Service Issues

[HabitualLineStepper]

NCL charges one of the highest service charges in the industry. Have you noticed any improved service? What are your thoughts?

 

It seems that on every other NCL cruise I go on, service issues arise, which is atypical compared to other cruise lines that I sail on.

 

There would be no waiter service at O'Sheehans that eventually causes customers like myself to just get up and leave or the main dining host(ess) consistently seats you by the kitchen or worker stations that are heavy trafficked and noisy.

[drew69]

Then you should stop cruising NCL and problem solved

[UKstages]

49 minutes ago, HabitualLineStepper said:

...service issues arise, which is atypical compared to other cruise lines that I sail on.

 

how many other cruise line forums have you visited here on cruise critic?

 

spoiler alert! they talk about the very same things we do in those forums: declining levels of service, nuisance charges, higher fares, higher fees, bad seats in restaurants, inattentive servers, reduction in housekeeping services, absentee senior leadership, poor design choices, atrocious food.

 

but they also talk, as we do, about rockstar team members, outrageously tasty food, impeccable service and memories made at sea.

 

55 minutes ago, HabitualLineStepper said:

NCL charges one of the highest service charges in the industry. Have you noticed any improved service?

 

what makes you think there is a correlation between a higher onboard service fee and the level of service provided? did NCL indicate the service fee would be used to hire more team members or train them to be better brand ambassadors for NCL?

[ChiefMateJRK]

59 minutes ago, UKstages said:

what makes you think there is a correlation between a higher onboard service fee and the level of service provided?

This.  I pay more for everything, everywhere and service certainly hasn't improved across the board.  Many service industry entities are struggling just to hire staff and have them show up.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, HabitualLineStepper said:

NCL charges one of the highest service charges in the industry. Have you noticed any improved service? What are your thoughts?

 

It seems that on every other NCL cruise I go on, service issues arise, which is atypical compared to other cruise lines that I sail on.

 

There would be no waiter service at O'Sheehans that eventually causes customers like myself to just get up and leave or the main dining host(ess) consistently seats you by the kitchen or worker stations that are heavy trafficked and noisy.

Seems like you ask a question then answer it yourself. So,,, what do you really want. 
 

wrt prices going up, have you compared your grocery bill against your grocery bill pre-pandemic?  My eggs that used to cost $0.79 per dozen when tip to nearly $6.00 and is now around $3.00

[deliver42]

The service charge price has nothing to do with the quality of service., and most lines are catching up.

[luv2kroooz]

My thoughts are that the service provided on NCL is not worth $20 per passenger per day. For a family of 4, it is $80 per day, $560 per week. Crazy!! I have no idea how NCL divides that up and frankly couldn't care less. We just sailed Princess and were charged and gladly paid $16 per person per day. That included twice daily attentive stateroom service. We thought that was a more fair price than NCL.

 

I have no idea how it gets divided up amongst crew, if at all. Notwithstanding, anyone that doesn't believe the services charges on NCL are fair or warranted is free to proceed to guest services, as we have done, and adjust them to the level that more closely matches the service received. We knocked ours down to $16.50 per person per day by visiting guest services. We weren't rude or demanding and the guest services rep was more than glad to adjust them. Oh, yes, they are also free to refrain from cruising NCL....as if that option wasn't blatantly obvious. 😭😭

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, luv2kroooz said:

My thoughts are that the service provided on NCL is not worth $20 per passenger per day. For a family of 4, it is $80 per day, $560 per week. Crazy!! I have no idea how NCL divides that up and frankly couldn't care less. We just sailed Princess and were charged and gladly paid $16 per person per day. That included twice daily attentive stateroom service. We thought that was a more fair price than NCL.

 

I have no idea how it gets divided up amongst crew, if at all. Notwithstanding, anyone that doesn't believe the services charges on NCL are fair or warranted is free to proceed to guest services, as we have done, and adjust them to the level that more closely matches the service received. We knocked ours down to $16.50 per person per day by visiting guest services. We weren't rude or demanding and the guest services rep was more than glad to adjust them. Oh, yes, they are also free to refrain from cruising NCL....as if that option wasn't blatantly obvious. 😭😭

You should stick with Princess

[luv2kroooz]

13 minutes ago, zqvol said:

You should stick with Princess

Thanks for the feedback. We have loyalty to no cruise line post pandemic. 

[fshagan]

6 hours ago, HabitualLineStepper said:

NCL charges one of the highest service charges in the industry. Have you noticed any improved service? What are your thoughts?

 

No, we haven't experienced improved service for the higher daily service charge. But we haven't seen the problems reported frequently on forums for all the lines we follow. So we've been lucky.

 

That being said, I don't care how they divide up the fare price. I compare cruises often and sometimes NCL is cheaper overall when you calculate the total cost. And that's what I focus on when choosing a cruise, regardless of the line.

 

If it will cost me $5,000 total to go on a 7 day cruise with a line that has $12 service charges, but NCL has a similar cruise that will cost me $4,500 with their $20 service charge, then I choose NCL. If port fees and taxes are lower on another line, but the overall total cost is cheaper on NCL, then I will choose NCL. I don't even think of what the service charges, port fees and taxes are; I look at the total price.

 

(Price is just one of my criteria, and I don't always go on the cheapest cruise - but I never consider how the total price is composed. I simply don't care.)

[cruiser2015]

4 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

My thoughts are that the service provided on NCL is not worth $20 per passenger per day. For a family of 4, it is $80 per day, $560 per week. Crazy!! I have no idea how NCL divides that up and frankly couldn't care less. We just sailed Princess and were charged and gladly paid $16 per person per day. That included twice daily attentive stateroom service. We thought that was a more fair price than NCL.

 

I have no idea how it gets divided up amongst crew, if at all. Notwithstanding, anyone that doesn't believe the services charges on NCL are fair or warranted is free to proceed to guest services, as we have done, and adjust them to the level that more closely matches the service received. We knocked ours down to $16.50 per person per day by visiting guest services. We weren't rude or demanding and the guest services rep was more than glad to adjust them. Oh, yes, they are also free to refrain from cruising NCL....as if that option wasn't blatantly obvious. 😭😭

If you were discussing how to tip in a land based restaurant, you can judge the service simply. You could also decide if 15% was fair; or 20%; or whatever.

The DSC is not quite the same. It is part of the compensation and/or benefits of assorted crew members, some of whom you never see. These workers are typically under paid and over worked. NCL may be undercutting the direct pay and giving more from the service charge compared to another line. Who knows.

All you accomplish is shorting what the employees get.

As others have noted, compare your total cruising costs and decide if the pricing is fair for all the services provided plus the quality of the ship & ports. If not, you're free to travel elsewhere rather than trying to reprice your cost. Get discounts whenever possible - but not by stiffing the workers.

[mugtech]

I noticed a better sense of humor on the Sky in September.  Laguna Larry told me, without provocation, the pile of green stuff with my sushi was avocado.  Told him it was not my first Japanese rodeo, told him to be careful, in many US states he could be charged with assault and battery for telling diners that wasabi was avocado.  He laughed and said thanks for the free legal advice.  Told us there were no deserts available at the Sushi restaurant, suggested we go down to The Buffet and help ourselves.  Actually gave him a tip (cash).

[luv2kroooz]

3 minutes ago, mugtech said:

I noticed a better sense of humor on the Sky in September.  Laguna Larry told me, without provocation, the pile of green stuff with my sushi was avocado.  Told him it was not my first Japanese rodeo, told him to be careful, in many US states he could be charged with assault and battery for telling diners that wasabi was avocado.  He laughed and said thanks for the free legal advice.  Told us there were no deserts available at the Sushi restaurant, suggested we go down to The Buffet and help ourselves.  Actually gave him a tip (cash).

Haha. Must have been a pretty poor sushi restaurant if it didn't have any desserts. Try  green tea ice cream or mochi. How much did you tip?

[mugtech]

16 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

Haha. Must have been a pretty poor sushi restaurant if it didn't have any desserts. Try  green tea ice cream or mochi. How much did you tip?

200 pesos @55 pesos to the US dollar.  We had two meals there, told us we each got 4 food  choices per meal, so we used my meal and each ate two choices, so we each got 20 pieces of Sushi, and then 2 days later we used her meal for 20 more pieces each of Sushi, plus moderate amounts of wasabi.  We like to skip dessert, appreciated the heads up.

[cruiser2015]

5 hours ago, mugtech said:

200 pesos @55 pesos to the US dollar.  We had two meals there, told us we each got 4 food  choices per meal, so we used my meal and each ate two choices, so we each got 20 pieces of Sushi, and then 2 days later we used her meal for 20 more pieces each of Sushi, plus moderate amounts of wasabi.  We like to skip dessert, appreciated the heads up.

55 pesos to the dollar...what country was that in?

[RedwingHockeyFan]

Not surprising that the services charges rise, most tipping is percentage based and inflation has most all other costs rising anyway.  Maybe I'm lucky or I am just easy going when it comes to my cruising, but I haven't ever really received bad service anywhere.  Sometimes it may be slow, but I feel it is to be expected when trying to service so many people.  I just learned to be patient.  I've only had two instances when I though staff was rude, once on a RC cruise at a bar and once on the Escape at the bar on 17 where the smokers were.

[bkrickles1]

6 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

If you were discussing how to tip in a land based restaurant, you can judge the service simply. You could also decide if 15% was fair; or 20%; or whatever.

The DSC is not quite the same. It is part of the compensation and/or benefits of assorted crew members, some of whom you never see. These workers are typically under paid and over worked. NCL may be undercutting the direct pay and giving more from the service charge compared to another line. Who knows.

All you accomplish is shorting what the employees get.

As others have noted, compare your total cruising costs and decide if the pricing is fair for all the services provided plus the quality of the ship & ports. If not, you're free to travel elsewhere rather than trying to reprice your cost. Get discounts whenever possible - but not by stiffing the workers.

In theory, I 100% agree with you and have never "adjusted" my DSC.

I disagree that adjusting the DSC is "trying to reprice your cost".

We must be the very few lucky ones that always has a great cruise and almost always has positive crew interactions, especially on our NCL sailings.

So much so that we're sailing Getaway in April.

With that being said, NCL would not provide the option of adjusting the DSC, if it wasn't a similar concept as tipping in a land based restaurant.

I understand that there are many more people behind the scenes on a cruise ship (and nobody knows if they get any of the DSC anyway), but there are people behind the scenes in a land based restaurant that participate in the 15 or 20% besides the waiter that could affect the way you judge the service and could affect how much you tip.

I'm just saying that if you're disappointed with the level of service received on a cruise, NCL provides you an avenue to show that disappointment.

[G-DawgMN]

15 hours ago, HabitualLineStepper said:

the main dining host(ess) consistently seats you by the kitchen or worker stations that are heavy trafficked and noisy.

 

 Not sure if this is a reason to complain about the service charge....but I'm curious what you're doing to consistently get seated in those areas every single time. Looking at all the seating in the dining room the odds of that happening are very small unless you're doing something that makes them want to seat you in an undesirable area (I have no idea what behavior would cause that though).

 

 

[Laszlo]

14 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Many service industry entities are struggling just to hire staff and have them show up.

BINGO... My wife and I go out to eat about twice a week and we go to 6-7 different restaurants a month. They all have waits, they all have open tables. They can't get enough staff

 

My wife and I have been on a dozen NCL cruise. I can count on one hand our service for a meal was less than great. Only one time did we have really lousy service 

Edited January 10 by Laszlo

[shoptom]

NCL has the highest charge and lowest quality service of the five lines I've been on post Covid.  I adjust my other spending accordingly.

[ontheweb]

On our Prima cruise this past summer, the first time we went to the MDR I mentioned that on the sea day between Norway and Iceland it would be our wedding anniversary. When on land we try to go to a restaurant on water, and could we for that night reserve a table overlooking the ocean? I was told the tables were first come, first serve and other than coming in at 5:30 when they opened, that was not an option. But on that day when we went to the MDR and said it was our wedding anniversary, they sat us at a table bordering the window overlooking the ocean.

 

I have trouble imagining what you could have done to always get a "bad" table.

[cruiser2015]

2 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

In theory, I 100% agree with you and have never "adjusted" my DSC.

I disagree that adjusting the DSC is "trying to reprice your cost".

We must be the very few lucky ones that always has a great cruise and almost always has positive crew interactions, especially on our NCL sailings.

So much so that we're sailing Getaway in April.

With that being said, NCL would not provide the option of adjusting the DSC, if it wasn't a similar concept as tipping in a land based restaurant.

I understand that there are many more people behind the scenes on a cruise ship (and nobody knows if they get any of the DSC anyway), but there are people behind the scenes in a land based restaurant that participate in the 15 or 20% besides the waiter that could affect the way you judge the service and could affect how much you tip.

I'm just saying that if you're disappointed with the level of service received on a cruise, NCL provides you an avenue to show that disappointment.

You have made some very reasonable comments. Some counterpoints:

On the "repricing":

The post I was commenting on seemed to indicate the they were unhappy because NCL's DSC is higher than most cruise lines and, apparently, did not offer such exceptional service as to warrant it (again, compared to the competition) (also, reading between the lines here). So, by reducing the DSC because it was considered unreasonable compared to other cruise lines, rather than due to outright poor service, he decided to cut the fee and reduce his trip cost to the amount he felt was proper.

 

It's different than in a land based restaurant because there, you pay X% of a meal price.

What percentage are you paying the dining staff? Would you care to guess at a meal price for each meal? Worse than that, what percentage do you give to a room steward? Impossible to do it that way. You might come up with a per diem you think is fair - but that only works if you cancel DSC completely and tip individually in cash. Fine for the steward...but not so much for dining staff as well as the others behind the scenes who share.

 

So, there are many differences here vs. not-at-sea gratuities.

And, unless you have universally poor service onboard, reducing the fee due to one or two poor performances barely touches those by the time allocations filter through. Better to praise or criticize individuals in writing.

I don't sail as often as many of the CC posters, but have cruised on and off for over 40 years.

The cruise lines converted their old tipping system (first suggested amounts; then pre-billed but adjustable) to the DSC of today. In that regard, I believe they left open the adjustability to avoid making it outright mandatory.

If it became mandatory, it would serve no purpose to exist as a separate charge any longer and could be rolled into the fare and forgotten - other than they currently can promote the cruise at a lower price (before DSC is added, let alone "taxes & fees").

[RocketMan275]

I've found that a small $5 or $10 given to the hostess at the beginning of the cruise increases the quality of the seating offered.  Repeat two or three times during the cruise.

[julig22]

59 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

If it became mandatory, it would serve no purpose to exist as a separate charge any longer and could be rolled into the fare and forgotten - other than they currently can promote the cruise at a lower price (before DSC is added, let alone "taxes & fees").

I've seen a couple of theories as to why the DSC is a separate charge - and not just included in the staff salaries and overall cruise price.

 

First would be taxes - assuming there is a tax break for NCL and/or crew by doing it this way.

Second would be commissions to recruiters. I don't know if it's true or not, but I've read that crew may be hired through a 3rd party that gets paid a % of the crew salary. So a payment outside that contract wouldn't be commissioned. 

 

Just because someone says they never see it doesn't mean it's true. But only NCL knows how the DSC is actually used. Crew may be getting cash in their paycheck or they may be getting compensated in other ways. Considering how hard some crew members push for the "Vacation Hero" cards there must be something to that program.

I once saw what was supposed to be a paystub from a server - and they did indeed get "tips" according to the time they were working - although those would be gratuities, not DSC. 

[bkrickles1]

1 hour ago, cruiser2015 said:

You have made some very reasonable comments. Some counterpoints:

On the "repricing":

The post I was commenting on seemed to indicate the they were unhappy because NCL's DSC is higher than most cruise lines and, apparently, did not offer such exceptional service as to warrant it (again, compared to the competition) (also, reading between the lines here). So, by reducing the DSC because it was considered unreasonable compared to other cruise lines, rather than due to outright poor service, he decided to cut the fee and reduce his trip cost to the amount he felt was proper.

 

It's different than in a land based restaurant because there, you pay X% of a meal price.

What percentage are you paying the dining staff? Would you care to guess at a meal price for each meal? Worse than that, what percentage do you give to a room steward? Impossible to do it that way. You might come up with a per diem you think is fair - but that only works if you cancel DSC completely and tip individually in cash. Fine for the steward...but not so much for dining staff as well as the others behind the scenes who share.

 

So, there are many differences here vs. not-at-sea gratuities.

And, unless you have universally poor service onboard, reducing the fee due to one or two poor performances barely touches those by the time allocations filter through. Better to praise or criticize individuals in writing.

I don't sail as often as many of the CC posters, but have cruised on and off for over 40 years.

The cruise lines converted their old tipping system (first suggested amounts; then pre-billed but adjustable) to the DSC of today. In that regard, I believe they left open the adjustability to avoid making it outright mandatory.

If it became mandatory, it would serve no purpose to exist as a separate charge any longer and could be rolled into the fare and forgotten - other than they currently can promote the cruise at a lower price (before DSC is added, let alone "taxes & fees").

I disagree with much of what you're saying here, but appreciate the detailed reply.

Happy Sailing!!