NewSalt

Cruise lines are always looking for new profit centers. This thread may have uncovered one.

I would pay good money to see the faces of chair hogs when they return to "their" loungers and find the pool attendants have removed the items they've left. Maybe they could sell the videos.

The Bermuda Perfume Factory in St. George's is an interesting place to visit and you can find some nice gifts there.

I have a travel box in the attic with things that are just used on trips: travel journal, toiletry cases, current converters, travel curling iron, etc. I also have a list of basics for each of us on my computer: medications, swimsuits and cover-ups, sweaters, belts, etc.

When planning for a winter cruise, I put the clothes I plan to take in a separate box when I swap out the closets at the end of summer.

DH starts folding his clothes and laying them out on the guest room bed about two weeks ahead of time. I do laundry the afternoon and evening before we leave and fold things out of the dryer and pack them. I've also been known to head out to the mall the morning before we leave because I decided it would be nice to have a new something or other. I thrive under pressure; DH needs to have everything done ahead of time.

Guess which of us always forgets something? Hint: the stop at CVS on the way to the ship for a hairbrush was not for me.

Wait! I'm confused. (Not an unusual condition.)

"All-purpose cleanser?" We're sailing on EOS for the first time in July. Is there body wash in the shower? I don't care one way or the other, but I will bring my own if RCCL doesn't provide it.

I don't know how many points you'll get from RCL, but you get a bunch of husband points from my POV for spending so much time planning your vacation. It's so unlike some DHs I could mention who let their DWs do all the planning and then pass derogatory comments about the choice of cabin, destinations chosen, etc. ;)

Yes...it's true...but you will find that you will do your ocean-gazing while standing at the rail. It's certainly better than NO balcony! This is how ALL balconies used to be...it's not a huge deal.

I agree. It would not be a big deal for us, but we're traveling with our DD and DSIL and their two small sons. DD is afraid that if the boys can't see anything, they'll be tempted to climb up for a better view. Not that the boys are out of our sight for a minute at home, let alone on a ship's balcony, but if it brings her peace of mind, we'll be glad to switch to another deck

See what I mean? I spent 40 minutes on the phone with the TA and RCI only to get incorrect information, and get the correct info in five minutes here - and with pictures!

You all are terrific! Thank you.

We're booked in a cabin on EOS for a cruise in July. I have been told that the balconies on Deck 6 (only) are not plexiglas but metal so that you cannot see through them. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

Their rep says no, but I've read on CC that they are, and you know which I believe.

I'm glad to hear that you only had Noro for the end of your cruise and not a larger portion of it and that you're feeling better.

Let me see, lounging on the balcony, free movies and internet, unlimited sodas and room service. I may just lie about not feeling well since that sounds like a perfect vacation to me, as long as you're not really ill. ;)

I agree with the other posts but if you tip it's best to give cash instead of adding it to your bill. As long as you keep the auto tip your server may keep a cash tip; if adding the tip onto the bill it goes into the tip pool shared by others and does not go to your server.

Thank you for letting me know that. I didn't realize that the tips in the specialty restaurant went into the pool.

I assume that's true of tips at the bars too?

What does "acceptable" mean? Gratuities are based on service. Not what the meal tastes like. The servers don't prepare the meal. Tips are a personal choice.

 

side note....Personally I never thought a meal there was "worth at least $250".:o At least not compared to the service and food that we get at our nicer restaurants. Of course food and service are subjective.

 

We actually had pushy and overly attentive service on our last dinner there, that wasn't appealing. We made note of it to the maitre d. Turns out we were being served by a new team...maybe trying too hard.:rolleyes:

I don't believe that I said anything about the taste of the meal. I am not a novice. I know that the wait staff is responsible for service and not how the meal tastes. I don't know where you got that erroneous impression. As a matter of fact, the meal itself was not up to previous ones we've had in Sabatini's. It was the service that was outstanding. Attentive when we needed it to be, discreetly observant the rest of the time.

I did not say the meal was "worth" $250, but rather that it would have cost that much. Our last dinner out before our cruise at a nice but not first-class restaurant, with fewer courses but two glasses of wine, was just under $200.

A tip of $10 would have seemed cheap and insulting for such good service.

We recently had dinner in Sabatini's on the Emerald Princess. The bill was $50 ($25 pp, we had started a bottle of wine before we reached the dining room, and it was our table mates' turn to buy the wine at table). DH started to add our customary 20% tip, but I made him bump it up since we had had almost three hours of outstanding service.

At home the dinner would probably have been at least $250 and merited $50+ for a tip, so I'm wondering what would be an acceptable tip for a specialty restaurant since the price isn't really indicative of the cost of the meal and the service far surpasses all but the best restaurants.

Thanks for the responses; they were helpful and made me even more excited about the trip.

DGS4 is taking ice skating lessons and absolutely loves them. I can't wait to see his face when he finds out he can ice skate on "the big ship!"

We've sailed three times on Celebrity (the Summit) and have been pleased each time, especially with the way they accommodate my DGS's many food allergies.

Unfortunately, this year there's no Celebrity cruise which fits our time and port requirements, so have booked on the Explorer of the Seas.

The only other line we've sailed is Princess and found each had its strengths; The champagne welcome, cold drinks and lounge chairs on the dock, cotton balls and Q-tips on Celebrity were things we liked, but also liked having a laundry on board, Movies Under the Stars, and coffee card on Princess. Walso much preferred the buffet on The Summit for both it's selection and lay-out.

Can anyone tell me what differences we'll see between X and RCL? We'll be sailing with our DD and DSIL and two grandsons, 4 and 1.

Well, I was enjoying this thread - until I got to the posts about the coupon book/TP comparison.

It is painful to snort hot coffee out of your nose.

I love the wit of some posters.

Who says there has to be a compromise? What's fair is those who drink a lot buy a package and those who don't buy a drink when they want one. Guess what, if you can't afford it, don't buy it. That's the problem with so many people nowadays...they seem to think they are owed something and they will decide what's fair.

What are you talking about? And why so belligerent?

DH and I don't drink soda or bottled water. We have, at most a couple of glasses of wine and another drink or two during the day.

It would be nice if there were other options available, like the wine packages on other ships that actually give you your money's worth (i.e., three bottles that come close in value to what you're paying for them, not less than they would if you purchased them individually) or the coffee card that gives you a set number of specialty coffees. Or a martini card that would give you X martinis at a slightly reduced rate. But saying that you would appreciate having something available that actually meets your needs and still make X a good profit is a far cry from saying that you think you are "owed" that option.

I agree, I would love to see a drink package that only gives a certain amount at a lesser cost or a punch card, buy 5 get one free, because it does not pay for me to get a soda card. I'm sure that Celebrity is looking at things, hopefully they don't go the way some have said RCCL has gone and require both parties in a room to purchase a drink package, instead of only one. If Celebrity went that way, I'm sure their revenue would go up, because many would not buy a drink package and would then have to pay the actual cost for a drink.

I doubt that their revenue would go up if people stopped buying the drink package. The fact that they offer it makes me believe that it is more financially advantageous to them than to the passenger.

Most of you say you are very trust worthy and would never do something so sneaky as order the odd drink for someone else.

 

How many of you contest a parking fine? You parked there knowing you cant and took the risk. Yet when you get caught and fined you complain. Well I have no sympathy because appealing is just like trying to steal from the authorities.

 

How about bank charges. Anyone been charged unfairly for going in to overdraft or unfair interest on your credit card statement?

Calling your bank or lender, making some cobblers excuse as to why you should be let off is depriving your bank of additional revneus

You're comparing things that are in no way alike. There's no rule or law against contesting a parking ticket that was given in error.

When you open an account with a bank, you agree to pay whatever charges they have in place. That does not give them the right to add other charges to which you did not agree. There's no rule or law that says you must pay these charges.

The difference is that in the above scenarios you are being asked to pay money to which the parking authority or bank is not entitled. The fact that it deprives them of revenues is irrelevant.

How would that stop those that are sharing their drink packages; they are not going to pay more. The feel they are entitled to get free drinks for someone else because they don't feel that Celebrity is losing any money. They don't see that in the long run, Celebrity loses revenue (because they would have sold those drinks that they are giving away for free) and that we all pay for it in the end.

 

DH and I don't drink a lot of any liquid; we don't buy a beverage package because if we replaced every ounce of liquid we drank during the day with $12 martinis, we still wouldn't come near breaking even.

But I do wish there were some other options available to us. If there was something like the five free drinks or a reduced price for a second beverage package, we would take another look at buying a package, and X would make more from us than the $2-300 we spend on alcohol on the trip.

Or if there was something along the lines of Princess's coffee card, which gives you a set amount of coffees (or another beverage, even alcoholic) for a fixed fee and which DH and I could both share, we would almost certainly take advantage of it.

There's a big, big difference between spending a few hundred dollars on alcohol and buying a beverage package for $870/$1220 for a 7/10-day cruise. That's a pretty big market that could be tapped with a little creative pricing.

My DH and I do not purchase any beverage package because we don't drink enough of any liquid to make it in any way cost-effective, so I don't have a dog in this race. I consider myself to be extremely honest. I've found a dollar item in the bottom of my bag that I didn't pay for and driven back to the store simply to pay for it, spending more in gas than the item was worth.

However, when I was in school, I remember the nuns cautioning us about the sin of being scrupulous, seeing evil when none exists.

Two people sharing one drink package? Wrong. One person offering another person a taste of a beverage obtained on a package? One person who got the buffet offering her dining companion a taste of something she found particularly good even though said companion ordered from the menu? I see nothing wrong in either of these cases.

That's my morality. I'm very comfortable with it and have no trouble looking myself in the mirror when I put on my make-up in the morning. It really doesn't make any difference what you think of those practices.

And it's a well-known fact that people lie on these surveys all the time, so I'm pretty sceptical about the number of people who say they'd never do such a thing.

We sailed on the Summit with DD, DSIL, and DGS (1) last summer. Between the time that we booked the cruise and the time we sailed, we learned that DGS had a myriad of allergies.

Celebrity handled it wonderfully! The maitre d' went out of his way to suggest meals for DGS. There was always a good selection of things from which to choose. I think you'll find it easy to find things that will appeal to even a picky eater.

It was the main reason we're doing another cruise this summer instead of taking a beach house.

Thank you to all who took the time to post the beverage offerings and share their experiences with the packages.

When I first learned of the packages, I dismissed them out-of-hand. I operate under the assumption that, if the cruise line offers it, it is an arrangement that is to their benefit and not mine. While I would enjoy an occasional specialty coffee or a poolside drink and usually drink wine with dinner, we don't drink soda and eschew bottled water out of our concern for the environment and the energy resources it consumes.

I can now see how for some people it would be an intelligent choice because of the amount they drink. However, if I upped my liquid intake that much, I would be spending an inordinate portion of my vacation in the loo. May I express my admiration for the capacity of your bladders?;)

Princess has a coffee card that's good for a preset number of lattes/cappuccinos, etc. I wish Celebrity had something similar.

We just (an hour ago) returned from the Celebrity Cruise to Bermuda and had Cabins 9141 and 9145. I thought they were perfect. The view was great and I liked having a bit of shade so you could sit outside even when it was very hot. I only heard the deck chairs being dragged once, but my DH said he heard them very early several mornings. (I didn't find them as loud as his snoring - cough, cough).

The cabins were just a few steps from the main elevators which made going to the MDR and leaving the ship very quick and also from the stairs to the buffet and pool, not to mention the Champagne and Martini Bars. I would certainly book them again.