suzyed

So I suppose there aren't any arrangements that would last for a 28 day cruise?

Us also :D

 

 

What ever one calls it ... the hotel charges can't actually be paid in advance because they are charged to the portfolio each night.

Yes, whatever. My point was that we already paid for the gratuity (however it's charged), but like to give our cabin steward additional tips along the way if he is going above and beyond. It's not a bribe. ;)

I will be going soon on my 5th cruise on the Grand. It's not the newest or the biggest, but as far as I am concerned it is my favorite Princess ship. The staff is wonderful and go out of their way to please you. The size is just right and you will feel very comfortable. I love her!!!!

I agree as far as the staff goes. Everyone was friendly, helpful and our dining room waiter was wonderful!

Because a stated its OBC! Its a credit on your account.

Not a gratuity until the cruise is over.

Nope. It specifically states "gratuity" not OBC.

The four golden rules for managing people: some you ask; some you tell; some you beg; some you bribe. If you get them right, you have a first class experience; if you get them wrong, you've completely screwed up.

 

I have no problem with introducing a little incentive into the relationship between guest and steward. I do not trash my room and we show our appreciation when a steward has taken great care of us during our cruise.

 

Interestingly, many posters say they will never pre-tip as it is deemed a bribe. But they will tip for room service delivery which is a guy simply doing what is expected, i.e. bringing a tray of stuff to your room. Nothing extra there, but some people feel compelled to tip. Don't misread me, I am very much in favour of tipping; but do not judge others harshly because they do it differently to you.

Well said! I agree!

Don't be silly. Thats not an example! Its OBC.

What do you mean it's not an example? It is a charge to my credit card specifically for gratuities. Why is that silly?

When we first get to our cabin' date=' we'll check the water faucet, toilet, drawers, to make sure things work. We'll also check to make sure we have the three life jackets in our closet. When our cabin steward stops by, we introduce ourselves. We don't start in with special requests as we understand he's busy trying to get all his rooms ready. Maybe if we didn't get robes and we want them, we might ask, but always add "when they're available, no hurry." If there's cans or bottles in the fridge, we just put them up by the TV. We're pretty easy to please, I guess. We know if we want the towels to be replaced, they go on the floor; else, we hang them back on the racks.

 

We keep the autotip on and will decide at the end of the cruise whether we want to tip extra. Also if we want to fill in "consummate host" cards.

 

But we don't give money at the start. To me, that screams "I expect you to treat us as your only passengers."[/quote']

 

How is that?

Many people pre-pay their gratuities....essentially tipping before any services are provided....is that a bribe too? Is that screaming that we want special service?

I don't know. I think, if my steward does something nice or helpful, it is nice to give them a little something in return. It others don't do that, fine, but we shouldn't judge people who do.

There is no right or wrong answer to this particular question..

 

As a rule of thumb, if I ask the steward on embarkation day (their busiest day by far) for anything that takes them out of their routine for setting up, then I think a little extra is appropriate. If it's a request they can fulfill when time permits, not so much.

 

Example - can you please get us some wine glasses right now so we can have a drink (at boarding) versus could you please get us some wine glasses so we can enjoy a glass after sailaway several hours later...

Exactly! That is how we do it too!

We always tip the steward in cash the first day because we make requests right off the bat. We ask that the mini bar contents be changed out and ask that they make sure the ice bucket is filled twice daily. Also, we ask them to provide additional towel and washcloths. We tip again when we send laundry out and always top off the auto tip with extra cash at the end.

We, too, ask for stuff right off the bat and want to show our appreciation to our cabin steward. It's not a bribe, it's a tip for going above and beyond.

And since we usually try to add gratuity pre-cruise, we may give another tip at the end if the steward was really excellent!

Of course it does, as long as the passenger does not remove the auto tip.

We would never remove the auto stip....as a matter of fact we pre-pay it if we can before cruising! We do, however, give a bit of a tip at the beginning and sometimes along the way!

You are better off buying and bringing seasickness pills/medications from home. There are over-the-counter pills sold in the ship's store, otherwise you have to go to the Medical Center and pay for a doctor's visit. Ginger ale and ginger tablets should help. I've never gotten seasick nor has anyone in my family so I don't know what medications work best. I'm sure others do, though.

I'm sure they will have some in the shop on board, but they will be pricey and not necessarily for kids. They may not charge you for a visit to the Medical center, but they will charge for the pills.

The trick is to prevent rather than to treat the sea sickness once it has started.

Candied ginger, ginger pills, real ginger ale....all work pretty well.

If you know someone who is sailing with you that can get the children's dramamine I would do that. Heck, if I was sailing with you, I would pick some up for you!

Good luck!

My wife feels the motion of the ocean but she did okay in our Riviera deck aft facing oceanview porthole cabin on the Crown Princess. It was a complementary upgrade and we really enjoyed the close proximity to the aft pool and Horizon Court.

We love the aft!! We have been forward as well and don't like it very much. One forward cabin we had was the first one on the deck and it was hot in there, and you could hear the anchor going up and down as if it were right in the room! There was no need for an alarm clock in that cabin!

Last cruise we had three forward cabins...not right up front and they were fine!

But still the aft and mid aft are our preference!

Does anyone tip them when you arrive onboard?

 

If so, can they keep those tips or do they have to turn them in?

We do tip them sometimes when we ask for something beyond what is usually done. For example, we like to have a bottle of chilled champagne for sail away, so we ask for a champagne bucket with ice, so that is chilled by the time we leave port. If they do little extras for us, we like to show that we appreciate what they are doing and give them a tip. I hope they get to keep them.

Well, to be fair, he did get to hear the elevator announce jauntily, "Aloha! Deck 12" every day. I know that made my cruise special the one time I had an Aloha cabin.

 

There was also that one day the elevator announced "Dolphin, Deck 9" and everyone got off to look for the marine mammal that was apparently roaming the passageway. Well, maybe not everyone. Maybe only me.

LOL!

My DH has to constantly grab me and hold me back in elevators.....the door opens and I walk out..or try to. It's usually not my floor, hence the grab to the back of shirt! LOL!

I just returned from a month away and hadn't checked my personaliser. I have found that the cabin we carefully booked 18 months ago (the same cabin we have booked for the 4 previous cruises) has been "upgraded" to a balcony underneath the skywalk for our maiden regal transatlantic. Of course my TA is closed today. I don't know how long ago this change was made and I may have lost our cabin. I wasn't informed and I don't think TA probably wasn't as I had no message. I will be quite upset if I can't get our original cabin back.

Terry

 

 

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Same thing happened to me....it was Sunday when I noticed it.

Email both Princess and your TA right away....making sure the date is on the email. Ask that you be put back in your originally cabin (if it's still available) and then mark your reservation as "no upgrade".

They give you 48 hours to make the switch back, so I hope they didn't make that switch a week before you saw it!

Good luck! Let us know how it worked out!

Upgrades are not common, in spite of the stories on this thread.

It also depends on what one considers an upgrade as opposed to what Princess considers an upgrade.;)

I bought some bed bug spray at Bed Bath and Beyond and I spray it around the perimiter of the cabin and in the drawers and around the bed. I have no idea if it really works, but it makes me feel better, it smells nice and we have never had a bed bug problem!!

I check for signs of bed bugs each time we check into a hotel or cruise cabin. Again, trying not be paranoid, but careful and it make me feel better! ;):rolleyes::D

 

 

Hi Everyone! Please take a look at the Belkin Power Strip/Surge Protector I plan on bringing aboard the Golden in August. I just want to confirm that this type of plug will work in the cabin. We have 2 cellphones that will most likely need charging at some point, an ipad and possible laptop.

 

Will this work?

 

Thanks....Marieze

 

 

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Yup! I have the same one!

Think about taking an extension cord too. There is typically only one outlet in the cabins, so an extension cord could come in handy!

You should hear soon!

We once cruised last minute on the QM2 (booked on Tuesday...sailed on Saturday) and we didn't know what cabin we were in until we got on the ship. They have tags for you and you can fill them out once you know.

Don't worry! Enjoy your cruise! ;)

Thanks...I didn't know it was a CC passenger review which because there's no way to ask questions are not as helpful to me. They weren't happy with much except for the food claiming many staff were rude but there's no way to learn if the bed bug claim was accurate or not. :(

I might be cranky too, if I had bed bugs bites! ;)

I've never heard of bed bugs on a ship, but I won't rule it out. It would be horrible to deal with (on a cruise or at a hotel).

I HAVE heard of bed bugs on a ship...I think people bring them with them, just like at hotels.

I have always heard that with bed bugs, there will be three bites in a row or right near each other....like, breakfast-lunch-dinner..

:eek::eek::eek:

Thanks ALL for the information.

Pam, that is just what I was looking for! Thanks! But since we have so much time to kill, we decided to do a longer tour.

I just signed up with Sunseekers! 8 hour tour! It's going to work out just great!

:D;)

We did the Sunseeker tour and it was AWESOME!!! They picked us up at the pier. Try to get an early walk off disembarkation time. The tour was about 6 hours and they dropped us at our LAX hotel. They did drop others off at the airport. The tour was in a mini bus that held about 20 people, however there were only about 16 in our group. Our luggage was safely stored in the bus the entire time.

 

Our guide was entertaining, knowledgeable and very funny. We saw all the sights and had some free time to explore at Graumman's Chinese Theater, the Planetarium and I think it was Venice Beach. We saw stars homes and had lunch at famous Mel's Diner. Check out their website for further reviews, but we highly recommend!

Thanks you so much! I will check it out! :)

I was on the computer when the upgrade notice email came and immediately called to reject the upgrade.

They just do it.....

They gave us an "upgrade" for our next cruise. We have an aft obstructed ocean view on Emerald deck that is not really obstructed. They gave us an unobstructed cabin on Plaza ALL THE WAY FOREWARD...the first cabin on the deck! We have been in a cabin like that before and it was very hot and the anchor noise is just awful!!

I called and had us switched back to our original cabin.....they give you 48 hours to make the switch back! ;)

Long Beach has a free Passport Bus with stops at the Queen Mary and the Aquarium.

http://www.lbtransit.com/Services/Passport.aspx

Thanks! Yes, I read that, but I will also need transportation to Long Beach and then back to LAX!