MacGuffin3

Can you get full/whipping cream for your coffee on the NCL encore anywhere?

There are so many different types of coffee packaging these days, and I'm already paying a fortune for this trip, so out of principle I refuse to bring my own supples. If they only have decaf on my trip, they will be hearing from my lawyer.

Says you, it's "the high ground." Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. I say the DSC amount has now completely gotten out of hand, and it is preventing more people from cruising, and resentment towards the companies. So by not paying it, and hopefully causing a change, it will lead to a transparent pricing structure in the future, which will ultimately be good for the employees as more people will be cruising. So sorry, but I will not cede the high ground on this one.

The crew make a salary. How are they being stiffed? With over 80% retention in the cruise industry, they must be doing ok in comparison to their other options or they would quit. The company guarantees them a minimum salary, so the company will be the ones who have to make up for it if the coerced tips fall short of their expectations. So not paying the DSC is just another way to encourage them to change their pricing decisions.

Consumers have a bigger voice than govt, as Bud Light can probably tell you. Yes, it is a competitive pricing tactic in the USA across all the lines, but some are worse than others. So if you want a change, support the companies which do it less egregiously.

I think that answers my question. My guess is they should probably be stocking them at a ratio of at least 10-1.

Cool, I'm number 2 then, do you want to join us?

A mandatory $80 daily DSC, and mandatory 20% on a "make-believe" list price of $110 a day for drinks, is a specific NCL problem. It's not a business practice I want to support. Your comparisons are not equivalent. Sales tax in the USA, which I'm not fan of, and don't have to worry about here in Oregon, is not included in the price because it is different in every state, and sometimes different in cities within that state. That is very different from a national VAT. The only place in the USA now where a 15% tip is 'essentially' mandatory is in those few states left where servers make less than minimum wage. Here on the west coast now, everybody earns at least $15 an hour and up and a backlash is starting as many people are starting to get sick of the extortion on every screen they see these days. The only thing that's really comparable are hotel "resort fees" that often aren't revealed to you until the final click, but legally they still have to be revealed pretty prominently, unlike DSC which you have to read through a myriad of tiny print to discover your vacation is actually going to cost an additional $1000. So yes in summary, I put the blame on NCL. not the USA.

Because some of us support truth in advertising. If a trip is advertised at a certain price, it should not cost you more than that price.

You can't have it both ways, either the DSC matters or it doesn't. If it doesn't as you claim, then why do you care if anybody pays it?

Cruise Lines International Association has stated there is over an 80% retention rate in the cruise business. Seems to me they must be doing ok or they would quit wouldn't they?

I'd be curious to know what the actual replacement ratio is of coffee to decaf, and why they always seem to be provided at hotels at a 1:1 ratio for some strange reason. One of these items is only similar in name. One is absolutely crucial to starting your day. while the other feels like going to a steakhouse that automatically puts ketchup out on the table.

It would be great if we could swap the supposed-free booze for the coffee package. Who drinks $110 of booze a day? Is there really anybody paying that much who didn't get it "free" with a package? The 20% gratuity fee alone costs more than I've ever spent on booze in a month, let alone a week. The coffee is listed as $12.95. If the booze truly costs $110, you think they would have no problem exchanging the two.