HSC in the price of your cruise

[bobpell]

I started musing after reading a posting where  the poster's " friend" asked for their HSC to be removed on the first day...

Lots of comments

How about having your HSC be included in the quoted price of your cruise? What say you?

Thanks

Bob

 

[chengkp75]

Several countries like the UK and Oz, require this by law.  Would most cruisers prefer this?  Most likely.  Will the cruise lines do this?  Not likely, as it allows them to keep the base fare low, and it gives them a "carrot and stick" approach to customer service, where the onus of lost income is placed on the passenger.

[*Miss G*]

44 minutes ago, bobpell said:

How about having your HSC be included in the quoted price of your cruise?

 

No thanks.  I like getting the cruise day credits.

[RuthC]

Are you aware that for most of HAL's crew, wages are taxable in their home country, but tips are not?
If the fare were to be increased by the same amount as the current HSC, the crews' wages would decrease.

I don't want that.

[taxmantoo]

[oaktreerb]

I wish all promo’s included the prepaid gratuities.  Then no one could remove them.  They still show up on your statement as a plus, minus line item so I think you still receive the spending bonus for them.

[bobpell]

Thanks RuthC

I am now aware of the tax implications

Bob

[Shmoo here]

16 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

so I think you still receive the spending bonus for them.

Are you talking about the extra mariner days for onboard spending?  We had included gratuities on our last cruise.  And didn't receive extra days for equal to that amount after the cruise.

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Several countries like the UK and Oz, require this by law.  Would most cruisers prefer this?  Most likely.  Will the cruise lines do this?  Not likely, as it allows them to keep the base fare low, and it gives them a "carrot and stick" approach to customer service, where the onus of lost income is placed on the passenger.

Same reason taxes and port fees are not added by most mass market lines advertising  "rock bottom" prices.... as some get sucked in by the displayed price..... No mention of all the hidden costs that the cruise line has lying in wait,  

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

Are you aware that for most of HAL's crew, wages are taxable in their home country, but tips are not?
If the fare were to be increased by the same amount as the current HSC, the crews' wages would decrease.

I don't want that.

But the money collected by the ship goes into  a common pool and the workers are then paid from that as a wage from the company.  Cash received  by an employee  directly from a customer is a tip and not.     Money the line gives him is part of his pay and taxable  I would think  He gets a check... not cash  from HAL  Thats wages

[*Miss G*]

15 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Are you talking about the extra mariner days for onboard spending?  We had included gratuities on our last cruise.  And didn't receive extra days for equal to that amount after the cruise.

 

You should contact the Mariner Society about the missing credits.

[*Miss G*]

3 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

  I would think  

 

^^ Exactly.  You didn’t write “I know”.  You wrote “I would think.” Meaning you don’t know.

 

I am mystified as to why this is such a hot topic and why people continue to guess at the idiosyncrasies of someone else’s wages.  It’s like they’re X-Files conspiracy theorists with “Trust No One” tattooed on their asses.  For God’s sake!  Either pay the HSC or don’t pay the HSC.  Either give the staff their hard-earned dues or rip them off.  Either pay into the Karma pool or take some out.  Show your support by taking a cruise or show your lack of support by going camping.  No one is forcing you to do anything.

[cowmilker]

I don't want the HSC included because it would make the cost of the cruise higher  and thus my insurance would be more expensive. I don't need to insure the cost of the HSC.  If I don't cruise, I won't be charged for it.

No thanks.

[RuthC]

24 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

But the money collected by the ship goes into  a common pool and the workers are then paid from that as a wage from the company.  Cash received  by an employee  directly from a customer is a tip and not.     Money the line gives him is part of his pay and taxable  I would think  He gets a check... not cash  from HAL  Thats wages

You're wrong. The share of the HSC the crew gets is treated as gratuities for tax purposes in their home country.

[RuthC]

3 minutes ago, cowmilker said:

I don't want the HSC included because it would make the cost of the cruise higher  and thus my insurance would be more expensive. I don't need to insure the cost of the HSC. 

Good point.

[richwmn]

32 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

But the money collected by the ship goes into  a common pool and the workers are then paid from that as a wage from the company.  Cash received  by an employee  directly from a customer is a tip and not.     Money the line gives him is part of his pay and taxable  I would think  He gets a check... not cash  from HAL  Thats wages

All money in a pay check is not necessarily taxable. In another thread you mentioned you were USN. Here is a list of things included in military pay, note that most are not taxable.

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) - non-taxable

Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) - non-taxable

Clothing Allowance - non-taxable

Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), within the US (CONUS) - taxable

Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), outside the continental US (OCONUS) - non-taxable

Dislocation Allowance (DLA) - non-taxable

Family Separation Allowance (FSA) - non-taxable

Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance - non-taxable

Mileage In Lieu of Transportation (MALT) - non-taxable

Move In Housing Allowance (MIHA) - non-taxable

Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) - non-taxable

Per Diem - non-taxable

Temporary Housing Allowance (TLA) used in conjunction with an overseas move - non-taxable

Temporary Housing Expense (TLE) used in conjunction with a move within the continental United States -non-taxable

[RocketMan275]

36 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

But the money collected by the ship goes into  a common pool and the workers are then paid from that as a wage from the company.  Cash received  by an employee  directly from a customer is a tip and not.     Money the line gives him is part of his pay and taxable  I would think  He gets a check... not cash  from HAL  Thats wages

I suspect that depends upon the tax laws in the home country of the crew.  You're just speculating.

[RocketMan275]

To be blunt, what difference does it make?  All too often, the wishes of the crew are ignored.  

[fatcat04]

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

I wish all promo’s included the prepaid gratuities.  Then no one could remove them.  They still show up on your statement as a plus, minus line item so I think you still receive the spending bonus for them.

Our upcoming cruise is our first with included grats so this is good to know. 

[RocketMan275]

3 hours ago, bobpell said:

I started musing after reading a posting where  the poster's " friend" asked for their HSC to be removed on the first day...

Lots of comments

How about having your HSC be included in the quoted price of your cruise? What say you?

Thanks

Bob

 

All too often, I think those who want the HSC included in the fare think that the fares will not increase, that including the HSC in the fare will result in a lower total price for the cruise.  That isn't happening.

[chengkp75]

10 minutes ago, RuthC said:

You're wrong. The share of the HSC the crew gets is treated as gratuities for tax purposes in their home country.

That may be, but in the Philippines at least, "gratuities" paid to the employee by the employer are considered to be "normal income", and are taxed as such.  Other countries may have different laws, that's the one I know about.  A quick and dirty search does not show any mention of gratuity income being treated differently in Indonesia either.

[ger_77]

1 hour ago, Shmoo here said:

Are you talking about the extra mariner days for onboard spending?  We had included gratuities on our last cruise.  And didn't receive extra days for equal to that amount after the cruise.

Not trying to be mean or anything, but why would you get credit for something you didn't pay for?  We have prepaid gratuities as a promo on our next cruise, and I don't expect that we would get credit for them, as we didn't have to pay for them.  I mean, it would be a bonus, but I'm not expecting we'll get extra cruise day credits.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[Shmoo here]

4 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Not trying to be mean or anything, but why would you get credit for something you didn't pay for?  We have prepaid gratuities as a promo on our next cruise, and I don't expect that we would get credit for them, as we didn't have to pay for them.  I mean, it would be a bonus, but I'm not expecting we'll get extra cruise day credits.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

I'm not saying I'm looking for the credits.  I was just asking because of what was posted by oaktreerb and *Miss G*. They seem to say it should be.

 

I don't think that would included, either, if it was included as a promotional perk.

 

 

[ger_77]

1 minute ago, Shmoo here said:

II don't think that would included, either, if it was included as a promotional perk.

 

 

Got it!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[*Miss G*]

 

10 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

I'm not saying I'm looking for the credits.  I was just asking because of what was posted by oaktreerb and *Miss G*. They seem to say it should be.

 

I don't think that would included, either, if it was included as a promotional perk.

 

 

 

On your statement is a line by line tally of your daily transactions.  The HSC gets debited each day and will show as “Hotel Service Charge - HSC Day 1” (Day 2, Day 3, etc).  With the promo you will see the HSC as both a debit and a credit in separate columns, as if you had paid it as soon as you received it.  The Mariner credits are calculated from the tally of the debit column. Hope this makes sense.