AJ's Girl

3 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Ok, got an email, all signed up.  Excited now.  Also we are booked for September 5th, so don’t know what we will do about that one.  Let’s plan a meet up.  We can meet in the “ winner’s circle “ LOL

Marietta

We are also booked for November 7th....lol!  You are much closer than us though.  Hey, it's booked, so go!!!!!

I too will be on the Oasis!  We are driving from Pittsburgh!  SO EXCITED!  You can follow us on Instagram, You Tube and TicTok.  We will post as often as we can!

ME!  I have a B2B Nov 14th......Fingers and toes crossed!!!

On 2/21/2019 at 9:27 PM, bagadonitz said:

I was on FOS Jan 27th to Feb 3rd. 

 

I echo this review.  The service was fantastic as was the service all around.  Ship was showing her age but not distractingly so.  Only small gripe was poorly stocked bars which seemed to not be able to keep supplies for certain drinks (but I always managed to not leave empty handed).  This was my 5th cruise with RC.

 

I didn't have The Key but for that terminal, if I had paid for it, I would have looked for my money back.  The keys were with the pinnacles, followed by the emeralds, diamond+, etc. but after about the first 15 people or so went through after they opened the door, it was a circus and basically everyone just went on.  I thought they did a terrible job of that, bordering on dangerous.  It was much better coming off.  I didn't see how the key worked for coming off but if it helped me avoid the long customs line I would probably do it next time.

 

"I just returned from our 7 day cruise (ABC) on FOS"

 

Dumb question I'm sure, but what does ABC mean in this context?

I have to agree with you.  I was on the sailing right after you.  On day 2 Mint was nowhere to be found on the ship!  On day 5 my brand on Vodka was out.  I found this to be crazy!  We are Diamond Members and have never had this issue before.  We bought the drink package, and although like you we never left the bar empty handed, it was VERY frustrating not to be able to drink what we wanted.

As for the Key Program, as a Diamond Member this is also something that is very frustrating to me.  I had to earn my right to board early, etc.  Now....you are just able to buy your way in....yet we get nothing in return for it?  Just doesn't seem fair.  Trust me, I am not taking it out on you, Good for you that can.  Just not fair to us.
The staff was AMAZING!  If you are at the Pool bar....Please tell Nitro that Sissy and AJ said HELLLO!!!!!

This was a MAJOR issue for me on the Feb 3rd sailing on the Freedom.  I LOVE Mojito's and buy the drink package mostly because that is my drink of choice.  On day 2 of the cruise mint was nowhere to be found on the ship!  How can that be?  I was told that there was some at Boleros but who wants to sit at an inside bar all day on a cruise?  So, at night I made my way there and was told that they ran out there as well.  
I wrote a letter to Royal and filled out the Survey as well, but have yet to hear a peep.  I am a Diamond Member who LOVES RCCL, but this...along with a few other things that happened on this sailing are making me think twice!

Good Luck!

WOW! If I wasn't confused BEFORE I read this post...I sure am now...lol! Thanks for all the info. :-)

My goodness, where in the world were you headed that more than 3 months out there were NO available flights at all after 10:20??? That seems very odd.

 

 

Sorry, let me clarify....there was nothing other than a 8:10PM or a 10:10 PM and I didn't want to have to wait around all day.

As with most things (as in my experience), I think it depends on the bartender and the mood they are in at the time.

I have a 10:20 in Feb and I am in a panic. I never book that early of a flight but it was all that was available at the time. Fingers crossed that we will be OK!

Actually he never said no gratuities, nor did he say he wouldn't pay them on the daily basis of the bill. He asked if they should PREPAY them, that morphed into the whole usual debate, and shunning of telling them they are cheap, or cheating the staff,or how horror stories of staff getting even for the auto grats being remove.

 

Original post....

 

"My wife and I are going on Oasis of the Seas and we have an option to prepay gratuities before the sail date. We are NOT going to main dining room at all and no specialty dining either. My wife wants to do Windjammer buffet for dinner. (My wife wants what she wants!)

 

Should we prepay gratuities?"

 

 

 

 

I always find it interesting that at any other place you stay a gratuity is not assumed, but service is expected none the less, but on a cruise it is demanded by people on this board in advance on a bill and assumed to be gotten. (I'll put on my flame proof suit now;p) If I removed the auto tips and got bad service for it, yep I'd leave nothing, I have removed them and done it the way I want and have never had that happen but if it did, I would complain and I would not leave a thing:mad:. Service is what you are hired to do, not some thing that guarantees a tip, and yes I have been a waitress, $.73/hr at the time got a raise to $.83 at one point, in Florida where northerners came and left small tips because up north was paid better. :o

I totally agree!!!

I haven't seen Diamond included in the invites for helipad sailaway.

Well, BOO!...lol

Not totally on topic, but I wish that if you purchased the drink package they would give you something else in place of the 3 free drinks. JMO.

The invite was in our cabin on boarding day. It was awesome.

Thank you!

So glad you are having such a great time, and thanks for taking the time to share with all of us!

Riiiiight. In other words, you MAYBE tip the server who brings you a drink. But I would all but guarantee you aren't handing out tips constantly to every server in the WJ you interact with.

 

It's tacky and unnecessary to remove tips. You aren't helping anyone. I'd wager you end up tipping less than the prepaid gratuities.

You are WAY off. We actually tip MORE than the suggested amount by the end of the sailing. I am in the hospitality business, so I totally understand how hard everyone works onboard the ship. I personally don't see why I would have to tip the head waiter and Maitre D in the MDR when I don't go there. I would much rather that money go to the people that I do interact with and I enjoy the appreciation that they feel when I go out of my way for them...as many go out of their way for us. I'm not saying that everyone should do as I do, or feel as I feel. Just a suggestion. If you don't like it, there is no need to comment, just move on. Thank you!

So do you go out of your way to tip everyone in WJ?

 

How do you tip the behind the scenes personnel?

 

You are NOT tipping all those that serve you.

We do tip the servers in Windjammer as well as those who may bring us drinks at the pool, theater, etc.

I didn't say that we don't tip. Quite the contrary, I think. We tip more people than most would even think about.

I know they don't like to tell you this, but you can go to Guest Services and have the gratuities removed from your account. We do this everytime we sail. We don't go to the dining room often if at all. We like to hand our tips to the people that we think deserve them. I actually pre-tip some people on the first day. I hand them a thank you card with either a calling card or cash inside, just thanking them in advance for making our trip wonderful. We always get great service and tip again at the end of the sailing.

Do you get invites in your Cabin for the sail away? I wonder if Diamond would be included?!

Our absolute favorite was the Tuna Pita, but I haven't seen that on the menu in years! Wish they would bring it back. No matter how stuffed we were, we always ordered that when we went back to the cabin at night!

I was approved for some refer a friend credits. is there a place i can see this prior to my sailing?

I referred 2 cabins on our upcoming cruise. How/when did you find out you were receiving the credits?

I actually got mine much faster than I anticipated. 3 days!

Here is the reply my TA got from Royal...

The codes are automatically added into the reservation for the Dine. Drink. Discover amenities. They will get a welcome letter in their stateroom describing how the program works and how they will retrieve their complimentary lunch offer and such. The wine will already be placed inside their room upon arrival.

I then said cruise critic says it will end Dec 2017 and this is what they came back with

She will receive the amenity. the offer might change year to year, but the program will continue.

We are booked on Oasis in April 2018 in a Boardwalk room and the description for the room definitely said Eat Play Dine package. When I asked my TA to confirm that we had the perks, she said that the RCCL agent said it didn't apply to our room. BUT, the very room we booked, clearly included it in the description. If it wasn't applicable to that sailing, it shouldn't be in the description of the room.

I would print the description out, or take a screen shot and show that to them when you get onboard. That's crazy!

I emailed my TA, so I will let you know what she comes back with. We are on the Allure Feb 4th.

No, that's what caused my initial question, it wasn't in any of my cruise docs, and it wasn't discussed when I booked. It is just a perks package you get if you are in a neighborhood balcony, I guess.

 

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Interesting...thank you!

Is this a rate code you had to book under or is it available to anyone booked in Neighborhood balconies? I am cruising in Feb 2018 also and was wondering if it is available?