Service Charges..... Tipping????

[Tooth Gal]

I have just made final payment for our Christmas Cruise. We have never sailed with NCL before, and while I was scanning the paper work, I noticed the "Service Charges" blurb. So I inquired with the Consultant I was making the payment with as to wether this is a mandatory charge, or optional. We last sailed with RCI, and the tipping was automatically added to the room charges. If you wanted to tip in cash, you could go to the front desk and have the charge removed from your account. Is it the same with NCL? If it is not, then why is this cost not incorporated into the price of the fare? I am feeling a little sticker shock with the fact that we may have an additional $432 to come up with. It has been 5 years since our last cruise, am I out of touch??

 

Thanks for the clarification!!!

[jame_g]

Yes, you are out of touch. Most mainstream cruise lines do it this way now. It is best to leave the service charge alone unless you actually have a service complaint, report it, and it continues or is not resolved.

[sparks1093]

This gets debated about once a week. On NCL you have different waitstaff every night and traditional tipping does not work. NCL came up with the DSC model where you pay $12 per day per person and it compensates your room stewards and the food service team (who exactly this is, well, that's subject of debate also). The DSC accrues daily per person and is due at the end of the cruise. There is no need to tip over and above the DSC (except kid's crew, butler/concierge, room service. Bar service and spa service have an automatic gratuity added). If you have a bona fide reason to make an adjustment to the DSC you may do so by going to the purser's desk, but NCL does ask that you give them the opportunity to address any service deficiencies. The DSC represents a large portion of the service staff's salary.

[sottovoce]

I'm not sure what the upset is all about. OP said on her last cruise on RCI "the tipping was automatically added to the room charges." This is exactly what NCL does. Why the sticker shock? Why would she be upset that NCL will do exactly what RCI did? Much ado about nothing.

[Don Haynes]

Yes, the cruise lines had to implement the daily surcharges to keep their crews from signing with another cruise line. Too many passengers skipped the last meal in the main dining rooms stiffing the crews. They could have served surf and turf on the menu and the main dining rooms would have looked similar to a ghost town...

 

Eventually something had to give. Either higher cruise fares or the daily surcharge which replaced the long tradition of tipping which went back to Samuel Cunard in the nineteenth century...

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I'm not sure what the upset is all about. OP said on her last cruise on RCI "the tipping was automatically added to the room charges." This is exactly what NCL does. Why the sticker shock? Why would she be upset that NCL will do exactly what RCI did? Much ado about nothing.

 

I think OP's recollection is a little off. She last cruised on RCI in 2005. RCI didnt have auto tips back then.

 

They still don't have it now unless you book my time dining which didnt exist 5 years ago.

 

Bill

[sottovoce]

I think OP's recollection is a little off. She last cruised on RCI in 2005. RCI didnt have auto tips back then.

 

They still don't have it now unless you book my time dining which didnt exist 5 years ago.

 

Bill

Or maybe she meant that a passenger could specify how much to tip the steward, waiter, etc., and RCI would put that amount on your bill rather than having to hand out envelopes. If that's the case, the problem is not that it goes on your bill, but that she wants to tip a significantly lower amount than NCL's daily service charge. I know what that indicates.

 

It seems like, whenever we have a thread like this, what starts out as some kind of principled objection to the daily service charge eventually comes down to the amount of $$ involved, especially when there are three or four people traveling as a family. The logic goes something like: "Gee, that comes to 'an additional $432,' and that's a lot of money!" Well, duh, if you have 36 passenger-nights on the ship--whether it's two passengers for 18 nights or four passengers for nine nights--that's what the amount should be. There's no quantity discount. The crew works just as hard. And by withholding a significant amount of that daily service charge, you'd be stiffing the crew "a lot of money" that they've worked darn hard to earn.

[bakerintn]

although I titally support the daily service charge concept, I think the problem lies in the way NCL advertises it (or not). By not being up-front with the charge, it can become "sticker shock". I understand NCL does it this way so that their fares seem less than some other lines, and that amount does not become commissionable, but they could be more up-front with the DSC to the passengers.

 

I too would prefer that the DSC be rolled-in to the fare, but it would be hard to position that and still keep the auto-gratuity for bar service, spas, etc without a big stink.

 

So, I would settle for a more up-front disclosure to be made by NCL and TAs that the quoted fare does not include taxes, port fees or Daily Service Charge, and that at the time of reservations, the actual total fare, including those items, be stated.

[iceman2a]

although I titally support the daily service charge concept, I think the problem lies in the way NCL advertises it (or not). By not being up-front with the charge, it can become "sticker shock". I understand NCL does it this way so that their fares seem less than some other lines, and that amount does not become commissionable, but they could be more up-front with the DSC to the passengers.

 

I too would prefer that the DSC be rolled-in to the fare, but it would be hard to position that and still keep the auto-gratuity for bar service, spas, etc without a big stink.

 

So, I would settle for a more up-front disclosure to be made by NCL and TAs that the quoted fare does not include taxes, port fees or Daily Service Charge, and that at the time of reservations, the actual total fare, including those items, be stated.

 

HOW MANY TIMES DOES IT NEED TO BY EXPLAINED WHY THAT IS A DUMB IDEA?

If it is added to the fare it becomes taxable and NCL would have to pay commissions on it to TAs!

[Globaliser]

If it is not, then why is this cost not incorporated into the price of the fare? I am feeling a little sticker shock with the fact that we may have an additional $432 to come up with.

Many of us would like it incorporated into the price of the fare. However, one of the problems with that is that unless a distinctly labelled service charge/tip element is identified to the bulk of the market, there is such strong cultural pressure/compulsion to tip that they will end up tipping conventional amounts on top of the already-included service charge. That way, the crew would end up highly over-paid, and the cruise line would be perceived as uncompetitive in price.

 

There should't be any "sticker shock". The service charge replaces the conventional tipping that you would have done, and the amount you've been quoted is basically what the cruise line would under past practice have recommended to you as an appropriate tip. So you would have tipped $432 anyway. (You would have tipped the recommended amount, wouldn't you?)

 

Now you just pay the $432 as the service charge, and you don't have to tip on top of that.

 

Butlers and concierges are separate from all of this, and they always have been.

[Globaliser]

HOW MANY TIMES DOES IT NEED TO BY EXPLAINED WHY THAT IS A DUMB IDEA?

If it is added to the fare it becomes taxable and NCL would have to pay commissions on it to TAs!

NCL could make it part of the non-commissionable fare. End of that problem.

 

I don't see why the tax position would change. It's still revenue for NCL either way, and the money paid out to the crew from it would still be tax deductible. Am I missing something here?

[Doughboy139]

although I titally support the daily service charge concept, I think the problem lies in the way NCL advertises it (or not). By not being up-front with the charge, it can become "sticker shock". I understand NCL does it this way so that their fares seem less than some other lines, and that amount does not become commissionable, but they could be more up-front with the DSC to the passengers.

 

I too would prefer that the DSC be rolled-in to the fare, but it would be hard to position that and still keep the auto-gratuity for bar service, spas, etc without a big stink.

 

So, I would settle for a more up-front disclosure to be made by NCL and TAs that the quoted fare does not include taxes, port fees or Daily Service Charge, and that at the time of reservations, the actual total fare, including those items, be stated.

 

When I booked my cruise with NCL last year, they told me up front about the service charge, so I don't know what all the fuss is about. But then again people need something to bitch about

[sottovoce]

I understand NCL does it this way so that their fares seem less than some other lines, and that amount does not become commissionable, but they could be more up-front with the DSC to the passengers.

No, no, no. There is NO mass-market cruise line that includes a service charge in their cruise fare, so NCL is not doing this "so that their fares seem less than some other lines." That is an absurd notion.

 

On EVERY mass-market cruise line you either pay a service charge or tip individually, so there is an additional cost above and beyond the cruise fare on every one of them. Let's stop spouting this nonsense that NCL is somehow different from the others in that there is some kind of hidden, additional charge. Passengers either pay a service charge or give out tips on every mass-market cruise line...unless they are just cheap. And it's the cheap ones who always start these threads whining about having to pay the crew what they are due for their service.

[iceman2a]

NCL could make it part of the non-commissionable fare. End of that problem. They do, they just charge you daily while your cruising, not before hand!

I don't see why the tax position would change. It's still revenue for NCL either way, and the money paid out to the crew from it would still be tax deductible. Am I missing something here?

The fact that it's the passenger paying the tax on a higher fare!

 

It must be me :confused: I went on my first cruise knowing exactly what any extra costs would be, the DSC wasn't a surprise to me, why is it a surprise to so many people? And if you didn't know about it, you certainly expected to be tipping people at the end, so you just take that $$ and apply it to your OBA!

 

STICKER SHOCK????? Do your research, it isn't hard to find!

[Planer's Edge]

Here we go again. :eek:

 

PE

[iceman2a]

Here we go again. :eek:

 

PE

 

I know! I'm sorry! I knew as soon as I saw the subject! I shoulda just moved on, but I'm in work on a Saturday so I'm in a foul mood to begin with! Let me go get a cup of coffee, it may be a long day! :D

[Sauer-kraut]

I know! I'm sorry! I knew as soon as I saw the subject! I shoulda just moved on, but I'm in work on a Saturday so I'm in a foul mood to begin with! Let me go get a cup of coffee, it may be a long day! :D

 

 

[Don Haynes]

What disturbs me is that there are so many couples who would gladly pay another $24 a day for an upsell to a suite without any hesitation, but don't want to pay the crew for their services. The service aboard a ship in my opinion is much more important than the size of a cabin. A bed is a bed... :cool::cool::cool:

[cs]

HOW MANY TIMES DOES IT NEED TO BY EXPLAINED WHY THAT IS A DUMB IDEA?

If it is added to the fare it becomes taxable and NCL would have to pay commissions on it to TAs!

 

That arguement holds no ground. If they can separate the port charges from the commissions, they can do it for the service charges too.

[lambs2]

That arguement holds no ground. If they can separate the port charges from the commissions, they can do it for the service charges too.

 

I agree completely, but this will only be practicable when ALL the mainstream cruiselines adopt the same policy...

[luddite]

HOW MANY TIMES DOES IT NEED TO BY EXPLAINED WHY THAT IS A DUMB IDEA?

If it is added to the fare it becomes taxable and NCL would have to pay commissions on it to TAs!

 

I have the number. It will take senenteen million eight hundred sixtyseven thousand three hundred twelve times being posted on the CC NCL board for 50% of people to understand. The other 50% cannot be helped by information. I found the info on Wikipedia. Who woulda knew?

[iceman2a]

That arguement holds no ground. If they can separate the port charges from the commissions, they can do it for the service charges too.

 

Port charges are not part of the fare! They are added on with taxes after, because they are a tax that they must pay to the govmnt of the ports they stop in! In your scenario, the cruise line could cut the fare by say $25 a day then add it back as a fee and not pay commissions on it and pax wouldn't have to pay tax on it! See how that would work!!:eek:

[iceman2a]

i have the number. It will take senenteen million eight hundred sixtyseven thousand three hundred twelve times being posted on the cc ncl board for 50% of people to understand. The other 50% cannot be helped by information. I found the info on wikipedia. Who woulda knew?

 

lol :D :D :D

[Don Haynes]

Today customers don't care about the quality or brand of the product as much as the bottom line. A television sales person I know told me that vast majority of customers will buy a flat high definition wide screen television $10 less over another television with twice the resolution. $10 is $10, never mind the other television is the better product...

 

Its why all of the nice perks of Freestyle 2.0 disappeared. Passengers whether flying or cruising are only interested with the bottom line, the lowest price. In this environment none of the cruise lines will adopt including the daily surcharge in the fares if the other cruise lines don't either...

 

Its also why China is dumping cheap goods on America. Its why half of the hard and soft goods at Walmart are made in China... :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[sjbdtz]

I have just made final payment for our Christmas Cruise. We have never sailed with NCL before, and while I was scanning the paper work, I noticed the "Service Charges" blurb. So I inquired with the Consultant I was making the payment with as to wether this is a mandatory charge, or optional. We last sailed with RCI, and the tipping was automatically added to the room charges. If you wanted to tip in cash, you could go to the front desk and have the charge removed from your account. Is it the same with NCL? If it is not, then why is this cost not incorporated into the price of the fare? I am feeling a little sticker shock with the fact that we may have an additional $432 to come up with. It has been 5 years since our last cruise, am I out of touch??

 

Thanks for the clarification!!!

 

I don't understand the 'sticker shock'. You say you want to tip in cash, right? And since I'm assuming you'd be tipping a reasonable amount, $432 sounds just about the right amount to budget.

 

It's probably easier for you to leave the DSC in place, rather than trying to find all the galleys, so that you can take care of the busboys & dishwashers....but that's up to you.