NCL stop the 15% gratuity on drinks, please

[mbisson]

Is there a stat for this goodie but oldie thread?

 

3 yrs old and just keeps getting under ppls skin =)

 

I think it would be hilarious if OP came back to see what he has started. =)

 

 

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ROTFL-HotDogs anyone ;) (Zone knows what I'm talking about)

[ZoneHPH]

I wonder what brand NCL used for their hotdogs

 

 

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[mbisson]

I wonder what brand NCL used for their hotdogs

 

 

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Oh, I'm glad they don't use Oscar Mayer weiners

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents to the OP on this if you don't like to tip STAY HOME. OMG the Gaul of this person. Obviously doesn't get it. I haven't even read the replies his/her post just enraged me. And no I am not in the service industry but I do however believe in tipping.

 

 

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Edited March 9, 2014 by GeriC

[mbisson]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents to the OP on this if you don't line to tip STAY HOME. OMG the Gaul of this person. Obviously doesn't get it. I haven't even read the replies his/her post just enraged me. And no I am not in the service industry but I do however believe in tipping.

 

 

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tipping is one of those hot topics that never seems to convert anyone from one side of the argument to another (but I happen to agree with you :) )

But despite my belief, I'm also a camper so those who say that someone should just stick to camping (as someone did above) should take a long walk on a short pier ;)

[Dorhead1230]

I wonder what brand NCL used for their hotdogs

 

 

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LOL. I started reading this thread because it came up on page 1 of the forum, so I thought it was new...I was hysterical laughing when I realized it's three years old.

 

And by the way, the hot dogs are wrapped in bacon doled out by the bacon police ;)

[OCruisers]

We like having the 15% gratuity added. It keeps us from having to tip with each drink order and insures everyone leaves a tip! :)

LuLu

~~~

[TrumpyNor]

Cruise or don't, if you do, don't drink, if you do drink, well, when in Rome. The entire barstaff, bartenders, waitstaff, and barbacks are covered by the 15% gratuity and they aren't covered by the DSC (as I understand it).

 

I for one am happy with the current system and will not work to change it, thank you.

 

I agree with you - and yes, you are absolutely correct. The entire bar staff are NOT covered by the $12.00 daily service charge that all passengers are charged on their on board account.

 

All regular crew (not officers) have a base salary of just a few hundred US dollars per month (this is on ALL cruise lines, not only NCL), and the auto gratuity for bar staff is the only way to ensure that they have a decent salary every month.

 

Waiting staff get their "auto gratuity" every day even if people are off the ship and not having their meals on board, the bar staff only get their gratuity if somebody purchases drinks from them. On many port days or if the ship is having an overnight stay, they make little money and on sea days they make it quite good.

[don't-use-real-name]

Imagine what would happen if Alcoholic Anonymous chartered a whole ship.

Now imagine all that alcohol not being bought taxed tip or whatever else you

can do with the stuff.

Well the cruise line would have to come up with some sort of plan for financial

relief because they have lost a significant portion of their revenue.

You could advance this one more step getting the point across if everyone just

avoided liquor all together for one day - mutiny on the liquor ship !

NCL permits you to bring wine on board with a corkage fee - I really don't know

why they could not allow hard liquor to be brought on board for a reasonable

fee instead of ordering a bar setup in a stateroom starting at $80 per bottle.

If you take that liter bottle and meter it out like the bar pouring drinks you

would come ahead but still paying way to much. A $80 bottle of Vodka could

be had preboarding for $25.

There is something rotten in the state of NCL.

To NCL's credit they do offer beer bucket deals wine packages and the UBP

but some of that complicated mumbo jumbo of what you can and can not get

for what you pay leaves a great deal to be desired.

Agreed that you just can not have a bunch of drunks running around upsetting

the non alcoholic passengers but with reasonable restrictions and fees it is

not apt to happen. NCL has already done themselves harm with the UBP in

that if used to the full extent one can get real hyper drunk - of course the

bar wait staff are supposed to regulate that and cut off the individual before

that point is reached.

So how do you get a cruise line to change horses in midstream and tender a

new policy - well it is going to be damn hard since the system as is is working

and there are very few complaints from forum members such as you and I.

So for the conceivable future until a major cruise line does something to change

policy and get more customers it will no doubt stay the same. Some of the

cruise lines this year are offering beverage packages in lieu of OBC and other

traditional bennies - I think Celebrity is one of those.

Also at this time of the year with the youth of the country having their Spring

Break activities the consumption of alcohol is going to be watched and regulated

very closely.

So - - -

"Ho ho ho - 16 men on a dead man's chest and a bottle of Rum" !

That bottle of rum split among 16 men isn't going very far; maybe a golfer

will get 18 shots out of it (one for each hole).

I need to get off the soap box and get a drink myself - I think I am facing

a lost cause that can only be fixed with a strong drink that NCL would not even

consider !

[Tutankhamen]

They do not add the tips to the price because that would slow down their sales. People only look at the sale price to determine their purchase. Every few cents added to the base price, will result in loss sales. The general public is not smart enough to calculate in extra fee's.

 

Example.

 

Car is advertised $29,999.99. Consumer see's price and thinks to self "I am paying 20 something thousand for a car". In fact, if they were asked how much are they paying for the car almost all consumers would say "20 something thousand." When they are actually paying $30,000.00 minus one penny. Add in the tax, tags and other fee's and they are typically paying about 9-10% more then the $30,000.00.

 

Because consumers are not usually financially savvy, companies hide the true cost by simply breaking the extra costs out of the advertised base price.

 

Every few percentage price increase in the advertised price would result in less sales.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Tutankhamen

[luddite]

Just recently CC made a big play about forum members picking a fight with the cruise lines. Well the fight i'm going to pick with the cruise lines and i suspect more than a few on here is the seemingly constant pressure placed upon the paying customer to tip for everything.

 

In the UK i approach a barman and purchase a drink, he removes the lid and charges me. He doesn't then stand there and tell me i HAVE to pay another 15% on top of the original price just for him to do his job.

 

This is what you are all allowing to do on most cruise lines. I say most (what other forum posters have said), i only have experience with NCL.

 

In another thread somebody ask for the removal of the 15% surcharge and received this reply:

 

"Two points:

 

1) Never gonna happen...unless all cruise lines did it, which is never going to happen. It's a far too ingrained system.

 

2) Shouldn't happen - mainly because too many people would take advantage and stiff the staff, as with people who eliminate the DSC without good reason. "

 

Well to no.1 if we all make a stand, and we know NCL watch this board then maybe, just maybe NCL might find good PR in stopping it if people agree with it.

 

In reply to no.2 i replied:

 

"You really cant be serious can you ? So this member of staff at the bar who is already paid by NCL to serve drinks demands and gets a 15% tip for just removing a cap from a bottle.

 

The only people getting stiffed is the punter, who has already paid for this service."

 

A reply to this was :

 

"You certainly have not paid the wait staff a significant salary with your booking. They work for peanuts and put in long hours at that. Almost all major cruise lines have a similar arrangement. This is the exact reason that the old individual tipping went away. A large number of folks looked at it:mad: like you do, "they get paid by NCL" and I'm not going to let them "rip me off" buy forcing me to tip. Or, "NCL should pay a good wage so I don't have to". If the wages ever go up to the level that is required on US flagged ships, none (most) of us would be able to afford to cruise. "

 

Now i have several issues with this reply. If the staff don't like what they are paid, then move on. Its cold but a fact of life. I work very long hours for little pay, but i don't demand 15% tip for each delivery i make. My company pays me and if i don't like it i move on.

 

Just because most cruise lines do it does not mean NCL have to. Indeed what a great PR coup to say they will stop it. An yes we are being 'ripped off'. It requires no skill to remove the top from a bottle of beer, and yet i am forced to tip 15% for this act. Surely a tip is paid when a service greater than one expected is performed.

 

I can also twist the above argument to say it is that posters mentality that prevents NCL from improving the wage. As regarding increasing the cruise price to cover increase in wages would prevent most from cruising, that's just utter rubbish. For example an awful lot of people travelling to their cruise will take a flight, on that flight somebody will have, cleaned the inside of the aircraft (your room so to speak), an attendant will serve you food and a drink (the bar). All this without demanding a 15% tip. Outrageous, how can that be possible !! Because the airline factored this service into the price, a price we ALL still continue to pay and use in ever increasing numbers.

 

I am not a complete hard nose, my problem is i have grown up in the UK were tipping for everything is not the norm. If people on here can give me compelling reason why i should pay 15% for my lid to be removed then i will listen and possible change my view. However don't bother with 'if you don't like it don't do it'. Its a waste of your time and mine reading brainless fodder like that, be constructive in flaming me.

 

Well,..........

No.

[isdoo]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents to the OP on this if you don't like to tip STAY HOME. OMG the Gaul of this person. Obviously doesn't get it. I haven't even read the replies his/her post just enraged me. And no I am not in the service industry but I do however believe in tipping.

 

You need to chill a bit :)

 

The OP can of course remove any tip they chose - whether it is right or wrong morally is up to them.

 

Personally I accept the 15% is part of the cost of the drink - in the same was as VAT or tax is added in some countries.

 

 

 

.

Edited March 9, 2014 by isdoo

[Tralfie]

Flying is seldom a luxury, ususlly a necessity...and the major airline employees get pretty good wages and reasonable working hours (I've been in the industry for many years). Cruising on the other hand is strictly a luxury...although I'm really starting to consider it a necessity lately...for me.

 

"Flying is seldom a luxury, usually a necessity."

 

I call balderdash. Rarely is it "necessary" to fly somewhere on vacation. It's a complete and total luxury. These days, even most business travel is unnecessary thanks to modern technology and our ability to telecommute. While cruising is, as you said, 100 percent a luxury, I think it's sort of a broad statement to put flying in the "seldom a luxury" category.

 

Richard

[CasinoCruzGirl]

You need to chill a bit :)

 

 

I need to chill? Lol

[isdoo]

I need to chill? Lol

 

Yep :)

 

Otherwise you will only get yourself ill by worrying :)

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Yep :)

 

 

 

Otherwise you will only get yourself ill by worrying :)

 

 

Thank you for worrying about my health. But I am perfectly fine. Have a wonderful day.

 

 

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[rednose83]

Kind of covered the first part of your post in some previous answers. My problem i think is how i understand a tip to be, and also how the cruise was sold (by NCL staff at a convention and a TA).

 

Although i have not mentioned this earlier, i am in a S4 on the Epic. Now when i purchased my cruise from a TA (not looking to blame anyone, just stating the facts) it was sold to me as 'all inclusive' with pre paid gratuities. It was pretty much every penny we had saved.

 

Now in fairness to myself i thought that was it, that was my bottom line so to speak, add in the cost of a few drinks and i'm happy. And i still will be regardless of this all. Anyway i then start to read this forum and find out from various posts that i am 'expected' to pay a further $10 pppd to our butler, the same to the concierge and a similar amount to the kids staff.

 

Now just pause and see it from my eyes, i thought i had paid it all, indeed if it were not for this forum i would have blindly gone on the cruise thinking i had !!

 

So i am being 'assulted' from all angles for extra tips, greatly adding to the cost of our cruise that was not expected. All i want is the price to be upfront, then i am aware of what i am paying for. So back to the start, my understanding of a tip was for extra services above what was already expected.

 

BTW im not trying to be cheap, i thought i had already paid !

 

If you don't use the services, don't tip. IE, don't take your child to camp- no tip is required/expected.