New to Cruising concerns

[JYD Hawkeye]

Welcome to cruising.

 

Here are my thoughts on your concerns:

 

1) Try not to think of the gratuities as "tips" like in a restaurant at home. It's really a service charge and it's a main component of the salary of those people who get it. It should not have anything to do with "service" unless you are having terrible service (which you won't on a Royal Caribbean ship) Even if you eat in the Windjammer, there are people clearing tables and bringing you beverages that participate in the suggested gratuity.

 

2) Do eat in the main dining room. You will be amazed by the fabulous service and the ability to order whatever you wish from the menu. If you can't decide between 4 appetizers, order all 4. It's fine. The wait staff will learn your preferences the first night and will provide you with your special needs every night without asking. It's amazing. You will feel like royalty. This is one aspect of cruising that is fabulous.

 

3) Your itinerary is Cozumel, Falmouth and Grand Cayman. Unless you are interested in water sports and Mayan ruins, there is not much to do there other than shop and eat Mexican food which you can probably get just as easily in East Texas. We have sailed a few times from Galveston and we stay on the boat in Cozumel as we've done the ruins and the snorkling at the national park. The jewelry stores and other shops are no bargains. You can take the taxi in from the pier and just walk around or you can stay on board and enjoy the quiet.

 

Grand Cayman is another place where it's water related stuff or shopping. I was there for the first time in the late 1980's and did not go back until 2011. It changed from a peaceful, quiet island to a tourist trap. Grand Cayman is just streets and streets filled with shopping and none of it worth while, IMO. I did the helmet dive there and it was fun, but expensive. This is the place to swim with the stingrays if that's your thing.

 

Falmouth has some interesting things to see and it's very easy to negotiate with a local cabbie right by the dock for a tour. Don't pay the ship's excursion prices. Our friends were sailing with us. They took the ships tour and paid twice what we paid the cabbie. We went at our own pace, got to see some places the big bus couldn't go and did not have to waste an hour at a shopping mall that the bus went to. I enjoyed the haunted plantation house tour.

 

4) For this cruise and for the future, it is wise to budget in the suggested gratuity into the cost of the cruise. We generally like to do My Time Dining, so we prepay our gratuities before boarding, but we always bring extra cash for those who serve us well. We don't consider the suggested gratuity as the full "tip" as it really isn't.

 

5) You can pay your sea pass account in cash at the end of the cruise. We use a credit card as we are either getting cash back or airline miles so it's worth it for us, but there is no law that says you must use a credit card. They do take cash. Monitor your sea pass account on the TV in your cabin. Those fruity drinks can add up. Do look for the drink of the day, if you have to have a fruity drink. They usually are priced lower. NEVER get a drink in a souvenir glass before asking if it's cheaper in a regular glass.

 

6) If you are wine drinkers, bring two bottles aboard with you to have a pre-dinner drink in your cabin. To bring the wine to dinner, you will pay a $25 corkage fee and 15% gratuity. If you want wine with dinner, it's not much more to buy a bottle of lower priced decent wine off the list. They will keep the bottle in the dining room for you so you don't have to finish it at one sitting.

 

7) regular coffee, tea, lemonade and ice tea are free in the main dining room, Windjammer and Promenade Cafe. You won't get thirsty. We pack foldable water bottles and fill them from the tap to take on excursions. The tap water is reverse osmosis and the same as bottled water. Saves us a lot on those overpriced bottles of water.

 

8) We have been cruising since the mid 1980's when we were both working full time and putting 6 children through college. We learned to budget accordingly for our transportation, gratuities and shipboard spending. We simply waited until we had enough put by for everything before we cruised. Now that we are retired geezers, we have to budget for the high-coverage travel insurance as well. :D

 

I hope that I've been some help. We are on Mariner in a few days and we'll keep her warm for you.

Thanks for all the great info Kellie. You covered alot of the things I have been mulling over. I will do the auto-tipping when I get onboard now. I saved enough on the recent rate drop to cover that and then some. We prob. wont do the beach as it is hard to get the wheelchair or motorized scooter around in the sand. We will def. utilize the MDR now that I understand it better. Not interested in high end purchases, I hardly wear the watch I have now. Cab ride sounds like the way to go. Do they take you around and let you out to do things and wait for you to come back to take you to the next place? Falmouth sounds interesting. I am a culture freak and we always look for the smallest little hole in the wall places to go absorb local foods and culture. Not into chains, even when we bounce around Texas on the Harley. Def. taking wine on board. Where do you get collapsable water bottle at? Those would be handy to have. Someone once told me the water on the ship doesn't taste great. Seems you don't have issues with it though. Can you get things like small fans on the ship to have in the room? Hope we can make room for everything in the suitcases. We have a standard set of suitcases with a large,mid-sized,roller, and garment bag. Will get a large duffle or backpack for carry-on. Do the cruise lines have a charge for excessive luggage? Have to allow for the things we bring back also. Normally , we put the mid-sized one inthe larger one and that way we have an extra on the way back from a trip. But with all the things we may need on a cruise, we may have to pack both. Again, thanks for all the help.:)

[Kellie Poodle]

Wow. Gotta disagree with you on Cozumel.

 

I found Coz to offer just about everything imagineable. Was only there once, we did the America's Cup Yacht Race in the morning (absolutely fantastic), then for the afternoon hit the east side, saw tons of beaches, went swimming, hit a number of bar/restaurants, had one of the best meals I have ever had, the locals were a blast, just had a great time.

 

I live on the Mexican border near South Padre Island. I've eaten in Cozumel and was not impressed. We are not into water sports and can stay home to sit on the beach, so for us, Coz is not interesting.

[johneeo]

.... I've eaten in Cozumel and was not impressed.

 

Now there is a statement that everyone should take to the bank.:eek:

 

What other ports have "you eaten in" that didn't impress you that everyone should avoid?

[uksimonusa]

Thanks for all the great info Kellie. You covered alot of the things I have been mulling over. I will do the auto-tipping when I get onboard now. I saved enough on the recent rate drop to cover that and then some. We prob. wont do the beach as it is hard to get the wheelchair or motorized scooter around in the sand. We will def. utilize the MDR now that I understand it better. Not interested in high end purchases, I hardly wear the watch I have now. Cab ride sounds like the way to go. Do they take you around and let you out to do things and wait for you to come back to take you to the next place? Falmouth sounds interesting. I am a culture freak and we always look for the smallest little hole in the wall places to go absorb local foods and culture. Not into chains, even when we bounce around Texas on the Harley. Def. taking wine on board. Where do you get collapsable water bottle at? Those would be handy to have. Someone once told me the water on the ship doesn't taste great. Seems you don't have issues with it though. Can you get things like small fans on the ship to have in the room? Hope we can make room for everything in the suitcases. We have a standard set of suitcases with a large,mid-sized,roller, and garment bag. Will get a large duffle or backpack for carry-on. Do the cruise lines have a charge for excessive luggage? Have to allow for the things we bring back also. Normally , we put the mid-sized one inthe larger one and that way we have an extra on the way back from a trip. But with all the things we may need on a cruise, we may have to pack both. Again, thanks for all the help.:)

 

No charge for excess luggage, I think the actual allowance is 200lbs per person!! As long as the duffel bag will go through a regular airport sized xray machine, then it will be fine for a carry on, but bear in mind that you will not be able to get to your room until 1.00pm, so if you board early you will have to carry the bag until then.

 

You mentioned that you had saved some money from rate drops and would use this for pre paid tips once onboard, it is much easier to call RCI or your TA and have them added,and paid fo,r before you sail, one less thing to concern yourself with once onboard.

 

If you like the "hole in the wall" places and the culture of the island, try a tour in Falmouth with Marva Shaw at www.knowjamaica.com, they will arrange a personal tour and day for you, doing the things that you want to do, we have used them many times and found them to be reasonable and very friendly.

 

Most of all, just go with the flow and enjoy your first cruise vacation!

[Kellie Poodle]

Thanks for all the great info Kellie. You covered alot of the things I have been mulling over. I will do the auto-tipping when I get onboard now. I saved enough on the recent rate drop to cover that and then some. We prob. wont do the beach as it is hard to get the wheelchair or motorized scooter around in the sand. We will def. utilize the MDR now that I understand it better. Not interested in high end purchases, I hardly wear the watch I have now. Cab ride sounds like the way to go. Do they take you around and let you out to do things and wait for you to come back to take you to the next place? Falmouth sounds interesting. I am a culture freak and we always look for the smallest little hole in the wall places to go absorb local foods and culture. Not into chains, even when we bounce around Texas on the Harley. Def. taking wine on board. Where do you get collapsable water bottle at? Those would be handy to have. Someone once told me the water on the ship doesn't taste great. Seems you don't have issues with it though. Can you get things like small fans on the ship to have in the room? Hope we can make room for everything in the suitcases. We have a standard set of suitcases with a large,mid-sized,roller, and garment bag. Will get a large duffle or backpack for carry-on. Do the cruise lines have a charge for excessive luggage? Have to allow for the things we bring back also. Normally , we put the mid-sized one inthe larger one and that way we have an extra on the way back from a trip. But with all the things we may need on a cruise, we may have to pack both. Again, thanks for all the help.:)

 

Cab Ride: You are paying the bill. It helps to know a little something in advance about the area so you know where you want to go and where not.

 

There will be something in the Compass, the daily cruise schedule, about the port. There is also a port map available when you leave the ship. You can see what kind of things are available to see and do at a port by going to your cruise on the Royal Caribbean page and clicking on "shore excursions" Pretend you are going to purchase one, but don't give any credit card info. You will be able to see what the cruise line is offering and get ideas about what you want to see. We have found that local cab drivers are the best for knowledge about their culture. History in that area is mostly plantation oriented. Some nice old churches.

 

Water Bottles: I got one water bottle on line but I think I got the other in Target or maybe Marshalls. You can also try Academy. You can Google the water bottles. I'd give you the brands but mine are packed. The best ones have a clip on them. I clip one to the d-ring on my day bag. Easy to take along. The water on the ship is reverse osmosis, exactly the same stuff that is in normal bottled water. It tastes fine, is pure and will slake your thirst. Some people are "water snobs", I'm more of a "coffee snob" :D

 

Luggage: There is no charge for excess luggage, but know that on debarkation you will have to wrangle it from the big terminal through the customs line and out side. There are carts if you can grab one. I strongly suggest that you get a porter to do this for you. No charge but you need to tip them.

 

Wheel chair: I note that one of you is in a wheel chair. I hope you have notified Royal Caribbean's special needs department that you are bringing one aboard. Call them, give them your reservation number, ship and sail date and ask them to email you the special needs form. Fill it out and send it back. If you booked with a travel agent, have the agent do this for you. My DH uses a wheel chair to get on and off the ship. I have found it's easier to get a porter when one of us is in the wheel chair. Usually the wheel chair pusher can get their attention faster than I can.

 

Small Fan: I do not believe one will be available. I have never found a need for a fan but some people need them for noise cancelling. Pack it along with an extension cord. I have heard that some people have had their power strips taken away, but we have never had this happen and I have to have a circuit breaker because of DH's Bi-pap machine. I use earplugs for noise cancellation. Lighter weight than a fan.:D Mostly the stuff available in the ship stores will be over-priced toiletries, perfumes, jewelry and such. The $10 watches are junk. The $10 evening bags and "pashminas" are better quality. Some of the $10 jewelry is also pretty and would make nice Christmas gifts.

 

Glad I've helped a fellow Texan. If I'm able, I'll answer anything else that concerns you.

[Lynnees]

JYD Hawkeye,

first relax, you are planning a vacation and don't forget to have fun. On the topic of onboard account, you will need a credit card to secure it. This is only if you skip out on the bill in which case you will probably not be allowed to leave. There was no authorization amount on mine and at the end I paid my account with cash, no problem. Tipping is a personal choice and I understand where you are coming from, however even if eating in the windjammer there is staff setting up and clearing tables for you, serving food and assisting everyone to make the experience more enjoyable for all. This is accomplished by the entire waitstaff. They all deserve the tip. The easiest way is to prepay you gratuties and then not think about it. I see this as part of the cost of a cruise and the work they put in seen or unseen is to make your vacation more enjoyable. For excursions, do some research in the port section on cruisecritic and ask about accessable excursions. If you wait to get to port there is always the risk that everything is booked especially with your needs. We have been to all the ports you are visiting and there is no security concerns beyond use common sense. The port areas are very nice and will serve your small shopping needs well. Grand Cayman is a port where you will be tendered to shore, FYI all others are docked and easily accessable. My best advise, plan early to eliminate worries. Cruise critic offers a wealth of information

 

You do NOT need a credit card to set up your onboard account. That is completely wrong.