First time cruiser - advice please

[confoosious]

Hello everyone, I'm going on a 4 night cruise for the first time next week and I've been reading up on it but I wanted to get some specific advice on the Enchantment of the Seas.

 

Here are some of my questions:

 

- does RCI have service charges added onto the dining bills or do i tip with cash every time?

- will i have the same waiter for the entire cruise?

- There is a formal night but i hate dressing up. Can i skip this?

 

thanks

[bUU]

Standard dining options are included in your cruise fare. There are recommended gratuities, which you would give on the last night of the cruise to your dining room servers. The RCI web site lists the schedule for gratuities, as does your cruise documents.

 

Eating in the main dining room, you will have the same service staff all week.

 

You can surely skip the formal night -- the buffet is available every night.

[sally r]

1. You tip on the last night of the cruise. You may tip with cash or purchase vouchers.

 

2. You will have the same table, waiter, assistant waiter and head waiter for the entire cruise.

 

3. You may skip formal night and eat in the casual dining restaurant or have room service in your cabin.

 

Have a wonderful time!

[madaamt]

A plus is that the Enchantment is one of the nicest ships I have ever been on We loved it!!!!!

[confoosious]

A plus is that the Enchantment is one of the nicest ships I have ever been on We loved it!!!!!

 

Awesome! I am quite hesitant as I've read some horror stories about cruises in general.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

I read some reviews where the guy writing it said he tipped his cabin steward in advance. Do you think that's a smart way to go? For a 4 night cruise, what do you think that amount should be?

[bUU]

I've read a lot of messages from folks who have said they've been on dozens of cruises, without ever having tipped in advance, and still getting superior service each time.

[hstrybuf]

I personally prefer not to tip at the beginning of the cruise except for special requests. I haven't found my service to suffer because of this. Most of the time the service has been better than just the basic so I tip extra with cash (and the vouchers) at the end of the cruise.

[confoosious]

ok... more ? about tipping:

 

how many different people do i have to tip?

 

1) cabin steward - what exactly does this person do?

2) is there a maid?

3) how many people in dining? let's assume i spent the entire cruise in the main dining room. Do i just tip the dining steward and he doles out to the busboys, etc?

4) anyone else?

 

i wish this was a tipping included cruise.

[CAT GIRL]

There's no need to stress over the tipping. It's all made very easy

for you. Part of the information that will be left for you in you

cabin will give you the option of putting all the tips on your seapass

card. If you chose to do this, then on the next to last day they

will deliver vouchers and envelopes for all the appropriate people.

You will be tipping your room steward, your waiter, asst. waiter,

and head waiter. The amounts are standard and are published in

your cruise book. So, at dinner on the last night you take your

envelop ( voucher included) and give it to the appropriate people.

You can always add a little cash if you wish. Gratuities are

automatically added to drinks that you order. My I suggest a

delicious strawberry colada. It's half pina colada and half strawberry

daquairi.

The Enchantment is my all time favorite ship. I was just on her

in Sept. Check out the Beatles show if they still have it. Also, the

Tina Turner review was good. I envy you. Have a great time.

Cat Girl

[mtchg]

Reconsider skipping formal nite. This is one of the great traditions of a cruise, and since it is your first, give it a shot. Yes, you have to dress up a little, but you can get away with "casual nice", a sportcoat, a dress, etc.

Especially on a shorter cruise, there won't be alot of tux's. You can always ditch the duds after dinner, but it really is a wonderful meal, wonderful service and just a very special "ambiance" that you should try at least once.

 

Mitch

[stillfrantic]

Your cabin steward is your housekeeper. He/she will make up the cabin each morning. Bring you ice in your ice bucket. Turn down the bed in the evening. Answer any special requests, such as extra towels, with a smile.

[madforcruising]

ok... more ? about tipping:

 

how many different people do i have to tip?

 

1) cabin steward - what exactly does this person do?

2) is there a maid?

3) how many people in dining? let's assume i spent the entire cruise in the main dining room. Do i just tip the dining steward and he doles out to the busboys, etc?

4) anyone else?

 

i wish this was a tipping included cruise.

-It´s recommended that you tip the waiter, head waiter, assistant waiter and the Stateroom attendant.

 

-The Stateroom attendant will make up your room twice a day, bring and collect your luggage, takes care of any dry cleaning or laundry items, refills your Ice Bucket, ....

 

- There is no maid, it´s the Staterom attendant that does this

 

- As you can see from the list above three persons in the dining room to tip. You tip them each at the end of the cruise (last evening)

 

 

TP Keller has set up a great website concerning tipping. You can choose your cruise line, enter number of days and persons and you get the amount you´ll have to plan for tipping.

http://members.aol.com/CruiseTip/

[PSCruiser]

Waiter, Asst. waiter, and head waiter. A bit of clarification: Your waiter and asst. waiter will tend to your needs, and in most cases will bend over backwards to make sure you are happy.

The headwaiter, on the other hand, may make a big effort to enhance your dining experience, or, you may barely be aware of his presence. On our last cruise we had a great head waiter, always stopping by for a bit of conversation, and did things like boning chicken, deshelling lobster, etc. So, in the case of the head waiter I think most people tip accordingly to services received.

[bUU]

On our recent cruise, RCI allowed us to put our tips on our Sea Pass -- which seemed to me just the same as automatic tipping. They figured out how much it should be, and gave me vouchers with instructions about who to give them to.

[confoosious]

thanks everyone for the advice! :)