We always book excursions with the cruise line. They may be a bit extra, however the small perks are well worth it and when our bus broke a rim on the way back to the port there was about a 2 hour delay for us to get back. If we had taken this on our own we would have been left on the island,
We are going on the Ruby Princess next month for our first cruise ever. We decided to do the exit excursion in San Francisco as we won't be able to check in to our hotel until 3 PM that day. We are very excited!
I also did the longer 21 day cruise from Cape Town to Barcelona on the NCL Dawn last April...pretty decent cruise though we missed a port in Gambia and they changed the itinerary before hand to remove Cabo Verde and Morocco for some Spanish ports but I had already been to Morocco on a land trip so was decent.
I outright refuse to tip for several reasons these cruise lines are raking in billions of dollars every year and they cannot pay their employees correctly. Yeah BS the amount of the cruise plus all the things not included on the ship that should be, the nickle and diming and then on top of that TIPS...yeah Passing off the responsibility of paying workers onto customers and disguising it as gratuity (As if you appreciate someone doing their job) is not only extremely disgusting, but turns into the worst customer service experience someone can possibly have to. I do not tip, and anyone trying to make me feel bad or guilt shaming me into it reinforces my whole reason for not tipping. I'm not there to spend money on top of giving even more money for people doing their job. People also know what they're signing on for. Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs explains this well. Go look up reservoir dogs tipping scene it's ab out 3-4 minutes
Sorry to say this but if you are tipping then you aren't really saving any money and cannot call yourself a budget traveler. First you pay an outrageous cruise FEE even before the cabin upgrade which comes with tipping attached as a separate fee, next you pay for the drink package with tipping attached as an additional fee, next you pay for exclusive dining with tipping attached as an additional fee, you then have certain things on the ship that have additional fees and tipping attached as a separate charge, you then have excursions which have additional fees and tipping as a separate charge. If all that wasn't bad enough she said she paid $500 in tips JUST for the drinks...so between he cabin and drink tips she paid almost $4600 never mind anything else. A $4000 cruise turns into an almost $10,000 trip because of tipping. Get out of here
@@Judythe1 Don't bother making comments like that if you aren't tipping fast food workers, or the bag person in the grocery store, or the person who gathers the shopping carts (Especially during the winter). I also suggest you direct your comment to the appropriate party, which is the company. It's interesting how you are perfectly ok with a company to not pay it's employee's correctly, but how dare the customer not do it for the company. Why are you getting on the customer for not wanting to be ripped off?
Hi! Just wanted to clarify… NCL provides a free drink package with their Free at Sea (now More at Sea pricing). You have to pay the gratuities for the package only on a per-day basis. For a 12-night cruise, I paid $500 total for the drink package on NCL. Considering other cruise lines charge more than double that (plus gratuities) this is a steal!
We always book excursions with the cruise line. They may be a bit extra, however the small perks are well worth it and when our bus broke a rim on the way back to the port there was about a 2 hour delay for us to get back. If we had taken this on our own we would have been left on the island,
Such great information, I always book cruise line excursions when unsure of the area, especially on our Panama Canal full transit in 2024.
We are going on the Ruby Princess next month for our first cruise ever. We decided to do the exit excursion in San Francisco as we won't be able to check in to our hotel until 3 PM that day. We are very excited!
5:16 damn, edible sushi can be found at gas stations 😂
My biggest splurge in 2024 was an ultimate dining package, and I was very pleased. MAS. 🎊
Thanks!
I also did the longer 21 day cruise from Cape Town to Barcelona on the NCL Dawn last April...pretty decent cruise though we missed a port in Gambia and they changed the itinerary before hand to remove Cabo Verde and Morocco for some Spanish ports but I had already been to Morocco on a land trip so was decent.
The Victoria, BC RCI excursion bus tour was a waste of time and money.
so the drink package on NCL was worth it? cool.
Let me guess, cash tipping 10% of the total price of cruise isn't worth it
I outright refuse to tip for several reasons these cruise lines are raking in billions of dollars every year and they cannot pay their employees correctly. Yeah BS
the amount of the cruise plus all the things not included on the ship that should be, the nickle and diming and then on top of that TIPS...yeah
Passing off the responsibility of paying workers onto customers and disguising it as gratuity (As if you appreciate someone doing their job) is not only extremely disgusting, but turns into the worst customer service experience someone can possibly have to. I do not tip, and anyone trying to make me feel bad or guilt shaming me into it reinforces my whole reason for not tipping. I'm not there to spend money on top of giving even more money for people doing their job. People also know what they're signing on for.
Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs explains this well. Go look up reservoir dogs tipping scene it's ab out 3-4 minutes
You are not exactly a bargain cruiser!
Sorry to say this but if you are tipping then you aren't really saving any money and cannot call yourself a budget traveler.
First you pay an outrageous cruise FEE even before the cabin upgrade which comes with tipping attached as a separate fee, next you pay for the drink package with tipping attached as an additional fee, next you pay for exclusive dining with tipping attached as an additional fee, you then have certain things on the ship that have additional fees and tipping attached as a separate charge, you then have excursions which have additional fees and tipping as a separate charge.
If all that wasn't bad enough she said she paid $500 in tips JUST for the drinks...so between he cabin and drink tips she paid almost $4600 never mind anything else.
A $4000 cruise turns into an almost $10,000 trip because of tipping. Get out of here
Don’t cruise if you aren’t tipping.
@@Judythe1 Don't bother making comments like that if you aren't tipping fast food workers, or the bag person in the grocery store, or the person who gathers the shopping carts (Especially during the winter). I also suggest you direct your comment to the appropriate party, which is the company.
It's interesting how you are perfectly ok with a company to not pay it's employee's correctly, but how dare the customer not do it for the company.
Why are you getting on the customer for not wanting to be ripped off?
@@Judythe1 that’s like saying don’t run a cruise line if you can’t afford to pay your employees
Hi! Just wanted to clarify… NCL provides a free drink package with their Free at Sea (now More at Sea pricing). You have to pay the gratuities for the package only on a per-day basis. For a 12-night cruise, I paid $500 total for the drink package on NCL. Considering other cruise lines charge more than double that (plus gratuities) this is a steal!
@@allievogs95 So you paid over $700 for your drink package?
No happy ending !