PopeyeDaSailor

How did you book that?  The only thing I see on my cruise is the

Thrill Waterpark Cabana And Full Day Pass  which is $503.

So do I do the half day or full day at the water park?  It's $36/person half day and $51/person full day.

Or $503 for everyone at a cabana for the whole day!

I'm saying in 59 days (wahoooooo) on the Symphony and currently have a Grand Suite (Deck 10).  It's me, DW, son (11), and daughter (6).  I know this topic has been addressed in the past (just read through them) but I received the "Do You Want to Upgrade" email yesterday.

My choices are: Villa Suite (Star) , Star Loft Suite (Star) , Aqua 2 BR (Star), Aqua 1BR (Sky), Crown Loft (Sky), Owner's Suite (Sky).

All the Star level stuff is ridiculous starting at $2K and up.  But the CLS and OS seem enticing.  They both start at about $1,000 (it's a bidding system) and up.

My question is do I want to spend the money for a larger room, or keep our GS and spend the money on Excursions.  I'm leaning towards the latter since we already have full access to the Suite amenities.  The CLS suite seems cool simply because we can keep the kiddos downstairs but since it's a bidding thing we have no say in where the CLS will be and I'm almost sure it would be facing AFT which eliminates all privacy and adds noise. 

Any with any experiences with upgrades want to chime in?  Is this bidding thing a new thing?

9 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

Popey I cant make the connection between the service of RCI and that pictures- which is incredible by the way!

I'm just saying the Titanic was supposedly top notch in service/class.  But look at the size the crew has to take care of on a modern day cruise ship ... I think they do a great job.  The crew of a modern ship would probably almost fill the Titanic alone!

Something to think about next time you complain about service on RCCL ...

Which is slower "Island Time" or "New York City Union Time"?

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I believe Oasis class ships will skip Coco Cay if the pier is not ready.

Well that stinks because we're scheduled to stop there on Symphony May 17th.  That's a lot of business they will be missing.

7 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

I often Tip 20%. Even lot of Bar/Restaurants I go to require up to 18% mandatory with my "Large Group" Family. But at Bars I Managed in early 1980's a drink was $3-4 and very common to leave $1 for each drink, 25-33%. Many Restaurants pool Tips, first knew about that happening 45yrs ago...

I always tip 20% when I go out for a meal but never 20% per drink.  Back in the 90's after I turned 21 there is no way I could afford that either. 😉

One closing point for me ...

Auto gratuities on some cruise ships have increased over 20% in past three years, way more than the rate of inflation. It is doubtful that the people sharing these gratuities are getting such increases every year. Where is the rest of the money going?  It's going to the share holders of the cruise lines.

Does that mean you shouldn't tip.  Absolutely not, but to me, the industry employees need to take this fight to the cruise lines.  If someone is truly getting paid $2/day that's sad but I highly doubt it. 

My approach is pay the auto grats and leave it at that.  Essentially it adds another $700-$1000 to my cruise cost so be it.  If I use a lounge or bar a lot on the trip I will probably tip them as well.  But I'm not going to tip my wait staff if I'm paying auto grats.

Very good article on the subject here.

If I order a drink and they automatically add on 18% there is no way in hell I'm giving that bar staff anything else.  So a $14 dollar drink becomes a $16.52 drink!  Who tips $2.52 cents for every drink?

17 minutes ago, proggieus said:

 

From https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=261

For customer-facing positions, gratuities usually come into play. "Gratuities make up most of the compensation for crew in the housekeeping and food and beverage departments," says Collins. The base wage is usually low -- sometimes as little as $2 a day -- but income from tips can represent as much as 95 percent of the take-home total.

 Did you read the whole article?  It clearly says in your quote, "CUSTOMER-FACING POSITIONS".  Which means people come in contact with them and can tip them if they choose to with cash.  The rest of the article also mentions a lot more that you conveniently left out.  Like this closing passage:

" To be sure, most crew positions are not glamorous, and their salaries are not high. Most crew members work 10 to 12 hours a day, and as many as seven full days a week. But cruise jobs come with several noteworthy benefits: Room and board is fully covered while sailing and, once an initial contract is completed, round trip airfare is picked up by the cruise line. This allows for crew members to build up savings, or to send funds back home while at sea. Some learn valuable skills while working at sea -- skills they can take with them to develop a business or service at home. Crew members receive medical treatment for work-related illness or injuries while aboard, and the cruise line will provide transfer to a land-based hospital or home, if necessary. "

I went to a Pittsburgh Steelers game with my son and we got two hot dogs, a soda, a beer and fries.  I had to take a second mortgage out! 😉

But according to some that $100 extra is supposed to be turned into a pool by your room steward which means he may only end up seeing $10 extra.  I'm willing to bet that most people handed cash don't turn all of it into the "pool".

To me if you leave auto grats on (which I do) then I'm not giving out any more money for a cruise I already spent thousands on.

28 minutes ago, proggieus said:

It is part of their salary, if you dont like how RCCL has decided to pay their employees then DONT SAIL RCCL.

 

"The guy tipped the people he used, get over yourself."

 

actually he didn't, he only tipped the people he saw. he USED the people he didn't tip.

Okay Comrade.  Any other requests while you're mandating what others do? 

Again if you can remove tips then they are NOT part of their salary, and I'll sail whatever cruise line I like, okay.  You just keep tipping extra and telling us how great you are!

1 minute ago, proggieus said:

 

 

If you know thats how RCCL works you can either not cruise RCCL or play along and use the auto gratuities, you cant use their services and then cancel part of their pay and think you are morally in the right, because you are not.

 

if you cant afford it, dont cruise. if you can afford it but dont want to pay because you think its proving a point, you are a *****.

 

which is it?

 

 

 

LOL and the morale high ground war begins.  So you are saying that tips are part of their salaries?  If so then why not charge more for the cruise and eliminate tipping altogether?  If the fact exists that you CAN remove tipping (which we all know it does) then tips are clearly NOT part of their salary.

The guy tipped the people he used, get over yourself.

10 minutes ago, proggieus said:

this is exactly my point-

 

to me there are only two reasons that somebody would remove the auto gratuities-

 

1. they cant afford them or are just plain cheap.

 

2. Their fragile ego needs to feel like a big shot while handing cash to somebody.

 

 

I leave the tips on the folio, i also will tip bartenders cash at the bars that i frequent, not every drink, maybe not even every day. but its probably about $20-$25 per bartender. I also leave a nice tip for the room steward in an envelope at disembarkation

 

 

Or that's just the way he feels works for him.  You calling his ego out why?  Does it make your ego feel better?  He did bring up a good point though.  Do you tip the laundry and dishwashers in a 5 star hotel?  If RCCL doesn't pay these people enough they always can get a different job.

3 hours ago, brillohead said:

What on earth does that have to do with anything?

Nobody cares about kids who are supervised and controlled.  Everyone should care about kids who put their fingers in dirty places and then touch serving spoons and tables!!!!

It has to do with the fact that he ranted about his disdain for kids even though he once was one.  I also winked 😉 which meant I was kidding.

That's what's on earth it has to do with.

Thanks Port72!  That's more than enough for me and the family.  My 5 year old daughter will drink water/milk all day and son will drink Lemonade.  We're good.  I'm not spending $70 bucks for soda all week!  Too much sugar.

Thanks that is helpful.  But I can't seem to find a spot for "free" stuff to drink.  I remember reading in Nick's review last week about refreshment centers and them having ice tea (unsweetened) and flavored water.  To me that would be just fine since I'm not a big sugary drink person.  I read somewhere else that the Happy hour is from 11am to 11pm in the CL so if that is the case I'll be spending a lot of time in there!

I don't need (or even like) Starbucks but I'm curious if they off "ship" level coffee/tea all day?  I haven't cruised since 2003 but I remember them having just regular coffee/tea all day.

Instead of starting a new thread let me ask here.

We are staying in a Grand Suite so I know we have access to Happy Hour.  My wife and I aren't big drinkers but we do enjoy a casual drink here and there.  We'll have a 12 and 5 year old with us.  We give our older son root-beer as a treat when we go out but we don't buy soda at home.  My youngest doesn't like soda prefers water or milk.

Are any of the drink packages worth it for us?  I'm leaning towards no since we will have access to the Happy Hour lounge and I assume I would be able to get soda as part of this happy hour if my (well behaved) kids accompany us.

So what do they offer ship wide that is free?  Unsweetened Ice tea?  If so I assume there is lemon and sugar available to add?

Is there a spot I can see all the options available?

20 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

Yep.. I am a nurse. Started in Infectious disease/nosocomial infections, in the hospital, then Oncology, now hospice. 

 

My comment was not meant to sound that I was shocked that kids are bacteria breeding machines, and instead just a statement. While all humans are, most adults do not put their hand in their pants, and then on their face, and then try touching things on counters they can't reach. (Servings spoons in the Windjammer.. yes watched this happen.)  Most adults do not put everything they can in their mouth... I did say most, and proceed to touch everything in sight. One comment from a parent to the staff member at the entrance to the Windjammer... "He does not need to wash his hands, he is only 4," I turned and said.. "Since he is 4, he especially needs to wash his hands." No comment, just a look of pure stupidity on her face. Nurse or not, I am not a fan of kids. I deal with them medically, and happy to help them and their families out, but  I never wanted any, never had any... thank goodness. 

But you do realize you were once a kid. 😉

16 hours ago, StillPooh said:

There’s debate over what classification that dog had, but not that it chewed the face off the guy one seat over. So I’m guessing it was not a properly trained service dog.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.boston25news.com/news/trending-now/delta-passenger-bitten-by-emotional-support-dog-couldnt-escape-attorney-says/686368395

 

Just to add to this story for those that didn't bother reading it.  The dog in question was a 50 lb chocolate lab pointer mix and was sitting on the guy's lap in a middle seat?  What the heck?  One human can barely sit in a middle seat and this guy had a dog that big on his lap?  I'm sorry but if I was sitting in this guy's row there's no way I'm not complaining about this dog.  According to the story guy with the dog was already sitting there when the victim walked up.  I would have walked right up to the flight attendants and said this dog is way too big to be sitting there I want my seat moved.  Emotional Support stuff aside how is that even safe for a flight in such a cramped space?  At minimum the guy should have been forced to buy an extra seat to put this dog in but it's laughable that it was even allowed.  I feel sorry for guys suffering from PTSD but if you require everyone around you to bend to your needs with this situation then maybe you shouldn't be flying.

There are pictures of what this dog did to this poor guy here.  This guy is going to get a large law suit settlement but had to deal with being attacked because of an improperly trained animal masquerading as a service animal.  

22 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

REALLY? A mass market family line... I would have never known that. It's my first time on RCI. 🙄 I don't think you read my post for understanding... but rather just to respond huh? 

 

You said all that like I didn't say... SNOT NOSED and DIRTY. Just because they are allowed on board, doesn't mean that people have to be disgusting slobs. Kids are bacteria breeding machines, and parents should correct bad behavior. 

LOL based on your avatar you are a nurse and yet here you are complaining about kids being bacteria machines.  I've got news for you ALL humans are but you as a nurse should already know this.

Now if you want to start a thread on poor parenting and how kids aren't respectful I'm right there with you and I have two young kids!  But stay on topic here please.

23 hours ago, Biker19 said:

No PIN.

So if someone gets a hold of your Seapass card they can charge something on it?

19 hours ago, Ashland said:

We certainly had no problem doing this in Alaska to just walk around town a bit (the Nursery was full to capacity that day) . Those little ones were much happier eating, playing & napping than being off the ship. We provided the Nursery staff with our cell number. This works out for many when/where excursions aren't suitable for this age range of children. 

 

Many families leave their children at a daycare facility when at home.....but it's always your choice of how to approach this question/situation and certainly it will be the right one for them after weighing the options.

 

RCI offers this option obviously because it's wanted and used by families.

I've cruised Alaska before.  And yes, if you're just getting off at say Ketchikan or Juneau and are right there in the town no problem since you're still in America, your cell will work and you could quickly get back on the ship.  But like I said if you're in Honduras relying on your American cell to work ... no thanks.  But this is a personal choice.