found on a member review so I ask "Does automatic tipping reduce service?"

[dishealth11]

The only time we got any "attention" was when we removed the tips off the sign & sail card. Then, we got a call at 9:45 the last night of the cruise to see if there was anything they could do for us to make it better.

 

This is a comment in a cc member review

[cliffd64]

Having been on seven freestyle cruises, I cannot totally agree with the sentiment that the tipping causes a lack of service. That is a perception spread around mainly by people who are offended by any sort of tipping in the first place. Let's face it... there are those who will stiff the help regardless of the level of service because they simply don't believe in tipping.

 

I've found that if you truly engage yourselves with the people who are serving you, whether it be your cabin steward, or your dinner waiter(s) or a bartender, they tend to treat you better. It's like a saying I'm particularly fond of..

 

Life is like a sewer... what comes out of it is largely dependent upon what you put into it. :)

 

If you are nice and friendly and genuine with the people who work on the NCL ships, they certainly tend to go the extra distance and provide fantastic service. All it takes sometimes is a little conversation (maybe about their homeland if you've been there etc) and acknowledgement as people and they really do seem to try to make sure you enjoy your cruise, and remember you too :)

 

On the other hand, if you treat them as appliances or fixtures, you get an average level of service, not their best.

[DivaG]

Having been on seven freestyle cruises, I cannot totally agree with the sentiment that the tipping causes a lack of service. That is a perception spread around mainly by people who are offended by any sort of tipping in the first place. Let's face it... there are those who will stiff the help regardless of the level of service because they simply don't believe in tipping.

 

I've found that if you truly engage yourselves with the people who are serving you, whether it be your cabin steward, or your dinner waiter(s) or a bartender, they tend to treat you better. It's like a saying I'm particularly fond of..

 

Life is like a sewer... what comes out of it is largely dependent upon what you put into it. :)

 

If you are nice and friendly and genuine with the people who work on the NCL ships, they certainly tend to go the extra distance and provide fantastic service. All it takes sometimes is a little conversation (maybe about their homeland if you've been there etc) and acknowledgement as people and they really do seem to try to make sure you enjoy your cruise, and remember you too :)

 

On the other hand, if you treat them as appliances or fixtures, you get an average level of service, not their best.

 

 

I couldn't have said it better if I tried!!! Thank you so much!!

No matter the situation, there is always someone who expects something for nothing. Life does not work that way. Treat people the way you would want to be treated and they will usually respond in kind.

Learn to smile, say thank you and please. These people are here to assist you - they're not here to be your personal slaves for the time you're on board!!! Enough said.

 

G

[johnql]

I've been on 4 Freestyle cruises and 8 traditional cruises. Based on the level of service that I have experienced, I would say that automatic tipping has no effect whatsoever on service. It's my opinion that good and bad service have always existed and will always exist, regardless of how tipping is administered. I've had both good and bad on both Freestyle and traditional cruises. Fortunately, the good has always outweighed the bad.

[dishealth11]

I agree with everything that was said. However, in that member review there was no indication of any nastiness or rudeness on their part. The reviewer (I'll look for it as I was reading the poor reviews) basically said that for the most part there was no effort to do a good job, and only when they threatened not to tip was any attention and effort made to attend to them. (I'm not really clear on what a sign & sail card is).

[cliffd64]

I agree with everything that was said. However, in that member review there was no indication of any nastiness or rudeness on their part. The reviewer (I'll look for it as I was reading the poor reviews) basically said that for the most part there was no effort to do a good job, and only when they threatened not to tip was any attention and effort made to attend to them. (I'm not really clear on what a sign & sail card is).

 

The sign and sail card is basically what you use for purchases o any sort while on ship, as well as your room key, and for gettting on and off the ship.

 

If you buy anything while on ship, you don't have to carry around money or anything like that, they just charge it to your cabin account via your cardkey. This would include excursions, alcoholic beverages, speicalty restaurant fees (if any), souvenirs on the ship, photos etc...

[johnql]

(I'm not really clear on what a sign & sail card is).

Before you board the ship, you are required to open an onboard account. All (well, most) of your shipboard expenses are charged to that account using a sign & sail card, much like a temporary credit card. This way, you don't have to worry about having a whole bunch of cash handy. The automatic tipping is charged to your onboard account on a daily basis ($10 pp/pd). The original reviewer is indicating that they went to the purser and requested the automatic tipping charges be removed from their onboard account.

 

At the end of the cruise, your onboard account has to be settled before you're allowed to disembark. Most people use a credit card to open the account, so all the charges are easily covered by the credit card. Other people prefer to settle their account in cash (and I believe travelers checks are acceptable, too). No problem there, either. Debit cards are more problematic.

[smeyer418]

There are some countries that are notoriously....frugal....

 

We just came back from an all inclusive resort and made friends with a lovely couple from one of those countries. we had great service all week and they were in the room accross the hall. When it came to tipping the housekeeper(room steward) they were going to leave $10.00(US) for the week for the two of them---they asked me what we were leaving and it was a lot more and they left the same amount we did. They in fact run a bed and breakfast and are truely lovely people they just didn't know better really...IMO

[mbisson]

The only time we got any "attention" was when we removed the tips off the sign & sail card. Then, we got a call at 9:45 the last night of the cruise to see if there was anything they could do for us to make it better.

 

This is a comment in a cc member review

 

I couldn't disagree more. And I'd personally consider that in relationship to the rest of the review. I wonder which cruise line this might've been. The expression "sign and sail" is the one normally used by Carnival (or is it Royal Carib)

 

jmo

-Monte

[bobby'sgirl]

We have only been on one cruise and looking forward to our Alaskian cruise this summer. We tipped staff as noted in our documents. Our table mates failed to do so and attended the final dinner. I felt sorry for them when my DH handed over our envelopes to our great waiter and his assistant. We had been treated very well for the 4 days, our children were treated like royalty...they still talk about this often. Looking forward to NCL as it appears to meet our needs for a relaxing time alone without children. Automatic tipping will help but we plan to tip extra for great service. Just my thoughts

[jeannep]

We have been on the Dawn 2 times and are going again in May. Both times there was automatic tipping and I can truthfully say, we got wonderful service. The staff was always very friendly. The room stewards did a wonderful job. We would just leave a note in the bathroom if we need anything and when we returned it was there. We would never think of taking the tip off our bill and we have always felt that an extra tip was deserved. These people work hard and deserve anything they get.

 

Jeanne

[Katie H]

We sailed on NCL Majesty for 2 weeks back to back in December, our first time on NCL. We were concerned that with free style and automatic tipping that the service would suffer. But we actually had the best and most professional service we have ever had. It may differ from ship to ship, but on the Majesty we had no complaints.

[Warmblooded]

We are just returned from the Sun's 3/26 (Easter week) cruise and found the service surprisingly wonderful. Despite the ship being full, everyone was friendly and eager to help. I don't think a single staff member ever failed to greet us when we passed by. Our steward, Win, asked for our names when we first met and addressed us by them whenever he saw us. We weren't in a suite or anything special, btw. Each day Win asked if there was anything he could do for us. After we asked for and promptly received extra pillows the day we sailed, we couldn't think of anything to ask him for: the cabin was always made up promptly, the ice bucket was filled automatically and some nights we got towel animals.

 

We were very pleased with the service and our total experience on the Sun and look forward to cruising on NCL ships in the future.

[shoreguy]

Just a little twist to the answers so far.

 

Without the automatic tipping the service would be reduced. There is no way NCL could keep Freestyle alive with traditional tipping. Every quality waiter would leave.

 

There is no pratical way to tip all the different people that served you the last night. I bet incomes would drop 50%. At least on a tradition ship if you want to stiff the crew you have to live thru the embarrasment of the final night at dinner with those that worked to make your cruise special.

 

My answer to "Does automatic tipping reduce service?"

 

No it improves it

[Dolphins]

Just a little twist to the answers so far.

 

Without the automatic tipping the service would be reduced. There is no way NCL could keep Freestyle alive with traditional tipping. Every quality waiter would leave.

 

There is no pratical way to tip all the different people that served you the last night. I bet incomes would drop 50%. At least on a tradition ship if you want to stiff the crew you have to live thru the embarrasment of the final night at dinner with those that worked to make your cruise special.

 

My answer to "Does automatic tipping reduce service?"

 

No it improves it

 

Mandatory tipping is a necessity with freestyle dining. I have found no reduction in service on NCL with mandatory tipping. On the contrary, I find room stewards go out of the way to give extra service in the hope you might leave an additional gratuity which I often feel obligated to do.

[mshe]

There are some countries that are notoriously....frugal....

 

They in fact run a bed and breakfast and are truely lovely people they just didn't know better really...IMO

 

Maybe in their country... good service is expected all the time :D I don't think it's not that they didn't know better, but tipping is really a cultural thing. Some countries people tip more, in others they don't, because the same level of service is given whether you tip or not.

[seahorse]

Maybe in their country... good service is expected all the time :D I don't think it's not that they didn't know better, but tipping is really a cultural thing. Some countries people tip more, in others they don't, because the same level of service is given whether you tip or not.

 

And sometimes the "level of service" is not what we expect:rolleyes: