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One of the best things about cruising is the convenience
of being able to sign for all your expenses, excluding stamps
and tips to your stateroom and dining room staff. Casino chips,
slot tokens and bingo cards can also be obtained on a casino
room charge. You can settle your shipboard account on the
day of disembarkation after reviewing the itemized statement
that's delivered to your stateroom.
Most lines accept U.S., Canadian and British currency and
travelers checks. Visa, MasterCard, Discover/Novus, the JCB
Card, Diners Club/Carte Blanche and American Express/Optima.
Personal checks drawn on U.S., Canadian or British banks are
generally accepted with the proper approval and identification
with a limit of $250 (U.S.) on a personal check. Casino room
charges for obtaining chips and tokens in the casino are usually
limited to $1500 per day, to the total limit of $5000 per
cruise, unless prior arrangements are made. There is usually
a hefty processing fee applied to all casino room charges.
These advances are billed to your shipboard accounts.
Express Check-Out
As do the finest hotels, the cruise lines offers a quick and
easy express check-out service. Just bring your credit card
(any of those listed above) or personal check and identification
to the Purser's Desk, if not taken at embarkation check-in
or pre-registered before the cruise (exotic cruises only),
as early as possible during your cruise.
Tipping
Effective January 2002, some cruise lines have implemented
an automatic gratuity program. A charge of $10 per person
per day for Dining and Stateroom Personnel will be automatically
added to the passenger's shipboard account. We are confident
that passengers will find the services onboard exemplary and
should a passenger wish to reward a staff member for service
"above and beyond", they may do so by adding to the automatic
gratuity. Similarly, if a passenger feels that the service
levels fall short of his/her expectation, then they may subtract
from the automatic gratuity amount simply by visiting the
Purser's Desk onboard and requesting the change. It is important
to remember that passengers will be able to increase, decrease
or remove the automatic gratuities at their discretion. Gratuities
for other shipboard staff such as Casino dealers and Spa Personnel
is at the passenger's discretion. Please note that a 15% gratuity
is automatically added to all bar tabs.
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