SilverSax

3 hours ago, Aquahound said:

This is what happens when you pay the same price for a cruise as you did 30 years ago.  Something has got to give.

 

 

If Royal Caribbean's price structure is unrealistic, let them change it. They seem to be doing ok though - Google has their value at $26.52 Billion. 

6 hours ago, jsn55 said:

YUP, that's exactly what I'm saying.  I could fret about it, but I choose to consider prepaid gratuities and miscellaneous fees part of the cost of the cruise.  I tip as I always did for good service.  Usually $1 per drink, $2 per RS breakfast, $5-10 per MDR meal paid on the last night to whomever is serving us.  Cabin steward gets a total of $150-200 depending on the length of the cruise.  Please understand that bad service gets nothing. 

 

For me, it's a policy based on my personal feelings ... I want the crew members making my cruise so special to know how much I appreciate their efforts.  With airfare and pre/post hotels,  I'm spending tens of thousands of dollars.  The tips add up to a very small percentage, and I believe that they make a real difference in the lives of the crew.

Tips are supposed to be for good, extraordinary service. Shouldn't tips indicate that you have already received good service?

I admit that I ordinarily pre-pay my tips on a cruise. It galls me to do so because I haven't received anything yet. Good service, bad service, nothing.

I consider myself to be a "good cruiser". By that I mean I pay the expected gratuities, I don't smuggle alcohol on board, and I pay the outrageous beverage package prices. What I am pissed off about is the cruise line ignores the fact that I'm a good cruiser and I open my wallet up to them generously and yet I don't receive what I consider to be the minimum standards I've paid for.

I guess what it all boils down to is that before my next cruise, I'll definitely research "nickel–and–dime 'em to death" policies like these, and avoid the cruise lines that use them. 

In fact, if this really is becoming the norm, it's time to go back to all-inclusive vacations.

If $800+ for two peoples' Deluxe Beverage Package doesn't generate enough profit for Royal Caribbean to allow me to have a full glass of liquor (my wife and I probably drank a total of $100 worth of alcohol on this cruise), and if formerly-free room service is too much to ask, then my opinion is - there are other vacation options. 
Oh, I didn't even mention the fact that in spite of my pre-paid gratuities, I was confronted with an envelope for "extra tips" from our steward. 
Thank all of you for your responses. 

That's what I was thinking. 
Unless they have changed their policies, Holland America and Celebrity do allow their guests a full glass, as often as they request it, if the guests have purchased the Deluxe Beverage Package. 
Royal Caribbean, because of their parsimonious alcohol and room service policies, has lost my business and I encourage everyone to avoid them.

1 hour ago, LindaD22 said:

The room service continental breakfast on Royal Caribbean is complimentary, I believe until 11:00 am. Perhaps you were ordering something other than that?

No, they clearly stated that their continental breakfast will be delivered to your cabin for no fee. After 9 a.m. every room service delivery comes with a 7.95 charge. 

27 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

As far as I know, Holland America doesn't charge a fee for RS, although I think they charge for a selected few items.

Thanks. One thing's for certain - if this is now standard policy on Royal Caribbean, they'll never get another penny from me. 

1 hour ago, jsn55 said:

Culture shock for sure.  Charges for RS are now the norm for us folks on 'mass-market' cruiselines, I think I'm paying $10 on NCL in October for breakfast no matter what time I order it.  The pricier accommodations may be fee-free for RS.  Makes business sense, the enormous amount of food wasted by pax needed to be curtailed.  And Royal wants to be able to allocate the crew members to other duties at 9am.  If there's a charge for RS after 9am, you can bet that the demand will almost disappear.  

 

The limit on drinks is quite amusing and in your case I can see that it would be annoying.  Unless you're actually sitting at the bar, it could be a long walk back and forth.  Somehow I'll bet that you'll figure out which places you like to be and how close the nearest bar is and it won't be as big a deal as it sounds.  If you're out at the pool, say, order your first drink, hand over a nice tip and tell the server to keep coming back around with another one.  It's been our experience that generous tips make for very good service no matter where you are on the ship.

The problem is that when I paid for the Deluxe Beverage Package, a mandatory 18% tip was included. No need to tip again. What I want to know is whether this is now standard policy on Royal Caribbean and/or elsewhere? Why, if I have paid the astronomical price in advance, must liquor be meted out 1 oz at a time?

Hey cruisers, do you have any info to add to this?

I just returned from my 2nd Royal Caribbean cruise - 6th cruise overall. I was excited about getting back on Royal Caribbean - we really enjoyed our first cruise with them. 
Two of their policies really irked me though.

First, they were charging a $7.95 delivery fee for any room service after 9 a.m.  I've never seen this before. My wife and I enjoy late room service occasionally but this really put us off. 

Second, EVEN THOUGH WE PAID FOR THE DELUXE BEVERAGE PACKAGE, I was turned away with a firm NO! when I asked for a glass of liquor (I like to sip straight liquor). I was "allowed" only 1 Ounce at a time. So imagine that I'm sitting a long distance from the nearest bar - I could have 1 oz swallowed before I even got back to my seat! We all know that you can walk very long distances on cruise ships from table to bar if you're unwilling to wait for the server to take your order, then deliver it. 
 

I'm EXTREMELY disappointed with Royal Caribbean over these two disappointments. 
Is this becoming "industry normal" or is it just RC?

Greetings fellow Cruisers! My wife and I will be flying into Rome for a western Mediterranean cruise. We arrive in Rome at 7:45 am and we need to be at our ship (HAL Koningsdam) about 2:00 - 3:00 pm.

We’d like to take a quick tour of Rome when we arrive - nothing extensive. Mostly we’d like to just drive by three or four top sights, stopping to take pictures, then get to the port in Civitavecchia by 2:00 or 3:00.

We found a company online that will do this but it’s $567 + tip.

Can anyone recommend a cheaper way to do this? We considered traveling around Rome by bus but we’ll be hauling our luggage.

Thanks!

Hope you guys have a great time - and - Happy Anniversary!!!

(From someone whose 36th is coming up in August!) May you have dozens of children and hundreds of grandkids!

You should post this on the CI board for better responses here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83

 

That being said you can make reservations on line with the cruise planner function, commencing usually a few months before your sailing date. You can also make them on board through the room TV with the cruise planner or just show up for stand by.

Thanks very much, I’ll look for it!

We’ve smuggled liquor on board on our first two cruises. On our third, coming up in September, we decided to buy the Deluxe Package on Oasis of the Seas simply because we didn’t like the nervousness, the LONG walks back to our cabin to refill, etc...

But I didn’t want to pay the admittedly high price out of our regular income.

We always save our change just for extras on vacations, so we thought this would be a good use for it. We had $458 in change saved up, plus we had $75 onboard credit, total $533. The package was I think about $750 or so. That was close enough for me so we bit the bullet and bought it.

Believe me, I truly sympathize with everyone about the confiscatory cost of alcohol on cruise ships, but this time I’ll play by the rules.

Sorry if I’m asking an old question, but I couldn’t find it anywhere...

So we’re going on an Eastern Caribbean cruise in September on Oasis of the Seas. When and how do we make reservations for the shows?