What are your thoughts on prepay ing DSC before it goes up

[*Luv2Cruz*]

The total increase for the 2 of us on our upcoming 10n cruise is $19. I'm not messing with it. I can swing that.

I agree and they deserve the extra!;) Edited February 28, 2015 by *Luv2Cruz*

[MNFreeze]

Actually, its as long as paid the old DSC rates before March 1st, not if you booked before. I have a trip in Dec that I put a deposit down last year and won't be able to pay the DSC til March / April; and $12 is blocked out. Also the news announcement made it pretty clear if you prepaid it and trip is after the date, you're locked in at the old rate:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6188

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/02/20/norwegian-cruise-service-charge/23729781/

 

There's plenty of other news sites that saying pretty much the same thing.

 

I verified with NCL my information which I trust more than what I read in a news story or on here.

[KeithJenner]

I verified with NCL my information which I trust more than what I read in a news story or on here.

 

 

To be honest, I don't trust either much.

[MNFreeze]

To be honest, I don't trust either much.

 

Ha Ha good point Keith

[jbiz]

Prepay is sort of a misnomer. If you call and have it added to you res (call ncl or your ta) it will be due with your final payment but locked in at the current rate. Granted you prepay it before sailing but for people with a cruise booked for 2016 for example (or before even, but just as an example) you wouldn't be actually paying right now.

 

With that said if you go onto ncl.com to your res and add prepaid, I believe your charged right now just like an excursion. Just food for thought for those wanted to add it but not want/have it available to shell out this far in advance.

 

If you are within final payment your SOL

 

 

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Edited February 28, 2015 by jbiz

[TrumpyNor]

as long as you booked before March 1st all you have to do is prepay before you get on the ship to pay the "old" price. I have confirmed three times with NCL that.

 

Example. If you booked before March 1st a cruise for October and prepay the DSC on September 30th then you pay the $12 pp per day and not the new price. But if you do not prepay before boarding on the ship you will be charged the new rates. As I said I personally have confirmed this with NCL and so has my sister in law. If you book after March 1st then no matter what you pay the new rate.

 

So people are making a big deal out of nothing.

 

That is the same answer I received from my PCC at NCL, as long as I prepay the DSC before the sailing date (on cruises I have booked earlier), I "only" have to pay the old rate.

The main reason for me to pay the service charges in advance, is that my final on board bill will then be smaller (all though the total I have paid will be more or less the same). And if someone on board provides excellent service, then I usually tip them extra. If the service is average, then I don't tip extra on top of the DSC.

Edited February 28, 2015 by TrumpyNor

[Anet01]

I called NCL, as a cc person recommended and asked them to add the DSC to our 2016 cruise. It now shows up at the current rate on the reservation confirmation and we will pay it at final payment. The ncl representative we talked to said that is the way alot of guests with cruises farther out are doing it, rather than paying it now. I like having on paper that the rate is locked in. We will tip more on the ship to those in direct service contact as well.

[time2cruise1]

I called NCL, as a cc person recommended and asked them to add the DSC to our 2016 cruise. It now shows up at the current rate on the reservation confirmation and we will pay it at final payment. The ncl representative we talked to said that is the way alot of guests with cruises farther out are doing it, rather than paying it now. I like having on paper that the rate is locked in. We will tip more on the ship to those in direct service contact as well.

 

Don't count on it. The language is very clear. Prepay by close of business today or pay the new DSC rates. Email from a PCC carries as much weight as a copy of a post here.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

[Pikaia]

Don't count on it. The language is very clear. Prepay by close of business today or pay the new DSC rates. Email from a PCC carries as much weight as a copy of a post here.

Agreed. I don't doubt that PCCs are telling their clients this. I'm just not confident that they are correct.

 

I asked my TA to call NCL and add the service charge to my final payment. NCL told her that if I didn't actually prepay with a credit card, the invoice would recalculate at the new rate at some point after March 1.

 

On the other hand, the email NCL sent out notifying booked passengers of the upcoming increase does not have a due date for prepayment. Quoting from the email:

 

You can choose to pre-pay your service charges at the current rate of $12 per person per day. If charged on board, the new rates will apply.

 

So I suspect that even if PCCs are incorrect, customers will be able to use the nonspecific language in the email as leverage.

 

(And before anyone asks why I'd begrudge the hardworking staff the additional 95 cents per person per day, I don't. But on a longer cruise, in a suite, with more than 2 passengers, the difference is not insignificant.)

[KeithJenner]

The language is very clear.

 

 

The language is extremely unclear, in that the emails that people have been sent doesn't mention a date. If you do in fact need to pay by today then those emails are almost the definition of unclear.

 

Also, the language regarding what is "prepaying" the service charge is not clear at all. From my experience, NCL consider a service charge as being prepaid when you add it to your final payment. Every time I book I get asked whether I want to prepay the service charge and it is added to the final payment. I believe that is what NCL mean by prepaying, but it isn't clear.

 

I'm almost certain (I acknowledge that it could be wrong, but I'd be surprised) that phoning up NCL, telling them you want to prepay the DSC and them adding it to your final payment will fix the rate.

Edited February 28, 2015 by KeithJenner

[jbiz]

here is what i am being told explicitly from my TA and the head of their company who has been in contact with NCL.. they are RECHECKING again today:

 

"Ok, this is what we found out regarding the Norwegian gratuities…

 

To avoid the gratuity increase, clients must have gratuities on their booking prior to March 1st but can pay for them any time prior to boarding the ship to avoid the $12.95/day gratuity…..

 

example: If you booked someone in October of 2014 but they did not have gratuities on their booking. To save them from now having to pay the increase in gratuities you can add gratuities to their booking now and pay any time prior to their departure date. (must be on booking prior to March 1st).

 

Any booking made on or after March 1, 2015, gratuities will cost $12.95/day per person for standard cabins and $14.95/day per person for suites"

Edited February 28, 2015 by jbiz

[jbiz]

and now per NCL:

 

as long as we apply the gratuities before March 1 and pay them with your final payment, you are protected

 

but, if you reprice the cruise at anytime after March 1st, then the new price will apply

[TrumpyNor]

Duplicated post - please disregard.....

Edited February 28, 2015 by TrumpyNor

[TrumpyNor]

here is what i am being told explicitly from my TA and the head of their company who has been in contact with NCL.. they are RECHECKING again today:

 

"Ok, this is what we found out regarding the Norwegian gratuities…

 

To avoid the gratuity increase, clients must have gratuities on their booking prior to March 1st but can pay for them any time prior to boarding the ship to avoid the $12.95/day gratuity…..

 

example: If you booked someone in October of 2014 but they did not have gratuities on their booking. To save them from now having to pay the increase in gratuities you can add gratuities to their booking now and pay any time prior to their departure date. (must be on booking prior to March 1st).

 

Any booking made on or after March 1, 2015, gratuities will cost $12.95/day per person for standard cabins and $14.95/day per person for suites"

 

Thank you - I "copied" what your TA found out, e-mailed it to my PCC, had her add the DSC to two of my reservations as "pre-paid", and then I will pay it together with the rest at the final payment. One cruise is for June 2015, and the other one is for April 2016, and I got the "old" rate for both cruises.

[jbiz]

Cool. I did the same. I did have to actually pay for my May 2015 sailing since its within the final payment window. But the other 3 I have booked nov and then 2016 I just added to the final.

 

 

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[splendoraway]

Several CC members have talked to NCL and been informed that butlers and concierges will NOT be a part of the pool, despite the misleading wording in the annoucement.

 

 

So where does the extra money go? I am a suite guest and eat at the MDR I receive the same service as everyone else, I attend the entertainment at the various venues and see the same shows as everyone else, the laundry is done the same way as everyone else. If the Butler and Concierge are not part of the tip pool then why do we need to pay extra?

[KeithJenner]

So where does the extra money go? I am a suite guest and eat at the MDR I receive the same service as everyone else, I attend the entertainment at the various venues and see the same shows as everyone else, the laundry is done the same way as everyone else. If the Butler and Concierge are not part of the tip pool then why do we need to pay extra?

 

 

We don't have any more idea on this thread than on the other one you asked on.

[insanemagnet]

So where does the extra money go?... why do we need to pay extra?

 

Someone has to pay for the champagne at NCL's board meetings.

[Solararc]

Just a theory but the increase is simply that a increase, as minimum wages and cost of living climb so shall our DSC it makes "dollars and sense" now

[KeithJenner]

Just a theory but the increase is simply that a increase, as minimum wages and cost of living climb so shall our DSC it makes "dollars and sense" now

 

 

The general increase will certainly be for that reason, but it doesn't answer why the increase is bigger for suites.

[Solararc]

For those that can afford a suite, really what is 2.95 pp/pd for the extra treats, better coffee machine, larger space, private dinning venues, reserved seating.

[Chuck2810]

I will prepay and give the save DSC increase out in cash. It just means for example, and extra $40 for the steward, $50 for the Butler, and $20 for the concierge. Your mileage may vary.

[Solararc]

Too late now I think it was increased today not sure it matters when it was booked I may be wrong on this

Edited March 1, 2015 by Solararc

[thecakebox]

Too late now I think it was increased today not sure it matters when it was booked I may be wrong on this

 

Mine is still showing the same amount so I think the question of whether there was a date attached to those emails everyone recieved was answered! If you booked before the increase you can prepay at anytime before your cruise at the old rate, if you pay onboard, you pay the new rate.

[Solararc]

Good to know my fellow cruisers on the jade just booked yesterday