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If you are planning a Princess Cruises vacation, you may notice a daily gratuity charge on your onboard account. Princess Cruises generally refers to this charge as Crew Appreciation. Because it is automatically added to the onboard account, many passengers want to know whether they can opt out, reduce the amount, or have it removed completely.
The answer is yes, Crew Appreciation can be adjusted while you are onboard, but there are important conditions. It must be handled before you settle your onboard account and disembark. The rules are also different if your gratuities were already included in a Princess Plus or Princess Premier package.
Understanding these rules before your cruise can help you avoid surprises on your final bill and make the right decision about your onboard expenses.
Crew Appreciation is Princess Cruises' daily gratuity system. Instead of requiring passengers to individually tip every crew member who contributes to their vacation, an amount is automatically added to the onboard account.
The money is intended to recognize crew members working in areas such as:
Housekeeping
Dining
Guest services
Entertainment
Galley operations
Onboard revenue
Bar service
Other behind-the-scenes guest-support roles
The amount is calculated per guest, per day, and varies according to the stateroom category.
For current U.S.-dollar rates, Princess lists:
Stateroom CategoryCrew Appreciation
Suites$20 per person, per day
Mini-Suites, Cabanas and Club Class$19 per person, per day
Other stateroom categories$18 per person, per day
For example, two guests staying in a standard stateroom on a seven-night cruise would normally have $252 in Crew Appreciation added to their account at the $18-per-person-per-day rate.
Yes. Princess allows guests to adjust Crew Appreciation while they are onboard.
This does not necessarily mean that you can simply remove the charge before sailing through your online booking. The adjustment is handled during the cruise and must be completed before you disembark.
Princess states that guests have discretion to adjust Crew Appreciation during the voyage. However, the adjustment must be made before you settle your onboard account prior to disembarkation.
This distinction is important.
If you are asking whether you can completely remove the charge from your onboard account, the practical answer is that Crew Appreciation is adjustable onboard, including an adjustment to the amount, subject to Princess' applicable policies.
You can request an adjustment during your cruise, but you should not wait until after you leave the ship.
The safest approach is to address it with the onboard guest services team before your final account is settled.
If you have a concern about the service you received, it is also worth explaining the issue rather than waiting until the last day.
If you want to know how to remove gratuities on Princess Cruises, the process is primarily handled onboard.
Review your onboard folio to confirm that the Crew Appreciation charge is being applied.
You can monitor your account during the cruise so you know exactly what has been charged.
Go to the Guest Services desk onboard and explain that you want to adjust your Crew Appreciation.
You can tell the representative whether you want to:
Reduce the amount
Remove the amount
Discuss a service problem before making an adjustment
Princess encourages guests who are dissatisfied to raise concerns while they are still onboard. This gives the crew an opportunity to address the problem.
If poor service, a specific incident, or another issue is the reason for your request, explain what happened clearly.
Do not wait until you are already off the ship.
Princess' policy states that Crew Appreciation may be adjusted before disembarkation, but it is not refundable after the cruise.
That means the timing of your request matters.
This is where Crew Appreciation can be confusing.
If your fare does not already include Crew Appreciation, Princess allows you to prepay it through Manage Booking. However, prepaid Crew Appreciation is different from the adjustable amount that appears on your onboard account.
If you have already prepaid the amount, you should check your booking terms before assuming that it can be refunded or removed.
In general, passengers should not expect to use the normal onboard adjustment process to obtain a refund after the cruise has ended.
This is one of the most important exceptions.
Princess Plus and Princess Premier can include Crew Appreciation as part of the package. In that situation, the gratuity is effectively bundled into the package rather than being treated as a separate daily charge that you can simply remove.
Princess states that when Crew Appreciation is included in one of these packages, it is bundled into the fare and cannot be removed, exchanged, or refunded separately.
So if you purchased a package specifically because it includes gratuities, you generally cannot ask Princess to take the Crew Appreciation portion out and give you that amount back.
Yes. Depending on the applicable package and booking terms, Princess Plus includes Crew Appreciation.
The package is designed to combine several cruise extras into one price, and Crew Appreciation is one of the included benefits.
Yes. Princess Premier also includes Crew Appreciation.
Because it is part of the package, you cannot normally treat it like a separate gratuity and ask Princess to remove that component while keeping the rest of the package unchanged.
Princess provides an adjustment option specifically for guests who are dissatisfied.
If something goes wrong during your cruise, the best approach is to report the problem while you are still onboard.
For example, you might have concerns about:
Repeated housekeeping problems
Dining service
Guest service interactions
Problems that were not resolved after being reported
Other service-related issues
Speaking with Guest Services gives Princess an opportunity to investigate or resolve the problem.
You do not have to wait until the final morning to raise an issue. Addressing it earlier can make it easier for the onboard team to help.
It is more accurate to think of Crew Appreciation as an automatically added, adjustable daily amount rather than an ordinary fixed fee that can never be changed.
Princess automatically adds the applicable amount to the onboard account. However, guests have discretion to adjust Crew Appreciation while onboard before settling the account for disembarkation.
This is different from some other charges on a cruise.
For example, a service charge associated with an optional purchase may have different rules.
No.
Crew Appreciation and service charges are separate concepts.
Crew Appreciation is the daily amount intended to recognize the crew members who contribute to the guest experience.
A service charge can apply to certain optional purchases. For example, Princess applies a nonrefundable service charge to certain drinks, dining purchases, private functions and other optional services.
This distinction matters because adjusting Crew Appreciation does not automatically remove service charges attached to individual purchases.
Passengers sometimes see an additional gratuity or service charge on their account and assume it is the same as the daily Crew Appreciation.
It may not be.
Certain optional purchases can have their own service charges. These can include eligible:
Drinks
Dining room purchases
Specialty dining
Private group functions
Other selected onboard services
Therefore, removing or adjusting Crew Appreciation does not mean every gratuity or service-related charge disappears from your folio.
Crew Appreciation is calculated per guest, per day, and the exact way an adjustment is handled can depend on the reservation and onboard account.
If you have a specific situation involving only one passenger in your stateroom, speak directly with Guest Services rather than assuming that changing the amount for one person will automatically affect everyone.
This is especially important for families, groups and reservations where multiple guests share an onboard account.
Generally, you should not expect a post-cruise refund of Crew Appreciation simply because you decided later that you wanted it removed.
Princess states that Crew Appreciation may be adjusted before disembarkation and is not refundable after the cruise.
If you believe there is an incorrect charge on your final folio, that is a different matter. You should contact Princess and provide your onboard folio so the charge can be reviewed.
Whether you should adjust or remove it depends on your personal situation.
Crew Appreciation is designed to recognize a large number of employees, including people passengers may never directly meet.
If your cruise experience was positive, many passengers choose to leave the amount in place because it provides a convenient way of recognizing the broader onboard team.
On the other hand, if you experienced significant service problems that were not resolved, Princess gives you the ability to request an adjustment.
The important point is to make the decision based on your actual experience rather than assuming that the daily amount is completely nonadjustable.
If you are considering removing gratuities because something went wrong, follow this approach:
Report the issue as soon as possible.
Give the crew an opportunity to fix it.
Keep track of unresolved problems.
Speak with Guest Services if the issue continues.
Review your onboard account before disembarkation.
Request any Crew Appreciation adjustment before settling the account.
This approach is more useful than waiting until the last few minutes of the cruise.
The potential savings depend on the number of guests, cruise length and stateroom category.
For example, using the current listed rates:
Standard stateroom:
$18 × 2 guests × 7 nights = $252
Mini-suite:
$19 × 2 × 7 = $266
Suite:
$20 × 2 × 7 = $280
A longer cruise or larger number of guests will increase the total accordingly.
Remember that these calculations concern Crew Appreciation only. They do not include other onboard service charges or optional purchases.
Crew Appreciation is designed to recognize a broad range of crew members, including those who work behind the scenes.
Because the amount is pooled and distributed among eligible crew members, adjusting it can affect the amount allocated through that system.
For this reason, passengers may want to consider whether a service problem was significant enough to justify an adjustment.
If you simply want to give additional recognition to an individual crew member who provided excellent service, you can also provide an additional tip directly.
Before sailing, review your booking carefully to determine whether Crew Appreciation is already included.
Check:
Your cruise fare
Whether you purchased Princess Plus
Whether you purchased Princess Premier
Whether Crew Appreciation was prepaid
Your stateroom category
The number of guests in the reservation
The length of your cruise
This can help you estimate your onboard expenses before you arrive.
So, can you opt out of gratuities on Princess? Yes, Princess allows guests to adjust Crew Appreciation while onboard, including requesting that the amount be reduced or removed, provided the request is made before the onboard account is settled and the guest disembarks.
The situation is different when Crew Appreciation is already included in a Princess Plus or Princess Premier package. In that case, it is bundled into the package and cannot be separately removed or refunded.
If you are looking for how to remove gratuities on Princess Cruises, the simplest approach is to visit Guest Services during your sailing, explain your situation, review your onboard folio, and make any adjustment before leaving the ship.
The most important thing is not to wait until after your cruise. Once the voyage is over and the account has been settled, Crew Appreciation is generally not refundable.
Can you opt out of gratuities on Princess?
Princess allows guests to adjust Crew Appreciation while onboard. The adjustment must be made before settling the onboard account and disembarking.
How to remove gratuities on Princess Cruises?
Visit Guest Services onboard and request an adjustment to your Crew Appreciation. Handle the request before you settle your account and leave the ship.
Can I remove gratuities before my Princess cruise?
Crew Appreciation can be prepaid through Manage Booking when applicable, but prepaid amounts and package-included Crew Appreciation have different refund rules. Check your booking terms rather than assuming a prepaid amount can be removed.
Can I remove gratuities if I have Princess Plus?
No. When Crew Appreciation is included as part of Princess Plus, it is bundled into the package and cannot be separately removed, exchanged or refunded.
Can I remove gratuities if I have Princess Premier?
No. Crew Appreciation included with Princess Premier is part of the package and cannot be separately removed or refunded.
What happens if I forget to adjust gratuities before leaving the ship?
Princess states that Crew Appreciation is not refundable after the cruise. If you believe your final bill contains an incorrect charge, contact Princess with your onboard folio for review.
Are children charged Crew Appreciation?
Princess' listed daily amount applies per guest, and its pre-cruise FAQ states that the $18 rate for other stateroom types includes children.
Is Crew Appreciation the same as a 20% service charge?
No. Crew Appreciation is the daily amount associated with recognizing the crew. Certain optional purchases can have separate service charges, including a 20% service charge on applicable drinks and dining purchases.
Can I reduce gratuities instead of removing them?
Yes. Princess states that guests have discretion to adjust Crew Appreciation while onboard. You can discuss the adjustment with Guest Services.
Can I still tip a crew member separately?
Yes. If a particular crew member provides exceptional service, you can give an additional tip directly.
Does removing Crew Appreciation remove all tips from my account?
No. Crew Appreciation and purchase-related service charges are different. Adjusting Crew Appreciation does not automatically remove applicable service charges connected to optional purchases.
When is the best time to adjust gratuities?
If you need to make an adjustment, do it before your onboard account is settled and before you disembark. Waiting until after the cruise can mean that the adjustment is no longer available.
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