A few Pride of America questions

[6kiwis55]

Five months until we sail and I've got a few questions buzzing round in my head - I'm hoping someone(s) can help, for background, we are a family of six with kids aged 11, 14, 15 and 18:

 

- when we go off the ship at port do we need to have ID with us, would our (New Zealand) drivers licence be ok for this? What about the kids? Do they need anything?

 

- if we wanted to drop the kids back to the ship while hubby and I do something on land would that we ok? Presumably if the 18 year old is with it would be alright? Equally, are you allowed to leave them onboard without parents?

 

- because we pay a fixed gratuity fee does that mean we don't need to tip staff onboard? I understand that we can if we want to but is it generally acceptable to not tip? Does that gratuity money actually go to the staff or is it just NCL making a bit of extra money? Someone told me they always go to the desk and say they wont be paying the gratuity and then tip staff as appropriate - is that really something that people do?

 

- we have booked a suite for the six of us, thats ONE room THREE beds and SIX people (it's ok to call us crazy)! Does anyone have any tips on how to making things a little more bearable? I'm thinking maybe we could use showers in the gym if we needed to? Any other thoughts? Don't get me wrong, we are happy with this arrangement since it means we get to take this cruise but still, any advice very much appreciated!!

 

Sorry for the long post - hope there are some people out there that can help. Thanks so much.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We haven't sailed POA yet, so I can't answer most of your questions -- but let me tackle the tipping issue. US cruise lines follow US culture on tipping, which is to set salaries low and expect customary tips to make up the difference. This applies to the service personnel you see (cabin attendant, waiters) and also the ones behind the scene. If you delete auto-tips and hand envelopes to the servers you prefer, either they must put it in the general fund anyway or you will be "stiffing" the behind-the-scenes people. We accept that auto-tips are part of the cruise cost, but then figure that tipping has been included. Only if someone did something really above-and-beyond the excellent level we expect would we tip further -- but you can probably do that person a better favor by sending a note of praise to the Hotel Director.

[punkincc]

Five months until we sail and I've got a few questions buzzing round in my head - I'm hoping someone(s) can help, for background, we are a family of six with kids aged 11, 14, 15 and 18:

 

- when we go off the ship at port do we need to have ID with us, would our (New Zealand) drivers licence be ok for this? What about the kids? Do they need anything?

 

- if we wanted to drop the kids back to the ship while hubby and I do something on land would that we ok? Presumably if the 18 year old is with it would be alright? Equally, are you allowed to leave them onboard without parents?

 

- because we pay a fixed gratuity fee does that mean we don't need to tip staff onboard? I understand that we can if we want to but is it generally acceptable to not tip? Does that gratuity money actually go to the staff or is it just NCL making a bit of extra money? Someone told me they always go to the desk and say they wont be paying the gratuity and then tip staff as appropriate - is that really something that people do?

 

- we have booked a suite for the six of us, thats ONE room THREE beds and SIX people (it's ok to call us crazy)! Does anyone have any tips on how to making things a little more bearable? I'm thinking maybe we could use showers in the gym if we needed to? Any other thoughts? Don't get me wrong, we are happy with this arrangement since it means we get to take this cruise but still, any advice very much appreciated!!

 

Sorry for the long post - hope there are some people out there that can help. Thanks so much.

 

You are in a suite so you will have the services of a butler and concierge. They are not included in the Daily Service Charge pool, so you will be expected to tip them additionally. The room steward is in the pool, but many people give them some additional tip at the end as well. You can find info here on the board about what people think is an average or adequate tip for Butlers and Concierge. Some people tip additionally in the specialty restaurants although an 18% auto grat is added to the cover charges or package prices. Same with drinks and drink packages. Many people tip a dollar or so to the bartender for each drink or order.

[azappraiser]

Five months until we sail and I've got a few questions buzzing round in my head - I'm hoping someone(s) can help, for background, we are a family of six with kids aged 11, 14, 15 and 18:

 

- when we go off the ship at port do we need to have ID with us, would our (New Zealand) drivers licence be ok for this? What about the kids? Do they need anything?

 

I know adults are required to have their "Ship Card" and a photo ID... not sure what minors are required to have, we don't have any; sorry.

 

- if we wanted to drop the kids back to the ship while hubby and I do something on land would that we ok? Presumably if the 18 year old is with it would be alright? Equally, are you allowed to leave them onboard without parents?

 

From NCL Guest Ticket Contract - When accompanying a minor or minors on the vessel, the adult Guest agrees to be the agent of such minor(s) for all purposes, to accept full responsibility for supervising such minor(s) and to bear full responsibility for the actions of such minor(s). The adult Guest further agrees that the Carrier is not liable for injury to minor(s) in the adult Guest's charge arising from the willful or negligent acts or omissions of other Guests or persons who are otherwise not acting on behalf of the Carrier. The adult Guest also agrees that under no circumstances will a minor be left aboard the vessel, other than in the care of the vessel's Kids' Crew or Teen's Crew programs, while the adult Guest responsible for the minor leaves the vessel for any reason, and in such circumstance the adult Guest agrees to indemnify and hold Carrier harmless for any and all loss, injury, or death of the minor or any other person involving the minor whatsoever.

 

- because we pay a fixed gratuity fee does that mean we don't need to tip staff onboard? I understand that we can if we want to but is it generally acceptable to not tip? Does that gratuity money actually go to the staff or is it just NCL making a bit of extra money? Someone told me they always go to the desk and say they wont be paying the gratuity and then tip staff as appropriate - is that really something that people do?

 

As mentioned above, the gratuity does in fact get to the staff... including those that are behind the scenes. Most passengers leave it in place and often tip above and beyond for exceptional service. Drinks, spa services, and (not when we sailed) specialty restaurants have an additional automatic gratuity added. Your butler & concierge are not included in the daily service charge.

 

- we have booked a suite for the six of us, thats ONE room THREE beds and SIX people (it's ok to call us crazy)! Does anyone have any tips on how to making things a little more bearable? I'm thinking maybe we could use showers in the gym if we needed to? Any other thoughts? Don't get me wrong, we are happy with this arrangement since it means we get to take this cruise but still, any advice very much appreciated!!

 

Good Luck!!!

 

Sorry for the long post - hope there are some people out there that can help. Thanks so much.

 

See answers in RED above.

Edited August 1, 2015 by azappraiser

[6kiwis55]

Thanks so much everyone. I know there are already a million threads on here about tipping but I just wanted to be completely sure I get it right. I will leave the gratuity fee in place and then tip as appropriate - I'd already budgeted for the butler but not the concierge.

 

Not very smart of me to not read the NCL conditions about minors, so thanks very much for that. I'll have to do a bit of investigation into what a "minor" is now, I was hoping the 18 year old "child" would be able to look after everyone.

 

No tips on surviving our close quarters ... ha ha, not surprised by that!

[cb at sea]

You should ALWAYS have ID on you...what if something were to happen...how would anyone know who you are???

[Silver Sweethearts]

Five months until we sail and I've got a few questions buzzing round in my head - I'm hoping someone(s) can help, for background, we are a family of six with kids aged 11, 14, 15 and 18:

 

- when we go off the ship at port do we need to have ID with us, would our (New Zealand) drivers licence be ok for this? What about the kids? Do they need anything?

 

- if we wanted to drop the kids back to the ship while hubby and I do something on land would that we ok? Presumably if the 18 year old is with it would be alright? Equally, are you allowed to leave them onboard without parents

 

Our concern about leaving the children with the 18 year old would be that if any of them were unfortunately injured while you are away, there is no one to authorize medical care.

[6kiwis55]

Yes, I agree about the ID and the older three of us can take our drivers licences but the younger three would have to take their passports. I'm not keen on that idea at all, especially if we are stopping at a beach to go snorkeling or something, imagine if we lost our passports and had to stay in Hawaii forever ... oh, wait a minutes ... that could be a good plan!

 

Good point about the medical decisions, I actually can't see us leaving them but was just curious if we could. It's kind of strange because we could actually leave them all at home on the other side of the world and that would be fine ...

[Retiring cajun]

6kiwis55, does your suite allow 6 people?? but not enough beds? going in 13 days[emoji4]

[6kiwis55]

Nah - there are enough beds. One king (or queen?), one double fold out couch and one double murphy bed. It's just a shame that our kids are all so crazy big - oh well, good for them to reconnect right ...

[jaybee1965]

I have just returned from this cruise and was surprised to find they did check photo ID with your ship card every time, often at the entry to the port area and if you are on a tour bus they come aboard. Sometimes a person would only have the ship card and it seems they have a passenger manifest of some sort and can check cabin numbers/date of birth etc but obviously it slows everyone down. Didn't see what happened with kids, we just used our Aus drivers licence, do they have photo ID's for school, or maybe a copy of the passport page - if you/they are taking smart phones what about a digital copy on the phone? As another aside US local sim cards are great to use in port, mine had unlimited calls/text and 1GB data and cost around A$30. Might also be worth noting there was some activities for 18-20 year olds presumably because the drinking age is 21 so under 21 may be classed as minor. We poked our head in a few suites on the last morning and they seemed quite spacious compared to our standard balcony cabin. One had an indoor and balcony hottub and two sinks.

[cruiser64093]

Cruised on POA, and yes, we had to show a picture ID and our room key every time we boarded. Since you'll have cleared customs at Honolulu, you wouldn't necessarily need to use your passports, but they would work for that purpose.

 

Wow, and 6 people in one suite! You'll need to report back to the forums and report how that went. I had four and it drove me bonkers...

Edited August 24, 2015 by cruiser64093

[Obsessedwithplanning]

Just returned from POA.

 

Adults need a photo id and ship card. They check to enter the port (even if on a shuttle or tour), and they check it getting on to the ship. Children under 16 only needed ship card. One person at security (not sure which port) asked my daughter how old she was but when she said 11 they just said ok and on she went.

 

The ship has a great kids club and a teen thing too. The kids club has fees at certain times - after 10:30pm and during some port times.

[6kiwis55]

Thanks so much for all your comments everyone. Jaybee, all but the youngest has student ID so I'll get them to take those onshore with us. I have copies of all our passports on my phone so hopefully that can be a last resort for the 11 year old, although based on what obsesssedwithplanning said she will probably be ok. Thanks for the headsup on the 19-20s.

 

Did you buy your SIM in Australia? You can't get them in NZ but can get them shipped from Australia, still trying to decide if we will do that - a couple of them would help everyone keep in touch.

 

Cruiser - would be curious to know what drove you bonkers with four in one suite. I'll definitely be letting everyone know about my experience when we get back ... assuming we all make it ...

[carmzav]

We (adults) were asked for our ID every time we got back on the ship, but our son (who is 10) just needed his card. Once or twice, security would ask him a question after looking at his ship card, like "what's your name" or "How old are you." If he went through and swiped his card before one of us did, they waited to make sure that he was with an adult. There was also a time where he was skipping along and got ahead of us, and before we even made it to the gangway, a crew member stopped him and politely but firmly told him he needed to go back and stay with his family.

[jaybee1965]

Yes I got my SIM card in Australia from http://travelsimsdirect.com/country-trip/?country_option=200 and loved how they preactivated it for the arrival date. (I got the cheapest Simple/T-Mobile one which says you can't tether phone as a hotspot but I didn't actually try) Put it in the phone on the plane, switched on at the airport and immediately got a text confirming phone number. Don't test it before arrival as you may get your credit sucked out with roaming charges and make sure your phone is unlocked - check it with someone else's sim card from a different carrier. I did also look at AT&T sim cards which seem to have a plan that is $1/day if you use it (and nothing if you don't) but you have to organise data as well so not sure how it actually works in reality.

[6kiwis55]

Thanks Jaybee - the one that you got looks perfect for us. We'll probably get two so we can keep in touch if we split into two group. That's another thing off my to do list!

[jaybee1965]

If you are there less than a month I believe there are charities who can use the remaining time on phone cards but I didn't get around to researching this and left mine in the hotel room with a note for whoever found it. Another point if you are renting cars and plan to go to both Volcano National Park and Haleakala Crater you can buy a tri park pass which is good for a year rather than separate admission fees.

[6kiwis55]

Jaybee you are a wealth of information!

[jaybee1965]

Enjoy the planning phase, a week goes by so quickly. We had 2 weeks in Hawaii but I've now been back at work a week and it's cold, wet and still very much Winter here. Wish I could go back. Thanks for the kind words and right back at all the helpful people here on CC & Trip Advisor. I also find some useful info on whirlpool forums when looking up US sim cards http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1678990 Sometimes you need a Southern Hemisphere perspective!

[TSUmom]

As others stated the butler and concierge are not in the tip pool so remember them and with 6 in the cabin I would also tip the room steward extra. We always do for two of us and with 6 I think he/she may be deserving of a little extra;)