NCL daily service charges goes up! what's your cap?

[CRAFTCRUISER]

It was 10.50 on our first cruise in 2001, so hasn’t gone up that much.....

[Nola26]

As a solo cruiser I wouldn't ask to reduce my DSC.

 

However, when we cruise as a family of 3 if the DSC gets out of control expensive I might take them off for our 3rd passenger. The magic number is likely $400 for a week long cruise for 3, so $19/day is the corresponding max.

[RaiderDuck]

On 8/23/2019 at 12:35 PM, FLAHAM said:

The Washington Post this weeks recommends tipping hotel housekeepers $10/day.  Given that the NCL DSC covers cabin stewards, restaurant servers and many behind-the-scenes personnel, it doesn't seem so large.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/do-you-know-how-tip-america-take-this-quiz-test-your-knowledge/

 

I could not conceive of tipping a hotel housekeeper anything, let alone $10/day. Think about it: the typical maid cleans 10 rooms or more a day. At $10/room, that means they would be making $100/day (tax-free) on top of minimum wage.

 

My wife is normally on the road 38-40 weeks a year for business and neither she nor her coworkers ever tips hotel housekeeping.

[Sweetnspicy]

I pay $37 a day when I go to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. To me it doesn’t really matter much if I can afford the overall cost of the cruise and transportation costs. 

[SeaShark]

13 hours ago, Nola26 said:

As a solo cruiser I wouldn't ask to reduce my DSC.

 

However, when we cruise as a family of 3 if the DSC gets out of control expensive I might take them off for our 3rd passenger. The magic number is likely $400 for a week long cruise for 3, so $19/day is the corresponding max.

 

That really isn't a fair comparison when you arbitrarily add people together to come up with a large number. One person, two people, three people, etc...the per person cost is the same. You go on three solo cruises and wouldn't reduce the DSC, yet 3 people on one cruise and you would? Not very fair IMHO. We shouldn't use multiple people as an excuse to justify taking money from someone else.

 

 

57 minutes ago, RaiderDuck said:

I could not conceive of tipping a hotel housekeeper anything, let alone $10/day. Think about it: the typical maid cleans 10 rooms or more a day. At $10/room, that means they would be making $100/day (tax-free) on top of minimum wage.

 

My wife is normally on the road 38-40 weeks a year for business and neither she nor her coworkers ever tips hotel housekeeping.

 

Assuming that for some unknown reason that the tips would not be reported on the tax return, EVERYONE would have to tip the $10 to make the $100 per day figure...and as you point out, we KNOW that some people are just not going to tip at all.

 

Even IF everyone did...if the housekeeper worked 5 days per week all 52 weeks of the year...no days off, no holidays, no vacation...that would be 260 workdays. Max tip income: $26k. Wow. A whole $26k. I guess we are to assume that hotel housekeepers are just living large!?! Yeah...can't image why people aren't lined up around the block for those jobs.

[david_sobe]

1 hour ago, RaiderDuck said:

I could not conceive of tipping a hotel housekeeper anything, let alone $10/day. Think about it: the typical maid cleans 10 rooms or more a day. At $10/room, that means they would be making $100/day (tax-free) on top of minimum wage.

 

My wife is normally on the road 38-40 weeks a year for business and neither she nor her coworkers ever tips hotel housekeeping.

Interesting.  Do you tip bartenders?  They sometimes just take the cap off the beer and people tip them $1 or 20% of the drink.  A housekeeper spends at least 25 minutes scrubbing your toilet, making your bed, cleaning your shower, exchanging your towels, picking up your dishes, and vacuuming your room.  I believe everyone that works in the service industry is good to tip but you don't have to.  Housekeeping work is very hard for their "minimum wage" as you say.

When I was young, I used to deliver furniture and I think in one year 2 or 3 people tipped me.  Movers are probably the hardest workers and work for very little.  They are often over looked but should be tipped.  I recently purchased a mattress and the 2 guys came in, removed the old mattress, set up the new frame, and brought in the new mattress.  I gave them a $20 and told them to have lunch on me.  Not flaming anyone but just trying to point out that the hardest workers in the service industry usually get over looked.  I've had friends that worked as bartenders and some nights I thought it was sinful how much money they made.

Now take this to cruising.  The guys that work the hardest also get over looked.  The guys that work their asses off delivering all that luggage to thousands of staterooms are sometimes "mystery men."  We sometimes don't see them but if I catch them, I always tip them.  Its probably an entry level position with the cruise line but no doubt they work the hardest and invisible to many people.

Now, do I tip a housekeeper $10 EVERY day.  Not usually.  But I do tip them $10 here or there or every other day.

Edited August 25, 2019 by david_sobe

[ColeThornton]

13 minutes ago, Sweetnspicy said:

I pay $37 a day when I go to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. To me it doesn’t really matter much if I can afford the overall cost of the cruise and transportation costs. 

 

 

$37 a day?  Wow.   I had to go see what all kind of wonderful things that gets the customer.

 

"A $37 Daily Resort Fee plus applicable tax is applied to each hotel reservation and includes amenities that are sure to enhance your experience at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The resort fee includes: Property-wide high speed internet access (public spaces and in-room), unlimited local and toll free calls, airline boarding pass printing, notary service, and fitness center access for guests 18+. "

[RaiderDuck]

4 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Interesting.  Do you tip bartenders?  They sometimes just take the cap off the beer and people tip them $1 or 20% of the drink. A housekeeper spends at least 25 minutes scrubbing your toilet, making your bed, cleaning your shower, exchanging your towels, picking up your dishes, and vacuuming your room.

 

Now take this to cruising.  The guys that work the hardest also get over looked.  The guys that work their asses off delivering all that luggage to thousands of staterooms are sometimes "mystery men."  We sometimes don't see them but if I catch them, I always tip them.  Its probably an entry level position with the cruise line but no doubt they work the hardest and invisible to many people.

The difference is that a US hotel housekeeper is paid at least minimum wage. Yes, they spend 25 minutes cleaning my room. That's what they're paid to do, and that cost is presumably included in my hotel room rate.

 

I don't tip bartenders, either. They made me a drink, which I'm paying for. If the bar has a waitress who takes my order and brings the drink out to me, I'll tip her a buck or two per drink, but if I have to go up to the bar to order and get it, why tip at all?

 

On the other hand, it's understood that cruise line room stewards are paid a ridiculously low wage which is made up by their tips (or DSCs or whatever you want to call them). We always pay the full DSCs on our cruises.

[RaiderDuck]

20 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

$37 a day?  Wow.   I had to go see what all kind of wonderful things that gets the customer.

 

"A $37 Daily Resort Fee plus applicable tax is applied to each hotel reservation and includes amenities that are sure to enhance your experience at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The resort fee includes: Property-wide high speed internet access (public spaces and in-room), unlimited local and toll free calls, airline boarding pass printing, notary service, and fitness center access for guests 18+. "

In other words, it gets you the exact same stuff most hotels give you as part of the basic room rate.

[newmexicoNita]

Just want to add, to the poster who just sent me an private EMail you may want to send it to me and anyone else on CD. It is pretty hard to answer otherwise. Yes, to answer I do care very much about the crew and how hard they work!!! that is why I would never remove the DSC and do, leave even a few extra $$s for some. No, I do not think they are so miss treated.  They come from countries where the standard of living may not be the same as ours. They do get their salary and part of the DSC pool. 

I would love to see how others feel about your view. We all have our opinions and love to share them with others. 

[Jasonmom]

Following

 

[roger001]

It's the total price of the cruise that must be measured.  All items added, totaled, then you see how much the cruise will actually cost.  That is the number that you consider.  Is that amount worth the cruise value or is that amount too high to be worth it.  All the individual charges could each double, triple, whatever, but the total is the answer.   

[mafig]

3 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

$37 a day?  Wow.   I had to go see what all kind of wonderful things that gets the customer.

 

"A $37 Daily Resort Fee plus applicable tax is applied to each hotel reservation and includes amenities that are sure to enhance your experience at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The resort fee includes: Property-wide high speed internet access (public spaces and in-room), unlimited local and toll free calls, airline boarding pass printing, notary service, and fitness center access for guests 18+. "

 

I just went to look at some other resort fees.  Mandy is more reasonable than Wynn-$39, Bellagio $44.22, Aria and Venetian $45.  There are also additional fees for refrigerators, room service, etc.  

 

[Sweetnspicy]

4 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

$37 a day?  Wow.   I had to go see what all kind of wonderful things that gets the customer.

 

"A $37 Daily Resort Fee plus applicable tax is applied to each hotel reservation and includes amenities that are sure to enhance your experience at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The resort fee includes: Property-wide high speed internet access (public spaces and in-room), unlimited local and toll free calls, airline boarding pass printing, notary service, and fitness center access for guests 18+. "

You are mostly paying for pools and beaches at Mandalay Bay. 

[Sweetnspicy]

3 hours ago, RaiderDuck said:

In other words, it gets you the exact same stuff most hotels give you as part of the basic room rate.

Not in Las Vegas! It’s all or nothing at the hotels. 

[bmwman]

Firstly I agree with Keith that NCL Uk prices became mad and do seem to have fallen back a lot. Mind you they have just dropped the Free at Sea and called it £99 upgrade. Me thinks they got told that you can not call something free if it is not!

 

as regards the cost I always look at total cost including the Service Charge but having spoke to exNCL staff I will from now on remove the charge and tip personally where great service provided. Does this affect what staff get behind the scenes team not really as they do not get much of it. Remember UK guests get it removed on the ship. It is discretionary. I do not believe in tipping people for doing a job   Never once even tipped an New York taxi. That’s me. If you disagree feel free but not bothered in the slightest. 

 

As regards Vegas I think you will find that Cesars is going to drop it  and the others to follow. I simply asked for mine to be removed and they were at another 5• hotel.  They actually agreed nothing was provided and the Guest services freely admitted that they never argue as most people simply do a chargeback and with international customers they lose. 

 

 

[mafig]

16 minutes ago, Sweetnspicy said:

You are mostly paying for pools and beaches at Mandalay Bay. 

I don't know if all of Mandalay Bay's pools are open all year round, but I know some of the other hotels close theirs', but you still have to pay the resort fee.

 

I never considered the resort fee to take the place of tipping housekeeping, though.

We tip housekeeping, but not $10/day.

[Sweetnspicy]

Just now, mafig said:

I don't know if all of Mandalay Bay's pools are open all year round, but I know some of the other hotels close theirs', but you still have to pay the resort fee.

 

I never considered the resort fee to take the place of tipping housekeeping, though.

We tip housekeeping, but not $10/day.

I don’t tip housekeeping. I travel a lot for work and don’t tip then either. 

[Nola26]

13 hours ago, SeaShark said:

 

That really isn't a fair comparison when you arbitrarily add people together to come up with a large number. One person, two people, three people, etc...the per person cost is the same. You go on three solo cruises and wouldn't reduce the DSC, yet 3 people on one cruise and you would? Not very fair IMHO. We shouldn't use multiple people as an excuse to justify taking money from someone else.

 

 

 

Assuming that for some unknown reason that the tips would not be reported on the tax return, EVERYONE would have to tip the $10 to make the $100 per day figure...and as you point out, we KNOW that some people are just not going to tip at all.

 

Even IF everyone did...if the housekeeper worked 5 days per week all 52 weeks of the year...no days off, no holidays, no vacation...that would be 260 workdays. Max tip income: $26k. Wow. A whole $26k. I guess we are to assume that hotel housekeepers are just living large!?! Yeah...can't image why people aren't lined up around the block for those jobs.

You're so riled it's funny. You might need to take a cruise soon. 

 

You may disagree with my view, but it has a fair basis. Steward cares for 2 cabins with 2 guests each. DSC is 4 x rate. Steward cares for one cabin with 4 guests, DSC is 4x rate. The work the steward does is less with one cabin, but DSC is potentially the same. It's reasonable to pay less beyond 2 in a cabin. By less work I mean only one bathroom, one floor, etc. to clean. 

 

I have never paid less than full DSC. When we cruise as a family we have left a bit extra. We didn't last cruise as steward wasn't that great and hard to work with.

 

This thread asked what's my limit. My answer is at $20 I might pay less on our family cruises. Your post hasn't changed my position, I might.

 

The rudest charge I have received from NCL was a 20% gratuity on an exercise class, despicable in my eyes. I will never take a paid class again on a NCL cruise. If you want $25 for the class tell me that, don't sneak in a few dollars after the fact. 

 

All that said I love cruising on NCL and am about to take my first European cruise. Super excited and comforted to know NCL will provide a great experience even if there's a blip here or there. 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by Nola26

[Birdie And Sue]

15 hours ago, RaiderDuck said:

I could not conceive of tipping a hotel housekeeper anything, let alone $10/day. Think about it: the typical maid cleans 10 rooms or more a day. At $10/room, that means they would be making $100/day (tax-free) on top of minimum wage.

 

My wife is normally on the road 38-40 weeks a year for business and neither she nor her coworkers ever tips hotel housekeeping.

 

 

Tips are not tax free.  Also the minimum wage for tipped employees is much lower than the non-tipped minimum wage, although if tips do not make up the difference, the employer must adjust the base wage to do so.

[room with a view]

A lot of discussion …… can anyone tell me how the DSC is distributed among the crew ?

It must add up to a sizeable amount with a full ship .. is there a distinction between room stewards, crew who deliver luggage , "washy washy " ,crew who are cleaning stairways etc ?.

Thanks,

[ColeThornton]

1 minute ago, room with a view said:

A lot of discussion …… can anyone tell me how the DSC is distributed among the crew ?

It must add up to a sizeable amount with a full ship .. is there a distinction between room stewards, crew who deliver luggage , "washy washy " ,crew who are cleaning stairways etc ?.

Thanks,

NCL does not publish how the DSC is distributed. 

[room with a view]

Thanks,     so how do we know how much of the DSC  is given to the crew .. and how much of it is goes back to NCL as a company ?

[ColeThornton]

1 minute ago, room with a view said:

Thanks,     so how do we know how much of the DSC  is given to the crew .. and how much of it is goes back to NCL as a company ?

 

We don't.   It's a closely guarded secret on par with who shot Kennedy and live space creatures at Area 51 .

[bmwman]

37 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

We don't.   It's a closely guarded secret on par with who shot Kennedy and live space creatures at Area 51 .

Its not a secret at all. I have asked many crew members and most answer the same,

 

I have  friends who work or worked for the cruise company  and the split is not all to the crew at all. Your grade also counts in the distribution They get a fair percentage but it may not be as much as you think. Why do you think they want you to tip Butler Concierge and Kids Crew. Its because not everyone use them so they need to be tipped as well. 

 

Maybe I am in a minority but my tip limit is lower than anything in the USA.  NCL have tried to include DSC many times in UK pricing as the numbers of UK and European (so I am told) removing or reducing the tip is very high indeed. 

 

If it puses the rpice of my cruise beyond what I want to pay then I will not go or remove the DSC - it is that easy,