Can remove service charge after cruise?

[cugrad]

Thought I would try asking this question on here before waiting on hold for 15 min. Does anyone know if you can call up NCL after the cruise and reduce the auto-charged tip? To make a long story very short, I was on my honeymoon and didn't want to ruin it by getting into any disagreements/complaints w/ the staff, but I received soiled bedsheets two days in a row (one day I told them and they replaced them with more soiled bedsheets) and the waiter our last night was absolutely worthless, so I wanted to ding them a bit just on those two days. Thanks.

[GORDONCHICK]

I think after you're off the ship it's too late.

[GORDONCHICK]

I also think since you didn't take the time to address it, it's wasn't that important at the time but now that you've thought about it, it's more like buyers' remorse. If done correctly, there's no disagreements or arguments. You should have addressed the hotel director with your issues, and I've yet to meet an HD on NCL that wouldn't fix that immediately.

[NYcruzzer]

Thought I would try asking this question on here before waiting on hold for 15 min. Does anyone know if you can call up NCL after the cruise and reduce the auto-charged tip? To make a long story very short, I was on my honeymoon and didn't want to ruin it by getting into any disagreements/complaints w/ the staff, but I received soiled bedsheets two days in a row (one day I told them and they replaced them with more soiled bedsheets) and the waiter our last night was absolutely worthless, so I wanted to ding them a bit just on those two days. Thanks.

 

Congrats on your recent marriage. As someone else has said once you leave the ship it is to late to adjust your service charge. By the way if you had the oppportunity how much would you reduce the totle service charge for two days of "soiled sheets" and 1 night being served by an "absolutely worthless" waiter ? Perhaps you should write a letter to the CEO of NCL...

[Sauer-kraut]

Bed sheets aren't changed every day, perhaps you should have pointed out that the sheets were soiled to the steward that morning and then it wouldn't have been an issue.

[MMMD]

Thought I would try asking this question on here before waiting on hold for 15 min. Does anyone know if you can call up NCL after the cruise and reduce the auto-charged tip? To make a long story very short, I was on my honeymoon and didn't want to ruin it by getting into any disagreements/complaints w/ the staff, but I received soiled bedsheets two days in a row (one day I told them and they replaced them with more soiled bedsheets) and the waiter our last night was absolutely worthless, so I wanted to ding them a bit just on those two days. Thanks.

 

Don't sweat the small stuff. The service charge isn't only for your room steward it's for many employees that you never saw, but worked hard on your cruise.

 

Just like anything else, it's always better to take care of a problem at the time it happens, not days later.

 

Chalk it up to a minor mishap and let it go. You were on your Honeymoon, I assume you had a great time otherwise and I wish you a long and happy marriage.

[cugrad]

Yeah I didn't create any sort of issue on the ship b/c I wanted to keep things "happy" for the sake of the honeymoon. I didn't even tell my wife two of the times I noticed that the sheets were soiled, I just didn't lay on that part (it was on my side of the bed). BTW, when I say soiled, stained may be a better word. They needed run through the washer again w/ some bleach. It does torque me that when I complained they replaced them with more stained sheets. This is coming from a guy who has typical bachelor standards of cleanliness.

 

Ultimately the few bucks I would remove from the tip aren't a big deal, but it does bother me a little that I feel like I'm rewarding them for bad service. Like I said, I wasn't going to tarnish our honeymoon by getting into some big complaint with the front desk. I did nail them on those issues in the survey they sent me.

 

The best news was that my wife and I liked/disliked the same things about the cruise, which should make planning future vacations easy :-)

 

In answer to why I didn't point them out to the steward...I saw one the first day and never saw the other. Are you supposed to see them regularly? This was my first cruise so I don't know what to expect in that regard.

[cugrad]

Bah, forgot to say thanks for the help.

[Aprilftay]

I pre-paid mine and was told on the ship to contact customer service and they can give credit on visa used if you call when you get home.....and I plan on calling in the morning...

[Ms belp]

Yeah I didn't create any sort of issue on the ship b/c I wanted to keep things "happy" for the sake of the honeymoon. I didn't even tell my wife two of the times I noticed that the sheets were soiled, I just didn't lay on that part (it was on my side of the bed). BTW, when I say soiled, stained may be a better word. They needed run through the washer again w/ some bleach. It does torque me that when I complained they replaced them with more stained sheets. This is coming from a guy who has typical bachelor standards of cleanliness.

 

Ultimately the few bucks I would remove from the tip aren't a big deal, but it does bother me a little that I feel like I'm rewarding them for bad service. Like I said, I wasn't going to tarnish our honeymoon by getting into some big complaint with the front desk. I did nail them on those issues in the survey they sent me.

 

The best news was that my wife and I liked/disliked the same things about the cruise, which should make planning future vacations easy :-)

 

In answer to why I didn't point them out to the steward...I saw one the first day and never saw the other. Are you supposed to see them regularly? This was my first cruise so I don't know what to expect in that regard.

 

I have never ever had this happen to us on a cruise. Are you sure you didn't maybe forget to take the do not disturb sign off and you were sleeping on your own dirty sheets?

[iheartbda]

............

 

In answer to why I didn't point them out to the steward...I saw one the first day and never saw the other. Are you supposed to see them regularly? This was my first cruise so I don't know what to expect in that regard.

It's not necessary to see them everyday. If your cabin has been cleaned, they've done their job and many try to be as unobtrusive as possible so you won't see them. If you need them for any reason you can call housekeeping.:)

[garycarla]

To remove the service charge, you must talk to the front desk to discuss the issue.

 

This is not only the policy, but is the only acceptable thing to do. After all, they should have a chance to fix whatever problem you are having or to do something.

 

Could you imagine if everybody just called when they got home and said " - - - - -- -" happened, so take off the service charge.

 

Wow.

[trouble1964]

How often ARE the sheets changed?

 

We went on our first cruise last fall with a different line and it was every other day...that's what the steward said.

[sparks1093]

I did not think someone could ask a DSC question that I had not seen before:eek:. OP, would you want your boss to dock your pay a couple of weeks after you did the work? You vented during the survey, leave it at that (and next time address service issues when they happen). (And congrats on your marriage!)

[autrucheplume]

Yeah I didn't create any sort of issue on the ship b/c I wanted to keep things "happy" for the sake of the honeymoon. I didn't even tell my wife two of the times I noticed that the sheets were soiled, I just didn't lay on that part (it was on my side of the bed). BTW, when I say soiled, stained may be a better word. They needed run through the washer again w/ some bleach. It does torque me that when I complained they replaced them with more stained sheets. This is coming from a guy who has typical bachelor standards of cleanliness.

 

Ultimately the few bucks I would remove from the tip aren't a big deal, but it does bother me a little that I feel like I'm rewarding them for bad service. Like I said, I wasn't going to tarnish our honeymoon by getting into some big complaint with the front desk. I did nail them on those issues in the survey they sent me.

 

The best news was that my wife and I liked/disliked the same things about the cruise, which should make planning future vacations easy :-)

 

In answer to why I didn't point them out to the steward...I saw one the first day and never saw the other. Are you supposed to see them regularly? This was my first cruise so I don't know what to expect in that regard.

 

I think you're definitely handling it well, by coming here and asking advice. I've found that the people who write on this board have been in pretty much every situation imaginable!

 

One thing to point out: if you ever have an issue on a future cruise, you can always go to the front desk and mention it to them, while still keeping the cruise "happy". I have certainly seen people who scream at the front desk staff and make things very "unhappy", but they have always been receptive to making reasonable requests, and they will almost always apologize for what happened and try to rectify it for you. Additionally, if you don't see your room stewards very often, you can always write them a short note/request and leave it where they'll see it in your room.

 

However, I'm sure your bride appreciates trying to keep things conflict free on your honeymoon! I hope you guys had a great time otherwise.

[mjkacmom]

You are not just penalizing your room steward and one server, you are penalizing many, many people who depend upon this service charge as most of their salary. Because of the freestyle nature of NCL, without typical tipping, the best was to get satisfaction is to say something about how you are not satisfied while you are onboard, and see if the problem can be rectified. I've found NCL to be one of the lowest priced cruiselines, and I don't mind the fact that my $12 per person, per day, pays the salaries of all of those behind the scenes who work their butts off many, many, hours a day.

[sjbdtz]

OP, without going into too much detail, is it possible that the 'stains' were actually burns / singes from the laundry?

 

Heat can stain white sheets slightly yellow. We had that issue recently, and I think the problem is that either the dryer, or the press is running too hot.

 

The executive housekeeper was looking into it, but I told him I didn't really need a follow-up.....so I don't know what happened.

 

 

.

[tomsuelaw]

OP, you mentioned the sheets were more stained then soiled. Now I prefer sheets without stains, but if it is obviously a stain then this would not bother me as I do not see stained sheets as dirty. If they have been washed then I am assuming that all the previous germs/dirt is off the sheet but that a color stain remains. I suppose if the stain looks suspiciously dirty and you are not convinced the sheet was washed then that would bother me.

 

I work as a nurse in the hospital and all of our sheets are bleached and steralized with hot water, however many of our sheets come back stained. If the linen company were to replace each sheet when it gets stained, healthcare cost would go up for yet another reason:rolleyes: My main point with this is that even a stained sheet can be clean and safe to use, just displeasing to the eye:mad:

 

With that said, I am sure with this being your honeymoon you hoped for everything to be almost perfect. However, sounds like most things went ok and you were able to stay "happy" during your time together. Congrats on your nuptuals!

[WeehawkenCruiser]

While I agree with what many other posters have said about the gratuity going to more than just the room stewart it is definitely possible to have charges removed from your account after the cruise.

 

I have not had to do this with NCL (good experiences so far) but a few years ago I had to have gratuity removed from my credit card on Carnival and it took about 30 minutes on the phone but they did it.

[snorklinbarb]

How often ARE the sheets changed?

 

We went on our first cruise last fall with a different line and it was every other day...that's what the steward said.

 

I believe the info in the cabin indicates that on a 7 nighter sheets will be changed midwk or more often upon request to steward.

 

So if you need a change just let them know or leave a note.

 

On our Epic cruise last Aug. I found a rather large hole in the sheet. One would think the steward would have noticed, but that wasn't the case. I did point it out, sheets were changed promptly with profuse apologies. I was satisfied and certainly wouldn't penalize that crewmember or others by reducing the svc chg.

[newmexicoNita]

Thought I would try asking this question on here before waiting on hold for 15 min. Does anyone know if you can call up NCL after the cruise and reduce the auto-charged tip? To make a long story very short, I was on my honeymoon and didn't want to ruin it by getting into any disagreements/complaints w/ the staff, but I received soiled bedsheets two days in a row (one day I told them and they replaced them with more soiled bedsheets) and the waiter our last night was absolutely worthless, so I wanted to ding them a bit just on those two days. Thanks.

 

that's interesting being they normally do not change sheets daily. I will add, I doubt they were soiled, are you saying, they took sheets off someone else's bed and put them on yours?

 

Now, that I have vented I will add: no, you can not adjust plus do you realize how many share in the tipping pool? By deducting you are hurting everyone. $12 a day, may seem like a lot but if you had any idea how many people share the tips you wouldn't even think of this. Actually many people tip above and beyond the $12. You made a decision not to complain, you thought you had a good reason, but it is over, so let it go...

 

Nita

[Cubechick]

The sheets are changed every three days unless you request them to do otherwise. (As told to me by a room steward and confirmed on subsequent cruises.)

 

I too wouldn't ding all of the staff who are in the "tip pool" because of displeasure with a couple of the staff and after you revised your comment on the sheets from "soiled" to "stained" I really don't think you have a real gripe with the room steward(s).

[Mr. Luckytoo]

Thought I would try asking this question on here before waiting on hold for 15 min. Does anyone know if you can call up NCL after the cruise and reduce the auto-charged tip? To make a long story very short, I was on my honeymoon and didn't want to ruin it by getting into any disagreements/complaints w/ the staff, but I received soiled bedsheets two days in a row (one day I told them and they replaced them with more soiled bedsheets) and the waiter our last night was absolutely worthless, so I wanted to ding them a bit just on those two days. Thanks.

 

AFTER THE FACT? :confused:

 

Sorry Charlie but the time to dispute anything with service is at the time you notice it.

 

Try this, go to your local Olive Garden and eat dinner, pay the bill and then go back the next day and ask for a partial refund. What do you think they would do? :rolleyes:

 

In all seriousness if were really that unhappy with the service you received that I would recommend not doing any future business with NCL. But to do anything after the fact...nope!

[Barb Nahoumi]

Something similar happened to us on our Honeymoon, however not on a cruiseship.

 

We checked into a 4 star hotel in Boston. The bed was not made and there were coke bottles on the dresser. DH and I went down to the front desk. The clerk called housekeeping, and the problem was rectified immediately. When we returned to the room, it was pristine.

[DMH15]

Something similar happened to us on our Honeymoon, however not on a cruiseship.

 

We checked into a 4 star hotel in Boston. The bed was not made and there were coke bottles on the dresser. DH and I went down to the front desk. The clerk called housekeeping, and the problem was rectified immediately. When we returned to the room, it was pristine.

 

But you did the right thing at the time. You handled it THEN!

 

Seems in your case the room had NOT been previously cleaned from prior guests, but must have gotten flagged into the system as clean so they checked you in. Mistakes happen.