18% Gratuities Concern

[Victress2007]

I've read this thread and I guess I am even more confused. I've never sailed on NCL before.

 

So if I buy or get the beverage package for free - I must pay the 18% gratuity/service charge at time of package "purchase". But we are unsure how much of that goes to the bartenders. Right? That is what is being argued?? So if I get a drink on the ship, do they charge a different gratuity at that time? If not, how much should I tip the bartender?? Let's say I normally tip people 20%. So at the time I get a drink I should give 2% (if we think the bartender is getting the full 18% from time of purchase of package) or maybe I should give 10% (if we think the bartender is getting approx. 10% of the 18%)?? Ack! It is hard to know what to tip at the time of getting my drink.

 

If I do NOT get the package and pay for drinks one at a time, do they charge the 18% gratuity/service charge at that time? Then I guess the same questions are in play. Should I give an extra 2% or 10% or 20% (assuming the bartender doesn't get ANY of the service charge).

 

Maggie

 

Yes. If you pay per drink you will be charged the 18% fee. Which is why they charge it on the package. I'm so wound up reading this thread, I think I need a cruise to relax! ;)

 

Vic

[nbsjcruiser]

Don't like it, join a union or quit.

 

You better hope they don't join a union.

[luvtheships]

You better hope they don't join a union.

 

 

Exactly

 

Does anyone ever wonder why the Hawaii cruises are ridiculously priced?

 

It's not just the lack of a casino

 

It's the requirement that the ship is staffed with American crew.

[sfaaa]

You better hope they don't join a union.

 

No worry. I suspect most NCL workers don't want a union because they are happy with their jobs and have no desire to pay union dues or enrich the big union bosses.

[sullyd]

why not charge gratuity per drink? they scan the card anyway ..... other lines don't do the service charge. they also include bottled water and specialty coffee. its not a free perk if you have to pay a service charge on drinks you don't get????

[beerman2]

why not charge gratuity per drink? they scan the card anyway ..... other lines don't do the service charge. they also include bottled water and specialty coffee. its not a free perk if you have to pay a service charge on drinks you don't get????

 

Pay me now or pay me later! Before UBP you were charged gratuity every drink.

 

Now you prepay it. Is NCL coming out ahead , probably for those that wouldn't come close to getting the value. For those that do, more power to them!

[swedish weave]

Don't like it, join a union or quit.

 

They do have a union. http://www.itfseafarers.org/ITI-cruise.cfm

Edited February 22, 2016 by swedish weave

[EyeSeaEwe]

Where my money might go is my business. To suggest otherwise is silly. If I have a concern about where it might go I believe it is perfectly legitimate to ask. I don't demand answers, but not receiving one would suggest to me that I might be better off going elsewhere.

 

Not sure why it is such a big deal to you.

 

I do believe that you have an overly simplistic view of the world labor market. In 2013 the worldwide unemployment rate was estimated to be around 8.3%. Even you should see that simply going out and getting a better paying job is unlikely. Especially when one is confined to a ship & its itinerary for months at a time.

 

 

 

So when you go to the grocery store you demand to know how much each person is making to ensure that it is equitable to you I would guess. Of curse you do the same at the gas station to ensure that the workers are making as much as they should and the evil gas company is not making a profit off of the workers. As well, again, when you are at a land based restaurant and you leave a tip you surely demand to know how much your ever gets and how much is tipped out to the bus staff and anyone else since it is YOUR money.

 

By your terms I should be able to know exactly how much anyone who has children in public school makes. After all MY MONEY, my tax dollars. are paying for THEIR kids' educations.

 

 

HINT: Once you pay it, it is NOT your money any more.

[EyeSeaEwe]

why not charge gratuity per drink? they scan the card anyway ..... other lines don't do the service charge. they also include bottled water and specialty coffee. its not a free perk if you have to pay a service charge on drinks you don't get????

 

 

You are not buying drinks, you are buying the package. You pay for what you buy.

[swedish weave]

So when you go to the grocery store you demand to know how much each person is making to ensure that it is equitable to you I would guess. Of curse you do the same at the gas station to ensure that the workers are making as much as they should and the evil gas company is not making a profit off of the workers. As well, again, when you are at a land based restaurant and you leave a tip you surely demand to know how much your ever gets and how much is tipped out to the bus staff and anyone else since it is YOUR money.

 

By your terms I should be able to know exactly how much anyone who has children in public school makes. After all MY MONEY, my tax dollars. are paying for THEIR kids' educations.

 

 

HINT: Once you pay it, it is NOT your money any more.

 

Do you tip all of the people you mention, or are you just wanting to argue ??

 

I don't mind tipping, but it should be my decision who and how much. I dont like to be told something is free, then in the next breath be told I have to contribute a set amount. In addition, NCL won't divulge how they distribute my money or who they give it to.

[swedish weave]

You are not buying drinks, you are buying the package. You pay for what you buy.

 

You pay the 18% on what NCL says the package is worth. If you only have one drink, that is very expensive, isn't it ???

[broberts]

So when you go to the grocery store you demand to know how much each person is making to ensure that it is equitable to you I would guess. Of curse you do the same at the gas station to ensure that the workers are making as much as they should and the evil gas company is not making a profit off of the workers. As well, again, when you are at a land based restaurant and you leave a tip you surely demand to know how much your ever gets and how much is tipped out to the bus staff and anyone else since it is YOUR money.

 

By your terms I should be able to know exactly how much anyone who has children in public school makes. After all MY MONEY, my tax dollars. are paying for THEIR kids' educations.

 

 

HINT: Once you pay it, it is NOT your money any more.

 

HINT: Until I spend the money it is mine. To suggest otherwise is beyond silly and to suggest that I am trying to control money once spent is disingenuous.

 

Where and when I decide to inquire about a company with which I am contemplating doing business is entirely my decision. I do not have to justify it to you or anyone else. Nor do I have to accept your criteria for how I should behave. I am my own keeper, thank you very much.

 

Have to admit to some surprise that you believe gas companies are "evil".

 

The logic that I have a right to know another's income simply because I contribute to something from which they indirectly benefit completely escapes me. In fact it seems to me that this is simply an attempt to obfuscate the discussion.

[EyeSeaEwe]

You pay the 18% on what NCL says the package is worth. If you only have one drink, that is very expensive, isn't it ???

 

I don't pay anything. I do not drink. If the package is not worth the price then the buyer should not buy it.

[triptolemus]

I don't have a legal right maybe but nonetheless the company should be transparent on the issue. Gratuities belong to the staff. Period. Service charges are a different matter.

 

Have you found Carnival to be more transparent in their public-facing policies surrounding gratuities and service charges?

[sparks1093]

Have you found Carnival to be more transparent in their public-facing policies surrounding gratuities and service charges?

 

Since they give the break down on their website how the gratuities are distributed I would have to say yes.

[swedish weave]

Have you found Carnival to be more transparent in their public-facing policies surrounding gratuities and service charges?

 

Carnival is much more transparent in all of their dealings with guests.

 

NCL takes great pains to confuse the issue between gratuities and service charges, and they use the term which best suits their goals.

[ntara]

I long for the days when you simply handed cash in envelopes as gratuities to your steward, waiter, assistant waiter, bartender etc. at the end of a cruise. Service was MUCH better when there was some incentive to "go the extra mile" and the staff really aimed to please with SMILES on their faces. What a difference a few years makes. Sigh....

[luddite]

I long for the days when you simply handed cash in envelopes as gratuities to your steward, waiter, assistant waiter, bartender etc. at the end of a cruise. Service was MUCH better when there was some incentive to "go the extra mile" and the staff really aimed to please with SMILES on their faces. What a difference a few years makes. Sigh....

 

Nonsense.

[Regguy]

If there's an objection it isn't really who gets the money -- if there's a proper objection here it's that NCL is clearly using psychological forces to mislead people. They don't wish to say that the cost of the UBP is $81.42 per day, because they know that if they did, people wouldn't buy the package as often as they will when they claim it's $69 and then also say there's an 18 percent gratuity and service charge. Similarly, the drink of the day sells better at $9 than at $10.62. Similarly, "free" looks better than $200. If they called the free unlimited beverage package the "$90 per week per person" beverage package, they would sell fewer of them.

 

Nobody posting in this thread can claim to be misled. I mean, you know the cost is not really $69 per day but is really $81.42. But clearly some people are being misled. Actually, lots of them. How do we know? Because NCL is doing it and dodging questions about it.

 

What are the psychological reasons why people are being misled? Why does a $69 package with an added 18 percent "gratuity" look more appealing to certain consumers than a $81.42 package? Hard to say. Yet it does. Again, the reason we know it does, is because of how NCL treats it. It's the same reason that baggage fees and hotel resort fees work -- a $189 fare on an airline that will charge you $60 for two bags is a $249 fare for those likely to travel with two bags. Yet when people do searches, they are more apt to pick that flight than a flight on a competitor that charges $239 but gives two free bags. Not everyone for sure -- many are savvy and build the cost into their thinking and different people are susceptible to marketing in different ways. If you can pick off 10 percent, given enough volume, it turns into millions.

 

To me, that's the real objection if there is one here -- NCL is using psychological slight of hand (including leaving it ambiguous about where the money is going) to subtly trick some people into not realizing that either way $81.42 is $81.42. Again, though, certainly nobody in this thread can claim to be confused -- just as those who know American charges for bags but Southwest doesn't can't claim to be confused. So, I mean, if you're annoyed by proxy that NCL uses a modestly deceptive trade practice that perhaps subtly confuses others, but doesn't confuse anyone who understands it (those posting here) that's fine, but IMHO it's really not a very big deal -- no more than bag fees or resort fees. The information is easily out there for anyone who wants it.

 

And really, it's all kind of in the same ballpark as the fact that -- as every consumer knows -- $69.99 looks disproportionately better than $70.00. We all know that, but we still get tricked by the penny. That's really all this is -- maybe just a little more convoluted.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Regguy

[mexico8]

I long for the days when you simply handed cash in envelopes as gratuities to your steward, waiter, assistant waiter, bartender etc. at the end of a cruise. Service was MUCH better when there was some incentive to "go the extra mile" and the staff really aimed to please with SMILES on their faces. What a difference a few years makes. Sigh....

 

All the staff on the NCL Spirit cruise last November/December (28 day cruise) were very friendly and smiling and outgoing. Best crew we ever had in hundreds of cruising days with various cruise companies dating back over 40 years.

[Golfin55]

A "fat" guy and a "stupid" guy get into an argument. The stupid guy insults the fat guy about his weight. The fat guy tells the stupid guy "I can always go on a diet. But, you will always be stupid!!!"

[LMaxwell]

This does not apply to NCL since the ships aren't registered here and the workers are foreign, but I still think it is interesting

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/ct-tip-sharing-ruling-20160223-story.html

 

"The premise is the tip is never the employer's," said Reuel Schiller, a labor law professor at the University of California, Hastings in San Francisco. "The employer doesn't have the power to take that from the waiter and give it to a dishwasher because it's not the employer's money."

[ntara]

Nonsense.

 

What do you mean..."Nonsense"? Am I not entitled to my opinion...how rude!!!

 

This used to be a place where people could voice their OPINIONS...hence the name Cruise CRITIC. Lately the majority of the posts are defending the cruise companies. Either you are choosing to ignore the obvious changes in customer service (or are new to cruising) and live in a world where everything is rainbows and unicorns or possibly you have some stake in the game with the cruise companies. Either way...I'll say it again...you're rude!!

[luddite]

What do you mean..."Nonsense"? Am I not entitled to my opinion...how rude!!!

 

This used to be a place where people could voice their OPINIONS...hence the name Cruise CRITIC. Lately the majority of the posts are defending the cruise companies. Either you are choosing to ignore the obvious changes in customer service (or are new to cruising) and live in a world where everything is rainbows and unicorns or possibly you have some stake in the game with the cruise companies. Either way...I'll say it again...you're rude!!

 

If you are having a problem finding smiles on the faces of crewmembers....well, you might be the problem. We never see any of them not smiling and being friendly.

 

The days of tip envelopes and stiffing the waiters on the last night are gone and that makes the crew happier.

 

Thus....nonsense.

and I'm actually very polite. I hold doors open for people and I say(with a smile) "You're welcome" even when they don't say thank you. I am rather intolerant of nonsense.

[macandlucy]

This does not apply to NCL since the ships aren't registered here and the workers are foreign, but I still think it is interesting

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/ct-tip-sharing-ruling-20160223-story.html

 

"The premise is the tip is never the employer's," said Reuel Schiller, a labor law professor at the University of California, Hastings in San Francisco. "The employer doesn't have the power to take that from the waiter and give it to a dishwasher because it's not the employer's money."

 

Interesting article, LMaxwell, thanks for linking.