Transatlantic - Europe - NA - Europe?

[138east]

Hey 138East, great information, it could save us a lot of money!

Thanks a lot!

 

What is wait staff? You mean the waiters?

Do we have to pay them a tip even if we eat at the buffet and don't use their services?

How are the tips paid? And how much? Do we give it to them personally?

 

We aren't going to bother using any services onboard that aren't included in the price, and will probably avoid using the MDR and room service altogether.

 

The steward's services I guess we'll have to use, again, same questions:

How are the tips paid? And how much? Do we give it to them personally?

 

What other staff services we will have to use? which we can avoid?

 

Thanks!

 

You can prepay your tips or have them charged to your onboard account to be paid at the end via cash or credit card. No need to tip anyone while you are on the ship unless you use room service - those folks are not part of the tip pool. Your tips cover all the service you will get for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in any "free" food venue, which would include both the buffet AND the main dining room. There are lots of folks working very hard to provide you with at least three meals a day regardless of where you eat. Therefore there is absolutely no reason to skip eating in the MDR.

 

There are no other staff services you will have to use. If you purchase drinks, a tip is automatically added to your bill. There is absolutely no reason to carry around any cash on the ship.

[paul929207]

You can use cash to cover your on board account. The amount varies by line, but all require those using cash to put down a deposit. If you are using up the deposit, they will contact you and request additional cash. The last night they refund any money left over.

 

If using cash, you will do better to have the ship's on board currency.

[138east]

 

But I don't have a credit card, people don't really use them in Sweden, because private people don't really need credit.

I have a debit card, will that work?

If I wish, is it possible to pay cash, and do I get a receipt for any service that requires extra payment? Do I need to enter a pin number when they charge my key card? If I lose my card on board, what is stopping whoever finds it from using it before I cancel it and get another one.

 

!

 

You're going to spend several months in the US. A debit card is fine, but you might want to also get a credit card as a backup. You're worried about losing your ship card which can be easily replaced on the ship. Folks do not report issues with Replacing cards and they do not they report unauthorized usage. But what happens if you lose your debit card? Are you planning to carry around a lot of cash? Or are you going to make lots of bank withdrawals with your debit card?

[Lakesregion]

While we are not permitted to mention a particular travel agent if you will type in Repositioning Cruises in the search block at the top of your Cruise Critic page it will refer you to one of their advertisers who happens to offer a full range of repositioning cruises so you can see them all at the same time to compare dates, costs etc.

 

Sadly you will not be able to do a full Steve Ricks type of back pack voyage across the Atlantic and wait until you get to the US and rent a car and stay in our hotels. The cruise will look almost free.

 

One can sail across the Atlantic for $600 PP and under plus you will need to add the daily gratuity of from $12 - $15 PP even if you starve the full 7 - 14 days. Other than that and you never buy any soft or hard beverages or anything else you will be home free.

 

I strongly recommend a shirt with a collar and a pair of khakis vs. the T shirt and jeans. Even in the US there are places where they require a modicum of attire and on board ship the rest of the passengers will appreciate it if you do not look like a stow-a-way. As for Cunard, the least expansive TA I have seen is $599 in the dead of winter plus the daily gratuity and on that line do not even think about T shirt and jeans after 6 pm (during the day you will be allowed around but not really appreciated) beyond your cabin.

[kitty9]

I think most here will strongly suggest getting a credit card for your long trip. On board a ship, they will put a hold on your funds when using a debit card, and sometimes it can take two weeks for that hold to clear, meaning you won't have access to your own money. Also, most debit cards have a low daily limit, so unless you get your bank to increase that limit, you will have a problem. And because you're traveling a long time in the US, I just don't think a debit card is a good idea. There are problems with cloning debit cards, and if that happens, your entire account could be wiped out. At least with a credit card, you're usually only liable for $50 if you're a victim of fraud. Just this week, my sister's American Express card was cloned and fortunately they caught the fake charge of $990 when the thief tried to charge a flight with an online travel company. She wasn't liable for anything. If that had happened with a debit card, the outcome would have been different.

[SockPuppetPrince]

You're going to spend several months in the US. A debit card is fine, but you might want to also get a credit card as a backup. You're worried about losing your ship card which can be easily replaced on the ship. Folks do not report issues with Replacing cards and they do not they report unauthorized usage. But what happens if you lose your debit card? Are you planning to carry around a lot of cash? Or are you going to make lots of bank withdrawals with your debit card?

 

I think most here will strongly suggest getting a credit card for your long trip. On board a ship, they will put a hold on your funds when using a debit card, and sometimes it can take two weeks for that hold to clear, meaning you won't have access to your own money. Also, most debit cards have a low daily limit, so unless you get your bank to increase that limit, you will have a problem. And because you're traveling a long time in the US, I just don't think a debit card is a good idea. There are problems with cloning debit cards, and if that happens, your entire account could be wiped out. At least with a credit card, you're usually only liable for $50 if you're a victim of fraud. Just this week, my sister's American Express card was cloned and fortunately they caught the fake charge of $990 when the thief tried to charge a flight with an online travel company. She wasn't liable for anything. If that had happened with a debit card, the outcome would have been different.

 

Hey Kitty and East,

Actually I don't know how debit cards work in the US, but In Sweden your money is infact insured against fraud also with debit and with bank transfer too. It happened to me once that I ordered a product online and it arrived broken and the seller wouldn't take it back, I made a complaint to my bank and together with VISA they gave me my money back and I didn't have to pay anything.

The daily limits to the card I can set from my banking app on my phone and can change them instantly, and I can even set different limits for online and real life shops. so I usually set the limit for online purchases to $0 and to real life to about $30, then right before I want to purchase something bigger or online, I change it on my phone, make the purchase and change it back.

 

Also it's a chip debit card, so it cannot be cloned so easily and no one can use it in the shop without knowing my pin number. From what I know in the US most places still use the magnetic credit card and paper signature, which are very easy to abuse, but I think they are trying to change that to chip based also?

 

About the onboard bill, we will just use cash deposit, I don't want to deal with credit card companies any more than I have to. In Sweden at least the only difference between debit and credit card is that if you need to buy things you can't afford you need a credit card, and actually I don't know anyone from my friends or family who has a credit card, we all use debit cards.

 

So my wife and I will each have our debit cards and possibly traveler's cheques for backup and will use cash whenever possible. I think it allows us to control our expenses better too.

 

My question about losing the ship card was mainly to understand how does the ship crew verify it is truly the owner of the ship card who makes the purchase, so I don't fall victim to someone just buying drinks at my expense.

 

Try this article:

 

Finding a Cruise Travel Agent

 

Walt, that's for American travel agents, can I use an American travel agent to help me plan my trip from Sweden and back?

 

 

Sadly you will not be able to do a full Steve Ricks type of back pack voyage across the Atlantic and wait until you get to the US and rent a car and stay in our hotels. The cruise will look almost free.

We are planning to buy a van and sleep in the van, cheap motels and camping sites, no hotels for us :D

 

I strongly recommend a shirt with a collar and a pair of khakis vs. the T shirt and jeans. Even in the US there are places where they require a modicum of attire and on board ship the rest of the passengers will appreciate it if you do not look like a stow-a-way. As for Cunard, the least expansive TA I have seen is $599 in the dead of winter plus the daily gratuity and on that line do not even think about T shirt and jeans after 6 pm (during the day you will be allowed around but not really appreciated) beyond your cabin.

 

Sounds like we will steer clear of Cunard :)

Based on what people said we would prefer Norwegian if possible, so we can feel comfortable in our stow-a-way jeans ;)

Edited April 10, 2016 by SockPuppetPrince

[the english lady]

No one has mentioned travel insurance yet. If you are going to the USA you will need to get the very best travel insurance. Should anything go wrong out there health wise you will need $$$$$$$$$$.Any quotes you get make sure you say you will be on a cruise ship (to allow the cost of helicopter med evac) and I America.

Sounds like rather a grand adventure.

I know different lie but OH was going to take his swiss army knife on board. It was picked up on the scans, and he was called down while they opened his case.

The knife part was about 1 1/2" long ,so they let him keep it.

We were told they could take if off you, and just bin it...lesson learnt he does not take it with him now.

If you take your leatherman, make sure if they take if off you that they will keep it for the duration of the cruise, and not just bin it.

[Host Walt]

...Walt, that's for American travel agents, can I use an American travel agent to help me plan my trip from Sweden and back?

Probably not.

 

Some of the huge agents in the USA have European offices but by and large the US agents are unlikely to handle bookings from European residents. Reason is that many (most) cruise lines and airlines have regional rules and most have regional pricing rules that are based on the country of residence of the traveler.

[the english lady]

Also different t and c apply in different countries.

In the UK if you pay a deposit and then cancel the cruise you lose the deposit.

In the USA you can cancel up to final payment and get your deposit back.

In the UK if you pay for a cruise and the price goes down, tough you paid a price you were happy with.

In the USA if the price drops and you pick it up, you can ask them to reduce your fare.

Now you need to find a very good cruise specialist TA in Sweden, and find out what the t and c are in your country.

[SockPuppetPrince]

Also different t and c apply in different countries.

In the UK if you pay a deposit and then cancel the cruise you lose the deposit.

In the USA you can cancel up to final payment and get your deposit back.

In the UK if you pay for a cruise and the price goes down, tough you paid a price you were happy with.

In the USA if the price drops and you pick it up, you can ask them to reduce your fare.

Now you need to find a very good cruise specialist TA in Sweden, and find out what the t and c are in your country.

 

 

I'll see what I can find here. And of course the health travel insurance is something I always have, it's not even that expensive, $200 per person for up to 6 months in the US.

[Piggeldy]

If I were going to do what you plan to do, I would not book until the prices start dropping at the 75 day mark and I would be looking for a guarantee rate instead of a rate which allows you to select a specific cabin.

 

I would not be booking the spring TA before I left Europe. Brilliance the Seas Tampa to Barcelona had an inside cabin offer of $499 for this spring.

 

While I agree... this might not work in this case.

They will need a B2 visa (as ESTA only allows 90 days per stay) and the embassy might want to see that they have arranged a return journey. And even if the embassy doesn't, it's still possible that immigration wants to see that they have a return flight/cruise booked. It's the border guard's call to let you into the country (or not) and if they think something is fishy they will make it unpleasant for you as they may (even if you have a visa and are not traveling under the VWP). It doesn't necessarily have to be a problem but it could possibly be one.

 

Also SockPuppetPrince, for both the visa application and immigration you want to make sure that you have binding ties and proof of financial means for a four months stay in the US. They will ask how you can manage a multiple-months stay in the US (are you employed? what does your employer think about you being gone for months? if you are unemployed, can you provide proof that you will go back home?). If you got your B2 visa denied you might run into ESTA trouble in the future (due to previously having a visa denied).

 

Get a credit card. You don't need to use it. But you never know when you might need it (my BIL ended up at a gas station in northern Norway that only accepted credit cards... he didn't have one before and only got it for the trip). Just for the sake of peace of mind.

 

HeinBloed has done what you are planning (unfortunately he has only blogged about those cruises in German: http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.de/2014/11/tagday-11-auf-deron-quantum-of-seas-in.html & http://heinbloed-cunard.blogspot.com/2014/11/tagday-1-auf-deron-queen-mary-2-in-new.html) - cruised from Southampton to Bayonne (on Quantum of the Seas) and then returned by ship a few weeks later... but on Cunard. I know Cunard isn't usually cheap but you can make it work with ESTA if you are willing to pay a bit more for one leg of the journey (http://www.cruisetransatlantic.com/cruises.html)

[SockPuppetPrince]

While I agree... this might not work in this case.

They will need a B2 visa (as ESTA only allows 90 days per stay) and the embassy might want to see that they have arranged a return journey. And even if the embassy doesn't, it's still possible that immigration wants to see that they have a return flight/cruise booked. It's the border guard's call to let you into the country (or not) and if they think something is fishy they will make it unpleasant for you as they may (even if you have a visa and are not traveling under the VWP). It doesn't necessarily have to be a problem but it could possibly be one.

 

Also SockPuppetPrince, for both the visa application and immigration you want to make sure that you have binding ties and proof of financial means for a four months stay in the US. They will ask how you can manage a multiple-months stay in the US (are you employed? what does your employer think about you being gone for months? if you are unemployed, can you provide proof that you will go back home?). If you got your B2 visa denied you might run into ESTA trouble in the future (due to previously having a visa denied).

 

Get a credit card. You don't need to use it. But you never know when you might need it (my BIL ended up at a gas station in northern Norway that only accepted credit cards... he didn't have one before and only got it for the trip). Just for the sake of peace of mind.

 

HeinBloed has done what you are planning (unfortunately he has only blogged about those cruises in German: http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.de/2014/11/tagday-11-auf-deron-quantum-of-seas-in.html & http://heinbloed-cunard.blogspot.com/2014/11/tagday-1-auf-deron-queen-mary-2-in-new.html) - cruised from Southampton to Bayonne (on Quantum of the Seas) and then returned by ship a few weeks later... but on Cunard. I know Cunard isn't usually cheap but you can make it work with ESTA if you are willing to pay a bit more for one leg of the journey (http://www.cruisetransatlantic.com/cruises.html)

 

 

Those are are all very valid and important points, and we will take into account. I'll try to read the blog with my wife, she is a German speaker.

Thanks a lot!