allygray Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hi although I have done a number of cruises in Australian waters - this will be my first US Cruise on the Oasis of the Seas in July. I have a number of questions - not sure if there is a thread that answers all newbies questions or just a matter of asking here. I will shoot a few and await replies..... (thanks in advance for all replies) 1. Is there a roll call board for each cruise? 2. Gratuities - being an Australian it is not our custom to tip - but I understand this is the norm in the USA. Can anyone give me a head up on how much, who to tip, and ramifications if I do not tip the expected?? Aussies tend to tip at end of cruise for waiter/s and room attendants? is this the same? 3. Photos on board - is there a photo package, or do photos cost individually? any recent pricings? 4. Bingo is a biggy on the Aussie ships - is this the same in the US and what are the costs? 5. Shows on board - I have read somewhere you need to prebook - when will this take place (not available yet through the planner (not sure if too early).... is there a cost involved going to the shows? If can't book online - what are the chances of booking whilst on board? Is it possible to see most shows or is there too many? 6. Again I read somewhere that you can take wine on board with you..... is this the case? if so, is there a limit per person? Again, appreciate the answers - if there is a "newbie" thread please direct me to it..... Happy cruising Cruislings!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 I'll take a stab at a few of your questions: 1. There are no roll calls here, but both Cruise Critic and the ShipMate app have roll calls. Personally, I've found the ones on Cruise Critic to be more active and have had some good experiences there. 2. If you do the prepaid option, then you're pretty much set as drinks are automatically charged a gratuity. The only other tipping situations would be for room service and the porters at the port who handle your luggage. 3. An 8x10 was $23 in July as best as I remember. There is also a photo package available, but I don't remember the costs. Scott had the photo package, so he might be able to share about it. 4. You'll find it played every day on the ship. I haven't played in a long time as I don't think it's worth what they charge. I don't remember the pricing, but I remember it seeming expensive. 5. You'll be able to pre book the shows somewhere between 60-90 days out. 6. Two bottles of wine per cabin, not per adult. There's also no corkage fee if you choose to take a bottle to dinner. Matt and Marc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lildawgscottFL Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Scott will be happy to chime in...tomorrow morning. Bedtime now. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lildawgscottFL Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Hi Ally!"...this will be my first US Cruise on the Oasis of the Seas in July." What a way to start!!! The Oasis Of The Seas!!! My favorite class of ships!!! You will have an amazing time!!!"...not sure if there is a thread that answers all newbies questions..." I'm actually not sure about that. Matt would know. (I wish we could "tag" people on here, a la facebook tagging.)# 1 - Doc's absolutely right about # 1. But, I still prefer facebook to both. Ship Mate, however, is an amazing app, especially when you learn everything it can do, and Cruise Critic is a great source of information, although I do not enjoy their boards. These boards are far better! Facebook is the most real-time, the most searchable, and the most easily followed - among other reasons for liking it. Usually someone will create a cruise-specific group, like I did for my Navigator cruise in April 2017: https://www.facebook.com/groups/101267193569846/. Often, the Cruise Critic Roll Calls will have an affiliated facebook group anyway, so why bother with CC?# 2 - First, my disclaimer: I am a bartender at Dockside Margaritas in Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I live on tips. So, admittedly, I am biased. That said, I can still present an objective argument as to why tips really are not included when you purchase the drink package. Yes, technically, they are. But, it is a set dollar amount regardless of how much you drink or do not drink. For example, let's say that the total gratuity amount is $50 (it's not, but it's close to that - round numbers are just easier, obviously). Then let's say you get 10 drinks over the course of your cruise. Each bartender would get $5 per drink. But, you never would get just 10 drinks, because to break even on the drink package, you would need to drink 5-8 drinks per day (easy for this guy to do! not so easy for others). So now let's say now that you get 50 drinks. Each bartender would get $1 per drink. You see how their tip just dropped a lot? But still, you probably wouldn't get just 50 drinks, because then why buy the package? You didn't come out ahead and you should have just bought the drinks individually. BUT!!! It gets worse. They tip share! Not only do they tip share with the people at their specific bar - let's say R Bar - but they also split with other people at other bars - let's say the On Air Bar. The bars are grouped, so stronger bars will help support the staff at weaker ones. So when you give the bartender $1, you're really giving that bartender $1 divided by the amount of people sharing that $1. In the case of the R Bar and On Air folks, that's split at least 6 ways. So instead of the traditional 15-20% tip a tipped crew member should receive, they're receiving something like 2-3%. I don't know about you, but I think the service I receive from the Royal Caribbean crew is worth far more than 2-3%. So what we do is leave a buck per drink on top of the "included gratuity" - in some cases two bucks for more difficult to make drinks, like mojitos,etc. At the R Bar, the bar we spent the most amount of time at, we ended up giving them a lot more than that. But, we weren't just paying for someone to put liquid in a cup. They provided such a unique experience that we felt the need to say thank you in a big way. Remember, if you do not do the drink package, you still have an included gratuity. We always round that up as well, again because they earn more than they're being given.One contrary point. If the bartender isn't happy to see you, seems to begrudgingly pour the liquid in the cup, and doesn't seem to care if you are there or not, feel free to stiff the guy! Well, okay, maybe not stiff. He still lives on tips. So maybe just a bad tip. ;) Just because I'm in the industry, doesn't mean I don't recognize that there are horrible servers and bartenders out there.Speaking of servers, you should also give them something more. Calculate the amount of money you would have to spend for any meal based on the prices you'd pay on land, and then consider how much of a tip you'd give your land-based server - 15-20%. Then consider how much you're giving your sea-based server. Then, don't be a curmudgeon! If you can afford to spend thousands on a cruise, find a few bucks for the service you're receiving. If you can't afford it, maybe you can't afford the cruise in the first place.Finally, don't forget to tip something anytime someone goes above and beyond for you. If you're stateroom attendant does his job and nothing more, then he is already being tipped. But, if the deck patrol guy does something WOWing for you, give him a few. He probably doesn't get that often - you'll make his day! If he WOWed you, WOW him!!! Instant Karma!!!# 3 - There are definitely packages available on board. We purchased the unlimited photos package WITHOUT the digital copies (we just scanned them in). We took advantage of a deal they had whereby the $349 package became $299. We ended up getting about 150 photos for that price. We could have posed for more, but we chose not to (at some point, I'm done being a super model, ya know?). But, we were already down to $2 a photo, so we definitely got our money's worth. This is the company that Royal uses for the photos: http://www.mycruisephotos.com/ You DO NOT have to pre-purchase to get the savings. It's the same discounts once you get on board.# 4 - I have no idea. I've never played.# 5 - DEFINITELY pre-book, but there is no cost. The shows are included in your cruise price.# 6 - Doc's got it right again!I hope that helps!P.S. Doc, feel free to private message me the next time you "tag" me, in case I miss it. I don't want to disappoint! :D Matt and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Great answers Kris & Scott! lildawgscottFL and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Thanks, Matt! Welcome back. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 P.S. Doc, feel free to private message me the next time you "tag" me, in case I miss it. I don't want to disappoint! :D Where would the fun be in that? ;) lildawgscottFL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allygray Posted November 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Thanks Doc and Scott!! Appreciate your insight and my first experience on the friendliness I have been told I would be greeted with by my fellow US friends.... I will endeavour to find a facebook page for my cruise :) lildawgscottFL and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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