murphs14

After reading your replies I've come to the conclusion that you guys are fooling yourselves and been brainwashed by the cruise companies. It's not your job to pay their staff properly, it's theirs! My God, when was the last time you stayed in a five star hotel and had to research the room?

Avoiding sales people with photos and food is also not my idea of a relax.

Still, everyone to their own. You really should get together somehow and put your collective foot down and force them to stop taking advantage of you.

Ok thanks everybody. As I said, I've only done one Celebrity cruise and found it under achieved in several areas. Still that was a few years ago now. Being a Brit, something I don't understand is the desire to pay gratuities upfront. Surely you only pay if the service demands it? Also why pay them at all if you are paying for the holiday anyway. The staff get paid already for doing their job, don't they? They aren't on the ship for fun. On The Celebrity cruise we did we found the only really hard working pleasant member of staff was our cabin steward. He was nice and efficient and deserved a reward, but to be honest the rest of the workforce we came into contact with, the bar staff, waiters etc, were just doing their jobs with the minimum effort to get the job done. I didn't think, "oh I must give them more money"

So why pay for something you haven't had? Why feel compelled to pay again for something you already paid for in the cost of the trip. The cruise lines don't say Cruise

$150, oh and if you want staff that's an extra $250 each do they?

Thanks for your reply. I was hoping to get some advice and reccommendation of a line that someone has experience of not trying to bamboozle its clients. I realise the commercial pressures of a business where there will soon be more ships than guests!

After reading your reply again,trying to sort out a decent package just seems like too much trouble. I think we will just book 2 weka in Bora Bora and be done with it.

Thanks again

Good morning, some help please,

I read with interest recently a long moan, actually from a cruise agent that works for one of the larger cruise sales companies,

She was bemoaning that on a recent trip, she had been badgered constantly to buy speciality restaurant spaces and photos. She said that getting an acceptable cabin, one that is not noisy, is like winning the lottery.

NOw I have only experienced one cruise three years ago on the Celebrity Soltice,t and apart from the horrendous rudeness of our cousins to the obviously overworked staff, it was ok at best. Lack of dress code being enforced was another of her bugbears and children being allowed in non children areas.

Doesn't sound like cruising has come very far?

The reason for this post is that I would like to know are there cruise lines out there that don't treat their guests l ike fools to be exploited once on board?I'm a great believer in "You get what you pay for" and I don't mind paying a reasonable amount, but I don't my leg lifted. I don't want to be processed and wrung out for every last penny after paying up front for what is not a cheap holida to start with. I would like to be treated as a valued guest