navybankerteacher

Aside from needing to get on the road for an hour's drive to the airport so I can get there by 5:00 so i can check in for my 6:30 AM flight to my embarkation port, I cannot imagine wanting to get up at 4:00 AM.

Are you against the concept of giving people compensation related to their performance? On a cruise, a very important aspect of the job of many of the workers is to give the passengers a good time -- which cannot be totally separated from giving them good service. In your work aren't people who do a better job rewarded for their efforts: either commissions for people in sales, bonuses, raises related to performance, promotions related to performance, etc.? Even if every staff member on board ship got $50.00 per hour, wouldn't some incentive be indicated for those who went above the minimum effort level? Of course, you might not be able to observe -- the fares necessary to give everyone enough so they would not have to show any particular effort could make cruising unaffordable to you.

No - complying with the dress code is simply being civilized: in no way can simply complying be considered : "...MORE than perfectly acceptably attired...". More means more -- not simply being on a par. It might be more appropriate to simply agree that NOT following the dress code to the letter is just not being acceptably attired.

Actually, those empty seats were tangentially related — obviously the tip-avoidance strategy, which led to the lines adopting the auto tip concept.

I prefer LGA --easier/cheaper to get to than EWR, and (somewhat) less of a hassle than JFK.

Which is at least partly responsible for the continuing growth of the cruise market.

I think every mass market line has a comparable "First Class" set up --- private common area or lounge and butler.

Ronald Reagan’s motto concerning disarmament agreements applies in connection with travel agents’ performance: “Trust, but verify.”

I would suggest the west side highway -quicker and easier to get to from GW Bridge rather than crossing upper Manhattan. There are as frequent delays on the FDR as on the west side, and I think the west side gives an easier feed to the Battery tunnel.

If I want to reward superior service by an individual i want that individual to receive the award. If it is simply going to be shared among the "team" I will save myself the effort and let the cruise line dole it out after I add it to the autotip. But the line has already advised me that the autotip covers such compensation. If I cannot award superior service, I am not going to be strongly inclined to add anything to the autotip. I am afraid that some people do not like the concept of performance-related compensation, and want everyone to get the same pay. That, in my mind, is the surest way to disincentiveize superior performance -- why the hell try if you will simply get what the lowest common denominator gets allocated?

The last thing needed if a port seriously wants to grow its cruise business is to have remote parking -- essentially requiring a couple of taxi rides or the hassle of shuttle busses to/from pier. It sure as hell DOES have to be adjacent to the cruise terminal-- if other cities : Boston, New York, Hoboken, etc. can do it, a second tier city like Norfolk should be able to (if they gave a damn about developing the business).

Anyone who chooses a cruise line based on pizzas might be happier staying ashore and hanging out in New Haven, CT (for classic apizza), Brooklyn, NY )for good, fairly thin crust pies), or Chicago, IL (if you prefer pies better eaten with a spoon). Regardless of the above ---NCL is less expensive up front, but requires a lot of spending if you want good food; Royal Caribbean is great if you are happy to get lost in a crowd.

There are two approaches: 1) If you have a travel agent who is willing to take the time to talk with you to find out your preferences, rely on his/her input. 2) Spend a fair amount of time on sited like Cruise Critic and see what people have to say about different lines - raise questions if they occur to you - and try to find a happy fit.

Cash is only shared if it built into the staffing arrangements. Everything I have ever seen posted by cruise lines on the subject has indicated that, if the auto tip is left in place, additional cash tips may be kept by the recipient—- and if the auto tip is removed, cash tips are to be added to the pool. You are certainly entitled to have your view as to how such extra cash tips might be handled, but I question the apparent certainty with which you continually reiterate that view as fixed doctrine on all cruise lines (and perhaps restaurants).

But isn"t the maitre d' part of the dining room "team"? Who assigned you as arbiter of "team" components?

Because, if I want to express thanks to an individual. I have the right to express thanks privately to that individual. My expression of thanks to that individual is a matter between him/her and me -- or, to be consistent, does it have to involve every member of the crew --- and the home office people as well? How broad is the "team" that you seem to believe subsumes every individual member?

BULL! Have you never encountered a "team" where some contribute and some just coast? Every individual functions as an individual --- that is what the term "Individual" means. Some are careful and diligent, some may be more or less so He/she MAY be part of a team - but, when it come to staff on a cruise ship, as far as I am concerned --- as long as I have left the auto tip in place --- I believe that I am entitled to recognize individuals as such, and to recognize their contributions as individual contributions.

Most (if not all) lines I’ve sailed advise that gratuities above and beyond the auto tip are acceptable - while pointing out that, if the passenger has removed the auto tip, any cash gratuities a crew member receives must be added to the pool. This would seem to indicate that individual tips received by specific individuals belong to those individuals. In practice, this makes sense: I have more than once been at a table where the assistant waiter provided better service/attention than the waiter - and I tipped accordingly.

The point of a tip above and beyond the auto tip is to recognize superior service rendered by a particular individual and not by the team—- allowing the head waiter allocate it defeats that purpose.

Agreed - this is especially relevant on cruise ships - which facilitate tipping by having service charges automatically added to your bill - clearly covering routine performance; so any direct tipping should only be in response to really superior service - and should logically be done discretely.

If my posts disturb you as regularly as you seem to indicate, you might want to consider simply blocking them.

After passing under the Verrazano Bridge your ship will slow to drop off the Sandy Hook pilot. About the same time, if you look to starboard (your right), you should be able to see the three mile long pier coming out into the lower harbor from the Earle, NJ Naval Ammunition station - where naval ammunition is held.

And, it certainly seems to undermine any effort to give special individual recognition for superior service.

Are you sure you understand the meaning of the word “irony”?

I try to do things the intelligent and civilized way. Fortunately, most others make comparable efforts - but there are always a few who think that what they want is always preferable to what others need.