sanger727

3 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

The point of tipping was never to subsidize companies so they could cheap out on labor. Companies need to pay a fair wage and do away with tipping.

 

I realize I am shouting into the void here - nobody here individually can do anything about tipping culture.

I get it. But that is how it has worked out. Making tipping feel more compulsory since the employee isn't getting paid if you don't tip. 

When I waitressed, we also had to tip out the bar staff, the hostess, and the bussers based on your sales. Altogether that was about 30% of my tips. So, not only were the customers responsible for paying me, I was responsible for paying some back of the house employees. 

17 hours ago, glentally said:

Let me explain it for you  sanger000.  The $20 or more I slip them is WELL OVER the $180  (pre Gratuities) they split up amongst 1200 employees.  Nothing Selfish. Why would you say that?  My previous post is below, nothing about MY pleasure? 

"I am amazed at the pleasure I see from the recipient receiving tips when not expected or larger than the normal. "

Right, except on the back end they are losing their pay. It's as if your employer gives you an unexpected $200 bonus; so you are extremely appreciative. And then when you get your paycheck you were docked $180. 

10 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Fair to say some servers in CA are paid extremely well.  

 

I'm curious.  Are you suggesting if a restnt service person is paid the minimum wage then the tip should be adjusted down?   There is a new wage hour law happening next year in CA that raises the minimum of fast food workers to $20/hour.  Reasoning is they don't get tips so should have a higher minimum.  

Yes. In most of the country, positions that usually receive tips make much less than minimum wage. The idea being that their wages are predominately their tips so the employer doesn't need to pay them. If they are receiving full pay from their employer, a 20% tip on top seems overkill. 

16 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I once had more than two entrees when the steak was inedible without a chainsaw (I was given a replacement steak which was just as bad), and I finally was served a grilled chicken breast.  

 

I sometimes try a dish that I've never had before, and if it is not to my taste, I will have another dish.  But that is "only" two entrees.

 

It's standard practice at a land restaurant to not charge you for a dish you send back for being cooked improperly. I wouldn't expect them to count it as one of you two entrees if you send something back. 

2 hours ago, gmerick said:

I travel with both.  The pass-card serves as a "Real-ID" for airline travel (I won't get the enhanced drivers license).  In most ports, the pass card is sufficient ID, so that's what I carry on shore excursions (hesitant to go swimming with a passport book).  The passport book stays in my cabin safe.  For medical emergencies, that safe will be opened anyway, and I'll have it for an evacuation flight.

Enhanced driver's license isn't needed for "real-id". Only some states offer enhanced driver's license and it essentially has the same functionality as a passport card. all states, AFAIK, offer "real id'. All we had to do for that was show our birth certificates and a bill with our name and home address. I don't think it cost any extra. We just had to wait a couple weeks for it to be mailed to our house. 

7 hours ago, glentally said:

Being the OP I would like to thank Debgra6057 for jumping in the firepit for me. 

 

Someone said the whole thing is murky with mixed info from various people and assorted rules with how the cruise lines apply your tips.  Let me add to the murkiness. 

 

I was on a MSC cruise this year and another "tip expert" told me MSC uses the tips for their wages first and if the tips are not enough to meet the contracted wage MSC adds more.

 

I did the folded $20's in my hand and shook the hands of the appropriate people.  I travel internationally a lot and am amazed at the pleasure I see from the recipient receiving tips when not expected or larger than the normal.  Isn't that what tipping is?  I'm sorry but tipping the guy or girl running the dishwashing machine in the bowels of the ship doesn't make a lot of sense nor should I feel bad. When I was 12 and cleaning the bathroom and floors at the local restaurant no one shared their tips.  I worked hard, moved up to fry cook and eventually a waiter. That's Life.

 

Cruise lines have contracted minimum wages, just like a restaurant does. As you know, when you are wait staff you are guaranteed minimum wage by your employer and if your tipped income doesn't meet that they have to make up the difference. However, most wait staff exceed minimum wage with tips. Cruise lines are the same way, yes, they are guaranteed their minimum wage, but with tips they should exceed it. The auto grats are designed to fairly compensate the staff and give them some guarantees of the pay they should expect. Removing those is likely to reduce their pay unless you make up the same amount in cash tips. Seems like a selfish way to make yourself feel good by letting them think you are tipping them extra, and then taking back their normal pay to justify it. 

For me, personally, 6-8 hours of travel time to get into and out of Paris sounds like a nightmare. Our absolute favorite thing about traveling in Europe is to take a few days to experience the city.

I would take option 2, but you will have to cancel your air with NCL. They will deviate by up to 2 days, but they won't deviate to a different airport. 

On 12/15/2023 at 7:36 PM, LoganTheCruiser said:

Ah! That's right. I completely forgot about the Passenger Vessel Services Act. And because all cruise lines are registered abroad for tax reasons, that makes sense. Thank you! I will look into trying to find an NCL cruise with that exception.

Just curious what the cruise appeal is? This NCL cruise is allowed because it starts and ends in Hawaii. It would be just as easy to fly to Hawaii for a land trip. As others have said, there is no way any other cruise would work because they all leave the US. Why not go to Florida or somewhere else on a land trip so you aren't shackled to one itinerary. 

1 hour ago, Savage2017 said:

A lot of you have mentioned it’s cheaper to do the excursions through the roll calls. I tried to google the ship excursions but finding them hard to find, wanted to see just how much they are or what is offered?

 

Also is it expensive to stay in bankgok for the overnight ?

Thailand and Vietnam are incredibly cheap countries. You can easily book a hotel through any of the major booking sites at a fantastic price. The best price for shore excursions will be to rent a vehicle and guide for the day and split the cost with another group on your roll call. 

We did two days through "Your Thai Guide" when we were there. The guide was $100 per day. We used public transport since we were already in the city, but you can rent a car from them for $100 per day. Up to 4 people can take the tour so, you are talking about a full day private tour for $50 each. Our guide was wonderful. 

Your Thai Guide - see Thailand differently with a private tour guide

This sounds like a problem without an easy solution. 

The large family group that wants to play games, where exactly are they to go? If they go to an inside area they will either be stuck in an empty lounge with no drink service; or be clogging up tables in whatever room they are in. I don't personally see an issue with people using buffet tables to congregate, I've never been on a cruise where there wasn't sufficient seating if you were willing to go outside. 

It certainly sounds like the ship's security is not competent to deal with an issue like this. I think that complaining to the cruise line about the staff's response is entirely reasonable and justified. 

I would not put any effort into finding a police department with jurisdiction to report this to. Between the lack of witness statements, investigation, and security footage- its difficult to believe any law enforcement agency would find sufficient evidence to prosecute. Also, they would have to find the person, get a local police department to arrest and extradite, which is incredibly unlikely for a low level offense. 

Outside of the example of someone wanting extra lobster, I have a really hard time seeing someone needing more than 2 entrees. Unless someone is just ordering to have a few bites of each; and in that case by all means, charge them for wasting all that food.

I believe starters are unlimited. You could always hit up the buffet if still hungry after dinner I guess. 

If it helps, I don't think this issue is isolated to Celebrity and their flights

Did Norwegian Cruise Line really cancel this family's cruise over a $112 transfer? - Consumer Rescue

The plane situation is crazy. And I can certainly understand how a very well trained dog would not understand that that litter box was a place to go potty! 

57 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Just pointing out there is a difference between a tail and a whole Maine lobster.

Sure, and just pointing out that 3-4 oz isn't a "taste". 

On 12/16/2023 at 10:11 AM, bEwAbG said:

But you still have to buy them and then remember to take them with you.  Again, they never used to have to tell people on flights to be sure and use headphones.  And in the past they could give people a cheap pair with the standard jack, but that is no longer an option if someone is using a proprietary jack.  If you forget the headphones or the adapter, you're now SOL until you can get to some place that sells them.

Eh, I think this may be a very small part of the issue. I personally, would never consider using my phone without headphones because I forgot to bring them.

I think it's more a symptom of the social media age where people feel the need to create videos to post constantly and using facetime instead of making phone calls so they can show off where they are.

17 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

A 3 to 4 ounce lobster tail is a taste and if that's all I'm eating I could put a few away. They are only ok to me, because I live in New England so I'm spoiled by Maine lobster. 

3-4 ounces is the correct portion size for meat by any nutritional guide. Not sure why lobster would be different than chicken or beef. 

On 12/15/2023 at 10:28 PM, VentureMan_2000 said:

I don't buy into the severs not making enough money argument... at least not in California.

In California, they eliminated the two-tier pay of restaurant workers decades ago.  They get paid minimum wage regardless of TIPs.  Minimum wage in California is $15.50 per hour.

So, when we go out, we sit at the table for 2.0 hours and our bill is generally $120 or more before taxes.  I normally tip 18%, or $22 for this $120 tab.  So, in 2 hours, our server made $26.50 per hour... but for only one table.  Let's say they have 6 tables to serve, and others' tabs are half mine, but they are only at the table for half the time, or 1-hour.  So, the server is making ( Let's do the math... I like doing the math ) $11 per hour, per table, plus California's $15.50 per hour.  That's $81.50 per hour.

How is that a bad wage... even with hearing over and over the same old bad jokes and smiling at the customers until your cheeks hurt ?
 

Yes, in California, servers are certainly being paid extremely well. I think that there should be some accepted adjustment of tips if the servers are also making minimum wage.

When I waitressed. Minimum wage was roughly $8 an hour, and tipped minimum wage was roughly $2 an hour. With my tipped minimum wage and tips, across the course of a week, I averaged approx $12 an hour. So, better than minimum wage, but not by much.

Customer service is a tricky thing. My biggest issue was guys that were flirtatious; flirting for tips wasn't my job, but people who did made more. I currently have a job with a large customer service component and still have to deal with the same bad jokes, pretending to be pleasant in an unpleasant situation, and dealing with some mild sexual harassment. The difference is that I am paid much better now. And if I loose my cool and tell someone how inappropriate they are being, my pay doesn't go down. 

Spitting in your food is disgusting, not an assault. Presumably they believed that you may have done or said something that escalated the situation to reach the point of a thrown drink. Maybe that's an assault where you live, it's not where I live. It may not be in the ship's flag country either. 

Also, the police getting involved isn't necessarily a good thing for you. The most they could do is arrest him. So, let's say you disembarked in the Caribbean, they arrested this guy and carted him off to jail. You would have to return to the Caribbean for any court date. It would almost certainly be more work than it's worth.

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Since mega ship owners are all about maximising onboard revenue, if it was that easy, why aren't any of the cruise lines already doing it?????

 

You do also know that the VR equipment must be Flag/Class approved before it can be used onboard a ship. The approval process is expensive, especially as many of the Class Societies require their own approval. When it is a limited market, most companies will not pay the cost of the approval process.

 

I know this from experience, since I have approached potential vendors to get Flag/Class approval for their product, so I could purchase it for the fleet. Even with 35 ships, the approval costs were not acceptable. Those of us that have worked in the industry fully understand all the multiple challenges with regulations, approvals, crewing, etc.

 

I can assure you, nothing in the marine industry is as simple as you clearly believe.

Way to totally miss the point. I'm certainly not suggesting that this item is profitable or viable. I don't see the appeal myself. Just reacting to the general negativity on this forum. This VR headset can't be more difficult to implement than a 3D theater. Yet, at some point they though that was financially viable. 

You can do a single log in. The only time you really need two is if the app had a built in communication system that you want to use. I know NCL has one. Not sure about Celebrity.

On 12/12/2023 at 4:05 PM, kernow said:

You're English and you've never heard of proper bacon?😄

 

They do usually have it on the ships that sail from Southampton, couldn't have a proper English breakfast without it.

I took a trip to Australia and New Zealand. Every single day breakfast was a let down. There was always "bacon". But it wasn't bacon. It was ham. proper bacon should be thin and crunch when you eat it. Anything else is ham.

There is no harm in a no show. Trying to cancel someone in the cabin at this point risks an extra fee. I would just have her no show.

12 hours ago, Tcat999 said:

 

Thanks for those details.  That's interesting, I had no idea it was that easy to disembark early,  

I'm sure that this was concerned a medical disembarkation as opposed to someone just choosing to get off. It's never been difficult to get off mid cruise if you are having any type of emergency. 

13 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The potential crewing issue was raised by  @BruceMuzz who has many years of experience working in senior positions within the hotel department.

 

Do you have more experience managing cruise ships and also know the Flag/Class regulatory requirements, and cabin availability?????

The poster is being overly dramatic. Close down the rock wall for a few hours and put that employee on virtual snorkeling. It's not that difficult to work out. 

You can take any new idea and put up a thousand valid road blocks. Or you can look for a solution and find that it's not that hard a problem to solve. This idea in particular. 

1. Can't do it because you would need a custom pool with led screens

2. Can't do it because you would need to build a new pool

3. Can't do it because you need new employees with specific training.

OR

1. Can purchase a small number of virutal head sets, use a pre-existing pool, and cross train pre-existing employees.