Little Stiruup Cay docking problem with tender boat

[gam888]

We have heard that sometime if the waves are too high, the tender boat cannot dock at Little Stirrup Cay the private island. We are thinking of a cruise in December and wonder what the weather is like and if that might happen. Can anyone please tell me if the sand and water is nice in Little Stirrup Cay? Is it calm and does it have lots of sea weed. How does it compare with the CoCoCay the private island of Royal Caribbean? I am trying to compare the Majesty of the Seas of Royal Caribbean and the Norwegian Sky at Christmas time. We have 2 adults and 3 teenagers. Also can you remove the gratuities that are automatically added to your statement, and put cash in the envelops and give it to the crew members directly? Thank you.

[njhorseman]

We have heard that sometime if the waves are too high, the tender boat cannot dock at Little Stirrup Cay the private island. We are thinking of a cruise in December and wonder what the weather is like and if that might happen. Can anyone please tell me if the sand and water is nice in Little Stirrup Cay? Is it calm and does it have lots of sea weed. How does it compare with the CoCoCay the private island of Royal Caribbean? I am trying to compare the Majesty of the Seas of Royal Caribbean and the Norwegian Sky at Christmas time. We have 2 adults and 3 teenagers. Also can you remove the gratuities that are automatically added to your statement, and put cash in the envelops and give it to the crew members directly? Thank you.

 

High winds or storms can happen on any cruise, anywhere, anytime. If conditions are bad enough, yes, you might not be able to use the island. You can't control the weather, so there's no sense worrying about it months in advance!

 

FYI, the NCL Island is Great Stirrup Cay. Little Stirrup Cay is the name of what Royal Cariibbean calls CoCo Cay. The two are right next to each other, so if the weather is bad at one, it will be bad at the other.

 

Remember that this is the Bahamas, 100 miles or so from Florida, not the Caribbean, so the water will likely not be that warm in December.

 

We've never been big fans of Great Stirrup Cay...or CoCo Cay They just get too crowded when big ships are using them. We stay on board and enjoy a much less crowded day at the pool.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you can request that the service charge not be billed to your account. I've heard it requires a process that requires paperwork and includes the sacrifice of your first-born child:rolleyes:. (Just kidding!!) However, with Freestyle dining, you're likely going to have different dining room waiters for every meal, so it's difficult at best to offer proper gratuities to everyone who will serve you. That's why the cruise line adds the service charge to your bill and pays the staff out of that pool of money.

[Arwenmark]

No you cannot remove the service charge, Other than for cause and after you have given the cruiseline a chance to fix whatever problem you are having you are welcome to give additional tips directly to anyone. There is, however, no way to get to the people you should be tipping other than your room steward.

No only will you have different waiters all the waiters also take turns doing the other food stations on the ship.

Little Stiruup Cay is often missed due to sea conditions. I would never book a cruise with that as the Main port I was looking for.

[Ms belp]

Where is my gun?:p For myself not the poster!:D

[terrymtex01]

Where is my gun?:p For myself not the poster!:D

 

LOL.. as a person just looking into NCL i can understand the poster asking the question about DSC, especially if they are used to traditioinal cruising.

 

OP, you should only have your DSC removed if you have a service issue and the management of the cruise ship was not able to get the issue rectified. Once you remove your DSC, no one will be able to keep any cash tips you have given them. They have to turn in any tips given to them by someone who has had the DSC removed.

 

Also, I am going to have to agree completely with NJHorseman in that the water and beach will probably be too cold to enjoy it like you migth think. We have been there in Nov and the water was way too cold for me and I'm the type that likes cold much more than heat. I can't imagine the water and wind being any warmer in Dec.

[JamesIlsley]

Also can you remove the gratuities that are automatically added to your statement, and put cash in the envelops and give it to the crew members directly? Thank you.

 

There are no gratuities added to your statement. There is a service charge. This is not the same thing and it is not optional.

 

From the Welcome Aboard booklet from NCL:

 

Is there a service charge?

A fixed service charge of $12 per person, per day will be added to your onboard account. For children ages 3-12, a $5 per person per day charge will be added to your onboard account; there is no charge for children under the age of three. Our crew is encouraged to work together as a service team and is compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that the service charge supports. It is our earnest wish that you enjoy your Freestyle Cruising experience and that our entire crew in all areas of the ship will provide you with the standard of service for which NCL is known. Therefore, if you have any concerns about the service you receive during your cruise, please bring them to the immediate attention of our reception desk staff on board so that we can address any issues in a timely manner before the cruise is over.

 

Both NCL and NCL America have a structured guest satisfaction program on board designed to handle any concerns raised by our guests relating to the service or on board product quickly and efficiently. In almost all cases we are able to come up with a satisfactory solution to any issues which are raised and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise vacation. In the unlikely event we cannot satisfactorily resolve the issue through our guest satisfaction program, guests will be able to adjust the service charge according to the level of inconvenience they feel they have experienced. Our clear priority is to have the opportunity of resolving the issue, when it happens, to everyone's complete satisfaction.

 

What about gratuities?

Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on NCL America or Norwegian Cruise Line ships. Guests should not feel obliged to offer a gratuity for service that is generally rendered to all guests.

 

However, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile", and so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities entirely at the discretion of our guests who wish to acknowledge particular staff members for exceptional or outstanding service. In other words, there is genuinely no need to tip but you should feel free to do so if you have a desire to acknowledge particular individuals.

 

Also, certain staff positions provide service on an individual basis to only some guests. We encourage those guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. For example, for guests purchasing bar drinks the recommended gratuity is 15 percent. For guests purchasing spa treatments the recommended gratuity is 18 percent. Similarly, for guests using concierge and butler services, we recommend they consider offering a gratuity commensurate with services rendered.

[CruisnGram]

We have heard that sometime if the waves are too high, the tender boat cannot dock at Little Stirrup Cay the private island. We are thinking of a cruise in December and wonder what the weather is like and if that might happen.

 

Wind can effect waves so not making it to Great Stirrup Cay can happen no matter what time of year you sail. We sailed once in March and didn't get there and once in January and did get there.

 

Can anyone please tell me if the sand and water is nice in Little Stirrup Cay? Is it calm and does it have lots of sea weed. How does it compare with the CoCoCay the private island of Royal Caribbean?

 

I've never been to Coco Cay but have heard it's very nice, with more actitivites then GSC. The water at GSC is very nice with a nice beach. No sea weed that I saw. However, it will not be warm water in December as the Cay's are in the Bahama's, not the deep Caribbean.

 

I am trying to compare the Majesty of the Seas of Royal Caribbean and the Norwegian Sky at Christmas time. We have 2 adults and 3 teenagers.

 

Haven't been on the MOS but have been on the Sky. It's a beautiful ship and I enjoyed my sailing on her very much.

 

Also can you remove the gratuities that are automatically added to your statement, and put cash in the envelops and give it to the crew members directly? Thank you.

 

This is a hot topic, so be forewarned that you are going to most likely get a lot of responses. Here's what the NCL website officially says about the DSC so take it for what it is:

 

NCL Service Charge

On all NCL ships payment of Pre-Paid Service Fee is required. A fixed Service Charge of $12 per person, per day will be added to your onboard account. The service charge is only for guests ages 3 years & up.

Our crew is encouraged to work together as a service team and compensated by a combination of salary and incentive program that the Service Charge supports. It is our earnest wish that you enjoy your Freestyle Cruise experience and that our entire crew in all areas of the ship will provide you with the standard of service for which NCL is known. Therefore, if you have any concerns about the service you receive during your cruise; please bring them to the immediate attention of our reception desk staff on board so that we can address any issues in a timely manner before the cruise is over.

Both NCL and NCL America have a structured guest satisfaction program on board designed to handle any concerns raised by our guests relating to the service or on board product quickly and efficiently. In almost all cases we are able to come up with a satisfactory solution to any issues which are raised and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise holiday. In the unlikely event we cannot satisfactorily resolve the issues through our guest satisfaction program; guests will be able to adjust the Service Charge according to the level of inconvenience they feel they have experienced.

Our clear priority is to have the opportunity of resolving the issue, when it happens, to everyone's complete satisfaction.

 

My take on this is that you cannot/should not just randomly remove the DSC simply because you would prefer to pay in cash. The DSC is distributed amongst employee's who work hard to make sure you have an enjoyable trip, some of which you never see. Buffet workers for example work very, very hard yet hardly anyone ever considers tipping them. They are included in the DSC pool.

 

Also remember that NCL has freestyle dining, so you will not have the same waiter every night. So removing the DSC, you will have to tip every waiter, at every meal, to make sure that all get compensated.

 

In addition, those in the know on the boards claim that if you remove the DSC, your name is put on a list and any cash tips you give to anyone must be turned in so that they can be divided up amongst all of the workers. So while you may think you are doing the right thing, wanting to compensate those who give you great service, they are going to have to put the tip in the pool anyway, and you may actually be shorting them out of money.

 

I love the DSC as I feel like I am compensating everyone who works hard to keep me happy. And it's so much easier then running around the ship trying to find everyone that I want to tip. I hate those cash envelopes and never want to go back to them again.

 

My advice (for what it's worth) would be to leave the DSC in place and just give a little extra to those you feel went above and beyond to serve you. If the DSC is left in place, any extra you give they are allowed to keep.

 

CG

[sierramyst44]

We were just at the private island last week, the beach is small but had plenty of chairs, the sand was clean ( no sand fleas!) and the water was crystal clear and mostly soft sand. Their are a few large rocks near the right side but nothing that prevents you from walking in. The water was on the chilly side.......about the same that New England beaches get in the summer, It didnt give me numb ankles but was unable to just walk in without getting used to it. We enjoy this stop since it is strictly a "beach day"

[gam888]

Thank you to all who replied my post. I got mixed up with the names. It should have been Great Stirrup Cay for the Norwegian's private island. I am trying to compare it with the CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island. Which one is nicer?

[*Wink*]

Water in the Bahamas really doesn't start to warm up until May/June. Although it's definitely swimmable now, but not December. If you want warm water, any of the Caribbean cruises would be a much better choice in December.

[Don Haynes]

Thank you to all who replied my post. I got mixed up with the names. It should have been Great Stirrup Cay for the Norwegian's private island. I am trying to compare it with the CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island. Which one is nicer?

 

What do you consider nicer? A beach with a high rise hotel and swimming pools? A beach with rest rooms? A natural beach without any human contamination? A sandy beach or a rocky beach?

[cruisinlibrarian]

We have heard that sometime if the waves are too high, the tender boat cannot dock at Little Stirrup Cay the private island. We are thinking of a cruise in December and wonder what the weather is like and if that might happen.

 

We just returned from the Dawn with a stop at Great Stirrup Cay. One of the NCL staff members told us that if the seas are too rough for tender boats, then the ship will stop at Nassau, Bahamas, instead of Great Stirrup Cay. Actually seems like a fair trade-off since Nassau is a fun port with lots to do. Great Stirrup Cay is very nice since it's not overly developed. The beach does get crowded with all the passengers and water is often cold since it is the Atlantic Ocean and not the Caribbean. One option is to stay onboard that day and enjoy the pools and hot tubs without lots of other people.

[Fisical1]

Just got back. We saw a RCCL right next to us, so assuming that it was there private island. I cant compare, but I can tell you that the tender ride was an E ticket. Coming back many people were sick as it took so much time to offload all the people due to high waves. The island is very nice and I saw plenty of chairs. If you tend to get sea sick, I would make sure that you take something before going over to the island to spend the day. PS dont sit on the bottom of the tender in high waves close to the water, as those above you that get sick......Well I will let you have that visual picture. It wasnt pretty.