Ret MP

I honestly don't care what you call it, there will be people that will do everything in their power to avoid paying tip(s). There will always be those that don't think that there is a need to tip regardless of the level of service. If tips/gratuities/service charges are made compulsory, these same folks will line up complaining to the manager demanding a full refund of the tip/gratuity/service charge and/or a free meal or whatever was provided. BTW, if you look at the definitions of tip, gratuity, and service charge, they are all related to each other. A tip is a gratuity. Gratuity is a tip. Service Charge is either a tip or gratuity (except that a Service Charge can be compulsory and the customer has no options, that's one of many reasons I don't care for anything other than voluntary tipping/gratuities). So, nothing would change. Tomaaaatos/Tomooootos. JMHO And another BTW, my intent is not to argue. Just a discussion with someone that has a slightly different view of a very minor subject.

LOL, me too! BTW: Your mileage may vary but to me, the cruise fare is the Bottom Line, the Total Charges. But, there are certain options, of course.

You're splitting hairs. It is just another line item on the invoice IF you keep that line item on the invoice. Exactly!

Man O Man, those must have been some huge nail clippers. Hell, you can have scissors up to 4 inches in length. What were they thunk'in?

I just bring a Geisha along and get fanned all night long. Don't have to worry about getting through the terminal and visiting the naughty desk.

It is already like that, here in the U.S. However, you have the option to remove the pre-paid Gratuity. I'll never be agreeable to mandatory tipping (just like I don't like pooling tips with all other service providers). That means that a subpar/lazy/dumb server gets paid just as much as the super server. I don't reward bad behavior/laziness/non-compliant (customary standards of service)/incapable service providers (servers), but I do reward good service.

But, you are missing my point. Which is: They can drop the hammer at any point and decline to give the price guarantee outside of the 48-hour rule and use their stated/publicized policy as justification for doing so.

I don't think and I hope that won't happen!

And you can do exactly that, <tip for good service that is. Here in the U.S. we don't have any obligation to pay one cent of gratuities to Royal Caribbean, either pre-cruise or during the cruise. Good employees get extra compensation while the poor ones aren't rewarded for their poor service. If an employee isn't happy with their wage, they are free to leave the service industry as they probably aren't suited for a career in the service industry OR move on to a much better/higher-end establishment.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Barbados.html: U.S. citizens must have a valid U.S. passport to enter Barbados. No visa is needed for stays up to 6 months.NOTE: Generally, all U.S. citizens are required to present a valid U.S. passport when traveling to Barbados, as well as proof of anticipated departure from Barbados. This includes travelers arriving by airplane and by private sea-going vessel. Those traveling to Barbados on a cruise may use another Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant document. However, we strongly recommend visitors obtain a passport before travel in case of an unforeseen emergency that requires a cruise passenger to disembark and return by air.

I have an issue with swollen a foot and ankle, too. However, mine isn't related to my eating habits. I've experimented and experimented and it always boils down to the type of chairs I sit in for much too long. The harder and straighter up the back of the chair, the more swollen my feet and ankles get. My recliner which is overstuffed, I've never had a problem with. If I sit at the kitchen table with the hard bottom seats and the backs almost vertical, I'm swollen in no time at all. But, I've never had, I'm lucky I guess, the swollen feet and ankles so bad that it caused any degree of pain or discomfort, it just looks bad and usually most obvious in my right leg and that's the leg I've had a total knee replacement, related or not, I don't know.

I'm a "view" type of person. I haven't been on a ship yet that has a Chops with a "view". Coastal Kitchens have always had a grrrrrr8 "view". That's not to disparage Chops one bit, I love Chops! But, I love Chops not because of the "view".

Tipping in Australia is totally voluntary and suggested if you choose to tip at all, to tip 10%. It is not frowned upon like some people would like you to believe. If you tip on a Credit Card, the owner of the business is "expected" to pass the tip on to the service provider (server). Also, the employees or I should say, the business owner "usually" gets a tacked-on "Service Charge" that is used to help pay their employees their higher minimum wage or better. The link below is just a couple of many many articles that explain or offer suggestions about tipping etiquette in Australia: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/en/article/should-we-leave-a-tip-australias-tipping-culture-explained/5nub7yae7 https://www.tripsavvy.com/is-tipping-mandatory-in-australia-1464392 EDITED IN: BTW, tipping in the U.S.A. is totally voluntary, too. It's just customary. I'm not advocating using that voluntary to not tip. I do live by my signature below.

I see where you are coming from, I have seen where you are coming from. But, it does say: Spot a better price on your booked cruise? Our Best Price Guarantee lets you take advantage of a better price within 48 hours from the time you booked— just give us a call or use our online form. You’ll receive the difference as a non-refundable onboard credit inside final payment or rate adjustment outside final payment. And included in that is, if you do it within the 48 hours, you are eligible for an "onboard Credit inside final payment" OR "rate adjustment outside final payment". And one of the two ways of getting the 'Price Guarantee" is to fill out the form within the 48-hour time frame. Again, and again, with this policy in mind, RCCL could AT ANY TIME just cut off any requests done inside or outside of the 48-hour caveat. It's just like the one bottle of wine restriction that seems like many folks are getting away with bringing onboard more, RCCL could/can crack down on it at ANY TIME it feels like it. So, if I, you, or my TA calls RCCL and requests the Price Guarantee be applied to a cruise I booked 3 months ago but is still outside of the "final payment" date, I'll get the price drop? My answer: RCCL many give it. But, based on their own policy, they don't have to. Well, that's about all I have to say, this is getting too long, again. I'm not going to debate for pages and pages anymore.

And I'm happy for you. I've had price drops too. Not recently though. That's not my point. Apparently, there have been some folks that have not been able to use the Price Guarantee out of the 48-hour restriction.

But, IT IS addressed in their FAQ/Policy/Terms and Conditions. And I've said that I can't address or defend what RCCL sporadically enforces or not. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/best-price-guarantee That link is to the form and it says "Terms and Conditions". The FAQ is a mirror of the "Terms and Conditions" that's at the bottom of the form you fill out and attempt to get the "Price Reduction". The Terms and Conditions are Policy and Legally binding. What RCCL's management tells it's Phone Answerers to enforce today or tomorrow has no bearing on what THEIR policy(ies) are. And that's my point, there is a policy, enforced or not.

That's not an answer to the question. Let me put it another way. If I buy a book a cruise today, I'll just whole numbers, $2,000.00, and in a week or so the price drops to $1,900.00, the price change came after the 48-hour cut-off for the Price Guarantee but I fill out the forme I linked to where it has the 48-hour caveat, then I get squat. Right?

Yep, and the way I read it, after the 48 hours of booking a cruise, if the cruise fare is lowered by sale or any other wording someone would like to use, you're out of luck, there will be no price matching/Price Guarantee.

What does that FAQ/Policy refer to?

I remember several months ago, the Price Guarantee was brought up and I quoted the FAQ/Policy and you wouldn't believe the blowback that I received. This is the FAQ/policy that's all I'm saying/showing. I'm not saying that people aren't getting the old type of Price Guarantee, just like I don't say that people can't get away with bringing more than one bottle of wine, per person and just about every other policy that is ignored or sporadically enforced or not. I'm just pointing out the FAQ/policy. I think you talked to a "phone answerer" that read the FAQ/policy and gave you his/her answer. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/best-price-guarantee-policy Q What is the Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee Program? A Spot a better price on your booked cruise? Our Best Price Guarantee lets you take advantage of a better price within 48 hours from the time you booked— just give us a call or use our online form. You’ll receive the difference as a non-refundable onboard credit inside final payment or rate adjustment outside final payment. ALSO: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/best-price-guarantee Terms and Conditions The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee applies to the cruise rate only. The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee will not apply to government fees and taxes and/or any fuel supplement charge. Lower rates must be Royal Caribbean's publicly advertised rates available to the general public. Group rates, membership programs, charters or other Travel Agent promotions not offered by Royal Caribbean to the general public, including but not limited to travel agent rebates are ineligible. To submit a Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee claim, please click on the link above and complete all the required information. You will be asked to provide the lower rate amount and where the rate can be found. The lower rate must: i) be for the same ship, sail date, stateroom category and number of guests; and ii) be available for reserving at the time Royal Caribbean reviews your submitted Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee claim form. All Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee claim forms must be submitted on-line within 48 hours of reserving your cruise and verified by Royal Caribbean in order to qualify for the onboard credit. The onboard credit is non-refundable, non-transferable and has no cash value. Any unused portion of the onboard credit will be forfeited. The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee may be discontinued or changed at any time without notice. The Royal Caribbean Best Price Guarantee is applicable to North American reservations only.

It is my opinion that we, the cruisers, the paying public, need to start demanding better, more often service, and food quality with what was once customary. We shouldn't turn the other cheek anymore. If there is a service-related issue, DEMAND to speak to a "manager/Ship's Officer" Based upon the many posts that I've read, I believe this is becoming a major issue. No matter how many daily cabin cleanings there are, there is no excuse for dirty glasses left in a cabin, bath bathrooms/washrooms if you are Canadian LOL, and on and on. This is not to say, @Tee & Chilli, that you did or didn't do any of the above, in fact, you did say that you called the housekeeping supervisor, good for you! But, a Housekeeping Supervisor probably keeps complaints right there in Housekeeping circles. A manager/Ship's Officer will do up a report and probably will give some kind of FCC. Let's get things back to the good old day, at least as far as service and food quality is concerned. It ain't gonna change if we all just take the slap in the face.

But, it is fun and helps pass the time. And it causes me to do a little research, which is fun and a necessity <(self-imposed necessity as I believe I need to keep my mind working, often), a favorite past-time for me. I get a kick out of these kinds of posts.

I want to look at one Port of Call for example. The island of Cozumel (yes, part of Mexico), for example! On any given day there could be 2 or 3 Rustbucket Cruise ships at one pier and 2 or three RCCL ships at another Pier. And a few other cruise line ships, too. How many passengers are on each ship? I'm guessing one ship, at least, will have about ~6,000 cruisers and there could be up to about 4,000 each of the other ships and repeat that about 4 days a week. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the local hotels/resorts, in Coz, don't even have a daily turnover of about ~10,000 people a day for 4 days or more and I don't think the Island of Cozumel's hotels/resorts can even handle those numbers. Now take the ~20,000 - 30,000 people paying the port fees/taxes, that ain't small change and I'd bet that a majority of those get off the ship and spend "some" money at the local establishments. And I will disagree with you until the cows come home that, cruise lines/cruisers "contribute very little to the local economy". Am I saying or have I implied that they are the largest contributor to the local economy in every island/country? NO! However, the cruise industry is far from a minor economic engine to many/most of the Caribbean Islands/countries. I don't think that we have too much light between our opinions other than the degree of economic contribution to the islands/countries. BTW, just for the fun of it, the inbound flights into Coz are about 8 flights a day and the same departures, obviously. The largest aircraft is an A320 Airbus which holds just less than 200 passengers. That's about 1600 passengers a day if we say all aircraft were A320s, which they aren't, and all seats are sold, which they probably aren't. Cruise lines bring in up to ~30,000 a day, up to ~4 days a week or more, some days less, some days 0. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/airports/czm

I'm one of those that don't spend much money in a Port of Call, at least not for the local bandit/souvenir stores. However, all of us cruisers do pay a port fee/tax regardless, that's no small thing that adds to the island's/country's revenue. Many many many of us do purchase "Duty-Free" items, but that's "Duty-Free" for entering back into the U.S. (Galveston (Texas) exceptions), and some revenue does go to the local government. Also, meals and excursions and tips to the local service providers. Cruisers may not spend as much, generally speaking, as those that are on X or XX days at a resort/hotel. But, cruisers are only there for hours, usually not days and the port fees/taxes go directly to the local government.