Some questions from a first time cruiser

[Myfirstcruise2013]

Hi everyone,

Going on my first cruise with husband and daughter on June 21, Radiance of the seas Alaska Southbound.

 

I have some newbie questions...

 

Main Dining room for breakfast and lunch, can we eat anytime, or is it like dinner where we hava a specific seating time?

I see lots of posts about Windjammer, is it a more popular choice for breakfast and lunch than the Main Dining room?

 

Are any drinks with meals included? Ice water? Iced tea? Coffee/tea? Orange juice for breakfast?

I realize soda is not included, but does anyone know how much they charge for a soda if you don't buy the soda package.

And how much is a bottle of water on the ship?

 

I have read that you can bring 2 bottles of wine to each cabin, is that correct? Can you bring more wine during the cruise, when we stop at port?

 

Can you use cash on the ship or is it all charged to your room?

 

I will probably have many more questions but I'll start with this.

Anyone taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it. :)

[karena1]

Hi everyone,

Going on my first cruise with husband and daughter on June 21, Radiance of the seas Alaska Southbound.

 

I have some newbie questions...

 

Main Dining room for breakfast and lunch, can we eat anytime, or is it like dinner where we hava a specific seating time? I think there are set times the MDR is open, but when it is, it is open seating, no reservations or specific times

I see lots of posts about Windjammer, is it a more popular choice for breakfast and lunch than the Main Dining room? WJ is the more popular choice I think for Breakfast and Lunch. We have always found plenty of selection and good food for either breakfast or lunch. We are not into sitting and taking the time for a long breakfast/lunch in the MDR

 

Are any drinks with meals included? Ice water? Iced tea? Coffee/tea? Orange juice for breakfast? yes, water, tea, coffee and juice is included for Breakfast. For lunch you can also usually get like lemondade and crystal lite type drinks.

I realize soda is not included, but does anyone know how much they charge for a soda if you don't buy the soda package. Sodas will typically run around $3 with the tip I think.

And how much is a bottle of water on the ship? Not sure as I don't' buy it. I take empty water bottles with me and fill them up and keep them in a cooler in my room. Ship's water is fine for me.

 

I have read that you can bring 2 bottles of wine to each cabin, is that correct? Can you bring more wine during the cruise, when we stop at port? You can bring 2 bottles per cabin. Take them in your carryon luggage as it is much easier. No you cannot bring on additional bottles. If you buy more in ports, they will take it and give it back to you the last night.

 

Can you use cash on the ship or is it all charged to your room? Everything with the exception of the casino is charged to your seapass card. You can use cash in the casino.

 

I will probably have many more questions but I'll start with this.

Anyone taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it. :)

 

I will answer those I can for you. See above

[Goes Cruising]

All good questions, I'll try to answer below -

 

Hi everyone,

Going on my first cruise with husband and daughter on June 21, Radiance of the seas Alaska Southbound. Great ship choice, by the way :)

 

I have some newbie questions...

 

Main Dining room for breakfast and lunch, can we eat anytime, or is it like dinner where we hava a specific seating time? The dining room will be open specific hours for breakfast and lunch, but you just show up and get seated. There is a good chance you will be seated with other guests. They fill up the tables as people arrive. Dining room is only open for lunch on sea days. The Tutti salad offering available for lunch is awesome!

I see lots of posts about Windjammer, is it a more popular choice for breakfast and lunch than the Main Dining room? There are faithful followers of both choices. MDR definitely takes longer, but is more gracious. If you are short on time, and just want to grab something quick, WJ is your choice. I'm not much of a breakfast eater, so I usually don't hit either MDR or WJ, but on sea days, I always hit the MDR for lunch.

 

Are any drinks with meals included? Ice water? Iced tea? Coffee/tea? Orange juice for breakfast? All you mentioned, plus lemonade. There are several juices available. There is a fresh squeezed orange juice option, but it is for fee.

I realize soda is not included, but does anyone know how much they charge for a soda if you don't buy the soda package. I can't answer this one, but I can say, if you are a 1-2 soda a day type, you are probably better off buying single serving than the package

And how much is a bottle of water on the ship? Another one I can't answer.

 

I have read that you can bring 2 bottles of wine to each cabin, is that correct? Can you bring more wine during the cruise, when we stop at port? Any wine or liqueur you buy in port will be confiscated, and returned to you at the end of the cruise. I'm sure others would offer you can smuggle it in. I've never felt the need to do that.

 

Can you use cash on the ship or is it all charged to your room? The Casino is the only place cash is used. Everything else goes on your seapass. You can review your account on the TV services, which is recommended.

 

I will probably have many more questions but I'll start with this.

Anyone taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it. :) You are gonna have a great time!

[Myfirstcruise2013]

Thank you Karena1 and Goes Cruising. Your answers are really helpful.

:)

[Myfirstcruise2013]

I also wonder about tipping. I have been searching through several posts, but wasn't able to find the daily gratuity amount. I understand it will be added to the sea pass account.

 

Also, if I order room service, I'd like to leave a tip to the person who brings it, are they allowed to accept cash tips?

[DM_KidAtHeart]

I prefer dining in the MDR whenever it is an option. For breakfast and lunch, I don't think it takes that much longer (at least for me). And on a cruise I just prefer sitting down and being served.

 

I think I've read that a bottled water if purchased on the ship is something like a ridiculous $6. We bring our own case of bottled water on to the ship for this reason.

 

You can give cash tips to anyone so far as I know. I've never seen anyone turn them down.

[Myfirstcruise2013]

Thanks KidAtHeart.

I think I will enjoy the Main Dining Room too, I just love sitting down and being served while on vacation and I don't want to rush through breakfast. And the Main Dining Room looks really beautiful too.

 

Wow $6 per bottle, that is crazy! I think I need to bring my own waterbottles and fill them up. Or a case of water.

[mkmom514]

The gratuity amount is about $12.00 per day. We usually tipped the person who brought our room service a couple of dollars (cash), more if we had a large order.

[bluegirlum]

One piece of advice that I read on here a while ago that I found really helpful was to bring along some envelopes to put cash in for different things: tips for room service (singles--I usually give $3); cash for the casino; cash for the cabin steward/dining room (I think $12 is about right); cash for transportation/shopping/excursions in port; cash for the trip home. You can leave the envelopes in the safe and then just pull them out when you need them rather than rummaging around for cash when you order room service or go to the casino.

 

You can also use cash to pay your Seapass bill if you prefer to do that. You can just go to Guest Services and give them cash for it. If I ever win anything in the casino, I go right to Guest Services and put it towards my bill.

 

And definitely bring your own water bottles if you're not picky about water. You can take cups of water from the windjammer and fill your water bottles from there. And if you like lemonade, many people bring single serving Crystal Light mixes and make their own.

 

What ship will you be on? Depending on the ship, it might have a Coke Freestyle machine, which gives you tons of soda options. Otherwise, I think cans are $2.50. So yeah, if you drink more than 2 a day, getting the package is definitely worth it--especially if the ship has a Freestyle machine.

 

Have a great time!

[Jimnbigd]

Milk is also included with all meals.

[cb at sea]

The tips they add to your account cover your room attendant, waiter, ass't waiter and head waiter. It doesn't cover room service, so a cash tip is nice to do. $1-5, depending on the size of the order.

[vegasnine]

We were on the Radiance just before she got all refurbished. It's a very nice ship. You'll have a great time.

 

We do the soda package and it's well worth it - not big alcohol drinkers.

 

I'm pretty sure you can use cash for drinks though - I do recall at one point paying cash, but maybe that has been changed.

 

You do all your tipping at the end - not every time. I have also started out our cruise by tipping our cabin steward a small amount when we first arrive. The service is always good though so I cant say it made much difference.