Tipping Guide

Gratuities / Tips

It is customary to extend gratuities/tips to the shipboard staff for their services. How much to tip is a personal matter and completely up to the guest. However, we do have guidelines in regards to what is appropriate as follows:

Amounts shown below are per guest, per day:

Service	Recipient	Amount
Dining Room	Headwaiter and Waiter	$5.50
Alternate Dining	Waiters/Cooks in Bistro	$1.00
Stateroom	Stateroom Stewards	$3.50
Total Gratuities		$10.00

Amounts shown below are per guest, per cruise duration:

Days	Amount
2	$20
3	$30
4	$40
5	$50
6	$60
7	$70
8	$80
9	$90
10	$100
11	$110
12	$120
13	$130
14	$140
15	$150
16	$160
17	$170
18	$180

Tipping the Dining Room Maitre d' is strictly at the guest's discretion, based upon the service received. An envelope will be available to the guest on the last evening of the cruise for those who wish to extend this gratuity in cash.

Personnel, such as Bar and Room Service Staff may be tipped as service is rendered. 15% of the bill is automatically added to beverage purchases, which the guest may adjust appropriate to the service received. 

Tipping applies regardless of the dining options selected, such as eating at the casual dining restaurant or utilizing room service. 

There are two ways of extending gratuities to the shipboard staff as follows:

Reverse Gratuity Program:
For the guest's convenience, we automatically add the recommended gratuities to the guest's on board Sail & Sign Account on embarkation day.

The guest will have the discretion to adjust these gratuities based upon the level of service received during the cruise. This includes the option to adjust gratuities (up or down) for any individual on the Dining or Housekeeping staff. In order to do so, the guest will need to contact the Guest Services Desk in person.

Note: For Cruises-to-Nowhere, gratuities of $10 per guest, per day, must be prepaid upon making a reservation.
Note: Guests under two years of age are not required to extend gratuities.

Prepaid Gratuity Program:

• Gratuities are pre-arranged and paid at the time of booking or anytime up to two weeks prior to the sail date. Once the booking has been ticketed, the prepaid gratuities cannot be removed from the booking.
• All guests on each booking must prepay the gratuities with the exception of children under two years of age.
• The guest will have the option to adjust the gratuities (up or down) based upon the level of service received during the cruise.
• The dollar amount for gratuities will appear in the Miscellaneous Charge field on the booking. The guest copy of the cruise ticket will indicate if gratuities have been prepaid.

Dining Options

I have us set up for "Late" dining.  Please let me know if you would like to change this to "Early" or "Your Time" dining.

 

 

 

Your Choice Dining provides a selection of three different dinner seating options. In addition to Early and Late assigned seating, Carnival is rolling out “Your Time” open seating to accommodate individual guest preferences. By popular request, all dining rooms are smoke-free. 

At time of booking, guests will be able to confirm their preferred dining choice. If their preference is not available, they may confirm an alternate time and be waitlisted for their preferred choice. Waitlists will be cleared prior to the sailing and guests will be notified by email. Parties traveling together who are waitlisted will be cleared on the same dining time.

Lunch and dinner are also available bistro-style on the Lido Deck. Spirit-class, Conquest-class, Carnival Splendor, Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic have the added convenience of a reservations-recommended steakhouse (nominal $30 fee per person will apply).

For those guests who choose Early or Late dining, the assigned dining room and table number will be printed on the Guests’ Sail & Sign card which they receive when they check-in on embarkation day. 

Dining times are subject to change due to conflict of time with port stays or other scheduled activities. Accurate times are listed in the daily "Carnival Capers".

BREAKFAST AND LUNCH

For breakfast and lunch, the main dining rooms are organized as "open seating". During the specific hours the dining rooms are open for service, the guests may dine at any time. If the guest is assigned to Early or Late dining for dinner, during breakfast and lunch, they are not obligated to sit at their regular assigned table nor with their assigned tablemates.  

	Breakfast	Lunch
Port Days	7:00am-9:00am	Closed
At Sea Days	8:00am-10:00am	12:30pm-2:00pm

DINNER

Guests may choose Early dining at 6:00pm, Late dining at 8:15pm or “Your Time” open seating, which is currently offered on select ships but will be rolled out fleet wide by Summer 2010 (see schedule below). 

In addition, guests may opt for Casual Bistro Dining in the Lido Deck Restaurant.

Assigned Seating - Early Dining and Late Dining

This dining option offers guests a pre-set dining time for the duration of the cruise as well as the same table assignment each evening in the Main Dining Room. Guests who choose this option will not be able to reserve “Your Time” open seating once on board.

Early Dining / Late Dining
Early Dining	6:00pm
Late Dining	8:15pm

“Your Time” Open Seating Dining
Guests on “Your Time” open seating may dine any time in the Main Dining Room between 5:45pm and 9:30pm and are able to request any table size or waiter. Guests are seated on a first come, first served basis depending on party size. Pagers are provided if a modest wait time is required so guests may relax elsewhere on the ship until their table is ready; in most cases, guests are accommodated within 20 minutes.

Due to the limited number of large tables available, parties greater than 10 guests may need to be accommodated at different tables. It is important to advise accordingly as to manage expectations and avoid disappointment once on board.

“Your Time” open seating is currently available on 12 ships and will be implemented one ship at a time as modifications in dining room table configurations are completed on each ship. The implementation will be completed fleet wide by summer 2010. As “Your Time” dining is implemented on each ship, we will send Travel Agents/direct guests notification via email/fax so we can provide the guests an  opportunity to switch to this option or retain their original choice.

Unlimtied Soda Program

We offer all guests the option to take advantage of the Unlimited Soda Program which provides the guest unlimited soft drinks and juices for the duration of the cruise at a one time purchase price (including 15% service charge). A sticker, to be attached to the guest’s Sail & Sign card can be purchased at the casino bar, lobby bar or pool bar on board the ship.

In all locations where bar beverage service is offered, guests will be served a glass of the soft drink or juice of their choice - one 16 ounce glass will be served at a time and only to the guest whose name appears on the Sail & Sign card. The program cannot be used through room service. Note: The Unlimited Soda Program can be used during the port stop in Half Moon Cay.

Note: The following beverages are available in the Lido Deck Restaurant, 24/7 and are complimentary: Coffee; Hot Tea; Hot Chocolate; Lemonade; Sweet Ice Tea. 

What to Wear?

Daytime Wear
Casual attire is the order of the day. We suggest shorts, sundresses, tank tops, etc. for the ladies. For men: shorts, polo shirts, T-shirts, etc. We suggest you wear rubber-soled, low heeled or flat shoes for extra traction while onboard. Note: The use of any footwear with wheels, including but not limited, to Heelys© shoes, is prohibited on board our ships. For dining you may want to dress up a bit and/or bring along a light sports jacket or cardigan.

Evening Wear
Most evenings we have a Cruise Casual dress code, but there are those Cruise Elegant evenings where you will have the opportunity to showcase your more elegant attire (one evening on a 2-5 day cruise; two evenings on a 6-day or longer cruise). Both dress codes for the dining rooms are described below and pertain to children as well.

For those who want casual attire for dinner time, the Seaview Bistro on the Lido Deck is open nightly and has a more relaxed theme. However, shirts and shoes/footwear (flip-flops) must be worn at all times inside the Lido Restaurant.

Dining Room - Cruise Casual Dining Dress Code

• Gentlemen: sport slacks, khakis, jeans (no cut-offs), dress shorts (long), collared sport shirts
• Ladies: casual dresses, casual skirts or pants and blouses, summer dresses, Capri pants, dress shorts, jeans (no cut-offs).
• Not permitted in the dining room: gym shorts, basketball shorts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men and baseball hats.

Dining Room - Cruise Elegant Dining Dress Code

• Gentlemen: Dress slacks, dress shirts. We also suggest a sport coat. If you wish to wear suits and ties or tuxedos, by all means we invite you to do so.
• Ladies: Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; if you‘d like to show off your evening gowns, that's great too!
• Not permitted in the dining room: shorts, T-shirts, beach flip-flops, bathing suit attire, jeans, cut-off jeans, sleeveless shirts for men, sportswear and baseball hats.

Internet Café Bow-to-Stern WI-FI Service

For those guests who want the option of staying connected to the rest of the world, we offer fleetwide satellite internet. Access is facilitated through each ship’s onboard Internet Café as well as wireless internet bow-to-stern for personal laptops and most other wireless devices. This is done via satellite through a satellite modem, so guests can feel right at home while surfing the internet.

Internet Cafe
The Internet Café is open 24-hours a day and features private terminals with the latest flat panel computer monitors. Guests will have the ability to send and receive e-mail, chat online and access the internet. Guests can access their own e-mail account through AOL, Hotmail, Juno, Yahoo, etc. Alternatively, guests will have the option to use their very own temporary e-mail account with our “CruiseE-mail”™.

• An Internet Manager is available daily for assistance.
• The computer terminals run on Windows XP and are limited to Internet communication; the terminals do not have Microsoft Office (WORD, EXCEL, etc).
• CruisE-mail is our unique email service set up as a convenience for those guests who either do not have their own email or are unable to access their own service provider. There is an additional charge of $3.95 for each outgoing (sent) message. No additional charge applies for received (incoming) messages.
• Multiple windows and applications can be opened at one time.
• When using a Café terminal, files can be downloaded as "read only" but cannot be saved, since a floppy disk cannot be inserted into the PC's. Laptop users can read and save files as needed.
• Digital Media: A Digital Media Card Reader is available in the Internet Cafe for uploading and emailing digital photos via the Internet. Normal pricing rates apply. No additional charge for this service. Supported media devices:
• Compact Flash
• Memory Stick
• SD Card
• SmartMedia
• MultiMedia
• The computers are equipped with Notepad.
• Printing is available at $0.50 per page.
• The Internet connection speed is able to connect with bursts of 2.5 megs and 128 kbps upstream.

Bow-to-Stern WI-FI Service
The fleet has Bow-To-Stern Wireless Access, which allows guests to access the Internet from anywhere on the ship, including from the comfort of their staterooms.

• Guests may bring their own personal laptop for use on board or rent one from the Internet Café (limited number available).  
• Guests using their own personal laptop can use all of their own software without restrictions. VPN access on the other hand is restricted to connections of the type, which are not IPSec or PPTP connections.
• If the guest's laptop is not equipped with a Wireless Internet Card, the guest can rent one from the Internet Café.
• The Wireless Internet Service is compatible with a Wireless 802.11b card, which is the industry standard.
• Printing is not available on the Wireless System.

Price List
To utilize the internet service, the below options are available. Please note that the internet pricing options are identical, whether an Internet Café terminal is utilized or a laptop. All internet access charges will be billed directly to the guest's onboard “Sail & Sign” Account:

• An initial one time activation fee of $3.95 applies to each user.                
• A basic time charge is $0.75 per minute "Pay-As-You-Go". Minutes are rounded to the next full minute.    
•  Discounted “Time Plans” offer guests the opportunity to enjoy a lower per-minute rate. These Time Plans do not have to be used in a single session and can be used anytime throughout the cruise until debarkation; No refund for unused minutes; Upgrading selected pricing option is not available. Plans are subject to change.             
• Short Cruises (less than 6 days)
• 30 minutes for $16.50 ($0.55 per minute)
• 60 minutes for $24.00 ($0.40 per minute
• Long Cruises (6 days and longer)
• 100 minutes for $55.00 ($0.55 per minute)
• 250 minutes for $100.00 ($0.40 per minute)

• If the guest’s personal laptop does not have built-in WiFi, they can rent a Wireless Radio Card on board. This allows guests to connect their laptop to the ship's wireless signal. The rate is $10.00 per day; Optional insurance is $3.00 per day. These fees do not include internet time. Internet time plans must be purchased separately.

• A limited number of laptops are available for rent for the price of the Time Plan purchased; optional insurance is $10.00 per day.
• Printing is available at $0.50 per page.

“Serenity”

Adult-Only Retreat Area

Fantasy-Class Ships

As an alternative to the wide variety of family-friendly activities we offer, Carnival has introduced “Serenity” – an adults-only area that provides guests with a tranquil place to escape from all stress in a wonderful ocean-going oasis of relaxation and comfort.

The “Serenity” area is located in the secluded aft section of the Promenade deck that was formally the children’s pool area. This location provides a quiet place of relaxation where adults can enjoy spectacular ocean views from the comfort of plush chaise lounges and chairs. Guests can choose to enjoy their quiet time in the sun or under colorful, oversized umbrellas. For guests who wish to relax out of the sun, a separate shaded area is also available.

“Serenity” offers more than just a comfy hideaway from a stressful world. Two warm, relaxing whirlpools are available for our guest’s enjoyment and a variety of music adds to the ambience of the area. Complete bar service is available from attentive waiters are on hand to help guests with their selections of delightfully icy cocktails and fun, frozen drinks at our normal bar prices. Guests wishing for a snack or casual meal will find the Lido Restaurant is just one deck up and easily accessible.

The “Serenity” adults-only area is available to guests 21 years of age and older. While the area can be accessed at any time, the whirlpools and bar wait service are only available from 8:00am to 10:00pm.

WaterWorks Aqua Park

Carnival WaterWorks Aqua Park is presently on the Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Ecstasy and the Carnival Fascination.

Carnival WaterWorks offers our guests many ways to enjoy their fun time in the sun. Guests can enjoy the rush of our four-deck-high, 300-foot-long spiraling tube water slide, which is the biggest, longest and most elaborate slide at sea, or race on the 82-foot-long double-lane waterslide.

Carnival WaterWorks also features a large splash area where kids of all ages can play and cool off in the many fun spray apparatus. The area also has comfortable lounge chairs, just right for guests who wish to lounge in the sun and relax while the kids have a blast splashing around.