the penguins

This is Gabriella the coordinator from Silhouette 2019 - no guarantee they are all like her.

Any currency.

Tips can be in any currency you like , no need to get US . The Matre De will happily show the next days MDR menue during dinner so you can pre select. If there is nothing suitable that you like they will prepare a special dish. All part of the service not a problem provided they have the 24 hour notice.

Of course it does as the Cruise Lines will be recruiting on the basis that there will tips on top of those basic wages. Do you really believe anyone would take the job of cabin steward or server if they thought that the majority of passengers would cancel the auto tips? In my opinion there are only to honourable options to this: 1) If you decide to book with a company that clearly shows "auto tips" will be added you should accept that as part of the deal. or 2) If you can't accept "auto tips" then book with a company that doesn't require them.

Indeed you did. I sort of answered 2 different points/posts in 1 reply. Sorry for any confusion.

Tell everyone you are going on vacation and will be back on X date. Tell family you will check emails once a day (if the connection allows) and reply once a day max. For dire emergencies give family the ships emergency contact number. To quote Charles DeGaul "graveyards are full of people who were indispensable" you are on vacation just enjoy it. 😀😊😂

Of course they could but until they do the only effect of removing your auto gratuities is to reduce the "pay" of a lot of crew members. Of course this is your choice just accept the reality of it.

In which case you should only be booking cruises that charge and "pay" the staff in that way e.g. Viking. Not a line like Royal where your actions are simply depriving a large number of staff of part of their "pay".

In which case I think you are way off there as well. Lots of posts on different threads showing extra tips for cabin stewards as 💲5 on cruises of less than 5 nights and 💲10 for longer ones.

What going rate? If you mean EU rates then I would guess it would need twice the crew just to meet the "working time directive" rules - staff on board work a typical 8 hour day 7 days a week and never have a full day off throughout their contacts. Add on the EU 28 days annual leave for full time staff and the situation would be worse. 70% of Celebrity crew came back as ships restarted (sorry don't know the figures for Royal) so they must be doing something right Our policy is to accept the way the cruise is marketed and the costs split. Wether it's part tips or no tips the price would be the same. Tip over and above for the crew we actively interact with. Take a few gifts for others (biscuits for Guest Relations, Chocolates for the girls on check in at Select Dining, these are just examples. Above all be appreciative of the service and smile.

Not on any Celebrity ship - at least this is what we were told in a Q and A with senior officers on Silhouette.

Your maths are way out. Cabin Steward gets a share of the daily grats (you can get the exact split from Guest Relations) of around 💲2.50 X 7 x 2 gives 💲35 a week a long way short of your £50. No cruise line can afford to pay EU wage rates and EU benefits.

Russia already cancelled for 2023 and I suspect much longer.

Be careful of what you wish for. On Celebrity (and I assume Royal) on cruises sold in Australia and New Zealand tipping is "not required". Result the basic prices are increased - I am happy with that. Drink prices are increased to include the tips and then rounded up to the nearest 💲- i.e. you pay more. The practice of adding compolsary elements to a basic price is illegal in the UK and the EU. Hence port fees and taxes are included. By keeping tips "optional" cruise lines are able to avoid this requirement. None of the ships are American and none abide by US, UK, or EU employment laws. We always pre pay the tips and give extra to specific crew members.

The perfect description of why you shouldn't remove the autotips. Thank you.

Yes if you mean a jail onboard - every ship has one.

Which is why I added the ? mark. We love sharing, have made many friends over dinner and benefitted from other passengers knowledge. We are not keen on fixed dining partly due to the times and partly because it's difficult if you really don't "gell" with your companions.

To be clear: The main Al Bacio is on Deck 5 Al Bacio 11 is in the buffet - enter by the right hand door and it is on your left.

Regular balcony why: Concierge is just a squarer cabin not worth the money Aqua gives you Blu but as a first time cruiser do you really want to sit on your own at dinner? You get your own allocated table. Take the Any Time Dining option - we always pre book for 6.30 pm which allows a leisurely meal and the main theatre at 9.0pm. On arrival ask for a sharing table - we would say a table of 6 is the perfect size. Enjoy your cruise.

Not riskier just different. You could always have been put off a ship due to illness or accident and had to make your own way home. Just plan for the worst i.e. good travel insurance and enjoy the cruise.

Correct it's in the price you pay i.e. not free. Exactly like X's AI pricing.

Just make sure you have travel insurance (X's booking conditions require this) then if X proves difficult your insurance will pick up any shortfall.

Sequence everytime. Throw away the box (the board folds), a plastic bag for the cards, the counters have their own bags. Takes 30 seconds to learn, the main rules are printed on the board, infinite permutations and you can play with 2,3,4,6,8,9,10 and 12 players.

The original poster said she would book a different package each which is what I said you couldn't do. I never thought about booking the same and upgrading one. However it still makes no sense as the coffee element, which is what the poster was interested in, remains the same.

Use one Elite internet package first then, if you need to buy a full package part way through there are often discounts. You will still get your Elite discount on the new package. Unless you do a lot of browsing prepare emails off line, then logon, push send, incoming messages will download at the same time, log off. Read new messages off line, repeat twice a day and you will be amazed at how far a 90 minute package will extend.