vmom

The anytime DR allows any pax to make a standing reservation for whatever time you want. On embarkation day go to the DR to arrange time and possibly choose the actual table. Remember if anyone in your party is a no show, reservation "can" be dropped.

This used to be true several years ago but lately I've been told if I want a reservation i have to call in each morning. I have asked when in the dining room for dinner for a reservation for the next night and been told no.

what has been your experience with this in the last year or so?

If I remember correctly, there is a separate entrance for Club class and part of the dining room is partioned off.

Sanctuary: I think how often you can book is dependent on how many reservations they already have. You can book on the first day for the whole cruise for a fee that covers the entire cruise, but if you want only partial days on some days then it depends on availability.

Princess has abolished auto gratuities on Australian Cruises and the prices don't seem to have risen. P & O as well as a couple of Carnival ships have are the same.

How would you really know? Gratuities for a 7 day cruise would be about $135. Not much when looking at the total cost of cruising. Rates could easily go up by that much and not be noticed.

Further in the total scheme of things, $135 per week is not much extra compared to all the total costs of cruising, so for those who don't like to tip/pay the service charge...why not just pay it. I just can't justify not paying the suggested amount when the service is so excellent and the staff works so hard.

I don't know how people talk themselves into that its okay not to give the suggested amount. I love to save a buck, but I will not try to save money on the back of someone else.

what kind of gifts do you give? - we're thinking along those same lines for our next cruise, at least for the cabin steward? do you ask them what they would like before going to the next port?

I suggest sticking to cold hard cash. The staff share tiny cabins and don't have room for much stuff. Plus there is a small store on board where they can get what they need fairly cheaply. With cash they can do what they want with it including being able to splurge on a day they go offshore.

If you do not remove the auto gratuities then cash you give them over and beyond the amount that is automatically charged, they can keep that cash. They don't have to share the cash that is given to them extra above the auto gratuities

I have only done the full transit on the Coral ocean to ocean. It was fantastic, so fascinating going through the old locks. If you can talk your husband into it that would be the way to go. Then you can enjoy going through the locks all six of them, going in and out of the air conditioning and the outside and moving around the ship.

One suggestion on picking a cabin is make sure if you get a balcony that is covered. We opted for a mini suite with a larger balcony however I didn't realize the balcony was completely uncovered. The weather was hot and humid and we were not able to use the balcony hardly at all due to the extreme uncomfortable heat and humidity.

A balcony is not a must for the itinerary. Sent aside money for tours first and maybe extra for time in England prior to the cruise. If you have extra money then go for the balcony. You likely won't have much time to enjoy sitting on it and there's so many other places to sit outside around the ship.

The bath gel and combo shampoo/conditioner are in a large bottle dispenser attached to the wall of the shower. No brand listed. The lotion is labeled as Lotus spa as is the bar soap.

Those are the only complimentary toiletries that are in the cabin.

I haven't been in that cabin, but I have been on the Riviera deck just under the buffet and found it to be quiet and convenient to the aft pool and the buffet.

We enjoyed out tour of St. P with Alla tours.

We ended up booking a tour with Alla tours for Stockholm also. Price was good. It provided transportation and admission into the Vasa and then transport to the old town and a walking tour of the old town and palace there. I enjoyed it and the price was right.

You may want to go onto the Alla tour website and see if there are tours offered in other ports that you would enjoy. I believe there was a discount depending on how many tours were booked.

We just walked around Tallin. Very easy port to explore on your own.

We did the HOHO in Helsinki. It was just okay, nothing special, but nothing else popped out as something to do that was more interesting. The HOHO in Helsinki would not be my first choice. It was ho-hum as the saying goes.

We spent 5 days in Copenhagen. I love that city. There's lot of choices of things to do in the city, and there are some great tours that take you out of Copenhagen into the rest of the country. We did one that took us out of the city to see the area along with 3 different castles. Very interesting.

One of the castles was Fredricksburg Castle. Another was the royal family's summer palace. I think the tour was called something like a tour of North Zealand.

There is a shopping book, not sure what the official title is. I didn't get one, but my sister in law did so I was able to look through it.

The one I saw covered the Caribbean. $25 per book and loaded with coupons for free this and that along with discounts and bonuses with purchase of the book.

When you buy the book, there is a coupon for a "free" necklace which was really very nice.

My sister in law felt that she got her money's worth with the coupons for free stuff along with the free necklace.

I haven't seen the coupons they used to pass out for free stuff at Diamonds I in awhile. I have seen promotions for a free something with purchase.

Last time I was in London, I stayed in the dorms at the University College London.

There are several dorms at different locations to choose from. I had my own private bathroom and there was a fully equipped kitchen on each floor. It was comfortable and clean, not fancy.

If you go onto their website, you can see pictures and get a description about the dorms, along with reviews and prices.

Don't stress out about the suggested boarding times. They are to try to even out the crowd so everyone doesn't arrive at once. Just show up at the port. They will take your luggage. You can then either wait in the waiting area until its time to board or walk around a bit.

Nobody want to respond to this then?

Not taking the bait. Its just a rationalization to avoid paying the service charge/gratuities.

there's a reason Princess calls it a tip ( with the option to adjust ) and not a service charge OR include it in the price...:cool:

Princess is using the American semantics / American way of handling service charge for most (but not all) cruises. If an Aussie or Kiwi (New Zealander) books a cruise in Australia or New Zealand then the gratuities is build into the fare.

In the US, its separated out.

A while back HAL did not charge gratuities, stating that gratuities were included, but then their published fares were higher.

Americans like to feel like they are getting a deal. Ever notice that on the Princess website or some of the other travel sites, when you book a cruise, the fare is often listed without the ports taxes and fees. Makes it seem cheaper, then when you go to book the cruise, the port fees and taxes are added in and all of a sudden the price jumps up. By separating out the charges it makes the person feel like its a better deal and more likely to sign up.

I have read many of the threads on tipping and couldn't find an answer to my question on any of them.

 

Why $13.50? And why per person and not per stateroom? Again, we are not averse to tipping for good service anywhere in the world, but not by those amounts and not on a per head basis either!

 

I know it's a bit of a culture clash - cruise lines and indeed America itself don't have a minimum wage, which I personally find disgraceful - but that's why we're trying to find a compromise where we continue to contribute to the pool but at a rate we can afford and still feel is fair.

 

If that offends other cruisers on their 25th holiday of the year while they throw cash all around them, so be it. As I say, we are not all cut from the same cloth, and if the gratuities are truly inflexible, then include them in the price!

If you go to Italy and eat at a restaurant or for that matter often just going to a cafe and eating at a table, you pay a service charge of $2.00-4.00 per person because the work and extras increase with the number of people. Same as on a cruise, 2 people in a cabin/ at a dining table is double the amount of work. One person is less work. At the dining tables, waiters are waiting on two people, not one...hence the charge per person.

If you don't like this system, then I suggest you cruise on a cruise line that goes by a European system in which you are still paying the charges, but its built into the fare. The American system just breaks down the charges into the cruise fare, taxes, fees and gratuities (service charge).

I really think it would be helpful to you to quit thinking of it as a "tip" .

When I first went to Europe and the UK I was shocked by being charged to sit at a table and get table service (mandatory charge, not optional) because this was so different than in the US. Then I realized that there was a service charge that was mandatory, but then tips were less or not expected. Its really the same thing in the end but just different names. What in the US is called a tip, is really more of the equivalent of the European service charge + tip.

So how can you determine how much anyone can afford? Are you their accountant? How rude of a statement to make about someone you do noy know? Have meet many people on a cruise who have said they saved for years just to go on their cruise of a lifetime.

respectfully disagree. When you plan a trip, you plan for all expenses. When going on a road trip you plan on the gas costs, hotel, meals, tickets etc. You save for all expenses.

Same as a cruise, when planning you plan for all expenses which includes service charges.

As in Europe, if you don't want to pay the service charge, you take your food out and eat else where. You don't try to reduce or negotiate the service charge.

Same on a cruise, if you use service, then pay the service charge. Change your mindset from it being a tip.

Consider it a service charge and not a tip. Just like in much of Europe when you sit at a table and use the service there is a mandatory service charge put on your bill. It's not a tip, it's a service charge for using the services offered.

consider the $13.50 per day as a mandatory service charge not a tip.

Funny about all the varying opinions. I think the free coffee is way too strong. I order some hot water when I order the free coffee and just water the coffee down a bit and then its fine.

If you want coffee from the IC, you can pay as you go. If you only want an occasional coffee, that may be the cheaper way to go.

Nice upgrade.

I'd go with the balcony aft in a heartbeat no matter which ship you are looking at.

I've been in the obstructed view window cabins and for the price they can be nice. But a balcony aft wins out hands down.

Don't know why your TA is telling you something different. Has she/he been on the ship before?

You can trade for sparkling water, perrier brand.

I have sailed the Royal and the Ruby within the last year. The ships prior to the Royal/Regal class were built with smaller buffet areas and at this point its hard to go back and try to retrofit a buffet similar to the Royal class.

That explains the smaller buffet area and the fewer selections, however my experience is that the Royal buffet was very good where as the Ruby had a lot of the same foods all of the time. That I can't explain. Even with a smaller buffet area, the Ruby food in the buffet could be better.

That said, I found that with anytime dining in the Ruby I was always seated quickly and service was good with good food in the MDR. We always share a table with others. On the Royal, the line to get into the MDR was horrible with anytime dining. I wondered if they expected more people to eat in the buffet on the Royal and thus planned on fewer people going to the MDR for meals???

just like throwing non-elites laundry into your "free" bag...:mad:

Yes, and if elites continue to abuse this then Princess will start restricting this perk also. I've read many complaints on how long it takes to get laundry back because of the volume of free laundry being sent in on some sailings.

Again' date=' completely inappropriate. ...But is the laundry service for the elite member only or for all in the cabin? Is priority boarding, tendering, etc. for all in a cabin with an elite member or only for the elite member? That doesn't even get to the issue of the cabin next door, which is a huge problem. Obviously, laundry service is NOT for the elite member and everyone who has a reservation linked to them!

 

As more people try to push the benefits, Princess will likely decrease them.

 

Some lines are far more strict--if you have not earned the perk, you don't get to wait in the special lounge area, board first, or whatever. Other perks are listed as "you and all adults in your cabin." Perhaps Princess needs to be more clear.[/quote']

 

I agree. I was specifically told by the Captain Circle rep that any perk that did not cost money I could bring my cabin-mate (not other friends in other cabins) with me (priority boarding, priority tender, lounge). But she was very clear that any perk that had a monetary value (laundry, wine tasting, internet) was for the elite passenger only.

 

I agree that as more people abuse these, then these perks will be eliminated. Those that abuse this are just ruining it for the rest of us and then we will hear the shouting and threats as we are now reading in the posts about the elimination of the coffee card.