money and more money

Item: Explorer of the Seas
Rating: 1
Author: carlaohlis

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

carlaohlis

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

1 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska Sawyer Glacier (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 03, 2016

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 8439

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Every time we turned around there were more changes. They disguised these as gratuities that were assessed on everything. Including the deodorant i bought. I have to pay someone to buy deodorant? I won't be sailing with RC again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska

5 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

5 out of 5

7 Comments

gefe57 8 years ago

First of all, there are no gratuities on items you purchase other than drinks and food. There are of course the mandatory gratuities that everyone is well aware of before you sail. To say that RC disguised gratuities as something else is absurd. Good luck and lucky for us RC lovers, there will be one less whinier onboard.

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deboftheseas 8 years ago

Carnival has upped gratuities to 12.95 @ Sandrakaymorgan

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kknorr0320 8 years ago

I don't recall any gratuity on items purchased, only food and drink. I know the cold medicine I bought was insanely expensive lol but nothing was added to the price of the medicine.

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sandrakaymorgan 8 years ago

One problem is that there is a mandated gratuity placed on drinks and housekeeping... We talk all the time on here to bring anything over the counter items, which would be deodorant, toothpaste, aspirin, bandaids etc, with you because there is such a high price....on ship you only have one place to shop...them...at home you have hundreds of places to decide if what you need is cheaper here or there. Not sure about your cruise line...but Carnival adds 12$ a day in gratuities, now you can have this removed, some people do some don't, that's up to you...it is also your choice to tip for drinks and other services, if you choose...it is up to you. If you are a first time cruiser you don't t know these things unless you see these answered here. Think about what a week in a hotel, the cost of food, entertainment, travel and companies to what you spent on your cruise. For me, taking 3kids the cost is 275$ for 2 and 179$ for 2of use. There is no way for what I paid could I take them anywhere on land. We drove 600 miles at a cost of 200$ each way with a hotel each way...I could have paid 400$each person and flown....It is just how you plan what you are paying for. Next time make a list starting 2 weeks out of things you use that you don't think about, deodorant, toothpaste, and make sure you pack those items...check your bill on ship and question items you don't think are right.... You work hard for your money, most of us do, it is up to you to monitor what you spend. Check your bills and see what you can reduce the next time and plan better. Good luck

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bill545 8 years ago

That wasn't very nice. It appears buying it wasn't a problem but getting nailed a gratuity for it was.

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ranai 8 years ago

They call it gratuity, but it really isn't any different then when you are charged a 'resort tax' at a casino, resort, or other place of the like, or when restaurants add gratuity automatically. And, it's not an exorbitant amount either. We didn't have a drink package, and were charged a small fee both times we ordered drinks (we're talking under $2). If you're going to say the whole cruise was ruined due to that small fee, enjoy cruising elsewhere! I'm sure all cruise lines follow the same practice.

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13Tolbert 8 years ago

This is weird....if you forget your personal items and go to a store...do you really expect someone to say. Poor little you and give give give you everything you didn't plan properly for? There has to be something wrong with someone that PAYS for a cruise and expects freebies onboard instead of common sense. Royal will probably be glad you sail elsewhere. There WILL be more problems w u

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