MIJOY

Is there anyone that has done this within the past year or so who can recommend one company over the other?

 

My daughter has done this in Thailand and now researching Indonesia to go there this July for a month.

 

Thank you for any suggestions-all welcomed.

Sorry, no recommendations. Can you tell me who you used in Thailand?

to Singapore. Anyone have suggestions for something good and easy to take to eat while on board? Would love to take something a little filling, not much on Delta's food. DH said he was taking a couple of peanut butter sandwiches. Any one with any tips?

Will you have to change planes? When we changed in Japan we were told not to bring any food off with us. I and several other people left all sorts of package nuts and bars on the plane. Last time we flew through Singapore we took Singapore airline nonstop SFO to Singapore, so much easier, and they actually have decent food and are very generous with snacks and drinks.

Thank you for your answers. We drink a lot of water and really don't want to buy bottled water if we don't have to.

Firstly, this is not intended as another discussion on removing gratuities. I will not (and never would) do that as I know that all crew staff work extremely hard for the customers, get paid a pittance and rely on the tips and I strongly feel that the tips are a part of the cruise cost and, as such, should always be paid.

 

I have been reading various threads about the advantages and disadvantages of pre-paying gratuities and I have summarised what the threads seem to suggest below:

 

Advantages

 

Paid before leaving for cruise so don't have big bill at the end and if you are not from the US (like us) you can pay in your own currency before the cruise so avoiding currency fluctuations and potential foreign currency transaction fees from your bank.

Disadvantages

 

You could be getting the interest on the money in your bank account up until the end of the cruise.

My question is, will the room steward know that the tips are already prepaid or not? I want to prepay for the reasons stated above but I read a worrying thread in which someone talked about poor attitude from the room steward after he was given a cash tip (in addition to the prepaid gratuity) as the poster believed the steward may have thought the additional cash tip was instead of the auto gratuity. In that thread, it was suggested that people buy an OBC to cover the tips instead but I would prefer just to prepay the tips so I just want to make sure there are not likely to be any other issues with me doing that.

Thanks for any insights.

If I have OBC I wait to pay gratuity if not I prepay, I like stepping off the ship with 0 balance on my CC. I have not noticed any difference in service, some stewards are better than others.

Can you tell me how much a soft drink is? Will I need to buy water or do they have drinkable water on the ship? I know this sounds like I am nickel and

diming but I like to know how much I need to budget. Thank you

I'm planning on sailing Phuket to Phuket in 2019. Can someone give me an idea of the cost of excursions, we hope to do a lot of snorkelling. I know prices change but would really like to know if excursions are closer to $50 P.P. or $200 P.P.

What is the cost of transfer from downtown?

You look very pretty in both dresses but I think the black dress is more formal.

Cruised out of San Francisco last July. Stepped out of cab at 12:00 walked into our cabin at 12:30, hope things go as well in December

Thanks to every for your answers. I checked again 8:PM, I now have my cabin number. :D

I choose to do the best available, still waiting cabin assignment. I have done this before and was always assigned cabin in time to print luggage tags. Called princess and was told we would find out cabin at check in. Wondering how do we do luggage tags. Should we attach tags and just write cabin on, or will they give us tags there with correct cabin. I know this seams simple and they will get me straightened out when we get there, just trying to save myself a little aggravation

Does the $13.50 cover room service? I always give a tip but am curious if the people bringing room service got part of the Gratuity pool.

This may help in counting calories for eating at buffets. I have used this buffet calorie site many times! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/hometown-buffet

 

 

Good eating!

Thank you for posting this I think it will be helpful even when eating in main dining room

We will be on the Equinox to the Caribbean 12/09/16, our first cruise with Celebrity. Usually use Princess.

We don't drink alcohol and I prefer to not drink bottled water, so really don't want to purchase a drink package. We do like a couple of cups of good coffee. Princess has a coffee card that fits our needs. Does Celebrity have something like that? Is ship coffee drinkable or will I need to buy specialty coffees every day?

Most of Princess desserts are not as sweet as Carnivals, I prefer Princess, DH doesn't think they are sweet enough. MYy recommendation, try one of everything.

For our 50th, Princess presented us with their Decadent Chocolate Ganache Cake

(4x4x3). It melted in my mouth and I wanted more.....:D

IMO The best dessert ever. Not sure if they have same cake in regular desserts. I always try to think of an anniversary or BD to celebrate while on board.

A couple of years ago I lost my phone. Went on line & checked my ATT account, which showed several calls made and the numbers called. I phoned those numbers, let that person know the person calling them at 1:45 pm talking 10 min. Etc. Was using a phone that didn't belong to them. Took 3 phone calls, to locate my phone.

I know pantyhose are out of fashion, but I like to wear them anyway. Wanted to let everyone know Costco is now carrying them, Hanes Silk Reflections. This was quite exciting for me, as good pantyhose are hard to find in my area.

How do I pre purchase coffee cards? I don't see it on cruise personalizer.

DH had pork belly in the main dinning room of the Golden Princess. It was so good. This was a very different recipe than we had in Bavaria. Sort of oriental? Hope someone can tell us how to make it at home.

We had an inside on emerald deck, just a short walk to open deck at back of ship. I dont think many people knew it was there for most of the cruise, so very privet. I know this is above pubic area, but I am a light sleeper and was never heard any noise.

I am also recently diagnosed with diabetes. My dr. has me on metformin... just finishing my 2nd week. We are leaving on the Diamond on April 15th and have booked our excursions. What can I take along on the excursions as a snack. Most of them provide lunch but they start early in the morning. I know I'm going to need something! On most of our cruises, you were not allowed to bring any food from the ship... so, what are my options?

I take individual serving bags of nuts,fiber bars and jerky from home. Some people take the little boxes of cereal from the ship. I think most ports don't want you to bring in fruits, meat, etc.