travelberlin

Well said. And that multibillion company pays taxes in USA? Are Royal ships registered in USA?

Fortunately I live in a country in which customers are not responsible for paying proper wages of the waiters. Lots of consistency on my side in relation to tips being a reward for good service and the percentages at the discretion of the customers.

Good for you if you want to distribute your money this way. Others have other ways for distribution including charity 🤔

Good to know so many are receiving their checks. I am hopeful that it will not take long for us outside the USA to receive our money via wire transfer. I will check next week. Ivi

It is amazing what type of costs the employer can pass to the customer in USA. I was surprised to find a position at my restaurant bills in San Francisco which is called “Mandate”. From the internet: “Employer Mandate" is the updated term for "Healty San Francisco." SF requires employers to provide health care coverage for their employees. Some have chosen to tack on a separate fee to cover this rather than just up their menu prices. Sometimes it's a per person fee, others a percentage of the bill.” 🧐

But this is exactly wrong: Expecting /demanding tips to make a competitive wage. Those are responsibility of the employers and not of the guests.

Oh, I do not mean the local companies. I mean the ones responsible for excursions on board. Ivi

Couldn’t they change the shore excursions company? Ivi

We do not know how financially secure is Crystal under new ownership. It is also difficult to give you an advice if you should book or not for July next year. I can only tell you that I have some Crystal cruises booked even for 2025. Is there a risk for me? Yes, because two years is a long time to foreseen what could happen not only in terms of financial viability or the new company. I also have a cruise booked for July next year but with the Symphony in Europe. I guess that I have decided to trust the new owners in order to experience again Crystal cruises. Ivi

The UDP also went down for my sailing next year. I am not going to buy it although the price is OK. The reason why I am not buying it, is that we are not able to prebook online before boarding. Ivi

Thank you. Looking good 👍 Ivi

How many passengers are in this cruise? Ivi

Is not encrypted. But I do not think that the information required would be a security problem. Let’s hope is not. Ivi

Yes. We have received this email today. 👍 Ivi

Did you talk to the supervisor? I do not care about twice a day service but if it is only once a day, I will need it to be in the morning. I hate to have a not made room the whole day.

Is this problem with the MTD more in the larger, new ships? I have not cruised on those larger ships, but I remember that MTD in the Voyager class ships worked well.

It looks good. What is the name of that cocktail?

Let’s hope not. 😤 I have read an article about a young waitress so disappointed that Europeans were not tipping enough in USA, that in her naivety, she DEMANDED that USA does not allow Europeans to visit USA. Go figure…why people in those type of jobs do not DEMAND a fair payment from their employers?

I appreciate the effort of your daughter. I am sorry and I wish her a successful ending of her studies. Many of us had to work hard to continue with our education and to reach our goals. Some got a scholarship, some move to a country in which tuitions are not extremely high and others have studied and worked at the same time. To expect that with our tips we are responsible for the education or livelihoods of others is somehow naive. People need well paid jobs and not to be begging for tips. Ivi

I have sent Moecker today an email to ask about this. I guess for us, who live outside the USA, it will not be a check but a wire transfer. We will see what the Assignees answer. Ivi

Ask the crew ….

No. It is ridiculous to think someone deserves a tip for handing a beer or serving a glass of wine. Bartenders at home earn good wages with all benefits and are not waiting for people to pay them their wages via tipping. The problem is the cultural mentality surrounding tipping in USA, which allows employers to pass their responsibility to customers. But some of you seem to believe that you are doing everything right by perpetuating this culture. I have read that some people are tipping at self check counters or at robots 🤔

How did you get it?

How was embarkation in Miami? Which Terminal is Crystal using? How do we know which terminal will be for our cruise? Does the information come with the ticket? Ivi