Gratuities

Welcome to the real world. This is standard practice these days on many cruise lines, the exact amount may vary a bit with each line. More and more cruise lines are going the open dining route, or at least with a choice of it versus the assigned time and table of the old days. In an effort to be fair to everyone who serves you (and there are many in this type of dining), gratuities are pooled and divided between the staff. Of course, your cabin stewards are included as well. Not all passengers tip appropriately or know what an appropriate amount is from an American point of view (Princess is an American ship). I am sure you are aware that gratuities are a part of the employees salaries in reality. Do go with the flow - you should be tipping about that amount anyway in total.

Hi kaz,

Nearly everyone is now doing this.

Holland America calls it a "hotel service charge".

Think of it that way.

If the staff goes beyond the call of duty, give them a few dollars extra.

The usual US fee is $10.00 pp/pd. Are U from Australia? Some time ago on cruisecritic there was a huge discussion about how Princess slams Aussies with higher fares than for US citizens. I called several other mass market lines inc. RCL, HAL and CCL and found out they don not have discriminate pricing but a call to Princess inre to what our Aussie "friends" would have to do to join us on a cruise comfirmed this. So did the per diem go up by 50% or does Princess charge those Down Under more for this as well?? Hmmm.

I understand your not wishing to be forced to tip kaz, but as the others have said this is pretty much the way of things on cruises today. You can opt out I believe. I checked on this once sometime ago (when the compulsory tipping first started) and was told if we opted not to participate those serving us would not get a share. I didn't like that option either, so we went along. We, like Ira, generally have an envelope for our favorites at the end of the voyage.

Kaztez:

It's up to you whether you let the charge on your account stand. You have the option of going to the pursur's desk onboard and having it reduced or removed if you want to tip directly.

In case you're interested in more info., here's a video on cruise tipping you might find useful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPkwsEuAXUI

Should be $10-12 per night per person. Yes, this is a big addition, yes, this is expected, yes, it's posted on every website.

You should have a choice to pay with credit card, or give cash in person, but this amount is expected by ship employees, all from poor 3rd world countries.

I would rather see it included in the price, but... either "go with the flow" or don't go on a cruise!

Agree with above - but I worry about the tips actually getting to the employees. One reasonable explanation is with more dining options on ships, gone are the days when you have the same waitstaff team every night - so tipping "your waiter" at end of cruise is not easy.

One other tipping tip I got here was to, on the first morning of the cruise, to leave a small amount of additional tip in cash for your cabin steward (we usually leave $10-20) with a short note saying the cabin looked nice. Good time to ask for additional pillow, etc if you need one. By doing this we get extra-excellent cabin service for the entire cruise, I believe.

Thank you to all for your comments.

Please don't get me wrong - I am happy to tip for service and I do understand that many of the onboard crew are very much underpaid......saying that, I do hope our tips reach those it is intended for.

Here in Australia, we are paying neary A$2000 more for the same trip that can be booked in USA.......so I guess I feel a little ripped off all round. (I was able to check this out through Americas Vacation Centre).

However - yep, that's life and yes, I will just go with the flow because that is the way it is, and at the end of the day we are lucky to be in the position to take the cruise!!

The new gratuitie is now US$10.50 a day. Not to slam our Aussie friends, The Aussie in general, does not tip like North AMericans. Different culture, different pay structure. The Aussies pay their servcie staff like normal human beings with decent regular wages rather than the slave wage for service staff in North America so that they must rely on tips to survive.

I suspect the so call surcharge is to build-in the tips since the tips is optional and anyone can tell the front desk you don't want to pay for the tip. They probably have a history of Aussies refusing to pay the tip charges come settlement time and they just build it in.

Are tips calculated differently depending on the number of passengers in the cabin? Say 2 kids and 2 adults - is that $40-50 per day or less?
(Though I'm ready to agree that one cabin with 4 passengers is lots of work!)

Thank you all for your replies.

Yes, we here in Australia generally have very good work conditions and wages......largely brought about from the respective Unions seeking better working conditions for all.

You are right - I guess we are not known for our big tipping, but however I think it is fair to say most of us are fairly generous in doing so when provided with good service.

I am happy to tip - but I would like to do so personally and know that the person/s I want to receive it do so.

But, I have learnt that is not the way it is done - so I will go with the flow.

Tipping seems to be a problem with Europeans too, because they usually often have a tip added to their bill.. As has been said.. you can have the tips removed from somebody you feel is not giving you the service you feel you deserve..and or take all the tips off and tip privately.. Royal Caribbean is running into this problem also.

Actually kaztez you may want to consider a different cruise line next time. The other mass market line don't place a surcharge on Aussies.