RCCL Secrets they don't tell you about

[ladylikes2cruise]

;)

Regarding bartender tips...

 

 

We were told (because we asked...) that if the tip is signed on the ticket to your seapass card, then it is divided equally among all the bar staff. However, if you give cash, it will be retained by the person for which it is intended.

 

 

GREAT topic... thanks for all the tips! :)

 

 

im sorry this may sound stupid, but i thought that an 15% tip was automaticly added for all drinks:confused:

 

that being said, i always tip extra cash to a server if they are attentive and friendly

[Boxer_Mom]

Don't think that this was already mentioned: With room service, you don't need to stick with the limited menu found in the guest book, or the card used for breakfast. With a few exceptions (like lobster, I think), call and they will deliver any dishes currently being served in the dining room.

 

 

Last Dec was our first cruise and we ordered alot of room service (cuz I am so picky-ate alot of fruit plates) and we ordered 4 lobster meals so we each had 2. So they will send up lobster too.

I have presciption Meclizine for occasional dizziness and I havent taken it in a while but when I did it made me very sleepy.

[TexasDH]

;)

 

im sorry this may sound stupid, but i thought that an 15% tip was automaticly added for all drinks:confused:

 

that being said, i always tip extra cash to a server if they are attentive and friendly

 

You are right... there is an automatic 15% tip on bar drinks... what we are discussing is an "extra" amount to be added for a specific bartender. (I should have been more clear... thanks for catching that!)

[WeLuvVacation]

The library is a great place for little indoor quiet time. Comfy chairs too.

 

 

 

For those of you who like to save some $ and room size or windows, balconies are not an issue an inside cabin can be a steal. We are paying 719 pp for a deck 8 insider 9 day VOS from Bayonne to the Carib. Also RCCL provides bus service to the pier from selected locations near ports if you live near a port. We are taking the bus from Long Island to Bayonne. Better than taking the car and having to park at the pier. Call the customer service number for details.

[DON M.]

Did you enjoy that filet that you had in Chops (for $20.00).? Tell the "head waiter" you would like to have that steak on such-and-such night and while giving him a small gatuity you will have that excellent beef instead of the "black angus sirloin" which tasted like the daughter of the "ranch steak" last month on the Jewel.

[TPKeller]

I have had the cabin attandant bring me seasickness pills......didn't even have to go to the desk to get them myself.

:D

I can't think of anyone, other than the seasick passenger themself, who has more incintive to provide seasick pills to a queasy person than the attendant responsible for cleaning their cabin!!!

 

Theron

[TPKeller]

I'd like to revisit something said on a couple posts from earlier. It has been my experience that the "virgin" version of drinks such as a pina colada are a buck or two cheaper than the regular versions... is this no longer the case? I would be very disappointed if this is true...

 

Theron

[herecomesthesun]

Try tipping the bartenders with something unusual...2-dollar bills or my favorite, the golden dollar coin. On our last cruise the waiters at the Wig & Gavel would see us coming and make sure that we got a table and great service!

 

I have read that cruise staff do not like recieving 2 dollar bills because in a lot of countries vendors think they are fake and won't take them, so they are hard to use. I have also read they don't like getting phone cards. If you give them cash and say, "Please use this to call home!" they can do it in the best way for them, which may not be by using the phone card you would choose or even using a phone card at all.

[cpawson]

When we order a soft drink we ask for one glass with the soda and one

glass with ice ---- this works well for us -

[volleymasha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teeara

Can't say if this is true on all RCCL ships, but on the Mariner if you went to the Schooner Bar and ordered the drink of the day they served it in an actual "glass" hurricane glass rather than the plastic hurricane glass served topside. Got two and they are very nice. The stem is the RCCL anchor logo and the printing is blue on the glass. Good quality and I enjoy making my own foo-foo drinks at home and serving them in the glasses. They might've been a dollar or two more than the plastic ones, but worth every penny of the extra $$.

 

 

When we were on the Navigator in May, I was served drinks of the day and other drinks in the schooner bar (and other bars we visited too, but we frequented the schooner) in the described hurricane glass for $5.95 -- which wasn't, as I recall, more than the plastic glass on the pool deck.

 

Margarita on the rocks in a hurricane glass to keep and late night adult sing-along with Matt Yee, can't beat it!

 

Also, we were given a buck off the drink of the day on the pool deck when we ordered it virgin.

 

Ahh, the memories....

 

Michelle

[Merion_Mom]

I have read that cruise staff do not like recieving 2 dollar bills because in a lot of countries vendors think they are fake and won't take them, so they are hard to use. I have also read they don't like getting phone cards. If you give them cash and say, "Please use this to call home!" they can do it in the best way for them, which may not be by using the phone card you would choose or even using a phone card at all.

I think that the phone card issue may depend on the staff member's home country. And regardless of whether s/he would have CHOSEN to use a phone card to call home, s/he CAN presumably do so with the phone card provided by the passenger, no matter how many minutes it gives the user.

 

I don't know of anyone who uses phone cards INSTEAD of the regular tip - it's a little extra, like leaving an unused bottle of something yummy in the cabin at the end of the cruise. I know for ME, I only get a phone card to take for my cabin steward if I find it on drastic sale, so it really is "just a little extra something." I also think that it shows that the passenger was THINKING about the worker's needs, and not just doling out cash. Of course, it all comes with a smile and a heartfelt THANK YOU.

 

Carol

[MrsPete]

You don't have to buy that photo that you like right away. You can stockpile all of them (either with the photo people at the desk or in a corner of the display) and make up your mind near the end which one(s) you want.

Be careful with this tip! I saw a great picture of my husband and daughter as they prepared to ride the Banana Boat, but I didn't buy it. Later, I wished I had, and I went back to get it. Duh -- other people were in that picture too, and one of them had already purchased it.

[MrsPete]

that's the ticket!!! Our cabins are on deck 2!

Deck 2 forward is fine; Deck 2 aft will be noisy because of the close proximity to the engines. You will not feel like you're in a dungeon -- not at all.

[MrsPete]

You do not have to pack your bags and leave them out in the hall the last nite.

You can just pack the last morning

and walk off the ship with them. I prefer this, but others with a lot of stuff might not like lugging it around the next morning.

I dislike the whole hurry-up-and-get-the-bag-out thing; it seems to ruin the last night of the cruise. I prefer to do as you suggested, but it does require some light packing, and it might be impossible for people with small children. No one will help you get your stuff off -- you must be able to manage it yourself.

 

For those who think it sounds like too much work: You have not yet experienced the joy of walking around through the terminal searching for your luggage. Even those of us with colored luggage have some difficulty finding all our things.

[MrsPete]

Regarding bartender tips...

 

 

We were told (because we asked...) that if the tip is signed on the ticket to your seapass card, then it is divided equally among all the bar staff. However, if you give cash, it will be retained by the person for which it is intended.

I have mixed feelings on this:

 

1) I'm not completely sure it's true, though it does sound like it would make the accounting simpler and it's believable on that account.

2) I do want to reward the person who gives me good service.

3) If I charge the tips to my room, then pay the final bill with my RCCI VISA, then I get double points towards my next cruise (because it's an RCCI purchase). Do what's best for the bartender, or do what's best for me?

[barbyma]

Be careful with this tip! I saw a great picture of my husband and daughter as they prepared to ride the Banana Boat, but I didn't buy it. Later, I wished I had, and I went back to get it. Duh -- other people were in that picture too, and one of them had already purchased it.

 

Aren't they all digital now? So it shouldn't matter if someone else buys it; it should still be available for another purchase, right?

 

Barb

[Former Goalie]

Another secret...seasick pills are free at the Guest Relations desk if you ask for them. Don't pay several dollars for the same thing at the gift shop.

Just as an FYI on Princess, they had changed that policy when we cruised Princess in 3/04 - there we had to pay.

[Former Goalie]

I have read that cruise staff do not like recieving 2 dollar bills because in a lot of countries vendors think they are fake and won't take them, so they are hard to use. I have also read they don't like getting phone cards. If you give them cash and say, "Please use this to call home!" they can do it in the best way for them, which may not be by using the phone card you would choose or even using a phone card at all.

I tip with $2 bills a lot, as well. I usually get an enthusiastic response. If the fake bill thing was an issue, I think that would be easily remedied by a trip to the ship's purser's office to exchage for different demoninations.

[dannyt818]

is hard to sneak alcohol and redbull onto an RC cruise? any tips i leave tomorrow...1st cruise

[NYDee]

Buzzard - those are great! I didn't know about the champagne bar. Being allergic to cigarette smoke, that's great news!

 

Keep em' coming!

 

There were a couple of tables that did not have the no-smoking signs in the Champagne Bar on our Navigator of the Seas cruise last February. And there were people smoking at them. Another person came and stood near our table and lighted up. We got into a verbal confrontation because I am also allergic to smoke. No help from RCI staff. She did leave.

[Former Goalie]

is hard to sneak alcohol and redbull onto an RC cruise? any tips i leave tomorrow...1st cruise

IMHO RCI's bark is worse than its bite. Particularly at the original port of embarkation, I haven't seen or heard about much confiscation of non-permitted items. Not to say it won't happen, but I doubt it would; maybe if you are bringing a couple of cases of wine or beer it would. Small amounts, OK most likely.

[MrsBoo]

is hard to sneak alcohol and redbull onto an RC cruise? any tips i leave tomorrow...1st cruise

 

Danny - Make sure your in the Royal Caribbean Forum - then do a word search on smuggling.

[dannyt818]

IMHO RCI's bark is worse than its bite. Particularly at the original port of embarkation, I haven't seen or heard about much confiscation of non-permitted items. Not to say it won't happen, but I doubt it would; maybe if you are bringing a couple of cases of wine or beer it would. Small amounts, OK most likely.

 

Thanks a lot, I am just bringing a a bottle jager and 8 red bulls. After all the reading I have done I haven't found any negative stories on getting it on the boat so I shall find out tomorrow! and I'll post how the cruise went!

[herecomesthesun]

Dee - Unfortunately, I think that smoking in non-smoking areas is not limited to cruising. If a place has a "party" atmosphere people often feel free to smoke. I recently when to a concert in a poorly ventilated auditorium with "No Smoking" signs everywhere, and a large number of people were smoking. I didn't have much a problem with it because when I think of concerts I personally think of drinking and smoking. :rolleyes: But for the people allergic to smoke I'm sure it was not enjoyable. What I'm trying to say is that when smokers are in a lively bar or lounge at night, they often don't think twice about lighting up because they believe it sort of comes with the territory. Its not a cruise problem, its a universal problem.

[NYDee]

Dee - Unfortunately, I think that smoking in non-smoking areas is not limited to cruising. If a place has a "party" atmosphere people often feel free to smoke. I recently when to a concert in a poorly ventilated auditorium with "No Smoking" signs everywhere, and a large number of people were smoking. I didn't have much a problem with it because when I think of concerts I personally think of drinking and smoking. :rolleyes: But for the people allergic to smoke I'm sure it was not enjoyable. What I'm trying to say is that when smokers are in a lively bar or lounge at night, they often don't think twice about lighting up because they believe it sort of comes with the territory. Its not a cruise problem, its a universal problem.

 

Agree that it is a universal problem. I get migraine headaches from smoke. Once I found out this was one of the major causes of them and have avoided smoke I rarely have them anymore. But that took more than 40 years.