Dizzly

I’ve been cruising with Royal for a few decades now, and have definitely seen the “death by a thousand service cuts” while prices slowly rose. I agree that any one single “minor” (to me) service cut most likely won’t cause me to switch cruise lines, but it certainly leaves me less loyal to Royal and makes me more likely to explore other vacation/cruise options. And yes, given a forum, I’ll mildly complain about the missing services too.

Growing up, my family were never big spenders, so a cruise vacation was a splurge. We were inside cabin all the way, never saw a window cabin till my honeymoon. My father, who controlled the purse strings, was adamant that he would pay no more than $100pp/per day for that inside cabin, and I’m not talking a cheaper transatlantic either. Just a regular 4-7 night out of some Florida port.

For that $100pp/per night, we had fine dining in the main dining room (don’t even remember extra-$ restaurants, but if they existed we certainly would not have visited them. Midnight buffets every evening with one special Chocolate midnight buffet each cruise. Twice a day cabin service with turndown, a cruise compass delivered without having to specifically request it, and chocolates on every pillow. Drink of the day being hawked on the pool deck right to your lounger if you wanted to pay, after dinner shots in souvenir glasses brought around the dining room each night (also for $$). We didn’t have water slides, flowriders, rock walls, etc. back then, but there was plenty to do on-board for free. And that’s just a small example of what used to be available to all, regardless of C&A or Suite status.

As for me, I miss what was lost in the little cuts. I’m still cruising on Royal when the itinerary and price are good, but I’ve also gone on other lines as well. As different lines come to my home port, I’ll branch out further and see who offers me the best cruise value for my $$.

Before my son could reliably give information, we’d use the printable removable tattoos to put our contact info on him in case he got separated, just before any major trip. Parents’ phone numbers, cabin info, whatever we had pertinent to that trip. Thankfully we never ended up needing it, but it was some peace of mind to know he had our contact info on him in a not easily removable way, just in case. I bet you can still find the tattoo paper on Amazon and it works on any regular printer, no special inks needed.

We're trying Carnival for the first time in February after sailing on RCCL, Celebrity, and Disney. While I'm a bit leery of the party crowd with a 2 year old, the reasons we're sailing Carnival is:

1) Price

2) Location - port is 30 minutes away

3) Club Ocean - takes 2 year-olds for free while other cruises charge for the nursery till 3

4) Timing - length of cruise is just right and at the right time of year

I'm not cruising Carnival for the ports (been there, done that) or the food (I'm a food snob) but I'd love to be pleasantly surprised. They're cheap and convenient, so a good first cruise experience for us could mean a new loyal customer in the future.

Otherwise, just a mention of an exceptional CM on the comment card will go a long way to the ships management recognizing them for excellent service.

 

ex techie

Ah, this! I has forgotten about comment cards. I'm a big fan of putting in a good word to management at stores when I receive exceptional service, and that should also hold on cruises. Thanks for the reminder!

Dizzly

How much were you thinking of spending on a gift if we are to suggest something other than candy or magazines, but not gift cards that are around $15?

 

Alcohol is not allowed to be gifted. Any liquor found during cabin inspections in crew cabins MUST have a DCL crew shop logo stamped on the label or it is a firing offense.

 

ex techie

I hadn't been thinking about alcohol, especially with their new policy.

If we'd been able to give cash (and they were allowed to accept it, which I understand they aren't) it'd probably be in the range of $10 or so each, given that you said there'd be 6-8 working with my son. Candy and magazines are easy to obtain and bring aboard and inexpensive. If there are other items that are easily distributable that won't get them in trouble or get taken away I'd be happy to bring them.

I just don't want to give them something that they wouldn't want or would get them in trouble or that they wouldn't be allowed to keep. Nothing huge and expensive, but a token of appreciation for their hard work.

Dizzly

Thank you all for your responses so far. I really appreciate hearing from such knowledgeable and experienced posters!

We'll definitely be getting a couple of bags of candy and some magazines to share. Maybe or maybe not on the iTunes cards, we'll have to think about that. We weren't planning on doing any laundry on board, so detergent is out, but I will ask if there's anything they need in port for any special CMs. If anyone has any additional ideas I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,

Dizzly

I'm about to head out on my first Disney cruise on Friday and would love some ideas for how to acknowledge the work of the staff in the nursery.

This is my first cruise with my DS, who is 2. We've booked a little time each day in the nursery so that DH and I can get a little break each day. Since we'll be using the nursery regularly, I'd love to be able to give the staff a gratuity of some kind. I seem to remember a thread or other website written by a former children's staff member that touched on this, but it was a bit old and may be out of date on info.

Would the staff there accept cash tips like a regular gratuity? Would gift cards work better? Should I bring something instead, like up-to-date magazines and candy? Mickey bars from room service? I'd love some ideas from members here on how to show our appreciation.

Also, does anyone know about how many staff there might be in the nursery? I don't want to leave out anyone.

Thanks!

Dizzly