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SLJ

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  1. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to KWong in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    We've also traditionally tipped over and above (and I build it into our travel budget), but to reiterate everyone else it's not necessary to do so.
    As for how much over and above... I don't know that there's a "correct" way to do this.
    For the stateroom attendant, it ends up being slightly more than what I would tip housekeeping at a hotel.
    For the servers, it's a few dollars, per person, per day, and rounding to the nearest 10. For us, a family of four, it works out to a decent amount.
  2. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to YOLO in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    @SLJ Good question.  For us the answer is yes!  We cruised before the pre-paid gratuities (like many of us) and we tip now just like we did then.  The only difference is that Ceil and I pay an additional $30 per day!  I bet my case is exactly what the cruise lines were hoping for when they implemented the new policy !!!  😉  Whoa is me.  Can I have a little pitty please... 🙂
  3. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to ChessE4 in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    Yes, we see it as rounding up from the presumed 15-18% to about 20%.  We also tip for drinks not covered, e.g., using Diamond vouchers.
  4. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to JasonOasis in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    Even with pre-paid gratuities we alway tip the stateroom attendant.  If we use the MDR we will tip our waiter but these past few cruises we haven't used the MDR so our stateroom attendant gets it all. 
  5. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to barbeyg in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    Let me preface by saying tipping extra is not required, as others have stated.  We tip the room steward and dining room attendants extra the last night.  We also tip extra at the specialty restaurants when we are there, and bartenders as we are waited on.  
  6. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to Ampurp85 in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    I always tip extra but I started waitressing at 15 so it has become ingrained in me. That being said I am not just tipping off of empathy and societal pressures. Were I at home, in a bar/restaurant I would tip, the same for the housekeeper at a hotel. I don't tip everybody. The fact that crew member is without family, X, Y, and Z shouldn't factor in. As I believe service matters and not the other circumstances. My whole belief is that you do what feels comfortable and right to you. 
  7. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to loki007 in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    always tip the stateroom attendant more on the last night as well as dining room staff if i have made a connection (same servers nightly). I will tip bartenders extra throughout the cruise. 
  8. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to Moby Dick in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    Servers, not bartenders, always get a couple of $ from me.  Bartenders, I generally just wait until I'm done, figure how much I've spent there, figure the difference between the already added 18% and how good I think the service was and leave additional amount.  So, that's an addition of between 2% and 7%.  Specialty restaurants, I try to compare my meal if I had bought it in a comparable restaurant, off ship, and leave a 20% tip based upon that.  
    For the most part, crew members are trying to survive and at the same time support their families back home, they're away from their families for months at a time, working hours that most of us wouldn't.  So, I try to treat them really good.  I also try to talk to them and listen to their story.  Some are heartbreaking.  
  9. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to CrimsonCruiser in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    We do but we also know it's not mandatory.
    On packing night of the cruise, we think about the people who we felt went above and beyond and really only tip extra on that. We may also tip at the bar on the rare occasions we stop there.
    For example, on our last cruise, the Next Cruise agent had no idea who just sat in her chairs when my mom and I went over to talk about our plans. The more we cruise, the more we know what we do and don't want but don't have an unlimited budget and sometimes it's hard to get those things to align. I think we were a lot to handle, bouncing around between 5 different itineraries and then even coming back the next day to change again! She put up with our himing and hawing like a champ and got us our second best deal ever (the first being said Odyssey for the price of Indy due to a ship change). So she for sure got a tip. We also enjoyed that our room steward and waitstaff did a couple extra little things simply based on noticing that we liked or used them a lot (such as ice twice daily in the room or extra cheese bread in the basket because it's my favorite).
    We generally do about 20-30 as the highest amount, but no less than 10.
  10. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to Neesa in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    ** I do not work in the service industry so this is not coming from someone working for gratuity. I answered a question as to my Genie gratuity a few weeks ago and was "verbally scolded" by someone as trying to sway people etc, etc. to give more money because "I must be working for tips" 
    So personal, but here is what we do. Before a sailing we go to our local bank branch and get a pack of 50 singles as well as a great deal of 5's and 10's. We usually have 20's on hand as that is what the cash machine spits out. (sometimes Publix will change out to small bills for us also. 
    Porters and room service always get gratuity. We use @WAAAYTOOOsuggestion as a base line & set aside 5.00 for breakfast if sitting down to dine, 10.00 for lunch and 20.00 for dinner. We tip along the way, now this amount changes if the service which is few and far between is lacking. * One time on the Oasis Thanksgiving 2021 we received terrible service for dinner in CK and our gratuity was adjusted to reflect that. Please note that was just one sailing and our timing was off because @wordell1was on the same sailing with a later reservation time and he had great service. Ours was probably a one off sailing, time and staffing probably to blame. 
    We usually connect with our cabin steward & tip extra in the middle and then the end of the sailing. 
    Do what you feel is comfortable, please don't ever feel pressure from what we share here. everyone of us has unique experiences, don't stress over it and enjoy every minute of your sailing. Time is the most priceless thing we have. Be present & enjoy.
  11. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to Butch R in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    Yes, we tipped our porter and room steward. (Janario! Master of the towel animals!) And our waiters as well.
  12. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to FoxboroCruiser in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    Yes we do tip above an beyond the pre-paid gratuities.  Having worked a decent part of my life in the service industry, I always tip better than average/expected.    I divided the pre-paid numbers across what I thought it would cost to stay in a nice hotel, eating in restaurants, etc.  Lets just say that the numbers came out below 10% and I'd be the worst tipper ever.  The beauty of tipping on board is that it improves the already fantastic service, and for so little money.  Giving the room steward $20 on embarkation day will pay off for the duration of the cruise.  Tipping bartenders and waiters will only make them even more attentive.
    The crew is away from their families for months at a time just trying and earn a living and provide, and I am sure none of them are getting rich doing so.  A few bucks here and there isn't a huge expense for me, but it may make a very big difference in their lives.  It's just the right thing to do. 
  13. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to Matt in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
  14. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to Kayleigh in Do you tip on top of the pre-paid gratuities?   
    We tipped our porter as well as our stateroom attendant.
    We have also tipped some bartenders who went above and beyond (had our drinks ready when we go there, knew us by name, etc).
    Tipping amount is really up to you. Give whatever you are comfortable with. I believe at Guest Services they have envelopes where you can write their name and their job title to make sure that tip goes directly to them.
  15. Haha
    SLJ reacted to RWDW1204 in Dress code   
    What's wrong with shorts? 🤔
  16. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in Covid Testing @ Miami Port?   
    See this thread:
    https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/28246-as-a-canadian-wait-yet-again-or-go-on-cruise/
     
  17. Like
    SLJ reacted to Kata in Covid Testing @ Miami Port?   
    My Mother in law had a test done  last month at Miami Airport and payed $175 dlls for the PCR. We had the results in about 30 min.
  18. Like
    SLJ reacted to StayFrosty in Annnd we're back...while we were gone...Royal update their cancel policy   
    I would argue that they are doing this for public relations reasons.  If they thought it was a major concern they would just cancel the sailings like they did in China but they are not. Now it could reach that point but we are not there yet.
  19. Thanks
    SLJ reacted to SpeedNoodles in Symphony of the Seas - an island is an island is an island? (Feb 22 - 29, 2020)   
    Final thoughts and things I learned:
    Mr. SpeedNoodles has declared Symphony of the Seas as his favorite ship, and wants to book more Oasis-class cruises.  We don't have one booked until Allure in Jan 2022 and I don't know where we'll fit one in between now and then.  But I've been informed.  Also he wants an AquaTheatre suite.  So if anyone runs across a fantastic deal, please clue me in. While we were able to do a lot on the ship, there was so much more that we weren't able to do.  We never even stepped into Jazz on 4 or The Attic. I had reservations for the comedy shows, but something always interfered. There's just SO much to do! We made it to a hot tub once - we really never got to spend any time on the pool deck.   As usual with me, no matter what I was doing I felt like I was missing out on something else. The staff was exceptional.  There wasn't one place on the ship where we didn't encounter helpful, friendly crew members.  If we dined in a specialty restaurant once, and ran into our waiter somewhere else a day or two later somewhere else on the ship, they remembered our names (WHAT WITCHERY IS THIS?????). I figured out a handy packing tip on this trip.  While I use packing cubes, and typically try to pack things together so they are easy to unpack on the ship (like items together that will be placed into the same drawer or closet), when I packed to come home I packed things in the cubes that would be washed together.  All I had to do was open up cubes that contained things washed together and dump them in the wash instead of sorting them at home.  It really didn't take much extra time at all but made laundry much easier. 30 SPF sunscreen doesn't do a damn thing to protect skin that hasn't seen the sun for 5 years. We got really good at using Lyft.  From the time we left the house to the time we returned home we used Lyft 11 times. I learned at the Quest that I cannot twerk, but the 70+ year old woman in front of me could. I saw my very first Booby.  As in Brown Booby - the bird.  A flock of them followed alongside the ship as we left St. Maarten, constantly diving after fish that must have been disturbed in our wake.  I took photos.  Not a Booby can be seen in any of them. You'll simply have to take my word. #birdlifelist We're pretty bummed that we have to wait until October for our next cruise!!! (But it's going to be a SUPER FUN cruise!) 
    Thanks for following along. (Now I need to go catch up on all of YOUR blogs that I've fallen behind on!)


  20. Like
    SLJ reacted to SpeedNoodles in Another Cruise Ship Denied Entry to Port   
    As a first responder I'm dealing with life and death, life-altering issues all shift long. I'm putting this into the perspective that I feel it warrants. 
  21. Like
    SLJ reacted to SpeedNoodles in Another Cruise Ship Denied Entry to Port   
    I agree. And it happens due to overreaction as opposed to actual threat. 
  22. Haha
    SLJ reacted to SpeedNoodles in Another Cruise Ship Denied Entry to Port   
    Someone coughed on my Symphony Cruise.  Luckily they still let us dock at St. Maarten and Puerto Rico.  
  23. Like
    SLJ reacted to SteveinSC in Another Cruise Ship Denied Entry to Port   
    I hope people cancel so my Royal Up bid gets accepted..... FACT
    I hope people cancel so theres less of a line at the Windjammer..... FACT
    Im going to enjoy my cruise..... FACT 
  24. Haha
    SLJ reacted to BB1 in Another Cruise Ship Denied Entry to Port   
    It's strange how everyone's "facts" are so different. 
  25. Like
    SLJ reacted to Vancity Cruiser in Another Cruise Ship Denied Entry to Port   
    The mortality rate of people who die from the Corona virus is less than 1%. And that is if you have pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, or diabetes. It is less than .5% if no pre-existing condition.
    Painting a picture of an apocalyptic scene of people dying all over the ship is a little far fetched.
    Even for those that are unfortunate enough to catch it, symptons are coughing, sneezing, and fever. Sounds kinda like the flu millions of people get every year.
    The deaths are from folks over the age of 80. These same folks would succumb to the "common" flu as well. Unfortunate but nothing to panic over.
     
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