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Pre--paid gratuities on RCL.
Hi all
I am just starting to research prices, staterooms, and itineraries on Royal Caribbean for 2012. I am hoping to go on the Oasis or Allure of the Seas. I thought I that I heard that Royal Caribbean makes you pre-pay for gratuities if you select their flexible dinning option. Please tell me if that is true. I have always cruised on Princess with "anytime dinning" in the past and we would have them take the gratuities off of the our stateroom account and them we would give our cabin steward cash money. We also many times eat at the buffet, rather than the main dinning room, so there was no point in us paying a tip for that. Also wondering how the staterooms compare in size. We most generally have gotten a mini-suite with balcony on Princess for 3 passengers, as the normal balcony staterooms do not have a sleeper sofa. Just trying to decide between at jr-suite or balcony stateroom with Royal Caribbean, again for 3 passengers. Any thoughts good or bad about either stateroom? Thanks in advance Michael |
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Pre--paid gratuities on RCL.
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Pre--paid gratuities on RCL.
On Nov 10, 6:23*pm, Bill wrote:
On 11/10/2010 6:37 PM, wrote: I thought I that I heard that Royal Caribbean makes you pre-pay for gratuities if you select their flexible dinning option. Please tell me if that is true. I have always cruised on Princess with "anytime dinning" in the past and we would have them take the gratuities off of the our stateroom account and them we would give our cabin steward cash money. We also many times eat at the buffet, rather than the main dinning room, so there was no point in us paying a tip for that. So what happens the time you eat in the dining room? No tip for those days? Also, the cruise lines claim that the dining room tips go towards the people in the buffet, so you should tip even if you're not eating in the dining room. Bill We just don't like being automatically charged for gratuities. I know that most times the service is good, but I just wished there was a better way to do it. While researching some prices I noticed that one website (cruise.com) offers to pay for the gratuities. With there prices being the same as the other websites I searched this may help us to decide who to book with. Michael |
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Pre--paid gratuities on RCL.
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Pre--paid gratuities on RCL.
In article om, Janet
Wilder wrote: On a Royal Caribbean ship you have to sign up in advance for the My Time Dining. You are required to prepay your gratuities. Why? Well you usually don't get the same wait staff every evening and these people do work for tips. As for eating in the buffet, who do you think is bringing you your drinks and cleaning the tables? It's the same folks that work in the dining rooms. Don't you think they deserve a tip? If the tips are pooled shouldn't your share be in that pool? When we take a cruise, whether it is on a big cruise ship or a small river barge, we always factor the cost of the recommended tips plus extra for superior service into our budget. I think you pretty well nailed it in the above. I hope the other person reconsiders and does not stiff the crew. -- Charles |
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Pre--paid gratuities on RCL.
We were on the oasis 10/16 cruise. We had "anytime dining" Make
reservation ! We called for 5:30 or 7:30 to make the shows we wanted. We asked for our waiter crew each dinner. We did not have any problem. Table #726 for two. A number people had 6 or 8 groups reserved. Great service. Pre paid but added a litle extra. Great Ship ----- Great Cruise Live today...tomorrow may never come. |
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Pre--paid gratuities on RCL.
wrote in message ... Hi all I am just starting to research prices, staterooms, and itineraries on Royal Caribbean for 2012. I am hoping to go on the Oasis or Allure of the Seas. Hi Michael, Having recently taken the Oasis, I have only good things to report about her...whether you take her or her sister ship, you cannot go wrong! I thought I that I heard that Royal Caribbean makes you pre-pay for gratuities if you select their flexible dinning option. Please tell me if that is true. I have always cruised on Princess with "anytime dinning" in the past and we would have them take the gratuities off of the our stateroom account and them we would give our cabin steward cash money. We also many times eat at the buffet, rather than the main dinning room, so there was no point in us paying a tip for that. Michael, After we returned from the Oasis cruise, we watched a documentary about the Oasis on TV and believe me, after seeing what the crew has to do after each sailing and before the next one was exhausting just to watch! They clean and sanitize the entire ship and that is just within the time allowed between disembarkation and next embarkation...about THREE or so hours that they work their heads off just to make sure that YOUR cruise will be special and your cabin and the ship are in top shape. Then, they smile and greet you when you come onboard after all that hard work! Seeing that, made me glad that we have always tipped and that we tipped extra! The same waiters who work in the buffet also work in the main dining rooms...they have different shifts with very little time to sleep in between...so if you take off the gratuities, you are punishing them as well as the many who work behind the scenes and are never even seen by the passengers! We have taken 52 cruises and have always tipped and tipped extra. After seeing that documentary, it made us appreciate even more how hard they all have to work, and very often under pressure, that we will gladly continue doing so! Even a sullen, incompetent and rude waiter would not change my mind...I would not tip him/her extra, but I would certainly complain at the reception desk as soon as that occurred so that they could correct the situation and mention him/her by name on the comment sheet...That is where it hurts them the most! Also wondering how the staterooms compare in size. We most generally have gotten a mini-suite with balcony on Princess for 3 passengers, as the normal balcony staterooms do not have a sleeper sofa. Just trying to decide between at jr-suite or balcony stateroom with Royal Caribbean, again for 3 passengers. Any thoughts good or bad about either stateroom? We have taken a mini-suite and a balcony for three and they are both doable. Some balcony rooms do have a sleeper sofa and if you look at a deck plan, the ones with a star, triangle or a diamond in the cabin sleep three or four. Depends on which cruise line that you are considering. Your travel agent can help you choose the right sized cabin and help you with the location, plus answer any questions, especially if this happens to be your first cruise. And they don't cost you an extra cent...their commission comes from the cruiseline not you! In fact, they have saved us money when there have been drops in prices! At the bottom of this link it tells you the types of cabins and their locations. http://www.vacationstogo.com/deck_pl...eas/Deck_8.cfm Enjoy your cruise and plan on taking extra for tips, you will be glad that you did! --Jean Thanks in advance Michael |
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