Auto Gratuity At Specialty Restaurant Implemented

[NLH Arizona]

You could always write in a tip on the bill, so cash was never required. This is in no way a convenience to anyone.

 

6&8

Cash is king in my book and plus the servers get the tip right away and don't have to wait for it, because I don't know how long it takes NCL to tip out the servers. So it is a convenience to me.

[zacdilone]

As of March 20, 2015, Norwegian Cruise Line will include an 18% gratuity on all specialty and entertainment dining. This gratuity has been added as a convenience for our guests, and is in-line with current tipping practices at land-based restaurants.

 

I appreciate someone from NCL stepping in to at least acknowledge this has happened, but I hope they are willing to also address the many questions that arise from this. Especially the accusation of "double-dipping" with the DSC and now an additional gratuity.

 

I, for one, am more than happy with this auto-gratuity IF it means that this money will be going directly to the servers and staff of the specialty restaurants, but I would want to know if they are also receiving money from the DSC. It seems a good practice to me, actually, to not have the staff at these restaurants benefit from the DSC but instead be tipped directly for their service, and then that leaves more of the DSC to be split among other ship staff.

 

I think NCL has an opportunity to explain some things here regarding how gratuities and the DSC are connected. I don't think passengers would balk much at providing better compensation for the crew, but the somewhat clandestine and confusing way this has happened leaves many suspicious.

[SJ]

Freestyle at the new NCL must mean they're free to do whatever they want with our money. Auto gratuities doe lead to complacency on the part of the crew. I definitely feel service was better when we were still tipping with envelopes. I am sorry those who choose to not tip on the last evening ruined the old system.

 

Last few cruises, our cabin couldn't even be made after leaving it for several hours and I had to wait for steward to finish before I can return. I don't blame the steward as it is a result of being understaff which is why I oppose increase the dsc. Now the pool is supposedly even smaller yet still an increase. The math doesn't work.

[sixesandeights]

You don't think that NCL makes money off those restaurants? Avoiding the restaurants WOULD be a cost to NCL. If those restaurants are sitting empty, NCL would notice. That's a given. The problem is, people will bitch, whine, complain, and then still choose to dine there.

 

While you are correct in theory, this seems a bit like cutting off your nose a bit. I do not enjoy the MDR experience on NCL at all. I think freestyle is a slow, inefficient way to do things where the benefit of not eating at a set time is vastly overshadowed by the very very long dining times in the MDR. The service is terrible. I can only see this getting worse as people shift from the Specialties to the MDR to avoid this gratuity. I will not reduce the "quality" of my vacation experience. I will simply deduct the amount I have to pay in gratuities in the specialties from my DSC. I have no doubt these tips are going into the pool, so the end result is I still contribute the same amount to the tip pool and I still get my specialty dining. If these are the games NCL wants to play then I will play them.

 

6&8

[SeaShark]

You don't think that NCL makes money off those restaurants? Avoiding the restaurants WOULD be a cost to NCL. If those restaurants are sitting empty, NCL would notice. That's a given. The problem is, people will bitch, whine, complain, and then still choose to dine there.

 

You misunderstand. Of course there would be a cost...along with a savings since they don't have to serve you either.

 

In order to get their attention, the cost has to be greater than a simple loss.

 

If you take 5 from me, and I do the same in return, we have a stalemate. If you take 5 from me, and I take 8 in return, then I'll have your attention.

 

Not eating in the restaurants doesn't make the point. Not eating in the restaurants AND a drop in shore excursion revenue makes the point. Not eating in the restuarants AND a drop in casino revenue makes the point.

[sixesandeights]

Cash is king in my book and plus the servers get the tip right away and don't have to wait for it, because I don't know how long it takes NCL to tip out the servers. So it is a convenience to me.

 

There are countless accounts of servers telling PAX that cash tips must go into the pool. They do not keep the cash you give them, so on the ship this theory (which I agree with you on land) does not hold true.

 

6&8

Edited March 20, 2015 by sixesandeights

[LrgPizza]

You misunderstand. Of course there would be a cost...along with a savings since they don't have to serve you either.

 

In order to get their attention, the cost has to be greater than a simple loss.

 

If you take 5 from me, and I do the same in return, we have a stalemate. If you take 5 from me, and I take 8 in return, then I'll have your attention.

 

Not eating in the restaurants doesn't make the point. Not eating in the restaurants AND a drop in shore excursion revenue makes the point. Not eating in the restuarants AND a drop in casino revenue makes the point.

I agree with what you are saying, but I still think for every $20 I spend at Le Bistro, NCL makes about $18, since they also aren't serving me dinner elsewhere. They would not save anything by not serving me in the specialty restaurants. If customers stopped going, it would cut profits. Specialties are huge money makers.

 

But yes, obviously if we stopped doing other things too, that would make a bigger impact, although the reasoning might not be as apparent to them. If customers suddenly stop spending as much on excursions, how does that equate to "oh, they must not be happy about specialty auto-gratuities"? I agree with what you are saying, but I still think empty specialty restaurants would send the biggest, most obvious message financially as well.

[ColinIllinois]

As of March 20, 2015, Norwegian Cruise Line will include an 18% gratuity on all specialty and entertainment dining. This gratuity has been added as a convenience for our guests, and is in-line with current tipping practices at land-based restaurants.

 

 

That's all you got for us? What a load of bovine feces.

[SissasMomE]

There are countless accounts of servers telling PAX that cash tips must go into the pool. They do not keep the cash you give them, so on the ship this theory (which I agree with you on land) does not hold true.

 

6&8

 

I have been told by stewards and waitstaff that they are allowed to keep the cash tips you hand them.

[SissasMomE]

That's all you got for us? What a load of bovine feces.

 

Bovine feces LOL

[SJ]

You don't think that NCL makes money off those restaurants? Avoiding the restaurants WOULD be a cost to NCL. If those restaurants are sitting empty, NCL would notice. That's a given. The problem is, people will bitch, whine, complain, and then still choose to dine there.

 

I agree. People need to take action. Words are cheap. Only let the people with udp promo eat there for now.

[LMaxwell]

As of March 20, 2015, Norwegian Cruise Line will include an 18% gratuity on all specialty and entertainment dining. This gratuity has been added as a convenience for our guests, and is in-line with current tipping practices at land-based restaurants.

 

So wait staff is NOT covered in the DSC any longer?

[Da-Painter]

There are countless accounts of servers telling PAX that cash tips must go into the pool. They do not keep the cash you give them, so on the ship this theory (which I agree with you on land) does not hold true.

 

6&8

We have never been informed how the tips/DSC is distributed, and to who.

How much goes to management, and how much to the actual workers.

From what I have seen in the corporate world, a department gets a lump sum to distribute. Not the best or hardest workers always get the most. Favoritism plays a part, so the manager disburses the money, and determines how much to give to themselves.

So when I leave a cash tip for dinner, it never really goes into their pocket, to be rewarded for their good service.

Nobody here knows because NCL keeps this all a secret.

So should I leave a tip for service in the MDR or specialty restaurants, as it just goes into the same pool as the DSC.

With the DSC also going up, should I tip my butler and concierge?

[sixesandeights]

I have been told by stewards and waitstaff that they are allowed to keep the cash tips you hand them.

 

I was told by the waitstaff in the specialty that the cash tips handed to them must be put into the pool. They said that if you are caught pocketing the cash tips you get in trouble.

 

6&8

[jackson bernard]

Hey NCL since I don't like the underhanded way you are trying to gyp me by double dipping with the tips, if I send you my confirmation number can you just not charged on board account for the dsc from the get go?

 

It would save us both time as I will be removing the charge anyway. Oh, why don't you pay your own back office crew and throw them parties with the money you get from the fare like every other business.

 

Please let me know.

[NLH Arizona]

There are countless accounts of servers telling PAX that cash tips must go into the pool. They do not keep the cash you give them, so on the ship this theory (which I agree with you on land) does not hold true.

 

6&8

And there have been countless accounts of crew telling passengers if the DSC is kept in place, they can keep the cash tips over and above the DSC.

 

So which is it?

[sixesandeights]

And there have been countless accounts of crew telling passengers if the DSC is kept in place, they can keep the cash tips over and above the DSC.

 

So which is it?

 

Well, what you are saying doesnt make sense, so I would believe that cash tips are pooled. How would they know if you left the DSC in place when receiving the cash tip? Do they have to get a cash tip, go to guest services with your information, verify that you have left the DSC in place and THEN they get the tips? I seriously doubt that. How you worded it makes it sound like a company line given to employees to answer the question with to dissuade people from removing the DSC because they cash tip.

 

6&8

[maywell]

You misunderstand. Of course there would be a cost...along with a savings since they don't have to serve you either.

 

In order to get their attention, the cost has to be greater than a simple loss.

 

If you take 5 from me, and I do the same in return, we have a stalemate. If you take 5 from me, and I take 8 in return, then I'll have your attention.

 

Not eating in the restaurants doesn't make the point. Not eating in the restaurants AND a drop in shore excursion revenue makes the point. Not eating in the restuarants AND a drop in casino revenue makes the point.

Or simply not cruising with them at all makes the point even more clearer. This year its a bit late to for me to switch cruise lines due to prices being high for 2 week long iternaries in November but next year I might go Royal / Celebrity from NJ or cruise Carnival from Miami since those lines haven't double dipped with their specialty restaurants yet. NCL lost is the other cruise lines gain...

 

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[PokerDave]

I was told by the waitstaff in the specialty that the cash tips handed to them must be put into the pool. They said that if you are caught pocketing the cash tips you get in trouble.

 

6&8

 

I have also been told this and read it numerous times...

[maywell]

I was told by the waitstaff in the specialty that the cash tips handed to them must be put into the pool. They said that if you are caught pocketing the cash tips you get in trouble.

 

6&8

And yet the room stewards and room service staff takes the cash tips left for them - do they bother to put in the tip pool or just keep it to themselves since they too get paid from the DSC along with the restaurant waitstaff?

 

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[SeaShark]

I agree with what you are saying, but I still think for every $20 I spend at Le Bistro, NCL makes about $18, since they also aren't serving me dinner elsewhere. They would not save anything by not serving me in the specialty restaurants. If customers stopped going, it would cut profits. Specialties are huge money makers.

 

But yes, obviously if we stopped doing other things too, that would make a bigger impact, although the reasoning might not be as apparent to them. If customers suddenly stop spending as much on excursions, how does that equate to "oh, they must not be happy about specialty auto-gratuities"? I agree with what you are saying, but I still think empty specialty restaurants would send the biggest, most obvious message financially as well.

 

Trust me, they will now. Companies analyze their data six ways to Sunday anymore. They'll quickly notice the correlation between cause and effect.

 

A boycott is one thing, but a campaign of shock and awe is something alltogether different. That is why the former is far less likely to succeed than the latter.

 

Or simply not cruising with them at all makes the point even more clearer. This year its a bit late to for me to switch cruise lines due to prices being high for 2 week long iternaries in November but next year I might go Royal / Celebrity from NJ or cruise Carnival from Miami since those lines haven't double dipped with their specialty restaurants yet. NCL lost is the other cruise lines gain...

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

 

 

Not really. Not sailing with them at all allows them the opportunity to replace you with someone else.

 

The cruise lines rely on additional onboard spending to make their money. Your point is much better made by being onboard and spending LESS. If people just enjoyed the included amenities and spent nothing onboard, the cruise lines would quickly go bankrupt...onboard spending is the heart and soul of the beast...and the best tool we have for getting their attention.

[SissasMomE]

Trust me, they will now. Companies analyze their data six ways to Sunday anymore. They'll quickly notice the correlation between cause and effect.

 

A boycott is one thing, but a campaign of shock and awe is something alltogether different. That is why the former is far less likely to succeed than the latter.

 

 

 

Like cancelling my $400 cabana rental? :D

[djmess]

Well, I leave for a 21 day cruise in about 27 days. I prepaid my DSC, don't have the UDB and had planned on 3-4 dinners in Specialty restaurants over the 21 days. I'm also Platinum, so will get Lebistro.

 

I have a self imposed strict budget and double dipping really irks me, but my only choice as of this moment is NO specialty restaurants ( which I won't do). I prepaid DSC, so can't adjust that I don't think, plus I really don't want to take away from the hard working folks, so I actually wouldn't adjust. I now know with all the increases 15 to 18% for drinks and now 18% for dining, my trip will cost me an extra $100+

 

No that is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of my travels, but I could do quite a lot with $100.

 

Well, I was going to book 1-2 shore excursions with NCL, just for convenience sake (which I rarely do) but now I absolutely will NOT. It's the only place I can cut some money away from NCL at this point in time. I know we will still want to do a couple specialty restaurants.

 

I also know, I will NOT be buying a future cruise reward certificate. I've been wanting to do more cruising with other lines, but had fallen into the convenience of NCL. NO MORE!!!!!

[Gregor4500]

Where my nephew works as a server (Dave & Busters) they stopped adding auto gratuities because of this.

 

http://taxfoundation.org/blog/irs-crackdown-automatic-gratuities-takes-effect-january-1

[sundercruiser]

Adjusting DSC (to zero, if you wish) is also a pretty good way to get NCL's attention. If they ask why, tell them you don't like the high-handed and opaque way they've dealt with these price increases. Miami will get the word.

 

Since I don't think there's much (if ANY) relationship between customer service and compensation under DSC (obviously the bulk of these recent "gratuity" increases are going straight into NCL's corporate coffers, NOT workers' pay checks), I won't feel bad in the slightest about "stiffing" workers. NCL set up the system, and wrote the Contract. They have only themselves to blame.

 

Another point, not sure if it was made here or "the other thread," but my GUESS is that if you sit down and have a meal under the conditions of paying an 18 percent gratuity, you are probably bound to pay it. I may be wrong, but it seems to me if you're in a land restaurant with a party of 8, and the menu includes language like "an 18 percent gratuity will be added to all parties of 8 and up," you are stuck paying it.

 

DSC, though, is completely discretionary under the current Contract.