Jaymuxman

2 hours ago, Pierlesscruisers said:

 

I don't believe you're correct in this. From what I have been told, by crewmembers as well as seeing it on CC, is that the tip that is provided directly to the crewmember is turned in to the ship where it is checked to see if the person providing the tip is still "signed up" for the automatic gratuities or not. If he/she is, then the additional gratuities are returned to the recipient. If they have been removed from the auto gratuities list, then the additional gratuities are kept and added to the gratuity "pool" to be shared by all. The checking on the auto gratuities is done after the books are "closed" so to speak so that the cruiser can't go and remove themselves from the auto gratuities after the check has been made. 

 

While we on CC most likely do not have personal knowledge of the exact working of the "system", I would suspect that the crewmembers probably know how the system works.

 

Tom

This is EXACTLY what I was told by our waitstaff in the dining room. We gave him additional gratuity on the last night and he asked for our room number.  He told us he had to turn it in and if we had left the gratuities on our shipboard account, the extra would be returned to him. We assured him we had left them on the account and he said he really appreciated the extra.

We booked TA that is leaving on 5/3 and got $400 onboard credit, free gratuties, and cabin upgrade. And then being a stockholder, we got an additional $250 onboard credit.

Almost every major airport I have been in has an ATM machine.

If you happen to be on the Crown Princess now or have stayed in Cabin E316 could you please tell me what is on the side of the cabin other than E310? It just shows space but I would like to know what is in that space. I would be eternally grateful for any help you could provide. 

Thanks in advance for your help.

Emily

Just flew out of Anchorage last Sunday. Princess will only hold your luggage until 5pm. I saw no where to storage otherwise. However, Delta did come over the intercom and announce they would hold your luggage longer than the usual 4 hours should you have a late night flight. So, if you are flying Delta, you are in luck.

I had 3-4 Nojitos a day plus sodas at dinner and thought my ultimate drink card was worth every penny it cost!!!

Having sailed on both cruise lines quite a few times in the past, I would vote for the Ruby Princess, especially since you mentioned your age. However, you certainly can't wrong with either.

When you say that you took a 17 day cruise and paid approx. $90 for laundry services, might I ask if that is truly laundry (such as in jeans and men's shirts, etc.) or does it include dry cleaning also? My husband and I will be on the 17 day Panama Canal Westerdam trip at the end of Sept. I find the idea of being able to take fewer clothes and get them cleaned very exciting. Thanks in advance for any response and I have truly enjoyed this thread as I have learned quite a bit and we have sailed Holland American 6 other times.

Emily