luv2kroooz

We have absolute agreement on that point. I find your comment calling out how many words it took me to say something rather snarky and uncalled for. So sad. Where you lost me is when you made this radical comment yesterday, but we've already debated that and others have pointed out the inaccuracy in the statement. " 1st off the DSC has noting at all to do with tipping.

We are debating semantics at this point. Thank you for your contributions. The industry currently assesses a daily fee. Some call it crew appreciation (Princess). Carnival/Royal calls it service gratuity(tips). Call it what you want. The intent of these charges is and has always been to compensate the crew for the service they provide. If you don't think these charges are effectively intended to be or replace required tipping, then please continue to tip the crew over and above the daily charge. I couldn't care less what you do. But please don't come on here and expect me or others to do as you do. We gladly pay $16.50 per person per day which is in line with industry standards and more fairly represents the value of the service we receive. We do not and will not pay $20 per person per day on NCL. Their service is good and on par with other cruise lines, but nothing we have seen would warrant $20. Lastly, rest assured we certainly will not allow other members on here to shame us for not tipping the laundry guy, the head chef, the restaurant hostess, the plumber, the dishwasher, the general Manager's secretary etc. For the benefit of the community, here are snapshots of the current industry standards for the daily charges. Some call them gratuities some call them charges. The intent of these fees is the same. Carnival... SERVICE GRATUITIES (TIPS) It is customary for our guests to extend gratuities to the shipboard staff in appreciation for their hard work and exceptional service. 100% of your gratuities are distributed to the crew who you interact with, such as your stateroom attendants, dining and culinary services staff, as well as others who work behind the scenes to enhance your overall cruise experience. Applying this charge automatically streamlines the recognition process and ensures our crew will share in your generosity. Princess.... The “Crew Appreciation” is a daily amount for each guest that will be automatically added to your onboard account for your convenience, to recognize the efforts of a wide variety of crewmembers who contribute to the experiences of all our guests.  The crewmembers eligible to receive these funds work in various departments, many of whom rotate among different ships, throughout our fleet of ships. Royal... As of September 7th, 2022, the automatic service gratuity of $16.00 USD per person, per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or $18.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Suites, will be applied to each guest’s SeaPass account on a daily basis. The gratuity applies to individual guests of all ages and stateroom categories. As a way to reward our crew members for their outstanding service, gratuities are shared among dining, bar & culinary services staff, stateroom attendants and other hotel services teams who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience.

I've sailed out of NYC a lot. It has been hit or miss but mostly for reasons outside of NCL control. The terminals are smack in the middle of an extremely busy city. A lot can depend on whether you are embarking on a weekday or weekend due to rush hour traffic, although traffic is always pretty bad in NYC. Second, it will depend on how many ships are in the port area on the day you board. Some ships may be using NYC as a port of call and it may be turnaround day for others. I have sailed from NYC on a day when NCL was embarking guests and Costa was using the same terminal as a port of call. Yes, both ships were sharing the same terminal. Finally, yes, the terminal buildings in NYC are pretty outdated and were never intended to handle the volume of passengers on ships like Joy. Our preference is to get to the port between 9 and 10, we get our check in handled and then relax in the waiting area. We have priority boarding on NCL, but even if you don't they will give you a boarding number and it usually goes pretty quickly and smoothly once the ship is ready to begin boarding passengers. We have found embarkation to be much smoother than debarkation. Good luck!

Ours took 24 hours. They said we would receive an email when they were ready. The email was never sent to our inbox, junk or spam folder. Just check back to ncl.com in 24 hours and you should be good to go.

If it isn't listed separately on your booking confirmation then they haven't including the prepaid tips. They'll probably add the $20 per person per day charge onboard. You can check this onboard or on the app or on your TV. NCL adds the charge on a day by day basis.

I can only share what NCL states and what current industry standards are. You are most welcome to twist their statement or interpret it in any way you see fit, as are other readers of these forums. Thanks for sharing your interpretation. I hope this clears up false misleading and irrelevant info I posted, if any. Lol. Lastly, we reserve the right to shut off or even reduce the DSC/tips, at any point, in keeping with current industry standards, which are currently $15-$16.50 per person, per day based on cruise line. No one charges $20 except NCL. I wonder why that would be? From NCL. 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 programs that your service charge supports. How much is the charge? Onboard Service Charges are additional

A few months ago they raised the DSC to an industry leading $20. The regular DSC is supposed to cover those behind the scenes people that impact your cruise. The tipping spigot has run dry. When a family of four travels together, they are encouraged to tip $80 per day. Enough already.

It is always so sad to read a foolish response from NCLs non-customer service department. So, their casino was closed on the final day and you missed out on the ship.....how does that legally entitle them to keep your money? They could just send you the money now that you are shoreside. I mean they know your legal address. Plus, wire transfers are easy to do and happen every day.

First submission was online form....didn't work. Second time used email above. Had it within 2 days.

I have learned to expect nothing from NCL, so we have made a personal decision to not pursue a refund. NCL charged us and collected $80-$100 in VAT on free drinks. Free drinks are not subject to VAT. Therefore, a refund of $80-$100 is owed back to the customer. Again, we have made a decision to just allow NCL to keep the taxes that were collected unlawfully, expecting nothing from NCL.

Sounds good to me too. Wouldn't that be the goal for any cruise vacation, though? Why not be educated and put yourself in the best position to enjoy your vacation by researching what kind of ship you prefer? All ships are not created equally.

I haven't been forced to, but mine says the same, excrusions. Ugh.

I am not following. Why would anyone pay an extra $20 per person per day if they plan on getting only a couple glasses of premium wine? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to only pay the amount over $15 that is included with plus?

Sorry to hear this. I was hopeful you would be able to get a supervisor to authorize this, so you could reserve your tours and apply OBC prior to sailing. We had to work our way up through the food chain at NCL to get ours applied. It can be done, you just need to get to the right person....and you probably need some good fortune, too.

Only on the high seas on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Their menu prices are at levels where most human beings would never pay menu price. I mean I could eat at my local Morton's or Ruth's Chris for that price. But in the Free at Sea environment, people see $178 and say wow, I must have gotten a really good deal. Quite sad.

Ouch.

You must mean...someone to reimburse you for drinks you paid for but couldn't consume. Accuracy matters.

If they already charged and collected taxes on something that costs nothing, then this is the money that people want refunded. It would be unlawful not to refund it. Hopefully, that clears it up for you.

Princess pretty much owns Alaska. Great onboard experience and program. Food geared to Alaska. NCL has great rates to Alaska. Just pay attention to port times and docking locations, which can be far from the city center in some ports.

Thank you for this. Good info to consider. 👍

Norwegian Gem, really any Jewel class ship. Amazing deck space, two big pools. I also think Crown class on Princess is a good choice. Land based resorts ...Polynesian isles in Kissimmee, Sheraton Vistana Villages I Drive. Amazing deck space there.

I am not complaining about anything. I am simply sharing my educated opinion based on the research I have done and what I have heard from bloggers that I follow and respect. I have no investment in prima.

I don't know, man. MSC is continuing to disrupt markets. If they are already successful in UK, great.

MSC has pretty much taken control of the Italian market from Costa.

I don't know what you are asking me, sorry. Carnival Corporation owns Costa.