livingonthebeach

Since Chef's Table is a 3+ hour affair, the server has plenty of time in between courses to go to the MDR to fetch some lobster tails. As mentioned before, these warm water tails are hardly worth it -- you would be better off saving your appetite for the Chef's Table offerings.

The Key is advantageous when it is only a few dollars over Surf and Stream and you are traveling solo. Otherwise, like others have pointed out, it is not worth it. I wish RCI would credit the 24 hour Diamond benefit to the cost of the internet package -- but they won't.

What you describe seems to be the most likely scenario, in my view. Maybe the vendor and RCI need to find a better way of syncing.

We will be on Grandeur that is scheduled to dock there on November 14. The cruise continues to Labadee then returns to Miami. What is concerning is that while there are many shore excursions for Labadee and Miami -- there are absolutely none for Key West. I wonder if this is a sign we sill skip Key West?

As I have stated, over and over and thrice over again, I give very generous cash tips. I just erased the rest of the stuff I had in store for you!

Really? And you care to comment on my travel experiences which have probably been less exciting than yours?

Yes maybe not every day but often. Criminals target the most vulnerable unfortunately.

Wow -- thanks for sharing. I think things have changed a bit since then but then not by a whole lot. I agree that maybe this country needs to take cues from the European Model of having tipping included.

I would never patronize those places. Sorry that you did.

Yes I definitely have --- I live in a tourist resort area and there are many "junk" fees added and no idea where they go and certainly abusive but they are usually just a few dollars and not the fees that RCI charges on a daily basis.

Agreed. But why don't just include whatever tip (and tips are optional), in the cruise fare then we wouldn't be having this conversation would we? Not bragging but since we live in a tip culture and cash is king aren't we doing what we usually do? Really?

Understood, that was your experience but that's not how it works everywhere else. I also worked in a restaurant and know that not all of them operate the same way.

Thanks for sharing this. Now we know that the tips are not spread out shipwise -- only commissioned employees get tips. Interesting that he says that employees on American cruises get more tips than on Asian, European or Australian cruises. The US is has more of a tip culture and those tips are usually more in cash.

Direct or indirect tips? Did he mention that part?

Tips in our society have always been optional. In some countries in Europe tips are included and in Japan you don't tip at all. I really don't care what RCI spends on their costs to do business and what they charge me for my overall cruise but when they tack on some phantom tip charge that I don't know where it goes, I would rather pay generous cash to those that provide service directly to me, YMMV.

I have to believe that when I go to any restaurant and tip my waiter/waitress it goes directly to them and not to the owner to be divided by some unknown formula to contribute to the busboys' and dishwashers' salaries.

The problem some people have is that there is no way of knowing exactly where the gratuities go and how it's broken down. Like some others, I bring lots of cash and tip generously. I do have a problem with RCI charging me daily for something that is far from being transparent.

I didn't either and I hopped on the local bus not knowing where in the heck it was going. Never saw any bad areas at all. I loved the pink sand and all the shades of blue and green waters. It was way more upscale than some of the islands in the Caribbean, IMO and nothing like some of the 'hoods in Miami.

I've been on several transatlantics (precovid) and they were loads of fun! I don't know what the situation is now. I imagine the countries visited would have different CV19 requirements. I met a lot of lovely people on the TAs I've taken and would do it again in a heartbeat when the CV19 thing gets more relaxed.

You'll have to complete the cruise before you can take advantage of the Diamond Plus level though -- unless you sweet talk the Loyalty Ambassador but they mostly don't let you have the benefits until you have completed the cruise even if you make a new level while on the cruise.

Here is the loyalty points chart:

Fair enough. Some of the passengers can get unruly, wild, obnoxious and drunk, however we don't have to deal with them unless they are traveling with us. We do have to deal with the CSRs though, unless we go through a good TA.

I see them here on the beach wearing their speedos all the time -- I leave them alone too 😇

That's smart as it happens in the US as well especially tourist areas. The thieves can spot the tourists right away. When I lived in France you could spot an American tourist from miles away. Here in the Miami area the thieves target rental cars, hotels and shopping malls.

I have sailed on three different RCI ships after the lockdown and didn't encounter any major snafus. The first one I had to wear a mask indoors -- not fun. Other than that, supplies were plentiful, food was good and service was up to par. I did enjoy my Celebrity cruises more than RCI but haven't been on Celebrity recently. Can't say the same for Carnival, NCL and Princess. I want to try MSC for something different especially if they still have the matching loyalty levels. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw and not the actual cruise company. It's a good idea to try different lines before giving up on cruising altogether. Just my two cents worth.....