What is your cruise ritual when you first board?

[RetiredandLovingit]

Hi Largin,

I always tip extra at the end of the cruise depending on the service we receive. I notice that you start out with a tip. Is it your experience that tipping this way improves the quality of service?

 

Jim

[Brklynguy]

The initial boarding with the super friendly staff (contrast that with disembarkation). The best is that first walk down the hall to the cabin and settling in - I hear that opening music to 'Titanic' when they first get on the ship. The chamagne leaving port. The nights in the favorite bar. Dressing up. coffe and pastry on there cerandah......

[JLC@SD]

....we have been fortunate the past few cruises as our bags have arrived to the room early......so we like to get unpacked.......and get that out of the way......;)

[ISABELLA]

Next Wednesday, god giving no snow storms, here what we will be doing on Coral Princess: after finding our cabin, which it shouldn't be so difficult since I looked up the location about thousand times, putting all the important stuff in the safe, we will go to explore the ship, if this our first time on her, or we will go have some lunch and the walk around, then we will have a drink and that will be a start of our long waited, well deserved vacation. About 5, I will go back to see if our luggage was delivered, most of the time it is, get unpacked, while my DH is taking a quick nap, and if I need to do some ironing of my clothes - I will do that - takes me about 10- 15 min, so I don' t have to do it later. After master drill we will go up for Bon Voyage Party.

8 more days..........................til meet Coral.

Keep cruising..........................

[LARGIN]

Hi Largin,

I always tip extra at the end of the cruise depending on the service we receive. I notice that you start out with a tip. Is it your experience that tipping this way improves the quality of service?

 

Jim

 

I tip at both ends.. Since I ask for specific things up front, I tip early. I have found that it does improve the service. For instance, my wife and I are early risers so I ask the steward if it is possible that our cabin is one of the first he/she cleans. We get up, do our walk, have breakfast and return to a clean room. Last cruise hair dryer on wall blew just as wife getting ready for dinner. (first time we did not bring our own.. go figure :eek:).. Called Room Steward and was told he would call it in.. Less than 5 minutes knock on door. Room Steward with his own dryer for wife to use. When we returned that evening, wall dryer replaced. Some say that pre-tipping not necessary.. Ok by me, however not my style.. If I ask for something out of the norm, I usually tip..

[Toto2Kansas]

Pre-Tipping for us has had good and bad results in the past. Sometimes it really helps, other times not. It all depends on your room steward I think.

On the Sun Princess we had several extras we needed, including a surprise party we had planned for later in the cruise. We tipped when we met our room stewardess and she provided everything (and then some) that we had requested at our first meeting. She even had ice sent up each afternoon from room service at the same time each day, per our request.

In December, on the Sea Princess, we did the same thing and had to almost beg for the things we asked for in the beginning. Most of the requests we made in December our steward would tell US to call room service for, including glasses for our bar area which was empty when we arrived.

 

So, it seems to have been a toss up for us, sometimes it works, other times it doesn't.

[coolcruzer]

1. Find stateroom

2. Drop off caryon bags

3. Explore balcony and take a look at the harbor

4. Make sure TV is tuned to the cruise channel with map, time, location! My favorite channel! Must sit for one complete rotation :)

5. Go to lunch buffet

6. Grab a drink and relax on the top decks facing the harbor

[nycglitter]

1. Find our cabin

2. Drop carry-on's and check out our living space, step out onto the balcony and try to stop jumping up and down from the excitement of starting our vacation!

3. Gather the family, grab a drink and follow the sound of the steel drum music.

4. Breath a sigh of relief that our vacation is here and cross our fingers that it won't be over too soon!!!!

 

It doesn't get any better!

[SaylorGirl]

We check in, drop our bag in the cabin and then we get off the ship. We like to explore the port area if its not too far we walk into town or whatever is close by. We get back on to the ship just in time for sailaway.