UBP and gratuities

[Big Al B.]

One more thing for those of you who "kind of" asked about a "per drink" tip - The Bartenders actually do receive an 18% gratuity for each drink that you receive while on board - If you are paying per drink, YOU are the one paying that Gratuity - If you have the UBP Norwegian is actually paying the gratuity.

 

The cruise lines came up with the "average" cost and gratuity long before they decided to offer that UBP, and I'm sure that - in the long run - they believe that they are at least coming up even, or they would never have given us the option.

Be aware, as I think has been stated, if you have the UBP as a promo item, you will be charged the gratuity fee payable at final payment. It is based on number of nights (for a 10-night cruise it's $115.20 pp).

[dwnsktraveler]

Be aware, as I think has been stated, if you have the UBP as a promo item, you will be charged the gratuity fee payable at final payment. It is based on number of nights (for a 10-night cruise it's $115.20 pp).

 

Just double checked on that, and found out that because we booked our cruise in January - not only do we still get the lower cruise gratuity of $12 per day, the ubp gratuity is also waived. so what you need to pay still depends on the date of your original contract.

[bnorris10]

Sorry another stupid question, what is the difference between the UBP and the Adult Beverage Program?

 

There is no package called Adult Beverage Program

 

The Ultimate Beverage Package (ages 21 & older)

 

Corks and Caps Wine and Beer Package (ages 21 & older)

 

Adult & Teen Soda Program (ages 13 & older)

 

Children's Soda Program (ages 12 and under)

[Demonyte]

There is no package called Adult Beverage Program

 

Yes there is, sort of. Promo UBP is called Adult Beverage Program/Package in the amenity listing.

[Deptacon]

I wonder why they have us prepay tips on the beverage package when (I think) you have to sign for them anyway.

 

I am not much of a drinker -- four drinks would be a big drinking day for me. Two glasses of wine with dinner, a before drink and an after. That's a lot! Most days I'll have a glass of wine with dinner and probably nothing else.

 

It feels a little bit like I am subsidizing the heavy drinker's tips. I don't mind paying extra to help those in need, but this is pushing the boundaries of charity just a little! ;)

 

Its to satisfy the bartenders when the package business started and ensure they get 18% off of each package daily.... There are plenty of people who will see $0.00 on thier slip and leave nothing. This ensures the hard working bartenders still get thier tips for the day. I still tip an extra dollar every drink or every other drink when they are busy, do a good job with my drinks, etc

 

if the 18% was not on there, the bartenders would earn less tips...which in turn would effective retention of of good bartenders on the ships crew which in turn would have a negative impact on service.

 

If you are not drinking roughly 5 drinks a day then the package is not paying for itself anyway....

 

its not subsidizing anything..... Its making sure all you cheap bastards still tip ;):p:D

[Deptacon]

Be aware, as I think has been stated, if you have the UBP as a promo item, you will be charged the gratuity fee payable at final payment. It is based on number of nights (for a 10-night cruise it's $115.20 pp).

 

The gratuity paid to bartenders, from each ring up of a UBP drink is not per drink. If you purchase each drink, yes, its per drink....but not the same with UBP drinks.

 

They take the number of packages on board each day, divide that daily gratuity amount up amongst the bartenders. say 100 UBPs on Day 1, and for simplicity, say the grats are 5 per package, per day. thats $500 divided amongst the bartenders, for that day, for thier gratuity.

 

This is the way it as explained to me by 2 different bartenders on how the package business works with gratuities....

[hawkeyetlse]

They take the number of packages on board each day, divide that daily gratuity amount up amongst the bartenders. say 100 UBPs on Day 1, and for simplicity, say the grats are 5 per package, per day. thats $500 divided amongst the bartenders, for that day, for thier gratuity.

But is it divided equally among all the bar staff who worked that day, or is it based on how many drinks (or the total notional cost of the drinks) each person served to UBP holders that day?

[Deptacon]

But is it divided equally among all the bar staff who worked that day, or is it based on how many drinks (or the total notional cost of the drinks) each person served to UBP holders that day?

 

evenly amongst the bartending staff, period. and its not based on how many drinks.... the cruise line would then be losing money. If it was by drink, once each cruiser with the package surpassed the the around 5 drink mark, the cruise would be then paying them gratuity at the 18% rate, not us the customer, because our daily gratuity amount would have been exhasuted once you hit that roughly 5 drink mark. Its hard to explain, if I had a napkin and a pen it would be easier to draw out....

 

by the drink purchases pay the bartenders gratuity, by the drink and bartenders recieve gratuity, by the drink. UBP pays a daily gratuity, and the bartenders recieve only that daily grautity (unless you give them more) for that day. So, if you drink, say 15 drinks in a day (it sounds like a lot, but a sea day, pool day, plus evenings out, its not hard) you won't be paying them more than a 2-3% gratuitiy per drink if you dont give them a little extra.

 

I mean in the grand scheme of things, especially if your UDP was comped by the cruise, a few more bucks to bartenders is nothing after cost of cruise, travel, etc... but it adds up for them quickly. I wont get into the "should there be gratuity or just pay them more discussion".... its silly, if they were paid more, the cruise would cost MUCH more, because the cruise would have to pay taxes on that income we pay in the cruise fair, but when its a service charge, the cruise, and the employee is tax exempt, so its a win for the customer, cruise, and employee because it keeps costs lower due to cutting out the tax man.

 

My wife is caterer, so we experiance working in the service industry. tipping is a big deal, and 18% is not a lot. Some people tip 30, 40, 50%. so if your only tipping 15%.... you are on the bottom of the scale.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Deptacon

[cruzincurt]

We just picked the UBP for our April cruise and it was $80 each that is supposedly the tips. 0.18% of the $450 package value = $81

 

Our December cruise was $60 each.

 

The agent claimed the price went up because it now includes drinks worth up to $15 each.

[hawkeyetlse]

evenly amongst the bartending staff, period. and its not based on how many drinks.... the cruise line would then be losing money.

:confused: The global amount remains the same: as you said, it is the total service charges that UBP holders paid for that day. They can either divide it by the number of bar staff on duty that day and give everyone the same portion of the pot, or they can divide it by the total number/cost of drinks served that day and give each server a portion corresponding to how much they actually worked. For example, an MDR server serves a lot fewer drinks during their shift than a bar server, but you are saying that they both receive the same portion of the bar service charges for the day?

My wife is caterer, so we experiance working in the service industry. tipping is a big deal, and 18% is not a lot. Some people tip 30, 40, 50%. so if your only tipping 15%.... you are on the bottom of the scale.

I am a customer, so I experience being treated like a cash cow to be milked by the service industry. Tipping is an annoyance that I hate wasting time thinking about, so if the prevailing custom tells me to tip 18%, I'll tip 18%.

 

30, 40, 50%, … sorry but I would rather chew my own leg off.

Edited November 25, 2015 by hawkeyetlse

[Deptacon]

:confused: The global amount remains the same: as you said, it is the total service charges that UBP holders paid for that day. They can either divide it by the number of bar staff on duty that day and give everyone the same portion of the pot, or they can divide it by the total number/cost of drinks served that day and give each server a portion corresponding to how much they actually worked. For example, an MDR server serves a lot fewer drinks during their shift than a bar server, but you are saying that they both receive the same portion of the bar service charges for the day?

 

They cant divide it by the number of drinks with the package people..... that system doesnt work when you equate the 10-12-15 drink people.... the bartenders wouldnt get thier 18%, which is CONTRACTED. The line would have to come out of pocket to make up the difference to meet the 18% when you exceed the 5-6 drink mark each day per person.

 

thats the way the 2 different bartenders explained it to me. They cant do it by the drink, because some people drink 10+ drinks a day, and then that would not equate to 18% gratuity, it would drop below that OR the cruiseline would have to make up the difference, out of thier pocket, to ensure the 18% per drink is paid..... and we know no profitable business in thier right mind is going to do that. To keep it simple, they simply divded the number of packages up, by the day, and the 18% is paid to all bartenders, ship wide, for that day. Now, it could be different by cruiseline, but this makes since, and the 2 bartenders I spoke 2 thought it was fair....mainly because heavy drinkers tend to leave more/extra anyway.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Deptacon

[Nipo]

Forgive me for jumping in on this thread, but as it is pretty much the same as my query, it's probably not worth me starting a new one.

 

Anyhow, I'm a novice cruiser and am thinking about booking a med cruise tomorrow on the Epic for next June. NCL are currently doing a promotion of free items for ocean view and above bookings ... http://www.ncl.co.uk/offers/freestyle-choice/

 

The terms and conditions state that "Ultimate beverage package option includes 18% gratuity on the package" so I assume that we will not have to pay this ourselves???

 

However, another explanation isn't as transparent (to me at least!) when it states "An 18% gratuity and beverage service charge will be added to all package purchases". ... https://www.ncl.com/terms/ultimate-beverage-package

 

Finally, I gather that an additional 15% VAT is also chargeable for sailings from Spanish ports, which in our case is from Barcelona. Is this also included and covered in the "free" UBP or do we need to pay this ourselves?

 

Pardon my query, which may seem trivial to some, but I'm unsure whether we will in fact have to pay 18% + 15% (total 33%) for each "free" drink!

 

Unfortunately, being a very impatient soul, I want to know ASAP, and the NCL offices are now closed until tomorrow!

 

Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

 

Yep, this is how it is and how I learned it to be recently :) So, your first quote is from uk site and the next one is from us site. If you book from Europe, you don't have to pay the gratuities but if you book from America, you have to pay them. So, be a happy European :cool:

[Deptacon]

We just picked the UBP for our April cruise and it was $80 each that is supposedly the tips. 0.18% of the $450 package value = $81

 

Our December cruise was $60 each.

 

The agent claimed the price went up because it now includes drinks worth up to $15 each.

 

It is, thats the tips. your 80 dollars will be divided up amonsgts all the bartenders, ship wide, for the cruise. multiply that by 1000 or however many packagers (I bet thats a low number), thats how much will be divided up amonsgts all the bartenders, ship wide. It only goes to bartenders, no one else. Its not shared with other staff who do not "serve drinks"

Edited November 25, 2015 by Deptacon

[Deptacon]

:confused: The global amount remains the same: as you said, it is the total service charges that UBP holders paid for that day. They can either divide it by the number of bar staff on duty that day and give everyone the same portion of the pot, or they can divide it by the total number/cost of drinks served that day and give each server a portion corresponding to how much they actually worked. For example, an MDR server serves a lot fewer drinks during their shift than a bar server, but you are saying that they both receive the same portion of the bar service charges for the day?

I am a customer, so I experience being treated like a cash cow to be milked by the service industry. Tipping is an annoyance that I hate wasting time thinking about, so if the prevailing custom tells me to tip 18%, I'll tip 18%.

 

30, 40, 50%, … sorry but I would rather chew my own leg off.

 

30, 40, 50 is not common, but some people do it. we usually tip 20-25%, based on the type of service and the quality. bartenders, especially busy ones, tend to recieve, at least from me, the 25% range. 15-18% percent is pefectly acceptable.

 

to each his own. I know its different in europe, and costs for food, meals, drinks are more, on average there as well, because the employees are paid more BUT, europe also has a VAT system for govt tax income, not a higher income based tax system like in the states. Its a proven fact with many studies out there, at least in the United States with US based companies and tax system, that the tipping system keeps costs down for the customer, the service provider, and equates to higher, although unpredictable, wages for the employee.

 

I do want the states to move to the VAT system, but too many people cry foul and says it screws over the poor. I disagree, but....it is what it is. Its the fairest tax system on the planet. The minute they take service charges off, and it to the price of the cruise, it wont be a simply addition, it will be a multiplier, because the cruiselines based in the states will have to pay income tax on that additional cost, which they will pass onto the customer....they wont take the loss.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Deptacon