cruise - questions for experienced cruisers

[noelwr]

I''ve just booked my very first cruise (Caribbean with Holland America line)!

could you please tell me if I''ve understood this correctly:

1. Breakfast, Lunch + Dinner are included in the cruise fare, UNLESS you decide to dine in one of the private restaurants then you have to pay it yourself

2. Soft drinks, bottled water and beer are NOT included in the cruise fare. is it usually expensive? (we don''t drink wine or hard liquor)

3. Because they charge you USD 11/day (per person?) service fee, you don''t have to tip any of the crew because that''s considered already taken care of

???


and please tell me if there is anything else I need to know. I know that excursions are not included in the cruise fare.

 

[shertz1981]

1) Yes, BLD in the main restaurant, and usually in the nonspeciality daytime places (like the big buffet by the pool) are included. There might also be a la carte, chargeable snacks in the afternoon, like gelato.

2) If you're a big soda drinker, get a soda card. It's like $35/week and you get unlimited soda. Alcohol is expensive, so I usually forego it. Bottled water, IMO, is a necessity. Some lines charge it, some don't -- check with Holland America.

3) I'm not sure how Holland America's pooled gratuities work, but I usually prepay and then tip additionally where appropriate (usually the waiter in the restaurant and Housekeeping).

Go on a catamaran for snorkeling if you can!!! That is the ultimate Caribbean experience. Which islands are you going to?? I might be able to recommend some sights/activities.

I should also mention, this is the ultimate cruising site: Cruise Critic

 

[asscherisme]

Date: 2/1/2010 5:25:28 AM
Author:noelwr
I''ve just booked my very first cruise (Caribbean with Holland America line)!

could you please tell me if I''ve understood this correctly:

1. Breakfast, Lunch + Dinner are included in the cruise fare, UNLESS you decide to dine in one of the private restaurants then you have to pay it yourself

2. Soft drinks, bottled water and beer are NOT included in the cruise fare. is it usually expensive? (we don''t drink wine or hard liquor)

3. Because they charge you USD 11/day (per person?) service fee, you don''t have to tip any of the crew because that''s considered already taken care of

???


and please tell me if there is anything else I need to know. I know that excursions are not included in the cruise fare.

I''m not at all experienced, but I have been on Royal Carribean and my experieces were:

1. yes, all meals and snacks are included unless you choose the more expensive private restaurants. My freind and I felt that was a waste and just ate the regular meals. There is MORE than enough food. I did buy a latte in the morning and that was extra. Regular coffee though and juice are included in the regular fare.

2. She is a drinker, I''m not. I bought the soda card and I think it was around $20 for 4 days which was cheaper than paying $3 a soda each time I wanted a drink since the sodas were tiny. Bottle water was extra but I bought as I went. I did not feel comfortable drinking tap water on a ship.

3. Tips. On Royal Carribean they were pracically begging for tips. You are expected to tip everyone. And I mean everyone. And they remind you in the daily newletters at the end who to tip. Room attendant, waiter, headwaiter, etc. Also on excursions sometimes, boat driver etc. My friend was not expecting the tipping and was caught off guard.

The rooms are tiny. I would get a balcony if you can. The balcony is the only thing that kept me from being claustrophobic. Also, call your cell phone carrier before you go away. I was able to use my cell phone for just a $3 roaming fee and then $1 a minute which was worth it to check in wtih my kids each day. I had never been away from them before and it was a long needed vacation. And my older kids encouraged me to go!

Don''t use the ship phone, its ridicoulsly expenisve!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 2/1/2010 5:25:28 AM
Author:noelwr
I''ve just booked my very first cruise (Caribbean with Holland America line)!


could you please tell me if I''ve understood this correctly:


1. Breakfast, Lunch + Dinner are included in the cruise fare, UNLESS you decide to dine in one of the private restaurants then you have to pay it yourself
Correct, the specialty restaurants are reservation only and usually cost around $25. I''ve eaten at just one (the Italian one on Royal Caribbean) and it was good, better than the dining room anyway.


2. Soft drinks, bottled water and beer are NOT included in the cruise fare. is it usually expensive? (we don''t drink wine or hard liquor)
correct, however there''s usually lemonaid, iced tea and water in taps around the boat (buffet/pool area) that you can access for most of the day. You can sign up for a non-alcoholic beverage plan that gives you access to soda, etc.


3. Because they charge you USD 11/day (per person?) service fee, you don''t have to tip any of the crew because that''s considered already taken care of
No, they do not consider the $11/day to be the gratuity. They expect you to tip on top of that for exceptional service. Watch out, they will usually take it upon themselves to add "tips" to your bill as a convenience for you. I got my bill on the last day of the cruise and had a $200 convenience gratuity charge. I told them I wanted to tip in person with cash and they removed the charge. I then tipped as I felt appropriate, our housekeepers and waitstaff mainly.



???



and please tell me if there is anything else I need to know. I know that excursions are not included in the cruise fare.

Excursions are not included in the fee and sometimes the charge for them through the cruise is very inflated. You can often find the same excursions for a lot less from vendors in port. The cruise excursions are also usually very crowded. For example, I went to Grand Cayman and wanted to do the snorkeling/Sting Ray City excursion. It was $99 pp, I found the same excursion in port for $35. We had probably 15 people as opposed to the 80 in the cruise excursion. Our guides timed the trip so we were snorkeling while the ship group was at Sting Ray City, so we basically were the only people at the sites.

Cruising is excellent and can really be economical if you''re careful about your on-board charges, etc. I tend to not be a big drinker so the cost of drinks wasn''t a problem for me. Oh, and the spa services are usually great, though they can be pricey. I''d say they compare to spa prices in any major US city though.

 

[noelwr]

thanks everyone! I didn''t know about the soda card, so that is something we will definitely find out if they have, though I do tend to be more of a water drinker.

HH - I just had a look on the website, and it says we are free to adjust the "Hotel Service Charge" at the end of our trip. however, bar bills automatically get a 15% service charge. also thanks for the tip on the excursions!

shertz - all the excursions I picked involve snorkeling, and 3 of them catamarans! I think after 5 snorkeling excursions, we''re going to be sick of fish. but we just love to snorkel so that''s all we want to do. here are the islands we are visiting:
St Martin, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, US Virgin Islands, Bahamas (apparently Holland American line owns it own beach???) thanks for the website. I''ll check it out.

 

[panda08]

I went on a Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean several years ago.

We got the soda card and I didn''t think it was worth it, as there are other drinks provided free of charge, as HH described.

With RC, we booked all of our excursions on-board. The last time we cruised (to Alaska with Celebrity), we did a mix of on-board organized excursions and on-shore organized excursions. The on-board organized excursions guarantee that you''ll get back in time before the boat leaves, while you''ll have to manage your own time for the on-shore organized excursions. We did on-shore organized excursions that were shorter so we wouldn''t have to worry about missing the boat.

For the gratutities, we got a receipt the night before the cruise was over which suggested the tips for the services we received. We gave the full amount both times because we thought everyone was great.

Hope you have a fab time!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 2/1/2010 12:03:04 PM
Author: noelwr
thanks everyone! I didn''t know about the soda card, so that is something we will definitely find out if they have, though I do tend to be more of a water drinker.


HH - I just had a look on the website, and it says we are free to adjust the ''Hotel Service Charge'' at the end of our trip. however, bar bills automatically get a 15% service charge. also thanks for the tip on the excursions!


shertz - all the excursions I picked involve snorkeling, and 3 of them catamarans! I think after 5 snorkeling excursions, we''re going to be sick of fish. but we just love to snorkel so that''s all we want to do. here are the islands we are visiting:

St Martin, St Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, US Virgin Islands, Bahamas (apparently Holland American line owns it own beach???) thanks for the website. I''ll check it out.

Thanks for clarifying re: the bar tab. I think that''s fair, after all you''re only getting charged 15% on a $6 drink. You''re making out in the end if that''s the only tip you''re giving.

 

[choro72]

I''ve only been to a cruise once, but I would like to help all I can. I did NOT like the tipping system on the cruise, but that''s another story.

Here is another thing to expect. Every day in your stateroom, the cleaning staff will leave a huge brochure about the ship schedule for the next day. This will include events like bingo, dance lessons, comedy shows, music lounges, stage shows, art auctions, and store opening hours. Unless it says "separate charge applies", then it is all included. They will also list the special meal of the day, special drinks of the day, happy hours, and free drink opportunity.

About the soda card. Unless you absolutely cannot fathom meals without soda, don''t get it. They have water, coffee, lemonade, juice and tea included already. Also when you read the brochure, you are sure to be tempted to try the special margaritas, the specially priced drinks, the happy hour, etc.

I''m not sure if you know this already, but here goes. When you check in on your cruise ship, they will give you a card. This card will be your room key, your identification card, and your wallet. When you are on the ship, you can keep your actual wallet in the safe box, which should be in your room.
When they give you the card, you are required to provide them with either cash or your credit card. The ship card will be associated with that credit card or any cash that you give them. When you buy anything on the ship such as drinks or gifts, they will simply swipe the card. They will give you a receipt, and it includes the gratuity already if you bought a drink.
The day you disembark, they will slip a sheet of paper in your room. This will list all the charges you have made on the ship. You are required to dispute any charges before you get off the ship. If you have paid cash initially, at this point you are required to pay off the balance (they will mail you a refund if there is any, but HA to that!)

Excursions can be purchased on the ship. I stressed myself all over about this because I thought I had to reserve it online ahead of time, but there was no need for that. Once you are on the ship you get the ship''s schedule and you can decide what events on the ship you don''t want to miss, and plan your excursions around it.

Oh, another thing to prepare yourself. You will wake up early in the morning, eat breakfast, then go to the buffet breakfast, have a sit down lunch, have the buffet lunch, have the special cocktail of the day, have the special sushi of the day at the sushi station (included), have a dinner buffet, have a sit down dinner with three dessert, have more drinks while you dance at the club, then have your 24 hour pizza a la mode.

And prepare for sea leg after the cruise. It took me 2 weeks before I got my balance back.

 

[FancyDiamond]

Sign up for cruise critics board (free membership) and join the roll calls of your ship sailing. I cruised 10 times before, and last cruise was the first time I signed up for the roll calls. The expereince was wonderful. I got to meet fellow passengers before starting the cruise, joined privately arranged tours (similar or better itinerary than ship arranged excursions) for less money, and learned many tips.

Also sign up for tripadvisor to search everything about travel arrangements (air, land, cruise, rental cars, and etc.) and make sure you read the reviews.

 

[Morgie44]

I wanted to also recommend Cruise Critic, there are many very seasoned cruisers on there with great recomendations for things to do and see in port. It was also my experience that the cruise companies contract out the excursions to local companies and oftentimes you can find the same excursion and book it directly with the company for quite a savings. I would only recommend doing so if you are not under a time crunch to get back on the ship after the excursion. Trips booked through the ship that are running late, the ship will wait for them, but if you are late and on your own, the ship will not wait for you...
Also, I don''t recall on previous trips, but on my most recent cruise, I knew of several people who planned on booking their excursions on the ship, and were disappointed to find them sold out when they went to book them.

I drink a lot of pop, so I get the pop card, but if you generally drink water it probably isn''t worth it. Some cruise lines also have alchoholic drink cards as well, IIRC. They push these cards pretty hard on the first day, so you can kind of feel things out for your first lunch and see how much the regular beverages are and decide what the best option is for you.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

noelwer-I cruised with Holland America last year on an 11 day Caribbean/Panama Canal/Costa Rica trip, it was awesome! Our ship was the MS Zuiderdaam (no clue how to spell it

We had unlimited soda, juice in every dining area, etc throughout the trip without buying a card. We had formal dinner every night, if it was an extra charge I think my grandmother paid for it b/c it wasn't on my bill. All meals are included though.

there's a great on board spa with mineral therapy water, gym, and heated loungers which was totally worth the extra surcharge. I spent too much time in the mineral water (like 3 hours a day as opposed to the recommended 30-40 minutes and got a rash

but it really is fine if you stick to the recommended limits It just felt so good and relaxing...I called it "the healing waters"

The excursions are expensive, and HH is right it's way cheaper to just book them when you go ashore, unless there are really unique things (I went to a panamanian indian village a two hour canoe ride away from the boat and a zipline in the middle of the jungle in costa rica which I could not have booked onshore.)

If you are stopping in Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas which Holland America owns, it is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!! The prettiest beach I have ever been to in my life. We did a long nature hike there and went parasailing (my first time). You can also swim with sting rays, go horseback riding on a beach, and go ocean kayaking. All super fun.

I would totally cruise with Holland America again!

Tipping they add 15% to your bill as a service charge, but you can adjust that down or up.

 

[sunnyd]

We just back from our first cruise yesterday (on Princess) and had a GREAT time!!

1. All places were free, except for 2 specialty restaurants (Italian and Steak/lobster).

2. Soft drinks were $2/piece or you could buy a soda thing for $29 I believe that was unlimited the whole week. Alcohol was a killer...we racked up quite the tab.

You could get glasses of water for free.

3. We didn't tip above the $11/per person/per day charge, but you can. It gets spread out between the room steward, wait staff and everyone. Grat was also included in all bar receipts (15%). We thought that was fair enough, but everyone on the islands expect you to tip for everything. Actually the cabbie that took us from the airport to the boat had the cajones to tell us that we didn't tip enough!!

25% sounded good to us, but apparently he expected 50%.

FWIW, St. Maarten was not a place I'd care to visit again. It was pretty, but you were harrassed by people wanting to braid your hair, buy a towel/hat/bag/bag that turns into a towel every 2 minutes. I've never said NO THANK YOU so much in my life!!! We even got offered some ganja!

LOL.

ETA: Thought of another tip: if you're wine drinkers at dinner, buy a bottle, and drink what you want, and they'll keep the rest for you in the dining room for the next night. Much more economical than buying by the glass.

 

[MsP]

Date: 2/1/2010 7:08:29 PM
Author: sunnyd


ETA: Thought of another tip: if you''re wine drinkers at dinner, buy a bottle, and drink what you want, and they''ll keep the rest for you in the dining room for the next night. Much more economical than buying by the glass.

Actually, if their policies haven''t changed, Holland America lets you bring wine onboard with you. I''ve packed wine numerous times--even if I flew in to the departure port. I''d just have the cab from the airport to the port stop at the local wine store. I have even brought boxes of wine with me. There is a corkage fee of $15 at dinner.

 

[noelwr]

I really appreciate all your replies!

my concern with booking 3rd party excursions is mostly the timing. I need to do some more research.

I think I will pass on the soda card then (I''m happy with lemonade, water and ice tea), but maybe get one for DH. however, I see Bella says that soda was unlimited on her Holland America cruise, so maybe we''ll get lucky, too.

Bella - we will be stopping at Half Moon Cay. is swimming with sting rays not scary??? I see that it only costs $19. I''m guessing the actual swimming part is really short, which is probably a good thing for me. I was watching the movie COUPLES RETREAT and at the very end during the credits they show two of the actors with a ray, and they must have been feeding it or something because it kind of came up out of the water... I guess it probably has to because its mouth is underneath, but the whole thing scared me. then again, it must be really something fantastic to experience.