Beauty

[dionline]

I went on my very first cruise in December and loved it!! We were on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas and the experience was wonderful, in fact we're looking for our next cruise!

My question is: with all of the pre-paid selections, which do you choose and is it a bargain to pre-pay?? Our cruise specialist automatically charged us for the pre-paid gratuity package. It was a nice chunk of change but never really said who the gratuities were for. I'm presuming our cabin steward and our waiter in the main dining room. Well, we ate in the main dining room exactly once and every other meal we ate at the buffet. So, do we pay once again for the gratuity package? If not, what do you give to the cabin steward at the end of the week? How about if we hit the main dining room one time once again? Would you tip at that meal or wait 'til the end of the week??

As for the beverage package, I got the Coca-Cola package for DH but he would've been just as happy with the iced tea or lemonade they always have available. No need to spend on that one again. We don't really drink much so the alcohol package isn't an issue.

What else might we need?? Any info will be greatly appreciated!!!! TIA

[KathyPet]

The gratuities get spread around to various crew members. The drinks you order at any of the bars automatically add a gratutity. You do not need to tip a additional amount to any crew member. Now if you think someone gave you exceptional service like your cabin steward or perhaps a certain bartender at a bar you go to for a before dinner drink you can if you wish slip them a little extra. I usually keep that to $10 or $15. However it is certainly not required.

[Tigriss]

Chose what you plan to use. The Coca-Cola package is great for even a few drinks. The gratuity goes to your steward, waiters, and basically all staff. We didn't tip our staff because we already had. We did do a few of the shore excursions that were reasonable, but doing it again, I would just rent a car and travel around or do research ahead of time and know what was available on the island and rent the car and go there. It is cheaper and you have more freedom to move as you please. If there is an alcohol package and you drink, go for it! It may save you money over buying a-la-carte. I liked eating in the dining room, but also the open buffets. The buffet serves need tipping too, so that is where you gratuity goes as well.

Take some anti-diarrhea meds, along with a few other medicine cabinet staples just encase you get a virus of some kind. Also some vaseline and wet wipes for the side affects.

[Disneydiva]

Most cruses require you to pre pay your gratuities; however, if you find that you did not eat in the main dinning room during your cruise, you can have those $$$ removed and credited back to your account. The gratuities are for your room stew, your dinning staff and the head waiter. Bar tips are included in the price of the item ordered.

[Kachina624]

My sister and I have been on several cruises and we learned a trick from a couple with whom we cruised who are good friends of hers.. We didn't sign up for any excursions. When we got into a port, we hired a taxi driver for several hours and asked him to show us the high points of the island (Caribbean of course). We found them all to be very friendly and well-versed on the local attractions. We usually toured around 3-4 hours and really got a feel for the island. If there is something special you want to see they'll take you there. We split the cost four ways and usually cost each of us a little over $20.

When we went to Alaska, we found that there were locals on the wharf area selling trips to the same places as the excursions for about half the cost. For instance we signed up for a whale watching trip in Juneau. The boat we took was an enclosed cabin cruiser with about 8 people on the trip. The ship's excursion was an open-sided (cold) boat that appeared to be overloaded with about 25 people. When they all got on one side to see something, the edge of that boat was just a few inches above the waterline. The boats radio each other as to whale locations so we all went to the same places.

As to the tipping your travel agent should have explained to you that every passenger is assessed a set amount as a gratuity, to be divided among all the crew members. It's mandatory. We had some really helpful cabin attendants so we left envelopes for them in the room with a little extra. I don't know if there's a fee these days for travel agents, but we booked online through Vacations to Go, as do all the people I know who cruise. Everything always goes smoothly and there is no charge.

[imashopper]

Hubs and I as well as our kids are cruisers. My mom has never cruised but won a cruise for two so she and I will be cruising in June. I typically prepay tips and any excursions where time is a huge concern for me, if I'm worried about possibly not making it back to the ship in time. Hubs and I enjoy a few cocktails but not enough to come out ahead by buying an alcohol package. I'm a big tea drinker, so no soda package for me either. My mom is a Pepsi drinker and the soda package is for Coke so we'll be taking soda on board with us for her. In the past we have left an additional tip for outstanding service from our room steward, and I anticipate doing that again on my mom's cruise as I'm sure her ice bucket will always be full and her soda cold!

[Alter Ego]

Since nobody else said it, I recommend the forums on cruisecritic.com. Any question you could possibly have about cruising has probably already been asked there. Although, warning, tips are a very hot topic! My understanding is that they are automatic, but you can ask to have them taken off.

On cruise critic, you can also talk to people on the actual cruise you are taking. Depending on the port, you could set up excursions with them rather than taking the more expensive cruise ships or doing it on your own. For example, I will be traveling to Rome and Naples when the Oasis of the Seas is in Europe in September - when in Rome, I'm joining some of the people on the board for a limo tour, but I have decided to do the ship's excursion in Naples.

They have different forums to search by port (to get ideas of non-cruise excursions), cruise line (RCCL is also my cruise line of choice - although I really haven't taken many cruises), to miscelleneous items such as fashion, 1st time cruiser, solo cruisers, etc. I sometimes go there just for the trip reports and pictures!!

[goodstuff]

Where you eat, what services and facilities you use, and what excursions you book are up to you. Regardless, most cruise lines add an extra gratuity charge to your daily bill to be divided among waitstaff, housekeeping, and other service personnel that help to make your cruise a success. In my experience, additional tipping is not necessary and often discouraged. You can talk to your travel agent about the terms of the pre-paid gratuity package and decide if it is a "better deal".

[denisemb]

RE: eating at the buffet instead of MDR...those crew members also take part in the pre-paid gratuities as they are manning the stations, keeping things stocked, etc. I believe on cruiselines like NCL's "anytime dining", servers are rotated as needed to the various dining venues, whether it be sit down dining or buffet.

[kaydee50]

On every cruise line we've been on--NCL, Celebrity, HAL, Carnival, RC--the tips were mandatory and automatically charged to the bill and if we get the "open seating" they must be prepaid. We have no problem with that since all the service people work very hard. We do eat most of our meals in the dining room--like being served!! As far as the beverage packages it depends. HAL has a good deal, Celebrity not so much. We always book our excursions through the ship and ahead of time. All the tix are waiting for us when we get to our stateroom. I like to plan ahead! and not being concerned about getting back to the ship and being ripped off by the locals.