There's quite a few specials on the Royal Caribbean website, but this New Zealand cruise sailing on 22 February seems like a great deal! The ship is Voyager of the Seas (one of the larger ones) Including gratuities, it works out to be around $72 a night pp for an interior stateroom.
Prices are per person in Australian Dollars based on twin occupancy and inclusive of all taxes & fees (which are subject to change).
good price, but they've talked up the description a bit….
"Ports of call include enchanting destinations like Sydney, Melbourne, Wellington, Christchurch, Tasmania and more. If you've ever dreamed of an exotic cruise to the South Pacific…"
Onboard gratuities (tips) will be added later in the booking process
Not Included: Air transport**; transfers**; items of a personal nature, such as shore excursions**, speciality restaurant fees, some beverages, photographs, tips/service fees, medical services, etc.
Tips are not included and can be quite substantial.
coin saver, how substantial can the tips be?
15% of all bar/beverage purchases? You dont tip for normal food service.
Pre-paid Tips: 125.40 not sure if this covers dining and drinks the site implies more will be added as you go further into the booking.
Auto deducted daily by RC from your onboard account Godzill.
Aust Princess and P&O they're included in your fare… WYSWYG, no surprises.
Onboard gratuities : An approximate daily total of USD 9.75 (USD 12 for suite guests) per guest
Unfortunately that's quite out of date.
Current gratuities are USD12/day/passenger, or USD14.25 for suites.
You can pre-pay as coin saver posted, which will probably work out a little cheaper.
The only extra gratuities are then on the optional services of night room service and spa services.
Our one and only Rc cruise was the first cruise that they decided to make gratuities compulsory and didn't notify us until we hopped on the ship, just a letter in our cabin saying we were being charged an extra $12 each per day on a 10 day cruise. We jumped up and down and had it removed but it was really rude the way they didn't tell us until we were on board.
The extra 15% on top of every drink is a bit rude too.
We weren't that impressed with them, very little to do on the ship unless you played bingo.
Typical behaviour from this company. They once charged us for a visa we had already purchased (only one of us) and then claimed they weren't in the wrong due to "government policy". Complained and got it escalated, only to receive the same response.
To them, you are live cattle, not a customer. This attitude resonates right through their services.
Never again.
My last trip on Royal Caribbean (November 2014), tips were automatically added BUT you could elect to remove automatic tipping and simply hand your waitstaff/room cleaning guy a tip at the end, which we did. Autotipping shits me.
15% on bar drinks, and you can't avoid it, but the drink prices aren't brutal.
this is what we did
With auto tip the service staff behind the scenes get something, with direct tipping they get zilch.
That is if the ship passes on 100% of the auto tips that is… :-(
Are the staff paid or do they work for tips?
Service staff pretty much rely on tips. There's just a token monthly payment given to them.
They are paid. But make more money on tips. But it depends on their position. A waiter or stateroom attendant will get a lower "salary" but also gets tips, whereas a security guard just gets "salary". It's part of the reason the service is really great on RC (also because they're expected to get 10/10 scores on guest surveys).
Many of the staff get a US award type wage. For instance, bar staff in 2013 receive about $2.40 an hour! and they somehow still smile!
We always go to the info desk and cancel the auto tips, but then always give every staff member who made our trip great $20- $50 etc at the end (bring cash with you before you leave- trust me you will definitely think they deserve it). At least this way we know they are definitely getting it (tax and cruise liner % free), and if all 2000 passengers did the same…
I just went on my 2nd Royal Caribbean cruise. I am never going to go on another cruise line unless I get a free ticket. The service and food is awesome. Plenty of entertainment options and the ships are in great condition.
I think it should be noted that Voyager of the Seas just had some refurbishments done in 2014 too. Also if you are prone to sea sickness you may have trouble going to New Zealand and Hobart as they are the rougher seas (my sister and cousin found that out the hard way).
I've heard this from other people too - one of the better cruise companies
thanks jimmy .. i do get sea sick
is there precautionary measures to take - eg do the pills work etc. ?
or is it better to just stay away from cruises ?
Pills definitely work. But you have to take them ahead of time. My sister gets carsick so she is pretty sensitive. I didn't have anything I'm absolutely immune to it so I don't know exactly how it feels. But there was a day where some of my family constantly felt like crap and were vomitting up anything they ate. The best things to do to combat sea sickness are to take pills before you get sick, make sure you stay outside of your room, and if you do get sick stick to the lower levels towards the middle. The 2nd day of rough seas they stuck by the lobby bar and felt great after 30 minutes.
Might want to add this to description, minimum occupancy of two means this deal costs a minimum of $1348.
"Prices are per person in Australian Dollars based on twin occupancy and inclusive of all taxes & fees (which are subject to change)."
Probably more as they lose out on another paying customer.
Its always irk me, that these promotion never state what a room for 1 will cost, even going to the site doesn't tell you.
Most of the time I don't investigate further too much effort.
Considering people are staying single longer, they're surely losing a lot of customers
So this leaves 22 Feb and comes back 32nd Feb just before my birthday
Really, you have a birthday on 33rd Feb?
that sh!t be eneLOOPY, bro
this is a great deal, if I didn't just come back from a NZ cruise I'd go again. We paid 2 x as much. Seas are really rough as some have mentioned even with good weather. Trick is to get prescription sea sick pills (not over the counter) and have them as soon as you wake up regardless when you are leaving NZ for Hobart. If you wait like I did, it will be too late. I wasted a day in bed feeling sick.
Paying twice as much is somewhat expected during a school holiday period, even if less than 20% of the guests aboard are not school kids.
Just a tip if you go on the cruise forums you can organise group shore tours at less than half the cost of the ship cost and with a fraction of the people so you also see more
Been on 30+ cruises and only once paid for a ship tour direct that was on Komodo Island
can you give me an example of good cruise forum? thx.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com
The above is great for international cruises and some local
Timhn link is good for local cruise info and an Australians view on cruising
They also have a travel agent that gives good pricing to members.
thx all, will check those out
Most places I've slipped the tour operators cash on the dock for a fraction of the cost. Alternatively, if you are one of those people who just need to book in advance, go to sites like http://www.viator.com etc (just google them). Here you can actually book the exact tours the cruise lines offer, but without the cruise lines cut.
That's true you can get some good deals on the dock as you arrive . I have found viator expensive
Best results are looking at the forums and they will give u the names of tour operators they have used
And most are well under the cruise ship costs . I have organised many tours with groups of up to 12
On the forums to cut costs . One of the best was an overnight stop in Egypt 1/3 of the ship cost
And got to see heaps more as well.
You're not allowed to bring any alcohol with you right?
How extensive is their boarding search? :)
They'll X-ray your carry ons (confiscating any alcohol), but not sure about bigger luggage (you drop it off at check in and it gets taken to your room).
Check if they are a Coke or Pepsi cruise line. Then bring bottles of what they don't sell, topped off with your favourite moonshine. If you're in Italy then you can fill your Gatorade bottles with Limoncello. They'll probably get suss if you bring watermelons on board….
My understanding with RC is you get to bring a bottle of wine aboard per person on departure day. If you're being sneaky, fill the wine bottles with your beverage of choice.
Nice guys, I'll confirm with them about the wine
I've also heard people sneaking it on in Shampoo bottles. But if you are planning to drink, Royal Caribbean has unlimited drink packages for $60 or $65 a day. So it may be worth it. But only one person needs to get it and you can get drinks for the 2 of you. We don't drink so we did it with the software package. Only 2 software packages for the 9 of us and the waiters would bring cokes for all of us.
Bottle of wine method is the standard "getting drinks on board" method from Australia. From international locations it's no issue at all. I walked on board with an open beer and a bottle of Jacks in my other hand! Plus my room cleaner saw the bottle and gave me a bucket of fresh ice every night (he knew what the drill was), I bought him a 6 pack of beer in few different Euro ports (at a about $4 a 6 pack). He was happy, I was happy!
Just an outside tip for those travelling around the South Pacific, a 2 litre bottle of coke can be more expensive than spirits, so you are better off bringing a couple of them on board, maybe a premix in one of them. You can then also use that plastic bottle to bring back extra duty free spirits in your case (wont smash), plus you obviously bring the 2.25 litres as declared carry on.
Lastly, my better half made me bring a 24 pack of water bottles on in Australia. Was a good call. Made grabbing a bottle for the day trip super easy, plus one day there was an issue with the water on the boat in the morning… We didn't have to wait! (and they don't let you refill water bottles at the designated drinking water outlets anyway - but some people obviously still do and put the bottle opening all over the spout…no gastro thanks!)
OP, may want to add that as per this deal this cruise also includes USD$200 on board credit to spend on whatever you want (can even withdraw it as cash minus a 5% fee). So basically another $100 off per passenger.
Oh no how do I reverse a neg? Damn slippery tablet screen!
Goto votes below his comment and then you can revoke your neg.
The onboard credit isn't available if you choose the cheapest stateroom guarantee. It's only available if you choose a more expensive room it seems.
I don't think that's correct - it's not mentioned anywhere on the offer page or in the T&Cs that guarantee rooms are ineligible. It should apply automatically. Maybe give them a call?
Thanks for that, I'll give them a call to see if they can give me the $200 credit.
Edit
The terms say:
• Bookings must include the promotion names ‘BiggestEverSale’ to be eligible for the discount and ‘SaleOBC’ to be eligible for the onboard credit. Bookings made under any other promotion will not be eligible to receive the offer
This booking comes under promotion "Clearance"
Sounds like a good deal. Any similar one for Brisbane?
Anyone here cannot be absent for month end closing?
For me, I cannot miss month end days absolutely.
What?
He's in accounting/finance so someone needs to do End of Month process. Just let your boss do it, you don't get paid enough to worry about it ;p
As if his boss knows how to do it :)
Boss only review but doesn't know how to do.
Accounting workers always work hardest but doesn't get paid extra hours..
Expired? Mine's showing up $874.
Not sure if it's expired, but sometimes the price fluctuates up and down.
Currently the South Pacific cruise departing next week is quite cheap. $585pp 10 nights twin share + tips
http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/findacruise/cruiseDetails/i…
I'm sure drink packages out of Aus are more expensive, but went on a RC cruise out of Singapore recently and the drinks package was only $140 for 5 days, all the beer and wine I could drink! I've never drunk so many Corona's in all my life!
question from first time cruiser, is the only free food on board is buffet? if not, how do we know which restaurant is free or not? thanks
It all depends on your ship and cruise company best thing is to look it up on the cruise web site on what's included on your cruise . All have a sit down restaurant included but some also have included pizza restaurants /outlets , BBQ lunch area , rolls and salad bars , donut shops , hotdog stands, popcorn and cookies at the outdoor movies, soft serve ice cream
There is a LOT of free food on these ships, from various places (but most variety in the buffets). They have good restaurants available for a very low price. They are generally well worth it when you are sick of the buffet. You will also get good service - something absent from most other aspects of these ships, due largely to the under-paid, overworked staff.
You could very well get by on the free food, but I'd assume you want to have a few meals from the paid venues as well.
It's really clear in the ship food overviews what is / isn't free. I suppose a guideline is if it is 'branded', it's not free. Free things will be like "Pool-side snack bar", whereas a paid venue would be "TGI Fridays Ahoy!".
Thank you, some more question :) how about the dress code? are they really enforce the dress code??
Not really, but you'll feel peer pressure in the main dining room if seated with older or more preppy people. I hated the shared dining arrangements,due to this sort of bull shit.
(profanity) em, dress how you want. You'll just be 'that guy'.
Just remembering: second cruise I didn't take any trousers /jacket. Just jeans and button up shirt. On the more retarded formal nights we just ate elsewhere.
not bad