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Rdclfamily

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  1. I'm talking about the total cost of the cruise. The cruise was $3000 for four people for just cruise fare.
  2. You're right. If spending $7000-8000+ on a one week vacation for mediocre food, a pool I would never swim in + an indoor cabin + ports where you can barely find a decent beach or an excursion is what I can expect from further carnival cruises, then it may not be for me. Last I checked though, that wasn't a Burger King budget.
  3. That was the original point of the post. I was trying to determine if that would be warranted now since Carnival has made so many changes without adjusting the way they do things. I decided to leave the gratuity as is this time, but do believe I overpaid in gratuity this time around. If we continue to cruise, I will likely make more thoughtful choices right from the beginning and pay as we go to everyone.
  4. This isn't about the quality of service to me. I received excellent service. This is about changes in how we are paying for service on other parts of the ship, versus a gratuity that used to cover everything besides drinking. I want to make that very clear. Our service was excellent and we deserve everyone deserves to be paid fairly. Perhaps the reason why this conversation doesn't evolve is because there are those who still cruise the old fashioned way, only eating in the MDR, stealing their low fare deals, etc. As a modern family, we are cruising in a very choice-driven way and enjoying the variety.
  5. I'm confident I didn't "punish" anyone with our $800-1000+ gratuity this past week. Do you pay $150-200 per day in gratuity for other vacations? And if you do, what is the quality of the food + room + how much are you actually staying there versus going off to visit other locations? This is a post about the changes in the industry and how that has affected gratuity and how the system may need an overhaul. It isn't about not paying people a fair gratuity.
  6. This isn't about whether or not I can afford it. It's about whether or not I can justify it. $800-$1000+ for a week in gratuity is steep for the type of vacation we took i.e. not super desirable ports, just "okay" food, being off the boat three out of 7 days and tipping the staff off the boat, and an interior room for four people that left us having to stage when we get ready. I might imagine we would pay this type of gratuity at a much fancier location or for a longer vacation. It's just off base. I love cruising, I just think with the changes the cruise ships are making we might have to change the way we approach things. I believe that everyone deserves fair gratuity, but I don't believe we are responsible for the entire pyramid top to bottom. Carnival has a responsibility to evolve with the changes they are making. Perhaps they can provide a bill in the MDR, and state how much the gratuity is based on how much the food would have cost us.
  7. We paid nearly $3000 for an interior closet of a room for four people. I feel like the rate was decently high.
  8. Drinks are part of vacation. I can't think of any other vacation where I tip $1000+ through the course of a week. That's why I feel like with the addition of all of the pay-for restaurants, the way we tip may need to change. I didn't do anything different this time around, but I think I would tip individually next time. The cruise lines have changed the game, not us. The way they pay their people may need to change as well. Cruises used to be entirely free plus drinks and we used to all eat in the same place. That isn't the case now.
  9. I'm trying to calculate what our gratuities will be this time and I think they will be at least $800-1000 for the week if we keep auto-gratuities. That feels tough to swallow, especially considering the fact that we are off the ship for 3 out of 7 days. I wish I would have removed it and then just tipped individually. Now I'm in a confused state.
  10. I can't wrap my head around tipping (how much) for this cruise. It's time to make decisions and this particular cruise is nothing like any other cruise. There are four of us. Two adults and two teens. We have mostly dined in a restaurant like Bonsai sushi where we paid for our meal and tipped accordingly. We have paid tips on countless drinks. We paid gratuity on things like fresh juice. We have only eaten in the main dining room for breakfast and even then, it was just the two of us most of the time. The teens are in the buffet. I am just trying to wrap my head around paying $112 x four people plus all of the other gratuities. They also only service the room once a day compared to two. This is the first time where I just don't seem to be able to wrap my head around it. I'm easily swayed back to tipping, but wondering what protocol is now that so much dining is not in the main dining room.
  11. For those of you who have booked with Cleve's Tours: Can I trust the process? They are just asking me to send them money "friends and family style". NO invoice came through to secure the date. If I do this, there is no recourse via paypal if they cancel on me. It's only $100, but still... I just wish there was a little bit more formality and not just facebook messaging.
  12. We want to eat the best Mexican food in port. Where is that located and how do we get there? Also, safety is a concern of mine. I want to be sure if we are not traveling with a cruise ship excursion that we will be safe. Even better if this restaurant is on the beach, so we can hang + have a fabulous meal.
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