kike368

The negative thing about paying our gratuities is the change in how they are given out. When I cruised before you pre-paid and got coupons you could put in the envelopes and you could add extra cash if you wanted to tip extra. Now I have heard that you don't get the coupons and envelopes. ( I understand now that you can get wow envelopes if needed).

 

The problem I see is that I think people will think we are cheap if we don't tip extra???

If I feel someone deserves extra above my prepaid gratuities I forgo the envelope and hand them cash personally. That way I'm relatively sure they keep 100%

X2

 

Never had bad service from anyone sometimes it is just OK but never bad so why not tip and Auto is the easy way to tip and reward the super service as you wish.

 

Around where I live, and mostly Americans, I know lots of waitstaff in restaurants and it is amazing how many do not tip. Example: $150 dollar bill and a $2 tip for 6 people is not uncommon.

10 cruises in and always prepay our tips. Only once have I removed a tip from my bill. On NOS last year our MDR wait staff who were Latino basicly ignored us and focused on the large Spanish speaking table next to us all week. ( the " leader" of the group at the other table made it a point to loudly announce each night and make a production of giving each of the waiters $50 bill ) he also made sure every one in the room knew he paid for his whole family to be here. I should thank him though because after my complaint and someone from guest services observing our wait staff on day 3 they comped us specialty dining for the rest of the cruise. Where I tipped very well

Did it on Navigator last year absolutely worth the price, and SheehanDJ if cheese is what you're looking for you won't be disappointed!

No. If we're on by 11 - 11:30am we may hit the Windjammer for a quick snack and then the search begins for the ship's best bartender. Any later boarding than that we skip the snack. ;)

Amen! It's all about priorities and very few things take precedence over finding an excellent bar tender! ;)

And it was easier than I thought. :eek:

 

Now let's get back to details on the program. :D

 

Pour size, time between pours, lines, etc..

Yes let's. Hopefully RCI won't over complicate what should be simple

I'm sure there will be some posted hours. The web site touts labor savings. I was going to say no need to tip, but the packages get charged tips up front.

 

Look, I just turned this into a tipping thread. :D

Nice you took a perfectly nice thread about a perfectly nice drink dispenser and now it will be all about tipping it! Lol

I don't get the whole concept. Just walk into bull and bear and get one. I Rather have a cold 12 oz bottle with an orange than an 8 oz cup.

Pool bar closes early, I imagine that nice machine never closes.

Correct, I am not thinking clear, still trying to process the addition of self serve beer on Freedom

Wait wait wait! Self serve beer, did I miss something here? :what:

I didn't say it was better, I am just able to get it easily at home. I eat lamb or duck because those are foods I don't get at home!

I agree, but just to do my part in ending the discrimination against Caribbean lobster I have it too! I'm a pig what can I say. Lol

We just booked a Galveston cruise for next year. Guess we will plan accordingly for delays or just plan to stay an extra day.

 

We are doing to the Roatan/Belize route, since these are two places we have never been, but now it concerns me reading that this itinerary seems to cause disembarkation issues. Anyone know why? You would think it would be the same whether this itinerary or the Grand Cayman route.

Belize is the hot spot for drugs coming from all over central America, so customs applies higher level of scrutiny to both bags and passengers coming from there

10 cruises and I'm in no way an expert but some observations for your consideration. Excursions through the cruise line cost more but come with the guarantee that the boat will be right where you left it when you get back. We love the islands and will retire to one to be named later but, if you have never been there there is no way to prepare you for the level of intensity of the " salesmanship" you will experience outside the gates of a cruise port and while I believe most are honest hard-working people there are those that are less than that. I ha e seen an hour cab ride in Jamaica that was $20 out cost $500 to get back. I highly recommend ship based excursions for your visit to any island, that said if your determined to book privately do your research and prebook with a reputable service and don't be one of the sheep outside the gates. There is a company we have used many times called ShoreExcursioneers they offer excursions on many islands that offer A) smaller groups and B) a back on time guarantee that will cover your cost to catch up to the boat if they fail. They claim to have never had to pay a claim. C) a small deposit will secure your spot with the balance due on site. We have always been happy with the services they provide. Who ever you use make sure you know the cancellation policy if your boat is late or misses a port completely. Personally which ever way you go as was stated before if it's something you really want to do book early so you don't miss out.

Drink packages, lots of debate there! Lol. For us we like to drink on vacation and we hate to sweat the dreaded bill we have had packages since RCI started them and have never failed to make it a wise investment for our package we need 6 a day to get even and that is not as hard to do as some would have you believe and it allows us the freedom to try things we might otherwise not try at $12-15 a drink.

Hope that's helpfull and enjoy your cruise

had a question about the Internet Cafe mentioned on the Cruise Compass. Is this free with just a few computers in there and is it open 24 hrs?

You said is it FREE! :sly: but seriously, yeah no it's not free, yes there are computers in there, and not sure about the hours.

Was trying to start a new thread to see who would be on the Sept 6th cruise. This is my first time cruising and I was trying to get to know ppl to do fun activities

Did you join your roll call ?

So I guess this review isn't turning out to be so brief. Might have made more sense to organize it better instead of just randomly jumping between topics. Too late to start now, so let's talk about alcohol.

 

As I said earlier, DW and I bought the Premium Drink package. Total cost per person was a little more than $400 for the week. We do a fair amount of drinking when we cruise and usually spend almost this much. With the recent drink price increases, we decided that the "all inclusive" approach would be worth it. It helped that we had $400 OBC so it felt like one package was free. We were very satisfied with the wines that were available, although our waiter at Giovanni's Table didn't believe that a $12 glass of wine was included in the package (a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc for those interested) and we had to practically force him to go check with someone.

 

We spent most of our pool time in the Solarium and never had to wait behind more than a couple of people to be served. We often were served immediately. Winston was an occasional bartender in the Solarium. I remembered Winston from the Explorer when it cruised out of Cape Liberty, as he does a great job. Reports of the death of the wandering waiter proved to be greatly exaggerated:

 

 

Same is true for the death of drink menus, at least in a few places:

 

 

Drink menu at the bar in the Windjammer

 

Drink menu at the Bull and Bear Pub

 

The Bull and Bear Pub usually only had 1 or 2 options on tap. There was Beck's available early in the cruise, and Stella available almost the entire cruise. I think they were out of Stella on the last day (not that I was in there every day). They had many bottle choices.

 

I also want to recognize one of the bartenders on Coco Cay (who also works the Sky Bar ;)). I won't call him out by name because I don't want to get him in trouble, in case he did something that he wasn't supposed to. It was about 2:00 and we were sitting at a picnic table after finishing eating. He was carrying a tray of Coco Locos. I asked if they were included in the drink package. He said that they were in the souvenir cups, which weren't included, and that he would need to charge us for the cup. We have several of the cups from Labadee so I said never mind. He then said, no problem...he'd give them to my wife and I at no extra charge. He then went on to give virgin versions, also in the souvenir cups to my daughters, at no charge. He might have only been getting rid of his inventory late in the day but he definitely made us feel special. Nice tip and a Wow card for him.

Winston is the BEST bartender in the employ of RCI!

Excellent question. We have been cruising for about forty years and the cruise industry has undergone massive changes in that time period. Our first cruise was on the Sunward II which was a 14,000 ton ship considered a normal size in those days. Our personal preference has changed for multiple reasons including changes in the cruise lines, our age, our ability to take longer cruises (60 days is nice for us now), budget and itinerary. So in the early days we wanted low cost cruises to the Caribbean. Now, we love doing long cruises so our taste has changed. When young our most cruises were with RCCL (now RCI). But in the past 15 years we have favored Celebrity, HAL, and Princess along with a few other smaller ship lines like Azamara.

 

These days we try to avoid anything shorter then 14 days and prefer cruises at least a month. Longer cruises have a totally different atmosphere then the typical 7 day cruise.

 

Hank

Hank you are my new idol! Lol. DW and I hope to be in a position to cruise extensively once she retires in 5 years and 30 day cruises sound like everything we are looking for. Makes my financial planner nuts every time I tell him we need an ever increasing cruise budget built into or retirement plan in- perpetuity.

Has anyone done the rose hall tour without going through the cruise ship? How was it? How much would a taxi be to get there?

I'm not sure about a taxi but we are booked with ShoreExcursioneers to go to RoseHall, and Dr's Cave beach with a 2 hour shopping stop on the strip in Montego bay. The price seemed very reasonable to me. It was $69 which includes entrance to the beach and Rose Hall

On our last cruise on Freedom there was a lady ( possibly the same one ) with a dog in a stroller. The crew stated the dog. Was a "service dog" that prevented her anxiety attacks in public places. Many of them quietly admitted that she was a pinacle member who had threatened to take her considerable bank roll to another line of she wasn't allowed to travel with the dog after her husband died.

This was my biggest issue - just a simple break down of WHAT is covered... They never say "Included in the price of the cruise is...." and then the "Refreshment package will add unlimited fountain drinks" and then what the next package adds.

 

I appreciate all your help in this guys!!

 

When others cruise, what packages have you bought?

The wife and I get the premium package for each of us covers all but super premium liquors and mid level wines also includes ships brand bottled water ( not Evian) with the recent price increases the break even point is only 5/day and for us at least that's not a hard number to hit

Pina Colada... no frozen cocktail has much booze in it, IMO and experience!

You need a better bartender! Lol! My wife drinks frozen all week and trains the sky bar staff o, day 1. Extra shot in the bottom one in the middle and a floater. And a pinocolada is all coconut which the OP was trying to avoid

According to My incrdible bartender at the sky bar tips from packages are dispersed like you said based on hours worked , cash tips or if you add additional tip on the recipt those are paid directly to them.

I would lean more towards the method used by most corporate owned resturants and bars. Which is ALL tips are comingled and then split evenly by all involved based on hours worked that day/shift. So unless your Tipping in cash and there is not a company policy which says keeping tips and not putting into collection is grounds for being let go. JMHO