dmwnc1959

I didn’t have a cruise booked, but I did work in a VA hospital. Talk about our world coming apart and crashing down all around us. 😷

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

No sugar? 

Where's the fun in that? 😵‍💫

Oh, trust me, this is delicious! But don’t tell anyone else. 😉 I quite literally buy it by the dozen-box case.

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

It is really very simple and you are doing your best to complicate things. There is no need or reason to give any crew member any tips. It is very simple. If you want to, have at it, but there is no need, expectation, or benefit in doing so, and in spite of what others claim you don’t get any better service if you add an additional tip or not.

 

Don’t over think things.

Thank you! ✌🏻

12 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

My wife brings some kind of drink mix with her too, but we bring yeti or yeti like cups with us.

We have a bucket of ice brought to our cabin every day and load up our cups with ice and water before leaving the cabin. Makes it easy for my wife to throw in her mix whenever and I usually start using my cup to keep my beer cold up on deck later in the day.

We used to buy the water too until we realized how good and pure the tap water is.

I’ll have to look into those Yeti things. Might be a solution to my drink package. 😉👍

5 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

Based on this post you should definitely cancel the beverage package.

Pay as you go. You'll never spend $545 if you adhere to your ordinary drinking habits.

Also, I wouldn't pay for the Flow Water either. The tap water is better and can be had in quite a few spots.

The water is more of a convenience due to its portability, and I’d be bringing along several boxes of individual drink packets. Have an addiction to these, my favorite ‘drink package’…

😁

47 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Can’t remove the gratuities on the beverage and dining packages 

No, but I can remove the beverage package. 
 

I am by no stretch of the imagination a ‘drinker’. In my everyday life I might have 2 or 3 alcoholic drinks a month. And I rarely ever drink soda. On this long of a repositioning cruise I thought maybe having a beer with lunch or an after dinner cocktail might be fun. Check out this bar here, try something new there, get a little tipsy. Yay! I have an entire screenshots album list of drinks that I’ve heard of and never tried.

The $545 Beverage Service Charge is more than enough tip for the business the bars are getting from me. I don’t hang around the bars for hours drinking and socializing. It’ll be one and done and gone. 
 

I’ve already called NCL and verified the Unlimited Open Bar Package can be removed. I’m looking at the Flow Water (24) 1-Liter bottles package and that’s more than enough when combined with the complementary beverages available in restaurants, even if it is a simple glass of water or iced tea. 

And I can remove the 2-night complimentary dining package and not get an additional 7-10 nights. That’s $325-400 dollars no one would be getting. Specialty dining for me isn’t a ‘must have’ or ‘must experience’. I’m more than fine with all of the expansive complementary dining options, the main dining room (for now), and the buffet.  

😎

6 minutes ago, zqvol said:

BTW your OSC and gratuities are so high because your cruise is so long. If you want them to be less, take a shorter cruise.

Or, NCL could charge less. Or I could removed them all and not pay them. And still cruise. But I won’t remove them, and I won’t be tipping extra. And I will still go on my cruise. 
 

😎

3 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

Again, you’re not necessarily padding their salaries. Your fees may be going straight to NCL revenue, and NCL is paying their server $8 per hour. 
 

We don’t know. Certainly, NCL suggests their gratuities are already included.  So I’ll accept that I shouldn’t feel obligated to tip further. NCL has accepted the responsibility of making sure that staff is compensated properly at a level that includes “tips.”

 

I just wouldn’t use the words “padding.”

I guarantee you that no staff member is getting rich on the service charge.  

All of this is very well put indeed. And in its entirety I think you hit the nail on the head. 
 

Thank you. 
 

😁

20 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

Or it’s not “padding” their wages at all, and just going towards a minimum wage salary.  We really don’t know. 

That may be the case. And you’re right, we really don’t know.
 

But it shouldn’t be up to me to pad their salaries when I’m already being charged an onboard service charged, huge beverage service charge, and mandatory 18% added service charge and gratuity for specialty dining. I’m already padding minimum wage salaries by doing all of that. I really can’t see double and triple tipping anyone. 

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

We've found that a small, maybe $1 per drink, ensures expedited service with a much shorter wait time for drinks.

With all due respect, this is what I alluded to in another thread:

I’m tipping extra per drink and I’m tipping extra per meal at specialty dining venues…

…for tips that have already been paid for through my $545 Beverage Service Charges and the mandatory 18% Specialty Dining added gratuities and service charges…

…then more tipping at various other non-MDR dining venues, and adding on top of that the $500 Onboard Service Charges…

…my initial $1045 for tips, gratuities, and OSC balloons several hundred dollars extra just for more tips. When I have already tipped. 
 

For people that are basically just doing their job. 
 

Now, if outstanding - and I do mean outstanding - service, and excellent service are observed, and not just people doing their jobs, then maybe that warrants another tip.
 

But not extra tipping just for doing their job.
 

Sorry not sorry. 

41 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

Might be absurd, but it’s likely the case.
 

Or going to base salaries throughout the ship —

 

heck, cargo handlers need to load the alcohol onto the ship, the service charge can go to their salary! 

Well, if this IS the case then there is ZERO reason for me to tip on top of tips on top of Onboard Service Charges on top of the Beverage Service Charge.
 

I’m being billed over $1000+ before I even set foot on the ship to pad - quite literally -everyone’s salary with tips and service charges.
 

At this point enough is enough. 

1 hour ago, havoc315 said:

I’m not super confident that the “service charge” 100% goes to the staff as gratuities. Even by definition, “service” can include their base salaries, can include the price of cups and glasses, etc. 

This isn’t the Onboard Service Charge - for me it’s an additional $500 just for that, and that’s padding their salaries - this is the Beverage Service Charge. Specifically for beverages. And why am I paying for cups and glasses? That’s absurd. 

16 minutes ago, Buford T Justiice said:

We cruised in February and I've never seen the specialty restaurants so crowded... like every table taken by 6:00 pm.

just of curiosity, what ship and itinerary was this?

6 hours ago, complawyer said:

…so a few extra bucks cant possible hurt you.  if you're adamant about tipping extra to these people, i feel sorry for you

So, how much should I tip on top of the tip that I’m already tipping them? My Beverage Service Charge is already at $545 for a solo traveler. That’s almost $22 per day in tips just for the Beverage Service Charge. Maybe tip another couple of hundred dollars? Give me a ballpark figure. 
 

And is this extra tipping (not the $545 I’m already tipping with the Beverage Service Charge) another tip for them simply doing their job or is this a tip for exceptional and outstanding service? 
 

Asking for a friend. 
 

😎
 

42 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

 

Just….WOW! 😳 😳 😳 

4 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

We sailed Dawn when it was brand new and I seem to remember laundry facilities and my wife actually doing a load of wash while onboard.

I understand why they would have gotten rid of that and I'm glad too. Lol!!

That’s one thing I really like about all of the Princess Cruises ships, even the newest Sun Princess that just came out - they all have laundry services on every passenger cabin deck level that passengers can use (washers, dryers, and irons). This really comes in handy on extended cruises and the cost is minimal. 

Well, these ‘all sold out’ and ‘only after 8pm’ posts put my anxiety level through the roof again. With a 9 total of nights (2 FAS + 7 night package) it’s beginning to make me concerned about logging in on T-minus 120 Days and being disappointed. Argh. ☹️

Just now, julig22 said:

Sorry, didn't think I needed to specify outside door decorations, since that's the original subject - and most likely the extent of the Carnival ban you mentioned.

Thought maybe NCL didn’t want magnets hanging up on their doors and walls due to possible damages. Had wall magnets on Royal Caribbean with no issue.

So it’s just door decorations on NCL that are banned? It’s my first cruise with them.

12 minutes ago, julig22 said:

NCL banned door decorations several years ago. Just not always enforced.

 

But if they are removed by the crew for violating policy, they should have been left in the room.  And removed at the beginning of the cruise, not the last day.

Banned door decorations. 🤔

On NCL can I decorate or put up magnets inside the cabin? Since door decorations and door magnets are banned? I saw on another forum, where someone had used wall magnets inside the cabin to hang up the daily ship program, hats, bathroom items, a plastic shoe rack for toiletries, and even umbrellas. 

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I am ashamed to say that it hasn't really occurred to me to tip in the MDRs on NCL, since I have different servers every time. On lines where I have the same table and servers every night, I will usually tip at the end of the cruise.

3 hours ago, hallux said:

Now that I think about it - while NCL DOES have the highest DSC of any mass-market line, many are also not inclined to tip at the MDR on NCL…

3 hours ago, seemoreroyals said:

No need to tip in MDR.  Simply get up and leave after dining there,  Already taken care of as part of DSC so you can enjoy a stress free cruise and not have to worry about who and how much to tip.

2 hours ago, hallux said:

On my last cruise I don't think I had more than one instance of service in the MDR being quality enough to deserve a tip.  Asking for water refills, empty plates being left longer than typical, slow service. 

Why is there a service charge?
The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports.

What about gratuities?

Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on our ships for service that is generally rendered to all Guests. 
 

If they go above and beyond and give exceptional or outstanding service, then by all means tip extra in addition to what you are already tipping. 

These will be the next thing that’s being banned, didn’t Carnival Cruise Lines just ban door magnets? 

3 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Jade is due in March 2025…

Oooh! I’ll be on her April 3rd, 2025 for the repositioning to Alaska, so hopefully they’ll be able to refresh some of the furnishings in the public areas as well. Was just checking her February and March 2025 schedule and not seeing any break that would allow a dry-docking?

🤔

20 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

We crossed in the daylight. If she transited at the time of that one you observed, the passengers would have freaked out.

The transit as it was captured on Live Cams, read Posts 44-50…

13 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Monday was NCL Sun returning from South America.  I couldn’t resist her bridge cam views, although the resolution is not as good as Gem.  The cam is looking a bit to starboard, giving a different view.  And there are no guests on the bow. 

These are really wonderful! 🥰

THANK YOU! 

3 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

I take it that you are on a smaller ship going through the old locks (no mules on the new ones).

We were on the Bliss in January, through the new locks - northbound. There was plenty of time for breakfast prior to hitting anything critically scenic, though schedules may vary.

As previously posted on this thread, on the port day for Panama, they opened the buffet super early for the early tour folks (I was on it) where we took a small ferry half way through the canal.

Now THAT was up close and personal to those locks! Great experience.

I’m booked on Norwegian Jade, so 👍 the historic old locks. I’ve been watching cruise ships go through the Panama Canal on the canal live cams for a quite some time (probably going back +15 years), and there was actually a recent transit of the Norwegian Bliss last November when it cleared Bridge of the Americas Northbound by 130am and was well into the Colcoli Locks by 230a. This was all apparently due to tide restrictions. Talk about an early morning rise, otherwise they would have missed half the canal transit. 😳

Our pre-transit port day is Colon, so I’m definitely doing one of the canal tours from there. I’ve read a detailed blog of the small ferry transit and talk about a long day! I’m sure it’s worth it ($200 per person) but some folks have complained that 5 hours on the ferry was more than they could handle. I think a lot of others have opted for the scenic train crossing and IMAX/observation deck tours.