KB Cruisin

32 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

I doubt that there is a cruise line that will not, at least, try to address a special request (unless specifically excluded in their T&Cs). Of course, depending on that particular cruise line, the item requested may be complimentary or incur an extra charge.

Again, depending on the particular cruise line, comment cards are usually provided at the mid and end cruise points and weigh heavily in the evaluation/promotion of crew.

That is very good to know. I will definitely look for and fill out the comment cards. Thank you!

3 minutes ago, SRF said:

I tip the cabin steward extra for extra.  Towel animals every night, fresh ice several times per day.  Always plenty of fresh towels, etc.

 

I tip at the bar for above and beyond.  I like caipirinhas.   The should be made with actual sugar.  On board they many make then with simple syrup.  I ask for them to be made with sugar.  Remember this, and making them every time without asking, gets extra tips.

 

We don't eat in the MDR much of the time, but there, or in specialty restaurants, if the service goes above what is normal, I tip extra.

 

So bottom line is, the expected level of service (which is fairly high) gets the standard built-in tips.  Anything above that, gets extra.

 

Oh, we also sail in suites, so I tip the concierge for their service.  $70 - $100 or more, depending.

Thank you for the specific examples.  That is so helpful. It may be a newbie thing but I am sure looking forward to towel animals! I have seen pictures and would love to see one! Besides that newbie wish, I really am grateful for the specifics. It gives me a good idea of the tipping expectations on a cruise. I appreciate it!

17 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

A "tip" at the beginning is better defined as a "bribe"- fairly "low rent" move.

Special requests that truly require "above and beyond" efforts, should be considered for an extra gratuity.

Example: we do mostly longer cruises of at least 3-4+ weeks on Oceania and want our cabin fridge to always have a supply of individual Pellegrino waters (which is not part of the regular items replenished daily). Sometimes, tracking down those small bottles of that very popular water can be quite the extra effort for the steward (particularly on long itineraries).

And, usually, that single upfront request is all that is necessary. 

Items like the Pellegrino deserve an added tip, which is given at the end of the cruise along with a mention by name in the mid and end cruise comment cards.

Great example for me. Thank you. I need those details because I have been clueless on this venue. On the comment cards, do I need to look for those or do they make sure you have one? Also, it is ok to make special requests (like your waters) as long as you tip for extra service? Thanks again!

34 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

One thing not yet mentioned is if the service you are receiving is not up to your expectations, bring it up immediately with the supervisory staff to have it resolved. 

 

Some people on these boards will claim they reduce or remove entirely the tips because of poor service received. That claim makes absolutely no sense. Why would anyone put up with poor service for the entire cruise only to "punish" the crew at the end by altering the tip amount? Seems that enduring poor service for all those days would punish the guest more than the crew. Plus, removing tips punishes ALL crew in the tip pool. I have never had so bad a service level from even one crew member to adjust down the tips, much less the entire crew who provided service to me.

 

Leave the tips unaltered and if you receive better than expected service from one or more individuals, give them each a bit more. For those exceptional people we typically give an additional $20 per stateroom guest for a 7 day cruise. 

 

And one more thing - on most cruise lines the person delivering any room service order you place is often not in the tipping pool. We typically give $2 per stateroom guest for that service. 

Yes, I definitely agree. I tend to handle matters when they happen. I also tend to really appreciate the good things that happen too. I appreciate the information on when you add to the tip and how much.  Thank you!

10 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

The tips you either pre-pay or have added to your account daily covers your cabin attendant and waitstaff for all meals.  No further tipping is required or expected.

Room service is generally NOT included in those tips....tip at time of service...$1-5 depending on how much they bring to you and have to carry.

Bar service will add an 18% tip to every purchase...(or, if you have a "package", it will add 18% to the cost of the package itself).

 

Really, there are no other tips needed.

Thank you. I really appreciate this information!

18 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

You should notify the cruise line well in advance   then you will receive menus  the night before to choose what you want  so it will be GF

The only place  where you will need assistance would be the buffet  & then you should ask to speak to the Chef

DO NOT WING IT 

If you want to tip extra  do it the last night  or for room service  when it is  delivered $1-5  depending on what you order

I have notified the ship. I definitely cannot wing it. I get very sick if I eat gluten. I was told to stick to the MDR with waiters who would know me. I definitely want to leave a good tip to those who help me out.  

27 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We always leave the pre-paid gratuities on.  Service would have to be truly horrible before we'd take it off.  I actually can't imagine that everyone that tip covers would be that terrible.

 

We are not normally very 'needy', but usually leave an extra tip for our steward, in the range of $20pp, depending on the length of the cruise.  Once in a great while we leave the dining room waiter(s) extra if we had extraordinary service.

Thank you. That helps to know on the room steward. I appreciate good service and like to tip for it but had no idea what was appropriate in this setting. 

8 minutes ago, Schoifmom said:

IMO, making accommodations due to an allergy is part of the normal job description in the MDR.  Now, if your wait staff go out of their way to make recommendations, repeated recognize your allergy and special requests, and overall go above and beyond, then I would tip additional at the end.

Thank you. That is very helpful. If the waitstaff was really good with my allergies (very important to me functioning on the cruise), is $20 extra enough (at the end of the week)? Also, what do you tip a great room steward? Thank you!!!

This is very helpful. Thank you. I have to be gluten free so I know I will need help in the MDR. Would I tip extra at the beginning or end of the week with a $20? (Feel free to correct me if I got this wrong!). Also, I love the idea of leaving comments. Thank you!

2 minutes ago, paul929207 said:

We have always left on the autotip as we have never had bad service to warrant reducing it.

 

I then look for extras by the staff. On our last cruise, our steward kept us supplied with clean wine glasses. 

 

We have cruised enough with Princess to get a free mini bar setup each cruise. The provided beverages can be exchanged. One steward had her own form that she filled out with our requested swaps. She got our info, turned it in to room service and verified it was done correctly. 

 

We tend to go on longer cruises, so if appropriate, I get a dollar or so per day extra.

Thank you. I appreciate you sharing your experience. 

We are going on our first cruise soon. In general, I believe tipping is very important. It will be a little strange for me to have prepaid tips. (I will feel awkward walking away leaving nothing for basic service). Can you all please give me some examples of when you leave extra tip money and when you don't? Also, how much extra? I saw some posts about $2 extra for service but I do not know what is appropriate for which service and when. I just want to make sure I understand what is a good tip in this situation and what is expected. Specific examples would really help me get a frame of reference. Thank you!!!

Thank you so much for all the pictures! That really helps!

Thank you everyone. Very helpful information.  Does anyone know what type of outlets we can bring on HOTS?

4 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

There will be 2 or 3 US 110V outlets and 1 Euro 220V outlet around the desk area.

 

There is a US 110V outlet near the bed.

 

There is a combo US/Euro outlet in the bathroom, limited power, for electric shavers (no hair appliances).

 

 

Thank you very much! That is really helpful to me!

This is my first cruise.  I have tried to search but have not found a consistent answer.  For those who have been on HOTS, what was the outlet situation?  Anyone have pictures?  Also, have you been permitted to bring a plug in with 3 outlets and 2 USBs like the one from CruiseOn?  No extension cords and no surge protection, just an outlet that plugs in over the existing outlet.  Wondering if it will fit or what I should do?  Thanks!

13 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

For our purposes, no, I don't think it is a good value.  I think the pricing is rather high. Keep in mind the photographers are not ship employees, but are 3rd party contractors whose job it is to take as many pictures of you as you will let them take. The cruise line then gets a % of those sold, which adds to the cost.

 

We have always preferred to just take our own pictures.  It costs nothing and, with the exception of the few on board portraits that you may want, you can capture anything you want for which you feel you want a memory.  The ships photographers are everywhere and you will have dozens of opportunities to have your picture taken, then sort through any of the ones you may really want to keep.  Unless you are planning to keep a large amount of those taken by them, IMO it usually is more cost effective to buy the few you really like separately.

Very good and helpful information! Thank you!

First timer here. Do you find photo packages to be worth it?  It will be my husband and me. The cruise has 20 for $199 and unlimited (on usb) for $249. Individuals are $20 so cost threshold is 12 photos. What do you think? Keep in mind that it is our first cruise so maybe we would want more pictures than less. ???? Or we could just ask people to take our pictures. Not sure which way to go. Thanks!

25 minutes ago, MyTMo777 said:

We went on our first cruise 5 years ago when we were 50 also 🙂 Our well-cruised friends gave us great advice: your first cruise will be so amazing, it won't matter which ship you're on or what ports you go to. They were so right! We've only ever cruised NCL, which our travel agent (TA) recommended after chatting with us about our lifestyle and preferences. We've done 3 more cruises with them since then. From what I've read, RCL is very similar. 

 

We did a 10-day Eastern Caribbean as our first cruise, and it's still one of my favorites. I prefer the Eastern over the Western Caribbean because I find there are several less "touristy" ports on the eastern side. Not to say that I don't love the western side too! 

 

NCL sails to the Caribbean out of several ports in Florida, so not sure if that works with your travel limitations. We sailed from Tampa on the Dawn and from Miami on the Sun, both smaller ships, which meant very few children on board. We went on the Getaway out of Miami in May 2015, and it was wonderful - very few children as school was not out yet. The entertainment on the larger ships (we've done the Getaway and the Bliss) is definitely better than on the smaller ships if you like Broadway-type shows. We found that the Dawn and the Sun had a quieter feel to them, geared a bit more toward a more mature crowd. We enjoyed listening to live music in various places around the ship in the evening on the smaller ships. 

 

I'm excited for you that you get to experience your first cruise! No matter where you go or which ship you sail on, you will love it!

Thank you for the great advice! We did pick Easter Caribbean on RCL in May! We are so excited!  Thank you everyone for the advice! I was so overwhelmed at the beginning and all these answers helped direct me so much!!!

Thank you for the helpful information on travel insurance! This is all new to me!

Thank you everyone for all of your help!  We appreciate it so much!  We read all your wonderful suggestions and took them to heart.  Thank you!

1 hour ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

I highly recommend a balcony and, since you want a quiet cabin, be sure to check the decks above and below you to make sure there are cabins above and below. You don't want to end up with the galley or night club keeping you up all night.

 

I would also consider an itinerary with a private island (Half Moon Cay, CoCo Cay, etc.), since they will have lots of activities in a walkable environment and usually an awesome beach.

 

If you go with Royal or NCL out of one of the Gulf Coast or Florida ports, you should be able to get everything for well under your budget, including any shore excursions you decide to do. Royal is a good first-cruise experience--not too much crazy partying, but not the senior home either. 

Thank you very much. I am grateful for all the tips you offered!

4 hours ago, Winnigirl said:

I guess if I had to recommend a cruise ship to a couple who want some peace and quiet from kids, I would go with Celebrity.  They cater mainly to an adult crowd.  HAL is good too - but they do seem to attract an older adult crowd.  I'd definitely go for a balcony room if it is in the budget.  It's great to escape to your balcony to read or just watch the ocean.  The big production shows usually mean a much larger ship and more people.  That being said our cruise on the Oasis of the Seas (a huge ship) was one of my favourites.  The choices of entertainment and restaurants was amazing and although it carried over 3000 people, it's so big that it never felt crowded. 

Thank you for this information!  It helps me alot!

33 minutes ago, MCC retired said:

OP should be able to do a 7 night Caribbean Cruise in May or June on any of the mass market cruise lines for “ half” of that $7000 budget including airfare .

 

There must be people that you know who cruise often?

Ask them to recommend a TA . Don’t go at it alone for your first ever cruise . 

Thank you! I appreciate your help. I will have to check around. 

1 minute ago, BDRebel said:

I am getting a bit tired of the Western route - have done it 4 times. It is a good itinerary, but I guess it is just too many times for now.

I like the Eastern better due to more variety, as well as longer than 7 day cruises.

My next one, though, is a transatlantic (FLL to Copenhagen) next month.

I was leaning toward the Eastern route too.  You next trip to Copenhagen sounds wonderful!

43 minutes ago, rmf11699 said:

Best thing is buy at a price you can afford. If you get offered an upgrade do some comparison shopping to determine if worth the extra cost. One last thing, get trip insurance. Saved my butt once!

Very good to know about trip insurance!  Thank you!