Former NCL Bar Staff AMA

[erdoran]

7 hours ago, Ennzo said:

DSC always ends up in the staff's hands, NCL doesnt pay us salary you do, DSC is our salary, how it works is everything gets pulled and distributed evenly among hotel workers(galley,housekeeping, restaurant, bar etc).

If you choose to withdraw your DSC and give cash to your steward or anyone else you may do so, that cash will be only for that person he/she doesnt have to report to anyone how much cash she got or from who. Example you want to tip me cash, that cash is only mine, nobody has the right to take it away from me not even the captain. Hope i menaged to explain it well enough, english is not my first language😄

I have done all my 5 contracts on Epic, my 4th contract i joined Bliss but had to go home after 3 weeks in due to some family issues, and was resceduled to Epic on my way back. Favorite bar Maltings, Atrium Bar and Spice H2O.

Do you get paid the same with or without DSC?  Doesn’t Maritime Law mandate a minimum salary for all workers?  Would workers make MORE if everyone removed their DSC and distributed 100% of it as individual tips?

[hensed]

This is a weird question - if I book Haven but do not choose a drink package, Will I have to pay for the drinks from Haven bar? I assume that I do, but I can't find any definitive answer as to whether the Haven Bar drinks are free to Haven guests, or no.

[Greenpea2]

2 hours ago, hensed said:

This is a weird question - if I book Haven but do not choose a drink package, Will I have to pay for the drinks from Haven bar? I assume that I do, but I can't find any definitive answer as to whether the Haven Bar drinks are free to Haven guests, or no.

Drinks in the Haven are not free. 

[ray98]

17 hours ago, erdoran said:

Do you get paid the same with or without DSC?  Doesn’t Maritime Law mandate a minimum salary for all workers?  Would workers make MORE if everyone removed their DSC and distributed 100% of it as individual tips?

 

Some would make more....many who are not direct passenger facing would make nearly nothing

[Gershep]

Great thread.

[erdoran]

2 hours ago, ray98 said:

 

Some would make more....many who are not direct passenger facing would make nearly nothing

According to Jcheng, crew gets paid a minimum no matter how much DSC is collected.  If DSC is larger than a certain unknown figure then crew gets more, but if not, no matter how little is collected, crew pay reflects minimum.  

 

I’m wondering if the best thing appreciative cruisers can do for crew is remove all DSC and let NCL fund their own payroll, then LEGITIMATELY tip at least 100% of the DSC amount directly to crew.  I don’t know how the behind the scenes would be able to be directly tipped, but with the knowledge and info resources on this forum I’d bet we could figure it out.

 

Let’s skip the CHEAP, STEALING, and STIFFING talk and move onto the real discussion - for purposes of this discussion those who remove DSC commit to paying AT LEAST that figure in direct tips.  

Edited November 2, 2019 by erdoran

[ray98]

LOL....why does everyone want to reinvent the wheel when it comes to cruising? I guarantee not one person on these boards walks into their local bar and grill demanding to get to the bottom of who is paid what, if their pool tipping is distributed fairly, who tips out the bartenders and how many hours everyone is working.

 

Do what you want.  I guarantee if that crazy idea was to work NCL isn't going to say 'well gee you got us there'.  They will simply raise the price of the cruise fare to cover their expenses like they do with every other aspect of the business.

[AmR87]

Which Bar did you work at on Epic?  I went in summer of 2016.  Wondering if I met you!! 

[hensed]

9 hours ago, Greenpea2 said:

Drinks in the Haven are not free. 

Thank you!!

[ziggyuk]

2 hours ago, ray98 said:

LOL....why does everyone want to reinvent the wheel when it comes to cruising? I guarantee not one person on these boards walks into their local bar and grill demanding to get to the bottom of who is paid what, if their pool tipping is distributed fairly, who tips out the bartenders and how many hours everyone is working.

 

Do what you want.  I guarantee if that crazy idea was to work NCL isn't going to say 'well gee you got us there'.  They will simply raise the price of the cruise fare to cover their expenses like they do with every other aspect of the business.

 

I for one 100% do.

When I have a service charge automatically added to the bill, I ask if the staff get 100%, if they say no, I ask for it to be removed and I add the same amount (or more) as a tip.

 

SO..... How does your failed guarantee work?

[gmbhardy]

See below.

Edited November 3, 2019 by gmbhardy

[gmbhardy]

See below.

Edited November 3, 2019 by gmbhardy

[gmbhardy]

Let me just add that I concur with other posters that nearly all the bartenders on NCL are hard working, personable, and if you take the time to talk with them, more interesting and genuine than most cruisers. We have bartender friends on many ships and look forward to making new ones on every cruise we take.

[Seany527]

So if the DSC pays the salary, how does it work if the cruise isn't sailing with a high guest count?  My most recent cruise had a double capacity of 3,800 guests, but we were sailing at around 2,600.  Thats less DSC, so does that mean you make less money that week?

[NLH Arizona]

xxx

Edited November 3, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[pcakes122]

6 hours ago, erdoran said:

Let’s skip the CHEAP, STEALING, and STIFFING talk and move onto the real discussion - for purposes of this discussion those who remove DSC commit to paying AT LEAST that figure in direct tips.  

Actually, this discussion is not about the DSC.  This discussion was started by a former NCL employee who is being gracious with his time & information by sharing with us.  How about let's skip the thread hijacking and not turn this into another tipping argument?

 

To the OP - thanks so much for coming here!  I've never been on the Epic but I still thank you for great service!!  Good luck in all your future endeavors!

[NLH Arizona]

2 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

Actually, this discussion is not about the DSC.  This discussion was started by a former NCL employee who is being gracious with his time & information by sharing with us.  How about let's skip the thread hijacking and not turn this into another tipping argument?

 

To the OP - thanks so much for coming here!  I've never been on the Epic but I still thank you for great service!!  Good luck in all your future endeavors!

You are correct, so I deleted my response to erdoran.  Sorry.

[erdoran]

Not trying to turn into tipping thread at all, trying to find out how to get DSC crew the most money based on DSC dollars, which can be quite substantial. Hearing that DSC is used for crew paychecks is sad 

Edited November 3, 2019 by erdoran

[SeaShark]

43 minutes ago, erdoran said:

Not trying to turn into tipping thread at all, trying to find out how to get DSC crew the most money based on DSC dollars, which can be quite substantial. Hearing that DSC is used for crew paychecks is sad 

 

I don't understand why that is "sad". This is not new, this is not a secret, NCL has been upfront about this all along...

 

"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."

 

The DSC funds their salary. The DSC funds various incentive programs for employees. It is right there in the FAQ for everyone to see. Nobody ever claimed this money was a giant "tip pool" that was split equally among employees.

 

I agree with the poster who said earlier that we need to spend less time worrying about who gets what money. I don't see people this worried about how the employees at the hotel they stay in pre/post cruise are paid...

[SeaShark]

This may seem rather obvious, but since the OP was a bar employee, they would not have been a part of the DSC...

 

"Also, certain staff positions (e.g., concierge, butler, youth program staff and beverage service) provide service on an individual basis to only some guests and do not benefit from the overall service charge."

 

Perhaps the questions should be directed toward bar-related topics where the OP has direct first-hand knowledge instead of trying to extract reasons to support not paying the crew...

 

Unless, of course, people just want to turn this into another "give me a reason to not pay the DSC" thread so that the Mods will delete it and we will lose access to a good person who is simply wishing to help out by answering questions. 

[Trimone]

Anyone else thinking the OP is someone that took a cruise on the Epic?
 

 

[ColeThornton]

42 minutes ago, Trimone said:

Anyone else thinking the OP is someone that took a cruise on the Epic?
 

 

 

 

No comment.   😉

[erdoran]

On 11/1/2019 at 11:33 AM, Ennzo said:

DSC always ends up in the staff's hands, NCL doesnt pay us salary you do, DSC is our salary, how it works is everything gets pulled and distributed evenly among hotel workers(galley,housekeeping, restaurant, bar etc).

If you choose to withdraw your DSC and give cash to your steward or anyone else you may do so, that cash will be only for that person he/she doesnt have to report to anyone how much cash she got or from who. Example you want to tip me cash, that cash is only mine, nobody has the right to take it away from me not even the captain. Hope i menaged to explain it well enough, english is not my first language😄

I have done all my 5 contracts on Epic, my 4th contract i joined Bliss but had to go home after 3 weeks in due to some family issues, and was resceduled to Epic on my way back. Favorite bar Maltings, Atrium Bar and Spice H2O.

Sorry I raised the evidently taboo issue of handing staff DSC directly.  Assuming the total $$ paid out is identical,  I wanted to know if crew benefits more from it being given to them directly or given to NCL.  Clearly the "right" answer is "give it to NCL" based on some of the responses to my question.  I was responding to the above highlighted section, which made me think it's better for the crew to give them their tips directly.  Clearly I misunderstood and should not have raised such a controversial topic.  There was NEVER an intent to use that to justify people paying out LESS than the total DSC-it has to start with the basis of "DSC is $500 for my cruise, so if I were to give it out directly I must give out at least $500 directly, and be certain the behind the scenes people share in it".  

 

Ennzo, thank you so  much for clarifying some of the mysteries.  I never know whether I'm wasting crew time chit-chatting with them--I am always polite & respectful, but don't know if crew actually wants to interact or is just being polite to pax.  Great to know it's "ok" to chit-chat if the bartender isn't swamped, and to get to know them.  LOVED our bartenders in Bliss Haven summer 2018, friendly and expert mixologists!

Edited November 3, 2019 by erdoran

[NLH Arizona]

22 minutes ago, erdoran said:

Sorry I raised the evidently taboo issue of handing staff DSC directly.  Assuming the total $$ paid out is identical,  I wanted to know if crew benefits more from it being given to them directly or given to NCL.  Clearly the "right" answer is "give it to NCL" based on some of the responses to my question.  I was responding to the above highlighted section, which made me think it's better for the crew to give them their tips directly.  Clearly I misunderstood and should not have raised such a controversial topic.  There was NEVER an intent to use that to justify people paying out LESS than the total DSC-it has to start with the basis of "DSC is $500 for my cruise, so if I were to give it out directly I must give out at least $500 directly, and be certain the behind the scenes people share in it".  

 

Ennzo, thank you so  much for clarifying some of the mysteries.  I never know whether I'm wasting crew time chit-chatting with them--I am always polite & respectful, but don't know if crew actually wants to interact or is just being polite to pax.  Great to know it's "ok" to chit-chat if the bartender isn't swamped, and to get to know them.  LOVED our bartenders in Bliss Haven summer 2018, friendly and expert mixologists!

If you want to start a discussion on your suggestion, why not start another thread on it?

[njhorseman]

5 hours ago, SeaShark said:

This may seem rather obvious, but since the OP was a bar employee, they would not have been a part of the DSC...

Which makes me very skeptical, to day the least, about the credibility of the what the OP is saying. If the OP was truly a member of NCL bar crew one might think they would know their compensation came from the 20% beverage service charge, not the DSC. 🙄