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First Cruise this Sunday!


Matt Mullen

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The gratuity that you pre pay is split up for all the workers.

You can leave what ever you want for room attendants. Their tip is included in the pre paid tips. But some people leave a little extra if they ask the room stewards for extra stuff. Remember, anything that you buy onboard has the gratuity added and that also goes to the workers.

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Just a couple of tips/ things you may or may not already have packed:

- magnetIc hooks for extra hanging of things. Especially useful to hang wet items in the shower. 
- highlighter for the cruise compass. We like to look at it each night for the next day and highlight things to do. 
- with what is happening in the world, I would pack some of your own hand sanitizer and maybe a small spray can of Lysol.  While there is lots of sanitizer on board you may want a small one to carry with you on excursions.  I’d also pack extra medicine and some laundry tablets in the small chance something happens and your Cruise is delayed in coming home. I will be packing some of these extras for our April Harmony cruise. 

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13 hours ago, Matt Mullen said:

On Oasis departing this Sunday for our first cruise? Any last minute tips or hints? I feel like I have done a lot of research but still have that "did I pack everything?" feeling. Does the app have luggage tags? I thought I read that...

The one thing I would say is don't forget to relax. Big mistake on our first cruise. Came home from our vacation, needing a vacation.

Happy Cruising!

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I always make and bring a small emergency bag with tweezers, bandaids alcohol pads, Advil, a small bottle of Listerine. Just in case "things" that are great to have. Since you are going now maybe a few Nyquil/Dayquil capsules. If you have them you won't need them!! I never start my sailing without a type of Clorox or Lysol wipe for my cabin.  Enjoy your sailing. ?

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17 hours ago, Matt Mullen said:

Any last minute tips or hints

Welcome aboard Matt! I recommend you study the deck plans and print the ones you like. Here's a link you can use: https://www.smartcruiser.com/royal-caribbean/oasis-of-the-seas/decks/. I like to do this on a cruise ship we have never been on before. That way we don't spend a lot of time looking for a restaurant/bar, etc. Have a great cruise! :27_sunglasses:

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4 hours ago, FManke said:

The one thing I would say is don't forget to relax. Big mistake on our first cruise. Came home from our vacation, needing a vacation.

Happy Cruising!

Underrated tip right here. You definitely can't do everything, so just relax and go with the flow. As they might say on another cruise line, hakuna mutata. 

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17 hours ago, Matt Mullen said:

I also want to add that as someone from a restaurant industry background I like to tip a bit better but have no experience. Who receives the auto-gratuity and how much should I tip room attendants?

I'm in the food industry as well (make wedding cakes). Since I'm self employed, I set my pricing to include my salary draws, and I don't expect tips. It's really a nice surprise though when a couple feels I have gone the extra mile for them and gives me something extra when I deliver on the wedding day. We look at our tips on a cruise the same way. I treat the standard daily gratuity as the base line. Your basic good service won't get you an extra tip - you earned the daily gratuity rate at that point.

For our room attendant, if they just clean the room, bring us ice every one in a while, and leave a couple towel animals we don't feel that warrants anything extra. When they personally check in face to face daily (sometimes multiple times a day), take care of every request, and make extra towel animals for the kids (one room steward made us 12 in a 7 day sailing!) we'll give an extra $50-75 for the 4 or 5 of us. We haven't had a 'bad' room steward, but when you get a great one, it makes a difference.

Same goes for the MDR. We have had waiters do the basic level of service which we don't tip extra for. And then we have had waiters who would remember our drink orders from the first night, fulfill special requests in the same dinner service, and have a couple of different jokes or tricks for the kids every single night. We even had one MDR waiter that worked the Windjammer at lunch, and when he saw us he would stop what he was doing and would find us a table. We tip them an extra $25-50.

Bartenders - if I can find one that mixes the Kraken into the strawberry and not just float it on top of my Lava Flow, well, he's getting a buck or two every time I order. ?

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10 minutes ago, melmar02 said:

I'm in the food industry as well (make wedding cakes). Since I'm self employed, I set my pricing to include my salary draws, and I don't expect tips. It's really a nice surprise though when a couple feels I have gone the extra mile for them and gives me something extra when I deliver on the wedding day. We look at our tips on a cruise the same way. I treat the standard daily gratuity as the base line. Your basic good service won't get you an extra tip - you earned the daily gratuity rate at that point.

For our room attendant, if they just clean the room, bring us ice every one in a while, and leave a couple towel animals we don't feel that warrants anything extra. When they personally check in face to face daily (sometimes multiple times a day), take care of every request, and make extra towel animals for the kids (one room steward made us 12 in a 7 day sailing!) we'll give an extra $50-75 for the 4 or 5 of us. We haven't had a 'bad' room steward, but when you get a great one, it makes a difference.

Same goes for the MDR. We have had waiters do the basic level of service which we don't tip extra for. And then we have had waiters who would remember our drink orders from the first night, fulfill special requests in the same dinner service, and have a couple of different jokes or tricks for the kids every single night. We even had one MDR waiter that worked the Windjammer at lunch, and when he saw us he would stop what he was doing and would find us a table. We tip them an extra $25-50.

Bartenders - if I can find one that mixes the Kraken into the strawberry and not just float it on top of my Lava Flow, well, he's getting a buck or two every time I order. ?

Great thoughts. Former food industry guy here as well. I carry a handful of $5s, $10s and 20$ to tip crew members on the spot whenever we experience an incredible hospitality interaction. I like to tip the room steward a $20 on the first day when I ask for a wine opener (we bring two bottles of vino on embarkation day). I also slip a $10 to a server when they open one of our bottles of wine for us in a restaurant. I'll typically tip more money to the room steward during the cruise if I happen to run into them as well, just to thank them for doing a terrific job of making our vacation great.

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1 hour ago, Neesa said:

I always make and bring a small emergency bag with tweezers, bandaids alcohol pads, Advil, a small bottle of Listerine. Just in case "things" that are great to have. Since you are going now maybe a few Nyquil/Dayquil capsules. If you have them you won't need them!! I never start my sailing without a type of Clorox or Lysol wipe for my cabin.  Enjoy your sailing. ?

Add safety pins to that list !!  I always seem to need one for some reason or another.

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We're sailing with you!!! We can't wait to board Oasis this Sunday!!!!!!!

    Don't worry about a thing, because you're on a Royal Caribbean cruise which is the most carefree vacation in the world. Just have a ball!!!   You can do everything or nothing at all!!!  Oasis is wonderful and spectacular!!!   If you need anything, there are staff members ready to help you.                        

To answer your question, I only see luggage tags on line and not on the ap.  If you don't have luggage tags when you arrive at port, porters are there to fill out the tags for you. 

    

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I went on Oasis for my first cruise too, last December.  I would say take it easy and walk around and explore.  I didn't do half the things I wanted but I was always doing something fun.

My biggest advice.  Learn where the restrooms are.  There's nothing worse than having some drinks and needing to go pee and not knowing where to go.  It took me a day and a half to two to learn the ship layout.

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4 hours ago, melmar02 said:

I'm in the food industry as well (make wedding cakes). Since I'm self employed, I set my pricing to include my salary draws, and I don't expect tips. It's really a nice surprise though when a couple feels I have gone the extra mile for them and gives me something extra when I deliver on the wedding day. We look at our tips on a cruise the same way. I treat the standard daily gratuity as the base line. Your basic good service won't get you an extra tip - you earned the daily gratuity rate at that point.

For our room attendant, if they just clean the room, bring us ice every one in a while, and leave a couple towel animals we don't feel that warrants anything extra. When they personally check in face to face daily (sometimes multiple times a day), take care of every request, and make extra towel animals for the kids (one room steward made us 12 in a 7 day sailing!) we'll give an extra $50-75 for the 4 or 5 of us. We haven't had a 'bad' room steward, but when you get a great one, it makes a difference.

Same goes for the MDR. We have had waiters do the basic level of service which we don't tip extra for. And then we have had waiters who would remember our drink orders from the first night, fulfill special requests in the same dinner service, and have a couple of different jokes or tricks for the kids every single night. We even had one MDR waiter that worked the Windjammer at lunch, and when he saw us he would stop what he was doing and would find us a table. We tip them an extra $25-50.

Bartenders - if I can find one that mixes the Kraken into the strawberry and not just float it on top of my Lava Flow, well, he's getting a buck or two every time I order. ?

Ugh, yes.. I hate how thy just float the alcohol on top of my daiquiris.. Its just not the same! LOL

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