Daily Service Charge

[gemsm]

Once you lower or take off the DSC your name and cabin number goes on a list. The person who receives a cash tip from you without turning it in can be fired.

 

Uh huh...and do you really think that person is going to tell anyone they got a cash tip from you? They have to be caught before they can be fired.

[smeyer418]

Uh huh...and do you really think that person is going to tell anyone they got a cash tip from you? They have to be caught before they can be fired.

because of a number of reasons. The maitre d(the supervisor of the venue) shares in the DSC so if he doesn't turn it in, he may wind up power washing the employees escalator. The employees live in relatively close quarters(3-4 to a room)...they pretty much know everyone's business. They also don't like to have large amounts of cash on them/in their rooms for the same reason you don't. You don't have to fire them to make someone miserable. There are plenty of bad assignments that the Maitre D can give them that fall absolutely within their discretion.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1107696

 

read this if you don't believe me.

 

I have know room stewards and waiters to put in money from people who removed the tips even when they didn't get any since they didn't want to be seen as providing poor service.

 

That being said a dollar or two here and there doesn't get reported and sometimes near the end of the contract the employee may pocket it but the vast majority don't.

[ddakrt]

If you believe that any money that you hand to the steward gets put into the pool regardless of your automatic tips I have a bridge to sell you

 

Is the Eiffel Tower for sale too?;)

[JohnIreland]

It's the one charge I don't mind seen going up.

 

I wouldn't work those hours for any money.

[bplazo]

Its not the employees you have a problem with, why take it out on them? Take it out on the cruiseline by trying another.

 

I agree, if you need to save money on vacation do not take it out on the employess. Cut back on your spending on the ship. If, however, you want to cut back on tips do not use the service.

[sottovoce]

most cruiselines allow you to change what you 'pay' in gratuities at the concierge desk. We always drop pp charge since our little kids don't usually eat in the main dining room wth us and then pay cash out to the room steward and the kids club people....

 

-Teresa

...and all the little birdies go "cheep cheep cheep"

 

Something tells me the kids eat somewhere on the ship, don't you think?

[hamrag]

Would it make you complain about it, 20% less? If so, I'm all for it. :rolleyes:

 

I suspected you would not be able to resist!;) Thank you for making my day.:D

[luddite]

most cruiselines allow you to change what you 'pay' in gratuities at the concierge desk. We always drop pp charge since our little kids don't usually eat in the main dining room wth us and then pay cash out to the room steward and the kids club people....

 

-Teresa

 

Please, someone tell me that I'm not reading this correctly.

Seriously, I'm begging here. I cannot be reading this correctly, can I ?

[alwalaska]

I have absolutely no problem with the $12 DSC. The employees fully deserve it and usually more.

 

Unfortunately, I was reading the fine print of the contract and not all of the $12 goes directly to the employees. At least when you hand out tips, you have a reasonable assurance the money is going to the employees. I can't remember the exact wording, but it made me believe they used some of that money to pay for insurance and other items, which still benefit the employees, but is not cash to them.

 

To me, it is just a way to hide the actual cost of the cruise. And this is not something against NCL, since most of the other lines do it as well. NCL's is just the highest I have heard of.

[NMLady]

most cruiselines allow you to change what you 'pay' in gratuities at the concierge desk. We always drop pp charge since our little kids don't usually eat in the main dining room wth us and then pay cash out to the room steward and the kids club people....

 

-Teresa

 

Do you think the gratuities charge is just for the Main Dining Room waiters and for the cabin steward? Are the children eating in the buffet? Are they eating ship's food? Are they sleeping on clean sheets and using clean towels done by the ship's laundry? The gratuities are divided not only among dining room staff and the cabin steward, but also the buffet servers, behind-the-scenes kitchen staff and many others as well.

I don't think you realize that you do a real dis-service to many of the crew members by reducing the p/p charge.

[G'ma]

they take away our perks how about we take away the 12 a day ....oh sorry we as i need to cut back also ...whats fair is fair i got to cut back so I can vacation MORE

 

Well, here's a flash for ya......

 

Those folks who are tipped aren't part of the "they" that are taking away your perks.....so why penalize them.

 

Write a strong letter of protest to "they"---or don't cruise NCL any more...but don't stiff the cabin staff, wait staff and others who wait on you hand and foot all week.

[G'ma]

well im sure if we all did it the cruiseline might cave in ...how is it our fault they are taking away our perks??:mad:

 

But, you see, most of us know that those who receive the gratuities have nothing to do with policy.....

 

Most of us, if we were truly upset by a change in policy, would simply book another cruise line....

 

You also have that choice. But, stiffing those who serve you all week isn't the way to go.

[G'ma]

most cruiselines allow you to change what you 'pay' in gratuities at the concierge desk. We always drop pp charge since our little kids don't usually eat in the main dining room wth us and then pay cash out to the room steward and the kids club people....

 

-Teresa

 

And, of course, the kids don't sleep in the beds, make a mess in the cabins or consume any food around the ship anywhere.....

 

Why not stiff the help......

[boaterette]

Around the time Freestyle 2.0 was introduced the daily tips increased from $10pppd to $12pppd. Now that Freestyle has been replaced by Paystyle should NCL reduce the tips back to $10pppd, or less?

 

Most defenitely.

[boaterette]

But' date=' you see, most of us know that those who receive the gratuities have nothing to do with policy.....

 

Most of us, if we were truly upset by a change in policy, would simply book another cruise line....

 

You also have that choice. But, stiffing those who serve you all week isn't the way to go.[/quote']

 

But by booking another cruise line the staff still aren't getting your tips so what is the difference?

[bplazo]

But by booking another cruise line the staff still aren't getting your tips so what is the difference?

 

They have to do less work and not work for nothing.

[hamrag]

They have to do less work and not work for nothing.

On another thread someone mentioned that their cabin steward had said that because of staff cut-backs they had to look after a greater number of cabins. That would suggest to me that their tip income has in fact increased! You could argue that they are working "harder" to earn this extra money, but many who have cruised very recently say that service has slipped so probably the time spent servicing each cabin has decreased. MDR service has also deteriorated, possibly because of fewer staff, but receiving more tip income.

[smeyer418]

On another thread someone mentioned that their cabin steward had said that because of staff cut-backs they had to look after a greater number of cabins. That would suggest to me that their tip income has in fact increased! You could argue that they are working "harder" to earn this extra money, but many who have cruised very recently say that service has slipped so probably the time spent servicing each cabin has decreased. MDR service has also deteriorated, possibly because of fewer staff, but receiving more tip income.

that was me I think

 

"they will have used the removal of the coffee makers to cut staff...You have ten rooms removing the coffee makers is 10% less work you now have 11 rooms and we are cutting out 10% of the staff...but think of it you will make more money with more rooms assigned....IMO" it was a guess but the work load didn't actually decrease by 10%. The problem is you are counting other people's money, except for the cruise lines. I really wish you wouldn't quote me to justify not tipping....because in the end when you encourage people to remove the tips, which you do, whether you intend to or not you are helping people who real desire in many/most cases is not to tip or to tip significantly less. All you keep doing is giving mostly spurious reasons/excuses to take the DSC off and not leave as much because the crew is making so much money.

[mypleasure]

But are they actually receiving more tip income or is it just a perception that more cabins equals more income. What I mean is that given the number of folks who come on here looking for ways to reduce the tips then they probably need more customers to get the same as they did before.

[hamrag]

I really wish you wouldn't quote me to justify not tipping....because in the end when you encourage people to remove the tips, which you do, whether you intend to or not you are helping people who real desire in many/most cases is not to tip or to tip significantly less. All you keep doing is giving mostly spurious reasons/excuses to take the DSC off and not leave as much because the crew is making so much money.

Had no idea whom I was quoting....simply remembered someone had said it. Certainly did not mean to prick your conscience! Seems to me your over-active imagination is working overtime.

[bplazo]

So, if they are working harder because their work load has increased they probably deserve the extra income.

 

I know where I used to work they raised the minimum wage for servers went from $2.13 to $3.25. The restraunt to recoup that money cut back on the bussers and hostesses and gave the servers more job duties which probably did mean less service for the customer but it is still overload for the servers however you did make a little more money.

[MyYorkshireAttic]

Can I just say that being a newcommer to cruising and to this site I can't believe the childish bickering going on from so called adults. It's definately put me off asking any questions if I'm only going to receive snotty replies from people who obviously have nothing better to do with their time. I just hope the people I meet on board are not like the people in this thread:(

[emcelh]

Can I just say that being a newcommer to cruising and to this site I can't believe the childish bickering going on from so called adults. It's definately put me off asking any questions if I'm only going to receive snotty replies from people who obviously have nothing better to do with their time. I just hope the people I meet on board are not like the people in this thread:(

 

Please don't be reluctant to post a question if you have one. You'll get alot of good information from people who have had first-hand experience. There are a few posters who seem to enjoy starting a heated discussion, and it's usually the same people. They either have an ax to grind with the cruise line or just enjoy stirring things up. The NCL fans are very vocal on this board and the "haters" seem to be just as vocal. Your description of "childish bickering" is accurate. Most people, though, just want to share their experiences and answer your questions. Welcome to Cruise Critic and to cruising.