We use the auto-gratuity option for cruises, and give cash tips to the steward and wait staff at the end of the cruise. For those of you who cash tip at the beginning and end of the cruise, is there a typical amount you give? If you haven’t always tipped at the beginning and end, have you noticed any service difference in the personnel when you did both?
We have a standing dining reservation so we have the same table & wait staff every evening, and typically do longer cruises or B2B.
I didn’t prepay my tipping but I’ll figure that out later. I don’t know the ins and outs of maybe tipping someone when I get there or to the guy who brings me bags or if I should tip someone immediately that works on my room right away with cash to get better service if anyone can help me with this and how much. I’m going on a Royal Caribbean cruise to South America and Mexico. It’s not a big ship it’ll be me my wife and my son and my mother-in-law.
Hi!! I am fairly new to cruising and will be going on the Grand Princess for a 10 day Mexico cruise 9/26-10/5/2026. I would like to know your best excursion experiences or ones that should be avoided to help me make this a fun and memorable trip! For reference I am F/50 going with husband/52 and I do have lung issues so can’t do something that will cause me to get out of breathe for an extended period of time( we did a zipline excursion in PV and I had to stop and catch my breath a few times while hiking up the trail at Nogolito EcoPark) to the zip lines…so if you suggest something please let me know if you think it is doable!! Thank you in advance!! We will be spending 2days in Cabo, then head to La Paz, Loreto, and Puerta Vallarta. Thanks!
Hey everyone! My wife and I have a cruise coming up with a stop in Nassau, and we’re looking to book some excursions on our own instead of through the cruise line.
On our list:
**•** Swimming with the pigs (fine with a full-day trip to Exuma or wherever it runs — just need to be back with a solid buffer before boarding)
**•** Jet ski rental
**•** Scooter or e-bike rental to explore Nassau a bit on our own
We checked the Royal Caribbean excursions page and it’s pretty pricey compared to what I’ve seen locally-booked tours go for. Before we just book through the cruise line, wanted to ask:
**•** Any legit, trustworthy websites or local operators you’ve used and would recommend?
**•** For the pig swim — full day is totally fine, but who reliably gets you back to port at least 2 hours before all-aboard? Don’t want to cut it close.
**•** Good spots for jet ski or scooter/e-bike rental near the port that don’t rip off tourists?
**•** Any horror stories / scams to avoid, especially with independent excursions and ship timing?
So I just got off my NCL cruise to Portugal and Spain, fantastic time! The flights to Lisbon had some problems. I was traveling with a group of 8; one leg of our Delta flight booked through NCL, was canceled. Delta said the only solution was through Atlanta with less than an hour layover; we said no thanks and booked a direct flight to Lisbon out of Toronto. Who, or even if, can A) get a refund for the first leg, if so by whom, and/or B) get refunded for the Toronto flights?
Group of 24ish year old and spouses. Don't want a insane carnival vibe but also not a dead ship with only old people. What's the best Caribbean serving cruise for this?
When cruising I always see a ton of people with group t-shirts, which seems like a fun idea. AND a way to make packing easier. I’m going on a family cruise in Dec. in the Caribbean. Any fun saying suggestions?
I am looking to maximize my time in each of these ports. I would appreciate recommendations for any great excursions you have taken. Similarly if there are any I should absolutely avoid, please let me know.
Alicante
Ajaccio
Civitivecchia
Kotor
I know this topic has been beaten to death on Reddit. I've always advocated to not remove gratuities from your account because it hurts the crew. But a crew member recently posted their salary stub and it looks real. There's an argument to be made to only tip cash.
For those who’ve cruised with school-aged kids, which cruise line do you prefer? Which cruise lines best combine great kids’ activities, warm-weather itineraries, and a more laid-back onboard experience with less emphasis on upselling?
After a fantastic first cruise with Royal Caribbean, we joined their loyalty program and have continued to sail with them. Our most recent 9-night sailing was fun, but I felt there was a constant push to upsell guests… More than what was apparent or perhaps simply perceived on prior sailings. I don’t gamble, mostly drink water, and onboard specialty onboard dining is minimally interesting. So I’d rather not be marketed to throughout the trip. Including targeted responses for the end of the sailing survey. The cruise also felt understaffed and crowded though we’ve been on this ship before. When I cruise, I want to relax with as little cognitive load as possible which includes not constantly weighing options to make additional purchases on board.
Idk. The vibe was off on the last sailing and I’d like to avoid that for future cruises.
I know it is a long shot, but I am trying everything I can for my little girl.
My 10-year-old daughter accidentally left behind her beloved wooden articulated snake, "Venom" on the Diamond Princess on a recent sailing (June 23-July 2, 2026, round trip to/from Yokohama, Japan). She dropped it at the theater on the last night during one of the shows.
We realized it almost immediately, went back, searched everywhere, and asked the staff, but sadly she was nowhere to be found. Obviously went to Guest Services and asked multiple times, including the next day as we were disembarking.
The attached photo is NOT Venom. It’s Venom’s "sister". Venom looked almost identical, except she was all green with a blue head.
This is one of my daughter’s most treasured possessions. She’s been by her side since she was five years old and has traveled with our family to so many places throughout the world over the years. She has incredible sentimental value, and my daughter is absolutely heartbroken without her.
If anyone from our sailing happened to find her, or if any crew member happens to recognize a green wooden articulated snake with a blue head in Lost & Found, Housekeeping, or Guest Services, we would be forever grateful. We’d gladly pay for shipping to have her returned home.
Please feel free to share this post if you know anyone who was on the June 23, 2026 Diamond Princess sailing from Yokohama. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for helping us search for our sweet Venom.
We live on the East Coast of the usa and ideally would have it out from here, we can drive to any port on this side of the country. We don't really know too much of the Bahamas and Caribbean and would love ideas!
We do not want to go to the Yucatan peninsula since we just literally vacationed their a week ago!
Point to point would be difficult since the airfare money would just be a bit too much on an already expensive honeymoon were saving for.
We are thinking late winter or early spring for this, we want to avoid the warmer months since I struggled a lot in the tropical heat.
Ps. We have no time frame for when, just kinda window shopping. Also LGBT cruise lines would definitely be welcome!
I'm looking at a short cruise this year as my wife missed the main cruise due to a really sick dog .
We have been on Princess and Celebrity and love them both . This is 4 days on P&O Aurora. Is the food as dull as it looks ? Does the buffet always a massive queue for breakfast? and it appears the cocktail list is quite short and I do love an Old Fashioned when I am on holiday ?
My partner (60M) and I (60M) are considering the Azamara 29 day cruise that goes to Japan, Korea, and China. It's on the Pursuit, which holds ~700 passengers.
We've each gone on a couple of cruises: 1 large cruise ship which we didn't love, and 1 European river cruise on a small boat that we quite enjoyed. Both were only for one week each.
We like to be active on our vacations, and not big partiers.
The itinerary seems great, it appears to have a good mix of stops vs short days at sea, and the size of the ship is more to our liking than a huge cruise ship. But we've never been on a cruise for this long.
We do travel every year for ~1 month away at a time, so being gone that long won't be an issue, but I'm wondering if being on the same boat in a small ship for that long will become tiresome.
For the more experienced cruisers out there, do you think this would be a good fit for us? Any suggestions? Any warnings? Do you like going on that long of a journey? Have you been on this specific cruise?
My husband (35 M) & I (35 F) booked a 7 day European Princess cruise (Italy & Greece) and we’re so excited! However recently my algorithm has been showing me non-stop Carnival and Royal Caribbean content and I’m worried we made the wrong choice. Does Princess still cater to our age/demographic and still lively? 🤞🏼 Just hoping we didn’t sign ourselves up for a snooze fest. Any late-twenties to early fourties cruisers that want to share their experience?
We are taking a Holland America cruise around the Mediterranean this summer. The ship goes to Corsica, Bari, Civitavecchia (been to Rome a lot; where else can I go?), Kotor, Barcelona, and Alicante. We get two excursions with our HIA package, so I booked an excursion to Puglia. Does anyone know of other MUST DO Holland excursions at these ports? I figured I'd try to do viator tours for other cities, so if you know of any great ones, please recommend.
I don't know about anyone else, but if I paid for a river cruise and ended up packed on a bus, changing hotels every night, I would not be a happy camper. I get they can't do anything about the water level, but I think a refund or delay would be a way better trade-off.
