dxvdxviii

So how many folks who hate auto-gratuities choose to sail on Holland America instead of Carnival, Royal, NCL, Princess, Celebrity, etc.? Holland America does not require tips and allows you to leave what you choose (they do make a suggestion based on your stateroom category).

You have a choice... Do you exercise it?

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i used princess insurance proceeds to book another cruise with the dollar promo deal.

 

 

 

sadly now i have to cancel that one as well (it's before final payment if that matters).

 

 

 

i'm assuming that money which has already been applied to the new cruise, will just go back into my account to be used by end of next year like before but i hate to assume so i'm asking here.

 

 

 

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as an aside. is it better to email the TA and say cancel or just not pay final payment or doesnt it matter?

Contact your TA. No question. They'll explain all of this to you

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The $12.50-$16/day is split among 20 or so staff, many of whom you never see. Now consider how low that tip for your room steward or waitstaff actually is!

If you receive exceptional service, tipping beyond the $12.50/day is perfectly appropriate.

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I just received an email from Royal saying there is a possibility that I can be upgraded. However its for an additional cost. It said I just need to add my name to the list. I want an upgrade but I don't want to pay a fee. Has anyone received this before. I thought the upgrade fairy is suppose to be free :D:D:)

Sorry, it’s not free. RCCL has rooms in higher categories than you’re currently booked and they are offering you to move up if you’d like. The list is because many people will pay the discounted upgrade fee (same as you received) and they’ll do this until the ship is out of available cabins.

Folks in categories below you also received an upgrade letter under the presumption your category will have vacancies as people upgrade.

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Just curious what everyone else does, I've done both and was wondering if the quality of service is affected if the staff already knows they have been tipped or if they know at all that you haven't pre payed your gratuities

The staff doesn’t know if you’ve prepaid or not, but I always prepay because I HATE a bill at the end of the cruise. The prepaid tip is the minimum I would tip (that $12-$15/day goes to about 20 staff, some who you never see). If service was not to expectation, I’d have it addressed immediately (has never happened). For exceptional service, I tip more in cash.

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My husband and I will be spending two days pre-cruise (Feb. 23rd & 24th) in Fort Lauderdale. We usually fly in the day before and spend our time walking around Las Olas or by the beach. Now that we have two full days we are looking for something a little different. We have a rental car lined up and are willing to drive anywhere within a couple of hours. Any ideas?

Drive to the upper keys. Key West is fantastic, but it can be crowded and might already be on your itinerary. Drive to the upper keys (about half the distance to Key West and visit Islamorada for a change of pace.

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....the patches make me more sick than seasickness. Hate them.

 

 

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None of the cruise lines recommend dermal patches any longer because of adverse reactions. I sailed with a woman who reacted to the patch and it amplified all of the effects of sea sickness. After a $650 excursion to Deck 1 (medical) where they removed the patch and medication, she was fine for the remainder of the cruise. Expensive lesson: avoid the patch and always get the travel protection insurance.

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They will be subject to the cancellation policy for the cruise.

I bet they'll purchase insurance on their future cruises!

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Granted, I haven't been on a Carnival cruise in 3 years, but I thought soda was free?? Seems like I remember getting my pizza and fries at the buffet area near the pool, and filling up my soda cup whenever I wanted.

 

 

 

Am I remembering incorrectly...?

As an alternative, you are permitted to bring 12 12-oz cans of soda per person onboard at no cost. So if you're looking for a soda fix without the pricetag, this might work for you.

Details are outlined in your cruise agreement.

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My understanding is that the levels will be recognized on the other lines, but that the points cannot be combined. If that isn't true, can you provide a link that spells it out for me? I would love to add my Celebrity points to RCCL. Or did I misunderstand what you are saying?

 

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I didn’t really explain it well... Azamara and Celebrity both accrue points to both programs. Sailing on either will add points to both.

Your accrued *level* (not the points) will transfer to Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor program.

For example, if you are diamond level in Celebrity’s Captains Club (or Azamara Le Club Voyage), but only Red in RCCL’s Crown and Anchor, you will receive Diamond Level status on RCCL cruises. While you enjoy the benefits of status, the points ONLY accrue to you Crown and Anchor club.

Of course if your Crown and Anchor status was higher than your Captains Club level, you would receive the higher programs amenities on RCCL.

The reverse would not work: if you were diamond level in RCCL but taking your first cruise on Celebrity (or Azamara), you would be starting from scratch. Points earned would qualify for both Captains Club and Le Club Voyage) and would not count at all toward Crown and Anchor, and your Crown and Anchor status would not be recognized on Celebrity or Azamara.

I hope that makes more sense.

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We like Grand Turk for a beach day. We just head left down the beach from the ship to Jack's Shack. Topher the dog is always fun to watch, they have good jerk chicken and drinks. The beach there is not rocky like the beach next to the ship. I want to say it is about a 10 minute walk on the sand, well past Margaritaville. You'll know you're there when you see Topher the goldendoodle playing on the beach.

 

In San Juan, we've taken a ship's tour of the fort, but you can also go on your own. We've done a carriage ride tour and walked around town to have lunch and a drink.

 

We usually snorkel in St. Thomas through the ship.

 

We haven't been to Amber Cove yet (will go in May), but from what I've read, it's not the prettiest water/beach due to the side of the island it is on. We haven't made a decision as to what we will do there, but will likely do a ship excursion of some sort. The waterfall excursion might be fun if you like something challenging.

Puerto Plata is the “old” side of the Dominican Republic. The port at Amber Cove was built by Carnival Corp for Fathom. Fathom is now defunct and Princess has taken the route that Fathom used to run for volun-tourism, but both Carnival and Princess use the port.

Damajuagua is a lot of fun. Less adventurous folks may enjoy the city tours or getting their hands dirty at one of the old Fathom excursions. And if you just want to relax, there’s a couple of all-inclusives to choose from.

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I have cruised frequently on Carnival. We will be on an Alaska cruise with Holland America in May. In 2019 we will be on a Cunard (Queen Mary II) Cruise out of Southampton. Do we need to have separate loyal programs for each line or will our Carnival points program assign points? Thanks for any information that may be posted.

The programs are separate so you’ll need to establish a Holland America Mariners Society membership.

As a side note, MSC will recognize any other rewards program and automatically place you at you’re equivalent earned level with their rewards program.

And Azamara and Celebrity will both allow you to accrue points that you can use on either line or Royal Caribbean, but Royal Caribbean points do not accrue to the other 2 lines.

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First let me say.....we are retired, we love to cruise and we never book anything we can't pay for in full.

 

 

 

That being said....this year we cruised in January, March and are booked to cruise in November. Found a great deal on another one in October that hubby wants to book.:o:o.

 

 

 

I have always been the conservative one in the family and had to handle all the bills and save all the money. While I am very tempted, a part of me still wants to be that conservative one, even though it's not necessary anymore.

 

 

 

Anyone else start getting cold feet when you think you have booked "too many"......:confused::confused:

Too many is only reached when the embarkation overlaps the previous disembarkation

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I'll be on this cruise. I just started a Roll Call thread. Stop in and post! Let's see who else will be joining us

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53522420#post53522420