buchhalm

You mean Hubby is paying a finders fee?

As far as snorkelling goes, I love the GBR around Cairns and Port Douglas. I have snorkelled and some mild SCUBA at a number of places around the world, but the GBR was the nicest. As for operators, Quicksilver is running BIG boats (usually full of Asian tourists), but are very well run and organised. One never feels as "just a number", and the staff seems to be genuinely enjoy their jobs. Their BIG advantage is the pontoon setup. People who want to "experience " the reef don't even have to get wet if they don't want to. We have even seen a few wheelchairs on these tours. That said, we much prefer the smaller boats. There is a absolutely gorgeous catamaran operator from Cairns/Port D. that does the reef and low isles. Small (er) groups and more relaxed. On the sail back in the afternoon you relax on deck and somebody of the staff often plays the guitar and/or starts a sing along. Nice. No option is exactly inexpensive, but not to do it would be a real miss. We have done it several times and definately do it again if we are up that way.

Move up bid for a not quite 2 week cruise on Eclipse from Concierge to lowest suite STARTS at over AUD 2000 p.p. No thanks!

Well, reading through the jungle of Australian awards for the hospitality sector for example, the average person would need a lawyer specialising in labour law to REALLY work out what a - for example - chef would be entitled to.

It's not a dig at your prolific contributions 🙂

👍🏻

I just noticed that GUT2407 has just made 35084 posts in 3080 days! Good effort! 😁

As my Scottish grandpa neighbour used to tell me : never drink the water. Fish (ahem...) "make love " in it.

The short answer is NO tip needed. Ever. End of story. A tip is always entirely voluntary. It doesn't matter for whom. (And you could stop reading now 🙂) Especially on tours that are sold by cruise ships that are already a lot more expensive than locally bought tours. (And it is not my concern who gets all that extra money). HOWEVER (cue the haters "WE don't tip in this country "): If I really enjoy a tour (or hospitality service) I often DO leave a tip. There is no magical % rule to this. Say the cafe bill is $17, I round up to 20. If the bill is $182, I make it 200 Tour guide? $10 or 20, depending on duration and level of fun and enjoyment. That's for me AND the wife. Not per person! And ALWAYS cash. Oh, and I ignore those "input discretionary tip " on these hand-held card readers. That 💩 is creeping in now. I refuse to be gently forced into tipping. In such situations I MAY still tip in cash. If I WANT TO.

Let me guess. American? Military family? Welcome to Cruise Critic, by the way. My point is this. American armed forces are in that job voluntarily. And they know what they sign up for. And they are getting paid for their work. Correct? So if THEY should get special pricing because they are doing their chosen work, so should fire fighters, police officers, nurses, the mail delivery person, bus drivers, anyone. Or are you basing this on the level of the chance to get hurt at work?

I find it double standards if a cruise line wouldn't let you book a cruise via an US based TA if you don't reside there. Their own service centers are based there and you have to deal with them for nearly everything. Even if you dial an Australian phone number, you are mostly redirected to the US *or Manila*. Currency on board is mostly USD. And even if you use a random American address, the moment you try to use a Non-US credit card, if could take you back to square one

Yes! I thought so as well. When I lived in the US, that constant "Thank you for your service " was sickening. Uniformed military * but not any ACTUAL services that help people* get to board aircraft first etc. But what REALLY annoyed me were constant announcements in that regard on a cruise in EUROPEAN waters. OK, an American ship but there were more Europeans, and even Aussies on board. And Americans on cruise forums ask if they should bring their military uniforms (hopefully not the combat or every day ones) for Formal Night. But hey.... Halloween is creeping into Australia as well...

Ahhhhhhh! Thanks for the tip. I'll send my wife to take photos.

Looks like a ghost ship. Where are all the people! 🙂

You reckon I can get a Personal Butler discount? I mean why not. I do my chosen job and get paid for it. So I am just as eligible for a discount then. Cue the outrage.

.

Oh, I couldn't do the red hair. That's not going so well for that Windsor bloke either

Sign me up!

Is that code for something?

I understand the concern, but if THAT is the way one thinks about life, one would never leave the house.

That headline makes it sound as if people actually spat on the drinks dispensers

Some airlines, such as Qantas have the annoying habit of sending you 'your flight to xyz has changed' messages. The new flight times are exactly like the booked ones. So where is the change? It's usually a minor change of aircraft. The only impact that may have is that the seat you chose is now somewhere else....

And you put manure on the strawberries?

I remember a French restaurant in Bangkok where they had FauxScargot. Bits of braised beef instead of the snails. 🤷🏻‍♂️. Goes to show that the garlic butter is the important thing

Oh, I do baby potatoes, boiled, halved, then scoop out some of the potato, put an escargot inside, too with herb and garlic butter and baked under the grill...