Service Charge Breakdown

[swedish weave]

NCL keeps it to themselves because it is none of our business how much each crew member gets paid and how. Does you local restaurant break down how much of the cost of each item on the menu goes to the cooks, dishwasher, cashier, hostess, and wait staff?

 

If it is none of our business what NCL does with the money, then it would seem prudent to request refund of the DSC and give the money to those who provide service as LMB suggests.

 

The servers could then tip out to those behind the scene who enabled them to provide service to guests.

 

That would assure guests that their money is distributed as they want.

[txagfan]

You folks are overthinking this and being silly. Ncl charges this fee/charge because:

1) Everyone else does

2) Without it they would have to charge a higher fare thus making them less competitive on fare

 

It is none of your damn business what they do with that charge and monies they collect from it. The fact that NCL allows people to "protest" this fee and be refunded is lunacy.

 

A lot of businesses do this by the way...daily resort fees in hotels for example. They aren't in the rate and so you may be surprised, but you're paying them.

 

I pay my service fee AND tip for exceptional service all the time on the boat. Either pay your service fee and keep your wallet closed on boat or keep on whining on these posts because you do both and don't think it's fair or don't want to pay service fee. It's nonsense.

 

 

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[chloemonkey]

First I would like to thank the person who posted the question. It is a good question and I was wondering it myself.

 

Next, to the couple of folks being all crabby about how they have seen this question too many times before. Maybe you have time to go through 1200 pages or maybe you go on a cruise every other week so you keep up....good for you. Some of us don't and come on in a few months or weeks before our cruise (or when we are looking to book) and appreciate some of these discussions. Sure I could search but well, sometimes you don't even think about things until you are on the ship. But thanks for making all of us nonregulars feeling sooo welcome. I am sure it would be so much better for cc without us stopping by and asking things you may have read about sometime in the past. SMH!

 

Next - To those who say it doesn't matter, yes...it kind of does. For those of us who want to tip extra for exceptional service it isn't an easy decision to decide how much is appropriate. As an example from home - waitresses make basically nothing while bartenders do get at least, usually above, minimum wage. I spent about 10 years in the service business I assure you I ALWAYS tip well however a waitress will get more for the serving me the same exact item as the bartender would...because the pay scale is different. And the pizza guy and the mailman gets different amounts at Christmas due to their wage differences. Knowing how the SC are allocated helps to make those distribution decisions.

 

To all of you wonderful helpful people on this thread and other threads - thank you so much for your help!! Many of us really appreciate the guidance you provide about so many things. To all of you who are more newbies like me - I hope you have so much fun on your next cruise you turn into one of the all knowing gurus on here :). To you crabby ones being rude to people for asking questions...go buy and read a book instead of logging on here for goodness sakes....

 

Well said!

[JayfromBNA]

Those of us lurking on these boards for info/details on how to 'save' a dollar, or 'keep something' from those greedy NCL hands really need to identify themselves for all involved. What decent person wants to eat with a real, maniacal cheapskate? You're probably used to eating something extra in your food; hard working people can spot your type a mile away. If I give a dollar more tip, I've had a dollar more enjoyment.

[BirdTravels]

This is the problem we have with how NCL tips the staff, we don't know the breakdown. I actually wonder how much if any of it goes to the staff.

All cruise lines do the same. Not unique to NCL. Just do it.

[BirdTravels]

Watch this 6 minute under cover documentary on cruise ship tips:

[tonit964]

All cruise lines do the same. Not unique to NCL. Just do it.

 

No, this is actually unique to NCL as far as we have experienced as we primarily sail Princess and Carnival and they breakdown the gratuity, which is what they call it, to room steward, head waiter, waiter, etc.

If you look at any of my posts regarding tipping, I'm all for it and leave it in place, it shows up on our onboard account, it's paid and we don't give it another thought.

 

Now I understand how NCL works: Tip or don't tip and NCL gets the DSC to do with how they see fit.

[lissvarna]

its an absolutely good, relevant question and some of you are being quite rude

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Personally, I don't care how the DSC is distributed. Whether the DSC goes to their "salary" or their "tips" doesn't matter to me--it compensates them so what difference does it make what it's called? Marketing spin or semantics or whatever you want to call it, NCL uses "DSC" and "gratuities" interchangeably. Last year when I booked the cruise I took in June, one of the Free at Sea promos was "Free Gratuities." What did I get for free? The DSC. So, this idea that the DSC has nothing to do with tipping doesn't match with the way NCL talks about it.

[Love my butler]

NCL keeps it to themselves because it is none of our business how much each crew member gets paid and how. Does you local restaurant break down how much of the cost of each item on the menu goes to the cooks, dishwasher, cashier, hostess, and wait staff?

 

Actually it is my business. NCL states my Discretionary Service Charge is basically the gratuity for the crew. Since I PAID that gratuity, I feel I have the right to know where that gratuity is going. You may not think so, but I sure do.

[Love my butler]

Don't you still have to get a form from Guest Services to send or email back then wait several weeks for a refund?

 

Yes you do now. A couple of years ago you just canceled it at the end of your cruise at the service desk. NCL managed to put another speed bump into the process knowing many people wouldn't follow through and/or get confused on how to adjust the Discretionary Service Charge. Nickels and dimes matter to NCL.

[fshagan]

Watch this 6 minute under cover documentary on cruise ship tips:

 

Then, go see what other ACTUAL workers on cruise ships have said about their time as workers, instead of stupid journalists trying to scare up horror stories for sweeps week.

 

Shipmate Meg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVztkcCRdfBwgajO39QmHuQ

Michelle Tim: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaT3jrHR6YiRGi8cbVaaQwQ

Nautical Nobody FAQ on working on a cruise ship:

Bryan Canlas Pros and Cons ("we make pretty good money" at 1:08):

 

The first three are western young people from the UK and US. Bryan is a Filipino, I believe, and earns 3x his land based income while on board.

[fshagan]

No, this is actually unique to NCL as far as we have experienced as we primarily sail Princess and Carnival and they breakdown the gratuity, which is what they call it, to room steward, head waiter, waiter, etc.

If you look at any of my posts regarding tipping, I'm all for it and leave it in place, it shows up on our onboard account, it's paid and we don't give it another thought.

 

Now I understand how NCL works: Tip or don't tip and NCL gets the DSC to do with how they see fit.

 

They don't break it down any more (at least Princess doesn't) and say it's "shared". They don't give you amounts, or if it is shared in cash, and it's not part of the passenger contract so it could all be smoke and mirrors anyway.

 

 

The old method of tipping on the last night wouldn't work on NCL because you rarely have the same server or other wait staff in the dining rooms with Freestyle. You would have to tip each night. I don't know who started doing the daily lump sum charge in place of the tipping envelopes on the last night, but now every cruise line I know does it. I think it's a lot more convenient.

 

The workers are paid a fair wage according to them, more than they can earn at home, but they work hard, and long hours, without days off for months at a time. One of the Youtubers from the UK is able to bank about $10,000 on each tour because she doesn't have many expenses on board ... her room and board is included and drinks are $1 each in the employee bar.

[PetrosZA]

Wow reading some of the comments on here really is an education in itself. The fact that some folks have the DSC removed totally boggles my mind. I have never even given a second thought to the DSC as it just makes up a part of the total cost of my holiday and quite frankly thats the only number im interested in.

 

I guess each to their own but i will continue to gladly pay the DSC and then tip individual crew that go out of their way to make my holiday a memorable one.

[luvtheships]

It is very simple. None of it goes to any worker. Unlike many lines they are paid salaries. The SC is used to offset a portion of their salary. A portion of it is used for incentives, but NCL has not revealed how much of it used for that purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

When deciding what to leave as a gratuity you should assume that the staff on NCL is paid a full salary and anything that you give them is over and above.

 

 

 

In addition if you choose to remove dsc you should realize that the individual crew members salary is NOT reduced because of this

 

As they are on SALARY

 

 

 

 

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[chengkp75]

Watch this 6 minute under cover documentary on cruise ship tips:

 

Note that the undercover waiter had the company add money to his basic wage and tips to "make up his minimum wage". This is required whenever the "tips" or "DSC" received does not bring the wages up to the minimum required by the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006), which sets a minimum wage for all mariners, not just cruise ship crew. If these lawyers interviewed, or the journalists involved, were so interested in cruise ship wages and working conditions, why have they not dealt with their government agencies in the US and UK that send representatives to the ILO (International Labor Organization) that promulgated and regulates the MLC 2006, to get this convention changed? Note that as with all international agreements, it has no force of law in any country until that country passes enabling legislation accepting the wording of the agreement. So, both the US and UK governments have approved these wages and living/working standards for mariners.

[chengkp75]

In addition if you choose to remove dsc you should realize that the individual crew members salary is NOT reduced because of this

 

As they are on SALARY

 

 

 

 

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No, as noted, their compensation is a combination of wages and "incentive" program, which is the DSC. The reason that all cruise lines use the "service charge" method is two fold: it tries to engender a "team concept" for the hospitality staff, so that failure of one person, resulting in reduction of DSC, affects everyone (to a small extent) in the "team". It also allows the cruise line to shift the onus for reducing a crew member's compensation from the cruise line to the passengers.

 

The only thing that is "guaranteed" to a crew member is the minimum total compensation, which is currently $614/month for a 40 hour work week, plus overtime at 125% of the base wage for hours over 40/week. This totals out to about $1500/month. If the base wage, overtime, and DSC totals more than this, per their contract, they get that much, if the DSC is reduced, their wages can drop to the above minimum.

[ray98]

If it is none of our business what NCL does with the money, then it would seem prudent to request refund of the DSC and give the money to those who provide service as LMB suggests.

 

The servers could then tip out to those behind the scene who enabled them to provide service to guests.

 

That would assure guests that their money is distributed as they want.

 

 

....and that would be stupid since there is a process in place to accommodate all that with no complications.

 

I hope they don't change a policy to please the people who think they must make everything their business.

[sjbdtz]

It's your money and you decide how to spend it.

 

Can I quote you on this, the next time I'm crossing the Ambassador Bridge and they insist on charging a toll? If I want the service of the bridge, I have to pay. One way or another (I can bypass the payment booth, but will probably spend time in jail). On the ship, if enough people exercise their 'right to spend as they wish', then fares will rise for everybody as the cruiseline will need to do SOMETHING to retain crew.

 

 

First I would like to thank the person who posted the question. It is a good question and I was wondering it myself.

 

Next, to the couple of folks being all crabby about how they have seen this question too many times before. Maybe you have time to go through 1200 pages or maybe you go on a cruise every other week so you keep up...

 

PRO TIP: CC is indexed by Google. If you want to find something amid the 1200 pages, Google it.

 

Next - To those who say it doesn't matter, yes...it kind of does. For those of us who want to tip extra for exceptional service it isn't an easy decision to decide how much is appropriate. however a waitress will get more for the serving me the same exact item as the bartender would...because the pay scale is different.

 

 

I've never understood people who want to decide who gets paid what.

 

If the value of somebody carrying food from the kitchen, checking on your satisfaction, taking & getting your order correct = say... 18%, what does it matter whether the person is paid $2.95 or $300k / year? Why are you feeling the need to right-size their incomes?

 

I'm genuinely curious about this, as I find it baffling. Would it make a difference in the way you tip the waitress, if you found out her grandmother had left her a $4 million trust fund, but that she really enjoyed interacting with guests, so she keeps this job? She's still only getting $2.95 / hour.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

[rhblake]

I don't know the DSC split for NCL but for:

 

RCCL - collects $13.50

Dining & Culinary Services - $6.35

Stateroom Attendant - $3.45

Other Hotel Services - $3.70

 

Carnival- collects $12.95

Dining & Culinary Services - $6.40

Stateroom Attendant - $4.05

Other Hotel Services - $2.50

[Gampy1967]

Ok. I know the Captain is NOT part of the shared DSC (however it is split), but if he gets us into ports early and does a Tokyo slide into the dock can we give him a separate cash tip??

[MaineYachtClub]

Last year when I booked the cruise I took in June, one of the Free at Sea promos was "Free Gratuities." What did I get for free? The DSC. So, this idea that the DSC has nothing to do with tipping doesn't match with the way NCL talks about it.

 

I really wanted to hear how those making the claim that the DSC was not equivalent to gratuities would explain this, but no one picked it up.

[NLH Arizona]

Would you feel any better if they simply rolled the DSC into the cruise fare raising the price by $13.99 a day (or whatever it is now). It is simply an internal accounting issue and something very silly to get worked up over.

Great question. This is what defies logic to me. There are some on here that say they don't want to pay the DSC because they don't know where it is going and want the crew to be paid a living wage, but these folks would be willing to pay it if it were included in their cruise fare.

 

Now, if people really thought about it. NCL takes in the DSC and puts it all into their bank. They pay their crew salaries, which these dollars offset. Now, if NCL were to add it into the cruise fare, they would put this money into their bank and pay the crew their salaries which these dollars would offset. What the heck is the difference? Either way you don't know what the breakdown per crew member is nor should you know because that is between the employee and their company. I also wonder, when those ask a crew member questions about their salaries, does that now entitle the crew member to inquire about the passengers salary?

 

Bottom line for me is that I think those that have an issue with the DSC are just making excuses, like not knowing where it is going, to not pay it and save some money, because I seriously doubt some even tip and others wouldn't tip as much as the DSC is, just MHO.

[zqvol]

No, this is actually unique to NCL as far as we have experienced as we primarily sail Princess and Carnival and they breakdown the gratuity, which is what they call it, to room steward, head waiter, waiter, etc.

If you look at any of my posts regarding tipping, I'm all for it and leave it in place, it shows up on our onboard account, it's paid and we don't give it another thought.

 

Now I understand how NCL works: Tip or don't tip and NCL gets the DSC to do with how they see fit.

 

Right.

 

The difference is that NCL pays real salaries to the crew, and does not use the tipping model that many mass market lines use. That is why it doesn't matter how the DSC is divided, because put simply - it is not shared with the crew, and it is not a tip.

[fshagan]

Note that the undercover waiter had the company add money to his basic wage and tips to "make up his minimum wage". This is required whenever the "tips" or "DSC" received does not bring the wages up to the minimum required by the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006), which sets a minimum wage for all mariners, not just cruise ship crew. If these lawyers interviewed, or the journalists involved, were so interested in cruise ship wages and working conditions, why have they not dealt with their government agencies in the US and UK that send representatives to the ILO (International Labor Organization) that promulgated and regulates the MLC 2006, to get this convention changed? Note that as with all international agreements, it has no force of law in any country until that country passes enabling legislation accepting the wording of the agreement. So, both the US and UK governments have approved these wages and living/working standards for mariners.

 

I was wondering if the cruise lines were signatory to the ILO standards and couldn't find anything so I really appreciate your chiming in here. The estimate you provide in another post that the base pay plus overtime at 125% equaling about $1,500 per month seems to be about right based on what I've seen on YouTube and read on sites like glassdoor.com. I was estimating just over $1,000 a month (equivalent to roughly $4,000 a month for a waiter or steward from the Philippines based on cost of living there).

 

Americans don't have this advantage because of our tax laws, but I guess UK workers do not pay income tax on income earned abroad, so the tax advantage can be significant too. One of the UK based YouTubers mentioned that she is able to save about $10,000 of her earnings each cruise tour by watching what she spends. We save each year, but we don't save $10,000, and our incomes are much higher.