Joe33472

1 minute ago, HappyTexan44 said:

As far as them having to share their cash tips too.   I agree that you can't really go by what anyone says.   But, the lawsuits are convincing.   When people are upset enough to sue about being moved from a cash-tip position to a behind-the-scenes position, that tells me that the cash tips aren't being shared.  

 

I was wondering if RCI's written policy is that if a guest removes auto-gratuities that if a crew member receives cash from one of these guests that he or she is "supposed" to give any cash tips to RCI so that those tips can be made part of the pool, hence the need to share with the crew which guest keep or remove auto-gratuities.  I can't imagine that RCI would share the list with crew with the intent that the crew would provide less service or sub-standard service.  That doesn't make sense.   Trying to claw back the cash tips seems like a corporate move and pausible.  But, I were a service person on a ship, I don't think I'd give my cash tips to RCI.  

53 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

 

Exactly this ^^^

 

To me, the auto-gratuities are "cheap".  It's really not a lot of money.  If we ate out three meals a day on a land-based vacation, I'd definitely be on the hook for more tips than the auto-gratuties, nevermind the hotel tip.   So, if I leave auto-gratuities on, and don't open my wallet all cruise long, I'm doing "better" for the staff?   Or, bettter yet, I'm supposed to leave on auto-gratuities and also generously tip in cash. 

 

I'd be more ashamed to leave on auto-gratuities and never open my wallet.  I'm sure that there is a large portion of the 80-90% that leave on auto-gratuties do exactly that.  They feel satisfied that they've provided sufficient tips and walk on the ship on embarkation without giving the cabin steward a dime.  Now that's cheap, but I'm not sure if those folks are called out.  

I should have said "walk off the ship on disembarkation" without giving the cabin steward a dime....

On 12/22/2023 at 8:04 AM, time4u2go said:

Where did anyone that's removing auto gratuities state that they weren't paying anything close to the same amount overall?  Or is it just your opinion that those people pay less?

 

Exactly this ^^^

To me, the auto-gratuities are "cheap".  It's really not a lot of money.  If we ate out three meals a day on a land-based vacation, I'd definitely be on the hook for more tips than the auto-gratuties, nevermind the hotel tip.   So, if I leave auto-gratuities on, and don't open my wallet all cruise long, I'm doing "better" for the staff?   Or, bettter yet, I'm supposed to leave on auto-gratuities and also generously tip in cash. 

I'd be more ashamed to leave on auto-gratuities and never open my wallet.  I'm sure that there is a large portion of the 80-90% that leave on auto-gratuties do exactly that.  They feel satisfied that they've provided sufficient tips and walk on the ship on embarkation without giving the cabin steward a dime.  Now that's cheap, but I'm not sure if those folks are called out.  

4 hours ago, uvadover said:

All you really care about is paying less.  For all of the people gloating about removing auto-gratuities, and focusing on the few people they choose to "reward," not a single cruiser ever says they pay anything close to the same amount overall.  Instead, we have math about giving a guy $20 and pretending that is generous.  On your next cruise, I hope that your dishwashers and laundry staff do a job on-par with your gratuities.

I’ve been really thinking about this tipping issue and definitely see both sides of the debate.   As far as tips for the dishwasher and laundry staff, I don’t think that tips for these types of workers are typical for land-based holidays.  When you go to a restaurant on land, your tip is for the waiter or waitress for their personal service.  The dishwasher, busboy, hostess, head waiter, chef, restaurant manager, etc. are all receiving a standard wage that is at least a minimum wage and are not part of the tips provided to waiters and waitresses.  You leave the tip because the waiter or waitress is making $2/hour and we know that.   And presumably the waitstaff provided you with a nice experience.  

When you stay at a hotel, you leave a tip in the room at the end of your stay for the cleaning staff that cleaned your room during your stay and not the person who washed the sheets, the front desk people, the groundskeeper, janitors, the person who set up the morning breakfast, etc.  Now, the cleaning person isn’t making $2/hour, but there is still a tip because he/she are doing tough manual labor and making our stays more enjoyable (and is probably making a minimum wage).   

The problem with these auto-gratuities is that it seems like the pool of people making $2/hour has been expanded and we’re just not sure who’s included.   And it’s possible that RCI is subsidizing some salary costs of positions that are typically salaried with auto-gratuities.   I certainly don’t tip my dry cleaner, although they do a good job on my laundry and are very personable.  I’ve never tipped a dishwasher.  His or her salary is the cost of the restaurant providing my meal.   I’ve never tipped the company/person that provided the tablecloths for the restaurant or the person who washed the sheets at a hotel. 

If RCI is including people washing laundry in the pool that receives gratuities and pays them $50 a month with a guaranteed minimum salary, then shame on RCI.   

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Yes the tipping culture in the USA is insane. It has gotten even worse as we came out of covid.

But tipping needs to go back to being a "thanks for good service" and not a mandatory fee.  

At a national chain bagel store, the last couple of times I go in to get a dozen unsliced bagels, I asked to charge my purchase.  On the screen it comes up with the amount of tip I want to include.  There is no option to remove the tip.  The minimum is $1, which I don't mind tipping $1 and would probably leave that in cash or the change if the change was like $.75 or more, but actually requiring a tip, that's a bit much.  This weekend I'm going to bring some cash and see what happens then.   I'll probably put the same $1 in the jar, but requiring me to tip 🤷‍♂️  I'm not even having the bagels sliced, it's like putting 13 bagels in a bag.   Exceptional service how?   

21 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

Pretty much the same as starting a sentence with I'm not a racist but......

Interesting that you mentioned race.   I was just googling tipping culture in the US to better understand where all this tipping is coming from and apparently tipping in the US finds its origins in racism and sexism. 

I’m guilty as the next person of participating and perpetuating the tipping culture.  I wouldn’t remove auto-gratuities and have budgeted an onboard amount for additional tips.  I guess I look at the issue pragmatically.  Workers should be paid a fair wage, but many are not, and rely upon tips to support themselves and their families.   I guess I just hope that RCI is allocating the funds fairly as a motivation to provide excellent service.   I think it’s the “black box” nature of that allocation that some people don’t like.  

I’m surprised an employee hasn’t “leaked” some document or other information about how this really works.  Or maybe they don’t even know?    

10 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Well, I stand corrected re Rick Steves book.  I see that our old one does not have your ports, either.  I do know that we did those three ports on our own, on foot.  I probably looked up the places - not via a travel or tour company site - to get maps and find out more about what's there.

I appreciate the heads up about the cruise port guide, as I didn't realize Rick had cruise port guides.   I'll probably pick up a copy as we'll likely get to some of the other destinations at some point. 

Glad to hear that you did these ports on your own.  We're definitely going to figure things out on our own and skip the ship tours.   

4 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Have you been looking at the Ports boards, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2-ports-of-call/

Thank you for the heads up!  I looked those forums awhile back, but haven't looked recently.  I'll definitely see if there is any good information for Ponta Delgada.    Otherwise, at this point, I think that we're going to skip the RCI tours and do the ports on our own. 

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

OP, assuming all the ports will be new to you, I suggest you might find Rick Steves book on Mediterranean Cruise Ports helpful, primarily in setting out what some highlights are in each port, and perhaps more importantly, how close things are to the cruise port.  As some have noted above, some can easily be DIY, even on foot, assuming you are reasonably mobile, meaning you need neither a cruiseline excursion nor a private one.

Thanks!  I love Rick Steves' guides and have quite a few.  I had no idea that he has cruise port books.  Just looked up the most current Mediterranean edition and not a single one of the ports that we are schedule to visit are in the book.  What a bummer.  

Another post above mentioned that there are a lot of things to do near the ports for Malaga and Cartenega, and I'm good with handling our own travel to the Cinque Terre from LaSpieza.  So, we only have to figure out something for Ponte Delgada.   I see some whale watching and dolphin cruises for that port, but I think that the last thing we're going to want to do after being at sea for 6 days is get on another boat.... 😄😄

34 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

What about school proms?

Maybe school proms and weddings???  Haven't been to a school prom in 30+ years, but at my neice's weeding during the pandemic, I wore 2-piece suit and tie (not in wedding party).  But some of my nieces co-workers wore what I would consider business casual and perhaps a little more casual than business casual.   Didn't affect my enjoyment of the event.
 

15 minutes ago, NE John said:

Welcome back, I remember your questions and comments about your TA. 
I agree about Cunard being the last bastion. NYC/Wall Street office dress is appalling, especially for younger people in the biz who need to make a good first impression - not look like a golf caddy. 
I believe when you dress up to certain standards you respect yourself and the others around you. And one can do that without being a snob or looking down on others. 

Thanks for the welcome back.  Yes, agree, it's an issue of respect.  Years ago when I worked in a small CPA firm in Palm Beach, my boss asked me to wear my suit jacket when I went to the building's common bathrooms in case I ran into a client in the bathroom.  I was like, "yeah, no".  I would put the jacket on if a client came into the office (even if not meeting with me), but the bathroom was a strech.   Times have changed.   When I visit Big-4 CPA firms in NYC with my students, suits are generally non-existent, nevermind a tie.  

On 11/20/2023 at 11:43 PM, NE John said:

After reading too many divisive dress code discussions on this board, I’m very happy that we kept this positive and that the OP is really looking forward to sailing on Cunard; hopefully the first of many. 
BTW, I still like your idea of wearing the turtleneck/jacket/trousers combo! I may sport that myself one Smart Attire Night in on QE PG in Alaska next summer. 

Yes, this discussion was very positive and extremely helpful.  Although I had to google what a collared sweater looks like because I had no idea.   Now I realize that I own at least one collared sweater, which I usually wear with chinos, so definitely casual wear.

Now that we know about luggage forwarding, we're super excited about our TA next year and have already started ordering our gala themed accessories.   Our issue wasn't so much of not wanting to get dressed up, but rather didn't want to carry around formal wear through Europe on our pre-cruise travels.   

I think some of the angst that comes up with these dress code threads is that some lament the overall decline in attire standards in general and look back on the days when people dressed up for dinner.   Just like the "return to office" mandates aren't going over too well, I think that the horse is out of the barn with dress codes.  The world has become a more casual place in general.  QM2 on a TA may become the last bastion for those looking for a formal type of experience, at least during the evening.    We're looking forward to the experience and going "all in" with the dress code.... 

8 hours ago, Morecruisesplz said:

We never had problems booking 5 or 7 night before either, being flexible on times. But on a recent Symphony 14 night TA it was crazy. There were days that no specialty restaurant had lunch or dinner openings. We only lost out on 1 specialty meal, but it took working on bookings every day. 

Was that the Symphony TA in April that had like 500 kids on the cruise?   

On 11/13/2023 at 10:35 AM, Beachin2 said:

I usually don't buy the dining package due to the restrictions/they will decide when and where we dine.  I did buy it for our April cruise - but like I've read others say - if it does not change to allow selection of time and place by the end of January, we will simply cancel. Easy enough.

I was thinking about doing this same thing for our April 2024 cruise.  But when I went to purchase the UDP, it wouldn't allow me because I have a dinner reservation for night 1.  I'm wondering if I cancel that single reservation if the system will allow me to purchase the UDP.   I'd prefer to not lose the other lunch/dinner reservations in case the pre-cruise reservations doesn't roll out before April and I need to cancel the UDP.  Were you able to book the UDP and keep any existing reservations you had?  

8 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

The difference on my cruise between the refreshment and Deluxe is $60.  IMO, you can ONLY count alcoholic drinks, so, at $14 (which would be the most expensive you get with the package), you'd still need 5 drinks a day.

 

I don't understand how you calculate it out to 2/day.  That would mean $28/day value.

I just looked again, and the difference between the refreshment and deluxe packages on our cruise is only $24 pppd.   So, I think it makes sense for us just to buy the deluxe package.  If our cruise was like yours with a $60 difference between the two packages that would be a tougher decision for us.  

5 minutes ago, villageidit said:

Depends on the ports for your cruise. Ports like Malaga, Cartagena, Ajaccio (Corsica) there is much to see and do near the dock. You can easily walk off the ship and do most sights on your own. In Barcelona the port is slightly further from the main tourist areas. If you book the disembarkation tour in Rome for the Vatican and Coliseum with airport drop off be prepared for a rushed day. We had approximately 10 min inside St Peters after an hour wait in line. Then a tardy passenger almost cost us the stop at the coliseum. Practically had to run from the bus to the coliseum to make our entry window. It worked out though and we enjoyed our time there. 

Thank you!  This makes a lot of sense.   Glad to hear that there is a lot to do near the dock for Malaga and Cartagena.  That's a huge help since that's two of our stops.     I'm going to check out if we need something in Ponte Delgada.   I'm familiar with La Spezia and getting to the Cinque Terre, so we're going to do that on our own.  We're going to be staying in Rome, so no excursion needed there.  

I'm feeling much better that I'm not booking all of these excursions. 

Thanks again!   

55 minutes ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

It really depends on you.  If you’re comfortable finding your way around and doing some research ahead of time on your own is great.  When we travel places and want to see things and don’t want to do all the planning or figuring out transportation and everything we’ll schedule an excursion.  We generally don’t use the cruise line excursions unless they happen to be the only one’s available for the sights we want to see.

 

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  I'm pretty good at navigating, taking public transportation, and figuring this out on my own, so maybe we'll just stick with our own plans.  

Why do you generally not book the cruise line excursions?   Is it a value thing?  I'm thinking that the cruise lines are subcontracting with local providers and are probably getting a cut, so the prices must be somewhat inflated for that reason.   Or is it just better to use a local provider?    

We’re booked on an April 2024 transatlantic on the Odysessy to Rome.  I subscribed to the roll call and there is a lot of discussion in that forum about excursions.    This cruise will be our first cruise in probably 30 years and our plan right now is just to do our own planning on the ports and just to do a little bit of sightseeing, shopping, and eating out at each port.    Is this a bad plan?   I’m starting to have FOMO.  

I’m sure doing shore excursion or not is a lot about personal preference, kinda like Chops vs. Giovanni, but after reading that thread it seems to me that more people like Giovanni’s than Chops and it brought up a lot of good information about the two restaurants.   So, I’m wondering what opinions are about shore excursions and if it’s better to book those directly with RCI.   Does it enhance the overall cruise experience or is it just exhausting?   We’ll be spending some time in Europe after the cruise, so we were kind of looking forward to just getting off the ship and looking around.  Do we need guided tours and excursions?  

7 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

 

I remember certain military dinners (Dining In's), where you could not leave the table to use the restroom until permission had been granted by the officer in charge.

I could see that at certain military events.    When we were kids, we used to have to ask our parents to be excused from the table (for whatever reason) and most of the time the answer was NO.  At least that's what I recall.   If I annoyed them too much, sometimes the answer would be please do.  

11 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

If you have that type of problem, then you need to ensure that you don't fill yourself with liquid before sitting down.

 

At certain dinners, you are simply not allowed to leave the table before the meal is finished.

What type of meal requires you to be seated until the meal is finished?   Maybe a State official dinner?   Or maybe in prison?   Can't say I've ever been to either. 

https://www.foodandwine.com/news/fine-dining-etiquette-rules-youve-broken

Even the fine dining etiquette rules say it's okay to excuse yourself from dinner to use the restroom, but just not to say that.   But I can't imagine anyone saying, "Excuse me, I must go #2" at dinner.    I think ladies sometimes like to go "freshen up" between courses, especially when dinners are going on for a long time and are multi-course.   I'm sure "freshen up" sometimes is a euphuism for #1 or #2 or blowing one's nose.  Or whatever....

20 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

It is easy to decide if you consider the possible consequences of not doing so.

When you got to go, you got to go.... 🤣🤣

On 7/29/2023 at 3:20 AM, exlondoner said:

It’s not the reading indeed, but the talking. On the other hand, if my table companion spent the meal reading their phone while eating with me, I should be very offended.

Exactly this.    We have a “no phones” at dinner type of unspoken rule, just because it’s rude to your dinning companions.   Dinner at a restaurant is a social endeavor for us, and would never dream of carrying on a conversation or reading on a cellphone while dinning with others.  

I would have said something discretely to the maitre d’ on my way to the bathroom.   I’d ask him to wait until I was reseated until something was said to the offender.   

Just now, firefly333 said:

On my ships lunch is only open sea days for lunch izumi or lunch hibachi. 

We're doing a transatlantic next spring and have 9 sea days, so if we're able to do Izumi Sushi a la carte, we might do that 3 or 4 times.  We like Japanese appetizers a lot.  

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I wouldnt make a reservation for the fixed price if you dont want it. If you just want ala carte, its walk up. The menu is the same all day, lunch or dinner. The same. I've made dinner reservations but I'm doing fixed price. 

Thank you!  I'll skip making the reservations.  We don't eat sushi but like a lot of the appetizers, so we thought that a la carte would be better.   There are one or two entrees that might work.   

I've made separate reservations for the Hibachi as I understand those reservations are hard to get, but I'm wondering if the sushi side is as difficult.  Will we be able to just walk in most lunches and dinners?   I'm thinking that the hibachi because of the limited seating is more of an issue than sushi, but don't want to assume.  Thanks again!

I’m wondering how the a la carte option works at Izumi with a dinner or lunch reservation.   On the cruise planner website it says that what’s included is a prix-fixe menu, but I’ve read online that you can also order a la carte.   So, how does that work?  Do you receive a credit for the amount of the reservation if you choose the a la carte option?   

On the Unlimited Dining Package description it says that Izumi Sushi is either prix-fixe or a la carte for a $39.99 credit, but on the individual reservations is doesn’t say that.   Also, the cost is the same for lunch and dinner, so wondering if the options are the same (e.g. hot foods also served at lunch).  

We're booked on the Odyssey in a junior suite for a spring 2024 sailing.  We might like to upgrade into a suite if one becomes available and the costs aren't too crazy.   I've been checking every day, but nothing has opened up.   So, I set up a Cruisewatch alert for a suite becoming available, but I'm wondering about people's experience with Cruisewatch and if it can be relied upon to let me know if a suite opens up or if a better strategy is just to keep looking every day?  Is there a better tracking site that works better with RCI? 

I also know it's impossible to predict, but I'm wondering if there are usually cancellations towards the final deposit date in January?  Or is inventory pretty static and I should stop looking and get a suite out of my mind... I also realize that there are not a lot of grand suites and above on the Odyssey.  

Thanks!