Ergates The Ant

We are sailing in five days time, the activities have only started loading in the last two days, the theatre shows only appeared today. I wonder if there is a filter to hide the kids club activities? They seem to have a very busy schedule, but not relevant to us.

Update, the first two nights of our cruise are now showing events in the theatre, five days till we set sail.

I’ve never been able to drink enough to justify any of the packages, however much they discount them. And especially when I remember that we both have to purchase the package! I’ve always found the free decaf coffee on Celebrity perfectly acceptable, and although I treat myself to one cup of ‘proper’ coffee a day, I often save that experience to enjoy ashore for half the price. I’ve hung onto my teeth and their enamel for this long, so I won’t be messing them up now with more than one glass of fruit juice a day and one can of ( diet) fizz, and I’m very fussy about tea. I’ll take my favourite brand of teabags, and avoid paying through the nose for the privilege of being given a posh tea bag and a cup of tepid water to dunk it in. A glass of wine with dinner, and maybe a Bailey’s afterwards isn’t going to break the bank, and I’d have to splash out on the premium package to cover the Baileys. So it’s a no brainer for us to pay as we go. I wonder how many people actually save by buying a package? Obviously it doesn’t hurt Celebrity or any of the cruise companies if passengers don’t drink up to the limit. And given the inflated on board prices, it probably doesn’t matter if everyone drank themselves silly, as presumably most of the alcohol is duty free, so an even bigger mark-up.

The prices for all the drinks and internet packages for my cruise next week have been fluctuating wildly. The internet I purchased was half the initial quotes. They keep announcing Flash sales, sometimes they go down, sometimes they don’t! We’ll pay our way for drinks, especially as we may have some ashore, and I prefer to drink the water on the ship rather out of bottles. It looked as if members with Captains Club status may get different offers?

Thanks, lv2cruisgrl, that’s very helpful.

Never suggested removing the ‘tips’, why would you say that? The service charge has to be labelled optional to those booking in the UK, as otherwise it would have to be included in the overall price. This resulted from a consumer law change after the low cost airlines were advertising ridiculously low prices and then charging for compulsory extras, I believe it was contravening Trades Descriptions acts. ( or something like that, hopefully readers will get the general idea) I still think it would be the decent thing to recognise the efforts of the lowest paid workers with a proper guaranteed wage in the first place. If gratuities can be included in the fare from Australia, it can be done from the UK. And of course it wouldn’t make any difference to the overall cost, which will just look higher. I’m perfectly capable of adding up the charges needed to see the total cost of the cruise. But if the ‘gratuity’ is, and should be, an essential part of the cruise cost, then add it in to start with, and remove the possibilities of misleading passengers and depriving the crew. This should apply to cruises out of the UK, as American cruisers have grown up with their system and are accustomed to it. No further comment from me.

The Celebrity cruise App is slowly getting populated in readiness for our cruise to Norway next week. However there is nothing yet showing for shows in the main theatre, just The Club, and no sign of any daytime lectures. I’m assuming there will actually be some, not just sales opportunities for fancy watches or coloured ( ie flawed!) diamonds!

Thanks for that information, Arizona Wildcat. Sad that so few states treat service workers with the same privileges that others enjoy. It’s the shame that all the cruise lines operating out of the UK don’t employ the same gratuities included policy that they do out of Australia. I just find it bizarre that I am quoted an often very high price for a cruise, and then discover that I’m supposed to pay extra for elements that I would have reasonably expected to have been included! Just seems ridiculous to me, but I’ve learnt to just roll my eyes and go with the flow! Can’t understand why some of those who get so agitated by anyone who dares to consider withdrawing the ‘optional’ gratuities, don’t do the decent thing and lobby to get the service charges included in the fare. Like nearly every other industry, and most of the world.

Thank you, Markanddonna! I’ll leave my Dyson at home, and manage with what they’ve provided. Tea bags are already in the case! Hope you are having a lovely time. We’ve been watching your progress across the Pond, won’t be long before we will be boarding.

Despite all the aggro, it can be helpful to have some discussion around tipping/ gratuities, whatever it’s referred to. On my first visit to the US, ( nearly 50 years ago) I paid the bill as I would here in the UK but didn’t tip. I was mortified to later discover that the waiting staff relied on the tips as they weren’t paid the full rate. ( I also got caught out a few times trying to give the ‘correct’ cash in shops without realising that the sales tax wasn’t included in the quoted price) So in the US, I follow the custom and pay up the ‘compensation’ to staff for their employers lack of a decent reward for a job done, but I rarely tip extra. And when I am in the UK and Europe, I pay the quoted price for a meal, in the knowledge that the staff who serve it are being paid at least the minimum wage, and their employer is making a contribution to their National Insurance, which in the UK provides them with free healthcare and unemployment benefits. I only tip if I’ve had service above and beyond, and only a couple of pounds, and direct to the individual. And in Europe visiting friends who are locals, I follow their example and just leave the equivalent of the small change. Customs are different wherever one visits, and so I pay a ‘gratuity’ in the US and on US ships, and reserve the right to be horrified if someone suggested to an American visitor that they should tip 20% in Europe! Especially as lower paid workers in the UK can apply for all sorts of extra benefits, which I as a higher tax payer, am subsidising! Sorry for the length of the rant!

Did a couple of cruises on Princess, but not as enjoyable as Celebrity. Didn’t go into the casino on Princess, but the stink of smoke managed to pervade surrounding areas anyway. Celebrity definitely our preferred line on the smoke free front. The Celebrity buffet has always been good, whereas Princess selection was poor, and the serving area was cramped. Preferred the more spacious coffee shops on Princess. Last celebrity cruise, the beverages manager finally realised that the seating area at Il bacio was far too small for the demand for morning coffee for us Brits, and opened a nearby specialty restaurant to accommodate us all!

I’ve only ever been required to prepay gratuities on the UK site, when I was booking anytime dining. There was no availability for anytime dining on my recent booking, only fixed ( late) dining, and I didn’t have to prepay. Usually, I will prepay anyway for convenience, but this time I will have them added daily to my on board account, and pay that with cash, as I have some US dollars left over from a cancelled holiday. What I meant by saying the service charge is included in the prices in the UK, is that the restaurant is entirely responsible for paying the staff wages (plus all the other overheads of providing the meals) unlike the situation in the US.

If the gratuities are included in your fare, you have, IMO, made your contribution. I would only give an extra ‘tip’ to a staff member who had gone out of their way to provide over and above service. A gratuity is added to the cost of every drink you purchase on board, so no need to tip extra.

You won’t make a saving though, as far as I understand. The prices for UK drink packages will be 20% higher, to include the cost of the ‘tips’, ditto the cost of individual drinks on board. A coffee in il Bacio is $5 on our upcoming cruise, whereas I’m sure I’ve seen it previously at $4 plus of course the 20% gratuity. Annoyingly, they don’t do the same with the cruise fare in the UK, so that is an extra added on afterwards. It would make things much simpler here if it was included. If it is a compulsary payment, it has to be included in the overall cost, to comply with UK law. Therefore it has to be deemed a discretionary payment, and as all Brits are used to having the service included as part of the costs of meals out, drinks, or even hotel stays, it’s not surprising that it is regarded as an actual ‘tip’ or little extra for over and above, and often removed in favour of rewarding those who go beyond what would be expected.

Thanks, hope that is the case this time, lydnsyd.