S.A.M.J.R.

So you don't tip at all?

You can hope, but you don't know. Just like no one here KNOWS that cash goes into the pool.

It's WAY out of my price range also. So I won't be booking it. 😞

So if I come on here and complain that this invoice is too expensive... People wouldn't (rightly IMO) say "change ship, change itinerary, change date, change cabin"? Actually, I didn't say "not to cruise". I said "find a cheaper vacation". That could still be a cruise. But on a smaller ship, or at a different time, or a different itinerary. But yes, PP gave the impression they couldn't afford the cruise because of the gratuity. AND wanted encouragement to not tip at all.

I agree, they didn't say it using those exact words, but it could be inferred... Original Post... That makes it sound like they just don't like the amount. A follow up post however complains about the cost (that it can be used for another cruise). I interpret that as the gratuity is too much for their budget (which there's nothing wrong with). AND poster wants encouragement to NOT tip.

The person who says $725 in gratuities for six people for a seven day cruise is too much, that an "acceptable" amount would be $40 ($20 for the waiter, $20 for the room steward). Not per day or per person, TOTAL for the trip.

What do you see when you give someone cash for the tip? They put it in their pocket. You have NO idea what they do when they get out of sight.

I'm assuming the people who get remembered either cruise often, ** OR ** do the workers get a list of who they're supposed to be serving and their cruise history? Or something else to hint they've been together before? Just a thought.

I thought about that, and figure it's unlikely. I mean are they going to say "Hey, TVO7 cheaped out on their tip!" And someone six months, a year, two years(?) later has TVO7 has a passenger and is going to remember that? And what about duplicate names? Then you need something to distinguish them. Home towns? Seems like a stretch to me.

Wouldn't that depend on the rates? I don't think that's enough facts to make such a conclusion.

$725/6 = $120pp / $18/day = ~7 days. 120/725 = 16.5% tip I personally don't THINK you'd be flagged in the computer. Unless some one here works for RCI, no one knows for sure. I think tipping the waiter $20 to handle six people over seven days is very cheap, same with the cabin steward. IMO, if that's all you can afford to tip, you should find a cheaper vacation.

Hahahahaha. You know part of their contract/agreement could be they share any tips given to them. There's no way to guarantee they keep it. As soon as you hand it over, "control over the money is lost." You're just telling yourself "it's up to the crew member".

That's one of the three I listed.

So you don't think the crew deserves the money. You could have said that.

I'm still not sure what point those who remove auto tips are trying to make... "The company doesn't get to choose who my money goes to." Not buying it. A) The company gets to decide where your cruise costs goes. B) You do not know if the cash you give (assuming you give cash) gets pooled or not. Even if a room steward or waiter or other staff member tells you they're keeping all of it, you have no idea if they're telling the truth or not. "The company should pay a decent wage so crew don't have to rely on tips." Granted. But how does withholding auto tips help? Do you honestly think if enough people withhold auto tips that RCI will think "oh, we should raise wages."? Why? As long as they have people signing on, why would they need to change? "The crew don't deserve the amount the auto tips require." I disagree with that, but kind of hard to argue from either side.

Every time I go to a sit down restaurant, I pay with CC. When I'm signing the bill, there's a line for "tip". That amount is added to the total for the meal and is charged tot he card. And yes, sometimes I go to chain restaurants. So, yes, my tips go to multi-billion (don't know if foreign or not) corporations for them to distribute as they see fit. I see many people paying with cards in these restaurants. So I'd say "yes, it is customary". I have no idea how they distribute the tips. I have no idea what they're paying their servers. I've never asked anyone how much they make. I know what the minimum wage is for servers in SOME states, but not all, even the ones I'm travelling to. For all I know, they're making the same as everyone else and I'm still tipping 20%. While I agree the number of jobs that expect or request tips is way out of control, I don't think cruise stewards and wait staff are unrealistic. IMO, it's all in how you perceive what that cost is. Is it just an included part of the cruise? That's the easy way to look at it (again, IMO). You want to judge the job others do and then pay extra accordingly? Seems like a lot of work, but you do you. You want to "stick it to the cruise line" and remove the auto grats and tip in cash? Doesn't really make a lot of difference, unless you KNOW those you give cash to don't share it with others. RCI doesn't care and won't change their policy because they still have workers doing the jobs. You want to make point and remove auto grats AND not give anything (because they agreed to their base pay)? Seems stingy and cheap to me, but again, you do you. RCI probably won't care because there's not enough of you to make an impact in the ability to recruit workers.

Your choices are One Way Rental or Private Town Car. There are a LOT of Town Car Services. I suggest looking at the Florida Departure board or simply google "port Canaveral transportation service". Good luck.

I just checked my sailing (even though we're not doing the DBP), and the web page didn't have any limit. It was only under "More Details", where this is shown: Here's the link to the PDF: chrome-extension https://www.royalcaribbean.com/media-assets/pmc/content/dam/menus/en/3222/3222.pdf

Office Depot COULD be a "government approved facility". My (and my wife's) interview was at a Staples office store. While walking through a mall in Medford, OR, a photo developing store had a sign outside saying "TSA Precheck Interviews done here" (something like that).

Sorry, was quoting you, commenting on your post, but then bringing in PP's comment. Didn't mean to imply that you said that. Sorry for any confusion.

If this is the only person claiming it, then I have serious doubts. But saying the guy is just claiming he's a victim, and the sinking was "tame" isn't right either. Just curious, what went wrong during your cruise for you to get that letter?

Not sure why it matters. When I was a teen, went to Europe, next international trip was to Mexico (flying). My point was people say "it's good for 10 years" and "you never know when you might need it" as reasons to get them. If you only travel internationally once in the 10 years, then it's still over $100 for a single use. And if you don't get opportunities (or the money) to travel internationally, have one sit in a drawer does no good. As far as passport vs Real ID, the Real ID at least is card size and easy to carry in a wallet/purse, and can function as a DL. A passport book just doesn't fit anywhere quite right and you'd still need to carry a DL (assuming you drive).

Exactly! When you're buying for multiple people, it's not "only $100+". And, yes, while its good for 5/10 years, they could still be "single use". I got a passport at 17(?) for an international school trip. That was the only time I needed one unil I was 42. I NEVER had to turn down a trip because I didn't have a passport for the 15 years mine was expired. Do I think they're a good idea to have? Yes, and we bring ours every cruise. But I'll never criticize anyone for choosing to sail with BC & DL.

Can you provide examples?

Its a simple math problem. Figure out the cost per point. I'm making up numbers, but if a solo interior cabin for four days costs you $800, and gets you 8 points, thats $100/point. And if a JS costs you $1500, and gets you 12 points, that's $125/point. Looking at just financial, the interior is better. Only you can decide if the added JS amenities are worth paying more.