Cheers: Not about breaking even for us

[Jayfo]

Cruising in two weeks, read most of these posts, completely agree with almost everything said and learned a lot! My question is tipping...as I understand it, 15% gratuity is in included in the package, so do you still tip your bartenders and waiters?

 

I added up all our tips/taxes (pre-sailaway) added to our final bill and between the 3 of us, we spent $69.48 additional. Even though the 15% was included, we still tossed the bartender or server an extra buck on the extra tip line once in a while for good service to bring the gratuity higher than the 15%.

If it were just handing me a bottle of water, then nothing additional. But for cocktail servers, I gave a little extra too so they were sure to come back. (That was my one bad thought about the whole Cheers experience....cocktail servers are few and far between. Definite cutbacks in that department.)

 

One bartender at the Red Frog on Lido got some extra cash out of me and no matter how crowded the bar was, he was sure to make my drink without me waiting. Cash is king :D He told me that cash goes to them right then and there, anything added to your receipt they get a few weeks later.

[cruzelover55]

Cruising in two weeks, read most of these posts, completely agree with almost everything said and learned a lot! My question is tipping...as I understand it, 15% gratuity is in included in the package, so do you still tip your bartenders and waiters?

 

That opens up a whole other can of worms as people differ drastically on that subject. We look at it like this. If you were paying 15% per drink, it would be a lot more money than 15% on the package. So the servers get hosed. We try to stick with the same bartenders and tip $1. extra per the 2 drinks we order. It is not mandatory and is totally up to you. Enjoy your cruise!:)

[First and Ten]

I added up all our tips/taxes (pre-sailaway) added to our final bill and between the 3 of us, we spent $69.48 additional. Even though the 15% was included, we still tossed the bartender or server an extra buck on the extra tip line once in a while for good service to bring the gratuity higher than the 15%.

If it were just handing me a bottle of water, then nothing additional. But for cocktail servers, I gave a little extra too so they were sure to come back. (That was my one bad thought about the whole Cheers experience....cocktail servers are few and far between. Definite cutbacks in that department.)

 

One bartender at the Red Frog on Lido got some extra cash out of me and no matter how crowded the bar was, he was sure to make my drink without me waiting. Cash is king :D He told me that cash goes to them right then and there, anything added to your receipt they get a few weeks later.

 

Totally agree with Jayfo on the tipping aspect....On my last cruise, every night before dinner, while the DW was getting ready, I would stroll down to the Atrium bar. The first night I was chatting up a bartender, very personable and he was good at his job. I tipped him $10. I guess it worked out my evening cocktail time worked out with his schedule because he was there. No matter how busy he was, if he saw me walking up, he would right away make me a drink and place it at an open spot on the bar. If all seats were taken, he would point to the end of the bar and place it there. If I was having more than one, no matter how busy he was, he would right away make me another. Cash speaks volumes!!!!

Edited June 28, 2016 by First and Ten

[erinmarie424]

Cruising in two weeks, read most of these posts, completely agree with almost everything said and learned a lot! My question is tipping...as I understand it, 15% gratuity is in included in the package, so do you still tip your bartenders and waiters?

 

$1 cash on everything except bottled water or vitamin water where they just loosen the top and hand it over. We each gave the casino and Alchemy bartenders $5 for our first drinks at their bars as well and got very good service from them throughout the cruise.

[cruzelover55]

And, please don't forget the room service staff. They are not part of the automatic grats. When my parents cruise they eat almost exclusively from room service (since they spend their time at the casino) and no matter how many times I remind her, she always says, oh, well I forget to take one's. But, yet, she whines about slow room service. The last cruise I dropped them off for, I opened her purse took out 2 $20's, and gave her 40 $1's. I told her, now, you don't have an excuse. She does the same thing at land based casinos when at a slot machine. Orders a drink and then says, oh, sorry, no $1's. We used to take them on vacation with us every year, stopped years ago, just too embarrassing!:mad:

[tulman]

I know I have seen this before, but cannot remember the answer as it did not pertain to me at the time. If you have the Cheers package I know that you have to buy single drinks and wait five minutes before the next drink can be bought. However, with cheers, can you buy a bucket of beer and have that charged to your SS?

 

Thanks in advance.

[DnD_Cruisin]

Yes you can buy buckets but would have to pay full price on SS. Kinda defeats the purpose of Cheers though

[tulman]

Yes you can buy buckets but would have to pay full price on SS. Kinda defeats the purpose of Cheers though

 

We DW and I, want to do cheers but have a problem with having to wait 5 minutes between drinks. Now, I know that sounds bad, but we like to have a beer with a shot, or a shot with a beer. One tastes just as good as the other. And we like to have drinks on our balcony, so cheers makes it difficult to do this, as we would both have to go to the bar, get a beer, wait 5, then a shot, back to room. Drink & repeat. So, if we have bucket of beer, at least one of us can go get the shots. I am assuming if one of us have both SS cards, we could get two shots, one for each card. Is that correct?

 

Also, we are open for other suggestions as to how we can have drinks on our balcony without having to buy from BV, or smuggle (which we would never do :cool:).

[First and Ten]

We DW and I, want to do cheers but have a problem with having to wait 5 minutes between drinks. Now, I know that sounds bad, but we like to have a beer with a shot, or a shot with a beer. One tastes just as good as the other. And we like to have drinks on our balcony, so cheers makes it difficult to do this, as we would both have to go to the bar, get a beer, wait 5, then a shot, back to room. Drink & repeat. So, if we have bucket of beer, at least one of us can go get the shots. I am assuming if one of us have both SS cards, we could get two shots, one for each card. Is that correct?

 

Also, we are open for other suggestions as to how we can have drinks on our balcony without having to buy from BV, or smuggle (which we would never do :cool:).

 

Boilermakers....nice!!!!

 

The BV package would work for you as far as having a bottle and your beers in your room....if you want to buy multiple shots with multiple beers w/o the BV package, the best bet would probably be pay as you go, so you could buy multiple of each and not have to wait

Edited June 28, 2016 by First and Ten

[DnD_Cruisin]

Boilermakers....nice!!!!

 

The BV package would work for you as far as having a bottle and your beers in your room....if you want to buy multiple shots with multiple beers w/o the BV package, the best bet would probably be pay as you go, so you could buy multiple of each and not have to wait

 

My friends from MN call this "a beer and a bump". My wife loves that term lol

 

I have found using first's tipping method with a bartender also works for the 5 minute rule. On my last cruise my wife and I wanted to partake in a beer and a bump with some folks we met on the ship. My guy did it for us with a wink and a smile.

[First and Ten]

My friends from MN call this "a beer and a bump". My wife loves that term lol

 

I have found using first's tipping method with a bartender also works for the 5 minute rule. On my last cruise my wife and I wanted to partake in a beer and a bump with some folks we met on the ship. My guy did it for us with a wink and a smile.

 

See, DnD knows the game!!!!

 

"Beer and a bump"....I never heard that before, I like it!!!!

Edited June 28, 2016 by First and Ten

[gagirl2006]

My husband and I bought the Cheers program on our 3 day cruise. We said then that we wouldn't do it on a 7 day but now that we're booked it is sounding better and better. I can't wait to hear how you do with it.

[cruzelover55]

As to buckets of beer: We take a soft sided collapsible cooler that lies flat in the bottom of our suitcase. Room steward keeps filled with ice. We always book Lido, mere steps from pool bar. We each get a beer, take to room, repeat,repeat. Then we have them for the room. No trouble at all as we are so close. Sad to say, that is the main reason we don't try some other cruise lines as some don't have rooms on that deck.:o

[zabaco]

Thanks to everyone for the great tips on tips! :) Also the pointer about developing relationships with certain bartenders/bar waiters was a good one.

 

I will make sure to tip early and tip often.

[E&B]

Thank you so very much! I hesitated to make the thread at all because I was afraid of negativity, but I am so glad I did!

 

I have had so much fun reading everyone's responses and I am even more certain that we have made he right decision for us. Reading what everyone loves about Cheers has made me even more excited about our upcoming cruise. (5 days to sailing!)

 

It's also been interesting to talk about various replies with my husband. It's fascinating to discuss the psychology of "all inclusive" vs. "pay as you go" with him.

 

I hope that I have encouraged some people to think about Cheers differently and to consider how it can be more about overall cruise enjoyment and not just a decision that you should make after consulting with your financial planner. ;-)

 

 

I have a friend who loves to eat sushi with me. We go to an awesome all you can eat place that also serves a la carte and at the end of the meal she adds up items until she's decided we've come out ahead. I thought about doing this when we decided to get Cheers! and then decided against it. It's my vacation. I want to relax, just enjoy and not worry about it. I'm sure we'll come close to even. And if we don't that extra cost will be well worth it for the enjoyment we'll get out of just ordering what we want without worrying about cost.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Edited June 28, 2016 by E&B

[DnD_Cruisin]

See, DnD knows the game!!!!

 

"Beer and a bump"....I never heard that before, I like it!!!!

 

I enjoy giving a lil extra for good service. Funny thing is ... I like to talk with the crew.

 

I work with people from all over the world on a daily basis in my job. Learning about their cultures is both interesting and usefull to me. It helps me be a better manager.

 

So while the tipping certainly helps I think the respect we show them can carry as much or more weight in how they treat us in return.

 

Then again... that holds true for everything in life, so why should a cruise be different?

[tulman]

My friends from MN call this "a beer and a bump". My wife loves that term lol

 

I have found using first's tipping method with a bartender also works for the 5 minute rule. On my last cruise my wife and I wanted to partake in a beer and a bump with some folks we met on the ship. My guy did it for us with a wink and a smile.

 

Wow that sounds like a plan, thank for the advice!:D

[zabaco]

I enjoy giving a lil extra for good service. Funny thing is ... I like to talk with the crew.

 

I work with people from all over the world on a daily basis in my job. Learning about their cultures is both interesting and usefull to me. It helps me be a better manager.

 

So while the tipping certainly helps I think the respect we show them can carry as much or more weight in how they treat us in return.

 

Then again... that holds true for everything in life, so why should a cruise be different?

 

 

I love that idea! Since my husband and I usually cruise with kids but this time are alone, we will have time on this trip to get to know the crew members. I'm looking forward to that.

[cruzelover55]

I love that idea! Since my husband and I usually cruise with kids but this time are alone, we will have time on this trip to get to know the crew members. I'm looking forward to that.

 

Hope you have a blast! 1st time my husband and I went to a Florida theme park without kids (they were grown and gone) it was amazing! We never realized how much fun we could have in a kid oriented place WITHOUT our kids. You can concentrate on yourselves, it's a big change. Enjoy!!:D

[elliair]

Does Carnival ever offer free gratuities or the free Cheers package? On our upcoming 2 Princess cruises we qualify for the liquor package and for the free gratuities. We opted for the free gratuities since we don't drink hard liquor or the foo-foo- drinks. We buy the wine package both on Carnival and on Princess. We did take the free gratuities though. Twenty-five days of cruising and no gratuities except for the alcohol. We're elite and get a mini bar in our room.:p

[DnD_Cruisin]

Does Carnival ever offer free gratuities or the free Cheers package? On our upcoming 2 Princess cruises we qualify for the liquor package and for the free gratuities. We opted for the free gratuities since we don't drink hard liquor or the foo-foo- drinks. We buy the wine package both on Carnival and on Princess. We did take the free gratuities though. Twenty-five days of cruising and no gratuities except for the alcohol. We're elite and get a mini bar in our room.:p

 

I've never seen it. But the cruise lines do play follow the leader if a specific marketing plan works. So who knows what the future holds....

[erinmarie424]

One more advantage (a big one for me since we fly to ports) is not needing to purchase wine and canned soda to carry on to help reduce that s&s bill. Nice to not have that errand to run the night before or morning of the cruise.

[ldlewis45]

OP, I understand your logic with buying Cheers, but why not just buy on-board credit in the same amount (or just put that much cash on the account), if you know that he's probably not going to even break even? That way, you get back the excess, instead of donating it to Carnival, and you've spent no more than you would have with Cheers. Plus, you could use the credit for other things on board, like the spa or steakhouse, if you wanted to.

[ChipFire]

Best response ever, love the way that you handled this post!

 

DiDo, theres always one, The response alone and the pre thought on the whole post might show a bit of higher ed to me, I think this has been one of the greatest post ever. I wish you a great VayCay. and 25 more greeeeeat years.

No one has mentioned that you can also get sports waters, also and I was reading a post where a lady got a frozen drink then later(5 min between drinks) got a shot to add to that ?just a thought Once again Enjoy.

[cruzelover55]

DiDo, theres always one, The response alone and the pre thought on the whole post might show a bit of higher ed to me, I think this has been one of the greatest post ever. I wish you a great VayCay. and 25 more greeeeeat years.

No one has mentioned that you can also get sports waters, also and I was reading a post where a lady got a frozen drink then later(5 min between drinks) got a shot to add to that ?just a thought Once again Enjoy.

 

And your thought is a good thought. :) Myself, since I am one of those annoying, slow sipping drinkers, do it in reverse. I have something to drink already in my hand, so I get the shot, wait 5 minutes, then order the frozen drink. If I am outside, the frozen drink melts quickly, and alcohol always speeds that up, so prefer to add the extra to the drink. As you said, just a thought. And, also, once again, hope the op has a great cruise. Most civilized thread I have ever seen.:)