Sonny
riverside,#2Author of original report
Mon, September 24, 2012
Irvine did give me some insight to the standard operating procedures of the cruise lines. However, my opinion is that they need to be more forthcoming and honest. Why did Princess state in their brochure that a gratuity of 11.50 per day per person will be distributed among waiters, cabin attendants, service personnel, etc..if that is the case, why do they add 15% to every bar/food bill? This constitutes double gratuity. When you get a charge slip with the 15% gratuity already added on, why does the invoice have a gratuity column?
You indicated that some people may want to give more, in this case, the column should have stated Additional Gratuity. This would have prevented those customers who dont analyze the bill from giving a double gratuity. Finally, since they have doctors on board, and they are in a SPA, does this entitle them to beg for gratuities. We all know how expensive medical care is, more so on a cruise ship...lets say that Cedars Sanai Hospital changes its name to Cedars Sanai Spa....does that mean that we are obligated to pay a 15% gratuity to doctors, nurses and lab techs?
Bottom line is I doubt if these gratuities are distributed among those employees who earn them...i spoke to a couple of the waiters on the ship..they stated that they get a flat salary, no gratuities...for about 1000-1500 dollars per month, these foreigners NEVER GET A DAY OFF. for ten months.....since the cruise starts on saturday and ends on saturday....so like i stated before, the gratuities collected go towards paying for salaries. I agree with Irvine that the excursions offered by Princess are over priced but atleast you have a choice of rejecting them and going with other outfits.
Robert
Irvine,#3Consumer Comment
Fri, September 21, 2012
Apparently this was your first cruise. Because what you describe is Standard Operating Procedure for every major cruise line out there.
Every major cruise line I have seen adds a 15% automatic Gratuity to your bar bill, and will still have a place for an additional gratuity. This is not just alcohol, but anything you buy from the bar staff, so it even applies to things such as the "fresh squeezed orange juice" you often find them selling at breakfast. I am sure that this catches some people unaware and they add an additional tip, but most of the people are aware of it. Then of course there is the case when a person wants to leave an additional tip.
The same goes for the services you are describing as they are very often considered "spa" services and not medical. Thus an automatic gratuity is often added here as well, it appears though that they gave you the option.
I am surprised you didn't talk about the prices of the excursions. Because in just about every case you can get a better excursion for 1/2 the price by doing it on your own.
I can't tell you what your $118 charge is, other than to say that you should have received a statement to your cabin on the last night of the cruise that lists your charges. Where if there was an unexplained charge you could have gone to the desk to inquire what is was right then and there. If this charge showed up at a later time, then you are correct in calling them.