Service Charge removal experiences?

[TheWaterDoc]

Hello, Just interested in if anyone has used the NCL process for removing 'service charges' and how they got on with it and how much resistance or delay they received from NCL?

 

I really don't want to get into the 'tipping' debate' just interested in the NCL charge recovery experience for those that prefer to cash tip those that have given deserving service.

 

My understanding is Guest Services give you a form and you fill it out and then scan copy and email to them and in a few weeks you get the charges refunded?

 

Any experiences gratefully received - thank you

[KeithJenner]

You may not want a tipping debate, but you will get one.

 

Any responses you do get to your question may not be reliable anyway, as the majority of people on here are from the US and I believe (although I don’t know for sure) that there may be a difference in how these things are handled depending on where people are from.

[ziggyuk]

OK, I'm going to be straight with people on this subject as it comes up all the time and I now have first hand experience.

Before I begin, let me put it out there I never have grats removed and normally pre pay them a few days before we leave as I did on my last New Zealand cruise a few weeks ago.

So, I had serious issues in my cabin, I will not go into what happened as I am not debating if it was or was not serious, it was to us... very serious.

I was so fed up with reporting the issue and having maintenance come and be unable to fix the problem I decided to take action. I know from past experience if any issue is not reported on the ship, there is absolutely no point reporting it when home.

I went to customer services and joined a line of Brits and Aussies wanting their grats removed from their onboard accounts, in each case they simply signed a for and the charges were removed, no reason even required.

In my case, I told them I had given them 5 days to resolve the issue and they had failed 5 days running, and as such I wanted 50% of my pre paid grats refunded due to the bad service, as I had pre paid they gave me a form that I had to submit when home. But.... only because my currency was not the same as the ships currency, if I had paid in US$ I would have had a cash refund straight away, there and then.

Having got home I posted the form off to NCL Southampton who quickly replied to say they would offer me $50 OBC on my next cruise, that really got my goat and I replied concisely what would happen next if they did not resolve things, I also provided a fuller explanation of what happened that I could not include on the form.

Within 3 hours they replied, this time with a full apology, the refund of my grats and an offer of $500 OBC on my next cruise. They had realised what we had been put through!
I did not require the grats refunded but accepted the $500. The grat removal form was key to getting action taken, without it they would not have considered my case but as the ship issued the form they knew the ship was unable to resolve my issue.

So, the facts:
1, I never remove grats.
2, Grats can be removed on the penultimate day at customer services by filling a form, no reason needed.
3, If pre-paid in other than US$ you get a form to post to your local NCL office when home.
4, They may try to palm you off with a ridiculous offer, reject it.
5, If a reasonable offer of compensation is made, cancel the grats removal, it did it's job.

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by ziggyuk

[ziggyuk]

And, here is a copy of the form for a post cruise request where a pre-payment was made in currency other than US$ is used.
All other refunds are done as a cancellation of charges or a US$ cash refund (if pre-paid).

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by ziggyuk

[ziggyuk]

And for completeness, here is the final offer letter.

 

[cybergremlin]

You can go to guest services the day before disembarking and fill out a form, you will get little to no friction about why you are reducing/removing the DSC.

 

if you have prepaid you will get the refund after the cruise has ended, if you are paying onboard it’ll be deducted from your onboard account that evening

 

Just join the queue behind the rest of us brits 

[2Cruise4Ever]

4 hours ago, TheWaterDoc said:

Hello, Just interested in if anyone has used the NCL process for removing 'service charges' and how they got on with it and how much resistance or delay they received from NCL?

 

I really don't want to get into the 'tipping' debate' just interested in the NCL charge recovery experience for those that prefer to cash tip those that have given deserving service.

 

My understanding is Guest Services give you a form and you fill it out and then scan copy and email to them and in a few weeks you get the charges refunded?

 

Any experiences gratefully received - thank you

When we sailed on Getaway in February, we pre-paid our daily service charges.  Yet, I noticed on the app that we were charged anyway.  Went to Guest Services on Day 3 and showed them the proof of payment receipt and they removed them.  Yes, I filled out a form.  And, they were removed on Day 5.  No issues.

 

However, if you plan to self-tip, you will likely get some resistance as the daily service charge supposedly goes to others behind the scenes that you do not see (some debate on whether this actually happens) as well as your bartenders, servers, and cabin steward.

[TheWaterDoc]

1 hour ago, cybergremlin said:

You can go to guest services the day before disembarking and fill out a form, you will get little to no friction about why you are reducing/removing the DSC.

 

if you have prepaid you will get the refund after the cruise has ended, if you are paying onboard it’ll be deducted from your onboard account that evening

 

Just join the queue behind the rest of us brits 

Thank you for just answering the question

[TheWaterDoc]

41 minutes ago, 2Cruise4Ever said:

When we sailed on Getaway in February, we pre-paid our daily service charges.  Yet, I noticed on the app that we were charged anyway.  Went to Guest Services on Day 3 and showed them the proof of payment receipt and they removed them.  Yes, I filled out a form.  And, they were removed on Day 5.  No issues.

 

However, if you plan to self-tip, you will likely get some resistance as the daily service charge supposedly goes to others behind the scenes that you do not see (some debate on whether this actually happens) as well as your bartenders, servers, and cabin steward.

Thank you

[Hutcha]

6 hours ago, TheWaterDoc said:

 

I really don't want to get into the 'tipping' debate' just interested in the NCL charge recovery experience for those that prefer to cash tip those that have given deserving service.

 

Too bad, and don't get your knickers in a twist over it. You brought up a topic that is easily searchable, as it gets brought up at least weekly. It is also a widely debated topic, so you're going to get people's opinions on it. Don't like it? Don't bring it up. 

 

You're free to have your own tipping patterns. It doesn't mean others will like it or accept it. Fact of the matter is, If you are only tipping "those that have given deserving service", you are stiffing those that you don't see providing services to you that would have received the tip. 

[graphicguy]

9 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Let's face it, Option A, B, or C...neither choice "saves money" for anyone.

 

Let's also get to the inconvenient truth here...there are basically two real reasons that people would want to go through the trouble of withholding the DSC, and then the trouble of tipping on their own.

 

Reason #1 - They are cheap. Plain and simple, their personal tipping plan will be somewhere between $0 and "less than the DSC". By withholding they can pay less and use whatever twisted logic they can to justify it to themselves.

 

Reason #2 - Ego. Yep, you read that right. There are people out there who prefer to tip in cash directly because their ego needs the "appreciation" they get from the "servant class" when they receive money from the guest. Their ego thrives on "I am giving money to you...this comes from ME...not from some anonymous DSC fund. Be grateful that I chose you to receive it."

 

 

Interesting take.  Mulling it over.

 

To remove the DSC BEFORE the cruise qualifies on both your reasons.  Removing DSC because something was wrong with the cabin, if it had nothing to do with the cabin steward, is also perplexing to me.

 

Remove it, keep it, none of that really matters to me.  But, to plan on removing them PRIOR to the end of the cruise, is somewhat a “thing” I don’t understand.

 

NCL (and Carnival, and Royal, and MSC, etc) all have similar DSC programs to each other.  They all bill these similarly.  The whole “I’ll decide who gets my tips and how much they get” always falls into the crew, somewhere, is going to get shafted.  Yeah, you may tip a bartender here or there, but what about the bar backs?  You may tip the cabin steward separately, but what about the laundry personnel?  You may tip the servers, but what about the bussers at your dining establishment?  I could got on, but you get the drift.

 

If you’re not removing the DSC for cause, then why would you want to remove them before you’re even done with your cruise?

[Hutcha]

2 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

If you’re not removing the DSC for cause, then why would you want to remove them before you’re even done with your cruise?

It's the culture. They will tell you it's because they prefer to tip personally, but it's really because they don't agree with being told they HAVE to tip.

[Hutcha]

[bkrickles1]

6 hours ago, TheWaterDoc said:

Hello, Just interested in if anyone has used the NCL process for removing 'service charges' and how they got on with it and how much resistance or delay they received from NCL?

 

I really don't want to get into the 'tipping' debate' just interested in the NCL charge recovery experience for those that prefer to cash tip those that have given deserving service.

 

My understanding is Guest Services give you a form and you fill it out and then scan copy and email to them and in a few weeks you get the charges refunded?

 

Any experiences gratefully received - thank you

Just to answer what you're asking:

I get up every morning on a cruise at 5:30AM to, either go to the gym (on NCL it's always open when I go at that time) or get some coffee on the Waterfront and relax.

It's also a great time to go to Guest Services with any questions/issues as there is no line at all.

One morning on my Encore sailing in January, 2020 (just as pandemic was beginning), I went to GS at 5:40AM with a minor issue and was behind someone (extremely rare at that time) who asked for the form to remove DSC. She was given the form without question and, by the time I was finished asking my question, was giving the form back to GS.

I lingered for just a moment to see if GS asked how they could help resolve any issues the guest had, but they just took the form and said it would be taken care of immediately.

It was kind of sad, actually, that GS didn't utilize the opportunity to find out more and see if they could improve the guests experience.

[TheWaterDoc]

11 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

Too bad, and don't get your knickers in a twist over it. You brought up a topic that is easily searchable, as it gets brought up at least weekly. It is also a widely debated topic, so you're going to get people's opinions on it. Don't like it? Don't bring it up. 

 

You're free to have your own tipping patterns. It doesn't mean others will like it or accept it. Fact of the matter is, If you are only tipping "those that have given deserving service", you are stiffing those that you don't see providing services to you that would have received the tip. 

I love belonging to a really helpful community full of people that spend their time helpfully answering the specific questions asked, rather than just ranting and forcing their unwanted opinions down people throats…

[graphicguy]

1 minute ago, bkrickles1 said:

Just to answer what you're asking:

I get up every morning on a cruise at 5:30AM to, either go to the gym (on NCL it's always open when I go at that time) or get some coffee on the Waterfront and relax.

It's also a great time to go to Guest Services with any questions/issues as there is no line at all.

One morning on my Encore sailing in January, 2020 (just as pandemic was beginning), I went to GS at 5:40AM with a minor issue and was behind someone (extremely rare at that time) who asked for the form to remove DSC. She was given the form without question and, by the time I was finished asking my question, was giving the form back to GS.

I lingered for just a moment to see if GS asked how they could help resolve any issues the guest had, but they just took the form and said it would be taken care of immediately.

It was kind of sad, actually, that GS didn't utilize the opportunity to find out more and see if they could improve the guests experience.

Any time I’ve gone to GS to have something addressed, they usually bend over backwards to address it.  It shouldn’t be a guessing game whether a crew can or can not guess why anyone wants the remove the GSC.  Tell them why.  See if you can get a resolution.  Don’t try to make them guess.

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, 2Cruise4Ever said:

Many people prefer to self-tip and do so generously!  

I’ve asked some of my cabin stewards across different cruise lines if they prefer cash or prepaid gratuities. Every single one has said that they prefer prepaid gratuities. The reason? Because most people who remove gratuities don’t leave anything, and those who do, leave a very small amount. Best tippers? Those who prepay gratuities AND leave extra cash on top. 
 

When all of them are saying the same thing, I believe that there may be some truth to it. 
 

 

[ziggyuk]

4 minutes ago, TheWaterDoc said:

I love belonging to a really helpful community full of people that spend their time helpfully answering the specific questions asked, rather than just ranting and forcing their unwanted opinions down people throats…

 

Your question has been answered multiple times, as always it then turns into a debate, participate if you want but don't complain you are not getting answers, you did.

[SeaShark]

5 minutes ago, TheWaterDoc said:

I love belonging to a really helpful community full of people that spend their time helpfully answering the specific questions asked, rather than just ranting and forcing their unwanted opinions down people throats…

 

How very passive-aggressive of you. Problem here is that you didn't ask a specific question...you asked for people's individual experiences. You even said: "Any experiences gratefully received ". 

 

When does the "gratefully" start?

[graphicguy]

OP. ….noting like throwing a hand grenade into a thread and then being incredulous when it blows up.

[2Cruise4Ever]

27 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

By removing the daily service charge and only tipping who you feel like, if any, you are stiffing all of the other crew members who benefit from the Daily Service Charge. Yes????

Umm... no... like I said, you can go to Guest Services and ask that some cash be given to the people who work behind the scenes.  I've been cruising for over 20 years.  Back in the day, they gave you envelopes to give out cash tips... none of them went to anyone we did not interact with while on board.  They went to our cabin steward, maître de of the restaurants, servers and bar tenders.  The only reason cruise lines started adding on board service charges is because too many passengers skipped out on these tips.

 

Most of the people I know who have the daily service charge removed tip WAY above and beyond what they would have cost in the first place.  For instance, I ALWAYS give at least $2 per drink to every bar  server, give a cash tip to our server in the restaurants, and am very generous to our cabin steward.  And, in most cases, cash to guest services to be distributed to everyone else (who didn't even receive tips in the past anyway).  

 

Please do not assume that everyone who has their daily service charges removed are "stiffing all the other crew members who benefit from the DSC..."  which, by the way, hardly receive anything anyway.

[vince_g]

1 hour ago, 2Cruise4Ever said:

LOL is right... but not familiar with this particular poster....

Lucky you!

[2Cruise4Ever]

5 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I’ve asked some of my cabin stewards across different cruise lines if they prefer cash or prepaid gratuities. Every single one has said that they prefer prepaid gratuities. The reason? Because most people who remove gratuities don’t leave anything, and those who do, leave a very small amount. Best tippers? Those who prepay gratuities AND leave extra cash on top. 
 

When all of them are saying the same thing, I believe that there may be some truth to it. 
 

 

Interesting...  I've asked many cabin stewards over the last 20 years what they prefer and they all told me they prefer cash.  Everyone has different experiences I guess.

[Two Wheels Only]

5 minutes ago, TheWaterDoc said:

I love belonging to a really helpful community full of people that spend their time helpfully answering the specific questions asked, rather than just ranting and forcing their unwanted opinions down people throats…

 

An open forum will have a multitude of responses. Nobody is forcing an opinion on anyone since that isn't possible. 

 

If someone asks "How much is NCL's drink package?", they'll get an answer to the question but they might also get responses of "MSC's drink package is better because...With Carnival's drink package you get...." and that's perfectly fine. Maybe someone else will appreciate the response. 

[cybergremlin]

Maybe NCL should rename it from discretionary service charge, this on its own implies it’s your choice to pay or not

just rename it to resort fee like they have in Vegas and remove the option to change/remove 

 

I hope NCL isn’t reading this