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Don't remove gratuities. If anything, tip additional for good service. Envelopes can be found at guest services. That's my two cents.

I must be an English American.......................

I've never been a fan of the Windjammer. After having gastric bypass a few years back, I'm pickier about what I eat now. When you can only eat a small amount, you want WHAT you eat to be good. The Hubs loves the Windjammer breakfast. If forced to go in there, I usually just go for the fruit. I do love the salads in the MDR. The breakfast is much better there too. The oatmeal is good. The waiters on my cruises always get very concerned that I don't clean my plate. Usually by the 2nd or 3rd night, the Hubs explains that I had stomach surgery and can't eat much...LOL I have even had the Matre'd come ask if the food was ok....LOL We are sailing on Adventure Of The Seas in May.....Yes, I'm spolied. I will sure miss the Park Cafe and the yummies in the Spa Cafe too. I love the bigger ships....but this one was such a bargain. After enduring flooding from Hurricane Harvey, and 12 chemo treatments...all during recovering from Harvey....I wouldn't care if my cabin was in one of the lifeboats...as long as I got away for a few days.

Now I know why I book down by the prop.....

Being in a tourist destination we have many restaurants include the tip or "service fee". You have many different cultures and tipping is mostly a North American standard. I do believe if cruise lines feel these are required they should be a service fee. This way we know the ones in the background get their cut. If I get extra service I will gladly tip extra. You also learn if you tip along the way you are more likely to have your drink waiting for you on a busy day at the bar. I also never heard it mentioned about how they are paid. I was always under the impression that they are regulated by the minimum wage and laws of where the ship is registered. Since when on board you are considered under US law should the employees not be under the same? I also know on some ships the employees do have their own hot tube area and common area to relax and unwind (however not as nice as our areas.) I have worked with many Filipinos as I work in the construction industry, making even $5 an hour is like $100 back home. Houses are cheap to build and the food is even cheaper. One of my good friends can send home $1000 and can cover his families expenses, schooling fees and others. I was also told they are actually trained specifically for cruising industry. It is not often you are something else. Coming from first world countries we find it hard to justify but if you think about it if they were to make more they would have to work more. Think of what the new Ontario law has done to benefits. If it was not a great opportunity they would focus on other industries but it is one of their most desired jobs for a reason. I am not saying they don't deserve what they are getting for sure. I also don't fully agree with how cruise lines handle or word it. The way it is worded causes a lot of drama compared to a service fee. I think if it was a service fee people would actually be more willing to give extra. Going back to restaurants and the "included service fee". If I got mediocre service I may just give what is asked and if good service round it up or give a little. If I get bad service I am also now more likely to mention something to a manager, now if they are having a bad day this may impact their employment. However, if it was up to me I normally give a minimum of 10% for even horrible service, you still deserve something but I may not feel it was worth everything and now the next time they are better I might even give 20-25% easy. I always feel that if you thank for great service with higher % and maybe deduct % if you had a bad time is better control then something like comment cards as it leads to fewer employers jumping the gun and firing employees for 1 bad night, but they still get the message.

Hi @Sabrinaklai Our 'real plan' is take on the 6 bottles we are allowed and then purchase the odd bottle whenever required. Or a beer or short etc. She is not a big big drinker so can't justify the deluxe package (and me having to prove I don't drink too!) so we are both doing refreshment packages. Based on the pics Twangster posted there are not enough days in the year to try every soft drink option! Annoying thing is we can take on 2 bottles for a 3 day cruise as well as 2 for the 10 and 14 day ones! I am not sure she can make them last 10 or 14 days!! Maybe I need to find a couple or family who are getting on same time without wine and get them to be my wine mule!!

I hate to break it to you, but I purposely placed the smaller file size image first. Don't believe me? Save both locally and compare.

Indian registered ship docked in my home port, not sure what happened but word got out that crew hadnt been paid for months by owners, ship was seized by port authorities and held until court proceedings instructed ship to be sold and crew to be paid wages from the sale

I just experienced that type of weather forecast... clouds, wind and waves. There was definitely motion for most of the cruise. I think there's no shame in taking Bonine or some other medicine preemptively if you are worried about it. The main side effect of these kinds of medicines is it makes you drowsy at some point, so an afternoon nap is hardly much of a price to pay. The bottom line, is don't let the weather forecast scare you. The Captain will always look for the smoothest path possible, but motion in the ocean is not to say you cannot have a good time either.

Doesn't he know the stereotype image for country and western music is Whiskey and/or beer? Wine drinking cowboy doesn't seem to fit. "Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses" or "Merlot for my men, Chardonnay for my horses"

I just tweeted that question to the company that manufactured the roof, OpenAire. Will share the reply.

Ok, I have to ask? How much wine do you plan on consuming in your 27 day adventure lol? 10-12 bottles? And how much money are we looking at saving by smuggling in bottles in Plan 2 and 3? I feel like this needs a @twangster or @JLMoran spreadsheet ? Is it even worth it? In all honesty, I personally would go with @twangster's Plan 3. To go with the "rules" and then try a light version at the end of the first leg. That way, if they don't let you, you are only wasting one bottle of wine. If you can get away with it then try your 2 more bottles on the third leg.

Especially on the last full day so I have some breakfast to munch on in my cabin before I join the self-carry disembarkation line at 0-dark hundred.

My husband's math agrees with you! I'm going to confirm with both boys when they come home for spring break that they truly do NOT want to drink packages (just to make sure) and I think we're going to go with the on board day 2 option.

My way overly complex spreadsheet/eyechart comparing Voom pricing on board using C&A discounts versus advance cruise planner versus waiting to purchase on day two on board can be found below (slow day today). Day 2 strategy involves waiting until day 2 to purchase on board. With so much going on during day 1 do you really need Voom while in port and you possibly have cell phone data? For non-US residents who don't have cell phone data while in the US the day 2 strategy may be less appealing. Summary Diamond Plus - Always cheapest to wait until day 2. If you must have it on day 1 its cheaper to buy it on board except for 12 night or longer cruises. Diamond - Cheapest to wait until day 2 except for 11 nights and longer cruises. If you must have it on day 1 its cheaper to buy it in advance except for 5 night or shorter cruises. Platinum/Emerald - Cheapest to wait until day 2. If you must have it on day 1 its cheaper to buy it in advance. Gold - Cheapest to wait until day 2 except for 10 night cruises or longer. If you must have it on day 1 its cheaper to buy it in advance. Comparison does not take into account occasional Voom sale events. If anyone has the on board offer letters for shorter cruises I'd like to validate some assumptions. I tend to do longer cruises. Voom Comparison Cruise Planner 15.99.pdf

I'm waiting to hear if they let me get the 25 for my wife lol. I sent a request because why not. She's new to royal so hoping they just give it to me but if not it only took me 5 minutes to do. You will never know unless you try ;)

Every cruiser should be able to take @twangster with them in their carry on.....it should be mandatory especially for 1st timers like me!! I do like your Plan 2!! Now that is thinking outside the box!!

They'll still be getting $0.00 from me.

Plan 1 is 'guaranteed'. A modified version is have the wine split between carry on bags so maybe they don't catch it all or any if security is busy. If all bottles are in the same bag they will notice. I did bring the email from C&A stating I could bring 4 bottles on my B2B in case of a new security person. Plan 2 - I've considered plan 2 but it might vary depending on cruise terminal and how consecutive cruisers are processed through security. I've even thought about pre-printing individual SetSail passes for each cruise and presenting myself to security as if I'm just like every other new guest for 'this' sailing, then once past the x-ray machine, whipping out my consecutive cruiser SeaPass card or paper. Plan 3 - maybe try a light version on the 2nd cruise in case you get busted. If it works on cruise 2 (day 1) you will know what you can get away with on cruise 3 (day 1). Plan 4 - I like plan 4 but it means lugging around a lot of wine until cabins are ready. Plan 5 - bring me and I'll smuggle wine 6 more bottles for your wife

The 4th to the 11th, so we'll miss each other by a few weeks. On the bright side, they should have enough time to resupply the food & drinks for your sailing.

The Viking Crown is one of my favorite places, besides the Schooner...

Thanks Twangster, very helpful and i’ll def have another read of your blog. So much information to take in being new to cruising - so I’m so glad I found this site.

We sailed from Southampton last year with 3 couples, with a 3 having different C&A status. We queued together for priority check in and although we had different boarding times as we were a party they were fine to let us all go on the earliest boarding time together.

Joe, Have you thought about renting a scooter for on board use, if the knee isn't 100%? Here's some info: Scootaround (formerly CareVacations)Phone: 888-441-7575Local: 204-982-0657 Fax: 204-478-1172 E-mail: [email protected] They will deliver the scooter to your cabin and retrieve it when the ship gets back into port. I saw a lot of these on the Serenade last year. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

As Platinum your on board offer of 15% off also applies to the multi-device plans on board. Your math is like this assuming a 7 night cruise: If you purchase a 2 device plan the moment you board on day 1: $37.98 * 7 = $265.86 less 15% C&A discount = $225.98 If you purchase a 2 device plan on day 2: $37.98 * 6 = $227.98 less 15% C&A discount = $193.70 Savings of $32.28 by waiting for day 2. If you buy a 2 device plan in advance in the cruise planner: $30.38 * 7 = $212.66 Savings of waiting until day 2 compared to advance purchase is $18.96. Here is an interesting tidbit from Anthem last week. At 11:30pm on day 1 I checked the on board pricing and it was already day 2 pricing! So I was able to get connected on day 1 before midnight and it saved me $20 in my case on a 1 device plan. Worst case you wait until you wake up on day 2.

I was able to get the 25 applied a couple weeks before we boarded. I had my travel agent call crown and anchor but im sure you can do it directly. Jane

Im going on my first trip to europe...viking river cruise out of paris...this summer but will be back on royal for a 2019 mediterranean/greek isle cruise on vision. That was a total impulse trip and i didnt even check another line. While vision is older, it was my first ship in 2015 and i loved it. The itinerary of 8 ports and 4 sea days was a nice combo of relax and tour and i cant wait. Ive never considered the air pkg through royal because i heard it was always more pricey but now i will at least check it before i buy. Jane

Posted this in another thread today related to single day pricing. This is on board pricing in 2018. Ignore the green box, the multi-device plans are above it. 2 devices, Surf & Stream $18.99 per device per day, so $37.98 per day on board assuming you purchase it for the "Full Voyage". Compare this to advanced pricing in cruise planner based on normal 20% discounts: 2 devices, Surf & Stream $15.19 per device per day, so $30.38 per day in advance. A savings of $7.60 per day compared to on board pricing.

So here's the subject line from the e-mail verbatim: EXCLUSIVE! It's a special announcement for you: Save big before you board. The Deluxe Beverage Package is priced $3 more than it was last week (when it was $47). Aren't I special! Nothing else has changed...but it's EXCLUSIVE!. SMH...RE

It seems counter-productive to cruising. Buying a smartphone on a whim is one thing. Buying a cruise vacation is very different. Who is going to book in the prime June-July-August summer vacation peak without knowing anything? Safer to book another ship. Granted the 3/4 night FL market is a different target audience so maybe those are mostly booked on a whim, last minute.

Well there has to be a lot going on..if this is the biggest one ever....wish there was more concrete info out about it...I am surprised they haven't released more to try and drum up excitement and bookings etc for this seeing as its such a big thing...or so they make it seem like.

When I bring wines I tend to bring screw top wines. There are some really good ones now especially from AU and/or NZ. I was at a nice restaurant at a marina in Chesapeake Bay one time. Our young waitress was struggling to open the bottle we ordered fumbling with the cork screw for several minutes as she answered menu questions. Finally I asked if she needed help with the wine. Her relief at my offer quickly turned to embarrassment when I simply twisted the screw top off. Poor girl...

I agree but have always found it ironic that the drink cups they provide suggest otherwise: If they don't want people to share, the cups shouldn't instruct you to do just that.

We usually walk to Paradise to go snorkeling. You're basically getting the same snorkeling spots as many of the paid snorkeling excursions and the charge is very reasonable. You get a place to sit all day and you can order food if you get hungry !

Hell is nice for about 10 minutes. There isn't much to do other than taking pictures. Some tours do stop there for a few minutes anyways so you might get lucky. When you are back in town Margaritaville is only good for its slide (sad to say its expensive and slow) There is a nice little place overlooking the water called Paradise (you will see the water trampoline if you look at the sea.) My old "watering hole" is called Guy Harvey's (upstairs and Bar Crudo downstairs) it has changed a lot since I went there but its still a nicer location and tends not to be as busy (tourists tend to stick with names they know.) If you are looking for a good Caribbean flavour then you have Rackams on the waterfront just up the road towards Seven Mile Beach (maybe a 10-minute walk.) From where I work most things in town are about a 10-15 minute walk so it should give you an idea of how small our town area is. We also have a newer area called Camana Bay which is pretty nice but is geared more towards the locals but offers very nice atmosphere but may be out of the way depending on your time restrictions.

79 USD?? I've paid less for Springsteen.

I meant to add earlier, the near flat seas turned very flat. It was quite a pleasant day and my cabin balcony door was open when ever I was in it. Around 4:30pm I headed out to grab a glass of wine with the intention of drinking it on my balcony when I ran into some people at a bar. Then more people. Somewhere along the timeline I heard someone's wife mention they saw a great sunset tonight. Oh well, next cruise, I was enjoying my bar friends too much. YOLO. With regerts (pun intended) no sunset pics tonights.

For those that haven't come to this realization themselves, food coma is real. I chose the Windjammer tonight thinking I would find some of the same old food and therefore could walk away, instead of being rolled away. I was wrong. Some food was the same, but it was jerk night. Oh boy. Finally @Sweety I met the dessert of my dreams. So far on this cruise my timing was off and I only managed to flirt briefly with a red velvet cupcake, but tonight was the real deal - Red Velvet Cake. These calories are for you!

This is an excellent point. At one time we were first time cruisers and I can certainly tell you...if I knew then what I know now...many things would have been 'better' from a customer experience point of view. We're D+ and I have to visually sift through the Cruise Planner stuff to get through the refuse to what we want. If I was a newbie, so to speak, it wouldn't be difficult to not click on something without knowing any better. If someone has the money to throw off the back of the ship (aka VIP Mamma Mia!) please let me know...my wife and I are always looking to be adopted by exactly such fine folks.

Entertainment Backstage Tour At noon there was a backstage tour of the main theater. This is presented by two members of the technical crew as well as the dance captain for the theater. There is a separate dance captain and cast for Two70°. It was interesting to hear from the technical folks who are behind the scenes as well from one of the cast. For Broadway shows like We Will Rock Rock the cast has an eleven month contract. The first two months are spent in Miami at the Entertainment studios for Royal Caribbean. Following two months of preparation they move to a ship and begin a nine month run for the shows. The main theater on Anthem has a cast of 24 and they remain together for those eleven months coming to and leaving the ship as a group. After a short Q&A session we were escorted backstage. It was interesting to see bits and pieces of The Gift and We Will Rock You put away in storage until they are needed again. With the stage ready for tonight's Going Away show most of the sets for the other shows are secured and will be behind curtains during the show tonight waiting to be set-up once again next cruise. Here they show one of the wigs used during We Will Rock You. Luis the stage manager will be moving to Symphony soon. He's been with the company for 15 years and has moved between a number of ships and has been involved with a number of shows. His least favorite is Cat's because there is very little to do during the show with just four cues he needs to hit over two and half hours. On a show like We Will Rock You he is constantly busy with cues and there is little time between them so he is constantly busy which he prefers. Luis explained it takes around 4 weeks to move a new set onto a ship and at least two weeks to dismantle one to move it off ship. Everything comes to the ship in small pieces and they have to re-assemble it on board. When Mama Mia was moved between ships he was sent to dismantle the set which took four weeks in that case. It's very complex to coordinate because each venue offers multiple shows and there is limited storage between performances so it's not so easy just to move a show from one ship to another as it takes great planning to figure out where everything will be stored between performances. As such the average Broadway show runs a minimum of 5 years to recover the costs involved in both cast and sets. In May the next cast of We Will Rock You arrives to replace the current on board cast. They'll begin dress rehearsals in Miami next week as they begin to get ready to take the show over. During the transition both casts will be on board. The new cast will execute dress rehearsals until Luis is satisfied they are ready to assume the show safely. The cast does both The Gift and We Will Rock You so they focus on one show first, then when they have proven themselves ready to assume that show, they begin to practice the other show during the day until they take over that show as well. Only at that point does the previous cast leave the ship. The studios and stages in Miami are common to all shows across the fleet so at any given moment there are many different casts all preparing to move to a ship to relieve the current cast on board every ship. It's quite an operation when you think about not only the Broadway shows, but Aqua Theater show, Ice Skating shows, Aerial shows and shows like Columbus the Musical, 1887 or The Gift. All of these shows have multiple casts rotating onto ships, taking breaks between contracts them returning to Miami to start the cycle all over again.

Hush! Don't give them anymore ideas...

See the same thing for my March Harmony cruise. Can make complimentary reservations or pay to have VIP seating. While I can understand that some bean counter thinks it is a great idea, the price is just too much. Why would anyone pay $79 for a meet and greet? How did they come up with the price...I could see some people paying $20. I wonder how may new cruisers will now think they'll have to pay for shows and miss the free reservations. Luckily for now, the free reservation is the obvious thing to click on the cruise planner but I wonder if that will change. As someone who has to drag her DH to the free show, I hope this experiment fails.

I haven't showered for the whole cruise...

Yikes! What’s next? Where will it stop? I can’t imagine that there will be much interest in this. Maybe this will die on its own. But then again, who knows what people will continue to pay extra for? RC is smart and has been successful, to this point, in finding additional ways to generate more revenue. We, as consumers, determine how far they take stuff like this. I’m still booking a annual RC cruise for my family. We don’t opt for most of the extras because we are happy with the way we have always cruised so no real value for us. It is definitely alarming though.

No. Just no. I couldn't agree with you more.

<exhales> OK, after three days of wanting to respond to this I think I can calmly get this down and not sound like a raging lunatic. JLMoran is exactly correct, this is hardly a Oh Wow! deal for the employees and poor policy by RCL; although I believe for some different reasons than JL has written. Nope.....I'm still ranting. Lemme give it some more time.

Oh I WHY they do it....I just don't like it..period. I have bitten the bullet so far, however all bets are off for future cruises. I would like to see how I feel actually tipping the people that help/serve me when they deserve it. Like how we all do in real life when not on a boat.

It is an interesting discussion. I think that just as with everything else there are multiple sides of every story :) I think the culture of family and duty to family plays into this a lot as well. A couple of years back we had a very slow section of the dining room and spent a good portion of each evening discussing life/the job/family with our waiter. He was (as suggested in a comment above) supporting his own family, his parents and some extended family (I forget the exact count but think it was 2-3 siblings and their families). He talked extensively about how proud he and his family were that he could provide for them all, etc. How much he enjoyed being able to go home between contracts and in general how lucky he considered himself to be able to have the work/life that he had. So clearly the money was good enough ;) In general I think the wages+tips are poor by 1st world aka US standards but pretty darn good by the standards of the countries that most of the employees call home. I also side with Monctonguy on this one and wish they would get rid of the "mandatory gratuities" and put it all in the cruise fare. I would much rather know the real price up front and then feel free to tip for exemplary service than have to explain to other first time cruisers that the price is not the price, tipping really shouldn't be optional and then trying to decide how much "Extra" I want to tip.

LOW??....really?.....SMDH.... You do realize that the average Canadian income is about $35,000 USD...for someone who works all year(2 weeks vacation) and losses about half that in taxes so take home less than 20,000......so please don't tell me that $30,000 USD in just tips is low...on top of their low cost of living on the ship and back home. I know they don't work 365...but lets say they work what we work on average...that's still a great tip. Are you kiddin me?? These are not wages remember. This is on TOP of wages. And I am guessing its more like 20 rooms they clean..so closer to $60,000 USD then in tips....subtract what they don't work when they are off.

Thanks for sharing that breakdown @monctonguy. I always think too of the people they might be supporting back at home. Many of them come from families where they have multiple children and maybe even older parents to care for. So not sure how far their money has to stretch. But definitely interesting to see the math...