serpsy

I feel you have twisted what I and a few others have said so you can make ridiculous statements about what we may or may not do. I will speak only for myself even though I have no reason to have to justify your foolish response. I am one of those who tip $1 per drink. I do it because there are several different waiters in the Diamond Lounge and I do want the one(s) who serve me to be tipped. I don't do it to get better service or expect that the second I walk in the door the waiter will bring me a drink. Additionally, I don't go to the lounge every night, so I feel that the nights I do go there, I WANT TO tip the wait staff.

 

As far as the idiotic question about tipping the waiters after each course, it just goes to show how far fetched some people will go to make a point, foolish as it may be. You don't need to try to justify to me that you seem on the cheap side and feel that only your opinion is the right one.

 

You tip your way and I will tip mine and I will have a great cruise knowing I did what I felt was the correct thing for me.

Firstly I was not making any opinion at all, just making some observations. Secondly, an opinion is exactly what it is, an opinion, neither right or wrong, and we are all entitled to have one. Lastly, you do not have a clue as to if, or what, I tip, so try to keep to the facts, rather than making what I consider personal insulting comments. I do not believe I insulted anyone with my post, so people like you, with your comments, is why I will not even read this post again.

I'd like to get back to the tipping in DL and CL. Before anyone jumps to conclusions when reading the post, I tip appropriately at the end of the cruise depending on the service regardless of where the person works, (like others have mentioned, I do not carry cash or wallet on a ship).

Do the people who tip by the drink also tip the waiters after each course to ensure the rest of the meal is brought to them in a timely and friendly manner? Do you tip the cabin steward by the day in case they change mid cruise?

The waiters who work in the DL and CL also work in other bars during the hours not in the lounges. Would it be fair that they get a slice of the pre paid gratuities from people who had bought the DP and then get additional tips for those 3 hours?

In the CL there are 2 different types of guests. There are those in suites and those who are DL+ and above. The suite guests pay a lot more daily gratuities, (whether pre-paid or the 'recommended' daily rate), which covers gratuities for the CL staff. Should the suite guests be guilt tripped into tipping again?

My experience is that, even though I do not tip by the drink/day, I still get the same experience as others with staff coming to us with our preferred drinks as soon as we sit down. If you think you get that service because of your $1 then I believe you are seriously mistaken. It's because that member of staff is going beyond the normal to give every person that extra special experience. Accordingly, these staff get a bigger 'bonus' at the end of the cruise, even if I need to hunt them down on the last day, which has never been a problem. (So I might have been one of those some of you have noticed that does not tip by the drink, but in reality you have not got a clue how much I do or do not tip, or tip at all, so why jump to conclusions?)

Finally, tipping should be a personal reward for a service received. The moment it becomes an expectation its no longer a tip. Let me leave you with a final thought, a bit of a paradox - if you tip by the glass will your service get better or actually drop as the waiter knows what they are getting, or will they work harder for you if you tip at the end so that they ensure that they do get a good tip at the end?

We already have reservations for MTD on the Explorer of the Seas September Pacific Coast cruise. Traditional dining was not available at the time we booked.

We really enjoy having table mates, usually a table for six. In April our family of 10 had a reservation in MTD and got the same table each night. Is it possible in MTD to have other cruisers as table mates?

On one cruise on the second night we had a table of 8, (4 couples that had never met before), and we all got on great. We decided to meet up again on the second night, and after that the table was ours for the rest of the cruise and we ate together every night. They were good to keep the table and we just walked in when we wanted. Not the norm, and never happened before or since, but it can be done.

We are booked on the same cruise and also arrive 2 days before. The main shopping/tourist street is La Rambla. Go down some of the narrow lanes off this street, (nearer the harbour) for some great restaurants.

For Rome, catch the train. The station is very close to the port and only a few Euros for a return trip, with a regular service. I have done this before with plenty of time and will do again.

In Palma, (Majorca), There is a hop on, hop off bus close to the port, as well as the main shopping district..

The other stops are further away as others have mentioned.

We live in UK and always go the day before, (except for once, see below!), even if we drive down to Southampton. We just see it as an extension to our holiday.

On our first cruise not from Southampton, our TA advised us to book with cruise line in case anything goes, then they will be responsible. We took a direct flight from Manchester to Rome on the morning of the cruise and arrived in plenty of time. Unfortunately, I could not say the same about our luggage. We had no clothes at all, but the ones we were wearing. RCCL were great in chasing the luggage, giving us underwear, a free dinner suit for me and a choice of cocktail dress for DW to chose from lost and found, (how you lose one I do not know), and free daily washing vouchers. We laughed about it, got funny stares when we dined very casually each night but it could have ruined our cruise. We finally got our cases on day 8 of a 12 night cruise, having had the cases follow us around, and of course on seas days there is no chance. If we travel the day before ant least you have a chance of your luggage coming out on the next flight the following day, (we found out ours were never loaded and were stuck in Manchester).

As for driving down, you only need a bad accident and the motorway network grinds to a halt for a long time. On our last cruise, returning from our cruise, the A34 south bound, (main rout down to Southampton), had a serious accident and was closed for a very long time. I thought about anyone travelling down to catch the next cruise, as there was no way they would get there in time.

Personally. I go on holiday/vacation to relax, not get stressed before I get there. Going a day early just takes away all that worry.