Mandatory Service Charges

[Beamafar]

Looks like I'll be booking on the German site from now on (they were cheaper than MSC UK/Ireland, anyway!)

[sidari]

Bea ... If there is anyone at MSC with any sense they will apply to all countries.

[cruiser man 60]

Hi Bea,

 

not checked but is the German site in English and all documents etc or do you speak German? 

[Beamafar]

10 minutes ago, cruiser man 60 said:

Hi Bea,

 

not checked but is the German site in English and all documents etc or do you speak German? 

 

Neither  😜  Google Translate's my friend!

 

I should have clarified that I meant the German TA site that I have our August cruise booked with.

[bobhosk]

I received a response from the ASA from initial complaint, with regards to what was then assumed to be 100% mandatory service charges not included in the price - as their wording still implies.

 

They said they are already investigating service charges not being included in the price based on prior complaints and any decision they make would apply to MSC as well. I presume Costa, I'm not aware of any other brand forcing charges?

 

The decision of a few lines to include the charges in the fare in recent times might be foreshadowing their decision.

[Beamafar]

As the thread has been 'bumped' with an update, I can report that I got a response from MSC stating that the rescinding of the mandatory policy "is applicable for both the market UK/IRL".

 

Also ... for those familiar with Stuart Chalmers - alas, he won't be dealing directly with issues anymore - he's been promoted!

Edited March 11, 2019 by Beamafar

[hamrag]

4 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

As the thread has been 'bumped' with an update, I can report that I got a response from MSC stating that the rescinding of the mandatory policy "is applicable for both the market UK/IRL".....

 

Eek, I thought this thread had been the subject of a 'private burial'!!

[Beamafar]

Yep .. I resisted the urge to dig the cadaver up to share my good news.  Have to admit that my heart sank when I saw it had been resurrected. 

[korpo024]

On 3/1/2019 at 7:20 PM, Beamafar said:

Looks like I'll be booking on the German site from now on (they were cheaper than MSC UK/Ireland, anyway!)

MSC USA is much cheaper

[mickey89]

1 hour ago, korpo024 said:

MSC USA is much cheaper

Strange, every cruise I checked our U.K. TA is cheaper than both the German TA scanning the seas and American TA we have used in past.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 2/21/2019 at 3:44 AM, ziggyuk said:

Part of me supports this change, I have never removed a service charge and don't plan too do so.

you may not have, but people on my 2020 roll call are already discussing how to remove the gratuities. Dang, the cruise is more than a year away, and they are already coming up with strategies to stiff the staff.  No wonder service is so poor on MSC (judging by the reviews) - why even try to provide good service when hoards of people line up at the Guest Services to remove the tips....

[Beamafar]

7 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

No wonder service is so poor on MSC (judging by the reviews) ...

 

I've done 21 MSC cruises and I have very rarely experienced poor service!  Sure, there'll always be one crew member you'll come across who's either having a bad day, or has personal problems - maybe even not liking their job, but, overall, we've had good to great to excellent service overall - and always without any knowledge of whether we would remove the DSC or expectation of receiving extra tips.

[sidari]

18 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

you may not have, but people on my 2020 roll call are already discussing how to remove the gratuities. Dang, the cruise is more than a year away, and they are already coming up with strategies to stiff the staff.  No wonder service is so poor on MSC (judging by the reviews) - why even try to provide good service when hoards of people line up at the Guest Services to remove the tips....

Once it is included in the price they will not be able to, very sad people if you ask me.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

13 hours ago, sidari said:

Once it is included in the price they will not be able to, very sad people if you ask me.

Btw... love your pic!

 

I'm new to MSC and curious. It talks about the service charge on the USA website but then talks about guidelines for tipping wait staff and cabin steward. Are those not included in the service charge like most lines? I do generally give extra to those ppl at end if service was good. 

[Beamafar]

9 minutes ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

Btw... love your pic!

 

I'm new to MSC and curious. It talks about the service charge on the USA website but then talks about guidelines for tipping wait staff and cabin steward. Are those not included in the service charge like most lines? I do generally give extra to those ppl at end if service was good. 

 

Not sure what 'guidelines' you've seen on the US site, but the following is MSC's policy on tipping (outside of the Daily Service Charge):

 

TIPS

MSC recommends not tipping individual staff members 

[EngIceDave]

While I pay the usual service fees (tips) I always tip out the room steward upfront with $20 the first time I see them. I've found it helps to get a little more personal attention or certain requests always fulfilled, and just feels right to me.

[Suzieanna]

Why do they recommend not tipping individuals?   I worked in the service industry and was always majorly happy when someone gave me money for a drink or whatever....  and it might not be PC to admit to it, but yes, I think I did pay them that bit more attention afterwards.

 

We only thought about removing tips once.  The service at the MDR had been terribly slow/inattentive and the food cold for days.   We watched the server and soon realized he had far too many tables to look after, he was also on his own, and didn't even have a wine waiter to hand.    He was in effect doing the job of three.     Why would I possibly want to take his wages off him??

[MarkusToe]

hmm because he got 3 times the $$$ and has not really done the job for 3...., otherwise you havn't complained about....

[Beamafar]

1 hour ago, Suzieanna said:

Why do they recommend not tipping individuals? 

 

While it's not possible to state the definitive reasons (only MSC can do that), I imagine it's to discourage those people who prefer to remove the DSC and tip individual crew members.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

5 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

While it's not possible to state the definitive reasons (only MSC can do that), I imagine it's to discourage those people who prefer to remove the DSC and tip individual crew members.

Interesting... I always pay my service charges but give a little extra for above and beyond... dinning, room, bartender, or spa... usually those areas.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

9 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

Not sure what 'guidelines' you've seen on the US site, but the following is MSC's policy on tipping (outside of the Daily Service Charge):

 

TIPS

MSC recommends not tipping individual staff members 

Out of my 19 cruises with various lines... I've never seen that stated before... 

[Tinkerbell8]

I may have a noshow in my party for our upcoming cruise. Can I get the DSC removed for this noshow passenger ? 

[Epos Man]

41 minutes ago, Tinkerbell8 said:

I may have a noshow in my party for our upcoming cruise. Can I get the DSC removed for this noshow passenger ? 

 

Its a per person charge so if that person is not on the cruise they can't get charged

Edited March 14, 2019 by ikea logistics

[sidari]

MSC today replied to my question as to whether the DSC would be included in the price from April 2nd for UK cruisers as announced by the CEO of the UK office, the answer was that they still have no Official Communication !

Did someone jump the gun, I wonder.

[Beamafar]

15 hours ago, sidari said:

MSC today replied to my question as to whether the DSC would be included in the price from April 2nd for UK cruisers as announced by the CEO of the UK office, the answer was that they still have no Official Communication !

Did someone jump the gun, I wonder.

 

I have a couple of itineraries in mind for 2020 and am just wondering if I should book them now, in case they implement this.  I really don't want the charge added to the cruise fare;  with the current arrangement, I don't have to actually pay the charges 'til at least a month (and up to six weeks) after I disembark the ship as the charge is added to my credit card.  If they do implement this, it'll mean that I'll have to pay the cost 10 weeks before sailing.  That's, minimally, 15 weeks before I currently have to.

 

Another issue I'd have around this, is that the charges would no longer be transparent (unless they specify how much the charge is in the cruise fare).