Norwegian

[MMDown Under]

4 hours ago, Jean C said:

I too hate paying gratuities as a daily on board account charge. I like everyone to get decent remuneration for their work and happily pay whatever they factor that in as a component of the cruise fare. I've never had them removed and in fact also tip the steward and MDR waiter at the end of the cruise. However, my gripe is that the daily gratuity per person added up is more than I would have chosen to tip. I  just suck it up 🥴 As regards our weak dollar against the US, I think that's just tough luck for us 😪 

I never had tips removed in the past.  However, I now don't cruise on ships from Australia which charge extra for daily gratuities. I feel sorry for families paying extra for young children.  When I travelled with children, I always cleaned up any mess they made.  

[Jean C]

10 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I never had tips removed in the past.  However, I now don't cruise on ships from Australia which charge extra for daily gratuities. I feel sorry for families paying extra for young children.  When I travelled with children, I always cleaned up any mess they made.  

Agree, I haven't travelled with young kids (yet) but we keep our cabins tidy so minimal work for stewards. Prior to boarding I always plan to reduce the gratuities amount but never end up doing it. I firmly believe that cruise companies should just be upfront and charge whatever the reasonable cost should be rather leaving their staff's remuneration subject to the gratuities of passengers 😊

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Jean C said:

I firmly believe that cruise companies should just be upfront and charge whatever the reasonable cost should be rather leaving their staff's remuneration subject to the gratuities of passengers 😊

Perhaps they do, everyone knows about the gratuities, so they are not sneaking it by anyone, and how the staff are remunerated is for the staff and the company to worry out. 

 

BTW, NCL don't have gratuities, they have service charges, 2 differing things. The service charges are a very different beast,. Just try and you will find out that they are much harder to remove, especially without a complaint on service.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Perhaps they do, everyone knows about the gratuities, so they are not sneaking it by anyone, and how the staff are remunerated is for the staff and the company to worry out. 

 

BTW, NCL don't have gratuities, they have service charges, 2 differing things. The service charges are a very different beast,. Just try and you will find out that they are much harder to remove, especially without a complaint on service.

Correct. Also much harder to remove when they have been bundled into the fare at the time of booking.

 

For anyone who doesn't like their service charged being added separately, just stick to the local $AU cruises and miss out on the variety.

[MMDown Under]

11 hours ago, arxcards said:

Correct. Also much harder to remove when they have been bundled into the fare at the time of booking.

 

For anyone who doesn't like their service charged being added separately, just stick to the local $AU cruises and miss out on the variety.

Virgin's Resilient Lady, which will be cruising out of Australia for a season, doesn't charge gratuities.  It is nice to hear it takes care of its crew.  Hopefully it will start a new trend.

[Jean C]

14 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

BTW, NCL don't have gratuities, they have service charges, 2 differing things. The service charges are a very different beast,. Just try and you will find out that they are much harder to remove, especially without a complaint on service.

Thanks, I've been on a couple of NCL cruises and never dreamt of trying to remove gratuities or service charges - or from any cruise for that matter. I guess it's a bit like taxes in the US being added at point of sale - simpler for the purchaser/passenger to see a clear upfront figure and know what they're paying without getting a calculator out!

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Jean C said:

Thanks, I've been on a couple of NCL cruises and never dreamt of trying to remove gratuities or service charges - or from any cruise for that matter. I guess it's a bit like taxes in the US being added at point of sale - simpler for the purchaser/passenger to see a clear upfront figure and know what they're paying without getting a calculator out!

Exactly. It is much easier our way of an inclusive price but it would still cost the same when everything is added in.

One bug bear for me is when they add the credit card merchant fees at the point of sale here, I understand why they do it, but I don't  like it, especially  so when the company will not take cash.

[Ethel6666]

I noticed NCL were having a 50% off sale, so thought I’d have a look at Japan cruises. According to the website the original cost of a 12 day cruise for 2 in a balcony guarantee with the ‘free at sea’ package was $28,500, now discounted to over $14000 including taxes. I was surprised by those prices for a mainstream cruise line 

[arxcards]

6 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Virgin's Resilient Lady, which will be cruising out of Australia for a season, doesn't charge gratuities.  It is nice to hear it takes care of its crew.  Hopefully it will start a new trend.

The only way the lines with service charges/auto-gratuities don't take care of their crew is when passengers take away the daily charge that is intended for them. 

 

Congrats on Virgin Voyages, it  isn't a new trend, but another company that does it the other way.. When I book, I look at the fare + daily service charge/gratuity + price of things we would buy aboard and compare it to an inclusive fare. We pay a GST on most things we buy, as well as other taxes and excises and it is all bundled into the price tag. The sum of all the parts isn't always cheaper, and it has long sat with me that a top meal + taxes + tip is usually cheaper in Las Vegas than an equivalent top meal including GST and no tip in Sydney. Prices are still comparable while our dollar is on the floor.

[MMDown Under]

35 minutes ago, arxcards said:

The only way the lines with service charges/auto-gratuities don't take care of their crew is when passengers take away the daily charge that is intended for them. 

 

Congrats on Virgin Voyages, it  isn't a new trend, but another company that does it the other way.. When I book, I look at the fare + daily service charge/gratuity + price of things we would buy aboard and compare it to an inclusive fare. We pay a GST on most things we buy, as well as other taxes and excises and it is all bundled into the price tag. The sum of all the parts isn't always cheaper, and it has long sat with me that a top meal + taxes + tip is usually cheaper in Las Vegas than an equivalent top meal including GST and no tip in Sydney. Prices are still comparable while our dollar is on the floor.

I'll be interested how my daughter goes in Manhattan arriving Thanksgiving Day.  We have eaten in a Restaurant overlooking ice skating at Rockefeller Centre in NY, on Christmas Day.  Much less expensive for a family of four than buying a meal on Christmas Day in Australia.  

My NY girlfriend is not wealthy, yet tips generously, because she remembers how she depended on tips when she was the "working poor".  

[MicCanberra]

People should always compare pricing for the whole package for what the want and need on a cruise, this inclusive of taxes, fees, service charges, gratuities, but also drinks, specialty dining wifi shorex's, etc if they are what you would normally have with cruising. To do otherwise is comparing apples and oranges.

[phoenixxx]

On 11/17/2023 at 5:13 PM, MicCanberra said:

That has been our experience 

So if you make an NCL cruise booking in Oz or NZ but the sailing is out of USA (for instance), then grats are included in the cruise fare? Thanks 

Edited December 10, 2023 by phoenixxx
Clarity

[LincolnLegend]

5 hours ago, phoenixxx said:

So if you make an NCL cruise booking in Oz or NZ but the sailing is out of USA (for instance), then grats are included in the cruise fare? Thanks 

I'm not sure if it's the same, but I have just booked a trip which includes an NCL cruise through the mediterranean and the grats were built in to the price.

[phoenixxx]

18 hours ago, LincolnLegend said:

I'm not sure if it's the same, but I have just booked a trip which includes an NCL cruise through the mediterranean and the grats were built in to the price.

Did you book it in Oz/NZ?

[LincolnLegend]

@phoenixxx yep, booked in Australia.

[Jean C]

We also booked a couple of NCL Hawaiian Islands cruises from NZ, through a NZ travel agent, and gratuities were included in the fare 💵 

[itsnotjustme]

My wife and I fully enjoy NCL.  We are in the US, and book through a TA.  I state this in case the rules vary by country.

 

For the Frea at Sea drink package, we pay a gratuity up front based on the "retail value" of the package.  That comes out near $20 per person/day.

 

For the Frea at Sea dining package, we also pre-pay gratuities.  These are about $9 per meal.

 

Our TA often offers pre-paid gratuities, saving us the $20/person/day. 

 

 

[newbie1955]

On 12/11/2023 at 8:46 AM, phoenixxx said:

So if you make an NCL cruise booking in Oz or NZ but the sailing is out of USA (for instance), then grats are included in the cruise fare? Thanks 

This is the advice I received from my travel agent recently.

 

Please see below terms and conditions copied direct from Norwegian Cruises in regards to gratuities on your Free at Sea inclusions. 
 
For sailings on or after January 1, 2023:

• 20% gratuities on the retail value of the Beverage Package and/or Soft Drink Package are included when booking through the Australia office.
• When booking through the Australia office, gratuities related to beverage and soft drink packages are included.
• 20% gratuities on the retail value of the Specialty Dining Package are included when booking through the Australia office