Raising gratuities again!

[hpecorari]

Will be on the BA in Sept. 2015. I did not opt to pre-pay our grats when I booked and now it is past the balance due date. I am planning on only doing the $12 grats/day/pp. This is what the grats were when I booked this cruise. When can I go to the service desk on the ship and adjust the grats?

 

As long as you pre-pay your DSC BEFORE you get on the ship you won't have to pay the increase. Pay on the ship....you do pay the increase.

 

Harriet

[mizLORInj]

Will be on the BA in Sept. 2015. I did not opt to pre-pay our grats when I booked and now it is past the balance due date. I am planning on only doing the $12 grats/day/pp. This is what the grats were when I booked this cruise. When can I go to the service desk on the ship and adjust the grats?

 

Check in your NCL online account (Vacation Summary--scroll down to prepay gratuities) to see if prepaying adds up to the $12/day (which I assume it was when you booked?). It should. We are past final payment and if I prepay today it is still at the $12.95 rate (rate when I booked). I will probably prepay shortly.

Edited July 16, 2015 by mizlorinj

[rochelle_s]

Will be on the BA in Sept. 2015. I did not opt to pre-pay our grats when I booked and now it is past the balance due date. I am planning on only doing the $12 grats/day/pp. This is what the grats were when I booked this cruise. When can I go to the service desk on the ship and adjust the grats?

 

As the DSC is added to your account on a daily basis it would seem that you would need to go on the last day and take care of all the charges at one time.

 

 

Rochelle

[JimHam4]

As long as you pre-pay your DSC BEFORE you get on the ship you won't have to pay the increase. Pay on the ship....you do pay the increase.

 

Harriet

 

Not according to the email I got. Once your past final payment there is no prepay option anymore.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

As the DSC is added to your account on a daily basis it would seem that you would need to go on the last day and take care of all the charges at one time.

 

 

Rochelle

 

You could really go at any time though. If you know that the change is adding $7.70 to the cost of the gratuities, then couldn't you just go down on the second day and subtract $7.70 and be done with it?

[CruisinMaterial]

I was going to say the Darden guy wasn't really there too long to do much damage but FDR has managed to do tons of damage in a short period of time. The Darden guy didn't even get to roll out Red Lobster biscuits in La Cucina or sell a cruise long card for unlimited Olive Garden bread sticks and salad.

 

I was waiting for the lottery on unlimited specialty dining dinner rolls for life. I figured he was going to be good for that at least! LOL! :D The ex-Darden guy did some damage before he left but FDR came in and just ran with it. Not sure what his end game is besides sending NCL into bankruptcy. The holdings company may be isolated but the other two lines were profitable on their own before NCL bought them out. NCL is the one in need of a lot of capital as they keep building these ships that really make no sense in colder weather climates (ie most of Breakaway class stuff is outdoors except for a few postage stamp size venues). Their older ships are the ones that can globe trot and yet they leave them in Miami. :(

 

Something's got to give soon though!

[don24]

1st increase in tip charge, ala carte specialty restaurants and now 2nd increase in gratuities. did carnival get one of there guys in the top seat at ncl and is scuttling the company

[mizLORInj]

Not according to the email I got. Once your past final payment there is no prepay option anymore.

 

Not correct in my case.

 

Though not covered in the email from this morning from NCL (which I copied into a posting on page 1 or 2 of this thread this morning), I went online into my NCL account and am able to prepay at the $12.95 for my upcoming two cruises. One is past final payment; one is not. I would suggest everyone try their own account to check.

Edited July 16, 2015 by mizlorinj

[skyfire53]

All I can say is WOW....My DD and I will be platinum after this last cruise on NCL....notice I said last cruise...because sadly, we will be trying different lines after all of the changes that NCL has been doing...its not necessarily the cost of the changes, its just the CRAPPY way they have handled them...with the RSC, no one had a clue until they boarded and saw it in small print on the daily...low blow NCL...I no longer can trust NCL to give me the things I contracted for when I booked my cruise....I work in the service industry as well and if my company did 1/2 the things that NCL has done in the last few months, we would go broke...I work in the executive offices of my company and we handle the BIG complaints...none of the complaints have had a basis like these...most companies have things grandfathered in for people that have already signed a contract, not just indiscriminately change the rules after the fact....Shame on you NCL..I am no longer a cheerleadr for you...:mad:

[Demonyte]

Not according to the email I got. Once your past final payment there is no prepay option anymore.

 

Sure there will a prepay option - and for reservations made before March 1 there is no deadline for paying the original $12pppd as long as the DSC is prepaid before embarkation day.

 

I went online into my NCL account and am able to prepay at the $12.95 for my upcoming two cruises. One is past final payment; one is not.

 

Of course you could do it now, the raise is not in effect yet - now anybody can prepay with old $12.95pppd rate. After August 1 prepaying at that rate can be done only before final payment for reservations made on or after March 1 and before August 1.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Demonyte

[Cruise4Real]

As long as you pre-pay your DSC BEFORE you get on the ship you won't have to pay the increase. Pay on the ship....you do pay the increase.

 

Harriet

 

The way you describe it is pretty much the way it worked with the last DSC increase. This time around the email uses language like "pre-pay before final payment" (I'm too lazy to find the actual wording) so it's possible that they have changed procedure.

 

But who knows. At this point it's impossible to know what NCL means. Nobody who works for them seems to have a clue, how the heck are mere passengers supposed to figure out this opacity?

[mizLORInj]

. . .

 

 

Of course you could do it now, the raise is not in effect yet - now anybody can prepay with old $12.95pppd rate. After August 1 prepaying at that rate can be done only before final payment for reservations made on or after March 1 and before August 1.

 

Various posts are saying you cannot prepay any longer if you are beyond final payment. That is what I was clarifying because you can prepay at the lower rate still. Wanting people to have accurate information to make their own decisions. :p

[Gregor4500]

I didn't read all 180 some posts so this was probably mentioned but, It sure sounds like butler and concierge are now included.

 

Quote from the email:

"Guests who are sailing in Suite categories also receive the

services of a concierge, butler and dedicated wait staff."

 

Edit: I see there is another thread on this already.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Gregor4500

[notmyccname]

Didn't they just raise it from $12.00 to $12.95 and from $12.00 to $14.95 for suites/Haven not long ago??

 

I sail in October and haven't received a mailing....although my cruise already includes the DSC as one of the promos.

 

Harriet

Received the exact same email today (July 16) for my October cruise.

[rvsullivan]

I didn't read all 180 some posts so this was probably mentioned but, It sure sounds like butler and concierge are now included.

 

Quote from the email:

"Guests who are sailing in Suite categories also receive the

services of a concierge, butler and dedicated wait staff."

 

Same thing they said the last time and as then this still does not include the butler and concierge. Imperfect wording is all it is.

[guy420man]

I find it quite humorous how many people bitch and whine about what will end up equaling maybe 10-12 bucks for a whole week. I am sure lots of stuff in life prices go up more than that and no one blinks an eye. Quite whining and just enjoy your friggin vacation that lots of people in the world will never be able to do because they cannot afford it.

[constance4784]

I was just able to pre-pay at the lower rate.

[coldflame]

Pay on the ship....you do pay the increase.

 

Harriet

 

These are not mandatory fees. These are DSC. You can change them to zero if you so chose. Of course you won't do that because that would shaft the poor staff working hard. But you are under no binding obligation to pay DSC.

[missdenise]

Huh. We booked two cruises on the Escape - one for November and one for January - before the first DSC increase earlier this year. We have not yet pre-paid the DSC for either, and it is still showing as the $12 per person, per day on each reservation. We plan to pre-pay before each of our cruises, but hadn't planned to do so until closer to our sailing dates.

 

Wonder if the $12 will stick or if we'll just be upped to the $13.50 amount (we're in a balcony). The email didn't say anything about people with cruises booked before the first DSC increase who have not pre-paid, unless I missed or misunderstood it.

 

I have no problems with the DSC and tipping the hardworking staff. Just wonder what our amount will be...and may just pay at least one before the August 1 date.

 

I think if you pre-pay now or as stated in the email prior to final payment you will be paying the $12.95. We cruised last month and got the same type of email in May for the last increase, but we had to pre-pay by June 1st (or somewhere around there) to get the $12 rate.

 

Now we have to pre-pay before final payment to get the $12.95 on our 2016 cruise. So I do not think it will matter if you pay now or later - surprised the website is still showing the $12... you could give that a try.

[coldflame]

I find it quite humorous how many people bitch and whine about what will end up equaling maybe 10-12 bucks for a whole week. I am sure lots of stuff in life prices go up more than that and no one blinks an eye. Quite whining and just enjoy your friggin vacation that lots of people in the world will never be able to do because they cannot afford it.

 

I would come off that high horse right now if I were you. Because I don't think most people are whining or bitching about a few bucks per week increase. Most people are complaining/concerned NCL making too many changes too soon, increasing prices here and there and changing stuff from cover price to a la carte, adding $8/room service, etc. and, in effect, changing the terms after the sale.

[perditax]

I asked this earlier in the year, but I'll ask again:

 

I am pretty new to this whole cruising thing. Been around here since Jan/Feb of this year and my first cruise ever was last month on the GA.

 

Is this nonstop shuffle of price increases just the norm in cruising? Like every few months another round of upcharges? Or have the last six months with NCL been unusual in the cruising industry?

 

I'm not asking whether it's justified, I know all the arguments about how cruising is so affordable, fares haven't increased in decades, etc.

 

What I'm asking is if this is just the way things are, and it's all a big cycle every couple of months? I am specifically looking to the people who have been in this game for more than a year or two.

 

As a newb it's difficult not to absorb a sense of 'the sky is falling' and you missed out on the good days.

[CarolRoy]

 

Now we have to pre-pay before final payment to get the $12.95 on our 2016 cruise. So I do not think it will matter if you pay now or later - surprised the website is still showing the $12... you could give that a try.

 

I just went online and was able to prepay our grats (DSC) at the old $12 rate. They will be sending me an email within 24 hours showing grats (DSC) are paid. Our final payment was July 7, 2015 for the BA Sept. 20, 2015. I guess NCL is NOT monitoring their site too good.

[Cauzneffct]

I asked this earlier in the year, but I'll ask again:

 

I am pretty new to this whole cruising thing. Been around here since Jan/Feb of this year and my first cruise ever was last month on the GA.

 

Is this nonstop shuffle of price increases just the norm in cruising? Like every few months another round of upcharges? Or have the last six months with NCL been unusual in the cruising industry?

 

I'm not asking whether it's justified, I know all the arguments about how cruising is so affordable, fares haven't increased in decades, etc.

 

What I'm asking is if this is just the way things are, and it's all a big cycle every couple of months? I am specifically looking to the people who have been in this game for more than a year or two.

 

As a newb it's difficult not to absorb a sense of 'the sky is falling' and you missed out on the good days.

 

I've only been cruising for the past 6 years or so, and this is my first time trying NCL. I haven't experienced anything similar to the rash of changes in any of my prior cruises with Princess or Carnival before that.

[Kellyann]

Now, these are DSC, which, if I'm correct are "voluntary". So who's to say, you couldn't go to guest services the last day and say you will pay $12pp/day instead of the $13.50. They can't make you pay $13.50 if those are gratuities. I'd hate to be seen like a flaming ahole, but really, NCL isn't doing their staff any favors.

 

I think you have a point. Aren't these "GRATUITIES" supposed to be suggestions? If so, then why can't we pay whatever we want. They can raise it to the sky and who cares, can't we pay what WE think is appropriate not what NCL dictates.

 

The e-mail that I rec'd a few minutes ago stated "up to a mini-suite" can someone clarify if it is up to and including mini-suite that pays the lower rate? I'm in MB category.

 

I've been on a dozen cruises sailing on Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, Holland America and 1 NCL cruise to Alaska. I felt that NCL just nickled & dimed us to death while on the ship. It seems they've taken this to a new level. Yes I can cancel but not over this small amount. Sometimes it's just the principle.

[DaytonCruiser]

I asked this earlier in the year, but I'll ask again:

 

I am pretty new to this whole cruising thing. Been around here since Jan/Feb of this year and my first cruise ever was last month on the GA.

 

Is this nonstop shuffle of price increases just the norm in cruising? Like every few months another round of upcharges? Or have the last six months with NCL been unusual in the cruising industry?

 

I'm not asking whether it's justified, I know all the arguments about how cruising is so affordable, fares haven't increased in decades, etc.

 

What I'm asking is if this is just the way things are, and it's all a big cycle every couple of months? I am specifically looking to the people who have been in this game for more than a year or two.

 

As a newb it's difficult not to absorb a sense of 'the sky is falling' and you missed out on the good days.

The rate of change with NCL is unprecedented within the industry. With that being said some of us will agree, they still have other areas to tweak.