bar prices

[jack2007]

This topic is not about the prices of drinks or if they are fair or not....what I would like to discuss is what members think about having the complete price of your drink displayed.
Let me explain...in the uk we have a tax called VAT (valued added tax) so when we buy a drink or look at the price of a drink...the entire price of the drink is shown...and its down to the retailer to deduct the 17.5 % . This means that when somebody says how much ...they are told the whole price.

On a cruise ship though,(or at least the one I was last on ) when you see a price on the bar menu they do not show the 15% service charge ...and it is only when you see your onboard account that the real cost of the drink becomes apparrent.Now I am not bothered about the price of the drink or the fact that there is a service charge...but being used to the UK system ,I just think it is fairer and easier if you see the whole price ....so why can't the cruise company do the mathmatics and deduct the service charge ?
Well ...not as a complaint but just to enquire ..I asked this question whilst on my Princess cruise.The answer I got was American cruisers prefered this system.Well I was on an american ship so fair enough but have started thinking that now so many americans come to Europe maybe they prefer the idea of seeing the whole price of a drink on their cruise.
So here is a chance for you vote for your preference..( if you are interested )

[Dave]

I voted yes, but another aspect of the bar pricing scheme is that people see that price and make their decision by it and not by what the tip adds to the price. This is not unlike the ploy used by new car dealers who advertise a new vehicle for, say, $19,999. A mindgame plays out and people register it as less than $20,000, which it is, but we all know in the end it will be thousands more once the taxes and other fees are tacked on. Commerce in the U.S. is generally like this, with sales tax being assessed at the point of purchase but not on the price tag. And the auto-gratuity probably perceived by most as being like the sales tax being tacked on, and we don't really think any more of it.

Actually, the cruise lines could be squeezing some more profit out of the bar sales if they adjusted prices to include the tip, and also rounded things to the nearest nickel, which plays on American minds since we typically don't "like" pennies. Thus, that $1.75 can of soda, which is $2.01 with the 15% tip, could be sold for $2.00 and they could make up for that lost penny by other sales which may go up 1 to 4 cents in the price roundup. A can of beer is $3.74 right now, with the tip. Make it a nice round $3.75.

[LisaP]

I also voted yes, but don't see it happening. A passenger is more likely to buy a drink listed at $3.75 rather than the same drink, with 15% added, at $4.31.

Of course, when we get the bar slip to sign, the total cost of $4.31 is shown.

I do need to quickly address the explanation you were given on Princess. It's not necessarily that those from the States prefer this system, but that we are accustomed to it, as Dave mentioned above.

[petelikesncl]

I also voted yes.

[Spiritfilled]

I also voted yes although I don't drink alcohol but I think I would prefer to see the total price up front on soda as well, you know what I mean.