *will* be charged gratuities.

As I’ve previously posted, I do not have direct knowledge about this situation but based on asking it on the OZ/NZ board for our 2025 cruises this was the consensus.

 

Your first statement appears to apply to those who book cruises in Oz & NZ…CA included in cruise fare & no credit for it not being included in packages.

 

Based on experiences shared on the OZ/NZ board for us booking in USD then CA is additional.

 

I don’t have a package so expect to pay the $16 USD/pp/day CA (shown in my Cruise Personalizer) that is converted to the nearly $24 AUD.

 

As I recall Thrak will sail Oz in the Fall & should have direct knowledge about how CA is paid when booking in USD on a ship that uses AUD onboard. IIRC he has a package so won’t pay CA daily like me but he might gain some knowledge about how you & I without packages will be charged for CA.

 

[Mary loves to travel]

Just now, Astro Flyer said:

As I’ve previously posted, I do not have direct knowledge about this situation but based on asking it on the OZ/NZ board for our 2025 cruises this was the consensus.

 

Your first statement appears to apply to those who book cruises in Oz & NZ…CA included in cruise fare & no credit for it not being included in packages.

 

Based on experiences shared on the OZ/NZ board for us booking in USD then CA is additional.

 

I don’t have a package so expect to pay the $16 USD/pp/day CA (shown in my Cruise Personalizer) that is converted to the nearly $24 AUD.

 

As I recall Thrak will sail Oz in the Fall & should have direct knowledge about how CA is paid when booking in USD on a ship that uses AUD onboard. IIRC he has a package so won’t pay CA daily like me but he might gain some knowledge about how you & I without packages will be charged for CA.

 

@Astro Flyer Thanks!

 

@Thrak ok, we're counting on you to find out & report back 🙂