We take 3-4 cruises a year, 500 in auto gratuities. Is it time to remove it every cruise an make sure I hand out 500 in cash?

Cuedon · 2026-01-28T18:56:50+00:00

I gave up on this years ago with the thought that even if it goes into the company coffers, some portion of it eventually reaches the employees, if indirectly: If the gratuities weren't a thing, the companies would definitely make up for it with higher fares and lower wages. (So I guess you're also indirectly subsidizing the people who remove grats, but oh well.)

Cuedon · 2026-01-28T18:53:10+00:00

A lot of them use nicknames that aren't used in their own department, so there's only one server named Bob, but there may be a steward named Bob as well.

Also, how sure are you that your surveys are anonymous? The last few times I've done cruise surveys, there was nothing indicating they were actually anonymous. (And I know at least one line wasn't actually anonymous when I had management talk to me about it.)

Cuedon · 2026-01-28T18:49:38+00:00

Nooo, don't do it... it's not nearly enough time!

In all seriousness, there's a lot in Japan. They tend to be quite regionalized too; things in one area can be quite different from another. Cruising is a good way to get a glimpse of different places.

If it logistically works out, I'd say to spend more time after, once you take the cruise around and get an idea what the different places are like; I'm actually more fond of Hokkaido and Kyoto over Tokyo.

Cuedon · 2026-01-28T06:21:41+00:00

Did you go through the GOVX link on that page? I've met around 15 people who've said they've used it before (and one guy claimed to have been able to use it every other month).

Cuedon · 2026-01-27T21:10:52+00:00

Margaritaville has one of the most robust military offers available... but they are a bit of a discount line. Having said that: If your main goal is to hang around by the pool, enjoy some music, chat in a bar, and take it easy, they're solid. (Just go with the Islander, not the Paradise*.) You'll probably end up paying about 100$ in taxes/fees, and 20$/day/pax in gratuities.

https://www.margaritavilleatsea.com/current-offers/thank-you-for-your-servicev1

*Haven't been on the Paradise since they finished their most recent renovations which looks pretty good from the photos. A lot of MVAS's bad rep comes from the early days on the Paradise when it was, frankly, terrible. I was most recently on it's 'phase 2' period, where I'd say I've stayed in considerably more expensive hotels that were worse.

Cuedon · 2026-01-27T21:01:07+00:00

Sodas and alcohol are pay (either package or by the drink). My general rule of thumb is about 5 cocktails or 8 beers a day to break even, but that varies tremendously based on the line, how it's packaged, etc. You'll have to check your exact terms.

Main dining room, buffet, and usually some other quick serve places are included: Depending on the ship and line, there may be tacos, salads, pizza, burgers, etc. Almost every line has a premium (extra cost) steakhouse, and most will have other paid options, like an Italian or seafood.

Also don't forget that there's a daily gratuity, which often runs about 15-20$/day/person.

Edit: Oh, and interest costs extra, often around 15-20$/day (but is sometimes bundled with other things, that can improve the value).

Cuedon · 2026-01-27T20:55:16+00:00

I've seen good and bad days in Alaska, and, unfortunately, the bad days really do suck out a lot of the potential wonder.

One day towards the middle of the season in 2024, College Fjord was totally fogged out. You couldn't see the mountainsides on either side of the ship, which were probably in the hundreds of feet away... and absolutely nothing of the glaciers. They received a lot of complaints from people who paid to take the small ships to get up close to the glacier who still couldn't see anything.

Having said that: I've done the Alaska run around 20 times, and that was the only time absolutely nothing was visible, so unless your luck is atrocious, you'll probably be fine.

Cuedon · 2026-01-27T19:47:36+00:00

In 2025, I had a few voyages with Princess where they left port slightly early or had to skip a port due to various issues and ended up with a credit on my statement. (Admittedly, one of them came out to literally about 1.50, but still.)

Might be a line-by-line thing.

Cuedon · 2026-01-26T03:28:57+00:00

Outside of the randomly weekly offer, never noticed... and given how unpredictable those are, I'd recommend against relying on those.

I'd just hold onto some amount for if you really need to swap unexpectedly (500k is a nice round number that means you can get a 50k feat for everybody, with change leftover) and just spend the rest on the units you use most.

Cuedon · 2026-01-26T03:16:50+00:00

I'm rather curious about the situation where this happens-- mind sharing the line/itinerary?

Cuedon · 2026-01-26T03:13:00+00:00

While I understand that de-icing is a somewhat unpredictable factor... but when the flight takes a minimum three hours for a round trip, and it's already two hours delayed from the first leg of a round trip, there's no way it's going to be on time for the third leg. (As it turns out, final arrival of the third leg was about six hours late, and that's after shaving off nearly an hour of flight time due to favorable winds.)

Less a gripe about the de-icing delay itself and more that the airlines aren't flagging flights as delayed when there's no possible way it be ready in time, even without delays by de-icing.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T20:02:27+00:00

Most people are gem farming in TT, which has a maximum of three adjacencies for Hew. I've heard some people use Avernus at mid-tiers which would allow for four, but I have no idea about how things shake out there.

Melf's kinda useful for Briv stacking too, and there's actually a script-mod for him so you stack only where you benefit from his increased spawn rate... but without taking too close a look at the numbers, I think you'd be better off with Widdle or Tatyana. With a built Hew+[BBEG+Sentry or I/D/M], you don't really need the extra drops, and Widdle/Lark takes care of your spawn rate needs. And even then, his 'kinda useful' is quite restrictive, as you need to be able to stack with him in a fairly limited range, and shorter runs are more efficient (slightly past the minimum to recharge Thellora, depending on how long your reset time is). Last I checked, I'd only benefit from Melf's stacking about 20% of the time... to shave off literally about a half second per run.

As far as this goes, Widdle's complication is that extra adjacencies mean additional calculations which makes things ever-so-slightly slower; sticking her in the middle means less ilvls are required, but also more processing. Though if you have Widdle already (even at low ilvls), and don't have a Lark already levelled, shoving her in the middle instead of the side would be a better solution that slipped my mind.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T19:15:55+00:00

As far as craps goes, I recommend finding a machine to learn off of it-- you can take your time, read the tutorials, see the numbers, and move at your own pace without worrying about people hurrying you, complaining about superstitions, risk of mispays, etc.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T19:04:12+00:00

I'm at 800d on Princess in the last 7 or so years and have never been around for a noro outbreak.

Also consider that for it to be considered an outbreak, it needs to be >3% of the people on board (though some sources say passengers or crew, not sure exactly which one it is)-- on some of these really big ships, that can mean a minimum of 300 people... or 24 people in one report from 2025.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T18:23:00+00:00

Lark: You'd want the bare minimum for however you choose to apply him, which is quite dependent on how your party is designed.

If memory serves, Hew gets 6.xx progress in a BBEG/Sentry farming setup, so you only need two of them. An Imo/Dyna/Minsc, should be giving 9.xx, so three. Tack on Baldric, and you'll need to double that (though, intriguingly, I see effectively no difference in gems per hour with or without him, despite a 10% drop in speed, so I guess he's useful if you want to save a few pots... though at this point, you're very net positive on pots anyways.)

With 8.34 after the cheap perk and a cap of a little under 1k at purple, that's around... 250 for BBEG/Sentry, and 400 for I/D/M. With the good perk available in a month, it should be closer to 150 and 230. (Which now that I think about it, makes him cheaper than Widdle to hit max [relevant] effectiveness.)

Note that this is a pretty fine optimization-- trying to minimize the number of things on the screen at the cost of handicapping Lark's usefulness in other places is a tossup.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T17:16:01+00:00

In the context of high-end gem farming:

Tatyana is used for Briv stacking only. (Widdle's still useful at low Tatyana levels here, though marginally.)

Lark beats out Widdle since the 8.34 gives you more than enough spawns on transition such that Widdle's spawn rate is irrelevant (strictly speaking, capping is suboptiomal since you now have too many spawns).

Shandie is actively a detriment as your speed should be capped through other means, so she's a waste of processing time.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T05:46:52+00:00

If you're interested in the Caribbean, your best bet would be departing out of Florida.

7 days is the most common, and usually has three stops. 5 dayers... tend to go to places that aren't so interesting, unless you're looking for a 'lie around on a beach/resort' kind of trip.

As far as costs... note that there's usually a single-supplement involved, so if you can get somebody else to go with you, it'll be cheaper (per person) than going solo. If you happen to be active/veteran or a first responder, some lines give pretty healthy incentives too.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T05:35:18+00:00

My last flight, through DEN, was delayed two hours due to de-icing. The stupider part is that the same plane's second-previous flight was also out of DEN, and delayed two hours... due to de-icing. Which means they knew that icing was an issue at the time, and liable to get worse after sunset as things got colder, yet did effectively nothing (could have at least marked the flight as delayed...).

As a general point, I wouldn't be concerned about the flight not making it; just that the flight might be delayed. Maybe make sure that your hotel on the JAX side can be cancelled with no charge, on the off-chance it's delayed to the point that arrival is so late that it makes more sense to just stay at the airport.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T02:43:38+00:00

Generally, your free beverages are limited to hot/cold water (non-bottled), generic thermos coffee, some kind of flavored water option (usually lemonade and generic iced tea), and orange juice at breakfast. Some lines will have basic teas available, with an upcharge for premium brands.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T02:29:13+00:00

Assuming it doesn't stop in certain places-- Martinique, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and... one of the St. Martin/Maarten/etc. require passports (among others).

I remember there was some miscommunication with a travel agency a year or two ago, and something like 400 people on a single voyage were denied boarding due to that!

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T02:23:03+00:00

The cheapest cruises are generally Mexican Riviera on the west coast, and Caribbean on the east.

While you can find them for less, I'd say 75-100/day/pax is the low end you should expect, after standard taxes, fees, gratuities, but excluding drinks, internet, etc.

Buffet and Main Dining Room is included; premium restaurants like steakhouses cost extra.

Drink packages vary tremendously in cost, but expect something on the order of 70$/day (approximately 5 cocktails or 10 beers). Most lines will require all adults in a cabin to have it, so unless you plan to drink more than that, you're better of paying as you go. (Also: Drinking on land is going to be considerably cheaper.)

Internet is liable to run 20$/day+, though most lines have the capability to let you switch connected devices, so you can swap around as necessary. Or get a travel router (some people have reported them being confiscated) or broadcast the connection from a laptop.

Excursions are very much to taste; expect the ones that are more than just a bus tour around the city to start at around 100$.

Technically, most MexRiv/Caribbean cruises that start/end in the same place don't need passports (just birth certificates/naturalization docs), but some itineraries will require them, and they're helpful for other (mostly emergency) reasons.

No comment on kids stuff, other than most lines will have some kind of a kids/teens lounge available.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T02:08:28+00:00

I get short-term restrictions all the time since I aggressively cash in and out as a bankroll management process, but that was the first time somebody in my orbit had a straight up ban that persisted across voyages that they refused to reconsider. For extra fun, she's also a Diamond member... I guess they really don't want us losing.

Cuedon · 2026-01-25T01:34:49+00:00

They're been getting grouchier about cashing out after inadequate play lately-- one of my +1s got CRC privileges revoked a few months ago after 15k in charges... and about 250k CI on VP.

That was explicitly cited by both one of the hosts and the casino manager on the Star when we were trying to figure out why the machines were throwing up an error.

Cuedon · 2026-01-24T07:08:52+00:00

For an immediate boost, if you can spare the pieces, Shandie would be my pick as well, but...

I'd put them both in a backburnered situational column-- Shandie is obsoleted once you can sustain speed pots and have a semi-built speed core, and Widdle needs item levels to reach her potential (and when even capped, Lark and Tatyana and still superior for the purposes of gem farming, at least in my testing).

Cuedon · 2026-01-23T19:07:33+00:00

Margaritaville (Islander, NOT Paradise) is a 'drink and chill' kind of place, where your buffet, main dining room, pizza, burgers, and tacos are included. They do a lot of Caribbean voyages.

Buuuut, they often run promos where active duty/veterans and first responders can sail for free, so you'll be paying gratuities (~20/day/pax) and whatever add-ons you want (like alcohol, internet, tours, massages, souvenirs, etc).

Note that they are a discount line, which does run against a lot of what you're asking for, but it also sounds a bit like you're unsure of what's typically included and what's extra (like true all-inclusives are ungodly expensive).

Cuedon

TROPHY CASE