QTBabyNurse

8 hours ago, capriccio said:

That information is on the port's official website:  https://www.porttb.com/cruise-schedules

This is very helpful...thank you! 

Does anyone have any idea what cruise lines/ships are currently sailing out of the Port of Tampa?

36 minutes ago, mandyleighflies said:

We have this card also and had the same questions! Where do we redeem the points? Is it on the BOA site or the RCCL site? If we use this card as our sail and sign, do we receive additional perks? 

It's on the BOA website. You have to log into your account and you will see an area on the left-hand side that talks about your RCI rewards and it gives you a button to click to "redeem" and your choices are there.

A number of years ago when we cruised over New Year's Eve, we noticed that the casino table minimums were increased and we were told that it was because it was a holiday cruise.
 

Is this a policy that is STILL taking place at the casino table games during New Year's Eve cruises? 

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the help! 

We earn points on our Royal Caribbean Visa card that we can redeem for OBC.
 

Does anyone know if that OBC can be used in the casino? 

We love the MDR experience and have chosen this dining option all but once on our 20+ cruises. We have tried MTD one time but felt it very impersonal and it felt no different than just dining at home. We love the traditional experience in the MDR of sitting in a large table and meeting other cruisers and talking about our day's activities. We have met the loveliest people from all around the world! It separates the cruise dining experience from the "dining at home at a local restaurant" experience. Nothing like it! 

This nurse would never subject themselves to a "human stew pot"...🤮

On 2/20/2024 at 11:17 AM, clockwork58 said:

In regard to your 4th question…
 

This is what we have done numerous times on St. Maarten. I can't remember how much exactly the taxi cost though. Just one piece of advice, make sure to leave enough time to get back to the ship because we have hit traffic on the island a couple of times and it can delay your return.

On all of our sailings except for one (when we mistakenly tried MTD), we have always chosen early dining in the main dining room. We absolutely love sitting at the same table, getting the same wait staff who get to know your likes/dislikes, dining with the same dinner mates throughout our entire trip. We have met great people and have made some wonderful friends along the way! Hubby and I dine by ourselves every single night at home. Why would we want to do the very same thing on a cruise?? Cruises are for getting outside our comfort zone and meet new people! 

9 hours ago, AuDArtiste said:

Edit: I think this might have been posted to the wrong thread. I apologise! 
Hey, it is totally up to you whether you tip or not! Just know it is just like Uber and other places if you don't tip don't expect the best service. I did DoorDash and Instacart for a short time and I will tell you right now I wouldn't touch an order that didn't have a minimum amount. If the person baited and switched on me I posted that ***** on forums of other delivery people in my area, so the person would effectively not get their food very fast. On cruises, they will make sure that you can't complain about them, but they are not going to go above and beyond for you or anyone in your cabin. My understanding is that they can see who is and isn't prepaying the tipping, or at least some can see the list and they make sure the non-tippers are known by all who your tip is shared with. I have heard it called the crew mafia. If you want extras there just won't be any available, but your neighbors will all get them because they are tipping. 

Second, that tip of $18 a day is spread amongst a lot of your service staff. So your room stewards are not the only ones getting it. They are getting a few dollars of it, your waiters are getting a few dollars of it, your bartenders are getting a few dollars of it. The list goes on of service people who get a cut of that $18. Therefore it isn't that much, since I will easily tip $20 for a dinner at a nice restaurant and you will be eating at those restaurants 3 or more times a day. As a non-drinker of alcohol, I am amazed at how much and how drunk cruisers can get and stay throughout their whole cruise. When I was working as a server in restaurants bars and bars I made a lot more per table than $18 in tips. Frankly, as a bartender or server in a bar, I would much rather have you not pre-pay your tips, because the tips start with $1 in the first round, and by round 5 everyone at the table is calling me sweetheart, and throwing 5s and $10 and even more at me. Monday-night football was the best for that! Damn, I could make $100.00 or more off just one table of drunks, and I had a whole section of tables filled with drunks! Most servers don't want the tipping to go away in the US and just get a living wage because they can make a lot more in one night working at a bar or restaurant than an office worker makes in a week or 2. That said, the cruise ship service people don't make that much off of the tips. It just brings their wages up to a living. They are not going home with huge rolls of cash at the end of the cruise as we used to from a single night serving drinks in a bar or serving food in a fancy restaurant. 

Even on our first cruise back in 1977, we left that much in an envelope to be shared by all. Here is the deal, if the cruise lines start paying everyone so no tips exist you all are going to be paying a hell of a lot more than $18 a day more for your cruises. So if I were to go out to eat every day for 7 days and tip $10 for breakfast and lunch each and $20 for dinner that would be $280 for just the waiters serving me my meals. Then another $140 for $20 a day for the stewards who clean up after everyone's dirty bums would be $420 in tips, and then the bartenders which would probably be for most cruisers $20 - $40 a day or $140 - $280 in tips. I mean this is just what you would tip in the US if you went out and did all the things that you do during a day on a cruise. That $18 is nothing! 

 

The way I look at is I prepay the tip knowing that each person is only getting a dollar or two, and then I make sure that those who go above and beyond are getting extra tips beyond that. That said, I don't drink alcohol, I don't like coffee, I don't drink sodas, I like tea, but generally won't think to order. I am someone who downs the water.  I can afford to share the wealth with the crew since I am not wasting it on what I see as "stupid stuff". That is my opinion of course! 

What a great post! Totally agree! 👏

In addition, cruise passengers who think that the cruise line should just take some of their profits and pay their service staff a livable wage and not rely on tips, clearly have no idea how businesses work. These must be the same people who thought paying fast food workers $15-$20/hour would be a great idea. Now you're paying $24 for a single fast food meal at Five Guys! Businesses are NOT going to eat into their profits to pay low level workers a lot of money. People advocating for this are just very naïve. The costs WILL be passed onto the consumer as always. That's just a fact. So unless you want to pay double for your cruise fare... be grateful for the tipping policy as it stands. 

My view is that if you can afford a cruise, cough up the extra cash for tips and don't stiff the staff who serve you..in your feeble attempt to prove a point.

36 minutes ago, rs45thompson said:

In my case I agree with tipping the room steward, bartenders and dinning room staff. I normally get great service and they deserve it. I disagree with them expanding it to others that they should be paying a wage too.  It should not be my responsibility to supplement the wages of those that wash the linen or vacuum the common area, etc.  I don't do it at a hotel and I shouldn't be doing it on a ship.  Everyone is entiled to their opinion and that is mine.  

In saying that I will admit that I prepay my gratuities so I don't have to worry about it.

Agreed!

Does Johnny Rockets serve fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast? 

WOW. I'm seriously embarrassed for those of you who choose to take a cruise but are too cheap to compensate the crew who service your needs. 

7 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

There is no air of elitism here. Cruise passengers work hard as well in order to afford to cruise. Demand for cruising is at an all time high. Petition them to change their business model and do away with auto gratuities and just bake them into the cost of a cruise and let the free market sort it out

Thank you for proving my point about the "air of elitism" I spoke of. 

It is not up to the cruise lines to change their business model. You either accept how the cruise lines conduct their business or you find another form of vacation. Who are YOU to decide how the cruise lines need to conduct their operation? Imagine.....SMH.

I have been cruising since I was a travel agent in the 1980s. What has happened to cruise passengers in that period of time that we have gone from appreciating the hard work of those cruise staff who "serve us" to...how can I "stiff" those who work very hard to help us enjoy our cruise vacation??

So many on this thread seem to have an air of "elitism" about them. What happened to kindness and generosity and thinking of others and showing appreciation for their hard work? 

It's rather disturbing the shift of attitude over the years. 
 

I've lived in Florida 40+ years and keep a very close eye on hurricanes due to living on the coast. I can tell you that at the very beginning and at the very end of hurricane season, most of the storms form in the western Caribbean...very far from where you'll be sailing.  
 

I have also sailed during hurricane season and we had to sail AROUND a hurricane during one itinerary. Although we were forced to miss one port and were not allowed to go outside on deck for a few hours one evening, it was not really any different than any other sailing. The Captain is not going to sail you directly into a hurricane!

I wouldn't waste any time worrying about it! 

Would you take a cruise on a ship in the month PRIOR to it going to drydock for refurbishment?
 

If not, why not?

I've been trying to locate the planned refurbishment dates for the following three ships but have been able to locate them. Does anyone here happen to know when these three ships are planned for refurbishment?
 

Allure OTS

Liberty OTS

Independence OTS

Thanks! 🙂

11 hours ago, Oxo said:

It is only for 2 hours from 5 -7pm.

 

Now RCI allows the Diamond (4), Diamond+ (5) and Pennical (6) everyday at any time at any bar including MDR, showroom, Specialty Restaurants. 

What stinks about Celebrtiy's Happy Hour plan is that it conflicts for the most part with people that have early dining. They're usually getting ready and heading to the dining room during the majority of the 5-7 PM unlimited cocktail time.

Royal Caribbean's process of loading your card with the free drink coupons doesn't conflict like that and is more useful to most passengers IMHO. 

Has anyone sailed on the Celebrity Silhouette over the New Year's Eve holiday? What was your opinion? How did they celebrate NYE? Where was the countdown party?

We are planning to book the Celebrity Ascent. Is there a foolproof way to determine if the bed position is by the balcony OR by the bath? Is it determined by odd/even stateroom numbers? 

Does anyone have an experience on either the Celebrity Apex or Celebrity Ascent for New Year's Eve? What were your thoughts? What festivities did they have going on specifically for New Year's Eve? Did the ship have a lot of different music venues? 

Hubby and I are contemplating spending Christmas on a cruise this year. We are seasoned cruisers, but have never been on a cruise for Christmas. We generally sail out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We are in our early 60's and like to have a fun time...we are definitely not the type of people who just want to sit in a lounge chair all day. The ports of call are really not all that important to us as we have already been to most of them already. The ship is the main focus for us.

So, having said all that....if YOU have taken a Caribbean cruise for Christmas out of Florida, which ship did you sail and what were the pros and cons of that particular ship? Add any other information you think would be helpful to assist us in choosing an exciting holiday cruise!

Thank you!

Hubby and I are contemplating spending Christmas on a cruise this year. We are seasoned cruisers, but have never been on a cruise for Christmas. We generally sail out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We are in our early 60's and like to have a fun time...we are definitely not the type of people who just want to sit in a lounge chair all day. The ports of call are really not all that important to us as we have already been to most of them already. The ship is the main focus for us.

So, having said all that....if YOU have taken a Caribbean cruise for Christmas out of Florida, which ship did you sail and what were the pros and cons of that particular ship? Add any other information you think would be helpful to assist us in choosing an exciting holiday cruise!

Thank you!