Plus Package gratuities

[SamFaniam]

Hi all,  we are first-time Princess cruisers (lots of previous HAL and Disney).  I want to make sure I understand the gratuities with the package to make sure we don't shortchange anyone.

 

The added gratuities on drinks are included, but can we add an additional tip?  We enjoy talking to the bartenders. 

Do you tip for room service delivery or is that covered by the Ocean Now fee?

We are aware of the casual dining benefit.  Do we tip those servers?

 

We will have some cash for excursions.  Any other need for cash on board the ship?

 

We don't wish to put a crew member in an awkward position if they are required to refuse a tip. 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[memoak]

It is always up to you if you want to tip extra. If you order a drink over your package maximum you are billed the difference plus 18% on the difference

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

Can't imagine any crew member would refuse a tip.

 

We only tip extra though if we feel that the crew member has gone out of their way to do something extra... that they wouldn't normally be expected to do... or if we get consistent excellent service from a crew members such as in Vines. 

 

If you didn't tip extra throughout the cruise no-one will bat an eyelid I am sure.

[BamaVol]

We add a tip when we order a drink whether from a bar server or directly from a bartender.  We like to establish a friendly relationship with the bartenders and servers and adding a buck or two keeps them attentive to our needs. I’ve never discerned a negative attitude when failing to tip extra, however.

[memoak]

39 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

We add a tip when we order a drink whether from a bar server or directly from a bartender.  We like to establish a friendly relationship with the bartenders and servers and adding a buck or two keeps them attentive to our needs. I’ve never discerned a negative attitude when failing to tip extra, however.

Never seen anyone refuse a tip but still don’t understand all the people who walk around with all those dollar bills. We tip out our favorite servers, bartenders and steward at the end of the the cruise 

[BamaVol]

24 minutes ago, memoak said:

Never seen anyone refuse a tip but still don’t understand all the people who walk around with all those dollar bills. We tip out our favorite servers, bartenders and steward at the end of the the cruise 

Cabin attendant, waiter, hostess are all tipped at or near the end of the cruise. We see them daily. Bartenders and bar servers aren’t there every day. So I tip them by the drink. I would feel bad if someone gave great service all cruise long and I couldn’t find them on the final night. 

Edited January 10 by BamaVol

[jaycruising]

All of your gratuities are covered under the plus program but you are more then able to tip more if you like. 

[Cruisintimer]

9 hours ago, SamFaniam said:

Hi all,  we are first-time Princess cruisers (lots of previous HAL and Disney).  I want to make sure I understand the gratuities with the package to make sure we don't shortchange anyone.

 

The added gratuities on drinks are included, but can we add an additional tip?  We enjoy talking to the bartenders. 

Do you tip for room service delivery or is that covered by the Ocean Now fee?

We are aware of the casual dining benefit.  Do we tip those servers?

 

We will have some cash for excursions.  Any other need for cash on board the ship?

 

We don't wish to put a crew member in an awkward position if they are required to refuse a tip. 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

We choose to tip our room steward nearly every day and at the end of the cruise.  We tip for room service, bartender if we order a drink and server if we use our medallions to order.  This is strictly a personal choice.  We feel the crew bust their butts to take care of us and it is our way of saying thank you.  If we get sub par service then of course we don't tip.   That is a rare circumstance in all the cruises we have been on.  Some feel gratuities cover all tips, like I said previously it is a personal choice and I certainly don't judge others choices.  Enjoy your cruise!

 

Edited January 10 by Cruisintimer

[dreaminofcruisin]

Never been on HAL or Disney, so not sure how they do drinks.

Do note that if you do want to tip a bartender (or anyone) extra, you will need cash. Princess no longer gives little pieces of paper to add a gratuity. 

[skynight]

There are two types of gratuities

The daily gratuity called crew appreciation by Princess and the service charges.

Crew appreciation covers cabin stewards, waiters in all dining establishments, plus those behind the scene that support them and you never really see. Service charges are added to the cost of beverages, spa and some other services. This has been the practice on Princess as far back as I can remember. If you have the standard fare you would see these charges on a drink by drink basis and crew appreciation would be charged as a daily expense.

The PLUS fare includes all of these gratuities. No further tipping is required or requested, and no further charges are posted to your on board accounts.

You can if you wish provide extra tips. These tips are cash. There is no paper slip to add additional tips. You can certainly provide tips to bartenders or bar waiters at anytime, per drink, at the end of the evening in the lounge or bar or anytime before you disembark. It's the same for DR waiters. If you happen to have the same waiter for most or all of the cruise you can certainly provide a cash tip near or at the end of the voyage.

The Ocean Now fee as well as the crew appreciation covers room service. But again you can always provide a cash tip on delivery.

Casual dining waiters. They are also covered by the crew appreciation. If you wish you can provide them with additional cash tips.

Crew members will not be in an awkward position if you provide them with a cash tip. However, ship's officers such as the CD and the Ass't CDs really should not be tipped.

Cash

In the casino you can use cash or charge play to your on board account. It's really the only venue on the ship that accepts cash. At table games you can tip the dealers using chips.

Personally I do not sit around bars and generally do not provide extra tips to bar tenders or bar waiters. On some cruises I might frequent a lounge such as Crooner's. It's usually around the same time each evening and I would become friendly with the same waiter. In that case I have provided her/him with a cash tip toward the end of the cruise.

On Princess as far back as I can remember cabin stewards gratuities were covered by the daily crew appreciation charge. Still at the end of the voyage I provided a cash tip.

[SamFaniam]

5 hours ago, skynight said:

There are two types of gratuities

 

Thank you so much.  This is exactly what I needed!   Cash it is! 

[Rick&Jeannie]

7 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

Never been on HAL or Disney, so not sure how they do drinks.

Do note that if you do want to tip a bartender (or anyone) extra, you will need cash. Princess no longer gives little pieces of paper to add a gratuity. 

Very good point!  I had totally forgotten about that "old" system.  That was well before the Medallion system.

[beshears]

As some have mention, I always bring extra CASH. Even though I will have the major package and it covers ALL the tips, I always try to tip with CASH for those I generally see quite often who takes care of me.

[luv2kroooz]

Agree with beshears above. A little goes a long way. It isn't expected, but on our recent cruise, we found bar staff to be in short supply. We were in Wheelhouse every night and made good friends with one of the bar servers. We didn't tip every round but we would give an extra $5 or $10 every third day or so. We were on an 11 day cruise. This was the only "extra" tips we gave, but he earned it with his attentive service. Our drinks were never empty....even during the busiest times in Wheelhouse.