SS Crew Fund

[Goldens4]

On the Cloud, I checked with Sharon at Reception regarding donating my credit balance to the Crew Fund. Would not let me do it. Reason this is SS $$$ and SS does not donate to this fund. My response was that this is now my money and should be able to use it as I see fit. Didn't work. Still could not donate. However, you can donate your balance to their charity.

 

Said I would check in a previous post and I did.

[Ravenscroft]

That's very interesting Goldens4.

It does seem strange that the balance can't be used toward the Crew Fund - SS would prefer you to drink a bottle of wine from the Connoisseur's list with it then, rather than make a donation?

I do remember the discussion about the crew fund and I'm glad you came back to confirm this, although I don't like the answer to the question!

Thanks for letting us know.

[Goldens4]

I don't understand it either and was not happy. Just thought we would add this amount to what we gave at the beginning of the cruise. I was told the same thing on the Shadow in 2009. You are welcome and wanted to share the info.

[jpalbny]

Suspect that the donation would cost SS the full amount (at face value), but if you use your OBC on wine, excursion, etc - that's marked up a bit (or a lot!) so it costs them less. So, of course they don't want to give you the full value of the OBC by converting it to real money. Can't really blame them... They probably get a tax write-off for donating to their charity, but not to the crew fund.

[Observer]

It has been my consistent experience that OBCs cannot be used for the Crew Welfare Fund. They apparently also cannot be used to pay the deposit on a forthcoming cruise.

[oregon50]

Or use in casino. Sounds fair to me.

[mrscrab]

Came off the Shadow on Tuesday. I have a thankyou letter from the Captain for the $100 donation to the fund - this came from the $1000 given by SS as an on board credit. Maybe each ship has a different policy but this shouldn't be the case.

[wripro]

But they let you donate it to their charity? This revives the whole unscrupulous practice of adding fees to everyone's onboard account for their charity.

[CruisinPashmina]

You GO, wipro!! This sneaky charity charge continues to infuriate me.

 

We always donate to The Crew Fund. It is a wonderful way to acknowledge ALL the people who work so hard to make every SS voyage so special.

[rojaan19]

You GO, wipro!! This sneaky charity charge continues to infuriate me. .

 

 

Me too ! Looks like if I have any OBC left I will have to spend it in the shop ! :)

[mrscrab]

Just checked my final statement -- the little devils have taken the donation off the final statement and charged it to my Amex card!! Very naughty, the donation to the Maruzza fund hasn't gone to my Amex but remains on the statement. Whilst I don't mind it being charged directly to me, had I known I would have spent the remaining $100 in the shop.

[Goldens4]

That is just a wrong thing to do. And, you weren't told about this. Shame on SS.

[Silver Spectre]

Asked the same question as the OP onboard the Spirit recently and got the same answer (no can do), however, I was informed that one gentleman had purchased $500 worth of candies from the shop and had them placed in a basket in the crew quarters for general consumption.

 

This was acceptable and seemed like a very good idea.

 

Forgot to ask the HD if the gentleman was a dentist though.

[wripro]

I'd challenge the charge with Amex.

 

Someone needs to go the the Better Business Bureau and alert them that SS is making this charge without previously notifying passengers. If they insist on making it it should be prominently advertised in the fare section in the brochures and on their website.