Cruise ship crime

[NSWP]

22 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Princess do still charge the $15 corkage on wine brought on board in addition to the one bottle each that is permitted free of charge.

They certainly do charge the $15 corkage for carry on wine, other than the 1 bottle permitted.   And only at embarkation, not along the way.  As for taking your own glass of wine from your hidden bottles into the MDR, that is just not cricket, depriving those hardworking waiters their 15% gratuity on purchase of a bottle of wine. from the MDR wine list.

[greykangaroo]

Quote:  As for taking your own glass of wine from your hidden bottles into the MDR, that is just not cricket, depriving those hardworking waiters their 15% gratuity on purchase of a bottle of wine. from the MDR wine list.

 

Please stop with these jokes, my sides ache.

My waiters and the head waiter get gratuities that I give them. Generally they have a picture of the Queen on them.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

As for taking your own glass of wine from your hidden bottles into the MDR, that is just not cricket, depriving those hardworking waiters their 15% gratuity on purchase of a bottle of wine. from the MDR wine list.

 

I generally don't drink on cruises so I can't comment on the quality of the wine but if the wine is that bad and the price overly inflated (I expect the price to be  more than on land but it still should be within reason) then I don't see anything wrong with people seeking an alternative to what the cruise ship provides. It is the company's responsibility to provide decent quality products at decent prices. If the only options are flagrant rip offs then I think people should not purchase them because if people will still pay for them then it encourages cruise lines to drop the quality more whilst still inflating prices. 

[Aus Traveller]

16 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I generally don't drink on cruises so I can't comment on the quality of the wine but if the wine is that bad and the price overly inflated (I expect the price to be  more than on land but it still should be within reason) then I don't see anything wrong with people seeking an alternative to what the cruise ship provides. It is the company's responsibility to provide decent quality products at decent prices. If the only options are flagrant rip offs then I think people should not purchase them because if people will still pay for them then it encourages cruise lines to drop the quality more whilst still inflating prices. 

In my opinion, Princess sells reasonable to good quality wine at prices you would see in a restaurant. Some people complain because a bottle that sells for (say) $30 or so on board, might sell for $10 at Dan Murphy. However, that isn't a fair comparison. Princess have to cover the cost of storing the wine and serving it. The same as a restaurant has to.

 

Cruise companies in this 'middle market' keep the initial cruise fare fairly low to get the business, but have to make extra revenue from discretionary spending - wine sales, tours, photographs and other sales on board. If people don't want to buy this items, they don't have to. I know several people who cruise regularly who spend very little (in one case nothing) on board.

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

They certainly do charge the $15 corkage for carry on wine, other than the 1 bottle permitted.   And only at embarkation, not along the way.  As for taking your own glass of wine from your hidden bottles into the MDR, that is just not cricket, depriving those hardworking waiters their 15% gratuity on purchase of a bottle of wine. from the MDR wine list.

On the Australian-based cruises, the waiters don't get a gratuity from purchases of wine. The price shown on the menu is the price you pay. Also, I think that Princess have increased the drinks gratuity (on cruises elsewhere in the world) from 15% to 18%.😒

Edited August 24, 2019 by Aus Traveller

[OzKiwiJJ]

26 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

In my opinion, Princess sells reasonable to good quality wine at prices you would see in a restaurant. Some people complain because a bottle that sells for (say) $30 or so on board, might sell for $10 at Dan Murphy. However, that isn't a fair comparison. Princess have to cover the cost of storing the wine and serving it. The same as a restaurant has to.

 

Exactly. The only fair way to compare the prices is to restaurant prices, and Princess often comes off being a bit cheaper - or used to, I haven't seen the new wine list yet.

 

I enjoy trying some of the overseas wines Princess and other cruise lines offer. It's nice to have something a bit different.

 

Of all the cruise lines I think Princess has the most generous policy regarding bringing wine, water and soft drinks onboard. Let's hope it stays that way.

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

On the Australian-based cruises, the waiters don't get a gratuity from purchases of wine. The price shown on the menu is the price you pay. Also, I think that Princess have increased the drinks gratuity (on cruises elsewhere in the world) from 15% to 18%.😒

Correct.   P&O UK have also abolished daily gratuities and drink gratuity.  All rolled into the fare now, like Princess Australian based cruises.  There are reports that wine prices on the current Sea Princess 'Worldie' are really inflated.  We shall see when we board Majestic Princess on Feb 12 - Sydney to Singapore.

Edited August 24, 2019 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

11 minutes ago, NSWP said:

 There are reports that wine prices on the current Sea Princess 'Worldie' are really inflated.  We shall see when we board Majestic Princess on Feb 12 - Sydney to Singapore.

I'll let you know next weekend. I was expecting a hike in prices with the new wine list, especially with the AUD being so low. I imagine Princess buys, or at least prices, all it's wine in USD. In the past they didn't seem to change the base price much for AU - I recall having a pinot grigio on our Med Cruise that was US $32 a bottle and the same wine was on Diamond six months later at AU $32 a bottle. However I expect that has all changed now.

[MicCanberra]

On one cruise, my wife had a brooch stolen off her jacket, while having some photos taken by the ship's photographer, it was in one photo and 5 minutes later it was gone in the other photos. Vanished into thin air.

[The_Big_M]

I've been fortunate enough to have things lost on board, handed in. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

55 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

On one cruise, my wife had a brooch stolen off her jacket, while having some photos taken by the ship's photographer, it was in one photo and 5 minutes later it was gone in the other photos. Vanished into thin air.

How on earth could that have happened? Did someone (deliberately) bump into her or something? 

 

Actually a cruise ship would probably be good pickings for a professional thief, especially on formal nights. And it would be easy enough to carry the pickings off at the end of a cruise. 

[MicCanberra]

The jacket was taken off and put on a chair nearby, apparently no one saw anything, but someone must have.

[OzKiwiJJ]

That would have been very upsetting for Rosie. Was it a favourite brooch? 

[MicCanberra]

19 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

That would have been very upsetting for Rosie. Was it a favourite brooch? 

I had only bought it for her about 4 hours earlier, but it was still devastating for her.

[OzKiwiJJ]

12 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I had only bought it for her about 4 hours earlier, but it was still devastating for her.

I can imagine! What a rotten thing to happen. 😪

[MicCanberra]

There was the first reported crime in space earlier this year. It can happen anywhere.

[MicCanberra]

NASA astronaut Anne McClain, who spent 203 days in space aboard the International Space Station earlier this year, has been accused of identity theft and improperly accessing the private financial records of her estranged spouse, according to a report by The New York Times

[Beejay4016]

On 8/28/2019 at 7:41 PM, MicCanberra said:

NASA astronaut Anne McClain, who spent 203 days in space aboard the International Space Station earlier this year, has been accused of identity theft and improperly accessing the private financial records of her estranged spouse, according to a report by The New York Times

I read that, and it occurred to me that they obviously don't have the NBN on the space station. I wonder who their IP is, and what deals they have. 😉

[MicCanberra]

18 minutes ago, Beejay4016 said:

I read that, and it occurred to me that they obviously don't have the NBN on the space station. I wonder who their IP is, and what deals they have. 😉

They likely use a satellite system, either that or piggy back onto moon beams.😋