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Pre-Paid Gratuities/Tips


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Hi there, I'm going on my first cruise in January with NCL Getaway. I have a problem paying up front for service that I haven't even had, a bit like when a restaurant automatically charges you gratuities and you have an issue with the service or food. I'm not saying I anticipate an issue but I want to give generously to the servers who serve me personally especially if its a regular server at a bar or a favorite restaurant on the ship. Is this unreasonable? Can I opt out of paying this fee in advance? Thanks

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Hi there, I'm going on my first cruise in January with NCL Getaway. I have a problem paying up front for service that I haven't even had, a bit like when a restaurant automatically charges you gratuities and you have an issue with the service or food. I'm not saying I anticipate an issue but I want to give generously to the servers who serve me personally especially if its a regular server at a bar or a favorite restaurant on the ship. Is this unreasonable? Can I opt out of paying this fee in advance? Thanks

 

 

You do not have to prepay tips prior to the sailing. Once on board, tips are added to your account day by day unless you go to Guest Services and opt out.

 

MARAPRINCE

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I saw this article about price increases for daily gratuities:

http://us.blastingnews.com/showbiz-tv/2017/03/norwegian-cruise-line-increases-their-gratuity-prices-001556793.html

 

Norwegian decides to increase their prices.

This increase will be effective on April 1, and the Norwegian Sky will have a bigger increase than other ships. Right now, they cost $13.50 per person, per day. The new prices will be adjusted to $13.99, a 3.6% increase on all ships except the Sky.

Daily gratuities for standard cabins on the Sky are rising to $18.99, a 41% increase. The gratuities for suites are $21.99 for the Sky and $16.99 for the rest of the fleet, up from $15.50 currently.

Now one thing that the Norwegian Sky does have is an open bar, so people do feel like they are getting that when they pay a bit extra for the trip. If you made your booking on Norweign already, you can pre-pay your gratuities and have them at the old rate. That is one option that will help you to save a bit of money. There are ways to get around spending this if you want to do it.

One other thing you can do is once you get home from a Norwegian Cruise, you can call and change your gratuities. You are able to make them lower or higher. A lot of people do this based on the service they received on the trip.

Other cruise lines such as Carnival let you do it on the ship by contacting customer service. A lot of people feel like you should have this option as well on Norwegian, but that would make it easier to change it.

Are you shocked to hear that Norwegian Cruise Lines has decided to up their gratuities? Do yo think that this was the right decision? This could make some people think twice about going on a Norwegian Cruise and do something else for vacation instead, but you never know. Sound off in the comments section below on your thoughts.

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I saw this article about price increases for daily gratuities:

http://us.blastingnews.com/showbiz-tv/2017/03/norwegian-cruise-line-increases-their-gratuity-prices-001556793.html

 

Norwegian decides to increase their prices.

This increase will be effective on April 1, and the Norwegian Sky will have a bigger increase than other ships. Right now, they cost $13.50 per person, per day. The new prices will be adjusted to $13.99, a 3.6% increase on all ships except the Sky.

Daily gratuities for standard cabins on the Sky are rising to $18.99, a 41% increase. The gratuities for suites are $21.99 for the Sky and $16.99 for the rest of the fleet, up from $15.50 currently.

Now one thing that the Norwegian Sky does have is an open bar, so people do feel like they are getting that when they pay a bit extra for the trip. If you made your booking on Norweign already, you can pre-pay your gratuities and have them at the old rate. That is one option that will help you to save a bit of money. There are ways to get around spending this if you want to do it.

One other thing you can do is once you get home from a Norwegian Cruise, you can call and change your gratuities. You are able to make them lower or higher. A lot of people do this based on the service they received on the trip.

Other cruise lines such as Carnival let you do it on the ship by contacting customer service. A lot of people feel like you should have this option as well on Norwegian, but that would make it easier to change it.

Are you shocked to hear that Norwegian Cruise Lines has decided to up their gratuities? Do yo think that this was the right decision? This could make some people think twice about going on a Norwegian Cruise and do something else for vacation instead, but you never know. Sound off in the comments section below on your thoughts.

 

This can't be true because the DSC is a service charge and totally unrelated to any gratuities!!

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Hi there, I'm going on my first cruise in January with NCL Getaway. I have a problem paying up front for service that I haven't even had, a bit like when a restaurant automatically charges you gratuities and you have an issue with the service or food. I'm not saying I anticipate an issue but I want to give generously to the servers who serve me personally especially if its a regular server at a bar or a favorite restaurant on the ship. Is this unreasonable? Can I opt out of paying this fee in advance? Thanks

 

With only five posts I'm taking a risk that you are just a troll, and signed up with a new name to create controversy. And tipping threads are often the most controversial. But, in the spirit of believing the best in people, I'll explain why I think you misunderstand how cruise line service works today.

 

To do it your way, go to the bank and get 147 one dollar bills. You'll leave 3 of them at breakfast, 5 of them at lunch, 10 of them at dinner and then 3 of them for your cabin steward each day should those people meet your criteria to earn your generous giving. Those suggested amounts will have to be adapted based on your experience, of course, so you want the flexibility to reduce lunch tip to $4 or $3. Since you are "generous" you probably won't want to carry change to tip in partial dollars, so you have to decide to round up or round down. Remember you may never see the servers again, because on NCL you have Freestyle dining, and we have often had a different person serving us for every meal. So you have to tip at the time of service. And you don't get a bill for the meals or the cabin steward so you can't leave a tip from your on board account easily. You'll have to carry the cash.

 

Because your standard is that you will not pre-tip you won't want to wait until the end of the cruise to tip the cabin steward ... she's working every day, at least twice a day, in your cabin. You are on vacation so you probably don't want to keep a log book noting when she doesn't do as good a job as the next day. And if you don't tip right away will he slack off and not meet your standards?

 

How do you, as a generous person, know those amounts are right? On land, if you're a generous person, you tip according to a percentage of the bill you receive. But on a cruise ship, well, what is 18% of "included"? You may decide to have just a salad and appetizers one night for dinner, and another night you may have two entrees and two desserts. Do you tip those meals based on their value on land? I suppose you could bring a menu from a local cafe and calculate the tip that way.

 

The flat daily service charge un-complicates this process and makes it easy. You are under no obligation to pay more to the waiters in the restaurants or your cabin steward. Leave the dollar bills at home. Some people brag that they pay extra tips, and they have freedom of speech to pat themselves on the back.

 

NCL does allow you to reduce the daily service charge so you do have the choice to do that. You don't need our permission or approval, and you shouldn't care that some of us will think you a hero for your bravery for taking a stand or a dispicable cheapskate for spending thousands on a vacation and withholding pennies from poor people serving you. It's your choice.

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Well firstly, I'm not a troll, whatever that is!! My husband has booked our first cruise for my 50th birthday which I will celebrate on the ship. So I understand what you are staying about the many dollar bills but this is what I do when I stay in all-inclusive hotels. Yes, so I know I will see the same person over and over again and that may not be the case on a cruise. I accept that its easier not to complicate things but I would never have divided it up the way you did.

I'm green and I don't know how it works, that's the only reason I am asking and because I saw that article he made me think twice about the whole gratuity thing. BUT first of all I got it wrong because I thought we may have paid for it in advance. The reason for this is because I read that we can pay the gratuities up front to get it at the original rate before the increase on April 1st.

Thanks anyway for your reply and taking the time.

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When I was booking my NCL cruise today, I inquired about this very subject.

I was told the gratuity cannot be negotiated, discussed or otherwise refused.

 

I was also told it can't be deferred so how would waiting until I got home help

negotiate a fee already paid?

 

I was told to interpret it as a "fee" and less a gratuity.

 

Is this not the case?

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When I was booking my NCL cruise today, I inquired about this very subject.

I was told the gratuity cannot be negotiated, discussed or otherwise refused.

 

I was also told it can't be deferred so how would waiting until I got home help

negotiate a fee already paid?

 

I was told to interpret it as a "fee" and less a gratuity.

 

Is this not the case?

That depends on where you book. What country did you book with?
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USofA. The cruise is on the Breakaway November 26th of this year.
Here is what the website says:

 

If there is a service issue can the service charges be adjusted on board?

Guest satisfaction is the highest priority at Norwegian Cruise Line. We have structured a guest satisfaction program designed to handle any concerns about service or on-board product quickly and efficiently. However, in the event a service issue should arise during your cruise please let our on-board guest services desk staff know right away, so that we can address these in a timely manner. It is our goal to reach a satisfactory solution to any issue when it happens and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise. Should your concerns not be met with satisfaction you can adjust the charges.

 

You can go to Guest Services and ask to have your DSC removed or reduced and they will give you a form for you to fill out asking what the issue was and you have to send it to corporate and wait for a refund. Keep in mind that the DSC will be charged to you and you will pay it at the end of the cruise, only getting a refund when you return home. The person you spoke with was correct, as you can not remove or reduce or negotiate with them, it has to be done once onboard the ship.

 

As far as the 18% gratuity at the specialty restaurants or drinks or when you get the UBP or SDP as a perk or purchase one of them, you have to pay the 18% gratuity, no way to get out of it.

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Well firstly, I'm not a troll, whatever that is!! My husband has booked our first cruise for my 50th birthday which I will celebrate on the ship. So I understand what you are staying about the many dollar bills but this is what I do when I stay in all-inclusive hotels. Yes, so I know I will see the same person over and over again and that may not be the case on a cruise. I accept that its easier not to complicate things but I would never have divided it up the way you did.

I'm green and I don't know how it works, that's the only reason I am asking and because I saw that article he made me think twice about the whole gratuity thing. BUT first of all I got it wrong because I thought we may have paid for it in advance. The reason for this is because I read that we can pay the gratuities up front to get it at the original rate before the increase on April 1st.

Thanks anyway for your reply and taking the time.

 

 

Since you are 'green', and not sure how it works:

 

Crew & servers are all paid a VERY low wage (like $50/mth), and then that wage is supplemented by a pre-arranged share of the aggregate collected Service Charges.

 

So if you remove your service charges, then the 'pool' of money available to be shared among all of the team-members is reduced.

 

So if you decide you want to see the 'elation' on your server's face, be aware that by tipping them in cash, you are reducing the amount that the busboy, assistant, cook, dishwasher, laundry people, etc. receive in THEIR checks.

 

The Service Charge is IN LIEU of tipping. No tipping is required, go up to the bar, get a drink, walk away. Have a meal, walk away. Get your room cleaned twice/day, no tipping required.

 

But there's a Service Charge which covers all of that. It's billed in arrears (the charge appears at the end of the day to which it applied, so you have no worries about paying it in advance.

 

In the unlikely event that something is not satisfactory, please let them know ASAP. They will do everything they can to correct it, so you have any enjoyable 50th birthday cruise.

 

On my 50th birthday cruise all of the senior staff sang Happy Birthday to me. It was unexpected and funny to see the Hotel Director (who manages over 1000 people) standing by my table singing.

 

Have a great cruise, and leave the Service Charge as-is.....and then you don't have to worry about tipping AT ALL.

 

 

Happy birthday!

 

Stephen

 

.

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No tipping is required, go up to the bar, get a drink, walk away.

 

Hey Steven!

 

I have to disagree with you on this one tiny portion of what you wrote here--the bar staff are not covered by the DSC. The 18% tip is automatically added to your drink when you pay for it. Granted, there's no need to tip over the 18%, but I just wanted to clarify that they're not part of the DSC.

 

Hope to see you again soon!

 

--Michael

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Since you are 'green', and not sure how it works:

 

Crew & servers are all paid a VERY low wage (like $50/mth), and then that wage is supplemented by a pre-arranged share of the aggregate collected Service Charges.

 

So if you remove your service charges, then the 'pool' of money available to be shared among all of the team-members is reduced.

 

So if you decide you want to see the 'elation' on your server's face, be aware that by tipping them in cash, you are reducing the amount that the busboy, assistant, cook, dishwasher, laundry people, etc. receive in THEIR checks.

 

The Service Charge is IN LIEU of tipping. No tipping is required, go up to the bar, get a drink, walk away. Have a meal, walk away. Get your room cleaned twice/day, no tipping required.

 

But there's a Service Charge which covers all of that. It's billed in arrears (the charge appears at the end of the day to which it applied, so you have no worries about paying it in advance.

 

In the unlikely event that something is not satisfactory, please let them know ASAP. They will do everything they can to correct it, so you have any enjoyable 50th birthday cruise.

 

On my 50th birthday cruise all of the senior staff sang Happy Birthday to me. It was unexpected and funny to see the Hotel Director (who manages over 1000 people) standing by my table singing.

 

Have a great cruise, and leave the Service Charge as-is.....and then you don't have to worry about tipping AT ALL.

 

 

Happy birthday!

 

Stephen

 

.

 

The figure regarding crew salary is not correct. The cruise line is required,to pay a contracted amount, and if the DSC IS not sufficient to meet that amount, the cruise line must make up the shortfall.

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Well firstly, I'm not a troll, whatever that is!! My husband has booked our first cruise for my 50th birthday which I will celebrate on the ship. So I understand what you are staying about the many dollar bills but this is what I do when I stay in all-inclusive hotels. Yes, so I know I will see the same person over and over again and that may not be the case on a cruise. I accept that its easier not to complicate things but I would never have divided it up the way you did.

I'm green and I don't know how it works, that's the only reason I am asking and because I saw that article he made me think twice about the whole gratuity thing. BUT first of all I got it wrong because I thought we may have paid for it in advance. The reason for this is because I read that we can pay the gratuities up front to get it at the original rate before the increase on April 1st.

Thanks anyway for your reply and taking the time.

I am also new here. I have found a wealth of info on numerous threads. Been reading. Not sure why people here have to be so angry. I skip over them. I ignore them and move on. It's a cruise! BE HAPPY! Why a poster is questioning your integrity is insane. I hope you have a great cruise :) There are good people out there who can offer invaluable information. Welcome.

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So if you decide you want to see the 'elation' on your server's face, be aware that by tipping them in cash, you are reducing the amount that the busboy, assistant, cook, dishwasher, laundry people, etc. receive in THEIR checks.

 

The Service Charge is IN LIEU of tipping. No tipping is required, go up to the bar, get a drink, walk away. Have a meal, walk away. Get your room cleaned twice/day, no tipping required.

 

How does a cash tip disrupt the normal distribution of the DSC fee?

 

To do so would suggest the amount of the cash tip was known beyond the issuer and receiver of the cash.

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Crew & servers are all paid a VERY low wage (like $50/mth), and then that wage is supplemented by a pre-arranged share of the aggregate collected Service Charges.

.

 

This is a modern myth. The crew are paid according to the contract between them and the Master (who represents the company) and subject to their union rules. Minimum wages and working conditions are set by their union, although individual countries / unions can negotiate different rates. All NCL ships are signatory to the agreement.

 

The current minimum wage for seafarers is $614 per month, but overtime applies for over 48 hours per month at 1.25 times their normal hourly rate. The website glassdoor.com lists the self-reported wages from crew on NCL, RCCL, and Carnival, and the average cabin steward earns around $1,000 per month. For a worker from the Philippines, that's equal to about $4,000 a month for a US / Canadian resident, and is on par with many professionals in their home country. Bar tenders report their wages at from $1,200 to $4,000 a month, but its hard to get an average with such a wide range and only a dozen or so reports.

 

Above are the facts, borne out by research and listening to actual workers self reporting when they aren't trying to increase their tips by giving you a sob story. On a ship, talking to your server or steward, is the WORST place to try to get a complete answer.Watch any of the YouTube videos by people who actually work on cruise ships to get the full story.

 

Those are the facts. The following is my conjecture:

I believe countries like the Philippines encourage overseas workers by exempting tip income from income taxes, avoiding the cabin steward getting stung by high marginal tax rates. This tax policy may be to help workers bring money home to their country and ease poverty for their entire families. The foreign employers are willing to pay the worker in a combination of wages and specified tips to help them achieve their government's goals.

 

I believe the mix of wages and gratuities on their paycheck may change percentage-wise, but the worker must be paid the contractual amount, so his or her pay is not immediately affected by someone who removes the service charge or doesn't tip. However, for the Fillipino, changing the mix will change how much he has to pay in taxes to his government. So indirectly, when the tip / service charge pool is evaluated, and the mix of wages vs. tips changes, the worker is taking home less money.

 

I have worked in companies with incentive plans exactly like that. A sudden dip in performance would not affect our paychecks that very week, but we would see the reduction in the quarterly bonus. It's an effective incentive program.

 

I have a personal ethical standard that does not allow me to harm another in any way, especially for my personal enjoyment. Each person has to decide if removing the daily service charge is ethical according to their individual ethics. Some will say yes, and some will say no.

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↑ @fshagan

 

I appreciate the factual segment of your post however I respectfully disagree with the final two sentences.

Gratuity ought to be commensurate with performance, I should not be beholden to some ethical quagmire

involving the employees pay structure, tax situation or union contract. All of which is immaterial and not relevant

to the purpose of gratuity.

 

It annoys me that gratuity has transitioned from something I base on my experience with that employee to something

based on a need to satisfy the cruise lines desire to not have to supplement the employees income. The ONLY reason

I find it tolerable is the explanation you provided in post #7. Given I have never cruised yet (51 days to go) I would not

have forecast how tedious it would be to do it any other way.

 

Reminds me of tipping in Vegas. I was always tipping based on the belief they were paid pittance as I believed all wait staff

were paid $2.13 an hour. Not so in Vegas, it's $7.25 an hour. So you see, sometimes people are earning more than you may think.

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It annoys me that gratuity has transitioned from something I base on my experience with that employee to something

based on a need to satisfy the cruise lines desire to not have to supplement the employees income.

So, you would have no issues if they raised your fare by $15 a day which would then include the DSC?
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@NLH Arizona

I do not understand your question, the daily service charge is already forcibly factored in so six to one, half a dozen to the other. The result is the same. The consumers input in so far as to decide what gratuity to leave has been removed. This has the potential to foster underachievers while compelling the consumer to pay more for service that will then seem "above and beyond". Because of the nature of the daily service charge and when it is collected, I can imagine that divorce in time from when service is rendered to when gratuity is collected that some may tip cash at the time of service or daily because it is a more recognizable feeling of leaving gratuity. In other words, familiar.

 

Either way, I don't have any idea for a better system so the current one is as good as any based on the logic already presented by fshagan

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What of the people who do your laundry? Clean the restrooms? If you remove the auto gratuities they do not get their share. It takes more than the room steward, dining room server and bartenders to make your cruise great. Please don’t stiff the other staff by only tipping a few in person. Thank you

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Certain employees should strictly be hourly, just as in other areas of hospitality. I'm not suggesting tips be removed, I'm not even suggesting the fee based structure should be removed as I don't have anything better to suggest. I do think it can be improved and some aspects of it are not optimal. Assessing a fee for a 3 year old the same as an adult seems imbalanced to me. Removing the consumers ability to penalize for poor service is also counterproductive. Once more, I am merely presenting my uninitiated opinion as I have yet to ever take a cruise. Ask me again in 51 days..make that 58 days.

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