the penguins

X publishes the breakdown and the current figures are shown below. If you were to remove the auto grats it would be impossible to tip all the people who woluld otherwise be covered (for example the laundry staff).

X does break it down and you can collect the breakdown from Guest Relations. The current breakdown is shown below:

Just like any restaurant if lots of people turn up at the same time you may have to wait Worst that can happen is you will be given the option of taking a buzzer and waiting in a bar/lounge/coffee shop.

We are Elite+, don't drink any alcohol and don't need 24 hour unlimited WiFi. For us any form of drink/Internet package is a total waste of money - the Elite+ benefits cover us just fine. We do like a large balcony - We use it for a minimum of 4 hours every sea day (cruise mainly itineraries with lots of those). No right or wrong just personal choice.

Unless you are making a contactless purchase you will need to enter the pin every time in the UK and Europe. The transaction fee doesn't show as such just the rate of exchange can be very bad on some cards.

contactless limit is now £100 but there are frequent spot check that require you to enter the pin number. This can prove difficult when/if you only have the card on your phone rather than an physical card. I am a volunteer cashier at a local charity/not for profit store and these checks whilst important to prevent fraud are a real pain. I strongly advise that you always carry a real card, we take to separate cards: one in my name with Boss (Anita) as the secondary card holder and one in the Bosses name with me as the secondary. One set remains on the ship for use if one of the first set is lost/stolen/compromised.

Never had a better rate from a store. Essential you must have a Credit Card that doesn't charge a fee so you get the rate on the day. Everywhere in the UK/Europe Chip and Pin is the norm. Thankfully the US is now catching up and at long last when we visit our family in Dallas we can get our Gas at the pump without any issues.

The store/ stores processor. Each purchase shows in the currency of the country you are in and the store will ask if you would like them to change it to your currency - sounds helpful but it just costs you extra. The answer is always "no thank you". The same applies to us on the ship as X will generously offer to convert our account from $ to £. Just make sure you use a card that does not charge a currency transaction/ conversion fee - there are lots to choose from.

you will be on local time at every port. Private excursion companies and private guides will all operate to match the time the ship is in port. No need to stress - relax and enjoy. As you haven't been to Europe before the following may help: Credit cards are widely accepted (make sure you have one that doesn't charge you a fee) and don't let the Credit card company/shop do the conversion i.e. leave everything in the local currency. You will need a little local currency (Nor). If you have any small bills left don't change them back just use them for any extra tipping on the ship -

ask as soon as you board if you can swop to Anytime - there may well be passengers who are trying to swop to Fixed

How many people save? Not the majority otherwise X wouldn't be offering the packages.

Princess are using Sky 14 days from Southampton - we will book if and if with a refundable deposit will hope to switch to X but only if its S class.

Not stupid. We we watch it before boarding. Go straight to the cabin pick up key, drop bags, go to muster station (usually the MDR on Deck 4 for the cabin we like) then to Al Bacio for our first lattes - job done.

We have already "pre booked" with our TA for Princes' Solar Eclipse cruise which goes on sale 23 May - X is way behind with this.

perfect explanation. For sure if it goes wrong at check in crazyank won't be there to take the flack. As an aside Southampton for one is a port that checks (or at least it did last time we cruised from there) that the whole party is there before even allowing you access to the terminal building.

If you really want Fjords fly direct to Bergen and take the 12 night Classic Round-trip on Hurtigruten - 22 ports, right up to the North Cape - no need to take the more expensive Exoedition Cruise. You visit Fjords that lines like X, HAL, Princess etc can only dream of. Great local food served on the ship. Excellent viewing areas. Wide range of tours - don't miss the exclusive night concert in the Arctic Cathedral. Not your classic cruise but a true adventure. All the ports you stop at in the day going North you stop at in the night coming back and v.v. We went over Christmas and New Year. Also been on X and Royal both good in their way but no comparison with the Hurtigruten experience ( we have also been to the Antarctic with H hence our CC name).

Please see Post 27 above for the proof that there is.

Thanks to BeasleysMom66 - for the written proof.

have a great cruise. Love your CC name - it's the boss's (Anita's) initials and maiden name. Our grandson lives in Dallas and we will be staying with him in November sadly flying both ways whereas normally we do one way as a Transatlantic cruise.

All passengers on a booking are required to check in together so yes they will ask. If you are in the UK you have to tell your insurance company of any likely claim "as soon as possible" and therefore waiting until your return would not be an option.

Decent thing? 1) Your suggestion would make no difference to the total price. 2) you know the current way the tips are presented as "optional" are really only done that way because it's normal in the US and 80% of the cruise lines passengers are from the US/Canada. 3) having tips separately has I believe tax advantages to both the cruise line and the crew. 4) you have the option to book with cruise lines that include tips (P and O, Virgin etc). 5) you also know that removing the tips means some crew work for less or have you found a way of tipping for example the laundry staff? We would like to see taxes, port charges and tips all included in the basic price but until they are we will not penalise the crew. By all means lobby the cruise line but in the meantime please don't penalise the crew.

X asks you to stick to the times. Some ports enforce the times some don't - remember port staff are not X's employees. If you decide to turn up early just accept that you might be asked to wait - it's your choice.

Great choice. Eclipse is one if our favorite ships and the one we chose to celebrate our Golden Wedding on. We love all the S class ships. You haven’t mentioned your cabin but for us deck 7 or 8, rear facing balcony on the hump and with the bed next to the balcony is just perfect. My wife has mobility issues and having the couch nearest to the door gives us much more space. The forward facing Sky Lounge has great views and a variety of seats. As we don't drink alcohol our "go to place" is the Cafe Al Bacio. Shows in the main theatre will be 7 and 9pm - the latter the most popular. We have Anytime Dining precbooked for 6.30 always at a sharing table (we eat as a couple every day at home) which works great with the theatre time. Enjoy.

The Boss (Anita) makes sure ours is wisely invested in the Casino.

in our experience it's standard practice for the ship to show the event on the cabin tv's as it keeps passengers off the deck.