Erik_On_The_High_Seas

8 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

Thank you!  Whenever I see people try to use TIPS as an acronym I want to ask what they are "insuring."  Your aim is ensuring a desired outcome with a pre-tip.

 

We extend our gratuity as an expression of appreciation after the service, and still receive ice twice a day and cute towel animals.  I can tell that cleaning has been done and am pleased with the service.  If you receive more for your pre-tip though, enjoy 🙂 

I'm also treat people particularly respectfully and kindly when they have unsupervised access to what I'm eating or my toothbrush...😛

4 hours ago, meatloafsfan said:

 

If you don't get moved prior to the cruise, by all means see the Maitre D on the first day to make your request. You don't need to have money in hand (you don't need to bribe them). If you're happy with their service at the end of the cruise, that's the better time to show their appreciation.  

I know that tipping is an odd American phenomenon, which hints of bribery on one hand and servitude on the other.  But it exists, unfortunately, so I play along.  And I've found that cash tipping the cabin attendant ensures that they actually get 100% of what you're tipping -- and that starting off Day 1 with a $20 ensures that the ice bucket remains full, the room is spotless, the towel animals are fantastic, etc.

I think the Maître D' gets a portion of the tips if you choose the prepaid-gratuity route, so why not let him know in advance how much you appreciate what he does?  (Also helps if I end up at a table with a bunch of people who throw food, complain constantly, change baby diapers on the table, are deathly silent, etc. and I want to move).

Thank you everyone! 

Hey everyone,

I just booked a cruise on the Sunrise for later this month.  It will be my first time cruising solo, so that leaves me with a couple questions, mainly about dinnertime.

Due to last-minute booking, the only seating available for dinner was Anytime.  As I'd rather not sit in a corner by myself, I asked to get the late seating and was put on a waitlist.  Carnival said that since I'm a Platinum VIF'nP they can probably get me in.  Has anybody else experienced waitlist success?

I was also wondering about the solo seating scenarios.  Does Carnival maintain some of the bigger tables for solo travelers, and do they populate them by age group? 

And will it be helpful to say hi to the Maître D' shortly after boarding, perhaps with Andrew Jackson in hand, and request to be seated with an appropriate table?

All my other sailings have either been with groups, friends, or a (lucky) girlfriend.  I do travel solo sometimes and don't get bored much -- I'm not super outgoing but also not an introvert -- and I'm wondering how this solo adventure is going to go.

Thanks!

-Erik

11x on Carnival, 1x NCL, 1x Norwegian, 1st time trying this alone...

Thank you for your updates -- I'm on that ship on the 21st for the 4-day cruise to Turks/Caicos so I'm really interested to read your reports from the Sunrise.

Will you be sharing copies of the Fun Times (or were you able to find copies online for this itinerary)?

Thanks, Erik

I was on the Inspiration for the 1/12/18 cruise. The elevators look permanently removed from service.

Inspiration is very beat-up looking, from my cabin (damaged drawers, scratched-up wood) to the public areas (broken light fixtures everywhere, etchings in brass). I'd written to Carnival about the poor shape of this ship and got a call a couple days ago from a Guest Services rep. She said she didn't know that the atrium elevators were removed from service.

She said that Inspiration was going in dry-dock later this year and would email me the specifics regarding what's being fixed up. She also gave me a $100 onboard credit for my next cruise, in hopes that my Platinum butt will find itself aboard Carnival again.

-Erik

I agree with Bonobochick, who commented:

>>Give yourself plenty of time for the Great Stirrup Cay tender. I was on the Epic for Nov 19th week and the tender each way was a complete nightmare of long waiting periods. <<

I was on that cruise too. The tendering process for both Grand Cayman and Great Stirrup Cay went on for hours, but was worse for the private island. Even with a tender reservation time, there was still a musical-chairs game that went on for over an hour. Returning from the private island, the line was about 200 yards long. Many in our group simply waited until the line almost disappeared, and we got on the last tender -- about 1 1/2 hours after the ship's scheduled departure time.

I've never been on a cruise that required reservations for tenders, and I've never seen as huge of a mess in using them as on NCL Epic. It was an, uh, Epic Fail.