Best Advice Received/Best Advice Given

[Cool Waters]

I decided not to do a formal review of the Pride that we sailed two weeks ago :o. I figured you guys had seen the pics and heard the stories and mine were no different. But I did want to share some things that I found very helpful and give some advice to others who are new or just want to learn something new. Everything listed will not work for everyone, but I just thought I would share them anyway. I am by no means a seasoned cruiser...in fact I have only sailed once!

 

The best advice I received for my first cruise:

 

1. Use the casino as your ATM. The ships ATM charge $6 for each transaction. I loaded money onto my machine and then loaded it to my sail and sign card and cashed out. That simple and it only took me a matter of 3 mins. The same amount of time you may have to spend in line waiting for the ATM.

 

2. Take a bungee cord. That thing was very handy! And I didn't even use it to keep my cabin door open. I used it to hang our swimwear on the balcony and to dry our beach towels. I just looped it through the clothes so the wouldn't blow way and used clothes pins on towels.

 

3. Purex 3 in 1. I think I might just use these for home too! I never new about them until I joined CC.

 

4. Don't try to do everything; You are on vacation. By far the best advice. I had my entire trip planned in August and one day looking at everything we had planned, I realized that I was going to be waking up at 5am three day of my vacation and I was going to be rushed b/c I had so much planned in a day. I deleted half of everything and had the best vacation ever :D!

 

The best advice I could give for your first or next cruise:

 

1. Self - Assist Disembarkation. If I would have known then...what I know now...boy oh boy! We arrived in Baltimore at 10am, but b/c we did not want to worry about the bags, we sat them out side of the cabin the night before. We did not get off the ship until 12:45 b/c we had to wait for our zone to be called. Next time...it's self-assist for us ;).

 

2. Arrival time for port. I think b/c we were so excited and it was our first cruise, we got to the port at 11:50am. We did not board until 1:30pm and the rooms were not ready until 2:50pm. That was not bad at all...but then I saw people getting on the ship at 3:30 and going straight to their rooms, drop off the luggage and then go the buffet. I thought to myself...why didn't we do that? :confused:

 

3. Don't sweat the small stuff. Okay, so the waiter may not have your order correct and your room steward may have forgotten to fill your ice bucket...so what :rolleyes:! No one is perfect. These men and women worked very hard the entire cruise. I never once saw a crew member just standing around. They were working as hard as they could and I totally appreciated everything they did to make our cruise very enjoyable.:)

 

 

Okay, last but not least......

 

THE TIPS....

 

I know, I know...everyone is sick of hearing about it, but here is what we did. DISCLAIMER: I am not telling anyone to do what we did. I am simply telling everyone what we did. It may not work for you and you may not agree with it, but it's what I felt was best for us.

 

Okay, so we all know the breakdown is this:

 

$3.50/per day to the room steward

$5.50/per day to the dining room staff

$1.00/per day for the buffet staff and others

 

Total of $140/per week for the two of us on a seven day cruise.

 

I already knew what days we were going to eat in the dining room and which days at the buffet. We also knew that we would not be eating in the dining room for breakfast or lunch, only the buffet. So, I went to guest services and asked the lady to remove the tips Tuesday morning (they do not post them until Monday night) and I asked for envelopes. I asked her what to do with the envelopes when I was finished and she told me to give them to her with our room number on them and who they were for. So we went back to the room and here is what I did:

 

Room Steward - $50 for the week (3.50*7*2 = 49)

Dining Room - $45 for the week (5.50*4*2 = 44) Even though 5.50 is for three meals per day, we decided that it was worth the whole 5.50/pp for our 4 nights of dinner in the MDR.

Buffet and Other - $45 for the week (3*7*2 = 42) Lots of time spent here and not to mention the best omelet guys!!

 

Total for the week - $140

 

We stuffed the envelopes, left the room steward's envelope on the bed and gave the others to the women at guess services all within a matter of a half hour so no one thought they were being stiffed. NOW....whether or not they keep them as I gave them...I don't know, but I did what I thought was fair FOR US.

 

So what was some of the best advice you have received or have been given for a cruise?

[I Luv Crusin]

THE TIPS....

 

I know, I know...everyone is sick of hearing about it, but here is what we did. DISCLAIMER: I am not telling anyone to do what we did. I am simply telling everyone what we did. It may not work for you and you may not agree with it, but it's what I felt was best for us.

 

Okay, so we all know the breakdown is this:

 

$3.50/per day to the room steward

$5.50/per day to the dining room staff

$1.00/per day for the buffet staff and others

 

Total of $140/per week for the two of us on a seven day cruise.

 

I already knew what days we were going to eat in the dining room and which days at the buffet. We also knew that we would not be eating in the dining room for breakfast or lunch, only the buffet. So, I went to guest services and asked the lady to remove the tips Tuesday morning (they do not post them until Monday night) and I asked for envelopes. I asked her what to do with the envelopes when I was finished and she told me to give them to her with our room number on them and who they were for. So we went back to the room and here is what I did:

 

Room Steward - $50 for the week (3.50*7*2 = 49)

Dining Room - $45 for the week (5.50*4*2 = 44) Even though 5.50 is for three meals per day, we decided that it was worth the whole 5.50/pp for our 4 nights of dinner in the MDR.

Buffet and Other - $45 for the week (3*7*2 = 42) Lots of time spent here and not to mention the best omelet guys!!

 

Total for the week - $140

 

We stuffed the envelopes, left the room steward's envelope on the bed and gave the others to the women at guess services all within a matter of a half hour so no one thought they were being stiffed. NOW....whether or not they keep them as I gave them...I don't know, but I did what I thought was fair FOR US.

 

So what was some of the best advice you have received or have been given for a cruise?

 

I would have just left the tips as they were. That seems like a lot of extra work. I think it levels out just to leave them. This way you aren't sure that anyone got "stiffed". :confused:

[firefly333]

So you gave $45 in a envelope and labeled it for the buffet workers .. but since of course there was no way of finding who served you ...you gave it to the purser's desk and think this is a great tip.

 

OK.. everyone is going to do it their way of course.

 

Sure to start more arguments...

[Cool Waters]

So you gave $45 in a envelope and labeled it for the buffet workers .. but since of course there was no way of finding who served you ...you gave it to the purser's desk and think this is a great tip.

 

OK.. everyone is going to do it their way of course.

 

Sure to start more arguments...

 

We had anytime dining in the MDR, so we never knew who our waiter was going to be, so we just labeled it Dining Room Staff. The buffet workers enveloped was labeled Buffet staff/Others. The young women at Guest Services told me how to label them. She also told me it was common for people to allot the money differently.

 

But as my post stated, you do not have to like what we did. I was just stating what we did to let others know it is a possibility.

[firefly333]

I think everyone knows you can remove tips. Not a secret.

 

I hope you enjoyed your cruise, to me thats the important thing.

[Cool Waters]

I would have just left the tips as they were. That seems like a lot of extra work. I think it levels out just to leave them. This way you aren't sure that anyone got "stiffed". :confused:

 

It may have been a lot of extra work for you, but I already knew what we had planned and I wanted most of it to go to the buffet staff as this is where we spent most of our time for meals. Again, this was my choice and I was just sharing with everyone that it is a possibility. We still payed the same amount as everyone else....well not everyone else b/c on the last night we were standing in line to add more money to our account and some in line with us where talking about removing them all together b/c they felt as if their fare should have taken care of it.

[Cool Waters]

I think everyone knows you can remove tips. Not a secret.

 

I hope you enjoyed your cruise, to me thats the important thing.

 

I never said removing tips was a secret. I was stating the possibility to rearrange them if you do not think they are fair as is. I felt bad that the buffet people only got $1 per day when I spent most of my time there. But that is just me....I don't see why people can't grasp the concept, that we did what WE thought was best for US on OUR cruise. Some things that you may do for your cruise may seem like a waste of time for me, but it's your cruise and your vacation. And I feel the same way....If you had a great vacation, that is all that matters.

 

And yes...we had a great time! And can't wait to go again. Thanks.

[SueG]

Best Advice I received was Get a Balcony Room. :)

 

Best advice I give out is Get a Balcony Room. :)

[Cool Waters]

Best Advice I received was Get a Balcony Room. :)

 

Best advice I give out is Get a Balcony Room. :)

 

Yes, I forgot that advice!! It was a good one too. We had room 7258 on the Pride and the balcony was extra long!

 

P.s Thank you posting without the negativity. I appreciate that!!

[SueG]

Yes, I forgot that advice!! It was a good one too. We had room 7258 on the Pride and the balcony was extra long!

 

P.s Thank you posting without the negativity. I appreciate that!!

 

I never post anything negative. But I have flipped out once on someone just like you. Good job editing your post. I know it is hard to hold the tongue.

 

I have room 7258 in three weeks. :)

[Kurbanfan]

I can't even imagine where to begin to figure out how many emploees work in the buffet? How much do you think they each received:confused:

[Cool Waters]

I can't even imagine where to begin to figure out how many emploees work in the buffet? How much do you think they each received:confused:

 

I don't know...but the way carnival has it...they only receive $1 per day per person....I felt like it was highway robbery. And that's $1 per day for all three meals. So we gave them $3 per day per person....I thought that was a little bit better???:confused:

[Sgtmax2001]

Cool waters...thanks for the TIps and Ideas. It is good for me to read this stuff. We leave in a week. I my self would like to see photos of "The cheap seats" cabins not the aft wraps. If you have on I would love to see it. My wife and I ahve an ocean view.....wondering if it looks just like the photos on the CCL website;)

[retiredgram]

New cruisers will welcome your tips and advice, so thank you.

By the way, lovely avatar picture.

[mali06]

coolwaters . . . you GO girl!

[Sgtmax2001]

I don't know...but the way carnival has it...they only receive $1 per day per person....I felt like it was highway robbery. And that's $1 per day for all three meals. So we gave them $3 per day per person....I thought that was a little bit better???:confused:

 

 

Glad to see your intent was...well good. Just a thought...I wonder how much ANY of the staff get out of all the tips. :)

[Gypsywych]

Best Advice Received - Take a cruise!

Best Advice Given - Spring for the balcony!

 

I love the bungee cord one. My Honey usually brings some light twine and 6 clothespins. (That and duct tape he never travels without) I make sure to pack a Tide to go pen too!

[Kurbanfan]

I don't know...but the way carnival has it...they only receive $1 per day per person....I felt like it was highway robbery. And that's $1 per day for all three meals. So we gave them $3 per day per person....I thought that was a little bit better???:confused:

 

Actually Carnival lists the extra dollar a day going to other kitchen and hotel staff......that to me sounds like a specific group of people........not buffet staff.......

 

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/faq/default.aspx?icid=CC_Footer_88

 

What is the tipping policy onboard?

Service Gratuities

For your convenience, we automatically charge the gratuities for dining and stateroom staff to your onboard Sail & Sign account. The total amount is $10.00 per guest, per day (our recommended guideline) as follows:

$ 3.50 Per Day Stateroom Services

$ 5.50 Per Day Dining Room Services

$ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff

For Cruises-To-Nowhere, gratuities of $10 per guest, per day must be prepaid.

[Cool Waters]

Actually Carnival lists the extra dollar a day going to other kitchen and hotel staff......that to me sounds like a specific group of people........not buffet staff.......

 

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/faq/default.aspx?icid=CC_Footer_88

 

What is the tipping policy onboard?

Service Gratuities

For your convenience, we automatically charge the gratuities for dining and stateroom staff to your onboard Sail & Sign account. The total amount is $10.00 per guest, per day (our recommended guideline) as follows:

$ 3.50 Per Day Stateroom Services

$ 5.50 Per Day Dining Room Services

$ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff

For Cruises-To-Nowhere, gratuities of $10 per guest, per day must be prepaid.

 

Correct. So I called carnival to find out how much they were tipped and they told me the buffet workers were included in the $1 per day. That was when I decided to do what I did b/c I felt bad for them.

[Cool Waters]

My advice is to get this thread back on track before it is pulled.

 

That is very good advice! I want this thread to stay alive to help others. Thank you!!

[Cool Waters]

Glad to see your intent was...well good. Just a thought...I wonder how much ANY of the staff get out of all the tips. :)

 

lol...that's a good question!

[Cool Waters]

Cool waters...thanks for the TIps and Ideas. It is good for me to read this stuff. We leave in a week. I my self would like to see photos of "The cheap seats" cabins not the aft wraps. If you have on I would love to see it. My wife and I ahve an ocean view.....wondering if it looks just like the photos on the CCL website;)

 

Yes! I am getting ready to set up a photobucket account so I can post a pic of the room. And yes..the rooms are just as you see them...if you see pics before you go..it's really strange when you open your cabin door for the first time! It's like the pics come alive..lol

 

New cruisers will welcome your tips and advice, so thank you.

By the way, lovely avatar picture.

 

Thank you!! I appreciate that!

 

coolwaters . . . you GO girl!

 

Thank you!!

[missdebi]

You know very few post on here have "new" information that no one has heard but we have new people to cruise critic everyday so the info may be new to them~as you can see I don't post much but I have been a member for around 10 years and see new stuff all the time. It may not a secret that you can remove tips but that one new person may have been reading this post and it was new to them but really did you~firefly~ need to point it out? And I personally feel she~cool waters~ made a very good effort to be fair to the servers and should be commended. I usually leave my tips as is because I am to lazy to make the change and I will tip extra if it is warranted~

[floridagirl2773]

Thank you Cool Waters! I appreciate your information!

[Snapdad]

You sure do seem to want to start a fight. I said if you post about tips to expect people to argue. ..

Expect YOU to argue is what it looks like. Why take the time to post "not a secret"?