we are planning to purchase a cruise on princess ,but my concerns are what extra charges are going to be added on when i get on the ship ,will I have to buy an ice cream cone or is that part of the deal

The only extra charges you have are the automatic tipping charges that are added each day for room steward and waiter. (Even these you can control if you wish by letting the purser know in advance that you will be taking care of your tipping at the end of the cruise.) If you buy something from the bar a tip is added to your drink bill.

That's it. From there the extra changes are the ones you wish to incur. I would check on your particular ship. Ice cream was available at 3:30 in the Horizon Ct. on the Sun Princess. Yes, if you wanted a cone or ice cream at any time than that you paid for it (except at a meal). If you wanted coffee and went to a bar - you paid for it. If you walked up to the buffet it was free. Cookies also appeared at the buffet at 3:30 and were a big hit - people flocked to get their cookie and ice cream but you needed to know that it was available.

If you drink a lot of soda I recommend the soda sticker which includes a 15% tip but you do not tip each time you get a soda. The soda cards allows for any type of soda that is available via the fountain drink, ie. coke, tonic, club soda etc. You just go up to any bar show them the sticker and ask for a soda.

Have fun.

Hi to ross555 and Tinas Coma Cruiser. Everything Tinas Coma says is true. but ross555, I get the impression this might be your first cruise, and if it is, you should be aware that the charges you might wish to incur could be considerable. Besides shore excursions, there are spa services, flowers for the cabin,alternative dining(service charge), room service(complimentary, but a gratuity is expected), souvenir photos(I dare you to resist), duty-free shopping, recipe books by the chefs, art auctions, wine tastings, and I've just heard that Crown Princess now charges $15 for a half-day in a quiet deck area called "The Sanctuary". This strikes me as the ultimate irony that you now have to pay to get away from the hubbub that they have created throughout the ship!
ross555, I don't tell you this to discourage you but to alert you to what you can expect. I dearly love cruising and look at these "extras" as just part of enjoying the trip. My wife and I figure we spend about 50% above the cruise fare on average. We agree we'd rather go a little less often, but do it up right when we do go. Make it special.
Happy sailing.

While these charges may be incurred, they do not have to be added. It is not only Princess, but every cruise line that charges extra for various amenities. You don't have to go the the alternative dining rooms, the food is great in the regular dining rooms, the buffet or the pizzeria. Neither do you have to use the spa or the beauty salon, nor do you have to buy anything in the shops, nor do you have to go to the Sanctuary, etc. These charges will not be automatically added to your bill, but if you choose to partake, they will. I'm not trying to argue, I just want to make sure the original poster understands, it is not just Princess that adds extra charges.

Just to clarify, the only charge Princess adds to your bill is the $10 per day per person (including children sharing a cabin with 2 adults) for the automatic tipping for the dining staff and the cabin attendants. If for some reason you are not happy with the service provided, you may adjust this charge. If you are really happy with the service provided, you can always tip a crew member something extra in cash!

Hi Ross,

As the others stated the only charge will be the $10 a day per person tips. These can be adjusted at the desk (up or down). I have sailed with Princess 5 times and yes we did have to pay for ice cream. But what an ice cream it was. I recommend getting a soda card at the start of the cruise. This will cover the cost of all soft drinks (one per person). The only additional charges are for "speciality restaurants" & alcoholic beverages.
Enjoy Life & Crusing
Caseyg

If you do raise or lower the auto tip does the room steward or waiter know about it? I can imagine lowering it for the duration of the cruise and then offering the rest as a regular tip based on the service received.

One way or another, they know.

Not that I intend to be cheap, I just prefer to give tips based on performance. I'd hate to lower the auto tip and then see lesser service because they knew I did that, without them knowing I'd do a better tip in the end with good performance.

f-mattox,

I just read your post where you state that room service is free but that a tip is expected.

We always have coffee and juice delivered every morning to kick-start the day, and have never tipped. Are you saying we are out to lunch on this one?

We certainly don't want to upset the room service guys.

It is customary to tip the room service person a couple of dollars when they deliver an order.

Each morning, with our continental breakfast, we signed a check to acknowledge receipt of the breakfast; on the check there was a box for "time received" (it always came in the time frame we requested) and another box for "gratuity". Whatever we put in the box showed up on our statement.
I also gave the room service steward a few dollars cash every couple of days.

The fact that you didn't upset the room service guys says a lot about Princess; that's the kind of attitude that keeps me coming back.

But next time kick in a couple of bucks.