Will Princess follow Royal Caribbean on tips?

[phabric]

Effective Nov 1, tips are increasing on RCL -

- junior suites and below -from $16 to $18

- suites - from $18 to $20.50

They have until Nov 11 to prepay or once onboard will have to pay new rate.

 

Will Princess increase their rates?

[reedprincess]

8 minutes ago, phabric said:

Effective Nov 1, tips are increasing on RCL -

- junior suites and below -from $16 to $18

- suites - from $18 to $20.50

They have until Nov 11 to prepay or once onboard will have to pay new rate.

 

Will Princess increase their rates?

Eventually, they'll raise them again.. Kinda inevitable.

 

The last raise in Crew Appreciation was Feb 2023 for Princess. I wouldn't expect them to raise CA any time soon, but probably next year at some point.. pure speculation on timing, if course. 

[kywildcatfanone]

13 minutes ago, phabric said:

Effective Nov 1, tips are increasing on RCL -

- junior suites and below -from $16 to $18

- suites - from $18 to $20.50

They have until Nov 11 to prepay or once onboard will have to pay new rate.

 

Will Princess increase their rates?

I'm sure Carnival will.  Also, Celebrity recently changed their AI package to not include gratuity.   I'm sure that is coming soon too to Princess and other Carnival brands.

[Rick&Jeannie]

My crystal ball is out for service right now...please call back at a later time.

[BlerkOne]

Whatever they do, the crew deserves it.

[Cruise Junky]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Whatever they do, the crew deserves it.

They deserve to be paid a living wage by their employer, not me.  The whole US based tipping culture is out of control.  

[JimmyVWine]

3 hours ago, phabric said:

Will Princess increase their rates?

I’m virtually certain that in 2030 the gratuity amounts on Princess will be higher than they are now. So yes. At some point the rates will increase 

11 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

The whole US based tipping culture is out of control.  

The wages paid on cruise ships is what it is precisely because the cruise lines do NOT follow US-based norms. By registering outside of the U.S. they can get away with paying far less per hour than would ever be tolerated in the U.S.  As a result, tips are needed to allow the workers to live. I’ll never understand why some people think that raising the price of every cruise by $150 and then declaring “No Tipping” is superior to selling the cruise at a price of $150 less and then imposing a mandatory gratuity of $150 on the voyage. When I was in third grade I learned that $1,000 = $850 + $150. What is undeniable is that Princess is NEVER going to hold prices at current levels and then declare “No Tipping”. Pay more with tips included or pay less and have tips tacked on. Pick one. Makes no difference to the consumer and it makes no difference to the employee (as long as they get the same amount of money under the former). But it does seem to make a difference to the cruise line, probably from a marketing standpoint where a lower base fare fills the ships easier. So let them have their fun. In the end, we pay the same price. 

[leck57]

I just knew this thread would degenerate into a tipping v no tipping brouhaha despite that not being what the OP started with.

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, leck57 said:

I just knew this thread would degenerate into a tipping v no tipping brouhaha despite that not being what the OP started with.

Disagree. There is a straight line between “Will Princess take more of my money in the form of gratuities?” and “Is it fair and just for them to do that?”  

[Cruise Junky]

21 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I’m virtually certain that in 2030 the gratuity amounts on Princess will be higher than they are now. So yes. At some point the rates will increase 

The wages paid on cruise ships is what it is precisely because the cruise lines do NOT follow US-based norms. By registering outside of the U.S. they can get away with paying far less per hour than would ever be tolerated in the U.S.  As a result, tips are needed to allow the workers to live. I’ll never understand why some people think that raising the price of every cruise by $150 and then declaring “No Tipping” is superior to selling the cruise at a price of $150 less and then imposing a mandatory gratuity of $150 on the voyage. When I was in third grade I learned that $1,000 = $850 + $150. What is undeniable is that Princess is NEVER going to hold prices at current levels and then declare “No Tipping”. Pay more with tips included or pay less and have tips tacked on. Pick one. Makes no difference to the consumer and it makes no difference to the employee (as long as they get the same amount of money under the former). But it does seem to make a difference to the cruise line, probably from a marketing standpoint where a lower base fare fills the ships easier. So let them have their fun. In the end, we pay the same price. 

They don’t have to raise it $150 pp. ever seen the line up at guest services to have tips removed?  I’m tired of paying for the cheapskates. Make it mandatory and add it to the fare. Royal Caribbean’s is now $55 Cdn a day. Enough!   

 

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, Cruise Junky said:

They don’t have to raise it $150 pp.

 

Make it mandatory and add it to the fare. 

 

Sorry, but I’m not following the above. These two statements appear to be diametrically opposed. If they make the gratuity mandatory and add it to the fare, then per force, they have to raise the fare $150 (or whatever the equivalent would be for the length of the cruise.). 

[Cruise Junky]

4 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Sorry, but I’m not following the above. These two statements appear to be diametrically opposed. If they make the gratuity mandatory and add it to the fare, then per force, they have to raise the fare $150 (or whatever the equivalent would be for the length of the cruise.). 

I disagree. I think they know a certain percentage of cruisers remove all tips. The people that leave them on are picking up their share.  And this is exactly American tipping culture. Pay them the minimum and make it up with tips.  That’s not English, Canadian, Australian or any other culture.  

[BlerkOne]

39 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

I disagree. I think they know a certain percentage of cruisers remove all tips. The people that leave them on are picking up their share.  And this is exactly American tipping culture. Pay them the minimum and make it up with tips.  That’s not English, Canadian, Australian or any other culture.  

Including American.

 

Paying separate gratuities has always been part of mass market cruising.

 

If you want gratuities baked into the price you pay, opt for Princess Plus or above . Problem solved.

[leck57]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

Disagree. There is a straight line between “Will Princess take more of my money in the form of gratuities?” and “Is it fair and just for them to do that?”  

 

Not what I meant. I meant that we'll have posters talking about paying a decent wage, it's an American thing, blah blah. And that has happened. 

 

[satxdiver]

It has always been my opinion to add the crew gratuities in the price of the cruise with no choice.  When I price a cruise I want to see the total price including taxes, port fees and gratuities added in and not the misleading they do now to show cheaper prices.  Personally I treat it all as the cost of the cruise. 

 

The raising of the daily gratuity is a given and the only question is when. It is not unusual to also leave the room steward a small tip for his efforts particularly if we have extra requests.   

Edited November 1, 2023 by satxdiver

[Stosh68]

3 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

They deserve to be paid a living wage by their employer, not me.  The whole US based tipping culture is out of control.  

 

You remind me of the women who I overheard in Las Vegas, as she was shoveling $5 a spin into slot machines saying to her friend as they admired the lights... "I'm glad I don't have to pay the electric bill here".

 

You are going to pay the crew one way or another, via tips or increased fares.

[BlerkOne]

33 minutes ago, Stosh68 said:

 

You remind me of the women who I overheard in Las Vegas, as she was shoveling $5 a spin into slot machines saying to her friend as they admired the lights... "I'm glad I don't have to pay the electric bill here".

 

You are going to pay the crew one way or another, via tips or increased fares.

That's why the whole thing is laughable. One way or another the customer pays. The cruise line is a business and isn't going to subsidize the customer. Trying to blame America or the cruise line only reflects poorly on the complainer 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

The crew at princess are on a fixed salary. They do not get any extra money from auto gratuities each month. I had suspected this for quite sometime. I have had enough crew members confirm this that I am now certain of it.  Crew do not volunteer this information and they are not supposed to discuss their compensation. 

 

I don’t expect anyone here to believe me and that’s totally fine. So believe it or not makes no difference to me.  I know there are many, like me, who have a closer relationship with some crew than the average passenger and can discreetly confirm this for themselves. 

This is from the Princess website (go to onboard FAQs regarding Crew Appreciation -click on the link “to learn more see our Crew Appreciation and Service Charge Policy). I don’t recall exactly when this verbiage changed but it made me wonder if the crew who served me were actually getting anything “extra”. This wording allows Princess to collect the auto grats and use it to pay salaries.  

 

The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses,

 

 

[Bgwest]

There is a simple solution to all of this silliness. 

[hllwdcruiser]

13 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I'm sure Carnival will.  Also, Celebrity recently changed their AI package to not include gratuity.   I'm sure that is coming soon too to Princess and other Carnival brands.

The minute they eliminate the gratuities from their package is the minute we stop purchasing Plus. As it stands right now, we barely break even at $60 per day. We aren't big drinkers and can easily forgo or pay a la carte for all the other "extras" included in the package.

Edited November 1, 2023 by hllwdcruiser

[Outerdog]

10 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

They deserve to be paid a living wage by their employer, not me.

 

It's either the crew appreciation charge or it's built into the fare. Either way, you're paying it. Funding to pay the crew comes from passenger revenues, not magic beans.

 

[kywildcatfanone]

5 minutes ago, hllwdcruiser said:

The minute they eliminate the gratuities from their package is the minute we stop purchasing Plus. As it stands right now, we barely break even at $60 per day. We aren't big drinkers and can easily forgo or pay a la carte for all the other "extras" included in the package.

From what I have read online, it hasn't impacted package buyers to any real degree on Celebrity, so give it a little time, and I suspect it's coming to Carnival's brands.  

[Rick&Jeannie]

OK! Everyone go stand in their own corner until you can play fair! 😄

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

14 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I'm sure Carnival will.  Also, Celebrity recently changed their AI package to not include gratuity.   I'm sure that is coming soon too to Princess and other Carnival brands.

Time to stop cruising if that happens... it is becoming way too expensive IMO.

[Cruise Raider]

I’m not shocked by this and it alone will not make me stop cruising.  Look anywhere on land and you will find a hike in prices, at least here in the US.  
Why would we think that the crew’s compensation should be anything different?  
My guess is that Princess will make an announcement for a raise in price on the the crew appreciation, gratuities, tips, whatever you’d like to call them, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I also believe the price of the packages will be raised by the New Year.