jencruzin

21 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Did you tell this to the staff when they served your food? Or did you just save it all up for a message board rant after the cruise?

I'm sure the poster did complain. They're just telling us what happened, here on cruise critic they call it a review. Most people post....reviews.

3 hours ago, topnole said:

 Maybe try skipping internet the first night (use cell service until the ship sails and then enjoy the evening unconnected). 

Cruisers might want to be cautious on that. Once you board, HIGHLY advised to go into airplane mode.

As a teen:

I'd be jealous of people who had their own apartment.

As a young adult:

I was jealous of people that owned homes, while I could only afford to rent.

As an older adult:
I'm angry with lazy paupers who live off the government dole, draw money from social security and welfare, but are in their 30's, claiming disabilities from their bad health habits, like overeating, smoking, drugs - yet they can still afford to pull off $20k for a cruise.

SO glad that this nonsense is FINALLY behind us!!

Tony (Las Lido Loca) discusses this debacle so eloquently well, it's typical of RCl to botch things up like this.

On 3/14/2023 at 6:19 PM, cruiseboy89130 said:

No tip needed - they already charged you 18%

 

Right on.

On 3/14/2023 at 5:18 PM, 7680 said:

We are a family of 4 and two companions, traveling on Wonder, 4/20/23. We purchased the unlimited specialty dining package. What should hubby and I be providing for a group of 6 at each meal? I realize it’s not necessary to leave extra, but these people work so hard and I have been in the service industry in the past. Thanks!

NOTHING MORE. Gratuities are at an all-time HIGH. Just my opinion.

Maybe I am wrong, but I think where RCL is going with this one bottle per guest approach - some couples (I have NO IDEA who THAT couple MIGHT be) would put two bottles of wine in each other's carry-on. They would go through two separate security lines, being separate...if a question arose, they'd say, "these are our two bottles per cabin" and they'd carry off to the ship smartly. See, THIS way, they'd confiscate one bottle, but you'd get it back by cruise end.

On 3/14/2023 at 12:33 PM, little britain said:

Definitely not for sale on ex-UK short cruises 

Quite sad, I wonder why?
Love your profile name! Makes me think of that series!

We typically wait a week before the cruise and always ask for a table seating 10 near the windows. We love meeting new people this way, and they've honored it for us each and every single time!

Geat for bartender tips, we've used them before for that. But that's about the extent of our tipping unless the room steward goes out of the ordinary and does extra things. Gratuities paid in advance....

perhaps it's just temporarily unavailable?

We're on the June 4th cruise on Anthem, the Canaries. DP's have disappeared on some days, reappear the next. Same with Internet!

On 3/6/2023 at 8:35 PM, gkbiiii said:

Starts with Diamond Plus.

A friend of mine is D+, I asked her what she got, it was a towel. At least it's something! Thanks for letting me know this.

I'm a bit confused. I know what the chef's choice is, but what's this free gift about? We just turned Diamond for this upcoming sailing. Is it only for Diamond+ and above?

Many years back we did stray and took a Carnival New England cruise on their 'Glory' ship. From the miscommunication that we wanted to be seated at a larger table to (literally) being seated UNDER A STAIRCASE, ALONE, and the waiter asking, "what'll it be" without the napkin placement on RCL and not even waiting on us looking at the menu, the list went on. The food was comparable to DH's days underway on his navy ships. The port visits weren't memorable (nor was the overal itinerary, we'll never do that type of cruise again).

We didn't find Carnival up to snuff with RCL's quality, it further bolstered the old addage about them, "the walmart of cruise lines" never went back since!

5 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

I would double check if there is any required minimum time allowance, even if it's covered in general.

 

There is no way we'd schedule that tightly when arriving at a final port with customs/immigration (or is this strictly a UK cruise?) when heading to an airport.   Unless there's plenty of time to catch a later bus (and also allow for traffic, etc.).

 

GC

THe outbound flight from LHR to IAD is at 1230, I'm thinking ahead but maybe we would be ok, given the travel from Southampton to LHR. But thanks for the advice.

We decided to just get the upcoming 12-day cruise with RCL and got their cruise insurance. I'm thinking of this scenario:

Schedule for arrival back into Southampton has us in port at 0530. We have a self-ordered bus line booked, departing Southampton back to LHR 0700.

What if the ship experiences a delay in arrival, and we miss that bus? Is this classified as an interruption? Would we be covered?

On 3/1/2023 at 4:36 PM, Merion_Mom said:

 

But we are now getting a nice discount on bottles of wine on board.  A discount that used to only be part of the UDP.

Now this is maybe good....are these discounts on bottles of wine for everyone, 5 night dining packages as well?

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Very rarely is a tipping thread anything but a post whoring fest.

 

Biker, who is surprised the mods have not locked this one too.

Truth. Before DH left these boards, he told me you were one of the good guys.

You can bring a case of water. DH tried this once, the case of water broke open and all these bottles fell out. He took it back to the car before boarding the shuttle to the cruise terminal from our hotel. Someone on the shuttle laughed and said "the water on the ship is better quality than your case of water" and he was absolutely right. DH tried laughing it off with him but I could tell he learned a valuable lesson! The water onboard IS pure, and it tastes really good. Just don't worry about bringing the case of water because it's really not necessary!

20 minutes ago, robmtx said:

I'll do my best to stir the pot with this troll post: Anyone in a tipped position onboard, not on their first contract, knows how it works. If they're like most crew, they estimated their income with the thought that a certain percentage of guests remove their auto-grats. Even the ones on their first contract know after a week or two what's going on, if not before. 

 

I don't think they go around moping every time they find out someone pulled the auto-grats. These workers don't have time to mope around. Nor are they providing service below a "10" - why shoot yourself in the foot over this?

 

I don't talk to crew too much about this, but thrice it has come up. On Adventure our stateroom attendant had no idea we had removed our auto-gratuities when we gave him $100 at the end of the week. We didn't think to ask him at the time if it would be divided or if he gets to keep it. So whereas cruise-critic folks know 1000% that crew know about this kinda stuff, I have learned that there is one stateroom attendant on one ship in the fleet that isn't aware of who removes tips! Maybe you can ask for him as your attendant? 🙂

 

On another sailing, we left auto-grats on, and on day 1, we gave our attendant a $20 along with our special requests. I asked him if he'd have to share the tip, and he said No he wouldn't have to share it, but he'd split the cash with the next attendant down the hall because he was assisting him a lot with something (he didn't elaborate) recently.

 

A bartender on Oasis told me she shares tips. I think this was a miscommunication - I think she shared them with the other bar staff, similar how many bars do. She kept saying "yes they share they share the cash".

 

Just remember, you're entitled to remove your tips by visiting GS on any day of your cruise, no questions asked! It's your vacation, it's your money!

 

Really good input. Very much appreciated.

17 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

This over used threat is really a rude comment about hard working cabin attendants. Do you really think that an employee would act so inappropriately... or just being a smarty? Additionally, your half baked theory ignores that those who remove auto grats DO tip in cash at the point of service and often tip above the auto grats. Read the threads and learn.

I felt that Rolloman was only being faecetious. You're trolling....and patronizing.

10 hours ago, Mary Louise said:

I had a PD before final payment of our cruise for over a $100. They would not give it to me as they said it was for new bookings only. They find ways not to give you the PD. No where did I see new bookings only. They did take it to the resolutions department and still a no go. 
 

ML

Yes indeed. We have 5 more days to make our final payment. We'll probably end up just getting it over with - but the excursions, 5 day dining, chef's table, onboard activities? If we see a PD in ANY of those items, we'll cancel and rebook under the cheaper rates (IF they occur). So far we have saved, overall, nearly $2k thanks to these drops.

1 minute ago, paulco said:

For heaven’s sake, pay the autograt and give a twenty here and there!  It’s a small price to pay!

Can you please come with us on our next cruise so that you can act as our "cash doling" agent?

1 hour ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

To be sure and safe just remove after 9pm on the last day and all is good 👍

Exactly - and agree with your previous points as well. No one wants their toothbrush to end up tasting like the toilet 😁