Gratuities going up...minimally

[njhorseman]

Pretty sure you prepaying $12 DSC will put the exact same money in the pocket of the staff members as you adjusting it down to $12 onboard.

 

I think you're reaching to find a "moral" way to pay the lower DSC rate, while not feeling like a jerk by reducing it onboard.

 

Too bad for you it's the same thing.

 

Personally I think it's ridiculous that some people are expected to pay higher tips than others, when getting the same room and same service on the same cruise.

Part of me wants to lower the DSC onboard for that very principle, but I may not bother because it's such a small amount.

 

I'm definitely not prepaying, because I always want to receive the service first before tipping. Otherwise it defeats the whole purpose/concept of tipping.

 

Why is it ridiculous? Do you consider it ridiculous that different passengers are paying different fares for the identical category cabin? From you...the same person who started the long thread about booking strategies to obtain the best possible fare?

 

By the way, the service charge isn't tipping. The service charges go into a company-administered pool. You have no say as to how it's distributed and no idea where it goes and who gets how much...and we know by NCL's own explanations that not all of goes into crew salary.

Edited February 21, 2015 by njhorseman

[bearette]

Anyone with experience on a two year old turning three on board, whether they charge the service charge? I called NCL but no one would give me a straight answer. I don't want to prepay for them (twins) and then discover I didn't have to pay at all.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

[Pia1913]

Anyone with experience on a two year old turning three on board, whether they charge the service charge? I called NCL but no one would give me a straight answer. I don't want to prepay for them (twins) and then discover I didn't have to pay at all.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

 

AFAIK, everyone over the age of 2 pays the same thing.

[rochelle_s]

Anyone with experience on a two year old turning three on board, whether they charge the service charge? I called NCL but no one would give me a straight answer. I don't want to prepay for them (twins) and then discover I didn't have to pay at all.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

 

I do not have first hand experience but that being said I do not think you have to pay DSC for the twins.

 

In other matters, such as drinking, gambling and the children's club it is the age you are on the first day of the cruise that applies. This should carry over to the DSC charge as well.

 

 

Rochelle

[Demonyte]

In other matters, such as drinking, gambling and the children's club it is the age you are on the first day of the cruise that applies.

 

Yes, until the actual birthday. After that one can update their keycard to be able to purchase alcohol and kids are able to switch groups (but as you can imagine, it is not a viable choice in the middle of the cruise), etc.

[pokerpro5]

Personally I think it's ridiculous that some people are expected to pay higher tips than others, when getting the same room and same service on the same cruise.

 

Why is it ridiculous? Do you consider it ridiculous that different passengers are paying different fares for the identical category cabin? From you...the same person who started the long thread about booking strategies to obtain the best possible fare?

 

By the way, the service charge isn't tipping. The service charges go into a company-administered pool. You have no say as to how it's distributed and no idea where it goes and who gets how much...and we know by NCL's own explanations that not all of goes into crew salary.

 

If you don't understand the difference between fares and tips, I don't know what to tell you.

 

Fares are always variable based upon many factors.

 

Tips are given in relation to quality of service.

 

The tip you leave a service employee should not have anything to do with when you booked or when you paid for your room.

 

When the bellman brings your bags to your room in a hotel, do you tip him more because you booked your hotel yesterday, while the guy in the room next door is expected to tip less because he booked 6 months ago?

 

No.

 

You tip the bellman based upon how many bags he has to carry, and his demeanor/helpfulness throughout the service he's providing. The date you booked and paid for the hotel is irrelevant, and the bellman would laugh at you if you said, "I'm giving you a dollar less because I booked 6 months ago when the going rate for tipping bellmen was less."

 

NCL employees should not get tipped more or less based upon when someone booked their room, or when they prepaid their DSC.

 

If the service from NCL staff is worth $12.95/person, then everyone should tip $12.95/person (or more at their discretion).

 

If it's worth $12/person, then everyone should tip $12/person (or more at their discretion).

 

They should not be tipping more or less based upon the date they booked or prepaid their DSC. That defeats the entire concept of tipping. The date you booked pr prepaid should never have to do with the amount of tips you leave.

Edited February 21, 2015 by pokerpro5

[KeithJenner]

Except that many people don't consider this to be a tip (whether correctly or not, I don't really care).

[pokerpro5]

Anyone with experience on a two year old turning three on board, whether they charge the service charge? I called NCL but no one would give me a straight answer. I don't want to prepay for them (twins) and then discover I didn't have to pay at all.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

 

On a side note, I never understood why children under 2 (or whatever it is) don't pay tips.

 

They are actually a lot of work for the steward, between the dirty diapers, wetting the bed, spitting up, etc.

 

Ask any steward and he would MUCH rather have a 4-year-old as the third person in the room than a 1-year-old.

 

I do think the DSC should be reduced somewhat for children who are too young to use most of the other facilities (like the aforementioned 4-year-old), but NCL doesn't do that. It's all or nothing.

 

I also feel the DSC should be lowered for third passengers in the room, and it should be raised for solo travelers. It is MUCH easier to clean up after a third person in a single room than it is a third person in a separate room, yet they pay the same DSC.

Edited February 21, 2015 by pokerpro5

[pokerpro5]

Except that many people don't consider this to be a tip (whether correctly or not, I don't really care).

 

If it wasn't a tip, I would reduce it to zero, because I don't feel like I need to line NCL's pockets with optional fares.

 

However, I don't reduce my DSC (never have) because they are tips which go directly to staff (or at least I hope they do).

[KeithJenner]

If it wasn't a tip, I would reduce it to zero, because I don't feel like I need to line NCL's pockets with optional fares.

 

 

 

However, I don't reduce my DSC (never have) because they are tips which go directly to staff (or at least I hope they do).

 

 

Whatever. I was just pointing out that your previous post seemed to be relying on a point that is far from agreed upon.

[rochelle_s]

I also feel the DSC should be lowered for third passengers in the room, and it should be raised for solo travelers. It is MUCH easier to clean up after a third person in a single room than it is a third person in a separate room, yet they pay the same DSC.

 

 

Why in the world would you think the DSC should be raised for a solo cruiser? By what amount? In most cases they are already paying 150% - 200% of the cruise fare to begin with. Why do you think they should again have to pay more?

 

 

Rochelle

[maywell]

Why in the world would you think the DSC should be raised for a solo cruiser? By what amount? In most cases they are already paying 150% - 200% of the cruise fare to begin with. Why do you think they should again have to pay more?

 

 

Rochelle

 

Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who was wondering about that. The fare for solo traveler is usually the price of two people (ie:$500 per person for 7 days, so basically $1000 and up for soloer) for those not sailing from Miami, where the super last-minute fare might be cheaper even for a studio room- so Pokerpro5, explain again why a solo traveler should pay $182 in DSC instead of $91 for a 7 day trip especially when there's only one occupant making a mess in a room instead of 3-4 in your example?

 

Edit: For the record, I have no issues prepaying my DSC before the trip on top of leaving $2 per day to my room steward; its in my nature to not be a pest to those that service me. *shrug*

Edited February 22, 2015 by maywell

[KeithJenner]

Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who was wondering about that. The fare for solo traveler is usually the price of two people (ie:$500 per person for 7 days, so basically $1000 and up for soloer) for those not sailing from Miami, where the super last-minute fare might be cheaper even for a studio room- so Pokerpro5, explain again why a solo traveler should pay $182 in DSC instead of $91 for a 7 day trip especially when there's only one occupant making a mess in a room instead of 3-4 in your example?

 

Edit: For the record, I have no issues prepaying my DSC before the trip on top of leaving $2 per day to my room steward; its in my nature to not be a pest to those that service me. *shrug*

 

 

Pokerpro5 didn't say that it should be doubled, just that it should be higher.

[maywell]

Pokerpro5 didn't say that it should be doubled, just that it should be higher.

 

Again, why should it be higher for solo travelers when they already pay high fares already?

[KeithJenner]

Again, why should it be higher for solo travelers when they already pay high fares already?

 

 

Well, it's not really for me to answer for others. I don't actually agree with the point made, although not for the reason you give. I don't see any reason why the amounts that people have paid for unrelated items should have any effect on the amount that they are charged for the service charge. Everything should be looked at separately.

 

I assume that the reasoning for charging solos extra would be that there are many things which take the same amount of time and effort regardless of the number of people in the room, but a solo only pays half the amount that a couple do, and a quarter of what a family of 4 pay.

 

If people are tipping the room staff in a hotel, would you expect someone travelling solo to leave such an amount less than a couple or a family?

 

Personally, I think that it's reasonable that everyone pays the same DSC, so I'm not making these arguments myself. I can see the reasoning though, even if I don't agree that there should be any increase for solos (or reduction for 3rd passengers).

[maywell]

Well, it's not really for me to answer for others. I don't actually agree with the point made, although not for the reason you give. I don't see any reason why the amounts that people have paid for unrelated items should have any effect on the amount that they are charged for the service charge. Everything should be looked at separately.

 

I assume that the reasoning for charging solos extra would be that there are many things which take the same amount of time and effort regardless of the number of people in the room, but a solo only pays half the amount that a couple do, and a quarter of what a family of 4 pay.

 

If people are tipping the room staff in a hotel, would you expect someone travelling solo to leave such an amount less than a couple or a family?

 

Personally, I think that it's reasonable that everyone pays the same DSC, so I'm not making these arguments myself. I can see the reasoning though, even if I don't agree that there should be any increase for solos (or reduction for 3rd passengers).

 

 

Actually a soloer pays double or 100-200% more in fare compare to a couple for any room that's not a studio and even for that room the price is about $100-300 off of the total price for 2 people would pay. In other words, the solo traveler is already paying double occupancy prices just to go on a cruise, this is not including taxes and fees - so making them pay more in DSC for taking a minisuite or even a studio room compare to 3 people in a minisuite, is just no offense, bad form. Personal opinion, cruise lines like NCL and Carnival make more money off of solo travelers because of their fare rates - but that's a discussion for different thread.

 

Not attacking you, KeithJenner, but Pokerpro5 really needs to think that one a bit more because fare prices are offered completely different to solo travelers than to 2-4 people for the same cruise trip / room. Just because they don't want to pay for the 3rd person in their cabin does not mean a solo traveler should be made to pay more to make up the difference. They're acting like there's alot solo travelers on cruise ships, maybe on the forums but in actuality, there maybe about 200 out of 3000 passengers on NCL ship and that me being wishful, it can sometimes be lower than that at less than 50.

Edited February 22, 2015 by maywell

[njhorseman]

If it wasn't a tip, I would reduce it to zero, because I don't feel like I need to line NCL's pockets with optional fares.

 

However, I don't reduce my DSC (never have) because they are tips which go directly to staff (or at least I hope they do).

 

If you don't understand the difference between the service charge and tips, I don't know what to tell you. (To paraphrase what you said to me in another post.)

 

The service charge isn't a tip, and NCL says so. It doesn't go directly to staff, because NCL says some (undisclosed) portion of the service charge is used by NCL for "fleet-wide crew welfare programs". I suggest you read the Guest Ticket Contract and NCL's FAQs.

 

If you think the service charge is a tip, why is it that you can't pay service charges with nonrefundable onboard credit, but you can pay tips with nonrefundable onboard credit?

[triptolemus]

[sparks1093]

If you don't understand the difference between fares and tips, I don't know what to tell you.

 

Fares are always variable based upon many factors.

 

Tips are given in relation to quality of service.

 

The tip you leave a service employee should not have anything to do with when you booked or when you paid for your room.

 

When the bellman brings your bags to your room in a hotel, do you tip him more because you booked your hotel yesterday, while the guy in the room next door is expected to tip less because he booked 6 months ago?

 

No.

 

You tip the bellman based upon how many bags he has to carry, and his demeanor/helpfulness throughout the service he's providing. The date you booked and paid for the hotel is irrelevant, and the bellman would laugh at you if you said, "I'm giving you a dollar less because I booked 6 months ago when the going rate for tipping bellmen was less."

 

NCL employees should not get tipped more or less based upon when someone booked their room, or when they prepaid their DSC.

 

If the service from NCL staff is worth $12.95/person, then everyone should tip $12.95/person (or more at their discretion).

 

If it's worth $12/person, then everyone should tip $12/person (or more at their discretion).

 

They should not be tipping more or less based upon the date they booked or prepaid their DSC. That defeats the entire concept of tipping. The date you booked pr prepaid should never have to do with the amount of tips you leave.

 

First, while there are similarities to what happens in restaurants and hotels the fact is shipboard life is different and the tips and/or service charges are handled differently. I pre-pay because I have the choice and the choice makes sense for me. I know that if I do have a service related issue onboard that I can still make adjustments.

 

Second, I got a pay raise this year. Is my work worth x% more than last year? Was my work last year worth x% less than this year? No in either case. It's a cost of living adjustment.

 

Third, NCL decided how to implement the increase and let's face it, they were going to get criticized no matter how they did it.

 

Fourth, whether anyone likes it or not the service charge is where many of the staff get's the lion's share of their income.

[KeithJenner]

Third, NCL decided how to implement the increase and let's face it, they were going to get criticized no matter how they did it.

 

 

Absolutely. I'd be extremely impressed if anyone can suggest a way this could have been done which someone else can't easily find a complaint about.

[KeithJenner]

Second, I got a pay raise this year. Is my work worth x% more than last year? Was my work last year worth x% less than this year? No in either case. It's a cost of living adjustment.

 

 

I imagine the response to this would be that setting the DSC based on when the cruise was booked is the equivalent of your boss saying to you that you are going to be paid at last years rate for a day's work because the customer put the order in last year. Of course this reasoning falls down because there are two elements to it (the rate paid by the customer and the rate paid to the employee) and we don't know the detail of the latter.

Edited February 22, 2015 by KeithJenner

[sparks1093]

I imagine the response to this would be that setting the DSC based on when the cruise was booked is the equivalent of your boss saying to you that you are going to be paid at last years rate for a day's work because the customer put the order in last year. Of course this reasoning falls down because there are two elements to it (the rate paid by the customer and the rate paid to the employee) and we don't know the detail of the latter.

 

Exactly. Being the optimist that I am I like to think that NCL will be taking care of their employees just as they are taking care of their customers by giving those who are already booked the opportunity to lock in at the old rate. Others will of course believe the opposite. NCL very well could have said all sailings after March 1st would be subject to the increase but didn't and they are getting kicked in the teeth for it. I guess it is true that no good deed goes unpunished.

Edited February 22, 2015 by sparks1093

[titangas]

Just curious if anyone knows offhand which lines do charge a DSC?

When we cruised RCL and Celebrity some time ago they didn't.

We sailed Disney several times and to my knowledge they still do not (albeit the suggested tips equal $12 pppd) and the last Carnival cruise a few years ago they also did not.

 

I understand the need for it on NCL because of the "freestyle" and not having the same servers every night and that is the genesis for the DSC. Without it you would have a lot who would not tip via eating at the buffet often or just not leaving one in a restaurant and under rewarded and unhappy wait staff.

 

What I do not understand is why the cabin stewards are involved in it? We are getting a direct service from the cabin steward and I feel it would be more appropriate to tip them. It would make more sense to me if the DSC were explained as an effect of freestyle dining, only $7-8 ppppd and still offer the suggested tip to the CS of $4 pppd.

 

 

It is sad to say, but I really think in cases like this it ends up hurting the employees pocketbooks. I know many people who are like me and when any establishment forces the gratuity on me I do not leave extra. I can tell you I always leave above the standard % for good service when left the opportunity and not forced.

 

As far as the solo traveler. No way they should pay more, although it is tricky because they are getting less from the wait staff, but in theory the cabin stewards workload does not really change with how many are in the room it may increase a little per person depending on the family but not 2x for 2 people or 4x for 4.

 

While I enjoyed my last NCL and have to more booked -- I really do like the more traditional dining and handling gratuities myself better.

[njhorseman]

Just curious if anyone knows offhand which lines do charge a DSC?

When we cruised RCL and Celebrity some time ago they didn't.

We sailed Disney several times and to my knowledge they still do not (albeit the suggested tips equal $12 pppd) and the last Carnival cruise a few years ago they also did not.

 

I understand the need for it on NCL because of the "freestyle" and not having the same servers every night and that is the genesis for the DSC. Without it you would have a lot who would not tip via eating at the buffet often or just not leaving one in a restaurant and under rewarded and unhappy wait staff.

 

What I do not understand is why the cabin stewards are involved in it? We are getting a direct service from the cabin steward and I feel it would be more appropriate to tip them. It would make more sense to me if the DSC were explained as an effect of freestyle dining, only $7-8 ppppd and still offer the suggested tip to the CS of $4 pppd.

 

 

It is sad to say, but I really think in cases like this it ends up hurting the employees pocketbooks. I know many people who are like me and when any establishment forces the gratuity on me I do not leave extra. I can tell you I always leave above the standard % for good service when left the opportunity and not forced.

 

As far as the solo traveler. No way they should pay more, although it is tricky because they are getting less from the wait staff, but in theory the cabin stewards workload does not really change with how many are in the room it may increase a little per person depending on the family but not 2x for 2 people or 4x for 4.

 

While I enjoyed my last NCL and have to more booked -- I really do like the more traditional dining and handling gratuities myself better.

 

I suspect you haven't cruised recently on any line other than NCL because all the cruise lines you've named...Royal Caribbean, Disney,Celebrity and Carnival, plus every other mass market cruise line (for example Holland America, Princess) cruising from the US now automatically adds either a service charge, hotel charge or gratuity to your on board account. Royal Caribbean was the last mass market cruise line to adopt the practice...perhaps about two years ago.

Edited February 22, 2015 by njhorseman

[Pikaia]

It is sad to say, but I really think in cases like this it ends up hurting the employees pocketbooks. I know many people who are like me and when any establishment forces the gratuity on me I do not leave extra. I can tell you I always leave above the standard % for good service when left the opportunity and not forced.

I suspect the automatic service charge more than compensates for this.

 

Why? Because there's another group of people who avoid tipping entirely. These are the people who used to avoid the main dining room on the last night of the cruise, so they wouldn't have to see the waiter they had no intention of tipping.

 

An automatic service charge means those passengers have to go to more effort to avoid tipping. If it's automatic, they're more likely to leave it in place.