complawyer

if youve been following these amazing (sarcasm intended) sales for the past few years, you will notice that any amount off doesnt change the cost of the cruise. they just jack up the price and claim it's a sale. for the generous 3rd and 4th guests are free, ncl just redistributes the costs between the 1st 2 people and calls it a sale.

while i feel your pain, that's one of the risks you take when you book a cruise. no cruise line has control of the weather or any conditions that might effect a particular port. a few years ago we took the 1st ncl cruise for southeast asia. hong kong to singapore. one of the ports was hanoi. the ship had mechanical problems and couldnt dock in hanoi, taipai or cambodia. im a vietnam veteran, and i probably wanted to see hanoi much more than anyone on your ship wanted to see greenland (an ice covered wasteland) nice to visit but i wouldnt want to live there. not only was i massively disappointed, i was majorly p***ed off. just like you, we were not advised until we got on the ship. as the say in the funny papers, "S**T Happens!

that's the bottom line on this post. tip if you want to (especially if the service is really good) dont tip if you dont want to. there is no right or wrong answer. since the "gratuities" are already factored into the price of the cruise, you are perfectly within your rights not to add any more money as a tip. however, as most things in life, it's really not that simple! most of the people working on a cruise ship are from 3rd world countries, dont make a great deal of money on these cruises, work hellacious hours without much time off, live in very cramped quarters, and most of their pay is sent back to their families. while im not trying to tug at your heartstrings or bring a tear to your eye, to me, being on a cruise ship along with the attached bells and whistles, is a luxury, even if youre in an inside cabin (note im not criticizing inside cabins). we're on a floating 5 star hotel. the food and drinks flow, youre going to exotic places around the world. (my wife and i have been to places i never even dreamed of ever seeing, but for the cruises we've been on), is it so horrible to cough up a few bucks for the people that are performing a service for you. we go to vegas quite frequently, and if im doing well and on a streak, i always tip the blackjack or pai gow dealer. if you want a better seat, it's called the vegas handshake ($20) usually takes care of business, and we have a casino host where all we need to do is give him a call and there's a comped room waiting. he always gets the handshake, as should your butler and concierge if youre fortunate enough to book a haven. think of it this way, the next time you dock in an exotic port, if we're lucky enough to be able to be on this ship (or any cruise ship, cruise line) for that matter, im sure you can find it in your heart (and certainly in your wallet or purse) to leave an extra few dollars as a tip. the new disney wish, features a cocktail for $5,000. while personally i think that's obscene, if you can afford to order one, and dont leave a tip for the bartender, you should continue the cruise with a sign on your back "cheap s.o.b." sorry for the length of this post, but i'm sure you get the picture that i'm a very strong proponent and advocate of leaving an extra tip, no matter who is serving me. ok chiefmate, have fun with this one!

this is like the tipping thread.. pre-pay if you want to, dont prepay and pay at the end. there is no upside or downside to either, other than you'll have a cheaper bill at the end

mine are always cash tips. this insures that the person i'm tipping gets the money

if youre in the haven, there is a special area for you and a separate check in area.

you dont need to research, read,learn or anything else. you dont need to overthink this issue. regardless of what it's called , if you want to trip extra, do it. if not dont! and cruiseny4 life, you're coming across as an entitled grump. dont tip if you dont want to. no one really cares about the rationale, and no one will get on your case if you choose not to tip any extra just remember, it doesnt hurt to leave a few dollars extra. i assure you, whoever is serving you, regardless of the venue (bartender, cocktail waitress, waiter/waitress, blackjack dealer) they will all appreciate the extra $$$

your cruise docs should have the correct address of the terminal. i just show the cabbie where i want to go.

old fart cruisers. the 20% added to large parties is so the waiter/waitress doesnt get stiffed if the people at the table are cheap tippers. a dinner for 8 can easily add up to a few hundred dollars. if your bill came out to $300 20% is $60. or roughly $8.00 per person. that's not outrageous when ytou think about it. sometimes the 20% comes to to be less than i would actually leave as a tip, so i make up the difference in cash. if it's a restaurant i frequent regularly, and have a favorite server, i always tip a little higher. never less than 20%

you dont sound like a scrooge, to tip or not to tip is subjective and totally up to the individual. if non tipping is the norm where you are from, what do you do on excursions. do you tip the tour guide, or if you choose to do your own thing and go to a local restaurant do you leave a tip? do you tip your cabin steward?

yes, this has been covered many times before. the question is how much should you tip. since the gratuities are already included, no tip is actually required, and i dont believe the waiter/waitress even expects one. if you want do leave an extra tip, feel free to do so. if not, you're correct, its already included. that being said, however remember these people make very little money and anything extra helps them out. it doesnt hurt if you leave a tip and they get to know you. at the very least, i usually leave $10.

15-20% of what the actual bill would have been

better to purchase before y ou board

amyh13 sorry darling, even if you ever get the $1.00 deposit, all that means is that you'll just owe that much more when the final payment comes due. think about it in those terms. if you book a haven suite for $10,000 and need to ante up $1750 as a deposit, would it matter at the end that you still owe $8250, or you just put down the dollar and at the end owe $9999. same with an indoor cabin. if you book for 1200 and deposit $250 you'll owe $950 at the end. if you pay a dollar, you'll owe $1199 at the final payment. regardless of the offer, (and i always sail ncl, have been for 12 years now) ive always maintained that ncl doesnt give away ice cubes in winter. if you ask why i keep sailing with them, ive commented before that my criteria is price and itinerary, i have always found that ncl always gives me the best bang for my buck, so i can ignore most of the annoyances, real or imagined on all their alleged "sales", free at sea promotions, 3rd &4th guest fly free, if you look closely at all of them, you'll quickly understand that ncl has us coming and going either way. by the way, the current sale has been going on in one form or another for over 3 years ncl could actually waive any and all deposits. you get all your previously paid out sums if you cancel before final payment is due, or you pay it all at once (or in increments) before final payment. either way ncl doesnt really lose anything, they just dont get the free loan

i just didnt want cruise nurse to be confused since she asked about "tips" and not the daily service charge. if the crew isnt getting any of this money, wouldnt you think that ncl i s making enough off all of us, not to stick us with this charge also?

i hope cruisenurse 2 doesnt get confused. at the risk of sounding repetitious , nurse, ncl includes "daily gratuities onto every sailing, for every person in a cabin. they range (i think from 15-20) per day per person) the only way these can be waived is to go to guest services and "DEMAND" they be taken off the bill the day before the cruise ends. of course, if you do this, you will (at least in theory) be depriving the crew of there share ncl rationalizes these charges as being divided among their many staff people, so everybody gets a fair share (they are to frigging cheap to pay a fair and decent wage) so we all get soaked for these "gratuities). you can pay them upfront, or they will be added to your entire tab at the end of the cruise. Tips, however, are a completely different animal. a tip is exactly that. the money goes to whoever you want it to go to. if you get a drink, give the bartender a buck or two. if you get decent service from a waiter or waitress, regardless of the venue, leave a few bucks. (just like you would do if you were on land in a restaurant) if youre in a haven, give the butler and concierge a larger tip if their service was exceptional. i always tip my cabin steward $20 at the beginning of the cruise $20 inthe middle and $20 at the end. just be aware that regardless of who and how much you tip, you'll still be charged the daily gratuity at the end of the cruise. so dont confuse the terms.

its back to 120, we're on the epic nov 15th, final payment is due july 18th

you still get breakfast and lunch in either cagney's or moderno

ncl has a trans atlantic on the star from lisbon to rio this november. a 2 bedroom suite is $7500. i think 14 days in a suite (with butler and concierge) with all food and drinks included, is one h**l of a bargain, no matter how you look at it. even if the star has no "haven" per se, you still get all the perks of a suite.

i always order a cappuccino after breakfast and dinner. it's about $2.95. you can order in any of the specialty restaurants (except i dont think teppanyaki), and in the mdr's

maybe the guy on the telephone wanted to up the price because of a commission!

i may be mistaken, but when ever ive checked celebrity or royal, regardless of price, i have noticed their cabins are smaller. i looked at a jr suite on royal, and its about the same size as the club suite on ncl. celebrity suites seem to be more expensive than ncl also. again, i concede that i havent prices either of these cruise lines out lately, but i find that for price and itinerary, ncl has always given me more bang for my buck.

of course i knew, i was just adding a further comment. anyone that had cruised with ncl in the past 4-5 years gets the "joke" about their sales.

i would love to, but it was a few years ago, so i really dont remember. i can tell you there was me, my wife, grandson and his friend, and it was considerably less than the shore excursion for 4 people. you can take into consideration what the excursion costs, and then negotiate with the cabbie

hey, a sale is a sale!