Temeculaguy

Let me start by saying we always do the auto gratuities and give an envelope at the end to our MDR staff who are consistently wonderful. My question isn't about about cost savings but more about our next cruise on a quantum class ship in a suite giving us access to the coastal kitchen and we bought the UDP. As I plan out the the cruise, it appears we will not set foot in the MDR for the entire cruise based on our habits and options available to us . How do we direct our tips to the coastal kitchen staff and the specialty dining staff? Are all the staff included on our auto gratuities or just the MDR? I don't really want to short the MDR staff because we are doing something different and I don't want to short the people who will actually be serving us in the coastal kitchen or specialty restaurants. Do we just pay the auto and cash tip our actual servers?

On 12/21/2022 at 5:55 AM, Chuck586 said:

From what I understand the port at Galveston is really easy to get in and out of, but now I am trying to figure out how to get in and out on a flight.  It looks like I can only fly direct into the Bush airport.  Are there any difficulties getting from there to Galveston by Uber or some other kind of transfer?

I remember the old days when you could book a cruise and airfare through the cruise line and if you flew in the day before they would coordinate your stay in a couple of different hotels, based on what you wanted to spend, with hotel transfers and even check in at the hotel the morning of your cruise.  It was so seamless and easy with nothing extra to book or coordinate.  Those were the days!

Getting to Galveston from Houston and back isn't difficult, except for us as we didn't realize our hotel was the finish line for the Houston marathon, but still a fun story pushing luggage through throngs of thousands for blocks because all the streets were blocked. There are shuttles that run between the two cities, we stayed the night before and after in Houston. Uber can be a haul from Bush as can trying to make it same day with airline delays. We went with two other couples, two flew into bush, we flew into Hobby but all stayed the night before  and after in downtown houston and booked a private car service since with six it was the same as a shuttle which charges per person. But my backup was uber and it was like $100 worst case scenario per couple and on the uber estimator it is $80 from bush to the port without any surge pricing, but the marathon would have screwed us up so do check for any major events. Where we live many friends have weekend homes in the Palm Springs area which is an hour or two from much of so cal, it's very spread out so we always uber to/from dinner so we can drink wine. Go out there during Coachella, Stagecoach or any of the music festivals that attract as many tourists as residents, it's like trying to get an uber on New Year's eve at 1230 am. I'm not sure what events houston has but do check, I learned my lesson nut I'm glad I had a car service reserved.

On 12/15/2022 at 9:36 AM, Chuck586 said:

Harmony of the Seas, June 23, 2024 here we come!

We have been to Cozumel a couple of times but the Roatan stop is new for us!

Something to look forward to at least!

Loved Roatan and the sloths, monkeys and iguanas excursion, but that is a long countdown. Within a year, soft countdown, within 6 months, fun as preparations begin, but within range of my phone's weather app it becomes real!

I really hope they don''t stop the preloaded, use anywhere, daily drink vouchers. Is that a temporary pandemic thing because the lounge is close quarters or is that here to stay. I think that is my favorite thing, hoping they keep it.

I'd like to see some more incentives to make D+, it's a long haul from D to D+, more than double at 80 and 175. Not much more than one more drink a day. I am only a D but from a marketing perspective they should make me really want to get to D+. In the next 14 months I have cruises that will get me 36 more points, bringing me to 118, still a ways off from D+. As it stands I've caught myself looking at other lines, they should try to keep those like me focused on reaching the next level.

I'd really like the points with Celebrity to be cumulative or at least transfer, as it stands, diamond translates but that's it, D+ and Pinnacle are equal when going on Celebrity and points there have to be earned there. It's the same company, I would think getting people to go on any of your ships or to stay withing the company would be the goal. But I don't run a cruise line so what do I know.

14 hours ago, Matt said:

From what I've gathered in talking with various executives, I don't see Royal leaving the LA market in the short term.

Thanks, that is great news.

go 4-5 days early, stay in london 3-4 nghts and southampton the night before. Haven't done that trip but have done others where the airport is in a cool place that cannot be appreciated in a few hours with jet lag and the port is remote. The one night on town relieves the anxiety of something going wrong with transportation and how many times will you be in london while you are alive, the hard part is getting there, see a little of it. We are doing he reverse in 2023 but wev'e been to New York/New Jersey a number of times so we are flying in the day before and spending out time in Europe at the end, leaving Southampton the day of arrival to spend time in London and  then time in Dublin (flights back from Dublin were cheaper so the difference nearly paid for the Dublin days).

So frustrating how California goes out of it's way to ruin good things, I hope navigator stays or for Royal to increase it's offerings, it seems a likely spot to reposition after Alaska if even for a short while as well. It's not a small market, it is arguably one of the the biggest markets with almost 24 million people in Southern California most of who m are less than a 2 hour drive to the port. That's more than the state of Florida and just 5 million less than all of Texas, which is far more spread out. If So Cal was a state it would be the 2nd largest behind Texas as Nor Cal is 1/3 less populated. Carnival has had 3 ships permanently in so cal for 30 years plus princess and their other lines permanently or at least when not in Alaska. Understandably the 3 and 4 day cruises in order to fire up the casinos only go to Ensenada which has little to offer however on our recent 3 day Navigator trip we went to El Valle Guadalupe wine country and I found it to be more enjoyable than Nassau for the Florida short cruises. I love Cabo and even more so Puerto Vallarta but admittedly the pacific is rougher and colder than the Eastern shore of Mexico plus there are no island nations to visit, I just hate that our preferred cruise line is the one that until recently was almost non existent on the left coast. From a marketing perspective it would be a huge mistake to leave the West coast if for no other reason than to introduce people to the brand as most start with a shorter and a conveniently located cruise, plus it's closer to Asia and already gets significant numbers of tourists from around the globe. We drug along with us about 25 friends and family on our little Navigator 3 day cruise in March, most of whom had never experienced Royal before, alll of whom became fans. Put a quantum, oasis or icon class ship on this coast and they will get more loyal customers than any amount of commercials can buy. As a shareholder I'd be unhappy if they left the West as a resident I'd be forced to look for other options on occasion.

We did the open jaw on radiance this last summer, starting in Seward, ending in Vancouver and loved it. We had 3 days before the cruise in Alaska and 4 in Vancouver and it seemed just right. Anchorage mid summer is neat just because the sun hardly goes down, took the train the morning before to Seward and stayed the night, liked that town too. We loved Vancouver with one small exception of one street (Hastings street) which is trying to impersonate Seattle. We made the mistake of walking from Gas town back to our hotel near Robson and my wife made me throw away my shoes once we arrived. But other than that, amazing city, glad we did the open jaw. Radiance is an older and smaller ship but I liked it for Alaska, but we traveled as a group of middle aged couples and it doesn't have things I'd want had we brought grand kids and it's specialty dining is limited but I was full from halibut as it was in season and we had lots of port days and we came back on board so full from freshly caught fish we weren't hungry anyways. Very different cruise, not pool centric, we were the only men in tuxes on formal night, it's more of an expedition but it sure is wonderful.

Thank you all, I never found blackberry or international friends in my searches so I will look at both, we usually take a private service to get to/from airports or docks because the group includes some who are slower, especially on stairs and getting in the way of commuters can create anxiety for them. We also have lots of luggage, however we have in room washer and dryer at the london hotel which is more of a condo and we will use royal's laundry service on board probably 2-3 times so I am planning our less than normal obscene amounts of luggage for a trip that is 23 days long, yet it is still a large suitcase and a carry on per person. We will use public transport for moving about the city, our tube stop looks to be tower hill on the circle line (you are correct frosty)  and we dock on a Friday and might be getting there at mid day so maybe the commuters wont be bothered by our luggage. But like doomslayer said, it is our first time there so the car service might be what the group votes for. We took the train from Anchorage to Seward a few months ago but 99% of those on the train were going on a cruise and that railroad had it down to a science as far as luggage goes with shuttles waiting for you at the depot in Seward. I can easily forgo the side trips, I just figured we will be disembarking so we wont be tired from a flight and might be in the mood but that is a good tip on the traffic being unpredictable. I am glad I asked this question, this was the right place to ask.

We have a transatlantic in May that ends in Southampton, England. We have a hotel booked for a week post cruise in London. We are three couples, one couple is flying home the same day we dock, probably from Heathrow, the other two are staying in London. I'm the logistics guy in the group and the port is 80 miles from London. Bus, train or private van? It docks early am so traffic is an issue for cars and busses but trains /tubes are an issue for luggage. Hotel (Cheval three quays) isn't near the train or bus terminus it is near tower of london so a taxi or uber will be needed to finish that journey, train terminus is much closer than the bus terminus. Car service looks on par price wise for six if we can drop two at Heathrow but reviews are minimal and scant for private transport. Royal doesn't list a transfer option to hotels, wouldn't mind a visit to Windsor Castle while traffic subsides, they do offer that but it ends at Heathrow, far from the hotel. It's the last item on the agenda for trip planning, any suggestions appreciated.

10 hours ago, Neesa said:

Yes this! Sunny, this is why I tried it. Well, was I missing out? Also the amazing fun filled Star Class posts by others sounded amazing. I am so glad we did it, but I love Sky, that is our Suite spot. 

We require very little, and sometimes I was overwhelmed by everything. Don't get me wrong, if I found a great price I would consider again but I can sail 2X for the price of one Star sailing in Sky probably 2.5 on another class of ship. We are D+ so we have great amenity with that. 

I enjoyed the Star experience I did, but it was a total splurge for me. I find more fun and value being/feeling like I am just a little more fiscally conservative. It's amazing for sure, but I'm my own genie

I'm with neesa, Sky class for me on ships with the classes, especially the GS on newer ships. I see it as price point, at 5-6kk a couple I can get a sky class GS suite on ships with it or an owners suite on ships without classes. For 10k+ a couple on those same ships, I'd probably just move onto a luxury line, Viking ocean cruises gets competitive at that price point. My BIL is very loyal to royal and is going star class in the royal suite on an upcoming family cruise where I am going sky, many of talks over drinks I have failed to convince him that going on a celebrity cruise is not cheating on royal since they own it, diamond carries over and at that price point the retreat is less $ albeit less square feet but potentially better in other areas. I just think the star class prices opens up lots of competition and is held back by the same windjammer everyone else gets. But I totally get that it caters to those who want to be with family but are in another tax bracket, I'm just a sky class guy at heart, it still feels like a value compared to to star even though it is more expensive than balconies, but not by too much. Little secret, when on any ship, classes or not, if someone in your group gets the royal suite, the treat your party like they treat them, everyone gets escorted onboard by an officer and the maitre d seats you himself to the best table, call me a coat tail rider but it suits me.

On 12/10/2022 at 6:59 PM, Traveling Mike said:

I pay my cruises up to 2 years in advance.  I do it not because the money is burning a hole in my pocket but because it makes me feel better.  I have 6 cruises booked right now and am looking at booking two more.  I have done price drops with fully paid cruises and have not had any issues.  I am not rich, and it makes me feel better about booking my cruises when I know they are paid for.  There are lots of reasons people do things and different lifestyles.  You just need to decide if it makes since to you to pay it off double check with your travel agent to make sure there is not an issue that could come up.

I'm with you, I just pay them off. I've always booked directly with Royal and only book suites. I've only seen them go up or sell out. I have a few booked but I do have one booked that I feel is overpriced given the itinerary not being in demand and what I paid. I was going to carry a balance until the deadline but after what twangster posted I may just pay it off off and re-book if it drops. The rest I ave booked for 2023 and 2024 are either sold out for my room type or went up, so no regrets on paying them off. I had a bad experience on a lift and shift on a coveted itinerary, after two lift and shifts on an Alaska cruise, almost missed the minimal tax increase on a paid off cruise deadline, had I missed it, the price would have doubled for my same room.

On 12/6/2022 at 2:20 PM, SpeedNoodles said:

I rarely heard any noise, and I really liked being close to the elevator/stairs.

Ditto, the most expensive suites on many of the ships are right next to the stairs/elevators, sometimes the door to those suites are visible from the stair/elevator foyer. But then again I drink far more alcohol on a cruise than I normally would so you could probably put my bed in the elevator and I wouldn't be bothered by noise.

I was on Navigator in March this year and spent a lot of time in the casino, I did notice far fewer smokers than other RCL cruises I've been out of other ports since the restart (I've been on 4 or 5 since the restart, all different ports, Navigator being the only 3 day cruise). I think it is because Navigator it is out of LA and the 3 day trip I went on was mostly people driving to the port. California has 2nd lowest percentage of smokers, depending on the source of data you look at. Here's one source https://www.cdc.gov/statesystem/cigaretteuseadult.html But the numbers aren't close as California's rate is either 8.8% or 10% depending on source and some states are over 25%, the average is about 15% which is also the percentage for Florida and Texas. Louisiana and it's nearby states are 20+%.

If half as many people within a 5 hour drive of the port smoke and fewer people fly to a short cruise, logic says you will have fewer smokers, probably half as many. 7 day cruises probably get more people flying in so this theory should diminish. I could be wrong but I am a two hour drive to the Los Angeles/Long Beach port and I'll drive to a 3 day cruise but I won't fly to a 3 day cruise. I have found all RCL ships post pandemic have fantastic ventilation so I haven't been bothered on any ship out of any port. I have an aversion/allergy to yellow curry in Indian food, normally if I can smell curry nearby I will get nauseous. Yet since the restart, even if someone at my table orders a curry dish, I don't even notice it so I'm crediting their new ventilation system.

I was wrong, 4 free drinks, I am a recent regular diamond member. I've always gotten the drink package and always stayed in a Grand Suite or above so I've never really paid any attention to it and we mostly just drink wine and water. But our next cruise in May is a transatlantic so I was thinking of not getting the package, bout two cases of bottled water to be delivered to the room (super low price on black friday) and we have the dining package. I'm thinking even if we buy 1-2 bottles of wine at dinner ($30-40 ea with the 40% discount, 15 bottles for 11 days is less than $600 combined) and 4 drinks wherever else for diamond there's no real good justification for $1500 for us as couple to get the drink package. Hopefully the suite lounge doesn't take vouchers but if it does, it still won't pencil out. Thus far I think the package has been about a wash for us, diamond makes it less so, dining package for the first time even less so because dinner is where we drink half our wine for the day. Thanks for the info! Worst case scenario, I'll learn my lessona nd just get the package every time moving forward.

I have a question about diamond drinks as my upcoming cruise is my first as diamond. If I'm in a suite that has access to the suite lounge and now have access to the diamond lounge do drinks ordered in the lounges count against the 5 daily diamond drinks? Are the two lounges treated differently? Also If I'm prime for the casino and would normally get free drinks do drinks there count as well against my 5? Or are the diamond drinks deducted from those places where you would normally pay for drinks? Also if I order a soda, do they deduct a drink from my 5, I'd rather pay for my soda and use my credits for alcohol.

 got a royal up a week or two prior, one while walking to the ship (had to scramble and get a porter to hand write the luggage tags and discard my printed ones) and another when I was told I didn't get it an hour after we departed. My guess is you are close but didn't get it however if someone is a no show or a late cancellation, you still may get it. I can also say it is pretty random, the one I got last minute my brother in law got his days earlier, we paid the same, had the same room and bid the same. His last name is alphabetically before mine but other than that something in their computer broke the tie in his favor for the unsold room and I got what appears to be the cancellation room. It happened during a covid surge and I assume there were lots of cancellations. Then again we both got royal ups in Alaska this last summer and the ship was sold out of suites for months online and sold out a week before of every room right up to sailing so some may have cancelled a week out because we got them too early for covid cancellations or airline snafus, both of which were prevalent at the time. Or it's just full of random wonkiness. Just stay loose, you never know, be prepared to enjoy the room you booked and also for the royal up.

16 hours ago, Morganno said:

I have enjoyed reading this post. I was lucky enough to be on two European cruises this summer with a large contingent of US clients. However I didn't see 1 dollar pass hands or get left for any drinks over my 14 nights of cruising  I'm really surprised at this considering that many on these boards say they take stacks of 1$ bills to hand out. Does the tipping policy not extend when not cruising out of US ports? Or is it done discreetly via a palm with the deluxe drink card hand over. I'm not saying it doesn't happen just I expected to see it once or twice on my cruise but didn't see it at all on any night. 

This could be a cultural thing, In European countries (Canada sometimes included, except Vancouver in my experience) the service staff are paid better and tipping isn't the majority of their pay. In the US and Mexico, tip income can exceed their paychecks. We frequent all inclusive resorts in Mexico and Europeans and some Canadians complain on review sites that the staff favors the Mexicans and Americans who tip 20% while they follow the resort's website that insists tips are included in their room rate. I blame the resorts or TA's, just be honest, most people will adapt to local customs when traveling if they are informed even if it is different from their home country. My son lived and worked in Asia for a few years and when we visited he constantly scolded us because we tipped our normal percentage for taxis, waiters and other service staff which was apparently not culturally appropriate. But we were in a very inexpensive country (vietnam) and tipping the cab driver the equivalent of a dollar felt insignificant because the fare was only $2. I just blamed it on the confusion over the exchange rate being 23,000 dong to one dollar and my lack of the various denominations. If a meal for two was 120,000 and I left 200,000, yes its an exorbitant tip but it is only $9 and 200k bills ($4.50) is the smallest bill I had, plus everyone is really nice to me. Pesos I'm better with, one peso is about a nickel, my brain can figure that out, but 1 dong equaling .0043 cents, I'm lost. Somebody is getting a big tip.

On 7/26/2022 at 7:43 PM, Husky1987 said:

My wife runs through our stack of ones giving $2-3 to just about every person she runs across cleaning stair railings and bathrooms and bussing our tables in the WJ.  She's actually had some break into tears.

I like your wife and haven't met her. I give my wife $100 in ones per cruise and tell her tip $2 a drink, but I never thought about the cleaning staff, I'm going to copy you but I'll give you full credit for the idea. We leave tips in WJ but we are never around to see the reaction, I like your approach.

On 7/23/2022 at 8:49 AM, SpeedNoodles said:

I've been left envelopes for extra tips on every cruise that I've taken since 1999.

I've been on 5 cruises since 2020 with royal, envelopes every time, this last cruise I had to request extra envelopes. I do the automatic tipping and also use the envelopes for the standouts. This recent cruise two weeks ago to Alaska on Radiance, we had a bunch of standouts. It's an older ship but boy did we had some staff that were exceptional. Palmed them each a $20 mid cruise and then again in an envelope at the end. I was worried as this was the first full capacity ship we have been on in a while and commenters mentioned staffing issues, we saw none of that, might have been the best staff we've ever encountered. My BIL is an Indian food junkie, these waiters were bringing him off menu items, likely from the staff dining room that had him blown away. The manager and Matre di, were on a first name basis with us by the end of the week and we all used the envelopes accordingly. We booked another cruise while onboard and I bought more stock in the company, I don't see the envelopes as offensive, I see them as obligatory for what is a reward for service that unfortunately an anomaly at my local restaurants.  For perspective, we went out last weekend locally with three couples, $750 tab $150 tip, for just okay service. That's close to my tip for a week of service on RCL for dining, that is a bargain by comparison.

$66.99 for a bogo on Anthem may 23 transatlantic. I'm torn, I've always gotten the DBX but now as diamond and in a suite and prime in the casino I've got 4 free drinks a day for diamond, plus free drinks in the casino, free drinks in the suite lounge and the diamond lounge, not sure it pencils out to get the package. Also we have the dining package and will specialty dine all 11 nights with 40% off wines by the bottle and we are primarily wine drinkers. A bottle of Kendall Jackson cab is like $35 after the discount (normally $13 a galss), not sure I can justify 130 a day above the freebies when 2 bottles alone does us in at half the price despite 7 sea days. If they are still giving 4 drinks a day for diamond by then it will influence my decision, 2k is a lot for the package and after a few days of drinking a lot we tend to taper off. On a 3 or 4 day cruise, sure, but for an 11? I probably don't have the stamina.

My brother in law doesn't drink alcohol and always gets the non alcoholic package. He gets diet coke at every venue or restaurant at no cost and i've never seen him use the souvenir cup. They are super accommodating.  But then again I think he gets the package that includes coffee and everything non alcoholic and not just the soda package, which isn't much more $ than the soda package. But from my observation they are pretty cool about soda.

Just get passports for everyone, I also recommend global entry which comes with tsa precheck and sentri for $100 for 5 years also get the passport card . This will sound elitist, but if you cannot afford the passports you cannot afford the trip. I was firmly middle class when my kids were young and in their teens, prior to that we could not afford travel.  They have had passports since about age 11 and now  they are nearing 30. One lived and worked overseas for years and between the two they have visited at least 20 countries each. I consider a 4 year university education and a passport as the gold standard of what you should strive to provide for your children, not of equal cost but of equal importance. But then again I consider passports the best value of tuition in the education of life.

On 7/25/2022 at 5:50 PM, Sea Squirrel said:

It wasn’t too many years ago Allure turned the Solarium bar into a Cigar Bar at night. They had a wonderful selection and the loungers were great. I am not a big cigar smoker but it was a nice way to spend a night. I hated seeing “cigars under the stars” banished to the cigarette smoking area. 

We were on liberty (I think) out of galveston in January and they had the outdoor Cigars under the stars. The upper pool deck area where the 2nd or 3rd floor bar is above the pools had couches and tables and that bar stayed open and even sold cigars. It seemed the perfect place, nowhere near any rooms and nobody was up there at night other than cigar smokers. I didn't have one but could sit with friends who did and it didn't bother me at all. But then again I like the smell of cigars and pipes vs cigarettes and I don't really care in the casinos as they seem well ventilated since the pandemic hit.

I do know the president said at a shareholder conference call they have tried making some ships or sailing non smoking casino and they lose money every time despite what non smokers and bothered by smoke people say, they are outspent by the smokers every time.