Great value 24 hr sale allegedly ends 11an 22/11/16.
$13.50 usd pp daily gratuity expected but you can be a dick and take it off.
Both go to South Pacific
Includes flow rider, rock climbing, mini golf, and ice skating. 24 hour food from various outlets. Some soft beverages, coffee and tea, but not fancy coffee and tea.
Fabulous price.
Everything on board is in usd, but this price is aud. bring us power adapters.
For a gratuity of $13.50 us pp, I'll choose to be a dick. I might be old fashioned but a gratuity is for good service - not just an expectation.
If you're too poor to pay a $13 gratuity then perhaps cruising isn't for you.
If the cruise line is too mean to pay their staff then it is not the customers problem.
It is called exploitation. We don't have this crap here for a good reason.
The buck stops with the demand, not the supply. The customer of an exploiter is no less an exploiter.
@thevofa:
That is called twisting the image :-(… it is what it is……. and that is why only the US uses this method of renumerating service staff.
Aust based P&O & Princess ships do not play this game.
It's a massive 20% price bump on these trips.
That's ridiculous.
I have a 10 day cruise booked with Royal Caribbean in Jan 2017 with my wife and three kids. It was not a cheap holiday (over $7K). That fact I have to pay US$13:50 each day for each of the 5 people is a mighty big gratuity (US$13.50 x 10 days x 5 people = US$675 or approx AUD$930). Let's hope I get great service for my tip!
A gratuity is for good service here - but not where the ships come from, and the employment agreements set - the US.
They're paid under the US model, where gratuities are expected to make up the otherwise bare income.
Don't have to like it, but doesn't change what it is.
Anything like this to Bali/elsewhere in Indonesia?
Having just been on a Royal Caribbean cruise (got back Sunday), my understanding is the gratuity can be paid upfront when you book (as I did) OR it will be added to your room expenses at the completion of the cruise. I don't believe it is optional other than whether you pay before or after. Removing it now may see it pop up later as a room charge. On the last night of our trip we even had an A4 page in the room that reiterated this and also showed how the money was divided between room staff, food services etc.
Royal Caribbeans site mentions you can debate it on board at customer service if the quality of service hasn't been up to par, but I'm not sure you'd be able to waive it entirely particularly on a longer cruise given they'd probably expect you to report subpar service early on and they'd then aim to address it if the complaint is legitimate.
http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/customersupport/faq/subject…
I don't like tipping however so choose to think of it as part of the overall cost rather than some seperate component given it's not really avoidable anyway from what I could see. Unfortunately they look to be able to break it out so the prices appear to be better than they actually are, and at $14 or so per a person per a day it does add up. Reminds me of airline or ticket companies processing charges.
For what its worth, I did find the service to be absolutely terrific. The room staff tended to our room multiple times a day, dining staff were great and everyone was very courteous. They did have one staff member for every 3 or 4 guest on our trip and it did show.
Way to go… with some visiting ships this US gratuity tradition can be a pain.. but just add $15 - $18 a day per person to the fare before you book a and look at it as the all up cost.
Why they persist with this crap here is beyond me… just include it in the price and pay and treat their service staff like humans.
You can definitely remove gratuities.
I was downvoted for giving the facts? Gotta love some people. Just for the record this is a very contentious issue on other forums and I tend not to get involved but I don't support removing grats because there are lots of awesome people do awesome jobs that a customer doesn't get to see and therefore they wouldn't get anything. I do however agree that cruise lines need to get their act together and pay their employees properly but this isn't how it works all over the world.
How was the cruise and sights?
Loved it.
Did a 10 night Pacific Islands to Vanuatu, Mystery Island, Numea and Isle of Pines and enjoyed it thoroughly. Especially enjoyed doing some snorkling off Mystery Island and sort of regret not booking ahead of time something similar for Isle of Pines. For the later, where the boat stopped there had lovely beaches however apparently the snorkling was better on the other side of the island.
One piece of advice would be when booking, the liner will advertise shore excursions they operate. Have a look at what interest you and see if you can find out whether locals will offer the same sort of things on the day. In Vanuatu in particular you could just pay locals to do the same or similar things to what the liner offered at much cheaper rates. Only time I didn't see much in the way of local options for trips was Isle of Pines where other than a few bus tours the island seemed a bit quieter.
Ohh and everywhere we went, at least near by the boat they were accepting AUD despite it not being local currency. You might pay a bit more for the privilage (since they'll be hit with the conversion rate), but in hindsight it would have been easier to carry more AUD than deal with two foreign currencies I had no concept of how much would be required ahead of time.
But yeah, we are thinking of doing another in two years perhaps. The fact that by and large the costs are all inclusive (other than drinks packages or speciality dining as well as onshore activities) means budgeting for it was super convenient.
How do I go about booking my toddler too
Would that be classified as tripple or would I be able to buy twin as his only 2 yrs
Have a look on the cruise critic forums.
Every occupant is charged, as standard.
Sometimes they run discounted promotions for 3rd or children, but it's rare and I doubt exists in this case. It may be that this fare is only available for a twin share (so you couldn't go as three with this fare) which is a pain but often happens.
There is no debate at guest servuces. You just go and say take the gratuities off. They will not argue with you or even ask you ehy.
This is a us based company. They pay f all to their staff. Much like wait staff in the USA. If u visit the US and know that the employees compensation is a different way than oz, well you can choose to fit in with the compensation system. Or u can choose to not. I think it's a dick move to screw these people over. They only get tips. If u want an all inclusive fare, go seaborne and pay $1000 pn pp. or go royal Caribbean and know that your choice affects the families if these people who wirk hard to serve you. It's a legitimate choice. Just a dick move. Most people give a bit or a lot more.
Either way, guest services will not debate it with you. You will be in a queue w a long line of Aussies who knowingly go on the cruise, knowing they should budget fir this, but decide they won't, because Royal "should" pay their employees thenselves. Fine. Hang you hat on that.
Regardless if whether u choose the humane way or the dick move, it's a great deal.
Go Royal!
Sorry for the wrong spelling. I've got a tiny phone and bad eyes.
I just always wonder if the gratuity gets back to the employee? and I would prefer to tip per person, based on service at the time, to the person, not a set fee for all.
For the record all the staff on the cruise ships I spoke to and asked about it say they do not get the gratuity, their pay stays the same no matter what.
If they didn't get the gratuities, they wouldn't stay there. Their base rate is negligible. Tips are what they live off.
It's supposed o be split between a wide group of employees, many if which you don't see. No one ever tips the person ensuring you sanitise your hands when you go to the buffet, but they get a cut. Also if you are my time dining or eat in specialty restaurants a lot, who are you going to tip? Will you hand out $1 coins to everyone?
I generally give my stateroom attendant $20 when I get onboard. I give them a list of instructions. I also find out if they have family in any of the ports. If they do, I tell them do not clean my room either morning or night on those port days. Just drop off some ice in the evening. Also, if they are allowed to get off any of the ports, I tell them to not clean my room in the am. If they have done a good job, I give them $20 at the end as well.
At the dining room, sometimes I give no extra. One cruise, my bf and I decided to give the assistant waiter an extra $100 and the main waiter $50. The assistant waiter pandered to me relentlessly and made sure my drinks were constantly topped up.
I'm a diamond member now and I have learned to wait a couple of days to find out who is the main drink waiter in the diamond lounge. I tip him often. Diamond and above get 3.5 hours of drinks included as part of the loyalty program. As one bartender told a friend of mine, they hated working there because they never got a second to spare and the diamond people "could really put it away". LOL so true. Most people have no idea how much a bunch of frequent cruisers can drink.
The staff add so much to the cruise experience on royal. I don't mind tipping them. In the auto gratuity and also directly.
They are third world people who are often away from home for 6 months or more. They have a lot of people to support and are generally very cheerful and proactive and kind.
I'm going on the Ovation in about a week to bring her in for her inaugural visit to Oz. This will be a ship unlike any we have seen in Australian waters.
Your definitely not an Oz bargainer for sure. Throwing around that kind of money is not in the spirit of a bargain.
If the support staff wages remain the same no matter if a tip is paid or not then your not tipping the person at all.
The ships do not pay the staff more money or less money because you choose not to pay gratuity. So people accepting the "forced" gratuity is not enhancing their income in any way. It just goes into the profits the ships make.
While you argue the case with the auto gratuity, the direct gratuities are kept by the employee.
The extra hustle I get from the employees make it more than worth it.
Just a note - sale seems to still be going on, just booked the $888 12 night cruise. Won't know for sure till I get the reservation email though.
I'm dreaming to treat my darl to a nice luxury cruise. Just waiting for that best deal and seal the deal.