NLH Arizona

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

We, in North America, are used to our tipping culture and DSC (auto gratuities) are not a big deal.  But many cruise passengers come from other parts of the world where they do not have a tipping culture and in some countries there are folks who are almost militantly opposed to tipping.  

 

We talked on another blog how some cruise lines quickly realized that their DSC policy was not very effective in some parts of the world.  When Princess originally based the Sea Princess in Sydney, Australia...they revamped their fare system to include DSC within the cruise fare.  This was an acknowledgment that the Aussies were not going to accept this type of crazy system.   Too bad they, and other cruise lines, don't simply go to this Australian system.   And we would not need to have any more threads on this topic :).

 

 

Being from a non-tipping country is no excuse not to participate in a country/cruise line's culture.  All one has to do is a little research.  I think they know about the tipping, but just don't want to do it because they want the cheapest overall price for their meals/cruises.  I didn't like that in London I was charged 1.25 percent service charge at a restaurant especially when the service sucked, but because I had done my research and knew it was their custom in some of their restaurants, I paid it.  I guess I could have been like those that refuse to tip because they don't in their country and demand that it be taken off my bill because we don't have service charges in restaurants here.

NCL did include the DSC in the fare in some countries and they had to reverse it, because they lost customers because they didn't want to pay the higher cruise fare.  Takeaway, they wanted the cheapest cruise fare and never ever want to pay the DSC whether it is included in the fare or an add on.  I thought that it was very sad that a poster's child said crew hated sailing out of Southampton because so many removed the DSC and they only got paid their minimum contracted salary.

32 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 For the first 15-20 years of our cruise life, the norm on many cruise lines was for passengers to directly tip (in cash) only those crew members who provided driect service.  In fact, many cruise lines would provide envelopes (put in passenger cabins) that were actually labeled with the various crew functions (i.e. waiter, assistant waiter, cabin steward, maitre'd, etc).  The tradition was for passengers to distribute those envelopes on the last night of the cruise.  Most passengers did go along with the program, but there always a few who would disappear from the MDR on that last night or forget that they had a cabin steward.  And then there were some passengers from anti-tipping cultures who found the entire process annoying and probably gave their entire tip to themselves :).

 

I've got over sixty cruises under my belt and started when they had the envelope system.  Based on fares today, cruise fares were substantially more back then.  Cruise Lines have become more affordable for many more people than it was back in the day.  I've got no issue if all cruise lines added the DSC/automatic gratuities into the fare and raise the fares to offset.  But as we saw when NCL did this in some countries, they got a total blow back from passengers.  Why, because they want the cheapest fare and, to be perfectly honest, they don't want to pay the DSC, because it raises the cost of their cruise.

I'm not sure what cruise lines you cruised on back in the day, but the ones I have cruised on (with the exception of Crystal) all had more than just a few who did not show up for dinner the last night and I think that was very unfair to the crew member who worked very hard in the MDR and got stiffed by these folks.

As far as who gets the DSC.  What I'm only concerned about is that the crew gets the salary they contracted for and hopefully more if everyone were to pay the DSC.   

1 hour ago, April42749 said:

I read that review too.  What exactly did you have to "endure"?  Leftovers not being taken away or having to pick up the phone to call maintenance.....!!!    Seriously...I'm biting my tongue (sitting on my hand) not to write what I think. 🙂

I'm biting my tongue as well.

40 minutes ago, BostonGal35 said:

We are very loyal to NCL.  that said, we have noticed the decline since FDR took over.  Our last Haven sail was despicable (my review just posted yesterday, this was for the November 30 sail).  What's worse is they only gave me $100 cruise credit for what we went thru - my fiance who also traveled with me got nothing yet he was subject to the same experience.  

 

Just read your review and wondering how much did you think they should have given you in cruise credit for your issues?

I go to Cagney's a number of times each cruise and my filets have always been very good.

52 minutes ago, gerryuk said:

If you go into a supermarket and spend your money on shopping,  then it is none of my business or anyone else's business, what the person behind the checkout gets paid. However if you go into a supermarket and you have to pay gratuities / service charge on top of your bill to top up the wages of the staff, because they are not given a decent wage from their bosses, then it is my business. 

Again, cruise lines are raking in vast profits with turnover in the billions, if nothing else, is it not morally right in this day and age to pay all their staff a decent wage? Tips should be a bonus on top of their wage, not part of it.

If you go to London and eat at a restaurant that has a service charge, will you be asking where it goes?  How about when you go to a hotel and there is a resort fee/service charge, do you ask them where it goes?

1 hour ago, gerryuk said:

Prove to me that every pound / dollar that I pay in tips is going to the crew and not in CEO bonuses and paying shareholders their dividends. 

 

Again many cruise lines do not allow you to opt out. Many people think that employing staff as cheap and slave labour and then guilt tripping customers to give them handouts as part of their salary is abhorrent, its not about customers being "cheap".

Prove to me that all or part of every dollar that I pay goes to CEO's bonuses and paying shareholders their dividends?

Other than Costa, which cruise lines don't allow you to opt out?  I'm sure if the crew is being paid slave labor, there wouldn't be a crew member on any cruise ship.  The salary guidelines are under the Maritime Labor Convention who sets the minimum salary and the crew members are paid a salary that they agree upon and have signed a contract. 

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

The cruise lines created this problem and it might have worked except that we now see cruise passengers from all over the world.  Some of these folks do not believe in the "tipping" or "service charge" culture that we follow in North America. 

These people were always there.  They were the ones who didn't show up for the last night's dinner and those who avoided their Cabin Steward the last day, all so they didn't have to tip them.  

3 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

Interesting - I would assume that not many people remove the charges or am I being naive? 

A poster posted some time ago that her child works for NCL and hates cruising out of Southampton, because so many remove the DSC and they only make the minimum, which is their contract rate.

14 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

We were on a tour bus in Sydney where the driver solicited tips over the speaker system.  We thought it was kind of a poor showing -- like trying to scam tourists just because they were Americans.  

I think this happens in a lot of non-tipping culture countries.  They see Americans and think they should get a tip.  Before I go to any country, I do research and follow their culture and if I'm solicited in that country, I just walk by with my money in my purse.

22 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

That said, tipping may not be expected but it is still accepted if given in the right spirit, which is a reward for providing a excellent service. They are not mandatory as they are not part of the payment system.

I wouldn't tip in Australia, only because many on here from there says their culture is no tipping and that is why they complain about the DSC.

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

Irrational or not, there comes a higher risk when you have valuables accessible, especially around people that may not have a lot of money. I can't even count how many times I ready about "$1000+ in the safe, some or all is missing" stories. Put that temptation in front of ANYONE, and you will see a mixed bag of results.

Makes you wonder if they lost it gambling and think the cruise line/hotel will reimburse them thinking it was really stolen.

9 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Oops. Someone got caught stirring the pot when they sail for free every cruise. None of this pricing or sales affect them because they get a casino comp. Complaints about free food that is really free. 
 

Disclaimer: the free cruise actually pays for port charges, port taxes, and a $200 admin fee to book through the casino. 

Some posters just don't like NCL and given any opportunity will trash them.  That is okay, because it is their right and it is their opinion.

What I find funny is that the OP called his Caesar's Promotion Manager and asked them to book him on Celebrity, when NCL has nothing to do with Celebrity.  If he wants free cruises on Celebrity, he needs to gamble at MGM casinos who is affliated with Celebrity.

If one really dislikes a company, I always wonder why they continue to do business with them, whether it is free or they pay for it;  if the experience is bad, then the experience is bad.

5 minutes ago, AlexandNessa said:

Our last cruise had self-identified Haven Police. If a Haven guest sees another guest hanging out there without a Haven colored card.... Look out! You'll be watched like hawk and reported if you make yourself too comfy. I've seen it happen. 🙄😮

I've got no problem with the so called Haven Police.  Folks pay a lot more to be in the Haven and enjoy areas without crowds and if one passenger lets their friends in, pretty soon others will do the same and then you have an overly crowded Haven and devalue the Haven experience.

4 hours ago, GeriatricNurse said:

 

 

Keep reading!

 

Happy New Year!

 

Feel better?

You might not be aware, but when you quote a post, you can put your response right under it.  Even if you hit submit reply before adding your comment, you can go back for x amount of time and do an edit and add it.  By doing this, it just makes it a little easier for folks to know who is responding, because if there are a number of posts between your first quote without a comment and your comment, some might not connect the two.

I would have addressed 2 and 3 on the ship.  Just saw you got partial refund and OBC, so I think enough has been done for you on these issues.  Glad to see that ship's personnel handled this very well.  Why contact NCL, what more are you looking for?

As far as number one, you could call NCL customer service and make sure they have all your contact information correctly, but again if you are looking for some sort of compensation, I have no idea who you would go to.

3 hours ago, ducklite said:

 

People who wear things like that are either stupid, or too ignorant/rude to care that they are being offensive. Either way, it's sad that schools, theme parks, and cruise lines actually need to become babysitters to police those who were either poorly raised or poorly bred.

They do it for the attention, because they know it is offensive and they want to shock folks and have them looking at them, because they think they are cool.  Pretty sad that they have no moral compass.  I think Carnival is right in this policy, because if someone doesn't get it, they need to have someone tell them.

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Ah, so your altruism is a one way street. You have made their wages your problem, which means that you have made all of their working conditions your problem. You want them to be paid a fair wage, but you don't want to do anything to ensure that they get the hours they need. You are also presuming they will provide poor service, but if they do then that is an absolutely valid reason to reduce or withhold tips, which is why most of them do go above and beyond (but I seem to recall that you don't buy that theory either). 

 

And yes, they have chosen to work for tips instead of a guaranteed salary and they are very happy with that choice. You are the only one that is unhappy with it and you, as an outsider, can't change it and by refusing to leave a tip you hurt only the person that you purport to be concerned about in the first place.

I always find it amazing of those that think tipping is bad.  Now, if a restaurant (as the restaurant that did the no tipping test) decides to pay their servers say $15 an hour, what will the restaurant do?  They will raise menu prices to off set the difference between the lower tipping wage and the new non-tipping wage and what does that mean the prices will go up to the consumer.  As the restaurant that did the no tipping test, customers didn't like it, because they were paying more.  What folks don't realize when they say raise the hourly rate to $15 or other things folks want free, is that they will be paying for all these things and people will lose their jobs (one person running for office, raised the wages of their employees to $15 and then had to fire half, because he couldn't afford the new wage rate).  In other words.....nothing is free, there is always a price to pay.  Probably something the social justice warriors don't think about are the consequences.

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

No reason not to believe the poster.  But isn't it interesting that with the huge number of active posters on CC and other social media cruise line sites that theft is not a common issue?

I just find it amazing that the OP had something stolen from their cabin on their last 2 cruises, maybe she is just getting forgetful and doesn't remember where she put the items.

I've never had anything stolen in my over sixty cruises.  

7 minutes ago, teacherman said:

RCCL, Celebrity, and HAL all allow 2 bottles per stateroom to be brought aboard.

Both RCCL and Celebrity charge a corkage fee if consumed in a public place, so if you want to bring the bottle to the dining room on Celebrity, it will cost you $25 per bottle.  

When you board the ship, go directly to dining reservations, unless you are sailing in a suite, then let the Concierge know when you arrive at the Haven lounge.

It seems that not only patrons, but servers like the tipping system.  

Joe's Crab Shack had a no tipping test in eighteen restaurants a few years back.  They raised the price of their menu and the wages of their servers.  It didn't last long, as their research showed that around sixty percent of their customers disliked the policy.  The said that their customers and staff spoke very loudly about the policy and a lot of them voted with their feet.  The restaurants lost eight to ten percent of their customers because of the change.  In the end only four restaurants stayed with the non-tipping policy.  

What I find is that those that disagree with tipping and won't tip at all, are the first ones to complain if the price of services, salaries, etc. are raised.  An example was when NCL included in the fare the DSC for some countries.  They had always said that the cruise line should pay proper wages and when the cruise line raised the fare to include the DSC, they complained so loud that their fare price went up. 

7 hours ago, kerryincork said:

The only people who fall of balconies are people who are trying to fall off balconies.

Or those that are doing stupid things.

21 hours ago, Nevada Jen said:

How much do you generally tip for excursions and how do you tip?  I was thinking $20 a person for a day long excursion.  Is that about right or do I tip based on the price of the excursion?  I am never sure I have it right.

I think it would be appropriate based on the excursion.  I usually tip the bus driver, if there is one, $5 and the guide $20, if the service on the excursion was very good.

I would write down the changes you want and the first time you meet your Concierge, in boarding area, give him/her the list.  Make sure it includes your cabin number, name and the times you would like to have dinners.