Automatic gratuities guidelines

[SeaShark]

5 hours ago, KateQ22003 said:

Exactly my point. I see a lot of shaming on this board of folks that want to reduce or eliminate the DSC. Until someone shows me that 100% of the DSC actually goes to the hard working staff, I will always stick up for those who want to make sure their money goes where they want it to go 100%.

 

Do you? 

 

Once you pay it, it is no longer "your money", thus the reason why you don't need to worry about where it goes.

 

The DSC is paid to (IOW goes to) NCL. They get it all...ALL of the money belongs to NCL. THEN, based on agreements negotiated with their employees, NCL uses those funds to a) support salaries that are paid to certain (not all)  employees, b) support incentive programs earned by certain (not all) employees, and c) support fleet-wide crew welfare programs. Which employees benefit, and which do not, is solely determined by NCL's evaluation of their job performance. Needless to say, guests don't have access to specific job requirements, nor do they have access to the evaluation results, therefore guests have no informational foundation to support knowing how NCL distributes THEIR money.

 

 

IF...and that is a big IF...people really want to "make sure their money goes where they want it to go 100%", then

 

a) Why do we not see endless threads like this where people just want to know where their money charged as "Govt taxes and Port Fees" goes? How do we know NCL isn't keeping some of that money for themselves? How do we know that it goes to the governments and ports that we want it to go to? Why am I tipping the porter when I already pay port fees? Shouldn't the port just pay the porter a living wage so I don't have to tip them???

 

b) Why do we not see endless threads like this where people just want to know where their money charged as "base fare" goes? How much of that is NCL keeping for themselves? Why aren't we told how much of that money pays for fuel? Why aren't we told how much of that money pays for the food we eat? Why can't we know?

 

c) When you tip someone in the casino, the tip goes straight into a lockbox. Why don't we see endless threads about where that money goes? Why doesn't it just go to the person we gave it to? Does NCL keep a portion of that money? How is it determined who gets what share? Why can't we know?

 

Many, many examples (what about they money we pay in the Spa...how is that divided?), but in the end it all comes back to

 

once you pay it, it is no longer "your money", thus the reason why you don't need to worry about where it goes.

Edited December 23, 2018 by SeaShark

[fstuff1]

32 minutes ago, rhblake said:

OP if gratuities are $14.50 pp per day, and let’s assume one half of that, $7.75 goes to the dining staff. That $7.75 is for 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), therefore you might be saving a whopping $2.58 per meal. The question is – Are you cheap enough to remove $2.58 per meal?

 

another way to look at is people normally tip 15% to 20% of the price.

 i got a 15day cruise for $500 (see sig). that means i should be tipping $75 to $100.

 

yet $14.50 x 15 = $217.50

 

thats a 44% tip on what i paid!   (and you tip before taxes/fees are added in.)

 

Edited December 23, 2018 by fstuff1

[rhblake]

2 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

another way to look at is normally people tip 20% of the price.

 i got a 15day cruise for $400, that means i should be tipping $80 total.

 

yet $14.50 x 15 = $217.50

 

thats a 54% tip on what i paid!   (and you tip before taxes/fees are added in.)

 

It should be part of your cost analysis. Everyone pays the same amount per day, no matter how much the cruise costs. If you can't afford it maybe cruising is not for you.

[cathi007]

21 hours ago, KateQ22003 said:

Is any of it being kept by the establishment?

No, but the point you made was that the server you tip gets to keep it all and that is not true. We don't really know where the DSC goes, but I would never remove it and I always bring 100 1 dollar bills for those that go above and beyond. We are the lucky ones who get to go on these cruises. I wouldn't want to take away someones incentive/tip or whatever they get. Plus if you want to get back your DSC you have to say that someone isn't doing their job. I don't want to be responsible for that either. Enjoy your cruise and thank God you are lucky enough to afford such a luxury, that is my motto

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, KateQ22003 said:

This doesn't answer my question. Where does it say that all of the DSC goes to the staff? Answer: it doesn't.

Again, you speak very authoritatively with absolutely no proof or substantiation behind your assertion. You have NOTHING that refutes the written statements from NCL,,,, except the lowest people on the food chain making inappropriate comments to you. 

[BirdTravels]

21 hours ago, KateQ22003 said:

I don't care if the waiter gives it to everyone in the freaking establishment! What I do care about is the establishment taking a piece for themselves. See the difference?

There is nothing to say the establishment is taking anything. You just keep repeating you unsubstantiated claims. Provide us proof that NCL does not do what they have documented in writing, then we’ll consider it. Until then, we assume that your statements are baseless. 

[fstuff1]

7 hours ago, rhblake said:

If you can't afford it maybe cruising is not for you.

lol affording it.

my price point for cruises is $50/day or less and ive taken many of those cruises. (see sig)

 

everyone has a different principle about tipping. dont push your views onto others.

k,thx

Edited December 23, 2018 by fstuff1

[zqvol]

On 12/22/2018 at 2:28 AM, pamrose228 said:

Planning on two TAs with many port stops.  Will be eating at least half my meals off the ship plus I paid for excursions that include lunches and probably will order many room service breakfasts.

 

Also I have 5 specialty restaurants dinners during the crossing and extra grats were added to this.

 

I dont want to stiff my cabin attendant so I will give him extra on the side.

 

I have never done this before but for so many missed meals I dont think I should pay full grats.  What do you say?

 

NCL doesn't charge gratuities, they have a service charge that is not split with the crew though part of it is used for crew welfare. There is no reason at all to remove it.

[zqvol]

On 12/22/2018 at 9:29 AM, NLH Arizona said:

Posters might say this, but no one has every posted any proof that it does not go to the staff.  Do you have proof to post?

 

NCL says it directly in the FAQs.

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#tipping

[bbryan5]

Up next...CHAIR HOGS!

[valleyvillage]

13 minutes ago, bbryan5 said:

Up next...CHAIR HOGS!

Thank you for a deep, satisfying laugh!

[bbryan5]

6 minutes ago, valleyvillage said:

Thank you for a deep, satisfying laugh!

[KateQ22003]

8 hours ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

 

There is absolutely noting out there that even slightly indicates that it does NOT go to the crew.  By your logic no one should pay any cruise fare since NCL does  not say exactly how much of that fare goes to the crew.  If you do not want to pay the DSC then by all means do not pay it, but please stop with the lame EXCUSES to be cheap and penurious.

If you bothered to read my posts, then you know that I have NEVER reduced or eliminated the DSC. Period. Full stop. But I'm also not naïve enough to think that the money goes 100% to the crew, which is why I also seek out those I really appreciated and give them CASH. If you want to continue to believe that all the DSC goes to the staff, knock yourself out. Even their financial statement indicates they treat the DSC as revenue. You have as much proof as I do, yet I am the one that's lame? I prefer to believe what the staff tells me, not what NCL refuses to disclose.

[PATRLR]

9 hours ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

 

There is absolutely noting out there that even slightly indicates that it does NOT go to the crew.  By your logic no one should pay any cruise fare since NCL does  not say exactly how much of that fare goes to the crew.  If you do not want to pay the DSC then by all means do not pay it, but please stop with the lame EXCUSES to be cheap and penurious.

Interesting that your second sentence used the word "logic", because anyone who understands logic should understand that you can not prove a negative and that seems to be what you are looking for.  

Again, from the FAQ: Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports.

 

"that your service charge supports" applies to the conjunction of "salary and incentive programs".   The DSC supports BOTH salary and incentives.    

 

They chose to use the word "support".   A similar statement could be made about your cruise fare:  "... salary and incentive programs that your cruise fare supports".  A similar statement could be said about the stockholder's dividends:  "stockholder dividends are paid from profits that your service charge supports".

 

If the DSC really went 100% to the staff, they would have said something like "... staff participate in an incentive program funded entirely by the DSC".  Or they would have called it a gratuity.  But they didn't.  That's proof enough for me that the DSC isn't tied directly to staff compensation. 

 

[KateQ22003]

5 minutes ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

No one and nowhere does it ever say  or even hint that the any/all money as such goes directly to the crew as cash.  It says it goes to an incentive program which can and often does take many  different forms.  Any given crew member may know how much they get in direct cash from the DSC but that is not even a sure thing.   It is unlikely that any of them know how the incentive program(s) are funded.  Very few (if any) of the crew would know how that money is distributed to incentive program(s).

How many cruisers think that the DSC goes 100% to the crew? Many, as we see by all the posts here chastising people for reducing the DSC, claiming it "takes money away from the crew and their families". No it doesn't. It takes money out of NCL's coffers. You are right that they never say where the money goes, but you can bet if it all went to the crew they would shout that from the rooftops.

[PATRLR]

33 minutes ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

 

Nothing more than additional lame excuses. 

Ah - when you run out of facts, throw insults and hyperbole.  I wonder where you learned that.

 

(excuse for what?)

[fshagan]

On 12/24/2018 at 4:08 AM, KateQ22003 said:

How many cruisers think that the DSC goes 100% to the crew? Many, as we see by all the posts here chastising people for reducing the DSC, claiming it "takes money away from the crew and their families". No it doesn't. It takes money out of NCL's coffers. You are right that they never say where the money goes, but you can bet if it all went to the crew they would shout that from the rooftops.

 

How many cruisers even think about it? 1 or 2 percent would be my guess. Most people, if they are curious at all, probably take NCL at their word: 

 

"The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team.Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports."

 

 

[schmoopie17]

Risking life and limb by jumping in here...

 

Service charges and gratuities are two separate animals.

 

When I order a ticket to a ball game from Ticketmaster, I am assessed a service charge by the company for the service the company provides. I doubt that any portion of the service charge is given to the bot that processed my order.

[Sam Ting]

We remove the service charge and tip as we go.  we never had any service issues and think the servers prefer it that way.   

[Comi.uy]

On 12/22/2018 at 4:28 AM, pamrose228 said:

Planning on two TAs with many port stops.  Will be eating at least half my meals off the ship plus I paid for excursions that include lunches and probably will order many room service breakfasts.

 

Also I have 5 specialty restaurants dinners during the crossing and extra grats were added to this.

 

I dont want to stiff my cabin attendant so I will give him extra on the side.

 

I have never done this before but for so many missed meals I dont think I should pay full grats.  What do you say?

On all my cruises I've always removed automatic gratuities. It doesnt affect the service at all. Carry some cash and put it where its deserved. 🤩

[fshagan]

10 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Risking life and limb by jumping in here...

 

Service charges and gratuities are two separate animals.

 

When I order a ticket to a ball game from Ticketmaster, I am assessed a service charge by the company for the service the company provides. I doubt that any portion of the service charge is given to the bot that processed my order.

 

You know that 20% automatically added to groups of six or more at your local restaurant? The IRS calls that a service charge, but it is commonly given to the employees just like tips. Do you think any of that service charge makes it to the servers? 

 

In most cases it does, because the restaurant knows that if they don't distribute the service charge fairly they won't have any servers. I suspect if NCL isn't paying their employees fairly they would lose them too. 

 

[bronxboy683]

It is my thought that most of this 💰 money goes to the wait staff, and the cabin staff? I think some maybe quite abit to the people you see sweeping up on the buffet etc.  but I also think that some of this money goes to low level kitchen and maintenance staff, this extra money keeps NCL (and other cruise lines I have sailed on). From raising their salary. This in my opinion saves them (NCL) considerable money at passenger expense.? Quien sabe?

[GUT2407]

9 minutes ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

 

That automatic amount can be removed by the customer any time whether or not the customer chooses to leave a tip.

I don’t think that’s right, my 7nderstanding is that you need to apply after the cruise to have it refunded.

[Stealthdog]

Just got off a 15 day on the Sun.  You absolutely can get a refund for the automatic gratuities while still on the cruise.  Just go to Customer Service near the end of the cruise and they can do it for you.  We only went to the MDR 3 times over the 15 days, so we got the automatic gratuities refunded and then gave that money back to those who served us directly every day (restaurant and cabin staff), plus a little more.  It was an interesting experience - you can now do a ship charge directly to a NCL staff member.  Just give their name to the customer service and they can pull up their account number, charge your on board account, and send that charged amount directly to the NCL staff member's account as a credit.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Stealthdog
typo

[fshagan]

5 hours ago, Grandpa Elliott said:

 

 

NCL never says or even hints that the money goes directly to anyone.  They say it is used to support an incentive program which MIGHT be cash payment but can just as well take many other forms.

 

Not quite right any longer. NCL has amended the explanation to say that it supports their salary and incentive programs.