Cheadle_Chick

Has anyone ever done anything else to show their appreciation for their cabin stewards? Like left them a little gift or something special in addition to a tip? Just wondering if this is done and what people have done if so? What is common to leave for a tip for cabin stewards and when do you leave it? New to cruising and definitely want to show our appreciation!

Thank you! I will definitely do those things! And yes I agree, I wish they would build it into the fare when everyone is expected to pay it anyways. Not sure why it isn't that way but ah well!

When you've got one kid with ADHD, I'm just doing my best to be prepared!

Oh I definitely planned to tip either way! I just liked the idea of tipping directly vs a mass pool that doesn't really show the "gratitude" as much as face to face does. We'll pack a bit of extra cash for tips too! I'm sure these folks get paid absolutely minimal wage and they do go above and beyond!

Gotcha! That makes more sense. I didn't think it was in Canadian funds as everything else you can book online shows in US funds.

Thank you! This is helpful!

My thoughts exactly! Especially for an Alaska cruise. We had a drink package when we did an E. Carribean cruise in 2014 and even trying pretty hard, it was HARD to drink 15 drinks in a day. Especially port days.

We also have a Vista Suite booked for an upcoming cruise, I'll try to remember to post some pics. There really are very few pics and info on the "family" suites. Ours has the upper bunk that folds down as well.

We are on the same cruise!

That's exactly the kind of thing I needed to know. I had no idea that they weren't allowed to keep the gratuities they'd been given in cash if we took the auto-gratuities off. We won't do that for sure! And yes, we're Canadian, the exchange rate is killing me!

Question about gratuities and tipping. I see that there is an option to pre-pay the gratuities but I had also been told this can be turned off and we can tip in cash instead? Is this an ok thing to do? I've been told that the servers and cabin stewards really appreciate this more than the auto gratuity but is it ok? Either way, if we are tipping with cash, how much is appropriate and where to tip? The other thing is, we are travelling with our 2 younger children and I'm wondering if it might not be a terrible faux pas to possibly turn off the gratuities for them? I'm feeling a bit sucked dry by all the extra fees and for our family of 5 (my grandmother is cruising with us in her own cabin) it's $800 US for the auto gratuities. The other thing I noticed was that the auto-gratuities don't seem to really line up with what's said online. We are in a Vista Suite and I see online that $16/person/room or $17.50/person/suite. $16 x 7 days = $112 and $17.50 x 7 is $122.50. However my option online to pre-pay crew gratuities is $145.60 per person.... How does that work?

We are also cruising in early September to Alaska and we plan to get fully decked out! Fancy dresses and suits for our family. I love it, when do we ever get a chance to get this dressed up anymore? It's a treat. Some of our other family members are opting for more semi-formal attire which is ok too!

Thank you! I had a peek but wasn't sure exactly where to look. Much appreciated!! We're from Canada and our "winter" is -20-30 celsius (-4F to -22F). We're cruising this Saturday, so far the forecast for Juneau on the day we're due to be there is 11C/52F degrees with a 50% chance of rain, Skagway is 14C/57F degrees with partly cloudy and Ketchikan is 14C/57F degrees and cloudy. I've got a waterproof rain jacket, a nice quilted vest and various layers but not a great "fall" coat, so was wondering if I should go pick one up quickly before we leave. We are flying from Alberta to Vancouver. It's dry and warm here currently. We're used to COLD but dry in the winter. I've just got an unlined rain jacket, a nice quilted vest and various layers. Think that'd be ok? Or should I be going to find a fall jacket before we leave? Found a nice North Face one the other day for 50% off that's waterproof and has a removeable fleece liner in it that's quite thick.

Packing for our Alaska cruise and I'm just wondering what we should pack for outerwear for early September in Alaska? I'm thinking we don't need full blown winter coats? Rain coats and a light packable jacket for the kids? I'm a notorious overpacker and I'm really trying hard to avoid it this time. Planning to only pack half of what I normally would and use the laundry service.

I’m hoping my kids won’t be the first to gain that title! 😆

some days I’d be tempted! 😆 but wouldn’t actually do it lol

Wow I didn’t even think it would be allowed to leave your kids while you went off-ship on an excursion! I mean deep down… wouldn’t be all love that but I’d truly just not be comfortable. What if something happens and you don’t make it back?!

That’s fantastic to hear! Thank you for this reassurance! I hope my kids enjoy it too! I’m sure they will. Wait, what?! Can you even DO that?! I definitely don’t think I’d be comfortable getting off the ship without the kids. Yikes!

Nice! That sounds fantastic! Thanks for the tips! I have visions of my kids absolutely terrorizing the entire ship and everyone hating us so I want to try and mitigate that as much as possible and make sure the kids have an amazing time. Darn! Wouldn’t that have been fun to “know” someone.

This is fantastic! Exactly what I needed to hear. And I like the idea of doing an early dinner with them, dropping them off and then having a nice adult dinner while they're busy. Any other great tips like that for successful cruising with kids?

Thank you! I really appreciate this! That's exactly what I was wanting to hear. I honestly want them to have a good time and want us to have a good time too. So I'm all for it... but I just have that horrible mom-guilt at essentially ditching them haha. We go to Alaska on September 2nd!!

So I'm having a massive amount of mom-guilt leading up to our cruise. I really, really want to enjoy some adult time without my kids... but I feel guilty essentially bringing them on a cruise and then sending them to daycare on board. Should I feel guilty? Will they truly enjoy themselves? Tell me more about the kids club. Sell me on it and help me stop feeling so darn guilty so I can enjoy myself! Cruising to Alaska on the Koningsdam (Next week!!) and kids are 3 and almost 6.

Thanks! I'll give that a go!

Is the exchange rate REALLY that much? Yikes. This is what I'm getting.

Another question, did you book directly with the hotel? Or which site did you use for booking?