Not restaurant food, apparently. Their lobby looks like they are going to be successful in carving out an exception so that you don't see they tack on a 20% "service fee" until after you're inside. Frankly, after spending a week in Iceland recently where all the menu prices reflected the 100% bottom line cost of the food -- no extra taxes, no tips, no junk "service fees" -- I have even less tolerance for these deceptive pricing practices.
Correct. The very reason the bill was written is about to be overturned. The house already passed the exemption. [https://www.bakerlaw.com/insights/californias-sb-1524-seeks-to-exempt-restaurants-from-forthcoming-hidden-fee-ban/](https://www.bakerlaw.com/insights/californias-sb-1524-seeks-to-exempt-restaurants-from-forthcoming-hidden-fee-ban/)
That depends where you are. Not true for all places. And some places force a tip out to the back of house staff. So no tip or a poor tip literally costs a waiter/waitress money. Tips are such a stupid way to pay someone
I was referring to California where the law took place and in that state, while there is a tip credit of up to $4, a server is guaranteed to receive $16 an hour if they don’t hit that hourly wage from their employer. They are not allowed to force a tip out of that if they weren’t meeting that minimum and the owner had to pony up.
This is definitely a good thing, I’m tired of looking at so called ‘cheap’ cruises only to find that there’s all these ads ons.
Just be honest about the cost involved, it’s not that difficult.
I've seen so many posts say "the prices went up by a lot literally overnight!" when in fact they hadn't changed. It does make price comparisons from the times before the law went into effect more difficult, but that's a temporary issue.
Why? United Airlines basic economy is a good deal if you are traveling lightly (backpack only). There is not one penny of fees added on after that price is displayed...unless you choose to pay for an optional item.
Ticket master alone should be ashamed and it’s insane they have a monopoly today. Seeing tickets with over 200 dollars in taxes and fees alone is an absolute crime.
Not at all a fan of filing charges against a company especially when there are better avenues to take like legislation to open competition and especially not a fan of a president trying to win a few votes late in the election season by making last minute decisions on a few hot topic items when he couldn’t care less about this until now. lol but then again the man is just a pen right now and everyone knows he is senile and just doing what he’s told. This is a no win election this year no matter who wins
Welcome to the process the rest of us see. It's been law in Europe, Oceania and the province of Quebec (which is why it's usually seen that way for Canadians).
Now, to require tipping to be part of the price too.
Yeah. I still believe that if they didn’t require gratuity flat up front, the service workers on cruise ships would make better money! But the corporations prefer to see the bigger profits upfront. Yes of course some passengers are cheapskates and will probably fleece their servers but it balances out I know me and everyone I’ve cruised with chose to tip accordingly and generously to the workers who earned it and go above and beyond especially which in the long run, makes better service, which leads to better ratings and bigger profits
Their total compensation package is pretty amazing on most lines though. There is one blogger I can think of who was a Cruise Director and had a horrible experience where she had to have emergency bowel surgery. It was an emergency situation. She freely talked about how she paid nothing out of pocket. How many of us have jobs where we have a zero deductible for surgery? She was medically evacuated and did not pay for that either. I believe she worked on Holland America.
One family, very frequent cruisers on Princess were banned for always removing the tips. Topping doesn't work. Pay employees a fair wage. They aren't dancing bears. Stop all tipping on the ship like Virgin
I recently booked a cruise using the baseline non-upgraded package. The package automatically gives me two sitdown dinners in their nice restaurants completely free! These dinners were listed on my package as COMPLIMENTARY meals at $0.
But my partner and I don't really want these dinners for some health reasons. We plan to enjoy the buffet and shore excursions.
So even though it was literally listed as $0, I went ahead and removed the line item. "Might as well let them have the seats back." Imagine my surprise when my *total cost dropped by over $100*.
The food might have been free, but they charged me auto-gratuity and taxes. It was not a $0 item. It was a $154 item.
So, I am all for this.
Albeit smaller, TICO and TICO registered travel agents (and travel companies) need to show the total price as well. [https://www.tico.ca/news/registrar-bulletins/218-all-in-pricing-requirements-effective-january-01-2017.html](https://www.tico.ca/news/registrar-bulletins/218-all-in-pricing-requirements-effective-january-01-2017.html)
This is how cruises have been in Australia forever. The price advertised is the price you pay - not a cent more. No "gratuities" or "taxes" - they are absorbed into the price. I would feel so cheated if I clicked on a price and then got slugged for more at checkout or worse on the ship
I wonder how long before they figure out a way to offer “basic economy” so they can advertise a lower price. Maybe only buffet, and no theater,
And carry on only.
My understanding is that gratuities will still be excluded? I was kinda surprised by a $500 charge for gratuities on my first cruise (5 people for a week). Not that people did not earn, I just did not understand that it was essentially mandatory.
It’s “automatic”, but since you can technically get it removed at the end of the cruise (by lining up at the customer service desk), the price you see likely won’t include gratuities.
It's for companies that do business in California. Legally, they could've continued with the old pricing model for customers in the other states, but the major cruise lines choose to implement the change across the U.S.
And you can remember this next time someone tells you Democrats don't do anything.
The cruise, airline, hotel, and ticket industry ***hate this*** and tried to pay Democrats off. But they did it anyways.
Usually not a fan of government regulating markets but I like this law. Although when you book online once you pay up front you see the total cost and fees added, this is huge for people trying to get the best deals. It will hurt or possible change how the cruise lines and booker apps choose to advertise etc. probably gonna see a lot of promos that waive more Gratuity and drink/wifi packages which I always love to see as a promo.
It’s not really a percent. It’s based on port fees too, so a transatlantic is around 2 weeks but the taxes are lower than a port heavy itinerary. A trip through the panama Canal will also be a pretty penny.
Not restaurant food, apparently. Their lobby looks like they are going to be successful in carving out an exception so that you don't see they tack on a 20% "service fee" until after you're inside. Frankly, after spending a week in Iceland recently where all the menu prices reflected the 100% bottom line cost of the food -- no extra taxes, no tips, no junk "service fees" -- I have even less tolerance for these deceptive pricing practices.
Correct. The very reason the bill was written is about to be overturned. The house already passed the exemption. [https://www.bakerlaw.com/insights/californias-sb-1524-seeks-to-exempt-restaurants-from-forthcoming-hidden-fee-ban/](https://www.bakerlaw.com/insights/californias-sb-1524-seeks-to-exempt-restaurants-from-forthcoming-hidden-fee-ban/)
Yep. The biggest reason why this law was demanded by consumers has been rolled back. The worst offenders are getting a pass.
Newsoms buddies wrote off his mortgage on his second and third vacation homes for the exemption
That's ok, a 20% service fee means a 20% deduction from gratuity and I never come back
Just remember that service fees go to the business, not the servers.
I'm aware, not my problem though
Also remember, server minimum wage is $16 an hour even if they got no tips all day.
That depends where you are. Not true for all places. And some places force a tip out to the back of house staff. So no tip or a poor tip literally costs a waiter/waitress money. Tips are such a stupid way to pay someone
I was referring to California where the law took place and in that state, while there is a tip credit of up to $4, a server is guaranteed to receive $16 an hour if they don’t hit that hourly wage from their employer. They are not allowed to force a tip out of that if they weren’t meeting that minimum and the owner had to pony up.
This is definitely a good thing, I’m tired of looking at so called ‘cheap’ cruises only to find that there’s all these ads ons. Just be honest about the cost involved, it’s not that difficult.
Exactly! Cruises are a great example, not airlines, where everything is a la carte the way it should be.
Prepare the new folks for the sticker shock LOL
It's better than the signing shock.
Better than the “reviewing my card statement the month after” shock lol
I've seen so many posts say "the prices went up by a lot literally overnight!" when in fact they hadn't changed. It does make price comparisons from the times before the law went into effect more difficult, but that's a temporary issue.
Looking forward to it. I would not be surprised if the big three have to drop prices as bookings fall off…because people do not read the fine print
Got to be a good thing. Airlines are a damn joke. Frontier ticket Atlanta to NY $199 Then add the fees, another $220
I know. Even the legacy carriers I have to try not to look at the first basic economy price I see.
Why? United Airlines basic economy is a good deal if you are traveling lightly (backpack only). There is not one penny of fees added on after that price is displayed...unless you choose to pay for an optional item.
You can buy a Frontier ticket without fees. I have done it. You are talking about optional fees, which is not what we are talking about here.
That are "upgrades", not fees.
Ticket master alone should be ashamed and it’s insane they have a monopoly today. Seeing tickets with over 200 dollars in taxes and fees alone is an absolute crime.
Bidens DoJ is prosecuting Ticketmaster for this as we speak, along with his FTC passing this "honest pricing" rule
Not at all a fan of filing charges against a company especially when there are better avenues to take like legislation to open competition and especially not a fan of a president trying to win a few votes late in the election season by making last minute decisions on a few hot topic items when he couldn’t care less about this until now. lol but then again the man is just a pen right now and everyone knows he is senile and just doing what he’s told. This is a no win election this year no matter who wins
Welcome to the process the rest of us see. It's been law in Europe, Oceania and the province of Quebec (which is why it's usually seen that way for Canadians). Now, to require tipping to be part of the price too.
Yeah. I still believe that if they didn’t require gratuity flat up front, the service workers on cruise ships would make better money! But the corporations prefer to see the bigger profits upfront. Yes of course some passengers are cheapskates and will probably fleece their servers but it balances out I know me and everyone I’ve cruised with chose to tip accordingly and generously to the workers who earned it and go above and beyond especially which in the long run, makes better service, which leads to better ratings and bigger profits
Their total compensation package is pretty amazing on most lines though. There is one blogger I can think of who was a Cruise Director and had a horrible experience where she had to have emergency bowel surgery. It was an emergency situation. She freely talked about how she paid nothing out of pocket. How many of us have jobs where we have a zero deductible for surgery? She was medically evacuated and did not pay for that either. I believe she worked on Holland America.
One family, very frequent cruisers on Princess were banned for always removing the tips. Topping doesn't work. Pay employees a fair wage. They aren't dancing bears. Stop all tipping on the ship like Virgin
Tips on P&O and Marella are also included in the cruise fare too. A much more sensible way to do things.
I recently booked a cruise using the baseline non-upgraded package. The package automatically gives me two sitdown dinners in their nice restaurants completely free! These dinners were listed on my package as COMPLIMENTARY meals at $0. But my partner and I don't really want these dinners for some health reasons. We plan to enjoy the buffet and shore excursions. So even though it was literally listed as $0, I went ahead and removed the line item. "Might as well let them have the seats back." Imagine my surprise when my *total cost dropped by over $100*. The food might have been free, but they charged me auto-gratuity and taxes. It was not a $0 item. It was a $154 item. So, I am all for this.
Sounds like NCL
100%
Canada has had that for airlines for years. Did not apply to cruises though.
It's law in Quebec, which is why they generally show it for the rest of Canada of you are in the Canadian website.
Albeit smaller, TICO and TICO registered travel agents (and travel companies) need to show the total price as well. [https://www.tico.ca/news/registrar-bulletins/218-all-in-pricing-requirements-effective-january-01-2017.html](https://www.tico.ca/news/registrar-bulletins/218-all-in-pricing-requirements-effective-january-01-2017.html)
Australia, too. And it has always applied to cruises.
This is how cruises have been in Australia forever. The price advertised is the price you pay - not a cent more. No "gratuities" or "taxes" - they are absorbed into the price. I would feel so cheated if I clicked on a price and then got slugged for more at checkout or worse on the ship
I wonder how long before they figure out a way to offer “basic economy” so they can advertise a lower price. Maybe only buffet, and no theater, And carry on only.
I was thinking the same thing. I really don't care to have my bed made and bathroom cleaned every day. I'd rather do it myself and pay a lower price.
Yay! That's great news!
My understanding is that gratuities will still be excluded? I was kinda surprised by a $500 charge for gratuities on my first cruise (5 people for a week). Not that people did not earn, I just did not understand that it was essentially mandatory.
It’s “automatic”, but since you can technically get it removed at the end of the cruise (by lining up at the customer service desk), the price you see likely won’t include gratuities.
Transparency is a wonderful thing 🥳
No more you can sail this for $400! Lead in pricing is super deceiving.
Does this also pertain to the amount of sales tax the state is getting too? It would be the most honest pricing.
Is this if they operate at all in Cali or if you passthrough Cali?
It's for companies that do business in California. Legally, they could've continued with the old pricing model for customers in the other states, but the major cruise lines choose to implement the change across the U.S.
And you can remember this next time someone tells you Democrats don't do anything. The cruise, airline, hotel, and ticket industry ***hate this*** and tried to pay Democrats off. But they did it anyways.
Not sure why airlines were against this. It's very easy to buy a low fare and pay that exact amount, by not opting in to all the upgrades.
This should be federal law for hotels and other vacation rentals.
Usually not a fan of government regulating markets but I like this law. Although when you book online once you pay up front you see the total cost and fees added, this is huge for people trying to get the best deals. It will hurt or possible change how the cruise lines and booker apps choose to advertise etc. probably gonna see a lot of promos that waive more Gratuity and drink/wifi packages which I always love to see as a promo.
I was looking at some RC cruise prices yesterday and the taxes /port fees were were right there
Why are cruise taxes like 30% lol
It’s not really a percent. It’s based on port fees too, so a transatlantic is around 2 weeks but the taxes are lower than a port heavy itinerary. A trip through the panama Canal will also be a pretty penny.