Ladesign

22 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

If that is a genuine question rather than a red flag (text) to a bull, then my view is gratuities are what we are asked to give and tips are what we choose to give.

 

in other words gratuities arrive on the account tips come from my pocket. 

 

But as @Trimone says lets not turn this thread into "one of those" tipping threads.

Thank you for providing clarification . Sorry if the colour of the text caused offence - was messing about with the various text settings just to see what one can do 🧐

On 2/4/2021 at 1:14 PM, Trimone said:

Oh No. 

This Topic is getting close to TIPPING!!!

PLEASE STOP 

What is the difference between ‘gratuities’ and ‘tipping’ when it comes to cruises ??

1 hour ago, ScratchTheRat said:

The problem is, if you do this, the crew are apparently made to surrender those tips you give them and they are added to the shared pot.

 

I had heard that about Celebrity too - but having got to know some of the Managers that theory  was debunked- as they said there is no way of the cruise line knowing what had been given to the individual members of staff

Hi there

We are new to NCL , having sailed on a dozen of so Celebrity.  Our Canadian friend has refused to join us on a 15 night Oanama canal as he says the food & service in the main dining areas is “lousy”

I am fairly confident this is a bit of an overstatement and would welcome views from others .  We already have a 5 night spec restaurant package and will upgrade to more if the main dining room isn’t up to our tastes

Would also welcome any thoughts /tips on sailing with NCL 

Thank you in advance 

Chris 

52 minutes ago, Ladesign said:

Absolutely correct my friend.  It is surprising how a simple question from my learned friend https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/profile/760378-mufcok/  bright out so many highly opinionated responses - I had already calculated that the package was worth it for my wife & I & had been told by NCL that Starbucks was included which is an added bonus.  The reference to Cekebrity upgrades being of comparison is at best naive and at worst shows a  high level of stupidity 

typo bright. Should have been ‘brings’

apologies 

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Please do the analysis of your break even point. You would have to buy a lot of coffee to break even with the outrageous upgrade price. For most people, it is [a lot] cheaper to just pay for the coffee and any drink costs over $15. 

Glass of Veuve is $35  couple of coffees $10 pays for the upgrade - as the Meerkat says “simples “. Not to mention a bottle of Veuve at lunchtime between us , fruit juices , bottled water & a nice port at end if dinner - let’s hope they have Stilton onboard

On 2/1/2021 at 9:24 AM, ziggyuk said:

 

Yes you are all covered with a UK booking on drinks and dining gratuities, additional tips are optional.
As you probably know the main daily gratuities can either be paid in advance or added to your bill on the ship.

We are new to NCL so unsure about ‘’main daily gratuities’. On Celebrity we have the gratuities removed from the account and then distribute the amount (plus more sometimes) to the people who we feel deserve it (we learned that the Maitre D’s were receiving a fortune & generally stood around doing very little so didn’t want our hard earned money going to them). 

Dies NCL allow us to do the same ??

4 hours ago, mdempsey78 said:

It is hilarious how so many people assume that everyone drinks exactly way they themselves do, enjoy the things they themselves enjoy and find value only in the things they themselves value.

 

The up-charge on a glass of Veuve alone is $15.  I can drink more than 2 glasses I assure you...and that’s before lunch. Sometimes before the end of breakfast.  
 

We drink good wine and good scotch and a lot of it.  And while I expect we will be enjoying ourselves immensely each and every day, at no point will we be “sloshed.”  Well, not many points at least and even then, you’d never know it.
 

The upgraded beverage package is a no brainer for us.  Just as NOT getting it is a no brainer for others.  
 

What’s annoying is everyone who speaks so authoritatively about what “makes sense” for anyone other than themselves. 

Absolutely correct my friend.  It is surprising how a simple question from my learned friend https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/profile/760378-mufcok/  bright out so many highly opinionated responses - I had already calculated that the package was worth it for my wife & I & had been told by NCL that Starbucks was included which is an added bonus.  The reference to Cekebrity upgrades being of comparison is at best naive and at worst shows a  high level of stupidity 

On 12/19/2019 at 2:40 PM, brockmom said:

Anyone know what staff are on the Summit ?

we are cruising end of Jan.

thank you

 Brockmom 

No idea who the staff are but nice to see some people’s from Canadia on the boat trip 🇨🇦🇨🇦  We have 4 such Canucks in our party - 2 from Niagara & 2 from somewhere 🤪. Me now a Brexit national but originally from moose jaw 

see you in less than a fortnight ( for the foreigners on this forum that is 2 weeks 🤣🤣)

On more than 1 cruise we have had issues obtaining Vill Maira Sauvignon Blanc.  On our last cruise the wonderful Sommelier maged to get us some every night until the penultimate night.  He usually left the bottle on the table for us and was always chatting, but this time  he very hurriedly poured our galsses from an opened bottle and virtually ran off.  I tased mine and said nothing.  SWMBO tasted hers and immediately said "that isnt Villa Maria its that Wairau Cove "  I went over and spoke to the Head Sommelier and said I found it completely wrong- "and do not blame the Sommelier as I am sure he knew but had been instructed."  Suprise suprise a very flustered sommelier arrived at our table and said it wasnt a different wine and that he had broken the seal when he poured ours.  This was a blatant lie but we were convinced that he was following instructions. 

I formally raised the issue with the F & B Director who denied his staff were decanting wine into other bottles- he seemd a tad concerned to learn we are back on the same ship in January 2019.  He said he would ensure we were looked after with wine and we were not to hesitate to contact him if there are any issues.

We had suspicions on the January 2018 cruise that this was also happening (we were with friends from Canadia who only drink reasonable NZ Sauv. Blanc)  We pointed out to the then F & B Director that Wairau Cove is often on sale in UK for £5 (Tesco) but Villa Maria is never sold below £7 and is the biggest selling NZ sauv. blanc in the UK.  He smiled when I suggested that perhaps Miami had bought zillions of Wairau Cove and are now having to be creative to get passengers to drink it.

I know that Villa Maria isnt the best Marlborough Sauv. Blanc, but it is OK for us- would prefer Cloudy Bay but wouldnt expect that on a package.  The Ensemble lounge had 'The Ned' on the menu  (also acceptable) but they dint have any for the whole cruise!

Her's hoping that they have plenty of Villa Maria in January or the F & B guy is going to get earache from both UK & Canadia 

On 11/17/2018 at 3:00 AM, RodPat said:

For everyone who loved Simona Stumberger she is now HD on Princess.  Wishing her all the success she deserves.

 

Pat

Celebrity's loss is a Princess gain IMHO

On 11/17/2018 at 12:00 PM, chamima said:

 

Do you happen to know which ship she's currently on?

Thank you for the update on Constellation.

 

 

 

I really hope that I am reading this correctly.

Damir has just rejoined Silhouette as F&B Director ? Getting in tomorrow and hope that the best F&B Director is on the boat- dying to hear his thoughts on the World Cup especially if any England Supporters are in earshot ( I am English by the way 🤪)

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The punishment for high treason used to be "hanged, drawn and quartered", what is the sentence these days?

Haha 🤣🤣. Backed the winners though [emoji106]

Just a pity that France were too strong for Croatia. Even die hard England fans would agree that France would have humiliated England had they got through

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If anyone knows the wonderful Damir tell him that at least 1 Englishman is rooting for Croatia tonight - he knows him as ‘Mr Villa Maria ‘ 🤣🤣🤪

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sorry the heading is wrong it should be Damir not Damien [emoji35][emoji35][emoji35]

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If anyone is currently on a ship with the wonderful Croatian F & B Director , Damir please tell him that there is one English guy rooting for Croatia tonight - ‘Mr Villa Maria’ as he calls him 🤣🤣🤣

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The happy hour is a genuinely FREE perk for Elite members on Celebrity and Diamonds on Royal. We love Celebrity and Royal for this. Do other Cruise lines have anything similar?

Not sure anything is FREE the cost of these ‘perks’ are a tiny %age of what one paid to get to the ‘elite’ level( OMG I hate that label - some snobs actually think it makes them ‘elite’

Occasionally go to the lounge but find that since the intro of drinks packages less people attend and all one seems to hear is how Celebrity has gone downhill blah blah blah. I usually smile & ask why one doesn’t go with another company. One lady asked how I could be elite with that sort of attitude 🤪. She was furious when I said it was my first boat trip paid for by the UK Government in recognition of 25 years of unemployment benefits.🤪🤪

suppose it’s nice to get some socks washed for ‘free’.

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Murano - but Qsine was great ladt cruise , especially in a group of 8 or so

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I was really pleased to have had Sue Denning as the cruise director recently. Even if I hadn't liked her, what's the point of moaning about it on here? You can't chose your cruise director in advance.

by the same logic what is the point of coming on here and saying how wonderful a CD is?

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Got off Silhouette on October 11. sorry to leave the wonderful staff and much improved food.

 

Was really happy to get away from the outdated and patronising CD- it was like living in the UK tv series Hi de Hi [emoji47]

 

suppose best I can say is she is like Marmite .

 

 

 

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Was really happy to get away from the outdated and patronising CD- it was like living in the UK tv series Hi de Hi

 

suppose best I can say is she is like Marmite .

 

 

 

OK I get it you are not a fan of Sue but do you have to make this comment about your dislike every time. We all know how you feel!! A lot of us like her.

I thought this was ‘cruise critic’ [emoji47]. One would expect to see differing opinions . the tone of this thread is that one is free to say something / someone is great but not free to opine opposite opinions !

I note that my first sentence was omitted from emmasgran ‘quote’

“sorry to leave the wonderful staff”.

This was our best cruise in terms of both staff and food quality. Perhaps the CD’s annoying traits were amplified because the rest of the staff were so good.

others are entitled to disagree with my opinions but i do not accept that I should not voice them.

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Just off Silhouette and LOVED Sue as CD!!

 

 

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Got off Silhouette on October 11. sorry to leave the wonderful staff and much improved food.

Was really happy to get away from the outdated and patronising CD- it was like living in the UK tv series Hi de Hi [emoji47]

suppose best I can say is she is like Marmite .

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Awesome to hear Captain George has indeed returned. :hearteyes: He was fabulous on our sailings on the Century and I'll be researching Silhouette cruises.

yes the captain is george-see him occasionally walking round the boat , doesn’t stop to talk with anyone as other Captains often do. Very clear factual announcements

F&B Director , Demir, seems to be everywhere always interacting as is the GRM John and the Hotel Director

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Since you love to derail other threads with this topic, have you yet taken the time to tell the staff that you are removing your auto gratuities and not planning to pay anything additional for their service?

removed the autograts first day -no issues/questions.

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Currently on sil. Staff are the best ever - really friendly , even the restaurant & bar Managers are working and helping staff when busy and interacting with guests

shame that the Cruise Director Ms Denning spoils it with her patronising attitude and Holiday camp style

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