(Otis McNatt) wrote in message . com...

We're not into flashy entertainment or
fancy dinners where you have to dress up to enter.

Of the mass market cruise lines, Celebrity is probably one of the
fanciest, if not THE fanciest as far as dinners go. Entertainment -
you can attend or not. If it's not your thing, just skip it. Easy
enough. There will be a couple of Vegas-style production shows while
you're on board, as well as a variety of other acts like comedians,
magicians, jugglers, headliner singers, etc. The onboard entertainment
is included in your cruise fare, so you can always try out a show, and
if it's not to your liking, you can quietly leave the venue.

We're more into
working out and relaxation in an environment different from our daily
round. This ship and cruise seems to maybe be for us.

The nice thing about cruising is that you can relax as little or as
much as you want. Many cruisers are on the go from morning 'til night,
and some don't participate in any activity. There's never any pressure
to join in - it's your vacation...do what you want, when you want.

But I've read
that on this ship, there are two formal dinners per week, where formal
dress is required. Now I know that I must look incredibly uninformed,
but what do the people eat who don't want to participate in such a formal
dinner? Are there other alternatives?

Formal dress is the "suggested" attire for formal nights and most
folks abide by the suggestion. There is a buffet available if you
don't want to dine in the dining room on formal evenings. However, the
meals in the dining room on formal nights are maybe the best meals of
the week. So, if you can muster up the energy to dress up a little,
you might find that you'll really enjoy yourself on these evenings.
Everyone in their finest really adds a lot to the festive, gala
atmosphere. I find formal nights to be fun. My work uniform is jeans
and tees, so I rarely get the opportunity to dress up in my everyday
life. I don't find it to be a burden. And, my husband looks HOT in a
tux, as most men do :-).

And as far as the roughly $20/day
tipping that I've read is to be expected from us, how does this work?

It's actually a bargain, if you think about it. The $20 (that's for
the 2 of you) covers your dining room waiter and assistant waiter as
well as your cabin steward. You'll have the same dining room staff
(dinners) and steward all week. In the dining room, you'll be enjoying
4-6 course meals every night and for the fantastic service you'll
receive, you'll only be tipping something like $3.75 per person to the
waiter and what...$2.50 for the assistant for each day? $3.75 goes to
your cabin steward who will, invisibly, make up your room twice a day,
refresh towels, ice, etc. and take care of any other requests you
might have during your week. Personally, I've always found the
suggested tipping amounts to be a bargain, compared to what I'd pay
for similar service at a land restaurant.

Some cruise lines apparently pre-charge the customer (at booking I guess)
for the expected typical gratuities, and there was another option that
was similar.

I find that having my tips added to my onboard account is a great
convenience. Means I have to take less cash with me, AND I earn FF
miles on the tip amount. I'm going to tip anyway, so it might as well
benefit me in some way. Even though I don't hand cash to my
waiter/steward, I do always write them thank-you notes, telling them
how much I appreciated their hard work during the week, and how it
made my cruise more special.

Why not just tip as you go, as we do normally on land when
we get service for something? As you can probably tell, I'm totally in
the dark on this whole thing.

Do you really want to carry cash around with you all the time? And,
what amount would you tip your waiter and assistant waiter each night?
A percentage of your bill? You don't get a bill!

Are there lots of hidden charges I should know about
beforehand?

Covered by others, but basically what IS included is your room & board
(some beverages, no alcohol or soda), entertainment in the various
venues on board, transportation to the various ports and back to FLL,
miscellaneous activities on board, use of the gym and some exercise
classes (some classes carry an extra charge - at least they do on some
cruise lines)...anything else is extra. Photos, bingo, alcohol, soda,
casino, shops, etc.

Do most of these lines offer shuttles to/from the Ft. Lauderdale
airport?

Airport and port are very close. Just take a cab.

Anyway, I think we'd probably get a kick out of this, but I'm
just wondering if it's too much of a hassle for a vacation...

Cruising is the opposite of "hassle" at least for me. When I need to
get away and I'm not in the mood to stress over details, planning,
etc., I pick a cruise.

Have a great time.

Lee