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Hi

We are considering a cruise from Tahiti to Sydney on Norwegian Jewel.I made enquiries through a travel regarding payment of gratuities on NCL ships as we have not cruised with them before.

My question was can the gratuities be removed on board like Royal Caribbean. She didn't know f they could be removed.

Can anyone who have sailed on NCL tell if gratuities can or cannot be removed.

Thanks

Col& Di:D

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Hi

We are considering a cruise from Tahiti to Sydney on Norwegian Jewel.I made enquiries through a travel regarding payment of gratuities on NCL ships as we have not cruised with them before.

My question was can the gratuities be removed on board like Royal Caribbean. She didn't know f they could be removed.

Can anyone who have sailed on NCL tell if gratuities can or cannot be removed.

Thanks

Col& Di:D

 

 

Curious as to why are you so interested if you can remove your gratuities?

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Hi

We are considering a cruise from Tahiti to Sydney on Norwegian Jewel.I made enquiries through a travel regarding payment of gratuities on NCL ships as we have not cruised with them before.

My question was can the gratuities be removed on board like Royal Caribbean. She didn't know f they could be removed.

Can anyone who have sailed on NCL tell if gratuities can or cannot be removed.

Thanks

Col& Di:D

 

For bookings made in AU in AU$ , NCL's "daily service charge is included in the fare price" and not added onto your on-board a/c. (If booking in USA and $US, the DSC is added to your account daily)

You are free, however, to add any extra "tips" and pay them to your service staff directly. (Drink wait staff have gratuity added each purchase)

 

The DSC there-fore is part of your agreed fare, so it would need to be something exceptionally bad happening to you to try and demand a fare reduction after the event..

 

NCL AU terms and conditions referenced below.

9. What’s included in my cruise fares?

 

All prices shown on our Australian and New Zealand website and quoted in our Australian and New Zealand brochures are per person in $AUD or $NZD (as applicable, depending on where the ticket is being acquired) and are based on two people sharing the specified Stateroom grade. Cruise prices cover the cruise for you (and your baggage allowance) from the point of departure as specified on your cruise voucher to the point of final destination as specified on your cruise voucher, and include the following, where applicable:

  • full on-board accommodation;
  • complimentary and freestyle on-board dining within prescribed hours, not including specialty restaurants;
  • on-board room service dining within prescribed hours;
  • on-board entertainment (subject to the exclusions set out in clause 10, below);
  • on-board gym access (but not personal training or exercise classes);
  • on-board poolside activities;
  • access to on-board Kids Club and youth programmes (but not baby sitting or group sitting);
  • on-board outdoor pools and hot tubs;
  • in respect of total cruise prices, all taxes (including port charges and Australian or New Zealand GST, as applicable, depending on where you purchased your ticket);
  • fuel costs (subject to change);
  • on-board gratuities (in $USD); and
  • the service charge referred to below (subject to your election)

10. What’s not included in my cruise fare?

 

In addition to the exclusions noted above, cruise prices do not include the following:

  • additional gratuities and (at your election) the service charge (refer below);
  • meals in specialty restaurants;
  • entertainment-based dining;
  • alcoholic beverages;
  • specialised tea and coffee;
  • fresh juices;
  • bottled water;
  • soft drinks and energy drinks;
  • room service convenience charges of $USD7.95 for orders after 10am, until 6am the following morning
  • à la carte menu items;
  • spa treatments and salon services;
  • exercise classes and personal trainer;
  • casino and gambling activities;
  • transfers and airfares (unless pre-purchased with air/sea packages);
  • hotel stays pre-/post-cruise (unless pre-purchased);
  • duty-free shopping, gift shop purchases, or art purchases;
  • shore excursions;
  • photography;
  • internet access;
  • group babysitting services;
  • specialty on-board seminars;
  • video arcade;
  • phone calls off the ship;
  • satellite connection for mobile phones;
  • laundry services;
  • travel insurance (unless-pre-purchased);
  • use of the Medical Centre;
  • any additional credit card and fuel surcharges; and
  • taxes on the provision of additional services, including services that are not provided by Norwegian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. Is there a service charge?

 

There is no additional service charge as this has been included in the cruise fare price on a per Guest per day basis (for Guests three years and older). This fee will be shared with those staff members, including the restaurant staff, Stateroom stewards and other behind-the-scenes staff who have provided services to enhance your overall cruise experience. However, certain staff positions (e.g., beverage service, concierge, butler and youth counsellors) do not benefit from this shared service charge because they provide services to only some Guests, and not all. If you have received excellent service from any of these staff members, we encourage you to acknowledge them with appropriate gratuities. If you have any concerns about the service you receive during your cruise, please let our on-board Guest Services Desk staff know right away, so we can address any issues in a timely manner. At time of booking you may elect to remove the service charges. However, if you choose to remove these service charges at time of booking, they will be made payable on-board at a rate of $USD16.50 per person, per day.

13. What about gratuities?

 

Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on our ships for a service that is generally rendered to all Guests. While you should not feel obligated to offer a gratuity, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile," so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities for exceptional or outstanding service if you care to offer them. Also, certain staff positions (e.g., concierge, butler, youth programme staff and beverage service) provide services on an individual basis to some Guests and do not benefit from the overall service charge. We encourage those Guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. For all spa and salon services, beverage purchases, specialty restaurant dining and entertainment-based dining, there will be an additional 18% service charge added to the total cost of the service.

Hope that helps..

Sue and Phil

Edited by Big Kev
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Well NCL do not have gratuities added like other lines as they are called service charges. Theoretically you can have any or all of these charges removed, if the service is considered (by NCL) to have not been delivered to the satisfaction of the customer. Good luck trying to convince them.

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Hi col.

I was actually looking to see if this cruise had been split up into legs.

Could not find it.

Would be nice to cruise with you again.

 

Kaseyoz@hotmail.com

 

Hi Karon:D

 

It is split Vancouver - Honolulu - Tahiti - Sydney

Problem with the Papeete to Sydney leg is the cost of flying to Papeete!!

 

Papeete to Sydney is 17 days

 

It's on the NCL site

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Hi Karon:D

 

It is split Vancouver - Honolulu - Tahiti - Sydney

Problem with the Papeete to Sydney leg is the cost of flying to Papeete!!

 

Papeete to Sydney is 17 days

 

It's on the NCL site

 

Hi Guys.

They have actually packaged it for reservations to include the cruise to Alaska prior to the repo from Vancouver to OZ.. Making a total of 49 nights.. All was/is on the NCL Australian website.

We originally looking at it for the long haul, but then broke it to 4 separate legs.

Have done the crossing many times now, but NCL is combining the best of all itineraries we have previously done.

We have also been sailing with NCL on itineraries in many countries, and glad that they now heading to OZ.

 

 

Sue and Phil

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Hi Karon:D

 

It is split Vancouver - Honolulu - Tahiti - Sydney

Problem with the Papeete to Sydney leg is the cost of flying to Papeete!!

 

Papeete to Sydney is 17 days

 

It's on the NCL site

I was checking their site but it never came up for me just the full itinerary from Seattle.

I did find it on a TAs site tonight with flight included.

I am on tne Norweigian Spirit in a few weeks so will ask when onboard.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have booked the Tahiti to Sydney leg our airfare with Emirates and Air NZ was A$620 our fare on NCL $2692 with beverage pkg it just an inside cabin but I was happy with the deal. I asked about gratuities and was told at Flight Centre oh yes there are gratuities to be paid so I asked for them to be taken off as we booked from Australia I had read they were included somewhere can't remember where now.

 

I wish that all travel agents new there are no extra gratuiities from Australian based booking as they are already built in instead of making me feel like a criminal for checking. I know this site is primarily an American site but it does make me smile when questioned as to why you would want to take off gratuities. It has been asked on other forums I have read and the response from our American friends can be quite amazing.

 

My fingers are crossed we are not charged them I was told to check at desk on ship so who knows may take a copy of the post that states they are included in fare.

 

BTW I do tip those who give me great service especially the room attendants they work very hard. I also like to give little gifts from home.

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I have booked the Tahiti to Sydney leg our airfare with Emirates and Air NZ was A$620 our fare on NCL $2692 with beverage pkg it just an inside cabin but I was happy with the deal. I asked about gratuities and was told at Flight Centre oh yes there are gratuities to be paid so I asked for them to be taken off as we booked from Australia I had read they were included somewhere can't remember where now.

 

I wish that all travel agents new there are no extra gratuiities from Australian based booking as they are already built in instead of making me feel like a criminal for checking. I know this site is primarily an American site but it does make me smile when questioned as to why you would want to take off gratuities. It has been asked on other forums I have read and the response from our American friends can be quite amazing.

 

My fingers are crossed we are not charged them I was told to check at desk on ship so who knows may take a copy of the post that states they are included in fare.

 

BTW I do tip those who give me great service especially the room attendants they work very hard. I also like to give little gifts from home.

 

 

That doesn't apply to NCL. ONLY those under the Carnival umbrella (P&O, Carnival, Princess etc) and the RCI (Royal Caribbean and Celebrity).

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I have read all the above information, but I'm still confused. We have booked a Panama Canal cruise with NCL from Australia in Australian dollars. So does this mean the "service charge"/gratuities are included? If so, why is there an option in the cruise planner for us to pay them upfront instead of having them added to our account once onboard? I would appreciate any information 😊

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I have just looked up the NCL AU terms and conditions they are written as above these are not Carnival or RCCL terms and conditions they may be the same I don't know but the ones shown as off NCL AU. However I will admit they are confusing I think I will contact NCL AU to see what terms and conditions numbers 9 10 12 13 are about. Yes we all know most of the things like including accom food entertainment etc they are very clear but the so called service fee and or gratuities are still not clear.

 

Someone on the roll call thread for this cruise just got a email from NCL to say there is a change in costs of gratuities in April going up ofcourse they booked and paid in Australian dollars so why did they get the email if ours are included in price. I personally have not had this email as yet so yes this whole thing is very confusing.

 

I suppose for us in Australia and NZ we are used to having all taxes and charges included in the price displayed ie a dress is the price on the ticket a bag of chips is the price and yes for ships based here it is now the same P&O Carnival etc. If it says its A$500 then it 500 not 500 plus 14% or whatever. This leaves no confusion I hope it is true for the NCL site for ANZ.

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Wow, I hadn't heard there's a Panama Canal cruise departing from Australia! Excellent!

 

When you book with NCL from Australia, the service charges may or may not be included in your fare. What I mean is that it's possible to have them removed from your fare at the time of booking, but you will need to ask to have them removed, or if booking online look for a mention of it (a box to check, for example, to remove them). I've done heaps of dummy bookings when looking for the best fares for cruises we're taking, with NCL and other cruise lines too. I've checked out the NCL site itself and independent online travel agents. A lot! I love cruising!

 

Presently we're booked on Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Jewel and we booked through my daughter who works for Flight Centre. I specified that I wanted the service charges removed and they were.

 

If you're unsure if the gratuities were included in your fare at the time of booking you'll need to contact the travel agent you used and ask if they were included. If they weren't, you'll be charged them on board. They'll be added daily to your on board account. You CAN then go to the purser's desk once on board and ask for them to be removed. We did that on Norwegian Dawn last November and it was done. We paid our tips ourselves, to the staff members directly.

 

If you find you have been charged the gratuities at time of booking, wish you hadn't, and have not yet paid your final payment, it might be worth asking the agent if you can have them removed.

 

I have read all the above information, but I'm still confused. We have booked a Panama Canal cruise with NCL from Australia in Australian dollars. So does this mean the "service charge"/gratuities are included? If so, why is there an option in the cruise planner for us to pay them upfront instead of having them added to our account once onboard? I would appreciate any information 😊
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Hi

We are considering a cruise from Tahiti to Sydney on Norwegian Jewel.I made enquiries through a travel regarding payment of gratuities on NCL ships as we have not cruised with them before.

My question was can the gratuities be removed on board like Royal Caribbean. She didn't know f they could be removed.

Can anyone who have sailed on NCL tell if gratuities can or cannot be removed.

Thanks

Col& Di:D

 

Col & Di (and MicCanberra)

We've done 3 NCL cruises and are presently booked for two more this year. One is the Tahiti to Sydney cruise on 25 October so we'll be fellow passengers. Have you joined our roll call? If not, come and join us.

 

 

The gratuities can definitely be removed. I know that from experience. That's if you didn't pre-pay them when you booked the cruise. (We always double check at time of booking that the price quoted DOESN'T include the pre-paid service charges.) If you didn't pre-pay, it's a matter of going to the purser's desk on board and asking to have the charges not added to your account, ie have them removed (do it fairly early on in the cruise, not on the first day when there are usually lots of queues, and not at the end when it's hectic).

 

 

One of our roll call members actually mentioned your post on our roll call forum and I gave relevant information there. So rather than write it all again, here's the link. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=52579819&posted=1#post52579819

 

It's post 548 and it's factual.

 

 

 

Save

 

 

Save

 

 

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Wow, I hadn't heard there's a Panama Canal cruise departing from Australia! Excellent!

 

When you book with NCL from Australia, the service charges may or may not be included in your fare. What I mean is that it's possible to have them removed from your fare at the time of booking, but you will need to ask to have them removed, or if booking online look for a mention of it (a box to check, for example, to remove them). I've done heaps of dummy bookings when looking for the best fares for cruises we're taking, with NCL and other cruise lines too. I've checked out the NCL site itself and independent online travel agents. A lot! I love cruising!

 

Presently we're booked on Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Jewel and we booked through my daughter who works for Flight Centre. I specified that I wanted the service charges removed and they were.

 

If you're unsure if the gratuities were included in your fare at the time of booking you'll need to contact the travel agent you used and ask if they were included. If they weren't, you'll be charged them on board. They'll be added daily to your on board account. You CAN then go to the purser's desk once on board and ask for them to be removed. We did that on Norwegian Dawn last November and it was done. We paid our tips ourselves, to the staff members directly.

 

If you find you have been charged the gratuities at time of booking, wish you hadn't, and have not yet paid your final payment, it might be worth asking the agent if you can have them removed.

 

The Panama Canal cruise doesn't leave from Australia, we booked it from Australia. I don't wish to not pay the service charge or have it removed. We actually prefer to pre-pay our tips. I just read in the posts above that they were included if you booked from Australia and I was confused because we have the option to pre-pay them in the planner.

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I just read in the posts above that they were included if you booked from Australia and I was confused because we have the option to pre-pay them in the planner.

 

Maybe the option in the planner is there for anyone regardless, just a standard notification.

 

 

If you check your statement from when you booked it might say whether or not your gratuities have been pre-paid, and if it doesn't you could contact your agent and find out. It they've not already been paid with your fare, you'll be charged them daily on board and the amount will be greater than it will be if you pre-pay, because the charges are going up as of 1 April (I think that was the date).

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  • 4 months later...

Hi All,

 

Can someone please confirm how to avoid being charged for "Service Charge" onboard NCL cruises as I prefer tipping the staff directly.

 

The new T&C are confusing, while point #9 states that SC is included in the fare "

the service charge referred to below (subject to your election)"

point #12 states that if removed at the time of booking they whill be charged onboard. However, if you choose to remove these service charges at time of booking, they will be made payable on-board at a rate of USD$13.99 per person, per day (for mini suites and below on all ships except Norwegian Sky*).

 

In addition, I've read that NCL has a new lengthy procedure, where the Purser's desk cannot remove the SC any longer, instead a form needs to be completed (stating/claiming dissatisfaction with the service) and sent to head office. The entire process can take several weeks until the funds are refunded.

 

Any advice is highly appreciated :)

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I wish I could say 100% you can take out the tips . I have however not long ago had this conversation with my agent at Flight Centre it went like this. She checked with NCL agents here in Australia. Yes you can and I had taken out the gratuities at the time of booking but I must go to the desk on first day to make sure they will stay removed because yes they will add them. This will be done on the ship and no one will be told of this it will give me the option of giving those who I see as giving me great service a tip personally at an amount I am comfortable just as I do here and anywhere else currently. I am not comfortable with the percentage being changed currently pp.

 

This is unfortunately a very contentious issue on site. I think because this is a US based site and tipping/gratuities are compulsory there many who can't understand the reluctance by those not from US to have them included pre travel.

 

I do hope that the info you say is now maybe in place making it very difficult is incorrect. I was however only given the info that is not complicated in the last couple of weeks. It looks like we will have to wait and see.

 

I truly don't want this issue to spoil my trip as it is an added expense I have not factored into my trip. Fingers crossed.

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Please see my post #17 above.

 

I don't know where you're from, but I write from an Australian's point of view. Here in Australia some travel agents include the service charges in your fare, some give you the option. If you ask before finalising a booking I think any agent could make sure they aren't included; I don't know about if you book directly with NCL as I haven't done it and haven't asked them, but I've been told you can book via NCL without the charges included.

 

We book without the service charges. If you do that, you WILL be charged on board, the gratuities will be billed to your on-board account daily. It just happens.

 

But you can have them removed. Once on board our cruise we go to the main desk and request they be removed from our on-board account. We're usually told to wait a couple of days, or maybe to come back closer to the end of the cruise, during which time the charges continue to be billed daily. However, once we make the request, even if we have to wait a few days to do it, the service charges are removed. No need to fill out a form (I'd read the same as you somewhere), no hoops to jump through. We then distribute our tips ourselves, to those staff members we choose.

 

Perhaps that thing about filling out forms and waiting months applies to passengers other than those from my country. Actually I have vague memories of reading somewhere that those stipulations don't apply to passengers from Australia or the UK, but I could be wrong on that. Anyway, if you're Australian too you shouldn't need to worry. We've had them removed on the Norwegian Star, Dawn and Sun and will be making the same request on the Jewel in a couple of months.

 

It's interesting that NCL don't even refer to the charges as "gratuities" on their site. I sometimes automatically call them that even though I'm skeptical - I don't believe they are necessarily given to the staff as gratuities and in fact on the NCL site it says:

Why is there a service charge?

The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programmes that your service charge supports. How much is the charge?

My skeptical self thinks that if NCL want to provide incentive programs, encourage their staff to work together as a team, etc it's up to them to do so, not up to the passengers. It should come out of the fares we pay. (Not to mention the huge kickbacks they get from the tours they offer. I say that having just discovered that a tour I've just booked independently for my upcoming cruise is on offer by NCL for more than double what it's readily available for directly with the tour companies.... so I guess I'm a little aggrieved at present with cruise companies' money grabbing attitude!)

 

I want the staff members to actually receive any tips we pay and so like to give our tips out personally to those who have given us good service.

 

Hi All,

 

Can someone please confirm how to avoid being charged for "Service Charge" onboard NCL cruises as I prefer tipping the staff directly.

 

The new T&C are confusing, while point #9 states that SC is included in the fare "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the service charge referred to below (subject to your election)"

point #12 states that if removed at the time of booking they whill be charged onboard. However, if you choose to remove these service charges at time of booking, they will be made payable on-board at a rate of USD$13.99 per person, per day (for mini suites and below on all ships except Norwegian Sky*).

 

In addition, I've read that NCL has a new lengthy procedure, where the Purser's desk cannot remove the SC any longer, instead a form needs to be completed (stating/claiming dissatisfaction with the service) and sent to head office. The entire process can take several weeks until the funds are refunded.

 

Any advice is highly appreciated :)

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Well service charge is splited between all people who work on booard. Obviously you can tip your waiter or butler but you can not tip the people who wash your clothes or cook your food or make sure of your security on board. So we pay services charge but we reduce it. Around 5 $ p. day for our son and 8 for adult plus we tip our Butler and sometimes the splash academy people

 

Sent from my SM-G903F using Forums mobile app

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I can only speak for myself but for me it is the level of tipping that NCL is expecting that is a problem for me. At A$39 per couple everyday it is way above anything we would ever leave as a tip.

 

I know they usually sail US area where tips are compulsory but I understand they charge way more then other lines. For a small amount of effort to do your own tipping we could pay for other services offered not only on the ship but onshore.

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