Additional charges - drinks, tips etc - Royal Caribbean vs P&O

[MusingAboutCruising]

(Regular poster with a name change.)

I'm looking into booking a cruise for a special occasion for me & my DP. I've never been on one before and am trying to get a handle on all the additional charges. Currently, I'm weighing up 2 similar Med cruises: one with Royal Caribbean and one with P&O.

I was all set to book the P&O cruise until I found out about the formal evenings. (We're not really black tie people - DP doesn't even own a tie! That said, we might enjoy going a bit formal once or twice but don't want to feel like we have to do anything, we just want to be able to relax.)

This led me to Royal Caribbean (which seems more laid back) and I was almost ready to book with them until I found out about their drinks packages. Apparently, they are $65 (US) per person per DAY for alcohol and $26pppd for teas, coffees etc. We're not big drinkers but, assuming I've understood correctly, this will massively increase the overall cost. (We're already looking at booking the cheapest, inside room to keep the costs down.) Gratuities are an additional $14.50pppd, ie. approx £310 total. (This is on top of the booking price and before excursions.)

So, I'm back to looking at P&O. I've spoken to them and they've assured me that you don't have to go to the formal dos - you can just be smart-casual in the buffet if you like and smart jeans are fine there. I think their drinks packages/prices seem OK. Gratuities are an extra £6pppd - approx half RC's price.

I'm leaning towards booking with P&O but, have I missed anything? I don't want to book and then discover a whole load of additional extra charges or that I could have somehow reduced the cost 'if only I'd known...' (whatever).

If anyone has experience with any of this, I would very much welcome your advice.

Cruises are my favourite subject I’m happy to ramble on

I leave my DH at home and travel with my teenager, who immediately goes off to meet new friends for the entire trip. I find P&O far better for me as a solo adult, because Indy is totally geared up for families & couples doing things together and I felt like a Billy No Mates. I like being able to go to a bar with a flight of gin and a good book, because lots of people do the same. Therefore I would thoroughly recommend RIC Indy to you if you want lots of activities. One of my friends wondered why everyone was cheering her on as she did the Flow Rider on a hot day in just her swimming cossie. When she finished, she realised her top half had collapsed under pressure and she had thoroughly entertained the crowd!

Oh good, English cos I've got another question!

I think we're leaning towards P&O again because of the dates. (Found a new dress shirt in a charity shop for £2!!!) What are the beds like? We'd be fine with 2 twin beds pushed together but not some kind of smaller version.

English are you a fan of the P&O Facebook page where they can rant for hours about standards slipping, dress codes and turning off tips? They rant for days about wearing jackets on formal nights, but then post photos of themselves in frocks which would distinctly look casual on RCI!

I'm going on Ventura again at Easter & think a key benefit is the under cover pool at that time of year. Take a look at C deck balconies on Ventura, because they are huge compared to other decks.

P&O's latest offer is a mere 5% deposit and I think you then still get either free parking, coach travel or on board spend. I always go for on board spend, because I live on the doorstep (I can see the ships from my desk at work), but even if I didn't, I would still book a select fare to guarantee my choice of cabin and dining time. I can think of nothing worse than being forced to eat at a set time with other passengers I don't know.

The beds are absolutely fine. I have twin beds, because I'm sharing with DD but I have never found them too narrow. There is a FB page called P&O Cabins, where people post pictures of their cabins which may help you decide.

@Stickerrocks - Thanks for all the info - I had to laugh at your friend's story (sorry friend). Funny in hindsight but possibly not at the time.

The thing is, we're kind of torn between the two worlds. My partner isn't always that sociable but would love the VR experience & zip wire of the RC cruise. We both like peace and quiet which brings us to the P&O, though we don't like golf or the formality. I've got special dietary needs which I think might be better served by RC but I'm sure it would be OK with P&O.

We're actually looking at the cheapest, inside rooms (and hoping for an upgrade) which I think means we won't get the onboard spending money. I'll def have a look at the FB pages though - good tip!

Thanks for the swimming pool info too - I love to swim on holiday. What would really swing it for me is if only one of the ships has a really good, large, warm swimming pool, an outside cinema and large, comfy beds. Please someone tell me that so I can just go and book it!!

How close are you to Southampton? The cruise lines give you the chance to look around the ships & have lunch on board, then you get your money back (plus extra offers) if you book whilst you're on.

Unfortunately Ventura has the roof over the pool and Azura has the outdoor cinema. Not sure if the new one Iona will have both, but her dates will go on sale next month.

The buffet on P&O has a section for special diets and they will, definitely accommodate you in the main dining rooms. I prefer the food on P&O as everything on RCI seemed to come with a jacket potato! [https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/before-you-sail/diets_cater?_ga=2.163768316.2121669776.1533147855-856903843.1497705617] I'm not sure if this will link to their FAQs for you, but they seem to answer everything from which pillows will I have yo can I take a trombone on board (yes, someone has asked about a brass band!) at the foot of their web page.

I really don't find P&O stuffy. The staff are really attentive, but leave you alone if you don't want to be bothered. I'm not sure if there is a Beach House on Ventura, but I had a great casual meal there on Britannia. Sindhu has great reviews. I think the people up their own backsides tend to go on the long adult only trips, whereas us less mortals can't take 35 days off work!

ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/before-you-sail/diets_cater?_ga=2.163768316.2121669776.1533147855-856903843.1497705617

My sister has a nut allergy and p and o where fantastic.

In the main dining room she was given the next nights menu the night before to make her Choices and they where prepared in a safe way. The buffet and other restaurants where also very helpful

@Stickerrocks @Sirzy

That's really good to know. Thank you!

musing the beds are fine and you can choose your bed configuration (depending on cabin grade) when you book.
stickerrocks I love those FB pages, particularly the weekly kick off when someone asks about removing gratuities I do like P&O we’ve had great cruises with them, I’ve even worked on one, but the minority of passengers who think they’re a cut above does grate tbh. We just didn’t get that on RCI at all. I’m mulling over Ventura or Sapphire Princess for next year at the moment, be nice to try another line.

Sindhu on Ventura was better than on Britannia for me, although I loved the decor on Britannia.

Which ever cruise line you book you will have a lovely time although I think the weather going down (coming back) to the Med is not always great...some friends of mine did the Med cruise from Southampton in July last year and they could not use the outside facilities through the Bay of Biscay. So maybe pick a cabin in the middle of the ship and not on too higher deck so you feel less of the roll.

Not sure when you are planning the cruise but sometimes RCL offer free drinks packages...we did the Greek Islands with RCL a couple of years ago and it had drinks package included and the price wasnt inflated either..... There is normally a week each year (National Cruise Week - where there tend to be some incentives offered but not sure whether all Cruise lines take part).

My sister cruises a lot with P & O and speaks very highly of the cruise line ...I haven't looked at P & O because my perception is that the cruises are mainly full of British people and I like the idea of mixing with more nationalities when on holiday (although sometimes regret this!).

We are not long back from a very cheap cruise with MSC and I was surprised how much we enjoyed it. I'd heard some bad reports but the staff were incredibly friendly, the room was cleaned twice a day with a turn down and one of the young waiters (I think he liked my daughter) made us paper animals/flowers each day which was a nice touch. We paid just £1000 in total for both of us for 10 days so a real bargain and their drinks package was amazing value at £18 per night for myself and £8 for my daughter which included cocktails/milkshakes/wine/spirits/latte's etc.. MSC isnt has refined has some of the other cruise lines but there prices reflect this.

Like a previous poster stated have a look on cruise critic - you can registered on a board for your actual cruise where people discuss excursions and obviously the Facebook page too.

Thanks so much everyone for all your help!

I've actually got some news... I've finally booked it!!

We've opted for P&O and the Ventura.

I was starting to glaze a bit at the various options but we've gone for the select fare and a middle, inside cabin, quite high up - apparently, this is best for sea sickness sufferers. Even though it's an inside cabin, we're still getting the £50pp onboard credit.

We've also chosen our dining time so that we'll get the same waiter - I thought that was best because of my dietary needs. (It can get very tedious having to keep explaining this all the time.)

Thanks again to everyone for your help!

You will have a wonderful time. Enjoy!

Musing - You will have a great time (cruising is addictive) but the higher you are on a ship the more movement there is BUT on these large ships (plus inside cabin) there doesn't tend to be that much movement at all or not enough to make you sick...

I'm just toying with booking a Caribbean cruise but waiting for flight prices ..

Have a brilliant time but be warned it’s very addictive! If you like Indian food you must try Sindhu it’s fantastic

You'll have a wonderful time but the whole hoping for an upgrade? I'm a veteran cruiser and that has never happened except when we've cruised several times with one line. Personally I'm now a huge fan of the first passenger deck above the gangway. You can't get a balcony room on this deck but it's much quieter than any other deck I've been on (just avoid any rooms above the anchor as this can make a huge deal of noise on port days) excepting port days when you're usually woken early anyhow, far more stable and it's so nice to be able to avoid queues for the lift on port days and just stroll up or down the one flight of stairs to your stateroom. It's also great for increasing your steps/exercise onboard.

Even though gratuities are included, I always bring cash to tip that stateroom attendant, the bartender, etc.

Personally I like the formal nights but if you don't you can always skip and go to the buffet instead.

Cruising is fantastic! Just went on one last month.

IME, 'upgrades' are more along the lines of on-board credits, discounts, free bottled water in the stateroom and such like. I think the drinks packages are good value for money. RC used to let you take soft drinks on board but no longer. You can bring wine and carry a healthy glass with you to the dining room if you don't want to pay for it at dinner and don't have a drinks package.

My DH and I have tumblers like this that are perfect for walking round with drinks on the ship. this

Left has just reminded me that P&O let each adult take 1litre of alcohol in a single bottle (spirits, wine or champagne) and unlimited mixers/s9ft drinks on board to consume on your cabin. I took a bottle of gin and mini cans of Fever Tree to keep in my fridge last month. The cabin steward or bars will give you ice.

@Stickerrocks - Oo, thanks for that info. I think my tipple of choice might be Pimms and lemonade.

@LeftRightCentre - Thanks for that. I've been wondering what to take. I think maybe a coffee cup I can also use afterwards might be a good idea but I'm still pondering.

Re upgrades - we ended up selecting not to have an automatic upgrade because we chose the best room we could to prevent sea sickness.

@teenmum60 - I think it might become addictive for me too! I'm curious about you saying you're less likely to be sick lower down. I've read and been told the opposite several times. The booking agent also advised us to be higher up. (I'm feeling a bit concerned about this now.)

Hmmmm - not quite sure whether you were advised correctly* but I would not worry about it - although most cruise lines are quite good if you want to change your cabin (I have changed mine with RCL on a couple of occasions without charge :

Stability
If you tend to get seasick, cabin location is really important. It's a question of engineering, really. The lower and more central you are in a ship, the less roll and sway you will feel. Even if you choose a balconied cabin, choose the lowest level and the most midship one you can find. The higher decks and cabins at the very front (forward) or back (aft) of the ship will rock and roll the most

When are you going ? We are just back from a Fjords and there was very little roll even though it was quite windy at times ....the worse roll we have had was near Mykonos but we had a cabin towards the front and it was still OK - I didn't feel sick - just felt I had a one too many!

My DD and her DF are due back from their cruise on Independent of the Seas tomorrow the great thing about cruises they tend to cater for all - young, old and the whinging teens.

Thanks for that. I've been wondering what to take. I think maybe a coffee cup I can also use afterwards might be a good idea but I'm still pondering.

Definitely take some form of covered water bottle or carrier. It will save trekking to the Lido deck (or the atrium level of some ships) to go get water if you don't buy or use the bottled water in your room when you fancy a drink of water. I bring several water bottles (although we get complimentary bottled water in our room due to having used the same cruise lines several times) as they are also great in port to save buying water there. I use my water bladder in a small rucksack a lot in port.

I bring a Contigo coffee mug, too, and make my own mochas by mixing hot chocolate (there are always machines dispensing this on the Lido deck) with coffee (again, machines dispense this).

I use a cross-body small bag now rather than just a lanyard to hold my sea pass plus small extras and noticed on our latest cruise that a lot of other cruisers do this. On some lines you need to insert your sea pass into a slot just inside the door of your stateroom to keep the lights and A/C going (similar to hotel rooms) but an old hotel key card (I use one of my old sea passes) can also work and save you potentially locking yourself out of your room.

Towels are provided, but some lines keep tabs on them and if you check them out from a station you have to return them to a station or get charged so I do bring a couple of those Turkish beach towels along (also good in port for sitting on the beach without the potential for losing one of the ship's towels) or placing on your beach matt.

I've not been sea sick even though have experienced some storm whilst on a ship but if you are, do take some seasickness tablets with you as they are very expensive to buy on board and even in port some chemists are rip offs if they are near to the ship.

Also a watch. Ships will usually stay on 'ship time' even if you pass through another time zone and having a spare watch can help you remember when to get back to the ship if you are in port and your phone automatically changes time zones. I have an old style battery-operated clock with alarm that is always in my travel bag for this reason.

Or, and a battery operated night light or candle for the room. It's dark in there, especially internal cabins, and there are few sockets (take a power strip with you) so using a battery-operated light source at night is a good idea (a torch or headtorch will work, too).

Look on Pinterest or sites like cruisehive or cruisefever for lots of tips. We usually use Royal Caribbean but there are plenty of sites dedicated to particular cruise lines with many handy tips. Do prepare to spend more than you think, as with any holiday, and keep abreast of any laws or rules in port (an American woman recently spent a fortnight in a Bahamian jail after collecting conch shells from a beach and taking them, which is apparently illegal there, you have to purchase them from reputable dealers). I took photos of jewellery in the Atlantis hotel and resort in Nassau and was soundly told off (but I am also a French speaker so pretended not to speak English and slinked off).

Some will say to take only excursions organised through the cruise line and for rookies I'd say this is good advice especially if you're not familiar with the port. They are more expensive but the ship will not leave port without you if the excursion is delayed, and this happens more often than you think, particularly if the excursion is a water-based one. My sister and her family are SCUBA divers and have been delayed on excursions several times.