incurred expenses on board

[bfamily4]

just wondering....if we don't drink and are happy with mdr food, what else would we be spending money on? movies-are they included in the cruise fare? are any activities extra?

[russianmom]

bingo

casino

pictures

shore excursions

Daily service charge

fresh juices

soda

spa treatments

you don't say what ship you're on but... bowling, vibe passes

[mearsfansinboise]

just wondering....if we don't drink and are happy with mdr food, what else would we be spending money on? movies-are they included in the cruise fare? are any activities extra?

We have done cruises where we incur no expenses - other than the daily service charge.

Someone provided this link on another thread which I found quite helpful as we are bringing guests on our next sailing -

What does my cruise fare include?

 

http://www.ncl.com/faq/cruise-fare-includes

[Davechipp74]

It is possible to go on a cruise and only incur the DSC pp/pd

It is also possible to go on a cruise and incur a $5,000. bill. Ive done the latter, but it was also a 17 day cruise.

[bfamily4]

thank you! we are planning to book a cruise on the getaway. we are a family with 2 small kids so i was more curious about family activities that we may have to pay for. rock climbing wall and ropes course is included?

[aquarianne11]

rock climbing wall and ropes course is included?

 

Rock climbing wall and ropes course included in the cruise fare. Ropes course has a minimum height of 48 inches. My DD did not make the height requirement last time... but they have a mini ropes course for little kids (also free).

[aquarianne11]

just wondering....if we don't drink and are happy with mdr food, what else would we be spending money on? movies-are they included in the cruise fare? are any activities extra?

 

 

You did not mention that age of your kids, but when my daughter was younger we would always pay extra for the Nickelodeon Pajama Jam - Character breakfast. Last time we did it was 2013, $20 per person with a free photo taken by the ship photographers.

 

Character Meet and greets are also available and are free. You just have to check the freestyle daily for the time and location.

 

We don't drink or use the casino so most of the time our final bill at the end of the cruise would be the service charge and the excursions.

[hpecorari]

thank you! we are planning to book a cruise on the getaway. we are a family with 2 small kids so i was more curious about family activities that we may have to pay for. rock climbing wall and ropes course is included?

 

If your children are going to the kids club the kids club itself is free, however, the DSC does not cover that so plan on tip money.

 

Also, if in a suite, DSC does not cover the butler and concierge - so plan on tip money there as well.

 

If you want Pizza delivered anywhere on the ship or to your room, that's $5.00 plus a small tip. Room service is free, however a little tip is nice.

 

Harriet

[detroitlions]

If your children are going to the kids club the kids club itself is free, however, the DSC does not cover that so plan on tip money.

 

Also, if in a suite, DSC does not cover the butler and concierge - so plan on tip money there as well.

 

If you want Pizza delivered anywhere on the ship or to your room, that's $5.00 plus a small tip. Room service is free, however a little tip is nice.

 

Harriet

I get most of what your saying but you also tip the kids club folks that is kinda of wierd. They make a salray not in the service industry who rely on tips. Do you tip your baby sitter. Or do you tip the ship deck hands they do not get tips either.

[kgymn]

Some kids have a fondness for arcades and sweets. There are many ways to spend money on the cruise without realizing it, especially with kids. I'd say shore excursions is a pretty big one, unless you prebook and prepay or go through other companies those are added to your ship account.

Souvenirs, too. Inevitably someone wants a shirt or a glass or something to remember the trip by.

 

~Katy

[CruzLover80]

I get most of what your saying but you also tip the kids club folks that is kinda of wierd. They make a salray not in the service industry who rely on tips. Do you tip your baby sitter. Or do you tip the ship deck hands they do not get tips either.

 

I don't think tipping the kids club is weird. You are thanking them for a job well done. Some sitters go above and beyond their job descriptions. I know someone with a child with a disability and even though she was older than the age group, they allowed her in and took excellent care of her.

 

I think tipping or showing some kind of appreciation is welcomed in any field and in the real world. Maybe that's just me. To each of their own.

[LrgPizza]

There are fees for late night babysitting in the kids club. Otherwise it closes at 10:30 each night. Open until 1AM if you pay an extra fee.

[daffodiliaz]

movies-are they included in the cruise fare?

 

When we sailed on Getaway in September, Frozen in 3D was shown in the theatre. 3D glasses and popcorn provided. No charge. Movies at other ship locations also free.

[hpecorari]

I get most of what your saying but you also tip the kids club folks that is kinda of wierd. They make a salray not in the service industry who rely on tips. Do you tip your baby sitter. Or do you tip the ship deck hands they do not get tips either.

 

http://www.ncl.com/faq#tipping

 

What about Gratuities?

Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on our ships for service that is generally rendered to all Guests. While you should not feel obligated to offer a gratuity, all of our staff are encouraged to “go the extra mile,” so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities for exceptional or outstanding service if you care to offer them. Also, certain staff positions (e.g., concierge, butler, youth program staff and beverage service) provide service on an individual basis to only some guests and do not benefit from the overall service charge. We encourage those Guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. Additionally, Pride of America has a service charge of 18% for all spa and salon services, and all other ships have an automatic gratuity of 18% for all spa and salon services and 18% for beverage service.

 

I've never traveled with my kids but am thinking of taking my grandson, who's now 4, with me one of these years. He's the most important thing to me and *I* would tip the youth staff for taking such good care of him, keeping him occupied at times and allowing me some free time. For *me* it's a tip well spent.

 

Also, they may get a salary.....but please.....tell me what is that salary?

 

And, since you feel this way about the youth program staff what are your feelings in regard to tipping a Butler or the Consignor?

 

Harriet

[cb at sea]

There is no need to tip the kid's counselors...they are not considered "service" personnel....some do, tho...up to you!

[hpecorari]

There is no need to tip the kid's counselors...they are not considered "service" personnel....some do, tho...up to you!

 

There's no need to tip the Butler and Concierge either.....some do, tho.

 

However, the kids counselors are providing a 'service'.

 

To each their own. I only mentioned it because, as you said....some tip and some don't.

 

Harriet

[bfamily4]

will the dsc automatically come off my onboard account? do you get a final bill at the end of the cruise? and all transactions on board are off your account?

[jjikids]

will the dsc automatically come off my onboard account? do you get a final bill at the end of the cruise? and all transactions on board are off your account?

 

You will be billed the DSC to the credit card you signed up with or from the cash you left. If you have OBC from NCL it cannot be used for the DSC.

[kdzkatz]

There's no need to tip the Butler and Concierge either.....some do, tho.

 

However, the kids counselors are providing a 'service'.

 

To each their own. I only mentioned it because, as you said....some tip and some don't.

 

Harriet

 

If you are in a suite and have access to a butler and the concierge you should tip them. It is not required but be prepared for a whole bunch of bad karma points. We generally start at $50 for the concierge and $100 for the butler. We then adjust up for exceptional service and/or we use them quite a bit. If the service were to be very substandard we would adjust down and be sure to speak to a superior about the issue. This has never even come close to happening.

 

Harriet I don't know if you were just explaining that it is not required to tip the concierge or butler but you sure made it sound like not many people do. If you are one that doesn't tip them I really hope you never cruise in suites.

Edited March 4, 2015 by kdzkatz

[KeithJenner]

Harriet I don't know if you were just explaining that it is not required to tip the concierge or butler but you sure made it sound like not many people do. If you are one that doesn't tip them I really hope you never cruise in suites.

 

 

It only takes a very brief read of Harriet's posts in this thread to know that she most certainly would tip the butler and concierge.

 

Plenty of people don't though.

[KeithJenner]

I'd say shore excursions is a pretty big one, unless you prebook and prepay or go through other companies those are added to your ship account.

 

 

Or if you do it yourself.

[KeithJenner]

Without wanting to get into a tipping argument, I'll just quickly give my experience regarding tipping the kids club staff.

 

We've been on about 6 cruises with our son, and he uses the kids club reasonably regularly. On our first cruise we didn't top the kids club staff anything, as we thought they were covered by the DSC.

 

Having read on here that they weren't covered, we have always tried to give something extra. My understanding (which may be right or wrong), is that their wage structure is such that they don't rely on tips in the way that some other occupations do, but it is a nice extra.

 

The first time we tried to tip we did it on debarkation day, but came to the problem which we should have foreseen, which is that the area is all closed up.

 

Next time, we were in a suite and we left an envelope with our butler.

 

On the three occasions since then, we have given a tip on the last evening. All these cruises were in Europe, where the tipping culture is a lot different to the U.S., but the thing which struck me each time was how surprised they seemed to be getting something. As I say, this is probably due to the location, but the impression I was left with was very much that it doesn't happen all that often.

[Nola26]

One significant expense could be purchasing a Future Cruise Certificate for $250. I encourage you to do so if you plan to sail NCL again in the next few years. You'll receive $100 back as an OBC to use on your current cruise and unless you're booking a suite the certificate serves as your full deposit for the cruise you use it for. I'm using mine for our August trip on the Getaway.

 

If your kids like Cake Boss he has a store on the Getaway, so you may spend money there. There is also a for fee video arcade.

 

Of course there is plenty of opportunity for shopping. On the Sky there was a store where everything was $10. There are much higher end purchase opportunities as well.

[Kingmaker_inc]

I get most of what your saying but you also tip the kids club folks that is kinda of wierd. They make a salray not in the service industry who rely on tips. Do you tip your baby sitter. Or do you tip the ship deck hands they do not get tips either.

 

 

I do tip my babysitter at home, and we do tip the Kids Club Counsellor(s). On the last trip my 14 yr old asked me to consider tipping one of the Entourage Counsellors as well, as she had been a huge positive part of my daughter's cruise experience. I don't think that is weird at all.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Kingmaker_inc

[detroitlions]

I do tip my babysitter at home, and we do tip the Kids Club Counsellor(s). On the last trip my 14 yr old asked me to consider tipping one of the Entourage Counsellors as well, as she had been a huge positive part of my daughter's cruise experience. I don't think that is weird at all.

We have spent lots on the after hours kids club gatherings with tip included. And we tip for my DS dietician he recieves for special diet. All these are good points. Some people act like they are tipping everyone they have contact with it seems strange cause I do not see anyone in real life that are that freely tipping . Like a rock star lol.