Price increase on Gratuities

[seahorse001]

55 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

This USA Today article has details on the CA increases, staggered implementation dates & how they are distributed fleetwide.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/passengers-will-soon-pay-more-for-a-princess-cruise-here-s-why/ar-AA1pt6wC?ocid=socialshare&cvid=839979712fa9438db6c21ce47e779b6d&ei=18

 

The cruise line is raising its crew appreciation charge starting later this month. Passengers booked in suites will pay $19 per person, per day, up from $18, while fees for guests in mini suites, cabanas and Club Class accommodations will increase from $17 to $18. For guests in all other staterooms, the charge will jump from $16 to $17.

 

The increase will roll out to its fleet on the same schedule as updates to the line’s Princess Premier package, according to a spokesperson:

 

Enchanted Princess on Aug. 31

Majestic Princess and Sky Princess on Sept. 1

Crown Princess on Sept. 2

Ruby Princess on Sept. 3

Grand Princess on Sept. 4

Emerald Princess, Discovery Princess and Sun Princess on Sept. 7

Caribbean Princess and Regal Princess on Sept. 12

Royal Princess and Sapphire Princess on Sept. 14

Island Princess on Sept. 25

Diamond Princess on Sept. 26

Coral Princess on Oct. 17

So does this mean if you are due to board after these dates ( and not already paid the gratuities) one will be charged the higher price? 

[memoak]

4 minutes ago, seahorse001 said:

So does this mean if you are due to board after these dates ( and not already paid the gratuities) one will be charged the higher price? 

I would assume so if you have no pre paid. We have 8 cruises booked and paid for through June 2026 with plus package I am glad because it does add up

[Astro Flyer]

9 minutes ago, seahorse001 said:

So does this mean if you are due to board after these dates ( and not already paid the gratuities) one will be charged the higher price? 

That has been the procedure for me with price increases…either pay the lower price in advance or the new price on a cruise after the implementation date.

 

We had that situation when the MedallionNet prices increased several months ago. We opted to save a significant amount ($250) by paying in advance for our B2B total of 50 days of cruising.

 

We decided to not save $100 in tips on those same cruises.

 

Edited August 26 by Astro Flyer

[seahorse001]

4 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

That has been the procedure for me with price increases…either pay the lower price in advance or the new price on a cruise after the implementation date.

 

We had that situation when the MedallionNet prices increased several months ago. We opted to save a significant amount ($250) by paying in advance for our B2B total of 50 days of cruising.

 

We decided to not save $100 in tips on those same cruises.

 

Thanks for your kind reply. 

Personally I think l it's a b*****  liberty & Princess are laughing all the way to the bank 😙

[Astro Flyer]

2 minutes ago, seahorse001 said:

Thanks for your kind reply. 

Personally I think l it's a b*****  liberty & Princess are laughing all the way to the bank 😙

You’re welcome…I feel the amount should be grandfathered at the rate when booking a cruise.
 

Although with too many onboard accounting errors, having the CA being accurately charged would be problematic for onboard staff & I don’t trust their IT people to create a foolproof way of accounting at 2 different rates.

 

While I’m not happy with the increase, other lines we’ve also sailed recently were more expensive: Celebrity & Oceania are a minimum of $18.

 

[MyriamS]

12 hours ago, seahorse001 said:

So does this mean if you are due to board after these dates ( and not already paid the gratuities) one will be charged the higher price? 

That is correct. I prepaid the gratuities for my Regal September 24th cruise last weekend and was already charged the higher price of 17$pp/day. So the schedule posted in that news article is a bit misleading. The price increase will not roll out on 12th September for Regal, the price increase has already been implemented and applies to all Regal sailings from 12th September onward.

 

Or long story short, there is no point prepaying your gratuities now to save money, you're already too late (until the next price increase...)

[Alaska05]

4 hours ago, MyriamS said:

That is correct. I prepaid the gratuities for my Regal September 24th cruise last weekend and was already charged the higher price of 17$pp/day. So the schedule posted in that news article is a bit misleading. The price increase will not roll out on 12th September for Regal, the price increase has already been implemented and applies to all Regal sailings from 12th September onward.

 

Or long story short, there is no point prepaying your gratuities now to save money, you're already too late (until the next price increase...)

I just checked my 2 upcoming cruises (November 2024 on Sky and January 2025 on Coral) and they are both still showing the old rate if I want to prepay today.

[MyriamS]

55 minutes ago, Alaska05 said:

I just checked my 2 upcoming cruises (November 2024 on Sky and January 2025 on Coral) and they are both still showing the old rate if I want to prepay today.

I paid 364.8€ for 2 people for 12 nights, so 15.2€ pp/night, which is almost the same as 17$pp/night. I therefore assumed the price increase was already in effect. However, it's possible that what I saw was not the price increase but some other fees Princess chose to charge me for. They do not provide a breakdown on how they calculate the CA and convert it to euros. 

 

In any case, if I'd chosen to pay the gratuities at the end of my cruise, I would for sure have gotten the new price of 17$pp/night, plus the currency conversion rate of my bank. So I guess I would have ended paying roughly the same. 

[kywildcatfanone]

18 hours ago, memoak said:

I am glad because it does add up

Go read your quote on page one where you said "it shouldn't concern anyone that it is going up $1 a person/day".

[memoak]

34 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Go read your quote on page one where you said "it shouldn't concern anyone that it is going up $1 a person/day".

Not per cruise but the ability to prepay does help in 60-90 sailing days a year. Pays for a couple of SD’s. My initial comment was a reaction to people who think the sky is falling every time any changes are made in cruising

[rjack22]

I am a little confused.   I have three cruises booked.  The first is March 2026.  I have the Plus package on all three.   Since gratuities are included in the plus fair I am assuming I will not see a increase.   Grandfathered in so-to-speak.   Am I right?

[d9704011]

21 minutes ago, rjack22 said:

I am a little confused.   I have three cruises booked.  The first is March 2026.  I have the Plus package on all three.   Since gratuities are included in the plus fair I am assuming I will not see a increase.   Grandfathered in so-to-speak.   Am I right?

I have a couple of upcoming cruises booked with Princess Plus.  My expectation is that there will be no change in the package pricing due to an increase in separately-paid (a-la-carte if you like) daily gratuities.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

I have a couple of upcoming cruises booked with Princess Plus.  My expectation is that there will be no change in the package pricing due to an increase in separately-paid (a-la-carte if you like) daily gratuities.

The package still show $60 per person per day. Even if they add things and raise prices you should be able to keep your original price but you would not get new features. The happened them the went from plus50 to plus60

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

The package still show $60 per person per day. Even if they add things and raise prices you should be able to keep your original price but you would not get new features. The happened them the went from plus50 to plus60

Much as I expect package prices to remain unchanged if the daily gratuities, drinks and/or internet prices increase I agree with you.... I wouldn't expect Princess to add any additional benefits to the package I purchased.

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Much as I expect package prices to remain unchanged if the daily gratuities, drinks and/or internet prices increase I agree with you.... I wouldn't expect Princess to add any additional benefits to the package I purchased.

If drink prices go up that could trigger a change if my favorites don’t stay under $15

[IndyKid]

I wish they would just put the CA, taxes, and fees all together and include it in the fare up front, that way you know your full cost, except for excursions, airfare and other extras.

[d9704011]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

If drink prices go up that could trigger a change if my favorites don’t stay under $15

Hmmm... being a non-drinker, I had not thought of that but you may have identified a potential source of irritation and/or package price increase.  I think they'd simply set your limit at $17 for instance rather than $15 to permit you to get the drinks and brands you prefer without attempting to make wholesale adjustments in package pricing and what's included.

[seahorse001]

4 hours ago, IndyKid said:

I wish they would just put the CA, taxes, and fees all together and include it in the fare up front, that way you know your full cost, except for excursions, airfare and other extras.

I agree indykid

In the UK we have a few cruise companies that include gratuities in the fare (some also include drinks in the fare & most include flights ).

As far as I am aware it works well. Also most people I speak to on these cruises leave a (cash) tip for cabin steward/waiting/bar staff etc

If they can do it why can't others ? 

It's all one big rip off !

I don't know the wages structure for the crew of these companies though 🤔

 

 

 

[IndyKid]

4 hours ago, seahorse001 said:

I agree indykid

In the UK we have a few cruise companies that include gratuities in the fare (some also include drinks in the fare & most include flights ).

As far as I am aware it works well. Also most people I speak to on these cruises leave a (cash) tip for cabin steward/waiting/bar staff etc

If they can do it why can't others ? 

It's all one big rip off !

I don't know the wages structure for the crew of these companies though 🤔

 

 

 

As you say @seahorse001, I'm one of those who slips a few quid to the crew who take care of us on a daily basis, I have no idea what they are paid but I'm sure it's not all that much considering the hours they put in. Much the same at the all-inclusive resorts we occasionally stay at, but at least they truly are a single price.

[kywildcatfanone]

13 hours ago, IndyKid said:

I wish they would just put the CA, taxes, and fees all together and include it in the fare up front, that way you know your full cost, except for excursions, airfare and other extras.

They would only do that if all cruise lines do it.  It's a misrepresentation of the full cost of the cruise, but they all do it to try to make the pricing appear lower than it is.

 

I just paid the CA for my 2 2025 cruises.  A dollar saved is a dollar saved.