a few thoughts after completing first cruise

[spursdebs]

7 day cruise from Vancouver to Alaska returned last Thursday via Vegas (the long way home)... we had prepaid gratuities but still felt we had to leave extra cash so i think in future i wont pre pay gratuities, all excursions can be booked from the dock side and are cheaper than ship and some Internet sites, had prepaid premium non alcoholic drinks package but i felt it was a waste of money for us if you go out a lot drink loads then yes but not for us and also the couple of alcoholic drinks i had were half the price of what i pay at home, i think my number one tip would be take sea sickness pills before you leave the dock prevention is better than the alternative and on our 2nd night we had a bad storm and even worse one on the 3rd night a baptism of fire/water indeed!! will post a more detailed review when i get time.

 

debs

[Hapytocruise]

we had prepaid gratuities but still felt we had to leave extra cash so i think in future i wont pre pay gratuities,

debs

 

Welcome to the boards ....but not quite sure why not pre paying gratuities would make a difference to your sense of not leaving "extra". Gratuities if "not" prepaid would be charged to your account on a daily basis...no cash is exchanged for service. So your sense of giving "extra cash" would likely remain. We (along with many others) always give "extra" for good service.

[lcmslady]

7 day cruise from Vancouver to Alaska returned last Thursday via Vegas (the long way home)... we had prepaid gratuities but still felt we had to leave extra cash so i think in future i wont pre pay gratuities, all excursions can be booked from the dock side and are cheaper than ship and some Internet sites, had prepaid premium non alcoholic drinks package but i felt it was a waste of money for us if you go out a lot drink loads then yes but not for us and also the couple of alcoholic drinks i had were half the price of what i pay at home, i think my number one tip would be take sea sickness pills before you leave the dock prevention is better than the alternative and on our 2nd night we had a bad storm and even worse one on the 3rd night a baptism of fire/water indeed!! will post a more detailed review when i get time.

 

debs

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

When I did Alaska, I found the water to be a little rougher and stormier than any other cruise that I've done.

Unless you know that you get seasick, I wouldn't let this deter you from cruising again. If you cruise somewhere else - like the Caribbean - the water is smoother (barring a hurricane).

[yayvacation!]

Welcome to the boards ....but not quite sure why not pre paying gratuities would make a difference to your sense of not leaving "extra". Gratuities if "not" prepaid would be charged to your account on a daily basis...no cash is exchanged for service. So your sense of giving "extra cash" would likely remain. We (along with many others) always give "extra" for good service.

 

Welcome!

 

These were my thoughts also, the gratuity amount won't change if you leave extra cash anyway. If we are interpreting your thoughts incorrectly, please correct us!

 

I did my first Alaska cruise this year (4th cruise overall) we found the seas to be really calm for that sailing, but I always load up on sea sickness meds because rough seas can hit you anywhere!

 

Also, did you use your beverage package for the premium coffees, bottled water, smoothies, hot teas etc.? We found the package to be a great deal on a Caribbean cruise, but we elected to not go with it in Alaska because of all the time in port.

 

Looking forward to your full review!

 

Andrea

[kitty9]

Why did you feel you needed to leave extra cash for tips? Did you feel forced to do this, or was it something you wanted to do because the service was extra special?

[SAC69]

That was a very long sentence....

[Highlander1]

Catch your breath............................. :), ok, sounds to me like you had no complaints except things you would like to do over. Perhaps, you should have stated some positives as there is not one thing the cruiseline or staff could have done to make your vacation better.

[sandancer]

Debs, welcome to cc. There is no reason for you to pay extra tips if you have pre- paid your gratuities. Extra tips for great service are always very welcome but not necessary unless you want to reward someone over and above the usual amount. The tips are exactly the same whether you Pre- pay or have them added to your account daily.

[skiman1]

That was a very long sentence....

 

I thought the rules were not to comment on grammar, apparently some people either don't understand the rules, totally ignore them or just live such boring lives and can do nothing but be negative on here.:eek:

 

Welcome to the boards and don't worry about your grammar from the grammar police.

[Dorset Cruiser]

That was a very long sentence....

 

.... and your point is:confused:

[PS90]

My last cruise was in '08, and I felt the same as you did about pre-paying tips - namely, it was awkward when everyone else seemed to be giving the crew little envelopes and we weren't. Since we pre-paid the tips, I'm not sure if the automatic-daily-tip-charged-to-your-account was in existence at that time or not. In a way, I hope they weren't doing the automatic withdrawal yet - since that would mean that this "awkwardness" has been alleviated somewhat now - since hopefully more people aren't giving envelopes anymore - and if they are it's only for exceptional service.

 

On one hand, it's easy to say "do worry about what everyone else is doing, and just tip what you think is reasonable", but, on the other hand, you never want to feel like the person who gave the crew less $$$ than everyone else (even if you paid the suggested amount).

 

So, in other words, I'm not sure what the answer to this dilemma is...

[Highlander1]

Your grats are included in the daily charges, giving extra is strictly up to each individual. We usually tip extra to those that show us how diligent and friendly they are over the course of the cruise. I am not one bit influenced by what others do or don't do. I feel the staff is generally a hard working bunch of folks and they are underpaid for their efforts. To show our appreciation, an extra $10 or $20 means the world to them and keeps our feet planted on the ground and shows them our gratefulness.

[Solstice23]

I can tell you they know who has pre paid the Grats each staff Member anyway. We pre pay and think its easy and service just as good!

[spursdebs]

worry about grammar if only i had the time. thats a FULL STOP in case the grammar police missed it!!

 

although i really do not understand why i have to justify my thoughts here goes what i meant about pre paying the tips,

 

i felt although i had pre paid my tips that i still had to give extra and i did indeed do that when i felt the service warranted it, extra to spa staff $20 a treatment on top of the 15%, extra to room attendant $50 extra to butler $100 (cash in all cases) these i did by choice plus specialty restaurants 20% extra, we used main dining room once had drinks out 3 times i think, other wise we used our suite hence the extra to those people, i think it cost me nearly £300 in pre paid tips for a week i would rather my money went to people that i can directly see look after me and yes i would prefer to leave cash at all times then i know the right person has got it.

 

re the sea sickness i am get travel sick in a car so was not taking any chances, my Mum who decided she would be fine and did not need them was the one being sick all night she started taking them next day.

 

the positives, scenery was stunning , the ship was not to big that i got lost, our suite 1040 was lovely with a huge balcony,we met some interesting people manly staff, such a diverse mixture of cultures, cruising is my mums dream to do its not mine to be honest i don't think it will ever be, altho i have already booked the next one for her.

[Michidoeme]

we booked through a TA who offered free gratuities, i.e. gratuities being part of total price and paid directly by them.

I am wondering if the staff gets finally exactly the same amount ?

[LMKohler]

We like the prepaid gratuities. We find it much easier. We also give cash at the end of the cruise to those staff members we feel gave exceptional service -- like the Martini Bar wait staff that has my wine ready when I arrive:D, the MDR staff and our cabin stewart. We generally do not tip the specialty dining staff, spa staff, bartenders, etc. as I feel the 15% tip they get for those services are adequate. Having said that, it is truly different on each cruise.

[TeaBag]

Spursdebs, you are one generous cruiser. I'm sure they loved you. I liked the old way of tipping better. I liked making up envelopes and writing comments for them. It's nice to personally reward those who make the cruise special. We still do that at the end of the cruise but I would prefer the tip all together. How nice of you to arrange another cruise for your Mom when it is not your first choice of vacation. Wonder how you liked Vegas?

[agabbymama]

worry about grammar if only i had the time. thats a FULL STOP in case the grammar police missed it!!

 

although i really do not understand why i have to justify my thoughts here goes what i meant about pre paying the tips,

 

i felt although i had pre paid my tips that i still had to give extra and i did indeed do that when i felt the service warranted it, extra to spa staff $20 a treatment on top of the 15%, extra to room attendant $50 extra to butler $100 (cash in all cases) these i did by choice plus specialty restaurants 20% extra, we used main dining room once had drinks out 3 times i think, other wise we used our suite hence the extra to those people, i think it cost me nearly £300 in pre paid tips for a week i would rather my money went to people that i can directly see look after me and yes i would prefer to leave cash at all times then i know the right person has got it.

 

re the sea sickness i am get travel sick in a car so was not taking any chances, my Mum who decided she would be fine and did not need them was the one being sick all night she started taking them next day.

 

the positives, scenery was stunning , the ship was not to big that i got lost, our suite 1040 was lovely with a huge balcony,we met some interesting people manly staff, such a diverse mixture of cultures, cruising is my mums dream to do its not mine to be honest i don't think it will ever be, altho i have already booked the next one for her.

 

Keep in mind if you remove the gratuities, and give cash to those you want to, they have to turn them in to the tip pool (they don't get to keep them). There are lots of folks behind the scenes that share in the tip pool, not just the folks you actually come into contact with. If you leave the tip in place, and tip extra, they do get to keep the additional.

[tserface]

That is really good to know. The amount of money that we usually tip is pretty negligible compared with the cost of the whole vacation and I always feel obligated (like it's part of the deal) to at least tip the recommended amounts, but there are times when I think someone does an extra good job and I want to make sure they get more. It's nice to know how this works so we can ensure that works. Tip pools seem like a rip-off to the really good workers IMO and it kind of takes away the personal incentive.

 

It kind of reinforces my idea that gratuities are really a "fee" and not a tip these days. I'd consider the extra amounts paid above the recommended gratuities to be the tip and the other just part of the cost of the cruise.

 

Tom

 

Keep in mind if you remove the gratuities, and give cash to those you want to, they have to turn them in to the tip pool (they don't get to keep them). There are lots of folks behind the scenes that share in the tip pool, not just the folks you actually come into contact with. If you leave the tip in place, and tip extra, they do get to keep the additional.

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

"My last cruise was in '08, and I felt the same as you did about pre-paying tips - namely, it was awkward when everyone else seemed to be giving the crew little envelopes and we weren't."

 

This February will be our first cruise on Celebrity, but we have cruised with Royal Caribbean many times. We always prepay gratuities, and on RC they give you a print-out along with the little envelopes. There is a little certificate for each staff person, along with our name. This way we have an envelope to hand to each staff person, even if we don't tip over and above.

 

Does Celebrity not do something similar?

[PS90]

"My last cruise was in '08, and I felt the same as you did about pre-paying tips - namely, it was awkward when everyone else seemed to be giving the crew little envelopes and we weren't."

 

This February will be our first cruise on Celebrity, but we have cruised with Royal Caribbean many times. We always prepay gratuities, and on RC they give you a print-out along with the little envelopes. There is a little certificate for each staff person, along with our name. This way we have an envelope to hand to each staff person, even if we don't tip over and above.

 

Does Celebrity not do something similar?

 

Well, it may have been changed over the three years since '08, but at that time, I think only a small minority of pax (including us) were doing pre-paid tips. There was no system at that time to let the crew know that you had already pre-paid your tips - the crew may have known, but they gave no indication that they did. No envelopes with certificates were available. I remember feeling like a complete idiot when I told my head waiter that I didn't have an envelope because we had already pre-paid, while he was standing there with a handful of white envelopes in his hand. I think Celebrity made the situation unnecessarily awkward for us at that time - almost like it was a necessity to "over-tip".

 

Again, I am fairly certain things have changed since then - now with auto-tipping and much more people doing pre-paid tipping.

[mandream]

"My last cruise was in '08, and I felt the same as you did about pre-paying tips - namely, it was awkward when everyone else seemed to be giving the crew little envelopes and we weren't."

 

This February will be our first cruise on Celebrity, but we have cruised with Royal Caribbean many times. We always prepay gratuities, and on RC they give you a print-out along with the little envelopes. There is a little certificate for each staff person, along with our name. This way we have an envelope to hand to each staff person, even if we don't tip over and above.

 

Does Celebrity not do something similar?

 

No Celebrity does not distribute envelopes and notes for tips. The staff knows who is auto-tipping, and who has elected not to. While some people may have found handing out little envelopes with tips offputting - I miss those days.

 

Mike

[njgrlloves2trvl]

What is the purpose of the staff "knowing" who has pre-paid their gratuities or not? It's unfortunate today that tips aren't viewed as optional but mandatory. I don't have requests that go above and beyond the normal such as an extra towel or something like that. I never get this extra special treatment.

[spursdebs]

Spursdebs, you are one generous cruiser. I'm sure they loved you. I liked the old way of tipping better. I liked making up envelopes and writing comments for them. It's nice to personally reward those who make the cruise special. We still do that at the end of the cruise but I would prefer the tip all together. How nice of you to arrange another cruise for your Mom when it is not your first choice of vacation. Wonder how you liked Vegas?

 

well contrary to what people think people from England (some) do know how to tip correctly lol i like to give a personal thanks as well whether verbal or a little note. I love Vegas been before but 3 days is enough for me its exhausting and i shop way to much if there is such a thing lol.

 

don't misunderstand me i enjoyed the cruise but i felt claustrophobic i know that sounds bizarre i am not sure how to explain it, i think its because i like to decide where i am going and how long i stay in a place and i am used to traveling on my own at my own pace and not having to consider other people, i suppose i am selfish.

 

debs

[Redtravel]

They don't pass out those envelopes unless you request them. If you prepay or do auto tips, the staff knows in advance. I did prepay on my last cruise. Service was just fair. I prefer the traditional tipping. You can still use your ship account. JUst post at the end of the cruise.