Faye G Posted February 13, 2020 #1 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) Hi there, Booked my first MSC cruise today via a travel agent, so I don't have all the info through yet... I'm UK but sail from Durban South Africa in April 20. I asked about gratuities and they say there was none but still talked about a daily charge added to room that can be removed (which I wouldn't do) as if she wasn't actually sure... so I'm confused. Their website says: SERVICE CHARGES / GRATUITIES Service Charge / Gratuities are included in the cruise fare. Tips MSC Cruises does not recommend tipping individual members of staff. So, I'm still unsure! Are my grats included in the price I paid, or not. When I google I see the grats are included for UK sailings or something but although we are from the UK we sail from SA.... or... do sailings for all countries now include grats in the price - I hope so but I'm so so confused... and googling is confusing me even more. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you Faye Edited February 13, 2020 by Faye G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Até Posted February 13, 2020 #2 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) The daily service charge inclusion on UK bookings has been in the works with MSC. I'm not booking in UK some mention beginning in June, but I think they are now included in new bookings. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2673625-daily-service-charge-uk-bookings/?tab=comments#comment-57745971 Edited February 13, 2020 by Até 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faye G Posted February 13, 2020 Author #3 Share Posted February 13, 2020 Thanks Ate' I don't mind paying this of course but its important to know if I need to or not and even reading their brochures are not clear. Much appreciate your reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmas gran Posted February 13, 2020 #4 Share Posted February 13, 2020 If I can chip in here DSC (daily service charge ) are the gratuities on MSC and have been include for us on bookings made since June 2019 as Ate said. Liz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgourmet Posted February 13, 2020 #5 Share Posted February 13, 2020 11 hours ago, emmas gran said: If I can chip in here DSC (daily service charge ) are the gratuities on MSC and have been include for us on bookings made since June 2019 as Ate said. Liz Okay, now I'm confused. Booked in Dec 2019 for cruise this month. Booked thru TA in the US (and we live in the US). How can I. Confirm if the gratuities are included?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedprincess Posted February 13, 2020 #6 Share Posted February 13, 2020 15 minutes ago, jkgourmet said: Okay, now I'm confused. Booked in Dec 2019 for cruise this month. Booked thru TA in the US (and we live in the US). How can I. Confirm if the gratuities are included?? Unless you booked under a promo that included the daily service charge, or your TA paid them for you, they are not included in your fare for bookings made in the US, regardless of when you booked.. they will be an additional charge, added as a lump sum once aboard, unless you prepay through your TA 13 hours ago, Faye G said: Hi there, Booked my first MSC cruise today via a travel agent, so I don't have all the info through yet... I'm UK but sail from Durban South Africa in April 20. I asked about gratuities and they say there was none but still talked about a daily charge added to room that can be removed (which I wouldn't do) as if she wasn't actually sure... so I'm confused. Their website says: SERVICE CHARGES / GRATUITIES Service Charge / Gratuities are included in the cruise fare. Tips MSC Cruises does not recommend tipping individual members of staff. So, I'm still unsure! Are my grats included in the price I paid, or not. When I google I see the grats are included for UK sailings or something but although we are from the UK we sail from SA.... or... do sailings for all countries now include grats in the price - I hope so but I'm so so confused... and googling is confusing me even more. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you Faye Since June 2019, For bookings made from the UK/Ireland, the daily service charge has been included/rolled into the total cost of the cruise. Doesn't matter where you're sailing from - what matters is where you're booking, as different countries have different rules about consumer pricing, etc.. the DSC Is not a separate item on these bookings, isn't charged aboard, anymore. One flat price, including taxes, fees, service charge. The DSC is also not removable on these bookings, as they're included in the total fare, not a separate extra item. ------------ That's said, above for UK/Ireland bookings is my understanding from reading loads of posts, website, etc. I could be wrong, but that's my understanding.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgourmet Posted February 13, 2020 #7 Share Posted February 13, 2020 11 minutes ago, reedprincess said: Unless you booked under a promo that included the daily service charge, or your TA paid them for you, they are not included in your fare for bookings made in the US, regardless of when you booked.. they will be an additional charge, added as a lump sum once aboard, unless you prepay through your TA . Thank you. That has answered MY question very adequately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Reds4life Posted February 14, 2020 #8 Share Posted February 14, 2020 If you are from the US and book a cruise departing from Europe through the US site, is the DSC compulsory? Meaning can it be removed like on cruises departing from the US? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reedprincess Posted February 14, 2020 #9 Share Posted February 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Reds4life said: If you are from the US and book a cruise departing from Europe through the US site, is the DSC compulsory? Meaning can it be removed like on cruises departing from the US? The DSC is not compulsory/it is not included in the price if booking from USA, regardless of where the cruise is sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now