Gratuities/Daily Service Charges increasing!!

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

As a couple we were new to cruising when we went on our first NCL cruise in April of this year. We then quickly booked a second cruise for August. In 23 or 24 days we're going on a third, and a fourth in March. Obviously, we'll gladly take your space on the boat! I'm glad you have found an alternative to cruising NCL though. Continue having a blast on your trips! 

 

Hey, so happy you enjoy the present day NCL. Enjoy your cruises, too!! I wish you would have had an opportunity to experience NCL pre pandemic. It was an even more wonderful experience at a fraction of the cost. True value.

Edited December 8, 2022 by luv2kroooz

[aquafit]

Hello, I'm new to NCL, sailing on January 3rd.  On my previous ones with Royal Caribbean I have always removed the auto-gratuities in order to tip direct to the crew members(I know this is controversial!) and on booking NCL their agent told me that I can do the same once I get onboard.  Is this correct? Thanks.

[PATRLR]

On 12/6/2022 at 5:45 PM, jazzydiver said:

Hmm...my January cruise includes "free gratuities" from the travel agent.  My booking (made it back in August) does not show gratuities as being pre-paid, but when I checked with the TA in September they said that is normal - it will be paid.

 

With the rate increase, I wonder if I should double-check with the TA....

When you get on board, while you still have land based cell coverage, if you don't have something in your room indicating the DSC is covered, I suggest calling the TA again.  We had a simialr circumstance and at the edn of the cruise when we borught it up and presented our paperwork documenting that the DSC was suppsoed to be paid, I am pretty sure Guest Services did what they would do if we asked for the DSC to be removed.  I was not happy and wished I'd addressed it earlier in the cruise.

12 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Because if they wanted to make more money they should increase cruise fares. Not increase service charges which a majority of people think are going directly to workers as tips.

 

@chengkp75 gave an excellent description of how the staff is compensated and how the DSC factors into it.  This was within the last month.   The staff does receive a variable component of their compensation based on the DSC.  Based on Chengkp75's description, I am comfortable that the DSC is a reasonable replacement for the weekly envelope (tips) that we used to have.  As far as I am concerned, the DSC IS the weekly expected tip for room stewards and waiters.

 

20 minutes ago, aquafit said:

Hello, I'm new to NCL, sailing on January 3rd.  On my previous ones with Royal Caribbean I have always removed the auto-gratuities in order to tip direct to the crew members(I know this is controversial!) and on booking NCL their agent told me that I can do the same once I get onboard.  Is this correct? Thanks.

Yes you can do it.  Many here will object to doing so because supposedly you would then be leaving back of the house staff out of the tip pool.  As I wrote above, chengkp75 (a former NCL onboard staffer) explained how the DSC does in fact fund the staffs variable component (tips) of their compensation.  

[New2cruise2022]

2 hours ago, tony s said:

Hey why the debate? It is a DISCRETIONARY Service Charge which means what you pay is up to you. If you feel the service is worth it you pay the full price. If not then pay what you think it is worth. I know some folks will scream about the poor crew but many of us have to budget and scrimp for our holidays . We already get stuck with the beverage  surcharge. There is no reason to be rude to staff but at the same time I am not here to supplement NCL labor costs. If I am not getting what E paid for then I need some form of redress. When we had issues in past I found only way to get past guest relations and the chocolate covered strawberries they love to give despite noted allergies was to want to cut the DSC.

Is cutting/reducing the DSC a guilt tripping procedure or as easy as saying, “Please remove these from my account?” Can it be done on day 1 or do you have to wait until the end of the cruise?

 

Or, is it like a time share presentation and you have to negotiate and list why you are unhappy?

[PATRLR]

4 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

like a time share presentation

No - that's the Cruise Next folks.

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

You know, this kind of feels like a year end accounting/cash thing - if a bunch of us prepay the DSC (which basically sounds like tip sharing), NCL gets cash on the BS (and in the bank) and reduces their receivables.

What does the end of the year have to do with anything?  Prepayment isn't required until 24 hours prior to the cruise to receive a smaller historical rate.

[laudergayle]

20 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

What does the end of the year have to do with anything?  Prepayment isn't required until 24 hours prior to the cruise to receive a smaller historical rate.

While I’m sure you’re just pointing out the technicality of when to pay…Remember if you are going to wait till 24 hours before cruise you won’t be able to pay through the app (and maybe online) since they close your access 72 hours (?) before sail date.

[New2cruise2022]

22 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

What does the end of the year have to do with anything?  Prepayment isn't required until 24 hours prior to the cruise to receive a smaller historical rate.

It may not be the only purpose of this change, but almost certainly a byproduct of the rate hike is to fill the coffers. It is a good accounting move to flood cash flow, regardless of fiscal year or timing. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

I wish you would have had an opportunity to experience NCL pre pandemic. It was an even more wonderful experience at a fraction of the cost.

Well, since 95/100 is a fraction, I won't argue with you.  Seriously, if you take all things into consideration, I don't think than NCL's final costs for a cruise with booze and specialty dining and some Shorex subsidies have gone up any meaningful amount since pre-Covid.

[Deacon22]

OK my head hurts reading this.  

I paid everything in advance looking at my bill. It says I paid 222.72 for Free At Sea Gratuities.

 

Is that what they are talking about?  My bill says amount due 0. Is there an additional surcharge coming or is that it?

[KeithJenner]

5 minutes ago, Deacon22 said:

OK my head hurts reading this.  

I paid everything in advance looking at my bill. It says I paid 222.72 for Free At Sea Gratuities.

 

Is that what they are talking about?  My bill says amount due 0. Is there an additional surcharge coming or is that it?

This is nothing to do with the free at sea gratuities.

 

This is the service charge which is added to your bill every day during the cruise (unless you prepay it).

[PATRLR]

20 minutes ago, Deacon22 said:

I paid everything in advance looking at my bill. It says I paid 222.72 for Free At Sea Gratuities.

 

Is that what they are talking about?  My bill says amount due 0. Is there an additional surcharge coming or is that it?

13 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

This is nothing to do with the free at sea gratuities.

 

This is the service charge which is added to your bill every day during the cruise (unless you prepay it).

@Deacon22 So, yes, there is an additional charge coming.  Each day on the cruise you will get a charge of $X per person and $X is going to go up.  You can avoid seeing $X on your bill by prepaying the DSC.  And, added bonus, if you prepay the DSC, you will avoid the increase. 

[Deacon22]

22 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

@Deacon22 So, yes, there is an additional charge coming.  Each day on the cruise you will get a charge of $X per person and $X is going to go up.  You can avoid seeing $X on your bill by prepaying the DSC.  And, added bonus, if you prepay the DSC, you will avoid the increase. 

Thank you for clearing that up.

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Well, since 95/100 is a fraction, I won't argue with you.  Seriously, if you take all things into consideration, I don't think than NCL's final costs for a cruise with booze and specialty dining and some Shorex subsidies have gone up any meaningful amount since pre-Covid.

So cute. I don't come on here to argue, by the way. Just sharing opinion and observation from someone who has 200+ days sailed with NCL pre-Corona and zero days sailed post-Corona. As I said in a prior post, we've done 7 land based vacations and 1 cruise on a competitor and have found better value there. Your mileage may, and apparently does, vary.

Edited December 8, 2022 by luv2kroooz

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, luv2kroooz said:

So cute. I don't come on here to argue, by the way.

Since you now only do land vacations and non-NCL cruises, then why do you come on here?

[luv2kroooz]

Just now, ChiefMateJRK said:

Since you now only do land vacations and non-NCL cruises, then why do you come on here?

Candidly, what I do or don't do should be no concern of yours. But, since you asked, I will answer your personal question. I have had many enjoyable cruises and continue to  actively look for good value. I also am interested in the industry as a whole from a financial (stockholder) perspective and a leisure travel perspective. I also have 4 cruise next certificates with NCL that I have to burn before 2026 and I find it helpful to be informed as much as I can about what is happening on NCL and the ships of competing cruise lines.

[ChiefMateJRK]

8 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

also have 4 cruise next certificates with NCL that I have to burn before 2026

Are these the ones that can only be purchased on board and expire after four years?

[luv2kroooz]

14 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Are these the ones that can only be purchased on board and expire after four years?

Yep. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Yep. 

So you did cruise NCL in 2022?

[luv2kroooz]

32 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

So you did cruise NCL in 2022?

Really? I feel like I am being cross examined in court. Again, it really should be no concern of yours when I last sailed on NCL or if I intend to again. Half the people on here probably couldn't care less about me, but, since you asked, I will explain for your benefit. I said I haven't cruised NCL post Corona and I stand by that. The one cruise I took in 2022 was a 14 day on Carnival Cruise Lines. I bot the 4 cruisenext on a 2020 NCL cruise pre Corona. NCL graciously extended the original 2024 expiration date to 2026 due to Corona.

 

If you find NCL acceptable, then by all means, cruise away. It is ok, even healthy, for people to have different opinions and debate what works and doesn't work for them. If NCL offered a price point where I found value, I would sail NCL again. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

It is ok, even healthy, for people to have different opinions and debate what works and doesn't work for them.

I thought that was what I was doing??  People come into the NCL forum and state that NCL is the anti-Christ.  I usually beg to differ...

 

And, to your point, I really couldn't care less about what you're doing (I'm guessing it is much more than half).  Just responding to outrageous comments.  That is what an internet forum is often about.

[prmssk]

14 hours ago, thehowlingroad said:

 

Considering that Princess has given booked customers a bit over 2 months' notice about an increase to "crew appreciation," I don't think it's too much to ask for more than 3 weeks' notice.

Princess’s crew appreciation is increasing for bookings starting mid-next week so they have given even less notice than NCL.  

Edited December 8, 2022 by prmssk

[luv2kroooz]

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I thought that was what I was doing??  People come into the NCL forum and state that NCL is the anti-Christ.  I usually beg to differ...

In my opinion, you crossed the line with the personal questions about why I am here, if I have cruise next certificates, and then asking a question which I had already answered.

 

But I wish you smooth sailing and am concluding my comments so as to allow for relevant discussion.

As you quite rightly note, the people that couldn't care less is likely well in excess of 50%. I'm out.

[New2cruise2022]

5 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Is cutting/reducing the DSC a guilt tripping procedure or as easy as saying, “Please remove these from my account?” Can it be done on day 1 or do you have to wait until the end of the cruise?

 

Or, is it like a time share presentation and you have to negotiate and list why you are unhappy?

Based on the lack of response, I wonder if removing the DSC is, in fact, more of an urban legend and this discussion is a lot of lather over nothing. 

[dbrown84]

3 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Based on the lack of response, I wonder if removing the DSC is, in fact, more of an urban legend and this discussion is a lot of lather over nothing. 

removing the DSC is an easy and straight forward process.  You go to guest services and say you want to remove the DSC.  They will give you a form to fill out.  there is a section on the form for you to put a reason, but it doesn't matter what you put in there.  You can simply put "personal" in the box.  You will still the the daily charge hit your account each day.  Then on the last night, all the charges will drop off.  that is how it works if you remove the DSC completely.  I don't know how they do the charges/adjustments if you simply change the amount of the DSC.  I'm guessing you'd see the full charge each day, then they will adjust the amount accordingly on the last night