PWP-001

Yes, this is the RCI board while the OP cited an upcoming NCL change they worry will impact RCI. And while I mention NCL and "another line" the same most likely applies in principal to RCI because each of the lines is competing for the same labor pool and to remain competitive need to offer the same or appear to be offering better benefits. A few years ago I read through NCL's "fine print" as well as the same for another line. NCL made a point of always referring to it with the words "service charge" tacked on the end, so "Gratuity Service Charge" and "Beverage Gratuity Service Charge" and through everything said, whatever they collect goes directly to NCL's financial statement. Think of it as a labor cost subsidy. As others have said here, crew receive a base wage AND... an opportunity for incentive pay IF a cruise hits performance goals that are typically tied to revenue. "Hey, you wanna make more money? Then help us make more money by doing the things we've trained you to do." There is NO OBLIGATION on the part of the line to payout any or all of the gratuity service charges they collect. The incentive program could have five levels of payout, as an example, where hitting LEVEL ONE means a meager (but something) payout and LEVEL FIVE is a lottery-like payout that hardly every happens, but still can, something to strive for. Payouts for the lower levels could easily be less than the total service charges collected. So it stays with the line and helps reduce their labor costs, while that hypothetical LEVEL FIVE payout (which might happen over what can be demoralizing holiday cruises which ships sailing a max occupancy), those LEVEL FIVE payouts probably exceed what is collected from service charges. But to achieve that LEVEL FIVE, beverage sales, specialty dining head counts, photos, excursions, etc. where "best ever" far enhancing profitability. So the passenger that removes the auto-gratuity isn't really harming any crew member. And it would take a substantial number of passengers consistently requesting their removal before there's a noticeable impact on labor cost. RCI has these tiny chits at Guest Services which breakout the dollar amounts of the daily gratuity by department, and they're happy to give you a copy. Absent of any verbiage, it allows a guest to draw the most common conclusion that it illustrates how much they pay out. Believe that only if they were to include "These are the amounts that we directly distribute and pay out in full." Ask the GS agent about it? Nothing they answer is binding, and probably not true either. They are put in the situation of providing a plausible answer to get the guest to back off and walk away satisfied. Why isn't it just rolled into the cruise fare? Simple. Fares look more attractive and more competitive when it's not included. Airlines used to do that. Remember the days when you'd see a great airline ticket for $198 round trip, but at checkout it was $375 because the initial price didn't include passenger facility charges, taxes, fuel surcharges... and probably a few other items that we still pay today. Regulators now require airlines (in the USA ) to initially display the bottom line price, so today it initially shows $375. Now regulators have their eyes focused on hotels that display one room rate, then add as much as $50 nightly (plus tax) as a "resort fee" for those items that used to be part of your room charge. Cruise lines are probably safe from this regulation. On the subject of crew being required to hand over cash gratuities to the line... In the USA a "tip pool" can be formed if EVERY employee agrees to participate. The most practical application is a restaurant or private club where the waitstaff all participate. It works best where most guest checks are paid by credit card and signed (no cash) allowing the house to collect and distribute. Then, technically, a check settled with cash and cash gratuity is turned in to be accounted for in the pool. Tip pools work best in smaller fellow employees have confidence that everyone is working for the team and can see it themselves. Conceptually, that is how it could be applied in the cruise line industry. And based upon what someone else has posted, citing a former employee, it seems employees are required to turn over those cash tips for the pool. Maybe it's just then end of cruise tip envelopes and not the few dollars cash that's left with a signed bar check. And the hearsay that "if we don't turn over the cash tip in the envelope, we'll get fired." Well, yes, in a tip pool, that would be grounds for termination, violating their initial employment contract which stated they agreed to participate in the tip pool.

Yes, I know, given I filled in for the short order cooks at a private club in my late teens. While we did broil the bacon ahead of time, we at least made it hot and crispy by throwing it on the flat top before it went on a breakfast plate. At JR's there was no attempt to even keep it warm.

As an Elite on Princess who hasn't sailed on Princess post COVID and a newbie to RCI currently on my fourth cruise which today marks day 19 total, I have to agree that Princess hands down wins on food, service and serenity. Though RCI does have some notable standouts. The Promenade on Freedom, Liberty, and now Harmony is a great idea and a nice way to present the various outlets the populate the space. My greatest fascination is Central Park on Harmony. It's reminiscent of sitting at a café table on a quiet side street in Manhattan, away from the typical noise and buzz of the city. That this much greenery --including several 20 foot plus trees-- are able to grow and thrive at sea is a wonder. For a price (mainly "The Key") anyone can enjoy a seamless and expedited disembarkation on RCI that includes a premium sit down breakfast. Facial Recognition I will say varies by port as to its availability. RCI uses it at their main Terminal A in Miami, and it moves people out quickly. The Princess Piazza is practically a trademark and a great concept. But I've experienced that recently on RCI's Grandeur, and was so lucky as to have a room that was just off the atrium. There's nothing like the sound of a string duet's notes wafting up the atrium. I don't see the actual numbers, but I'd guess RCI spends quite a few more dollars on entertainment than Princess when it comes to theater performers. During my last 15 day cruise on Princess the spending cuts were noticeable. NCL has both lines beat here.

As a follow-up to your inquiry, I'm on Harmony this week and just confirmed my personal sit down, one-on-one conversation this Friday with the Executive Sous Chef who is #2, just below the Executive Chef.

Ya know.... the George Foreman grill certainly sounds like a much more practical option than my Tovala oven and meals I've thought about packing for my 4 day Liberty cruise next week. I've already taken two short cruises on Liberty this November. The first I purchased the UDP and either ate in the Italian or Steakhouse restaurants, and I've previously mentioned my bad experiences in each. The second cruise I went with a friend who wanted to have breakfast in WJ, and I wanted to be accommodating, so didn't object. The food trough was a chaotic whirl of gluttony as people, mostly wider than tall, balancing a mountain of food on one plate --if not two-- as they navigated amongst each other, jockeying for an opening in the crowds around the food station they planned to attack next. After that first breakfast trauma my friend said: "I don't want to eat there any more." So the next morning in the MDR he was chastised by the waiter who told him: "You don't want to order the omelet because that will take at least twenty minutes. Order one of the express breakfasts." He didn't. A 20 minute wait doesn't seem like so long if you are enjoying a starter course of say a yogurt parfait as my friend ordered. But our waiter decided to just drop that at the same time as the omelet. But as for Harmony, one good word I can put in regarding the food is the true-to-menu preparation and presentation of the Eggplant Parmigiana. This is a healthy dish given none of it ever hits a deep fryer.

I'm on Harmony now and had breakfast at the counter in Johnny Rockets yesterday. The ONLY food "made right there" is toast, eggs, deep fried potatoes. Pancakes were pre-made, pulled out of a hotel pan kept warm on the griddle and thrown on a plate. French toast is pre-made, pulled out of one hotel pan by hand, rubbed in something I could not see in another hotel pan and then sprinkled with powdered sugar after being put on a plate. Sausage links cooked in advance, kept warm in a soup trunnion, are taken out an placed on a plate. Precooked bacon, with no attempt to keep it warm is in a slotted deep hotel pan and sitting on the prep counter. My burger from the PREMIUM section of the menu, was pre-cooked, tossed in an egg pan and warmed up (and certainly not hot when I got it) then slapped on a bun. There was no sizzle on the grill. There were several... "people" whom it's hard to refer to as "cooks" that did nothing but assemble orders. This is NOT what you'd expect to see in a show kitchen. I've actually considered writing and describing this to FAT Brands who owns the name because this presentation clearly tarnished their name and brand.

For forty years I have been in client/people-facing positions, so I know what you mean. Yet, I typically don't mind the 45 minute to hour that a community table requires to enjoy a meal. What I've found is that I don't need to be "ON" during those meals: it's fairly effortless and not at all stressful to simply listen as others share their stories and experiences. It's a brief period where there's nothing to sell, no agreements or signatures to be acquired. I've met some interesting people... and once or twice a cranky cruiser who thought their elite status entitled them to a say in how the ship was run. Or the woman across the table who made it an Act of Congress to make her tea, including instructions to an audience of two staff... But it's only 45-60 minutes, so something to laugh at and brush off. Specific to your question, when I was traveling with a friend that really did not want to sit with others, the staff was reluctant to honor the request for a table for two, citing the limited space for The Key lunch. But they did sit us at a table for 4 and never sat two others.

The term premade is relative. In the MDR kitchen, there isn't a cook just waiting for your waiter to bring in your food order and get started. It is indeed a skill and science to feed so many people so quickly. There's been a number of documentaries on cable channels, and I think I remember viewing one reposted on YouTube that chronicles a 7 day cruise on an RCI vessel.

I think the only requirement is that everyone in the cabin purchase it. Having plenty of passengers who find no value to The Key only means it's more difficult for RCI to raise the price. I'm okay with that. Keep hating it.

Ohhhhhh! I actually was packing some Chinet (worried they wouldn't be allowed in the MDR on formal night) then swapped them out for a few Corelle dinner plates whose pattern closely matched that of the MDR. I mean, I figured if I talked nicely to the waitstaff and used my plate... So glad to hear it's all just a rumor for now. But I am keeping the Chinet for my Carnival cruise to try the same. I managed to buy the same style Chinet they use in their MDR.

It's funny how the hotel bills it as theirs, but on days Virgin is in port, it's Richard's. I think I've even read on the Resort website that there are blackout dates when resort guests can't use it.

I just boarded yesterday, and I'm glad I purchased the UDP. I had an absolutely delicious filet from Chops at The Key lunch on embarkation. The others at my table who have eaten the same meal on other ships agreed that we had good cuts of meat yesterday. And dinner in Izumi hibachi last night was entertaining and tasty. But those positive words are not in any way a contradiction to your post: my recent bad Windjammer experiences on both Liberty and Freedom during crowded cruises mean I might not ever go near WJ on Harmony. And another post about slow service in the MDR on Harmony makes me want to avoid it as well. What were some of the standout fails for you on your cruise?

In a word: NO. When you were promised a "brand-new destination for a cruise" I'm pretty sure that RCI hasn't called on this port previously. Given that Bimini is a small island with limited infrastructure, I can understand why it wouldn't be somewhere Royal normally includes as part of their itineraries. Genting/Resorts World built the pier originally to facilitate regular high speed ferries from South Florida to bring gamblers who would stay in the Hilton branded property that was built as part of the casino. That all didn't work out as planned, and it seems that the hotel is not properly being taken care of either. Enter Virgin Voyages and what I believe was a substantial investment in the Resorts World's Beach Club which is the main focus when a Virgin Voyages ship docks. That's probably where you'll enjoy any music events on shore, if an event is planned. To further answer your question, the water is normally so absolutely crystal clear, that you could probably read the words from an open book resting 10 feet down! Snorkeling is ideal. I'd expect them to offer excursions that include the typical "on the water" activities, such as snorkeling, wave runners, fishing, SCUBA, and maybe even some catamaran sailings. If you're interested in exploring all of the island, there should also be a "golf cart rental" and "bicycle rental" excursion where you can rent either. They're pricey if rented directly on the island, but given the capacity of your ship, they may all be committed to the ship for excursions. The delay of excursions on the website probably indicates that RCI is still working out contracts with the locals. Expect the offerings to go fast when they become available. As for the charted course, I'd gather is will be full speed from The Port of Miami until they hit International Waters for the casino to open. Then they'll just idly head for the island enjoying the fuel savings of the itinerary. It's been a few years since I've been over to Bimini, but I'm pretty sure (and hoping) there's NOT a Diamonds International!

I'm leaving on Harmony today. To prepare, ALL ON MY OWN... WITHOUT ANYONE SPOON-FEEDING ME, I did my own research because I didn't want to be lazy. Specifically answering your question: Harmony of the Seas May 2022 was good on YouTube. I viewed many YouTube reviews looked at some reviews on this board. It wasn't hard to do and allowed me to decern for myself what I liked and didn't like. Here's to being a self-starter and taking initiative!

Royal Up is all about maximizing revenue. It starts from the top down, looking at the highest bid, for the top category that has an available room, accepting that highest bid and freeing up a lower category cabin, repeating the process all the way down. If unfilled bids still remain, the process is repeated once the ship embarks accounting for no-shows/last minute cancellations. Sailing on a lower occupancy ship or making a Royal Up bid when booked in an interior can yield better success even with a minimum bid.

Thee project too much! I doubt any passengers ran to their rooms, packed their bags and demanded to disembark. Ship happens. No one was hurt. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Thank you. The OP is sailing today, according to what she said, so I do hope that one on board she'll update us with good news about her personal experiences.

I took 20 cruises, sailing 124 days with Princess over several years as a gambler and cruising for free after I established myself. Mostly because of a shift in offers, I sampled alternatives, NCL in particular. After sailing one time on RCI, and playing a considerable amount, I've been flooded with free cruise offers mostly Junior Suites, and several with free play attached to the offer. Right now I have 15 upcoming cruises booked, all free. But I probably will cancel a number of them. RCI's food is just AWEFUL! I never got tired of the Princess menus because they seemed to never repeat and they offered a very wide selection of food including a daily pasta. Everything was high quality food. RCI is truly a step down... uh that's a whole flight of stairs... step down. I've posted how tilapia was served instead of sole, how a "Cool Whip"-like non-dairy topping was served with dessert in their $80 per person specialty steakhouse. In another thread a poster misused the term "Bait & Switch" but here I will use it correctly to tell you that in Giovani's Table you're lured in with Gelato listed for dessert. When you order it, you'll be told that they only have ice cream. That's happened on the last two ships I've sailed, and the last one told me they haven't had gelato in two months. And here's the final straw that's making me rethink whether I take all of my upcoming cruises or just cancel out: On my last day of my last cruise, I woke up and only had coffee for breakfast, not eating any solid food until I went to Giovani's Table for lunch at noon and Chop's Steakhouse for dinner at 8pm. I did not even walk through Windjammer that day: absolutely no food or snacks other than the two specialty restaurants. At 3am of embarkation day, I woke up feeling queasy, full and with a general "I don't feel so good" disposition. By the 7am Key Disembarkation Breakfast, I really didn't want to even look at food, but I had said I'd join a couple for breakfast, which I did, ordering plain yogurt and granola. I drank three glasses of ice water waiting for it, then took just two bites of the yogurt before pushing it away. I took the long way home to avoid rush hour traffic on I-95 and was in bed by 9:30am with a 16.9 oz bottle of water at my side. I slept on and off all day, waking to sip the water but taking the full day to ingest that one bottle. About 9:20pm, the fireworks began when I made my first trip to the bathroom. I'll be polite and just say that I did not vomit. I was a frequent visitor for the next 20 hours, eating a bowl of milk & cereal at 3am and a homemade stir fry of chicken breast, onions and udon noodles at 1pm. I've also managed to drink 16oz of skim milk with the stir fry and 2 more bottles of water. As of 3am this morning, I feel much better, and I'm hoping that I'm on "solid ground" All of those details are honest and accurate WITHOUT offering an explanation which I will leave to all those who read this to draw their own conclusions and provide an armchair diagnosis. And last statement: I do not have any food allergies or sensitivities.

Yes, while a small few will lecture you on how you don't NEED The Key, I've purchased it every time because I WANTED it and VALUED its benefits. And as I've sat at community tables for the lunch and breakfast, other passengers find value as well... enough that they want to buy it. I just disembarked Friday morning with The Key. After I finish eating at the special breakfast, I wheeled my carryon with me out of the dining room and towards a crew member holding a The Key sign. When I showed him my seapass with key logo, he showed me right to the security officer who scanned me off the ship. In the terminal there were 8 people waiting ahead of me to see 3 customs agents working the line.

I've gotten them for my recent cruises. But mostly the email states to "be there at 11am" for check-in. On my current Grandeur cruise a personalized letter what handed to me during the MDR lunch with the particulars of the benefits and private time for activities. Other times that specific and detailed letter is waiting in the cabin. The specifics for your cruise with times and places is generated by the ship staff. I believe the generic, time to arrive at port email is corporate driven. Prediction: within five posts, someone will write how you don't NEED The Key and you're wasting your money.

The vlogger you mentioned is great and I enjoy watching her videos as she's pleasant, always smiling, delivers useful information and is honest and forward about her intentions to cruise on a budget. But picture this actual scene from another cruise line from the cruise line's point of view. it was a 15 day full crossing of the Panama Canal and every 3-4 days for an hour the line would host a party with entertainment in the multilevel atrium, passing one particular alcoholic beverage based upon the theme. Just show up and drink as much as you like. I was with my group enjoying pre dinner cocktails in one of the lounges off the atrium when 15 minutes before the party, 3 couples, bones creaking, plopped down at the next table. The polite cocktail server approached and asked if she could get them a beverage. The answer: "We want the free drinks." "Sir, that won't start until x:00. Can I bring you something until then?" "No, we'll wait for the free drinks." So they displaced potential revenue guests and demanded the cocktail server take away from her time earning drink revenue for the ship and gratuities for herself. For the line, every passenger is a "buying unit" who will hopefully enhance the profitability of the cruise by buying goods and services. The very cheap fares for room and board sometimes aren't enough to cover the costs (food mostly) that can be consumed. Right now, cabins are looked at as a perishable commodity, similar to airline seats and hotel rooms. If on a particular cruise a cabin sails empty, the opportunity to earn income from the cabin is lost. Sure, they can make money from the cabin on the next cruise, but they always could do that; they just can't go back in time to earn money once the ship has sailed. So the attitude is focus on filling the ship, and maybe they'll buy something. I believe that within this decade we'll see a shift to fine-tune profitability and perhaps price out those "buying units" who don't spend anything. Right now, Royal Up is designed to maximize cabin yield by collecting the most revenue a passenger is willing to pay for a better cabin. Next the focus will be on analysis of post-cruise data, looking at the relationship between fare paid and money spent on incidentals. One day the lightbulb will glow and the analysts will conclude that it doesn't make economic sense to offer the dirt cheap prices because xx% of those passengers don't spend another nickel or dime. There will be less worry over trying to cover the fixed labor costs. It could actually be cheaper through food cost savings just not to have those low fare passengers on board who spend nothing and drive up food cost. Perhaps it is more profitable to sail consistently at 80% to 90% focusing on passengers who are profitable to the line. Price out the non-spending buying units, while providing a more comfortable cruise environment with less crowding and better service. What are those profitability price points and occupancy levels? The data will need to determine what can work. And when they figure that out, then the smart lines will make the changes. I hope Emma is saving all of her videos. Because in her retirement years, many years in the future, they may be the only images of cheap cruising. As an aside to LinRon3, if you're going to call out my spelling as erroneous by using [sic] then do it properly. I intentionally placed "Nickel & Dime" in quotes to express a concept, then hyphenated the "ing" to set up the poetic effect of using the word fleecing. I never typed "dimeing" as you imply or did yourself as highlighted in red above.

At your request I did go back to re-read what you were asking, and as I take in your words it appears that you've gotten yourself all worked up over probably what is nothing, given real life experiences from others, myself included, who have not had these issues with the UDP. All of those horror stories that seem to have gotten you in such a lather so much so that you're ready to cut ties with RCI forever came from ... where did you say? FACEBOOK. As they say, consider your source. Several of us have defended RCI and their UDP as your misuse of the term Bait & Switch is accusatory based upon hearsay found on a site known for its lack of credible accurate information. HERE's HOPING: ...that on Sunday you will be pleasantly pleased and happy with how the UDP works out for you on your Allure cruise... ...and that you cut ties with facebook instead!

I'm only doing this after the OP is satisfied with the responses to his request. Your post reminds me of the new warnings in the bathroom as to what can be flushed, and threatening a fine if the toilet becomes clogged. I get PTSD-flashback-like visions of trips through the WJ Food Trough, seeing people, as wide as they are tall, carrying plates, sometimes two, loaded with a mountain of food, as I wonder... how is ALL THAT going to fit through that tiny vacuum pipe.... and will they be fined if it doesn't???

Correct. This is more "Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker" Sex scandals and lavish living aside, his conviction focused on the practice of overselling lifetime memberships when there wasn't the capacity to fulfill. My first Oasis class cruise is upcoming and I've purchased the UDP. I plan to follow the advice of others and book all my meals upon boarding. There would be nothing more frustrating that being told, sorry... all booked up... and not being able to enjoy the UDP after paying for it.

It's like a Truman Show moment, isn't it? And if you ever wondered, I deplore the practice of salting food before tasting it... with the exception of fried or poached breakfast eggs. I have laughed at and like the puns that I can see. Some humor interjected to a topic lightens things up. Enough other people have commented specifically to the topic of the fish substitution. I avoid tilapia for the same negative reasons others have posted. I also mentioned the arugula & radicchio salad that was presented as romaine. I was promised the correct salad, made special for me, the next night, which was last night. It came along with an explanation that they took the very last bag of arugula from Giovani's Table. A cargo container in port was not released to the ship on our embarkation day, causing the arugula shortage (and the sole?,,,hmmm) I agree with another poster, that if a shortage situation arises, I think it's better to just 86 the menu item. Yes, the wait staff is a large team, but they are supported by a group of very attentive head waiters: so it's really not too difficult to properly disseminate the information: "I'm sorry but we do not have the ________ that's on the menu tonight." As a passenger, I'd be less disappointed to learn I can't order an item, than I was to receive a substitution without any explanation. To me, this whole issue rolls up to the Executive Chef. The MDR staff is VERY attentive and have treated me very well.