buckeyefrank

On 12/5/2023 at 1:57 PM, budmeister said:

First questions and answer: 

"How are the gratuities we pay with auto-gratuities divided among the dining team if we do not eat in the main dining room at all ? Do 100% of the gratuities still go to the dining team?

 

If we do eat in the dining room each night, do 100% of the auto- gratuities go to the dining team that served us?

 

Do 100% of the cabin steward auto-gratuities go to the cabin steward for our cabin?" 

 

"Thank you for choosing Royal and sailing on the Wonder Of The Seas. Please be advised that gratuities are distributed to the crew, such as dining, bar, and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants, other hotel services teams, and others who work to enhance the overall cruise experience."

 

I was not satisfied, so I replied with :

 

"Do 100% of the gratuities go to the crew?

 

Do surveys effect gratuities received? "

 

"Thank you for the email reply. 100% of all gratuities are distributed to the crew. Surveys do not impact gratuities distribution."

 

I imagine it would be a bad idea to lie in writing signed by a member of the executive office. I choose to believe that I am being told the truth.

 

 

They can't legally take monies designated for crew purposes and take it as income.  During their year-end financial audit (as well as interim audits periodically throughout the year), they check to ensure that funds are being used for specified purposes.  If RCL was taking tips and moving it to income, the auditors would have a fit and make a description of the issue in the financial statements.  The money not be distributed exactly how each person wants it to be, but it IS going to the crew.  It can also take many forms, crew parties, additional vacation days for good service, etc.

We have been booked on the Icon OTS for next September for quite a while.  We booked a gty room and our room was assigned very quickly, like within a week of booking.  We just got an email today stating that they are going to move us because they need our room (and others) for crew...  I'm getting a little nervous because crew members don't generally get to stay in an OV room.  I'm hoping there's not more going on than being mentioned.  Has anyone else received this notification?

On 11/28/2023 at 6:03 PM, shipgeeks said:

I'm not convinced that we know the whole story.  Are they really claiming that the letter was handed to them as they stepped up to the counter to complete checkin and board?  Or did RC try to email/text/phone them beforehand (as is the usual protocol), and they didn't receive it?

There are multiple instances in 2023 that RCL ships denied people for boarding due to overbooking.  Every single person that I've heard of did not receive a message ahead of time and just got a letter at the pier when they arrived.  It's happened on the Wonder at least 4 times this year.

1 hour ago, ARandomTraveler said:

They should give a quick warning to cover your ears.

A few years back we were leaving from Charleston on a cruise and the horn blew as we were in the front of the ship...   The guy next to us jumped so high he dumped his drink all over himself.  We still laugh about it to this day.

On 8/26/2023 at 4:59 PM, BirdTravels said:

Why would it suck? The OP, like we do, sail the Caribbean several times a year at the absolute peak of the hurricane season. And we go wherever the ship take use.  

It sucks because PD and Nassua are NOT Bermuda.... not even close.

5 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Not true. I have been on two cruises the past month using my birth certificate and driver’s license while waiting for my passport renewal. My birth certificate does not have a seal, but I had no issues at both Port Everglades and Port Miami getting on and off the ship (Freedom and Adventure) 

For clarity, this comment was regarding the BC not needing a seal....    The bridging documents are usually not required but ALWAYS a good thing to bring just in case.

3 hours ago, shellunderwater said:

Yes, they can be finicky.  I can say we've redeemed over $1k of OBC with them, never spent $1 on the game.

Knowing the T&Cs are important.  My biggest issues have been booking more that 1 year and booking more than 2 in one year.  But those are in the T&Cs usually.

FYI, I have found that some rewards have/had different T&Cs than other rewards offered at the same time.  Didn't make sense, but help my TA get OBC applied for me once.

I've redeemed for rewards in Vegas before but never for a cruise until now.  I'm really close to having enough points right now for a free cruise that are offered occassionally.  Def looking forward to that.

20 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

Glad it all worked out - I've found the phone reps on all the cruise lines to generally be less impressive than I've hoped for.  Hopefully, you will have a lovely cruise.

Assuming we get to go, we will have a great time.  With the exception of the one casino rep, I have actually been impressed with the CS thus far.

18 hours ago, SoonerDan said:

Thank you. We all have passports except for her. This has me nervous. 

No need to be nervous.  LOTS of people use BC and DL.  She will be fine as long as it's a closed loop cruise and she is a US citizen.  

3 hours ago, tustin3 said:

I thought this was going to be about food lol

LOL.  I don't think I'll be complaining about the food after we sailed MSC... ugh.

42 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

I believe you can sign up before your first cruise, just won't actually be a "gold" member. Of course, if linking to a member or have reciprocal from Celebrity you will be a member.

Yeah we're actually showing as pre-gold right now.

3 hours ago, Tatka said:

 

This is why they are collected separately, right ? Every time I wish tips were added to cruise-fare so we won't have discussions about removing them... I reminding myself that we are also benefiting from this. They will need to add higher amount to cruise fare to compensate.

 

 

That's part of the reason they're collected separately I'm sure, but I think a bigger reason is for TA commissions.  A higher base rate would translate to a pay increase for the TAs.  

5 hours ago, nimbex1970 said:

It seems you are correct, it's a new booking done through RCCL, not the casino. Because it is a casino reward, I would go back through them and head to a supervisor.  The hold times can be long.  It seems they are going to make you fight for this reward, so that's why a supervisor is your best bet.  Let us know how it plays out!

 

I was able to call back this morning and talked to a gentleman who was actually able to assist me.  I explained the situation and told him I didn't think it was fair to not honor the OBC because of their arbitrary policies that contradict the terms and conditions.  He put me on hold for about 10 minutes and came back and said it was applied.  Persistence won out today I guess.  I don't see it online yet, but I do have an updated invoice from RCL

9 minutes ago, JessyCruises said:

Do you mean MyVegas rewards? 

Yes.

4 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

You cant combine casino offers if you booked the cruise through Casino royal.  If you got the casino rate and tried to use a My rewards certificate they will not allow it.  that has been my experience in the past.

We are booked directly through the website.  Denied because we booked the cruise after final payment was due

16 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

Who gave you casino OBC? Casino Royale (Club Royal) ? We have never had a problem with them?

Are also a member of Crown and Anchor? An upgrade? Is it a reciprocal membership through Celebrity?

The cruise was booked directly through the RCL website and the credit was offered by Casino Royale through MyVegas rewards.  The rep in casino denied the obc because we booked after final payment.  That is not stated as a requirement anywhere.

I have not cruised on RCL before but we do have 2 cruises booked at the moment... one in September this year and the Icon next September.  The standard customer service and special needs departments have been great, but the casino group, not so much.  It's not a huge issue and obviously won't stop us from cruising with them, but it does leave a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

I booked this cruise at the beginning of August, after final payment was due and it's paid in full.  When I booked it, I knew that I had MyRewards points and was able to get $100 obc from the casino department.  After I booked the cruise, I went ahead and redeemed the MyRewards, got my voucher and sent it in.  I heard nothing for over a week, so I resubmitted it and haven't heard in about another week.  So I decide to call them.  Crown and Anchor actually kind of gave us an upgrade on our service without us even asking.  She was great, but then she transferred me to the casino dept.  Casino dept says we can't use the MyRewards because it is after final payment...  There is no mention of this in their t&c.  The main restrictions are only 1 per sailing, must be redeemed within 30 days and within 30 days of booking, and finally sailing must be within a year.

Is this true?  Is there anything I can do to get this OBC?  Are they like Carnival in that the answer depends on the rep that answers the phone?  Or am I just left with a little bad taste in my mouth?

TIA

On 7/25/2023 at 4:02 PM, firefly333 said:

And I have not. I posted the email twice in this thread where I asked and got 0. Rcl says it's up to the ship. They do not have a policy to refund extra port fees. .. I can post the email again, but my pt was the email from mbayley office says I cant get extra port fees refunded because they lock them I  and dont charge extra if they go up. 

 

I didnt say some random people have never gotten any overage back. The letter says it's up to the ship. Liberty twice choose not to refund, even when we missed a port. Carnival is fair handed and always refunds overage after you board, if it's less. I wasnt talking about a few people who got it back.  I can post their email if you missed it. I get it people who cruise rcl dont care if they are billed extra. It's not a huge deal. I doubt anyone will cancel over it.  Personally I'd like a policy that applies to all ships. 

I don't disagree with you on the refund of taxes for missing a port.  That seems a little... uhm...  wrong.  Where I don't necessarily agree with you is that this is a tax implemented in the future and it applies almost exclusively to sailings that have not reached their final payment deadline.  People generally have the ability to be OK with the additional fee or not OK with the fee and cancel or rebook on another cruise.  Daily fluctuations of the daily taxes after final payment I see as different.  However, I do like how Carnival and NCL handles it better.  I just don't see this specifically as being dishonest because the cruiser can choose to accept or not accept.

I have the same question about some My Rewards I sent in.  I am expecting $100 obc but it's been 2 weeks since I submitted the form.  Does anyone know if there's a phone number I can call?

18 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Hmmm,,,, newest fanciest ship after the old yucky ship. At least you will have something to look forward to once you're done with the Grandeur. 

Not many people can claim they went from the worst to first in a fleet within a year 🙂

14 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

We'll be there with you if yours is the 14th.  We booked the day she opened in October and there were absolutely no GTYs to be had, very difficult booking too with all the 3 berth requirements that day, I had to have help from front office just to get our cabin for 2.

We're actually on the 7th sailing so we'll see you on turnover day :).  I too had problems finding a guarantee.  I never did find one directly with RCL, but an online TA did have some.  The pricing was all over the place.  This is our first time on RCL and there are some definite differences.  I am having sticker shock from the cococay and drink package prices.  I looked to see if we could add our son recently and the prices have doubled since we booked.  I think we ended up with a really good deal.

22 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

We have cruised on the Grandeur 3 times. 

The third time was actually the last day cruises left when the industry closed down because of Covid. 

The ship is definitely more than long in the tooth and our suite had problems from day one throughout the entire cruise.

Staff is wonderful and meals were about par with most R/C cruises however CHOPS was an easily forgettable experience.

Since nothing seems to have been done to do a COMPLETE refurb of the ship, I would avoid it.

 

I admit I have more wrinkles than the Grandeur and although there were many problems it was still an adventure, but our next adventures have all been on other ships.

All of that is fair and will be taken into account.  We were on MSC in February and had an awful time.  The ship was great and was very well kept up, but the lines were out of control... everywhere.  We have been on Carnival's oldest and smallest.  A little rust doesn't bother us.  This would be a birthday cruise to get some sun before the Ohio winter kicks in.  Mostly looking at this cruise because the travel expenses make a 5 day more palatable for us and we like the idea of going to Cococay.  In general, as long as we can get some sun during the day, main dining room food, a drink here and there and a little live music in the evening, we're golden.;

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

It is possible to cash out in the casino at a machine, though I have never done such a large amount. Wait to pay tips and stuff onboard and spend what you can.

 

That being said grandeur is the only rcl cruise since restart I was disappointed in. Cabins are smaller than other ships. Pizza up in the solarium isnt as hot as having a sorrentos onboard imo. I had a female waiter from jamaica who tried to make me order what she wanted so maybe she is part of it. Food just wasnt as varied as I'd prefer and food is important to me.

 

I doubt I'd book grandeur again unless with friends who wanted it and couldnt afford a better cruise.

The rewards I would be cashing out is only $100 so not so large.

Just now, Biker19 said:

Yes, though availability varies ship to ship - you'd have to look up in the gift&gear section.

Is it a certain time prior to sailing because I don't see anything on my Icon booking, but we're still over a year out on that.

So we have a family cruise already booked on the Icon for next September and cannot wait.  My wife and I are debating on a Royal cruise this September on the Grandeur.  We are frequent cruisers, just not on Royal so we do know it's an older, smaller ship..  No issues with that.  I do have a couple of questions though:

• We are buying Royal's cancel for any reason insurance.  If we do need to cancel and get 90% in obc, can we apply those funds to the Icon cruise next year?  I don't want to assume yes.
• Can you pre-order a bottle of alcohol like rum to drink in the cabin?
• I have some my vegas rewards that I can redeem for casino credits.  On Carnival, we could put that credit on a machine, pull the arm once and then cash out and keep the rest.  Is that possible on Royal?

TIA