wowzz

I think you'll find that the number of berths is now higher than it was three years ago. The older, smaller uneconomic ships have gone, so the current fleet is now more profitable. The issue now is the interest on the debt incurred during Covid.

So, if the crew know the individuals who have removed the autotips, will they work harder for those individuals, in the expectation that they will get a large cash tip ? And I know in such situations tips are meant to be handed in, but if you get given a $100 tip, there must be a temptation to keep, say $20, for yourself.

To be fair, "it" has been over for a while. We cruised in 2021, and had two cruises this year. Many on this forum will have done substantially more. What stopped you cruising this year ?

Too late at night to do the maths, but have Carnival actually reduced their passenger occupancy by 18% ?

Only if you are wearing clean pyjamas, according to my parents some 65 years ago !

Happy Nincompoopas to you all !

Only applies to hand luggage.

Although the crew appreciation is paid into a fleet wide pool, so the crew on board would only be impacted on a minuscule level. But I do agree, that removing the crew appreciation when the problem is not of their making, is perhaps not the way to go.

Hope you get it soon. I don't want to be a party pooper, but it took Ford longer to get my Puma to me from the docks, than it took for the Puma to travel from Rumania to the UK.

John - not sure if I should thank you or blame you, but ever since you wrote this I have been mulling over the Princess July 2023 Baltic cruise, versus our Britannia Baltic cruise, booked for September 2023. After much toing and froing, we finally took the decision to cancel Britannia, and today we have booked on Princess. Our prevarication has probably cost us, with a higher final cost, but we now have a better cabin, and a more interesting itinerary. Quite port intensive, but some of the ports are small enough to just stroll around, and of course we have the new "improved" Princess Plus. All we have to do now is see if we can find a P&O cruise that sails prior to September 2024, to which we can switch our deposit (admittedly only just over £200). Think we'll wait and hope for some price drops next year.

Interesting that you chose that description ! I just think that the crew would prefer money to pay for the education of their children, looking after their parents etc. If you think giving cash makes all employees prostitutes, fair enough, but that is not my opinion, and I guess everyone else who gives cash feels the same.

Sorry if I was terse, but you did seem to be implying that my figures were plucked out of thin air ! Anyway, moving on ! I am certainly not implying that people should remove the autotips. However, other Carnival brands have removed autotips completely, and the various Princess packages incorporate gratuities, so no opting out is possible. Seems to me that there is a gentle slide into the incorporation of autotips into the total cruise fare - which woukd be good news.

Excellent points. Which is why we take as little of value as possible when going ashore. To be fair, passports are of little value to the average pickpocket/mugger etc. They really want cash or credit cards. Unfortunately people tend to keep their wallets/purses together with their passport, so if they get robbed, they lose everything.

For goodness sake ! Just a generalisation. But, as you ask, in round figures Autotips = $15 per person per day Ships in fleet = 15 Therefore $1 per passenger goes into the fleet tip pool on a daily basis. I have no idea how many crew members are in the tip pool, but certainly more than 100 ! So, the impact on an individual crew member if autotips are removed, is less than 1c per day. Clear enough ?

I guess the question is, would the staff prefer $20 or a bag of candy ?

That has always been the case in the UK and the EU for the last twenty years or so, and Rome should have exercised the same restrictions. Yes, the rules are a pain, but they are well publicised, and not difficult to follow. Just because the US has certain rules, you should not expect the rest of the world to follow suit. As Brits, we fly back and forwards to Europe a lot - we understand the rules and have no problems at security. We flew back from Lanzarote two weks ago - thousands of passengers flying back to mainland Europe all with their lipsticks, toothpaste etc in plastic bags ready for security. Quick and speedy process. Follow the rules - no problem.

No they are not. There is reserved seating for those with Premier Plus. All other seats are free.

So, you are saying that in every case of robbery or mugging, it is the fault of the individual's inability to securely carry their belongings ?

Thank you. That means that for our flights next year, we will be on board Britannia when seats become available for booking. That will make life interesting !

That seems very early, as it would be before the final payment date.

Yes, I agree. I wonder if the attraction for many of their clientele is that it is a safe option. Well known brand (TUI), book in a high street TUI TA, everything bundled together, etc. I'm obviously guessing here, but I wonder how many of their passengers have actually done a price comparison to the likes of P&O and Princess. Obviously that does not apply to those seasoned travellers on here who cruise with Marella!

There are still lots of Baltic cruises, albeit fewer than before. We are just considering booking a second Baltic cruise for 2024, to visit ports that are not on our 2023 itinerary.

Marella cruises seem expensive to Princess and Celebrity as well !

Exactly that. For some people SPB is a bucket list destination. Having said that, there is more to the Baltic than just SPB. We are looking forward to visiting Copenhagen, Helsinki etc. Equating the capture of Terry Waite to hijacking a cruise ship shows a certain lack of rational thought.

I think you will be happy, unless you are a green bean fan !