clean1owner

20 hours ago, Hanzo said:

So you're saying "Don't listen to other people's opinions about tipping, listen to mine"? Got it.

The point is there are people behind the scenes that share that pool, but out of sight out of mind right?

Others say not to listen to my opinion, so why not?

1 hour ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Looks like it was a bad episode of the newlywed game...

 

Or maybe they were contestants in the Love And Marriage game and got into a fight about not winning.

I have never been to an RCCL Meet & Mingle. My last 4 Royal trips have been less than 7 nights, so they don't schedule one.

However, I have organized 2 on NCL ships, and they were very well attended and quite social. 

Like Royal, NCL decides on the date and venue. Usually on the first sea day and the venue depends on how many the organizer reports will be attending. 

For both of the Meet & Greets that I organized, NCL provided beverages and continental breakfast type of snacks. They also have the Senior Staff from the ship attend, including the Captain, Food & Beverage Director, Hotel Director, and Cruise Director. On one ship, they even had the Chief Engineer attend. 

The Captain gives a short talk, usually about the ship and his career, then opens up for questions. They have always stayed until the last question was asked, and a couple of the directors even stayed after and BS'd with the group.

I do trivia, general NCL and ship specific, and give out prizes. Some I bring, and some NCL provides.

They have always been worth the time..

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

Maybe Bob/clarea can answer this, or one of the other moderators.

How come if anyone even MENTIONS the new program The Key in a new thread, it gets almost instantly folded into the huge old thread about The Key... but we have a gazillion new threads each month on:
 

• tipping
• smoking
• should I get the alcohol package / is it worth it to get the alcohol package
• what is the best cabin / ship / itinerary
• MDR, MTD, specialty dining
• Crown and Anchor snobs / Pinnacles / Diamond-Plus / Diamond
• Suite Lounge vs Concierge Lounge vs Diamond Lounge

Why not have ONE thread for each of these topics, and then move all newly-created threads into the age-old original threads?

 

Controversy breeds interest.

Vince McMahon became a Multi-Billionaire promoting that concept.

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

The tipping standard is to allow the charge to accrue to your on-board account (or prepay as part of your cruise fare) so that everyone gets the allotted amount.

What you're asking about is DIVERTING from the tipping standard.

 

Actually, that is the RECOMMENDED tipping standard. 

Just like the recommended dress code in the Main Dining Room, which most on these boards seem to have no problem ignoring.

Remember, it's YOUR vacation, tip as you please.

2 hours ago, springfire said:

 

Royal will not give us a breakdown of how much they give to our stateroom attendant or to our dining room team.  

Guest Services will provide the breakdown.  Whether or not it is completely accurate, nobody knows.

4 hours ago, ggtjr said:

Does the room steward know if a person has prepaid their grats?

Nobody knows for sure.

6 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Why would you try to deny all the behind the scenes people that serve you. Who is being denied?

Paying in cash is a great disservice to all those  you don,'t see.

 Your waiters and cabin steward are required to turn in your tips to the pool if you remove auto tips.  NOBODY has proven this to be fact.

21 hours ago, EaganCruiser said:

does anyone know what the tipping standard is for the cabin steward...waiter and bus person / asst, waiter...per day for each...and do we need to go to guest relations and tell them not to ad it to our sea pass acct...that we will be paying them cash at the end of the cruise...thank you in adavnce

Just go to guest services on day 1 or 2 and ask them to remove auto-tips. They will do it no questions asked. 

They recommend $6.25 per person per day for Dining Service (they don't break down Waiter / Assistant Waiter, and $3.55 per person per day for Stateroom Attendant.

I fully endorse removing auto-tips and getting envelopes from Guest Services to tip cash at the end of the week. Don't listen to those claiming you are "stiffing" or "shorting" people by doing it this way. They usually don't have a clue about who gets what from Royal.  A tip is recognition for good service, and if they provided no service to you, why tip? 

On 3/16/2019 at 9:50 AM, dodgestang said:

Don't trust a safe?  Here's a thought.....keep it in your pocket ;).

 

We all live in prisons of our own making.

 

I've carried 60-80 $100 in my pocket without issue on two separate cruises.  When I wanted to go swimming I put the wad in my camera case that I left on top of the dresser and didn't think twice about it.  When I went on an excursion the bulk of it was left in the room....in the same camera case completely unattended for *gasp* several hours.  It is casino money after all....don't you like to gamble 😉

 

 

And unless you publicize the fact that you have a large amount of cash in your pocket or room. who is going to know?

7 hours ago, K8inMN said:

I feel like someone needs to invent timers on lounge chairs

 

I may have to quit my job and come up with a prototype for this...think they'd go for this on Shark Tank??  😉

I will volunteer to go on the show with you and dress up as the chair hog. I have been watching them long enough that I think I could pull it off.

Just bring the cash and keep it in your safe. 

Whenever you go to the casino, buy in at the tables with cash. Even if you have chips and play more than one game the same night, buy in with cash at every new table. That way, when they swipe your Sea Pass card and log what you bought in for, they will think you are turning more cash than you actually are. This will make you more eligible for attention and comps from the host.

On 3/12/2019 at 6:32 AM, Cruise_Couple said:

We are cruising in July and after this cruise we will be Platinum C&A members. I want to book another cruise for next year but I think we get some kind of discount on cabins when we are Platinum members. My question is... how long after we return from this cruise does it take RCCL to update their records so I can book our next cruise and get the discount? (and does anyone know what the discount is?) Thank you all for any help you can provide.

Took 8 days for my most recent cruise to show up

I would pay to push chair hogs over the rail.

Why the aversion to cash? 

Insure my trip dot com.  Better coverage for less money.

Just another of the many "improvements" to the site.

15 minutes ago, Jasonmom said:

What do any of you that has to wear glasses do on the flowrider?  Can glasses be worn with a band holding them on?

 

Leave them off.

2 hours ago, pinkrosesdeb said:

Ok, to all the Royal experts, I bought dark chocolate salted caramels to take on our cruise.  Being the weak person that I am, I already opened them😜 So, do you think they will be banned?

You will not get 2 steps in the door with those chocolates. PM me so I can give you an address to send them to.

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Totally agree...and is one of the reasons I don't wear a lanyard to put my card on display for all to see.  Don't care to advertise what C&A level I am at, nor cabin cat I happen to be in.  😉  My card stays in my pocket.  

The lanyard wearers aren't so bad, unless they notice the card holder has spun around and they have to make a concerted effort to make sure the gold is facing outward.  I always have pockets, so that's where my card is.

It's the ones that walk around holding their Gold card out, then putting it away to grab an ice cream cone or something at the Windjammer, or the ones that stand in the elevator holding their gold card against their chest to make sure everyone else in the elevator can see it, that make me shake my head. 

On one cruise, we got paired at dinner with a couple that would sit down an lay their card face up on the table, just so everyone else could see it. One night of that, and them bragging about every cruise they had been on was all we could take. The Maitre D' earned his pay and found us another table.

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

There is that silly statement again.  Are you saying that being on a cruise ship (even in an inside cabin) is cheaper to be on...than simply staying at home?  Do your utilities, mortgage/rent, upkeep, taxes, insurance go bye-bye..pooof!... when you cruise? 

 

A cruise is in addition to the costs of maintaining your home.  How could being on a cruise be cheaper than staying at home?  Do you actually know anyone that cruises without also having a home to pay somewhere?  Cruising is an added expense.  

Super Mario?

1 hour ago, Florida Glamazon said:

Do you think this is where they will dock this ship from now on-or was this a fluke?

Did the same thing about 4 weeks ago, then went back to 29.

2 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

Now OB.  We are not rich.  We are both working stiffs who have post graduate degrees and good jobs, and since we decided when my wife worked in the NICU at Duke while I was in grad school at UNC that the chances of having one of those terrifying events was too scary to contemplate we became DINKS.  Time and experience has led us to a good place, but the MINI in my avatar is now 16 years old the 17th of this month.  We are somewhat frugal or at least fiscally responsible.  We don’t sail star class, and mostly we don’t stay in suites in hotels.  Although, we make an exception for our upcoming trip to Australia, staying in a Pointe Suite on Heron Island pre cruise, with accompanying helicopter arrival and departure.  So, an occassional splurge.

 

jc

I will NEVER begrudge someone for being successful. 

I am right there with you when it comes to being frugal, and living within our means. 

Whenever anyone asks me how I can afford to cruise as often as I do, I simply lay out the facts.

Pack a lunch pretty much every day for work. 

Don't do the restaurant or bar deals.

We do have 3 children, so that did somewhat limit our availability to cruise, until we recently became empty nesters. While they were living at home, we NEVER took a cruise without them.

Always drove used cars that we didn't have to finance.

My wine comment was just a bit of a poke because I do not like wine in the least, and have no reason to have 1 bottle, much less 700, in my house at any time.

P.S. My daughter just interviewed with Duke and UNC for their Genetic Councilor Grad School program. Keeping fingers crossed.

4 hours ago, briehon said:

So it seems I need to upload a photo during online check in. Can’t seem to get one that meets the criteria. Haven’t tried yet but can you get through online check in without it and will they just take one at the port? Never saw this before, it must be relatively new.

Takes about 30 seconds per person to take your photo at the terminal. Just let them do it there.

10 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

They have beer.  They have some decent bourbon.  They have a decent Irish Whiskey.  The Gin tastes fine in my G&T.  They can make a nice Cosmopolitan or lemon drop with the New Amsterdam Vodka.  These are just the things I have sampled or the DW has sampled.  The wines are meh, I love wine, and with food I can drink just about any of them.  I would not buy the wine they serve in the lounges at home, but with food they are doable.  My wife doesn’t like Pinot Grigio any more, and there was a time when they had Kim Crawford Savingnon Blanc in the lounges occassionally.  That is a real cut back.  About the second I actually know of.  First was New Amsterdam Vodka, which in its defense gets decent reviews online.  I have a 700 bottle wine cellar at home, and it is filled with wines that cost me $50 to $200, yet I only drink wines like that with friends as I feel guilty doing them by myself.  Good wine should be a bonding experience.  Last night I had a Hess Select Cab Sav that I bought at Sam’s club for $13.  It tasted good with dinner last night.

 

That said, avoid the lounges it is better that way for all of us!😈

 

jc

What good are 700 bottles of wine if you just keep them in the cellar and don't drink them?

Seems to me like the money invested in grape squeezins would be better used for more cruising!