buckeyefrank

9 hours ago, mfs2k said:

If you're ok with being treated average and unrecognized, then by all means, the included tip on your cruise is fine. 

 

 

As long as anyone I'm interacting with treats me with respect, I'm fine.  I have no need to be "recognized" by the staff.  The tipping culture in this country is just getting out of control.

it could be two different ships on either side of a dock.

25 minutes ago, StephPS79 said:

 

Sorry, that sounds a bit entitled.  They are people, providing a service.  This isn't about boosting image.

It's not entitled at all.  I am by all accounts a very nice guy and I treat everyone very well, including bartenders, servers, housekeeping, etc.  I don't look down on anyone for what they do.  However, I don't feel the need to bribe another person to do a job they agreed to do for a price they agreed upon.  I also don't feel the need to make friends with every worker I run across.  Let's be honest.... most people on here espousing tipping additional amounts, are only doing it to make themselves feel better and to gain benefits like faster service or longer pours.  It is not an altriustic gesture.  it sounds more entitled to me to be flashing money around to gain favors over other passengers.

My wife has very similar episodes as you do.  She has a growth of fat cells in an unoperatable location in her brain.  It causes her to have minor seizures daily right when she falls asleep.  In no way is this stopping us from traveling and it shouldn't stop you guys either.

By the way, welcome to the BIG 10 and Go Bucks!!

On 4/29/2024 at 3:32 PM, mfs2k said:

 

I have read many posts about passenger expectations and practices regarding bar tipping, but:

 

I'm curious what the expectation is from the bartender's perspective:

 

They expect an additional tip because most people leave something extra.

or

They are pleasantly surprised if they get an additional tip because it's unusual.

or

They're too busy to think about tips. 

 

What do you think? 

Am I the only one who doesn't really care what the bartender thinks of me?  I generally don't tip extra, but I think the standard tip which ends up being about $2 a drink is more than enough. 

23 hours ago, Kevin135i said:

Like I've mentioned before, we've explored this possibility and confirmed that we had the correct email addresses. We were on the phone directly with Carnival and while speaking with an agent, they have confirmed the responding emails between us. So unless they hacked our multiple phone lines and email address and somehow intercepted the official phone number of Carnival, meanwhile having full live access to our email and was able to correspond with us and imposed as Carnival themselves... then yeah it could most definitely be a possibility. The fact that Carnival themselves got to the bottom of it and reissued the cheque that has now been successfully deposited, just like how our other companions whom successfully got their refunds (We had multiple families part take in this vacation plan and all paid separately). It's safe to say, the situation is resolved. I mean, if my family just happened to be the unlucky one who been communicating with scammers this entire time... I must say they are very nice scammers, since they felt enough guilt and return thousands of dollars to their victims. It's a win win I guess?

You were not communicating to scammers... you were talking to Carnival the whole time.  There is likely a virus on your computer or phone that allowed a scammer to obtain your booking # and name.  That would be enough to allow them to call Carnival and change the address that the check was being mailed to.  The original check was most likely not deposited before Carnival was able to place a stop payment on it.  They will generally wipe out the name from the check and enter a new name (probably an unknowing mule) who can deposit it into their account and then forward those funds to the scammer.  If the check would have already been deposited, it would have taken a considerably longer amount of time to fix.

19 hours ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

I think Carnival's problem with their food is that a great number of their ships have been configured for the old school, Hometown Buffet style of buffet and lots of people now want "food court" style options.

 

You ask, do people who rave about Carnival food, eat real food, is a pretty classless statement. PLENTY of people enjoy Guys burgers, the mexican food and for me, I love Shaqs chicken.

 

But yeah, the buffet is lacking. I even think the deli is lacking. I find the carvery options to be generally good. They've always had good salad bar options and desserts have always been do-able to me.

 

Do the main entree sections fail sometimes....YES. But sometimes I have good options. Some asian noodles were good. The jerk chicken is good.

 

Sorry to see you go but I am sure the other lines will suit your needs in the future.

The buffet may be lacking on Carnival... it actually is on almost every line due to inflation over the last 2 years.... but MSC's buffet is horrific.

On 4/8/2024 at 3:55 PM, Cruisin_Mo said:

Quick question for recent cruisers:

Does anyone know how long it takes to debark if you are (a child) using a birth certificate?

 

Background: two years ago we cruised on the Mardi gras, and we had an adult that used a birth certificate and it took them close to two hours to debark.

Last year we cruised out of Norfolk and had a child (5) with only a birth certificate with us, and she walked off with the rest of us. I figured they were using facial recognition, and that's why there was no separate line for anyone.

 

I've seen in a couple of posts on Facebook and maybe here about the long lines for birth certificate users leaving Celebration, and now I wonder if there will be a problem. Idk why Norfolk would be more efficient than Miami or Port Canaveral. Is it because she's a child so she can go with her parents in the passport line? Is there still a separate line for non passport patrons?

 

TIA

There's no way it took 2 hours to get out of customs with a BC and DL.  Did he not have a valid DL?  There had to be something else going on that was flagged for him to be stopped for 2 hours.  At least one person in our traveling party each cruise (10 of them) has had a BC / DL and nobody was stopped for more than a minute to have a question or two asked and to verify the picture matches the face.

We have about $700 of FCC that we received from a cancel for any reason insurance claim for a cruise we couldn't go on due to family medical issues.  The FCC expires at the end of September and we were going to use it on the Icon OTS we have booked in September.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to go on that one either but we are looking to try again in February.  I do not want to lose the $700 if at all possible.  If I call RCL, will they extend the sail by date on the FCC?  If not, if we apply that to the Icon balance and then cancel, will they issue a new FCC for that amount with a new sail by date?

TIA

15 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I feel like we would have more examples of this if there was someone internal stealing the checks (they wouldn't steal just one) so this sort of makes sense.

They're doing this exact scam to businesses by sending letters saying their address has changed.  They get the check and they change the payer, hoping that the positive pay system doesn't have name matching.

I can tell you exactly what happened.  Both Carnival and you were scammed.  A scammer intercepted the email from Carnival, most likely from a virus on your phone or personal computer that was previously placed.  When you received the email from Carnival, the scammer was able to see the email and he had all the info he needed.  He then called Carnival and pretended to be you.  He had your booking # and name so Carnival CS wouldn't have thought anything was amiss.  He read from the letter that you would be receiving a refund, so he told the Carnival rep to send the check to a different address, where he could access it.  This is a type of scam called spear phishing.  Carnival was a victim of this scam as well, but they are not really to blame since the scammer had your info.

Good evening all.  We are looking to book a back to back for next summer and we have never done one.  For those who have done a b2b on Carnival, what is the turnover process?  I've heard on RCL that b2b peeps are the last to get off, go to the desk to settle the account, then get right back on.  Is carnival similar?

10 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

I never said that Royal would never suspend Labadee stops. I merely pointed out that there have been Do Not Travel Advisories in the past as well to Haiti and Royal never suspended stopping there because of said advisory. 

 

I also pointed out the financial ramifications to the local Haitians that rely on tourist dollars from cruise passengers if Royal stopped going to Labadee.

 

I will still stand by my position that Labadee/Cruise ships in port are not in danger of being attacked by the civil unrest. 

 

Royal had to make a business decision in this matter and as others have pointed out, it may have to do with insurance and the growing negative PR and pushes from the more nervous, uninformed cruisers out there.

Civil unrest??  They effectively don't have a government and drug lords are fighting for control.

22 hours ago, Twenty2020 said:

Always enjoyed it. Very pretty spot for a beach day. Never had an issue finding plenty of chairs. Food is nothing great, but whatever. Beer is cold. Vendors are easy to avoid. 

 

I'm 100% positive Royal will be back there... Likely sooner than later. 

I wouldn't be so confident about that... Haiti has been a dumpster fire ever since their earthquake they never recovered from... Now 4000 violent criminals are walking the streets with effectively no government and 4 different war lords fighting for control...  Not sure it gets under control anytime soon.

On 12/19/2023 at 7:06 AM, Joe33472 said:

 

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.   

 

If you wait here in the US long enough, everything will be claimed to be racist.  SMH

On 12/6/2023 at 2:24 PM, KsucAts said:

This price is making it tough.  I like to drink on a cruise and drink more than most.  I miss the days when I could get it for around $50.  I just checked and it is $88.  I will keep checking daily & if it drops to $70 I will go ahead and buy it.  

I think a vastly underrated benefit of drink package is the fact that you don't have to keep track of the amount spent during the cruise.  I usually select it, if I think it's going to be relatively close break-even wise.  We may not come out ahead on a dollar basis, but I don't have to think about the amount I've spent and can more easily relax on vacation.  Additionally it gives you the freedom to try different drinks that you wouldn't if you didn't have the plan.  If you don't like it, don't drink it.

Yawn.  Lol

9 hours ago, richstowe said:

Hmm. Please tell us the outcome . Hopefully the new assigned cabin will be a higher level cabin.

That's what we're hoping for :).   Honestly though we just want a room on the ship at this point.  

42 minutes ago, BND said:

As far as I know, the only times they have used guest cabins for crew was when they were still quarantining new crew before allowing them into their crew spaces/cabins.  I haven't seen this reported by anyone else.  The ship should have enough cabins for the crew so can't imagine why they'd need guest cabins for them, especially months after the inaugural sailing when everything should be settled out.

That's why we're a little concerned about the email but they are still selling rooms on our sailing, so I wouldn't think they would be overbooked already.... but then again, we did book very early and are paying less than half of the current rate.  I guess they could be telling the truth, they could need the cabin for some type of group cruise that was booked... or they're overbooked or had some booking snafu.  Guess I'll find out shortly.

41 minutes ago, micruiser2002 said:

Do you have any links to all of these incidents?  I had heard of being cancelled prior to boarding but I have not heard of that many getting denied at boarding.

I'll try to find a few, but mostly on the wonder and thinking back it probably started in May 22.  It was before they started soliciting volunteers.

46 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

You obviously seem to be better versed than I on the accounting end; it doesn't change how I feel about it, but I defer to your knowledge base.

I am a CPA and can tell you that 100% of the tips... service charges... whatever a line calls them goes into employee only programs.  You may or may not like how it's spent, but it all goes to the employees.

Just now, not-enough-cruising said:

Royal Caribbean Group is an international holding company incorporated in Liberia, not a US corporation

Doing business in the USA and listed on the NYSE.  The SEC requires a financial audit every year from them and Carnival, and NCL....   That doesn't include the audits from other jurisdictions that are required, which may or may not be piggy backed off the US audit.

It doesn't matter the jurisdiction, they are required to have an audit and tips are absolutely looked at.

Just now, not-enough-cruising said:

"legally?"

Whose laws?

They're a US corporation subject to US GAAP international accounting rules based on the fact that they are a publicly traded company and on the NYSE.  The external auditors review the procedures and workflows, perform testing on the controls around those processes and perform testing on some of the actual activity conducted during the year.  The auditors would be testing specifically for any items recorded in income that shouldn't be there.... like swindled tips.

On 11/26/2023 at 6:29 AM, cruiseboy89130 said:

There are many diffrent versions of the slip  on this board alone!

Royal has its own way of how they want to calculate the bonus for the employee.....and how they want to pass on the money....it does not go 1:1 to the employees for sure!

It 100% does

On 12/7/2023 at 2:55 PM, not-enough-cruising said:

Absolutely 100% correct and my gratuity is between the crew member and me 

 

I don’t get involved in company business and I don’t allow the company to get into my business 

I see it completely differently.  RCL is offering a vacation experience on whatever vessel is being booked.  That includes a certain level of service for dining, room service, entertainment, etc.  Part of the cost of the cruise includes the daily tip, which I see as no different from the base rate.  What RCL does with and what RCL pays their employees is none of my concern.  No different than going to a restaurant.  I know the expected percentage to tip and don't care how the server splits that with the back side of the house.