tonyfsu21

2 hours ago, ChrisK2793 said:

We were just in a Crown Loft suite and in those you have 2 stateroom attendants who we always give between 200 and 250 each for the week ….. so that was a big chunk of it.

We have a 10 year old son and all our friends who travel with us also have kids in the same age range …… so I don’t think any of the luxury lines would be fun for the kids and probably not for us either.

We would like to try Celebrity Beyond though!

You tip both the main attendant & the assistant? We have stayed in CLS a number of times and I guess I never really thought much of this since the main attendant was always the one who was the face of the operation and greeted my family. 

Can we differentiate “pre-paid” gratuities vs Auto Gratuities? Both are the same. I believe what most are referring to are the auto deducted daily gratuities per person which can either be pre paid before the cruise departs or added daily to the sea pass account. Personally I think gratuities should added and anything above in beyond should be paid on cash. RC should be more clear on where that tip money gets dispersed though. 

9 minutes ago, ScottishRobbie said:

Considering the topic of the original post, I guess this is probably the best place for me to ask this as, living in Australia, I am entirely confused about and don't understand about the entire tipping culture. I'm beginning to plan for a trip to the US in a few years that will be centred around cruising. Here in Australia, tipping is something that never happens. To be totally honest, morally I feel that tipping should not be mandatory and is something that should be entirely at the passengers discretion, however I appreciate that it is so ingrained in the culture in the USA that, whether I agree with it or not, it's something that I would have to do.

My questions would mainly be - Who should we give tips to? I understand porters, room attendants, bartenders, waiters etc. all rely on/require tips. How much/how big of a tip should we give them? How much should we budget for per night of a cruise? Regarding which staff get tips, who de we not tip? Room attendants get tipped for servicing your room, waiters and bartenders for serving your food/drinks, however presumably, we don't tip the Cruise Director because we enjoyed the entertainment or the captain because the ship didn't crash, so at which level/seniority of the crew do we stop tipping?

This is a question that will generate a whole range of answers. To put it as easy as possible I would say:

Auto gratuity per day covers room attendant and main dining room wait staff. If you find a waiter goes above & beyond then on the last day add (enter discretionary amount here) into envelope and hand it to them as an extra thank you. Same goes for room attendant. Personally we add between $100-$200 for room attendant and usually $100 if we end up using the main dining room in place of speciality dining. If you choose not to add any extra then the bare minimum daily gratuity will at least cover you.

Bar drinks, speciality dining exc: 18% automatically added to drinks and speciality dining. You don’t have to add anything if you don’t want to. Normally when I find a bartender I like I will tip extra (like maybe $1-$2 per drink) and if a speciality dining server is able to make it through a meal with my kids and their food preferences exc I will normally add $50+ to the 18% which is excessive. 
 

Porters at the terminal: $2 per bag is average, $5 per bag great, $10 per bag probably excessive. My wife and kids pack the house so $10 per bag is the least I can do to take care of the porter who has to handle those bags.

shore excursions: normally in the islands we tip $10 per person after an excursion. That’s totally optional but appreciated. I would say this would be the only time you will feel kind of pressured to tip. 
 

Note: everything mentioned above is discretionary and it’s the straightest answer I can give from our experiences. Hope this helps. 

7 minutes ago, Pooch said:

And what is wonga and how does it get splashed??

Haha! That’s a great question! I thought maybe I was just not keyed into something that everyone else knew. That’s officially a word I’ve never heard. Maybe Willie Wonka? 

1 hour ago, Ray said:

What so its not true? They dont throw your baggae in the water if they dont get $$$$ 

So why say it happens? Or was it just a case of being billy big balls bragging about how much wonga gets splashed ? 

No, they don’t toss your bags and no I am not “billy big balls” whatever that means. 

5 hours ago, Ray said:

point i was making was that it was mentioned that money had to be given to stop your luggage ending up in the water, thats then not a tip but a bribe and is corrupt even by African standards. 

And yes i agree if i use a service i tip but i wont be blackmailed into giving cash 

Yes, I was very obviously joking. 

37 minutes ago, Ray said:

Not really a tip though is it!! In your own words Its basically a bribe to stop them throwing your cases in the drink! 

 

Sometimes bribe & tip go hand in hand….

4 hours ago, Ray said:

Must admit i also thought this meant tipping extra got your bags to your room quicker but im glad you cleared it up in post above by saying its to make sure your bags get onboard not quickly as you said.

Which ports would this apply to? 

I would say all US ports. I also can’t confirm what would be considered standard or excessive tip per bag but I do know there are plenty of people who stiff the porters. IMHO, I would say $2 per bag is average, $5 per bag is good and anything above that is excessively good. 

9 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

How does tipping the port side porter get your bags to your room faster? Those guys aren't the ones delivering to the cabin

It doesn’t. Tipping is an insurance policy against your bags ending up in the water next to the ship. 

8 minutes ago, Allen2 said:

Above all - remember to tip the individual who checks your luggage curbside!  In addition to the right thing to do, there are too many stories of bags not showing up on the ship or being misdirected due to 'lost' luggage tags(usually after the porter has been "stiffed").

Yep. $10 per bag usually insures your bag makes it to your stateroom pretty quick. 

Lobster Thermidor at 150 CP is pretty awesome! I would say try both but if you have to choose one it’s 150 CP. 

4 hours ago, AspiringCruisePlanner said:

I wonder if the crew are able to see at a quick glance whether a guest they are serving removed their automatic gratuities.   This could affect the level of service that they provide to their guests, even if that guest had full intent on tipping cash as they go.

Isn’t it easier to just keep the auto gratuity and add cash as desired? My thought is this money is pooled and many crew members rely on it so to pull it has a ripple effect. 

4 hours ago, pheenix99 said:

It's my understanding that some Royal Caribbean ships have cigar lounges. That being said, are they BYO or do they have a selection for sale? What's the selection like?

I believe all the lounges have been converted. You can purchase cigars in the Port Mercantile store on promenade (Oasis class) and located in the duty free shop onboard other class ships. Sadly you can only smoke on pool deck in an isolated section it’s not very exciting. 

6 hours ago, Raiseup151z said:

Does anyone know if Oasis of the seas had any bar which may serve Johnny walker blue label?

 

In nowerign I had the drinking package and one of the special bars had blue label for only $5 up charge (each drink)

I was on Oasis over Thanksgiving and my BIL was getting blue label from the pub on the promenade. Can’t tell you what he was paying w/ drink package though. 

3 hours ago, burbuja0512 said:

Hi,

 

I'm a total cruising newbie and have booked Allure for Aug 6 departure.  I have time to learn and have watched about everything I can find on YouTube.  I've read a bunch and think I'm learning, but am still totally confused about tipping.   Please let me know if I understand the policy.

 

1) I can choose to prepay or pay 18% on board for tips

2) Many people tip above and beyond for good service. even if they prepaid the tips.

 

This makes no sense to me because I am always a good tipper, but usually tip at 20-25%.  If I pre-pay the tips, then I would hypothetically only tip a small amount on board for extra good service.  In some cases, I would imagine this would be just a couple of dollars.  That would make me look cheap.    OR do I just pre-pay and not tip?  18% isn't terrible and if other people aren't tipping extra, would this be the normal thing to do?  All the answers I've seen about this aren't very specific and just say something to the effect of "do what you're comfortable with."    Well, I'm only comfortable tipping how everyone else is doing it.   TBH I think that having to tip on top of a prepay tip seems like a hassle, but I would like to know honestly what to expect.

 

Thanks for your help and for patience with my newbie post.

There is more to the story. The pre-pay prior to voyage goes to the room steward, dining room exc and is pooled as a collective tip. I believe there is an option to either pre-pay this or pay daily onboard off room account. Then you have the 18% that’s added to every single purchase onboard (bar drinks, speciality dining exc). If you tip more then the 18% (which many people including myself do) it’s easy to just add in what you wish on the signed sales receipt. When I buy a bar drink I normally add another $1.00 per beer in addition to the 18% gratuity. The bar tenders do not look at this as “cheap” at all. For speciality dining (family of 4) I will add $50.00 on top of the 18%. In the casino after 10+ beers the tips get better and better! Hope this helps. 

Invicta is horrific. I enjoy nice quality watches and the word “Invicta” is off limits in my house. I don’t get it. 

7 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The heat isn't the issue.  Our summer high last year was 95. But that was with 20% humidity. Not that 70/80% stuff you Floridians swim through

Perhaps, but this probably isn’t what your swimming through in your backyard. The many positives certainly outweigh maybe a few negatives. 

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I could never live in Florida. Hurricanes and heat and humidity. No thanks.

But man that sure would make cruising more convenient.

Maybe when I'm of retirement age I'll change my tune.

We say the same thing about anyone who does not live in SoFL wondering how people can deal with the cold. It’s jacket weather here if the temp drops below 70F. Hurricanes & humidity aside there’s something to be said about an endless Summer. I’ve left reluctantly a few times and visited somewhere with snow and a real Winter and I find myself kissing the ground when we land back at FLL vowing to never leave again. 

I have been in Fort Lauderdale for my entire life and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Once your acclimated to the humidity it’s not even a thing. Hurricanes dodge downtown Fort Lauderdale for some reason we always get lucky! If you invest the money to install impact glass and home solar/generation systems then hurricanes and major storms are almost a non issue. Having access to two major cruise ports is wonderful and gives you the option to book quick weekend cruises year round. The downside is the cost of living in downtown proper is very expensive (well worth it though IMHO). You could always look for something in the surrounding suburbs like Hollywood, Plantation, Miramar or Pompano which offer a lower cost of living (in most cases) and still are in close proximity to Fort Lauderdale/ Miami. 

22 minutes ago, twangster said:

There are some exclusive items on the buffett in Barefoot Beach but otherwise it's the same lounger and same sand as Nellie's Beach next door.  It's the exclusivity that some people seek.  The only perk really is having a decent chance at a lounger (not front row) if you stroll in at 11am.  If it was genpop it would fill up quickly since it is nicer than the ocean facing beach on the opposite side which is rocky and Barefoot Beach is the closest beach to the ship that isn't rocky.  

Beverages still require Seapass cards so no beverage perks there for suite guests.  DX works of course, as do Diamond vouchers now.

Yes the good loungers in the front fill up quick. 

3 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Considering the next phase of CocoCay is going to be an adults only area, they don't see it as important to provide a special area for Suite Guests. 

I think it's awesome that you can sail on a rock bottom rate on a cruise and still be able to pay to experience the Beach Club if you like.

I appreciate that Labadee and CocoCay offer different things.  I haven't experienced Barefoot Beach but from what I've heard it isn't that much of a step up from the general public areas on Labadee, at least not as great of a step up as the Beach Club is on CocoCay.

100% true. The Barefoot beach area is nice but it’s not anything special other then the “special access” if that’s your thing. I enjoyed the beach club at Coco Cay and wouldn’t want that to be suite exclusive at all but rather develop a separate area if that was an option. Personally if we sail suite or not (mostly suite) we prefer to hang around at that amazing pool with the swim up bar anyway and not go to the club. Wow, I think I miss Coco Cay and Labadee about now. 

On 2/5/2022 at 8:20 AM, Edmund said:

Ive heard this rumour, and if its true, it makes sense.  They do it in Labadee, why not Coco Cay?   Suites come at a premium... for some a huge premium, so why should they pay extra for an area like the "Coco Beach Club"?    I walked through there....and it was nice, but IMO not worth the extra $$$.   Its the same sand, the same water, ok they have different loungers  ( some are with cushions and Im sure you must arrive early to get those)  and a nice but small infinity pool that can become crowded.  Along with that a superior offering of food.     The cabanas on the water are ridiculously priced and are for people with money to burn or want to be Fiji tourist wannabes .  Its not the same.  And certainly not worth $2,000 plus IMO.  I like Coco Cay... it needs some refinement. The sand feels artificial. Its not smooth powdery white like the rest of Bahamas.The water is murky along most of the shoreline including the manmade bay.   Ive been there 5 times, and each time someone steps on a sea urchin, and you must watch out for baby sharks, manta rays etc.....  My wife spotted a few of these creatures and now refuses to swim on the shorelines . We go to the bay area where it is netted off to keep the creepy crawlies away.  Personally I enjoy the massive pool area.   All in all I prefer Coco Cay to Labadee .   What say you?

Agree, I think they should have a dedicated suite area like at Labadee instead of offering only the beach club as a premium option. As for the sharks, rays and other creatures they are harmless and add an element of nature distracting you from the artificial nature of the island. I personally think overall they did a great job on coco cay and it’s the top tier private island of the cruise industry. I disagree re: refinement after seeing the private islands offered by the competition. 

5 hours ago, Wayland said:

I’ve never taken a weekend cruise and plan to next weekend for a little getaway. I’m going on Independence of the Seas. Do the weekend cruises still have shows on the ship? Such as Grease, ice skating 

The quick weekend getaways are the best especially on great ships like Indy. Enjoy 

On 1/20/2022 at 6:23 PM, Cruisin and Boozin said:

Boardwalk Dog House!

I don’t know how I forgot about the boardwalk dog house! That’s our first stop once we get on the ship. +1 for the doghouse.

Great spot! One of our favorites. I’ve mentioned in some previous posts to bring water shoes if you are planning on getting off that lounger and going into the ocean at bare foot beach (RC should consider changing the name). The beach is blanketed with small rocks & shells that make it a painful entry/exit into the pristine water.