Lanzalady

Hi, Whupper,

 

No, it's I who tip according to service.

YOU tip because it's the American (or North American) way, and because service staff in the US get low wages.

And its clear from your anecdotes that the US system is flawed & open to abuse by cheapskates.

When in America I tip in restaurants & bars 15% to 20% as most Americans do. But although front-liners might share their tips, I don't tip the "background" staff who launder the sheets or clean the pool or put out the kitchen garbage or man fast-food outlets. Neither do Americans - except on cruise ships.

 

But the $2.42 per hour wage that you mention would be illegal in the UK, where we have a minimum wage of currently about $8.60 per hour. Tips on top of wages are truly discretionary & earned by good service.

Bread and butter from the pay packet, jelly from tips.

 

The American way has gradually crossed the Pond, and more & more restaurants in tourist areas in Britain and elsewhere in Europe apply a service charge, usually 15%. And just like cruise lines, they do that to make their published prices look cheaper than they are.

The British way is that you pay the price on the ticket, and choose to give a tip. So I avoid such places as often as I can, because it's not the British way. And when I do use one, just like on US cruise ships I leave the service charge on but don't tip extra.

In other words, I tip - but I regard it as bonkers to tip twice for the same thing. :confused:

Matter of principle, not a matter of cheap-skating.;)

 

JB :)

I totally agree with you but this discussion will continue forever as the different cultures will never accept that the other party might be right. If your mentality and cultural practices have always included tipping, then that's what you think is the right thing to do. As you say, in the UK people get a decent basic rate per hour, whereas in the States, they do not. It's a shame that the American argument towards tipping everyone in the service industry because the tipper feels guilty that the worker doesn't get a decent wage, doesn't persuade U.S. employers to pay their staff a living wage and not treat them as virtual slaves. But until that happens, they will be paying 20% extra for everything whilst we will object to doing so. I'm looking forward to my 2017 cruise on the Thomson Discovery 2, where the staff will be paid a living wage and the tips are included in the cruise price. Of course I shall tip extra for exceptional service if I feel that it warrants a tip.

Not a waste of time. You have to know where to go in an emergency, without thinking. its one of those if it happens times. Without thinking you have to grab your lifejackets and head to your muster station..or you could uhm where is it we have to go...uhm how do I put this on....uhm....help....why didn't we try these when we had to...

I think this is better than if you have a set lifeboat you muster by, what happens if there is a fire by your lifeboat, what do you do then?

That was the point. We didn't go to our muster stations, we sat in the one of the lounges! Our muster station wasn't pointed out to us and neither were we checked off on a list. In the case of the ship sinking, how many of those P & O passengers would still be wandering around the ship asking which of the many bars should they be sitting in waiting to hear what to do next? On the RCI Brilliance of the Seas last month, we had to go to our muster stations and were all ticked off a list and then informed of what the procedure was once everyone was there. Now, that was a proper muster procedure.

When we did our muster on Azura last year, nobody actually took any names or cabin numbers. We all just sat in the lounge whilst members of staff showed us how the life-jackets worked. It was a bit if a waste of time really.

The Radiance class ships have the best "aft" cabins going...enjoy!

Yippee! This time next week my hubby and I will have just boarded the Brilliance of the Seas in Barcelona and will be occupying aft cabin 8172. We love aft cabins and are counting the hours until next Sunday, when we sail off into the sunny Mediterranean on our way to the Greek Isles.

I'm assuming she doesn't read these boards...

Or is a quiet, retiring sort of lady who would hate such a personal moment to be acted out in public!

All ships have all that "picky" stuff...no worries. However...just as a note...if a kid gets hungry enough, they will eat anything...and learn to love it. Take it from a parent of a "picky" eater, who's child went out on their own, got starving and learned to eat like a "foodie"!

 

Don't cater to their every need...you're doing them no favors!

I agree! At 16, your son is possibly ready to start developing a more varied palate and travel is one of the best ways to expose him to alternative options without making him feel that you are pushing him. You know that if a kid feels that he or she has made their own decision, they're on their own way to adulthood. Maybe sitting in an elegant dining room and being given a menu of well prepared dishes that don't include chicken nuggets or burgers, might be the making of him. Bon apetit!

Not sure where the idea that we don't tip in Europe comes from.

 

We do tip but not to the same degree as in the USA.

 

The main reason for this is that we have legislation for employers to pay a minimum wage amount. This means that a person's employer is expected to pay them a proper wage so that they don't have to depend on tips.

 

Personally this is the system that I prefer, although I would still normally tip around 10%

Totally agree!

When Europeans come to the US we expect them to tip since it's our custom. When we go to Europe it's their custom not to tip. On my shore excursions we did not tip because it is their custom. On the ship is different, there is a suggested daily amount.

Europeans do tip! We tip when we receive good service and we may not tip if we haven't received good service. A 10% tip for good food and service in a restaurant is about right but if the meal food was average and the service bad, then don't leave anything more than a few coins on your plate. Don't add your tips to the bill when paying by credit card as the staff will probably not get any of it. In a bar or sitting at the counter, you don't need to leave more than a few coins, if anything. Tipping is a voluntary appreciation of good service and is not expected as part of the workers' wages, so use your discretion.

Thanks all. I have prepaid grats but last question do staff prefer euros or dollars for tips as we go throughout the hol?

If you are cruising around the Canaries, the staff will more than likely prefer euros as this is what they will need when they go ashore.

My Time Dining is just that....... you can dine any time that suits you when the restaurant is open. You may have to wait for a table but you don't have to eat at the same table with the same people at the same time every night. Table for two sir? Just come this way!

Formal wear is suggested for the Main Dining Room.

"Suggested" being the operative word! At least 50% of people will not be dressed in actual "formal" wear but will be dressed in smart casual wear. I certainly will be!

If you check out the deck plans, you can see exactly what is above and below you.

I'm with you regarding the aft cabins but try to keep it quiet.... we don't want everyone wanting one, do we? My husband and I will be sailing on the Brilliance in 16 days' time and have cabin 8172, a D1 aft cabin with a spacious and totally private balcony that looks out over the wake of the ship. We don't mind the extra walk to get there as the additional exercise helps burn off those naughty calories!

Hi All

 

I'm new to the forum:)

 

Only ever cruised once before (about 19 year ago before children) around Caribbean.

 

Been waiting for ages to book again (had to save up & then put on hold as hubby was out in Angola on rig & living on a boat :eek:)

 

Anyway we've booked ourselves, hubby 16 year old son & myself, on the 12 night med cruise from Barcelona in August and can't wait :D

 

Been doing some research but any hints & tips gratefully appreciated.

 

Didn't want a port hole so booked guaranteed balcony, guess this is risky but as long as I have a balcony I'll be happy :)

 

Don't want to go onboard & waste days being clueless so thought this place looked helpful :D

 

Can I eat anywhere or are there charges in some restaurants?

Will my 16 year old need a suit for formal evenings?

Like a couple of drinks on a night for me & hubby but is it worth getting a drinks package?

 

Sorry for long post & questions but only got 14 weeks to get clued up:rolleyes:

 

Thanks in advance.

Hi Betty. Welcome to the Cruise Critic forum! As others have said, you will find loads of information on here and anything that you need to know, just ask. You will find that the majority of people on here are Americans but there are also quite a few of us Brits on here too. You will also find that the majority of people on your Mediterranean cruise will also be American but there will also be a fair number of Brits and other nationalities on there too. My husband and I are off on our 3rd Mediterranean cruise this June - it will be our 2nd with RCI. We are on the Brilliance this time - in 2014 we sailed on the Serenade and loved it. To get up to speed with the ports of call, I would recommend that you get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise ports as he writes the best guide books and includes details that you won't find anywhere else. You can even go to his website and download audio guides and walks for many of the ports in question - free of charge! The paperback version is £12.09 from Amazon.co.uk and there is also a Kindle version but I found that the writing was too small and none of the photos were distinguishable. The dining options on the ship are many and you can choose to eat every meal in the Windjammer buffet or dine in the main dining room or one of the specialist restaurants. You certainly won’t go hungry! I wouldn’t worry too much about making your son wear a suit for the formal nights as most people just dress in smart casual wear and he might feel uncomfortable dressed up when everyone else is not. You’re on a Mediterranean cruise ... and when in Europe, dress like a European.

We booked our 12 night Eastern Mediterranean/Greek Isle cruise in June through the Royal Caribbean UK website and weren't given a choice of dining time. We were allocated 6.30 p.m. which is far too early for us as we rarely dine before 8.30 p.m. at home on a normal working day. I just called the customer services department a couple of months ago to ask if we could change to MTD and we were "put on the waiting list". When we received our guest booklet and tickets, our dining time had been changed to MTD, so a was well. Sometimes you just have to ask.

I wonder if the "previously arranged transportation" is just RCCL-provided transportation or any car service.

 

I haven't gotten anything about staggered times for the 7/1 Brilliance yet. But I do have an arranged car service already scheduled and paid.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I haven't received any notifications regarding boarding times for the 6/19 Brilliance (immediately before your cruise) either, so maybe it's just being rolled in now or maybe only applies to the larger ships. If someone is travelling from a longer distance from the port and has been allocated an earlier time for boarding, they can hardly be expected to arrive earlier than they are able, so those who arrive earlier than their scheduled boarding time should be able to board instead of them. Why do they always have to try to "improve" things that work perfectly well the way that they are? 26 days to go!

Everyone is allowed one bottle of wine each. So, two if you are a couple.

No, it's not one per person, it's 2 bottles of wine per cabin, regardless of the number of occupants.

The crew isn't trying to have an experience...their just doing their job. As far as your experience...enjoy yourself...but allow other's to do so as well. It shouldn't matter what other's are wearing...if it does...perhaps opt for a more formal cruiseline...there are several to choose from.

 

BTW: RCI suggests attire....it's not an enforced "policy".

Thank you. I'm also fed up with being dictated to by other passengers as to what I can wear when I go to eat my dinner! As long as I'm clean and well-presented, what does it have to do with other people? I cruise because I like being on the sea and visiting other places. If other people's idea of cruising is to spend all their time dressing up and commenting on how their fellow passengers are attired, then that's up to them.

We've prepaid ours in advance because whatever the actual exchange rate is on the day, you can guarantee that Royal Caribbean will be charging you a higher rate. We live in Spain and booked our Eastern Med/Greek Isles cruise for June via royalcaribbean.uk. Before booking, we did our EUR - £ calculations and compared our calculated price to the euro price shown on the royalcaribbean.es website and it worked out cheaper to book through the UK site. But when my credit card bill arrived, the price was quite a bit higher than we has calculated, even taking into consideration that there is a charge for paying on a credit card. At least when you book in advance in £ sterling, you will know how much you are going to pay. And it's also nice not to have to think about tipping again, as you have already pre-paid yours.

Aft cabins are a bit like caviar (or Marmite for those people who know what that is). They are an acquired taste and not for everyone. If you like to be the life and soul of the party and adore spending your time lying amongst thousands of other people listening to loud music whilst the party games take place around the overcrowded pool, then the peace and quiet of an aft cabin with nothing but the sound of the sea and only your own company would probably sound like hell. For me, hell is the crowded pool area and having to rub shoulders with several thousand people all "having fun"! Each to his own, I say! I can't wait to enter my 8th deck aft cabin on Brilliance in June and I look forward to the peace and quiet of just me and my husband chilling on our aft balcony - alone!

Issuing a travel warning for the whole of Europe is just scaremongering. [EDIT: just noticed later posts: It's an alert]

 

FWIW, we're off to Southern Portugal on Monday, for a land-based holiday, and it never crossed our minds to reconsider. Actually, should I go into my local big British city on Saturday?

 

Of course, Turkish cities are likely targets. So are some of the biggest cities in Europe. But there are huge swathes where the risk is minimal.

 

And, to be brutal, while perhaps 40 people in Europe were killed by terrorists last week, probably ten times that number died in road accidents, and 750 million people either survived the week or died of natural causes.

 

Caution is necessary; scaremongering isn't. I detect officials trying to protect their own backs so that if something happens, they can say, "we warned you."

 

Please don't boycott Europe.

 

Stuart

Agreed Stuart. We have no plans to make any changes to our June cruise around the Eastern Med/Greek Isles either. Europe has always been a relatively safe place to be in. I'd be much more concerned if I was planning on a visit to the USA. According to statistics:

"As of December 23, a total of 12,942 people had been killed in the United States in 2015 in a gun homicide, unintentional shooting, or murder/suicide."

Europe still has a long way to go to even compare with those figures. Happy cruising everyone!

I am with the majority, fly in at least a day early. My first time going to Europe was for a cruise and I booked a stop-over flight for my mother and I arriving on Thursday for a Sunday departure. Due to equipment issues our first flight leg was cancelled and we were eventually re-booked on a later flight (with a stop over). I live in a major US city so flights were not a problem, the issue was seat availability. Our suitcases did not arrive until Saturday midday.

 

I say all this to warn against arriving the same day for a European cruise if one does not reside in Europe.

Even residing in Europe isn't a guarantee that your luggage will arrive with you! We live in Spain and were flying to Mallorca from Lanzarote via Barcelona and Vueling managed to lose my luggage both there and back and my husband's luggage just on the return journey. Luckily we had booked a hotel in Mallorca for the night and my luggage arrived a couple of hours before the ship departed.

So everyone seems to agree a day early at least. I would agree. Barcelona is so beautiful and would add a lot to the experience. I say go a few days early and enjoy. City architecture is unusual because of Dali so you should definitely check it out. You won't regret it

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Whilst there are several places that celebrate the life of Salvador Dali in Cataluña - the Dalí Theatre and Museum, which is located in Dali's home town of Figueres, the Castillo Gala Dalí in Púbol and Salvador Dalí's house in Portilligat, I would say that Barcelona is better known for the architecture and works of Anton Gaudí, whose fantastic structures such as Casa Batlló, La Pedrera and of course, the soon-to-be-finished amazing Sagrada Familia are worth spending an entire week visiting, along with Parc Güell and all his other works of art. Unique!

We were in cabin 7654 and didn't hear anything at all from anywhere. It's a little longer walk from everything but worth it for the peace and quiet.

Well I have to disagree with many of the comments above about the "obscured view" section of the deck 7 balconies. We were in cabin 7654 on the Serenade of the Seas cruising the Eastern Mediterranean and we loved everything about it. The view below us was slightly obscured but as we spent most of our time on the balcony sitting or laying down, we couldn't really see the obstruction below us. And the additional space that we had on our deck 7 balcony, that none of the other decks above us had, was wonderful. People have commented on them being overlooked but the roofed area is exactly the same as on the other levels but we had an additional area that was outside the roofed area which allowed us to lay down comfortable to sunbathe whilst still staying mainly within the privacy of our covered area. I don't worry if my legs are on view to people sitting above us and surely most of the passengers above us would also be sitting or laying down and not leaning over their balconies looking down on us. Here are a couple of our photos taken on a sea day on our way to Santorini. Not a bad view eh?