Geoffa30

I'd like to know what Jan is smoking in thinking they're successful. Her bar must be set pretty damn low

Our Med cruise on the Regal in 30 days is just about sold out. Others cruises look the same. May be that's why she thinks they are successful?

This will be our first ever cruise. So glad that some of you long standing Princess Cruisers don't like the new ships as I do not think that I would enjoy meeting many of you.

How disappointing... I've caught up with your review. Cannot wait for more!!

And thus is has always been. Employers have always paid the minimum wage for food service employees (as well as any position that also receives tips, such as beauty parlor employees). The minimum wage, in NJ, for service employees who receive tips is MUCH lower than the minimum wage for everyone else (and that is ridiculously low too). If the employer were to pay a living wage and tipping was outlawed, the cost to eat out would be even more prohibitive than it is now, because it would be passed on to the customer.

 

Anyway, as for excursions, I always tip the guide, unless they are awful. I generally tip $5.00 to $10.00 and a few times $20.00. If the bus driver is an active participant in the tour, I will give him or her about half of what I give the guide.

 

Maureen

Think I'm going to get a job as a tour guide. If there's the possibility of a coach full of say 45 passengers tipping me up to $20 each, i.e. anything up to $900 in total, surely it's a no brainer?!

I usually use cruise line excursions, and as such, I feel like I pay a good price for them. However, I don't know how well tour guides are paid. So, I always give a moderate tip, larger for a great guide, and occasionally none for a poor guide. However, I recently had a disturbing experience in Belize.

 

We felt that the tour guide was really good. We were searching for wildlife, and he seemed to know where to find it, and we saw a lot, so we decided to give him a larger tip.

 

As we were approaching the end of the trip, he actually asked everyone to "please show him our appreciation." I was really shocked; that is the first time a tour guide actually outright requested a tip. It really turned me off. But, not having too much time to think about it, I gave him the larger than usual tip I had been planning to give him.

 

As we got off the boat, as each person handed him a tip (most people handed him a bill folded in half) he actually unfolded the bill and looked at what you gave him. Again, this was a first for us; we have never had a tour guide examine the tip each person gave. They usually just say thank you and put it in their hand with the rest of the tips.

 

Afterwards, I thought to myself that I was sorry I had given him the larger tip. I considered reporting this, as I felt it was inappropriate behavior, but in the end, I didn't, because I know many in Belize are poor and I did not want to cause him to be in trouble with his employer. What would you have done?

We had this experience on a Hollywood tour on which my partner and I were the only passengers. It was fantastic and the guides were great and we had already decided to give them a good tip. Everything was ruined though when they got to the end of the tour and then came the huge spiel about tipping your tour guide. Proof if any were needed that people are just working you for tips. Of course there are exceptions.

Of course when we are in America, we conform to the tipping. We tend to tip more in lower end restaurants and diners as we feel the servers are more genuine and are likely lower paid. Servers at higher end restaurants get the same in monetary terms but as a percentage of the bill they probably consider it an insult but we don't care. They are only doing the same job as those in the burger joint next door.

Being from the UK where tipping is not the norm I am surprised they say worldwide. I might put a € in the tip box on the way off the coach but I don't expect to have to tip for something I have already paid for, maybe an extra € for being a good tour guide but its not what we do or the Australians.

 

As they say two countries separated by a common language!

They will be lucky to get anything from me. I hate all this tipping for this and tipping for that. Always amazes me that people moan about paying extra for things, e.g. $10 surcharge for Alfredo's or $3 fee for room service, but then profess to tipping left right and centre. I'd rather pay a good price (my motto is you get what you pay for) for something and never have to worry about tips. People should be paid appropriately to do a job and not have to rely on tips. IMO it just leads to that false smile from everyone as all they are doing is working you for tips.

Hi. Loving your review. Hope there are more instalments to come... Makes me more excited for when we board on August 30th. Ten weeks today.

You mentioned a Taqueria. Whereabouts was this please?

Looks fun.

My partner and I might be interested. We are sailing on the Regal which leaves at 11pm. Will this fit in with the tour?

Yawn...

I think it looks good. Yes it's not an Olympic sized pool but it's a pool. Somewhere to cool off and plenty of shallow space around to sit in. Do people really expect a lap pool or something?

Lots of pictures starting to appear on Flickr.

Really loving the plain white tiling of the pools.

August 30th cannot come soon enough :D

I think it may just be the angle of the picture. The overhang created by the deck above the Horizon Terrace goes back towards the stern pretty far. Here's a closeup of that area from the previous image...

 

 

 

...and what it looks like from the Horizon Terrace...

 

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!!

 

:D

Silly me. I was mistaking the handrails for glazing. Pleased about that as this is one of the areas we are most looking forward to using. Cannot wait to sit there with a cocktail watching the land disappear into the distance.

Thanks for the new pictures dmwnc1959 :D Looks like they are still working on the aft pool seeing as it's totally enclosed in plastic in the pictures. It also looks like the deck below is slightly different; the Horizon Terrace seems to be glazed / enclosed.

152 Days until we board in Venice for our first ever cruise. Cannot wait.

Just had an email today saying that our Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Ruby departing on 7 March 2015 has been cancelled and we've been moved to the Caribbean Princess. Apparently the Ruby is being redeployed to South America. Slightly disappointed as had booked into an aft balcony cabin on Caribe deck.

Anyone aware of the move? How is the Caribbean Princess? Any info greatly appreciated.