Opinion on Pre-Paying Ship Staff Gratuities Prior to Cruise Embarkment

[ZildjianCat]

Looks like we have the option of pre-paying $160 each for all 3 of us that will be on the ship to cover gratuities.  I'm thinking the best decision may to be to go ahead and do this and get this out of the way.  Thoughts based on what most of you typically do with respect to this?

[dog]

I’ve pre paid in past but no more since they canceled a couple of cruises on me and are having trouble refunding my payments.

It was easier to have a clear folio but not worth the hassle if cruise is cancelled.  Standard fare.

[ZildjianCat]

7 minutes ago, dog said:

I’ve pre paid in past but no more since they canceled a couple of cruises on me and are having trouble refunding my payments.

It was easier to have a clear folio but not worth the hassle if cruise is cancelled.  Standard fare.

Good information to think about for sure.  I would assume I could prepay this via the Princess app on the day of the cruise, correct?  Cruise embarks in a couple of days at 3 p.m.  Seems logical that I could, for example, get on the Princess app. and prepay these gratuities maybe at 11 a.m. on the day of embarkation once it's clear that the cruise is still going to take place and not be cancelled?  Thoughts?

[PacnGoNow]

You can, if you just want to get that out of the way.  I don’t, because we usually have OBC and that can he used towards gratuities also.  

 

Do what makes you comfortable.

Enjoy your cruise.

[ZildjianCat]

Just now, PacnGoNow said:

You can, if you just want to get that out of the way.  I don’t, because we usually have OBC and that can he used towards gratuities also.  

 

Do what makes you comfortable.

Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks very much!

[dog]

You prepay on the website under Payments tab.

 

That might not be available a few days prior to boarding. I don’t know about app.  I am going to GS when I board and pre paying with OBC.

[cruzsnooze]

I wait until onboard so I can reduce my gratuity to $10 PP PD which is what actually gets trickled down to crew. Why pay full rate for a third person? You still only have one bathroom, one cabin and one balcony to clean. There is the extra bed to make and dining room so I would pay $5 Per day for a third person. Most on these boards will flame me for my opinion but I'm entitled to do it my way as long as these over priced "crew appreciation" are only SUGGESTIONS. 

[memoak]

51 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

I wait until onboard so I can reduce my gratuity to $10 PP PD which is what actually gets trickled down to crew. Why pay full rate for a third person? You still only have one bathroom, one cabin and one balcony to clean. There is the extra bed to make and dining room so I would pay $5 Per day for a third person. Most on these boards will flame me for my opinion but I'm entitled to do it my way as long as these over priced "crew appreciation" are only SUGGESTIONS. 

Why not pay $0 and clean your own food and eat all meals in the buffet. Please don’t eat in any of the restaurants I frequent and stiff the staff . I would rather have happy servers than people who are unhappy 

[JimmyVWine]

57 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

I wait until onboard so I can reduce my gratuity to $10 PP PD which is what actually gets trickled down to crew.

Do you know for a fact that the amount that "trickles down to the crew" is based on a flat rate taken off the top as opposed to a percentage?  If the crew gets $10 out of every $16, how can you be sure that the crew won't in fact get $6.25 out of $10?

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

I wait until onboard so I can reduce my gratuity to $10 PP PD which is what actually gets trickled down to crew. Why pay full rate for a third person? You still only have one bathroom, one cabin and one balcony to clean. There is the extra bed to make and dining room so I would pay $5 Per day for a third person. Most on these boards will flame me for my opinion but I'm entitled to do it my way as long as these over priced "crew appreciation" are only SUGGESTIONS. 

Upon what do you base that analysis?

 

Accounting regulations are pretty clear and are in line with exactly what Princess states in the policy.  The only money that the cruiseline is allowed to subtract is the actual cost of the credit card processing charges.For a large company it would be 2% or less. So out of $17 paid by CC $16.66 or more would go into the crew gratuity pool, and 34 cents to pay for CC processing charges.

 

You have repeatedly made this phony claim with nothing to back it up.

 

Basically because of those same accounting regulations the cruise lines have to let you short the crew gratuity  You should be very thankful for those rules, because it is the same ones that let you adjust the amount, that also requires all of the money except actual CC charges to be distributed to the crew.

Edited June 7 by TRLD

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, dog said:

You prepay on the website under Payments tab.

 

That might not be available a few days prior to boarding. I don’t know about app.  I am going to GS when I board and pre paying with OBC.

I wouldn't waste your time going to Guest Services. If you do nothing, the recommended crew appreciation will automatically be charged to your folio, and it will automatically use any OBC (nonrefundable OBC first and then refundable OBC).

[voljeep]

2 hours ago, dog said:

I’ve pre paid in past but no more since they canceled a couple of cruises on me and are having trouble refunding my payments.

It was easier to have a clear folio but not worth the hassle if cruise is cancelled.  Standard fare.

In the past - pre-'rona - I used Princess almost like a savings account for a cruise - paying them a few hundo at a time and watching the balance go down ... kinda knowing I could cancel pre final and have no trouble getting the money transferred back to my method of payment.

 

Now I just transfer it to an actual savings account, and watch that balance grow instead.

 

meh

[Lady Arwen]

31 minutes ago, memoak said:

Why not pay $0 and clean your own food and eat all meals in the buffet. Please don’t eat in any of the restaurants I frequent and stiff the staff . I would rather have happy servers than people who are unhappy 

I said virtually the same thing last month when this was a topic of conversation and this member posted what was repeated today.  I was literally slammed by a couple of our members.   Please be prepared for the blast.

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

I said virtually the same thing last month when this was a topic of conversation and this member posted what was repeated today.  I was literally slammed by a couple of our members.   Please be prepared for the blast.

I get slammed all the time but it doesn’t keep me from keeping it real

[dog]

1 hour ago, NavyVeteran said:

I wouldn't waste your time going to Guest Services. If you do nothing, the recommended crew appreciation will automatically be charged to your folio, and it will automatically use any OBC (nonrefundable OBC first and then refundable OBC).

I find it much easier to follow my charges if CA is paid up- doesn’t clutter up the running bill. So no thanks.

 

Really hard to read some posts here.  I’m taking a break.

Edited June 7 by dog

[JordanF]

I prefer to pre-pay because I like having most of the expenses behind me and my onboard folio limited to purchases I make onboard.  The more I have pre-paid, the more I don't feel like I'm spending money during the trip.  This is purely personal and psychological on my part.  As a purely economic decision, it is probably, in some small way, the wrong one (time value of money and potential delay in getting a refund as noted above).

[LittleTinker]

3 hours ago, ZildjianCat said:

Looks like we have the option of pre-paying $160 each for all 3 of us that will be on the ship to cover gratuities.  I'm thinking the best decision may to be to go ahead and do this and get this out of the way.  Thoughts based on what most of you typically do with respect to this?

Pre paid gor yo Princess abd they can legally do what they want with it.

 

What they do with it is make up wages and use dome for bonuses to some staff.

They do not give all crew extra money.

 

Give tips in person to the crew members you think deserve it

[Princessfan20]

2 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

I wait until onboard so I can reduce my gratuity to $10 PP PD which is what actually gets trickled down to crew. Why pay full rate for a third person? You still only have one bathroom, one cabin and one balcony to clean. There is the extra bed to make and dining room so I would pay $5 Per day for a third person. Most on these boards will flame me for my opinion but I'm entitled to do it my way as long as these over priced "crew appreciation" are only SUGGESTIONS. 

You certainly are a brave sole to be so honest.  Nobody really knows how much people tip or where it really goes.  There have been so many stories recently in the US how people think the tipping culture is out of hand and they are tired of it.  Princess changed the way they encourage people to tip from you decide to we will decide for you.

 

I do not see people on cruise ships working any harder than people in other service industries like Las Vegas Casinos, airlines or Disneyland entertainment parks, etc.  

 

They are just doing a job they signed up for and nobody shanghaied them to work on a ship.

 

 

Edited June 7 by Princessfan20

[TRLD]

11 minutes ago, LittleTinker said:

Pre paid gor yo Princess abd they can legally do what they want with it.

 

What they do with it is make up wages and use dome for bonuses to some staff.

They do not give all crew extra money.

 

Give tips in person to the crew members you think deserve it

Actually they cannot. The gratuity pool is part of the crews employment contract. So the money must go to the crew that are members of the gratuity pool.

 

The accounting rules for tips are also clear. The money, except for actual credit card processing charges must be distributed to members of the pool. Which just happens to be exactly what Princess states in its policy.

 

The fact that the money must be fully distributed to the crew, and the fact that the gratuity must remain optional (can be adjusted) are two portions of the same rule.

[JimmyVWine]

3 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Actually they cannot. The gratuity pool is part of the crews employment contract. So the money must go to the crew that are members of the gratuity pool.

 

The accounting rules for tips are also clear.

It amazes me how people think that Princess Management went to the "Mean Ol' Mr. Potter School of Business"  and that tip money is stolen from widows and orphans to line the pockets of people who earn mid-six figure salaries.  And without a shred of evidence to boot.  

 

A photo of the esteemed Dean.

[dog]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

In the past - pre-'rona - I used Princess almost like a savings account for a cruise - paying them a few hundo at a time and watching the balance go down ... kinda knowing I could cancel pre final and have no trouble getting the money transferred back to my method of payment.

 

Now I just transfer it to an actual savings account, and watch that balance grow instead.

 

meh

 

44 minutes ago, JordanF said:

I prefer to pre-pay because I like having most of the expenses behind me and my onboard folio limited to purchases I make onboard.  The more I have pre-paid, the more I don't feel like I'm spending money during the trip.  This is purely personal and psychological on my part.  As a purely economic decision, it is probably, in some small way, the wrong one (time value of money and potential delay in getting a refund as noted above).

Another reason I pre paid travel before due dates was to accumulate enough aeroplan miles to fly free. I rarely use cash or pay money for my flights.  The points.  Guy..

[Rick&Jeannie]

And here we go with yet *another* tipping fiasco thread! The OP was simply asking whether they should pre-pay or not. It sounded very much like they intend to pay the "crew appreciation" but just wanted pros and cons as to *when* to pay.

[latebloomer56]

Personally I have loved this option once it started. I was always fretting that I forgot somebody. To be honest until this pre pay was available I didn't even think about some of the crew that made our cruise a memorable vacation. I do give a little extra to a few folks that I fell do a little extra to make us happy. I know it's their job 😊 I hope they do in fact get to keep it.

[cr8tiv1]

Dear OP...You are so close to your cruise date.  I would wait and just allow the crew appreciation to accumulate while on board.  If you had asked this question months ago, I would have suggested something different.  Like. if you are working with a budget, then pre-paying is a good option to reduce your bill at the end.

 

Do not prepay if...

You have the bundle (Plus or Premier).

You have On Board Credit

You think you are going to win in the Casino, bingo, lottery.

 

Disregard all the nay sayers and negative energy.  The crew are hard working individuals (front/behind the house).  Princess does not "skim" from the pool except for administrative costs.  The crew benefits with a percentage of the amount depending on their job AND, I heard, used for incentives.

 

I would rather you not leave an additional tip at the end for individuals or carry dollars around with you for those you run across if your budget is tight.  Instead, accept Princess' rates and call it good.  You will run the gamut of opinions regarding their own personal feelings about tipping.  Do what you feel is best for you.

 

I have never (well, maybe 1% of the time) run into a crew member that didn't earn my respect.  

 

 

 

 

[TRLD]

1 minute ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Dear OP...You are so close to your cruise date.  I would wait and just allow the crew appreciation to accumulate while on board.  If you had asked this question months ago, I would have suggested something different.  Like. if you are working with a budget, then pre-paying is a good option to reduce your bill at the end.

 

Do not prepay if...

You have the bundle (Plus or Premier).

You have On Board Credit

You think you are going to win in the Casino, bingo, lottery.

 

Disregard all the nay sayers and negative energy.  The crew are hard working individuals (front/behind the house).  Princess does not "skim" from the pool except for administrative costs.  The crew benefits with a percentage of the amount depending on their job AND, I heard, used for incentives.

 

I would rather you not leave an additional tip at the end for individuals or carry dollars around with you for those you run across if your budget is tight.  Instead, accept Princess' rates and call it good.  You will run the gamut of opinions regarding their own personal feelings about tipping.  Do what you feel is best for you.

 

I have never (well, maybe 1% of the time) run into a crew member that didn't earn my respect.  

 

 

 

 

Not administrative costs, only credit card processing fees. Subtracting administrative fees are not allowed