mevelandry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2013
I wish that was our case, the line was snaked all the way through the casino.
What about the numbering system?
I wish that was our case, the line was snaked all the way through the casino.
I thought it was filthy, stairs,hallway,bathrooms... We dined at the MDR every night, we thought it was ugly also lol the fake wood grain tables that are in every mom and pop diner. We didn't get off on Grand Cayman because people were standing in line for an hour and a half, no thanks. Our dinner was never hot . Our waiter was ok, the guy getting our drinks wasn't friendly at all. I could go on lol
But that is the whole point. They should not lose out.. so I would hope that for at that amount that the cruise line is taking care of their employees. If these service employees NEED to and DEPEND on our "tips" then let's be honest and add that in the cruise fare. That simple. Pay your employees a living wage and have tips be for service beyond what is expected. Maybe that is the european in me..I think this is not cool. I have always felt that if you can’t afford to tip for what you are receiving you shouldn’t do it. These people work so hard to take care of us and they are not the ones who should loose out.
My two cents.
Great Thread......Really enjoy everyone's reading everyone's feedback and various perspectives........I am a little late to this party....LOL!
Was this on the Vista? I can definitely see this on some of their other ships, but if they are neglecting their new ships like this, that is not encouraging...... I have looked at some sailings for the Vista. (...)
But that is the whole point. They should not lose out.. so I would hope that for at that amount that the cruise line is taking care of their employees. If these service employees NEED to and DEPEND on our "tips" then let's be honest and add that in the cruise fare. That simple. Pay your employees a living wage and have tips be for service beyond what is expected. Maybe that is the european in me..
Carnival bought 2 of their ships out here to Australia, one is here all year, the other part of the year. They said there would be no tipping on board, as In Australia tipping is not part of the culture, so they would pay their staff extra when out here. I have been on Carnival twice, when u buy a drink there is a place on the tab if u want to give a tip, otherwise you change pay what it costs, there is no tax either. If the drink is $8 that's all u pay, no tax, no tip, fine. I am sure people do leave tips, for the servers & the staff that do the rooms, but totally up to you.But that is the whole point. They should not lose out.. so I would hope that for at that amount that the cruise line is taking care of their employees. If these service employees NEED to and DEPEND on our "tips" then let's be honest and add that in the cruise fare. That simple. Pay your employees a living wage and have tips be for service beyond what is expected. Maybe that is the european in me..
Great Thread......Really enjoy everyone's reading everyone's feedback and various perspectives........I am a little late to this party....LOL!
Yes this was on the Vista, we were surprised it was so new. Thank you for your nice reply
Was this on the Vista? I can definitely see this on some of their other ships, but if they are neglecting their new ships like this, that is not encouraging...... I have looked at some sailings for the Vista.
My experience with Carnival has been similar. Depending what you are looking to get out of a Cruise, Carnival has it's "Market". I would not say I would "never" sail on Carnival again, but would manage my expectations accordingly.
That being said, as far as the main topic of this thread goes, I am admittedly (though I'm probably in denial....) in the group getting out priced. We have an upcoming 7 day on the Fantasy, and I won't go so far as to say it will be our Last Disney Cruise, but it is our most expensive DCL Cruise to date. So, in researching future Alaska Cruises, I simply have come to the realization, that we may need to look elsewhere.... We are a "Very" middle Class Family, that is blessed being able to spend a little more on vacations than most in our income range. But with everything going up in price these days, that "extra" is shrinking fast. However in the case of Alaska, we are looking at a difference of [at least] $4,000.00 for our Family of (3), between DCL and RCCL. And that is based on Comparable cruises and staterooms. We can definitely find even lower priced options, if we are willing to compromise........
Trust Me, I am a Disney Fanboy. I am more than happy to pay extra for the "Disney Touch". I realize that I may not get the same level of service from another Cruise Line, but it really is getting harder to Justify the disparity.
Disney currently commands a premium because they only have (4) ships. They have a limited offering (relative to other cruise lines) and they have people paying current rates. If there weren't people paying it, we would see prices drop. So, there is always hope that with (3) more ships coming on line in the future, prices (fingers crossed) may come down.
That being said, it's no secret Disney is targeting "more affluent" Families for everything. They usually have more disposable income, are less effected by the economy, and will historically spend more in the parks and on the ships. From a business perspective, this is good for the bottom line and stock holders, it can become your Achilles heel in the long term. Ever wonder why Universal has recently been putting so much money into "value" priced hotels?????
There are at least 4 posters on here that I can think of that loved the Vista. I wouldn't let one poster deter you from trying the ship.Great Thread......Really enjoy everyone's reading everyone's feedback and various perspectives........I am a little late to this party....LOL!
Was this on the Vista? I can definitely see this on some of their other ships, but if they are neglecting their new ships like this, that is not encouraging...... I have looked at some sailings for the Vista.
My experience with Carnival has been similar. Depending what you are looking to get out of a Cruise, Carnival has it's "Market". I would not say I would "never" sail on Carnival again, but would manage my expectations accordingly.
That being said, as far as the main topic of this thread goes, I am admittedly (though I'm probably in denial....) in the group getting out priced. We have an upcoming 7 day on the Fantasy, and I won't go so far as to say it will be our Last Disney Cruise, but it is our most expensive DCL Cruise to date. So, in researching future Alaska Cruises, I simply have come to the realization, that we may need to look elsewhere.... We are a "Very" middle Class Family, that is blessed being able to spend a little more on vacations than most in our income range. But with everything going up in price these days, that "extra" is shrinking fast. However in the case of Alaska, we are looking at a difference of [at least] $4,000.00 for our Family of (3), between DCL and RCCL. And that is based on Comparable cruises and staterooms. We can definitely find even lower priced options, if we are willing to compromise........
Trust Me, I am a Disney Fanboy. I am more than happy to pay extra for the "Disney Touch". I realize that I may not get the same level of service from another Cruise Line, but it really is getting harder to Justify the disparity.
Disney currently commands a premium because they only have (4) ships. They have a limited offering (relative to other cruise lines) and they have people paying current rates. If there weren't people paying it, we would see prices drop. So, there is always hope that with (3) more ships coming on line in the future, prices (fingers crossed) may come down.
That being said, it's no secret Disney is targeting "more affluent" Families for everything. They usually have more disposable income, are less effected by the economy, and will historically spend more in the parks and on the ships. From a business perspective, this is good for the bottom line and stock holders, it can become your Achilles heel in the long term. Ever wonder why Universal has recently been putting so much money into "value" priced hotels?????
This is really good to know. An Australia/New Zealand cruise is on my bucket list. I priced out a 10 day cruise on Royals brand new ship that's over there(I cant think of name of it) and it was surprisingly cheap. Just under 3500 for a family of four in a verandah. I'm glad to hear the cruises are family oriented. I've wondered if there would be teens onboard, but it sounds like that's not something I need to worry about. I will have to keep this in mind for a 2019 or 2020 cruise.Carnival bought 2 of their ships out here to Australia, one is here all year, the other part of the year. They said there would be no tipping on board, as In Australia tipping is not part of the culture, so they would pay their staff extra when out here. I have been on Carnival twice, when u buy a drink there is a place on the tab if u want to give a tip, otherwise you change pay what it costs, there is no tax either. If the drink is $8 that's all u pay, no tax, no tip, fine. I am sure people do leave tips, for the servers & the staff that do the rooms, but totally up to you.
Oh my, it was so nice, not to have to worry if I have tipped the right amount, one thing that always stresses me when on holidays in the US.
P and O cruises also , have the no tipping over here. They may incorporate into the fare, I don't know, but if I can get a 10 night cruise around the South Pacific for around $1000 , or less, that's what I will do. Aussie dollars on board as well.
All the other cruise lines that come here, have the tipping & everything on board is in US dollars, so makes it a lot more expensive with our weak dollar.
Btw, Carnival cruises over here are not " party cruises" like I read in the states, very family orientated & the service & food was excellent. I have been on the Disney Fantasty , it was great, would love to go again, but going to take a lot of saving to do that.
So what I am saying is , why not incorporate the staffs tips into the fare, then we wouldn't be any the wiser, and if you want to give someone a tip, you do.I personally felt on Disney, the staff were "too cheesy" , to tell you the truth the speel in the MDR every night just went over my head, when the server kept saying about the comment card & excellent service, I didn't get it, why was he saying this every night. Then the last night we received this comment card, ugh the penny dropped, he wants a good rating, got ya! Didn't like it in my face all the time, we left our tips, but nothing extra, the service was good, but not that good I felt I should have left more.Felt I got what I paid for.
Carnival send you a email after the cruise re ratings, comments.
Just remember our school terms are different over here. School breaks up the week, before Xmas & kids are off for 6 weeks, some states & some schools finish 2 weeks before Xmas. Then in April they have 2 week break, July 2 week break, Sept 2 week break. Some people take their kids kids out of school outside these holidays, as of course it's cheaper.This is really good to know. An Australia/New Zealand cruise is on my bucket list. I priced out a 10 day cruise on Royals brand new ship that's over there(I cant think of name of it) and it was surprisingly cheap. Just under 3500 for a family of four in a verandah. I'm glad to hear the cruises are family oriented. I've wondered if there would be teens onboard, but it sounds like that's not something I need to worry about. I will have to keep this in mind for a 2019 or 2020 cruise.
You shouldn't cruise if you're not willing to pay your servers.I hate to say but the first place that I will cut back is tipping. To pay $13,000 for a 7 day cruise and then have an added $500 for tips at the end is obnoxious. If Disney wants their employees paid well, then they need to cut back on the outrageous costs to go on a cruise.
You shouldn't cruise if you're not willing to pay your servers.
Yes, I'm not debating how the servers' pay should ideally be renumerated. In theory, I agree with you on how it should be done. But knowing that DCL requires servers' pay to come directly from the passengers, and then refusing to pay the people who served you, for any reason, is a terrible thing to do. They deserve their pay as much as anyone else.Being from the UK we don't have tipping engrained in our culture the way it is in the US. I'm very much of the mindset that the servers (and all other staff, of course) should be paid a decent living wage by default. Gratuities should be a reward for exceptional service.
Having said that, we know the score before we book & budget accordingly.
How much is the appropriate amount to tip in Europe? Like you said tipping 20% is so ingrained in our culture I forget I don't have to do it. The last couple of times we were in Europe I tipped about 10%. I found the service to be poor compared to what I'm used to here.Being from the UK we don't have tipping engrained in our culture the way it is in the US. I'm very much of the mindset that the servers (and all other staff, of course) should be paid a decent living wage by default. Gratuities should be a reward for exceptional service.
Having said that, we know the score before we book & budget accordingly.