Tipping

[Love my butler]

Yes, because you aren't tipping all of the crew covered by the DSC. Particularly the behind the scenes people like the cooks and laundry crew.

 

Regardless of what you seem to think, you do directly impact their work load.

 

Now hold on there. I have heard countless times from all the cheerleaders that if you remove the DSC the crew is REQUIRED to turn in the cash tips they receive. You can't have it both ways. Do they keep my cash tips or do they turn them in?

 

I don't feel any obligation to tip behind the scenes people at all, so I have no issues with that aspect.

[Love my butler]

You don't, but,.....yup.

 

Ahh, so the crew receiving twice the DSC in cash is getting stiffed? Interesting take you have on being 'stiffed'.

[luddite]

Ahh, so the crew receiving twice the DSC in cash is getting stiffed? Interesting take you have on being 'stiffed'.

 

Now you're just being foolish. You cannot possibly 'tip' everyone covered by the DSC. Please, stop being foolish in regards to the subject.

[Love my butler]

Now you're just being foolish. You cannot possibly 'tip' everyone covered by the DSC. Please, stop being foolish in regards to the subject.

 

If you read my post above, and I am sure you did, you know I have no intention of tipping everyone covered by the DSC. I tip the people who give me exceptional 'personal' service. Washing my plates and towels doesn't count. Maybe it does with you, but not me. If I don't see your smiling face, don't expect a tip from me.

[psyfi]

I am not sure if you read through the entire thread but what I was asking is can i ask for some of the money back 40-50 to give SPECIFICALLY to the cabin steward who will do more for my children then any waitress or kitchen staff. And to give to the childcare givers.

 

For the rest that are commenting that this is DSC charge and not a tipping charge...the other cruise ships describe these charges as the recommended tipping charges. Which if Norweigan expects people to consider this a DSC and not a tipping charge then that makes the cost of their cruise more then the other cruiselines. DSC or tipping charge...it is exactly the same...just is allocated to different people is what you are all saying.

 

Wow I am going to say some of the people on this board are a bit scary! Some of you made me feel like I was cheap, when all I was asking was whether or not I can ask for some money back to give to the appropriate people that will service my 7 year old that will barely eat on the cruise and 3 year old and tip MORE on top of that! I just paid over $3000 dollars for a cruise, over $330 in DSC charges, $500 in excursions...and have not even stepped on the boat yet...I definitely wouldn't say I am cheap;)

 

If you give your room steward the tip, they cannot keep it, if they get caught it can be grounds for dismissal. it will go into the pool, so same result, just much more complicated for you. The idea is for everyone to work well as a team, when someone doesn't, peer pressure can be an excellent motivator, better than manager supervision. I hope you enjoy your trip.

[chengkp75]

I definitely plan on tipping the daycare staff, especially if they are doing a wonderful job with my children. They are the ones that are going to make or break my vacation. I guess that is my point, my kids are not going to be eating or using the food services very often...so $12 a day is kind of a lot. My son has OCD with food so we have to bring poptarts, fruit snacks and other acceptable foods that are being allowed on board for him. He will probably only eat breakfast, and that will be pancakes only. My daughter is 3...enough said there right? I was debating on traveling between NCL and Carnival. Carnival allows you to adjust the tips and allocate them to the proper employees you feel should recieve them. I guess I should call NCL and see what their exact policy is. I am wondering what our cruise fare pays for if it doesnt go towards the employees. Sorry...this cruise stuff is all new to me:) Honestly, if they do not allow me to adjust then I will leave the fees as is, and not tip anymore to anyone, except the daycare employees. If they allow me to adjust, I will probably end up tipping even more then it would of been with my service charges. A waitress that does not feed or wait on my child should not get $12 from them, vs a daycare giver that has been entertaining my child and taking care of the most important thing in my life.

 

Understand that regarless of which cruise line, the "daily service charge" or the "autotip" represents about 80% of the staff's salary. This is a mechanism that the lines use to encourage customer service, as bad service will result in loss of the service charge, while the company can say "we didn't cut your pay, it was the customer". So, do not think of this as a tip or gratuity. While no further gratuity is expected or required, you are free to add where you feel it is warranted.

[meltingmoments]

]If you give your room steward the tip' date=' they cannot keep it, if they get caught it can be grounds for dismissal.[/color'][/size] it will go into the pool, so same result, just much more complicated for you. The idea is for everyone to work well as a team, when someone doesn't, peer pressure can be an excellent motivator, better than manager supervision. I hope you enjoy your trip.

 

I don't normally post on these * tipping * threads but I read them avidly! Being from the UK, we don't tip in the same way as others do, hence why I follow these threads as I want to learn and also do the right thing. So please forgive my ignorance here, but the highlighted text above has confused me!! :confused:

 

It would seem to me that if I left a tip for my room steward at the end of the trip.........and we DID do on both trips.......that they don't get to keep it but have to share it!! Why?? No-one else gave us the service that room steward did, so why do they have to share it? It actually makes it seem pointless to leave that tip, if they, personally, don't benefit from it! I'm not trying to be awkward.....just trying to learn!

 

Oh .......and we always pay ....and leave in place ...the DSC.....no issue there.

[punkincc]

I don't normally post on these * tipping * threads but I read them avidly! Being from the UK, we don't tip in the same way as others do, hence why I follow these threads as I want to learn and also do the right thing. So please forgive my ignorance here, but the highlighted text above has confused me!! :confused:

 

It would seem to me that if I left a tip for my room steward at the end of the trip.........and we DID do on both trips.......that they don't get to keep it but have to share it!! Why?? No-one else gave us the service that room steward did, so why do they have to share it? It actually makes it seem pointless to leave that tip, if they, personally, don't benefit from it! I'm not trying to be awkward.....just trying to learn!

 

Oh .......and we always pay ....and leave in place ...the DSC.....no issue there.

 

This is from the NCL website in the FAQs section under "gratuities":

 

"Guests should not feel obligated to offer a gratuity for good service. However, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile" and so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities entirely at the discretion of our guests who wish to acknowledge particular staff members for exceptional or outstanding service. In other words, there is genuinely no need to tip but you should feel free to do so if you have a desire to acknowledge particular individuals."

 

So, yes you can tip, and it is theirs to keep according to NCL.

[meltingmoments]

This is from the NCL website in the FAQs section under "gratuities":

 

"Guests should not feel obligated to offer a gratuity for good service. However, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile" and so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities entirely at the discretion of our guests who wish to acknowledge particular staff members for exceptional or outstanding service. In other words, there is genuinely no need to tip but you should feel free to do so if you have a desire to acknowledge particular individuals."

 

So, yes you can tip, and it is theirs to keep according to NCL.

 

Yes that was what I had read, which was why the post I quoted had me confused ( it doesn't take much!! :o )

And as the next poster said ( nclcheerleader).......they can only keep it if the person tipping has left the DSC in place.........then as we DO leave it in place, I can tip the room steward accordingly and know it's for them personally! Thank-you folks.......very helpful. :)

[luddite]

If you read my post above, and I am sure you did, you know I have no intention of tipping everyone covered by the DSC. I tip the people who give me exceptional 'personal' service. Washing my plates and towels doesn't count. Maybe it does with you, but not me. If I don't see your smiling face, don't expect a tip from me.

 

Oh stop. I read it. It's foolishness.

The DSC isn't a tip, it's the crew's pay. That's the point.

And you've missed it.

[sjbdtz]

 

I don't feel any obligation to tip behind the scenes people at all, so I have no issues with that aspect.

 

If I don't see your smiling face, don't expect a tip from me.

 

 

 

You see, if this was a Tip, I might even actually agree with you (although if it were tips, then there would probably be a tip-out scenario where the front-line people tip the back-of-house, to ensure that things continue running smoothly.

 

HOWEVER, since the DSC is the majority of income for both front AND back-of-house, you've basically decided to NOT PAY the people responsible for your clean sheets, and sanitized food-service implements.

 

I'm not sure that's the ideal approach.

 

 

 

The ships are fully crewed. Breakaway has 1700 crew. If the crew didn't like the DSC structure, they wouldn't be there.

 

Better....most of the crew are on repeat contracts. We've been seeing the same faces for 10+ years in many cases.

 

 

So if it lessens the burden on the vacationer, and it's not creating a problem for the crew (in fact it helps ensure that there are fewer people 'stiffing' them), then WHY, oh WHY, would you object to it?

 

 

I guess what baffles me most about your posts, is the sense I have, that you know better than the crew, what the crew wants & needs.

 

Is it ESP?

 

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[TravelDiva88]

If I don't see your smiling face, don't expect a tip from me.

 

You do realize at restaurants, that waitress you gave the 30% tip to for exceptional service has to tip out folks you may have not even seen, or with whom you have a limited interaction; the bus staff, the bartender, the wine steward, the hostess, the runners. So even inf your every day normal life, I'd venture to guess that you are tipping folks who you don't see, but who make your dining experience more pleasant.

[luddite]

Is it really worth the frustration?

 

It's like basic carpentry.

You take a BIG hammer and keep smacking the nail and eventually the nail is doing what it's supposed to do.

[SteveH2508]

It's like basic carpentry.

You take a BIG hammer and keep smacking the nail and eventually the nail is doing what it's supposed to do.

 

A bit like this then?:rolleyes:

[luddite]

A bit like this then?:rolleyes:

 

No no no. That is totally different.

One is fun, the other is work.

[sjbdtz]

No no no. That is totally different.

One is fun, the other is work.

 

 

Which, is which?

 

 

 

.

[Love my butler]

It's like basic carpentry.

You take a BIG hammer and keep smacking the nail and eventually the nail is doing what it's supposed to do.

 

You keep beating with the hammer until the person agrees with your OPINION. Not gonna happen. I have my opinions. You call anyone/anything that does not agree with you foolish. You do realize when you start name-calling most believe you have lost the argument?

 

The DSC is optional, therefore a tip. If it were mandatory it would not be a tip. DSC, gratuity, tip, same concept, different language.

[meltingmoments]

 

The DSC is optional, therefore a tip. If it were mandatory it would not be a tip. DSC, gratuity, tip, same concept, different language.

 

 

http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2013/05/is-a-service-charge-a-tip-ask-the-irs.html

 

The above spelt it out quite clearly for someone who is really confused....ie..ME!!

Especially the bit about a TIP having to be where the CUSTOMER has the right to determine who receives the payment. If I understand it correctly, the customer of NCL doesn't determine where the DSC goes? Therefore I'm not sure how it can be a tip?...Again I'm not being awkward....just trying to understand,

[luddite]

A bit like this then?:rolleyes:

 

Hey now. Just wondering a bit.

How do we know for certain that the horse is dead?

Could it be that it just deserves a beating?

[luddite]

http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2013/05/is-a-service-charge-a-tip-ask-the-irs.html

 

The above spelt it out quite clearly for someone who is really confused....ie..ME!!

Especially the bit about a TIP having to be where the CUSTOMER has the right to determine who receives the payment. If I understand it correctly, the customer of NCL doesn't determine where the DSC goes? Therefore I'm not sure how it can be a tip?...Again I'm not being awkward....just trying to understand,

 

The DSC is the crew's pay, not a tip. The crew is happy knowing they will get paid. Your tips are what you give them after you pay the DSC.

[meltingmoments]

The DSC is the crew's pay, not a tip. The crew is happy knowing they will get paid. Your tips are what you give them after you pay the DSC.

 

Which is how I understand it, but others keep saying differently!! :confused:

[SuiteCruiser]

The DSC is the crew's pay, not a tip. The crew is happy knowing they will get paid. Your tips are what you give them after you pay the DSC.

 

The link shows that a service charge is mandatory, set price and the customer does not get to say who gets it. Sounds like the DSC to me, the only difference is that the cruiseline has decided to allow people to reduce it if they have an unresolved service issue.

 

Tips are separate and they are what you decide to give to someone, not a set amount. I give my steward a tip at the end of the cruise even though I already paid the service charge. That is a tip.

 

If you pay the service charge, there is no obligation to then also tip, because, well a tip never has an obligation.

 

I think we are all on the same page, except for youknowwho.

[kylenyc]

I need to correct this completely incorrect notion. The DSC is NOT optional and it does not say that anywhere. Yes, the DSC can be adjusted for cause. The cause, service issue, has to be brought to the attention of customer service and they should be given a chance to resolve said problem...<snip>

 

I feel in most cases withholding the service charge is unethical but I'm not here to debate the ethics of it but rather just to point out that the daily service charge is clearly optional as stated by NCL. You (and I) may not like the fact that people do this but they will.

 

Because this is clearly a service charge (not a gratuity), this means NCL may withhold and/or redistribute the funds at their own discretion not at our (the passengers) discretion. The reason many people are up in arms over the idea of withholding the service charge is because it is a relatively small amount compared to the cost of the cruise and they/we/I don't want to be seen as cheap skates or have a dirty mark on our dossier. I bet if NCL were to raise the service charge to something like $50 per day, the tides would shift on a dime to the question of why is there an additional surcharge that we must pay which goes towards employee salaries and why isn't it part of the base fare to begin with.

 

discretionary = optional

 

Quote directly from ncl.com http://www.events.ncl.com/faq/

Is there a service charge?

We are confident that you will enjoy your Freestyle Cruising experience and that our entire crew will provide you with the standard of service for which we are known. A $12 USD discretionary service charge will be automatically added per guest per day (for guests three years and older) to your shipboard account for all staterooms. This charge will be shared among those staff members, including the restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and other behind-the-scenes staff who provide services that enhance your overall cruise experience. These service charges can be paid in advance of your cruise by contacting your Program Specialist.

 

If you have any concerns about the service you receive during your cruise, please let our onboard Guest Services Desk staff know right away, so we can address any issues in a timely manner. In the unlikely event that we can't resolve your issue, you can have the service charge adjusted onboard.

[luddite]

Which is how I understand it, but others keep saying differently!! :confused:

 

It isn't impossible to not pay the DSC. Thing is, after you remove it you hafta sport a beard because you won't be able to look in a mirror.

[SuiteCruiser]

Not to pick nits, but discretionary has to do with the dispersal of the funds not the discretion of paying the service charge. It is called a discretionary service charge not a service charges that you pay at your discretion. Being called a discretionary service means it is a service charge that they have the discretion of how it is distributed. If it was your discretion to pay it you would have to opt in.

 

That is how I see it as well. The term discretionary has both meanings. On other lines, when you book "anytime" or "my time" dining, they charge you the service charge up front, nothing optional there. Maybe NCL needs to clamp down even more.