Gratuities

[KeithJenner]

Now that we have all inclusive I wonder how long it will be before we get Brits on CC boards complaining that they are teetotal and object to paying other people's bar bills. With some people the cruise lines can never get this one right.

 

I'm sure that is what people will complain about, and in doing so many will miss the irony of what has happened.

 

Many people (not just Brits) have complained about the DSC for a while. They don't agree with the charge, and often people say things like "it should just be included in the cruise fare".

 

That's what has been done and, surprise surprise, NCL have taken the opportunity to put the prices up as well.

 

The result? Previously people had the ability to remove the DSC if they really wanted to. Now, in response to peoples complaints, NCL are able to increase the fares by more than the value of the DSC, and there is now no option to get it removed.

 

Those of us who just paid the DSC have now found that the cost of our cruise has gone up . The people who objected to the DSC and used to remove it have had theirs increased by even more. They asked for it. :)

[Moby0215]

To be fair, they sort of are.

 

 

 

We have a 10 day cruise booked for November, we booked it last November and as usual quite happily pre-paid the DSC. We took the UBP as one of our Free at Sea deals. The price was great. Winding forward my in laws contacted us last week saying they wished to cruise with us. We were straight onto the NCL website and were shocked at the prices under the new Premium All Inclusive deal. I appreciate that the DSC and Port taxes etc. are included and that's fine BUT the exact same cruise is now double what we paid for it. We can only assume that this is down to the drinks, you cannot choose not to have it included so unless our in laws plan to stay inebriated for the entirety of the cruise, they are sort of funding our freebie UBP, well they would be if they were prepared to pay the price, which they're not. Any UK or European cruiser with NCL is now paying for the package, and, like it or not, that is funding those who still have the opportunity to get it for free as a promo.

 

 

 

You can't look at it like that. For example I don't have kids so I don't use the kids club. One could easily argue that I am subsidizing the cost for other families who use the kids club. Or I could say I don't attend the shows etc.

 

 

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[BaWBarmy]

Almost everyone has been effectively paying for the beverage package for a few years now. When free at sea came in, it coincided with a general increase in fares. People have been complaining for years about paying for other peoples drinks.

 

Those of us who had bar bills at the end of the cruise have found the overall cost of cruises to be very similar to what it was before free at sea came in. Those who don't drink have been experiencing this issue for years now.

 

I think that the price increases that people are seeing these days with all inclusive are mainly down to the exchange rate movements and NCL just taking the excuse to put prices up. I've said it many times, and I'll say it again. Never encourage a supplier to change the basis of how they charge you. Unless they are crazy they will take the opportunity to put the prices up.

 

In this case, I think NCL are right to do so to an extent, as they didn't react to the exchange rate movements last year. Your example of the price doubling is an extreme one from what I have seen, and as you are looking at the same cruise but big differences in booking dates, it's difficult to say how much is caused by all inclusive. I've looked at some cruises that I've done in previous years, and compared to how much they would cost to book for next year. For example, we did the Epic last Spring, and the current price for the same itinerary is 18% more now. That is based on very similar booking dates, and that is the sort of increase that I've generally found.

 

Given the exchange rate movements, that probably isn't too bad an increase over two years, but I'm sure there is something in it for NCL as well.

 

I appreciate what you are saying and I would have preferred if they had left things as they were. Then again like you I always paid the DSC up front and was quite happy to do so. The following example does show the lengths that NCL have gone to though and that they may be driving European customers into the arms of other companies.

 

10 Night Morocco and Canaries Cruise Balcony Cabin late November booked November 2016. Price for 2 adults £1888 total including DSC and Port taxes. UBP and OBC as part of Free at Sea deal. This is an exceptionally good price admittedly. Especially when you see ...

 

10 Night Morocco and Canaries Cruise Balcony Cabin late November at todays NCL website price of £1819 per person. You cannot reduce this price by getting rid of the drinks even if you don't drink.

 

And don't get me onto the cost of flights and transfers.

 

Yet even for my moaning about this point I would still go with NCL as my first choice cruise company because once I'm on board its great.

[KeithJenner]

I appreciate what you are saying and I would have preferred if they had left things as they were. Then again like you I always paid the DSC up front and was quite happy to do so. The following example does show the lengths that NCL have gone to though and that they may be driving European customers into the arms of other companies.

 

10 Night Morocco and Canaries Cruise Balcony Cabin late November booked November 2016. Price for 2 adults £1888 total including DSC and Port taxes. UBP and OBC as part of Free at Sea deal. This is an exceptionally good price admittedly. Especially when you see ...

 

10 Night Morocco and Canaries Cruise Balcony Cabin late November at todays NCL website price of £1819 per person. You cannot reduce this price by getting rid of the drinks even if you don't drink.

 

And don't get me onto the cost of flights and transfers.

 

Yet even for my moaning about this point I would still go with NCL as my first choice cruise company because once I'm on board its great.

 

Your example is an interesting one.

 

My point is that some of that increase will be down to the change in booking times. Your price was exceptionally good. I'm on that cruise next Easter and our price is similar (there are three of us, but breaking it down to two people there is about £100 in it).

 

Both are now a lot more. However, they are both also a lot more than the same cruise the following year. To try to work out how much of the increase is due to booking timing differences, and how much is due to NCL price increases, I think you really need to compare what we paid to how much the following years cruise will be.

 

If I do that for mine, it comes out that to book the same cruise for 2019, rather than 2017 it is now about 45% more. I think it would be about the same for yours.

 

So, I think that about half of the price increase is due to us having got a good deal on booking early and half is due to general price increases.

 

That 45% is by quite a way the biggest I have found. Generally they have been in the 10-20% range.

 

Rather bizarrely, the one I found with the smallest increase was for the Pride of America next year. The fare only went up by 3% despite this being the one that actually does have a benefit as it now includes the UBP. We cancelled and rebooked. :)

[fshagan]

If we read the FAQ section on NCL's website, NCL goes out of its way to pat themselves on their back for not adding a TIP to their bill. We can call this their "Bait".... then later if you dig deep enough you will find their "Switch" where they charge you a Service Charge.

 

Or you could click the hyperlink to see what the "service charge" is that they reference twice in that very same FAQ: