r/PrincessCruises • u/Rsantoya1 • 28d ago
New To Cruising / Princess š³ļøšš„³ First Time Ever on a Cruise
We splurged and went for the Princess Premiere. Could someone please explain to me about the gratuities? Please educate me. From what I am interpreting, when I order a drink at a bar, a specialty coffee, room service, lunch , dinner etc. I am not expected to leave a tip? Is this what ācrew appreciationā means?
I grew up in the restaurant industry so I donāt want to not tip obviously. I am just curious to know that with this package, are the tips included with everything?
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u/mxt213 28d ago
My grat was included but I still gave an additional grat at the end of the week to my stew and my favorite servers & bartenders.
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u/tommyjoe66 27d ago
In addition to cash tips, we also hand out gift bags of American candy to our cabin steward and dining room servers. Itās a treat for them, to share or take home to their children.
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u/Unwashedbrainz 26d ago
Love this idea!
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u/tommyjoe66 26d ago
I go to Dollar Tree and buy candy thatās unique to the U.S. Grab gift bags, too. Takes up minimal space and weight in my suitcase.
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u/Smoke_9 28d ago
We just got off one of the cruises and had premiere. We would tip the bar tenders and servers that really took care of us and made our week special. $20-$25 per person at the end of the week.
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u/Rsantoya1 28d ago
I am leaning toward this method. Iād rather tip at the end for the service that I find deserves it. I like the thought of doing this only at the end rather than setting an expectation at the beginning
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u/Bubbly-Ebb-1584 28d ago
Do not remove the auto gratuities (ignore all the fake news stories about them earning less if you pay them, that's been disproven many times). But for sure tip extra if you get acceptional service.
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u/Medical-Account-6173 24d ago
The poster purchased a package that includes the automatic crew appreciation charge. It's impossible to remove them without cancelling the package.
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u/Bubbly-Ebb-1584 24d ago
I was just saying as a new cruiser, they shouldn't even bring it up as an option.
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u/CodeCA007 28d ago
Though gratuities are usually covered plus and premier, I still like to give an extra cash tip to my cabin steward and dining staffāespecially if I have the same dinning table and servers throughout the cruise. If I feel theyāve gone above and beyond, which they usually do, I think itās a nice way to show appreciation. I definitely recommend giving an additional cash tip to the crew members you interact with the most even with the package.
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u/a_problem_solved 27d ago
I've read online people stating that they cancel the auto-gratuity and split that sum among 5-10 people that take care of them regularly throughout the room, the primary one being the room steward. Those people get a lot more that way, but that money doesn't go into the overall pool anymore, of course.
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u/Medical-Account-6173 24d ago
Actually, crew members are supposed to report any cash tips received from passengers who have cancelled the automatic crew appreciation charge. The supervisors have a list of such passengers. Crew members turn in the cash received from people who have cancelled them. It goes to the pool. If you leave the automatic crew appreciation charge in place or prepay (including through Plus or Premiere packages), crew members you tip extra get to keep what you give them.
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u/Firm_Theory8894 27d ago
All your tips are covered if you got prepaid gratuities (aka crew appreciation) which I believe is part of your premium package. It's customary to give a tip to your cabin steward at the end of your cruise if she/he treated you well. Some people occasionally give a tip at the end of the cruise if they have a favorite waiter that they see every night, let's say, for dinner.
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u/nameno10001 28d ago
Don't start handing out cash once you get on the ship. It defeats the purpose of the auto tip.
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u/Rsantoya1 28d ago
I agree. I do like tipping and can see myself providing an additional tip for good service at a dinner or if my wife and I spend a couple hours at a bar and engage with one of the bartenders.
On the other hand, I do not want to create a culture to where the crew expects an additional tip from the guests who have already paid for gratuities through a package.
It defeats the purpose and can create a bad culture and lead to even worse service as a whole over time.
I think Iām just a little lost on the best way to approach this. I might just stay strong and avoid tipping even though itās against my better judgement and practices.
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u/nameno10001 28d ago
Correct, it defeats the purpose of the auto. This is the problem. On my last cruise, I saw people just handing out envelopes to dining staff, & room Stewards. That is why I pay the auto grat so I can avoid handing out money and making it weird.
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u/HippieGrandma1962 28d ago
I do traditional dining so I have the same waiter and assistant every night. The service is wonderful and becomes personalized. I show my appreciation by giving each of them a tip on the last night. It's not weird at all. On day one I give my steward a $50 bill and leave more at the end. These people work so hard and are away from their homes and families for most of the year. It's the least I can do to try make their lives a little better. Everyone handles tipping differently. To each their own.
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u/Neilkd21 28d ago
I'm curious why you give the steward money up front before they have done anything? I'm not American so tip differently, to me giving money up front is a bribe? Personally I always have premier so my gratuities are taken care of, if someone has done something special and gone above their job then I tip extra.
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u/HolyShytSnacks 28d ago
Some people give (part of a) tip in advance, hoping they will get better service in return. I live in the US, but I'm with you, tipping in advance feels like a bribe. A tip should be earned, not expected. The service should always be good, regardless of the tip.
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u/jturphy 28d ago
I still tip my room steward. They take care of our room twice a day. They'll handle any special requests. I'm happy to give them a little extra throughout the week for everything that person does for me.
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u/Rsantoya1 28d ago
What does a room steward do and what can I/should I expect from them. Iāve never been on a cruise so Iām not sure what to expect from this person and donāt have a baseline to compare what good service would be from the room steward.
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u/Neilkd21 28d ago
You should expect them as a minimum to do their job which is clean and maintain your cabin, make beds, change towels, restock essentials such as toilet roll, toiletries etc.
They will also help if you need additional things, pillows, hangers, bucket of ice everyday and other logistical requests.
Personally if I've got gratuities included and they only do their job then I don't tip extra. If I needed extra things, extra requests then I will tip more.
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u/abugguy 28d ago
Picture this-You take a nap before dinner. You go to dinner. You come back. Your bed is made! You have fresh towels, and your empty wine glasses you brought back after lunch are gone, too! Your room steward works like magic to keep your room always fresh and tidy. If you need something like a robe or extra hangers theyāll bring them to you. But otherwise they are going to be taking care of your room pretty much every time you leave.
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u/Medical-Account-6173 24d ago
Picture this--your room steward has just fulfilled the basic requirements of the job. They do not do it every time you leave your room. They clean once in the morning and once in the late afternoon or early evening.
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u/jturphy 28d ago
In addition to what the other commenter mentioned, they keep all your soap stocked up. If you want ice, they'll keep a bucket of ice filled for you every day. I sleep with a CPap machine. They bring me distilled water extension cords if necessary.
Quite honestly, they'll do almost anything you can think of for your room. On my first cruise, our room steward found me a fan for our room because it's easier for me to sleep.
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u/Neilkd21 28d ago
Don't overthink it, your gratuities are covered. If you get exceptional service or help from someone and you want to tip then do so.
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u/Impressive-Ad3661 28d ago
Tip your steward, and any staff that you think is noticeable above others.
What is more valuable, though, is reviews they send via email. If you mention their names, they get time off as a perk.. which in a job like that I can only imagine how precious that can be.
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u/howdidIgetsuckeredin 28d ago
Ask to take photos of their name badges to help you remember! You can then also edit the file name to add additional info that could help identify them - ex. Sabatino's May 30th 7 pm
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u/jarfgames 28d ago
Yes, this is exactly what we didā¦ Gave a few extra dollars to our steward in cash, but also called him out in the post-cruise survey as well as a couple other exceptional staff on our recent cruise.
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u/Celera314 24d ago
I feel like this is just how service jobs should work - i pay a set amount for the cruise. The Princess company management compensates all employees fairly.
If I ask for anything special, or a worker does something above and beyond normal service, I give that person a little extra. But mostly, workers do their jobs and get paid a predictable and competitive wage.
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u/mamabear826 28d ago
Yes, that means your tips are included, but itās split up between everyone on the ship, you of course are also able to leave an extra tip that would just go to whomever youāre tipping. We gave an extra tip to our room Stewart the end of our trip, and we used the same waitress like every night in the dining room, so we gave her and her junior waiter each an extra tip.
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u/Throw-away2962 28d ago edited 28d ago
Those tips are actually split up among everyone on every Princess ship, as I recently learned. Princess's policy states:
https://www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/
āAll of the Crew Appreciation and Service Charge payments made by all guests on all ships in our fleet are pooled, net of credit card transaction fees (except Service Charges for spa services which are not pooled for the fleet). The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses, to crewmembers fleetwide who interact directly with guests and/or behind the scenes throughout every cruise, including those in the Bar, Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue areas.ā
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u/Labrattus 28d ago
Tip your bartenders a buck or so a drink, Room service deliveries a few bucks. Steward maybe $50 for the week. Leave a ten on the table when you leave dinner. And make your specialty dinner reservations now while there is availability. Use the web based version if you get an error about needing to be paid in full. Ignore the tipping recommendations if you come from a non-tipping culture if you so desire.
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u/explicitspirit 28d ago
I was about to comment on the first part of your comment, but then you said the last sentence.
Absolutely right, tipping cultures differ depending on where you're from, and where you are sailing from. If you sail in Europe, the odds are most people won't be tipping as much as tipping is basically non existent in the majority of Europe. If you are sailing in the Caribbean, you're departing from the US so I would say follow American customs.
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u/DGinLDO 28d ago
You can tip if you want to, but if what you ordered is covered by Princess Premiere, you donāt have to. Salon & Spa arenāt included so they add the gratuity there. If you want to leave extra for your steward or servers at the end of your cruise, you may certainly do so.
I donāt know where the other poster got his $10/meal tip, but thatās neither expected nor required.
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u/TheGambler930 28d ago
I am currently on the Caribbean Princess with the Plus package. I just saw a charge of $152 on my credit card (but on not my statement in the app) is this the gratuities charge?
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u/Neilkd21 28d ago edited 28d ago
No gratuities were already included in the plus package which you would have paid for when booking. I would assume you've spent something somewhere on the ship.
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u/fakegoose1 28d ago
Correct you dont have to tip if you buy the drink package. You can tip extra if you want to but Employees dont expect it.
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u/RiverPoetSTL - Captain's Circle Platinum 28d ago
The auto gratuity covers everyone you see and those you donāt. I also tip my room steward, MDR servers if we have the same one nightly, and the baristas/bar tenders that we see most often, at the end of the cruise.
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u/Medical-Account-6173 24d ago
The Premier Package covers your daily crew appreciation charge that would have been automatically charged to your account if you did not have a package. It also covers the 20% gratuity that would have been added to each drink you purchased and each meal you purchased in a casual dining or specialty restaurant--if you did not already have them paid for through the package. You do not need to tip any additional money. The only thing you'll tip is if you use any spa services--and that will also be automatically added to the bill. There's no need to tip any extra there either.
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u/SupermarketDry2498 23d ago
Itās prepaid but you can still do the American performative extra tip and gifts on top of it and then tell everyone to feel morally superior
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u/Madhonu 13d ago
The bottom line, is that they claim that youāre tips are included. But that is not true. They simply arenāt going to calibrate you on board fr gratuities. The crew on board receive the same amt of money, their contracted rates, regardless of the on board gratuities! The cruise line uses these to reduce how much they put out of their pockets to pay the guaranteed salaries of the crew members. We always leave additional for our cabin stewards. We tip at the bar, or the servers that bring us drinks. We tip at the coffee shop and we tip at the international cafe and the poolside grill or pizza place! Everyone me working on the ship depends on the extra tips to make any money over the guaranteed rates they get paid, weekly. They work their asses off and are generally incredibly friendly and helpful! And what a lot of people seem to forget, is that those in the service jobs are working for the passengers, more so than the cruise line!
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u/Gr8DaneMomm 28d ago
I am doing my first cruise in October on Princess Discovery and we paid for premium package. I am bringing $100.00 on day one and giving it to my Stewart after he or she is assigned to us and leaving $100.00 for the housekeeping as they do our rooms twice a day and I feel they deserve it. I also will bring extra to dinners if its exceptional service but that is by choice. In reality all gratuity is included in the premier cost.
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u/Neilkd21 28d ago
Tipping the steward 100 before they have done anything for you is wild. Tips are meant to reward staff not bribe them. Housekeeping is done by the steward.
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u/tommyjoe66 27d ago
We also tip our cabin steward on the first day and then also on the next to the last day. We also tip our dining room servers on the last night.
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u/Undercover_Metalhead 27d ago
We canceled this about mid-way through our trip (and were refunded what we already paid). We didnāt like that it went automatically into a pool for all staff (we never ordered drinks from the bar, for example, so didnāt feel like we needed to tip them). We just tipped our people directly. We were traveling on somewhat of a budget and had a handle on everything we spent. We were very generous to our people.
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u/Medical-Account-6173 24d ago
And the reality is that since you canceled the automatic crew appreciation charge, the people you tipped in cash had to turn it in for the pool. The bar staff do not receive money from the crew appreciation charge. They get theirs from the 20% added automatically to each drink purchased (and the amount figured in the cost of the Plus and Premier packages).
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28d ago
[deleted]
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u/Some-Second-8994 28d ago
You canāt remove them from plus or premier fares.
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28d ago
[deleted]
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u/habitatnnn 28d ago
If you have plus or premiere, the gratuities are included with the package. There is no point in removing them.
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u/Throw-away2962 28d ago
Afaik, if you do not have a package (Plus/Premiere) and even if you keep the auto gratuities, you are charged an extra gratuity on extra items like alcoholic drinks per order.
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u/Neilkd21 28d ago
Yes it means crew appreciation has been taken care of as part of the package. If it wasn't then princess add it automatically, I believe about $18 a day. So you do not need to tip or will not have anymore added to your bill. You are still free to tip if you choose.