Will you reduce DSC

[jackson bernard]

Do whatever you want. Who cares what other people do with their money.

[coldflame]

I don't buy that for a second.

 

Don't buy it, if you want. That's what many cruise lines still do. You have the option to have it added to your account, on the last day, or, pay cash, in envelopes they provide.

[coldflame]

What fascinates me is all the people who remove the DSC because they want to tip cash. I would never travel with that amount of cash to be used just for tipping nor do I want to take the time to find an ATM or bank or stand at the front desk to get that cash to hand out.

 

I've been cruising for the past 20 years, and not once have I come home and whined about what a waste of tip money. I have whined about why did I waste my money on that souvenir!

 

Full stop. I loathe carrying cash with me (in fact, I started a thread about that in this very NCL forum couple days ago). I never carry more than $20-40 on me. But I will go through the inconvenience and expense to give cash directly to them because I don't think NCL is being completely forthcoming what they do with DSC. In every other cruise line I've traveled they itemize the tips: $4/day/person for this, $5/day/person for that other, etc. In NCL business model, that only makes sense for the stateroom keeper. Server/Assistant server/maitre d' are already tipped through 18% upfront gratuity when you buy UDP or even if you pay a la carte or cover charge. There is no MDR rotation, so servers vary from restaurant to restaurant and you might not visit the "main MDRs" in the whole trip.

 

I will tip my stateroom keeper substantially more, by tipping directly to them, that what NCL would give them. And there's already 18% auto gratuities on every food/drink purchase. If you think this is an excuse to weasel out of the money that these people earn and deserve, you are assuming wrong.

 

What I am suspecting is that NCL is doing smoke and mirrors to subsidize/incentivize other non-service staff, on customers' tips.

[Nolesfan]

IMO anyone who says that they are going to remove the DSC and hand out gratuities to the people that help them directly is either lying to themselves or us, the only reason to remove the DSC is to stiff the crew, and nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise.

 

 

I completely agree. Quit trying to justify your selfs by claiming NCL changed some fee after you paid for your cruise. Everything you have ever spent money on was a lower price at some point. All of the recent changes put together represent a very small portion of the overall cruise fare. If your budget is that tight maybe you should reconsider your vacation choices. Opting to remove DSC simply because NCL upped/added a fee is at best childish and more likely a sign someone's true character.

 

If you get upset every time the price of something goes up you will spend the rest of your life being miserable. When I start my vacation I leave all those worries behind or what's the point of going on a cruise in the first place.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Nolesfan

[Guest phd1003]

IMO anyone who says that they are going to remove the DSC and hand out gratuities to the people that help them directly is either lying to themselves or us, the only reason to remove the DSC is to stiff the crew, and nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise.

 

Preaching to the choir...I think saying it helps them sleep at night

[fshagan]

its fascinating to me how people justify this.

 

When I had dinner at TGI Fridays the other night, our waiter only brought us dinner and someone else brought me drinks and another person brought me my appetizers and yet another brought me dessert and then my original server gave me the check so I gave 8% to the original waiter and then split the remaining 12 percent among the others who brought me food, oh wait I forgot the bartender who brought my drink and the busser who cleared the table, oh crap now I need to come up with a whole new formula on how much to tip everyone who served me.

 

Fascinating, just fascinating

 

Exactly! No one does that, yet a tip in a restaurant is exactly like the DSC. You have no idea how the split happens "behind the scenes". It varies widely from place to place, yet I doubt very many people quiz the server on exactly how much she splits with the busser.

[sjbdtz]

Full stop. I loathe carrying cash with me (in fact, I started a thread about that in this very NCL forum couple days ago). I never carry more than $20-40 on me. But I will go through the inconvenience and expense to give cash directly to them because I don't think NCL is being completely forthcoming what they do with DSC. In every other cruise line I've traveled they itemize the tips: $4/day/person for this, $5/day/person for that other, etc. In NCL business model, that only makes sense for the stateroom keeper. Server/Assistant server/maitre d' are already tipped through 18% upfront gratuity when you buy UDP or even if you pay a la carte or cover charge. There is no MDR rotation, so servers vary from restaurant to restaurant and you might not visit the "main MDRs" in the whole trip.

 

I will tip my stateroom keeper substantially more, by tipping directly to them, that what NCL would give them. And there's already 18% auto gratuities on every food/drink purchase. If you think this is an excuse to weasel out of the money that these people earn and deserve, you are assuming wrong.

 

What I am suspecting is that NCL is doing smoke and mirrors to subsidize/incentivize other non-service staff, on customers' tips.

 

 

So you "believe" or "think" that NCL is misleading.

 

You should read this: http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/no-it-s-not-your-opinion-you-re-just-wrong-7611752

 

 

It's an interesting essay on how irrelevant your beliefs & opinions are, when confronted with reality.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[backsbanny]

All my previous cruises i always prepaid dsc before even getting onboard..on my next cruises with ncl fron now on no more dsc for me..i will remove it totally and just tip whoever i want how much i want..i am fed up with all this nonsense with all these changes made by corporate...its my momey i spend it as i like and on any cruiseline i want to

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[DebJ14]

What fascinates me is all the people who remove the DSC because they want to tip cash. I would never travel with that amount of cash to be used just for tipping nor do I want to take the time to find an ATM or bank or stand at the front desk to get that cash to hand out.

 

I've been cruising for the past 20 years, and not once have I come home and whined about what a waste of tip money. I have whined about why did I waste my money on that souvenir!

 

Maybe they don't really bring "that amount of cash" because it is just an excuse not to tip or they bring very little cash and then tip like a cheapskate.

[martinchem]

Fact, 20 years ago you brought cash or you stiffed the staff because they didn't offer DSC til about 10 years ago.

[MisterFidgetpants]

Maybe they don't really bring "that amount of cash" because it is just an excuse not to tip or they bring very little cash and then tip like a cheapskate.

People go on weeklong vacations out of the country and don't carry at least a few hundred dollars cash? That's just plain stupidity

[pokerpro5]

So I'm guessing the only meal you eat all day is dinner? :rolleyes:

 

No, but I don't use the MDR ever. I go to the buffet for the other meals.

 

But the "other meals" are why I left 2/3 of the DSC in place (actually more, since I am paying the new rate), and am only opting out of 1/3 of it.

 

Seems fair to me.

[pokerpro5]

IMO anyone who says that they are going to remove the DSC and hand out gratuities to the people that help them directly is either lying to themselves or us, the only reason to remove the DSC is to stiff the crew, and nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise.

 

I don't think anyone here cares what you believe.

 

I eat at specialties all 7 nights of the cruise. I am being forced to tip 18% at those specialities, and yet am ALSO being forced to tip at the MDR (where I NEVER eat) via the DSC.

 

If I don't adjust down the DSC, then I am tipping for service I never received.

[maywell]

I don't think anyone here cares what you believe.

 

I eat at specialties all 7 nights of the cruise. I am being forced to tip 18% at those specialities, and yet am ALSO being forced to tip at the MDR (where I NEVER eat) via the DSC.

 

If I don't adjust down the DSC, then I am tipping for service I never received.

 

Do you eat breakfast and lunch at specialty restaurants or room service as well? If not, it covers you or whomever it is picking up the food for you when going to the buffet, which is cover by the DSC (I swear one of these days NCL and/or other cruise lines is going to make that place keycard swipe just to track people who remove DSC and make them pay for going in there...)

[pokerpro5]

Do you eat breakfast and lunch at specialty restaurants or room service as well? If not, it covers you or whomever it is picking up the food for you when going to the buffet, which is cover by the DSC (I swear one of these days NCL and/or other cruise lines is going to make that place keycard swipe just to track people who remove DSC and make them pay for going in there...)

 

That is why I am REDUCING my DSC by less than a third, not removing it entirely.

 

I am not going to pay tips for 7 nights of dining room service that I am not using.

 

If I am being forced to tip for service where I DO eat at night, then I am deducting it from where I DON'T eat.

 

Why is that so hard for you to understand?

 

Do you stop by restaurants you never visit on land and tip their wait staff? If not, why should you do so on the cruise?

Edited July 25, 2015 by pokerpro5

[Out to sea!]

How do you think tips were given before they started implementing this "DSC" nonsense??? It was always in cash, and always directly to your server, steward, bartender, etc., with spare envelopes given to you for whoever else you wanted to tip.

 

Which is why over half the MDR was vacant on the last evening of a cruise. It was a bad system replaced by a better system. Not the best, but better.

[maywell]

Your statement is correct for something like changing a beer from $3 to $3.50 before your cruise. It is not valid for removing people from the DSC and giving them their own new tip without adjusting the DSC for the fewer number of people.

 

1) reread your contract because they can plus they did it already for months now and 2) Depending on when one booked, you're grandfathered in before final payment ( I know because I got grandfathered in twice - this year for $12 and next for $12.95).

Edited July 25, 2015 by maywell

[Out to sea!]

I don't think anyone here cares what you believe.

 

I eat at specialties all 7 nights of the cruise. I am being forced to tip 18% at those specialities, and yet am ALSO being forced to tip at the MDR (where I NEVER eat) via the DSC.

 

If I don't adjust down the DSC, then I am tipping for service I never received.

 

Which is why I adjusted my DSC the same amount that I now had to pay in the specialty restaurants for the new 18% gratuity.

 

Yes, it is fair.

[Out to sea!]

You don't need to debate if what you did is logical or not. You operated within the rules of the company so whatever decision you made is fine and really doesn't need any third party approval.

 

If you tried to totally circumvent policies that would be different but doesn't seem to be the case.

 

I'm half Vulcan so everything is derived from logic. :D

[MisterFidgetpants]

1) reread your contract because they can plus they did it already for months now and 2) Depending on when one booked, you're grandfathered in before final payment ( I know because I got grandfathered in twice - this year for $12 and next for $12.95).

You should read the contract too. It's on the NCL website. It's very helpful and informative

[Out to sea!]

1) reread your contract because they can plus they did it already for months now and 2) Depending on when one booked, you're grandfathered in before final payment ( I know because I got grandfathered in twice - this year for $12 and next for $12.95).

 

Just because they "can" do something doesn't make the action valid. And with the new system, if one booked a cruise when the servers in the specialty restaurants were in the DSC and then they changed it, that is double dipping.

 

But as I have stated in many threads on several lines, to remove the problem all the lines have to do with make the DSC, Auto-tip, or whatever you want to call it mandatory. Until they do that, this will continue to happen and in some cases it is justifiable.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Out to sea!

[pokerpro5]

Also, none of us know how the DSC is distributed. Someone even posted recently that NCL revealed that a portion of the DSC goes to fund "team building exercises". (If so, this is despicable!)

 

It's also possible that NCL assigns the crew a set rate of pay, then establishes a DSC highly likely to achieve that, covers the difference on their own if it falls short, and uses any excess for teambuilding crap.

 

I'm just guessing about the above, but until we are made more aware of NCL's distribution policies of the DSC, I am highly skeptical that I'm not just handing money directly to NCL to reimburse them for employee salaries.

 

Now, I'm willing to play along to some degree. That's why I'm leaving more than 2/3 of the DSC in place, despite not dining at the MDR at all.

 

However, where I draw the line is double-tipping. First off, I don't think forced double-tipping is morally/ethically correct. Second, I am not even that confident that my double tip will end up in the hands of the hardworking crew, anyway.

 

If NCL wants me to stop reducing the DSC, they can stop playing games with excluding a major service item (specialty restaurants), and be more transparent about where the money does and doesn't go.

Edited July 25, 2015 by pokerpro5

[Travelling2Some]

I have NOT read all 13 pages of this thread so . . . taking my life in my hands . . . I'll just respond to the OP's question. No, I would never take out my frustrations with management on the hard working crew. If they would pay the crew better (and if we could really be sure that's where the money went, ha ha) I'd actually be all for a fare hike. I'm pretty low maintenance (not a big spender on board and don't imagine I'm the Queen of Sheba who needs to be waited on hand and foot) but higher wages is one of the few things I'd be willing to pay a higher base fare for. I realize that in this world the advertised price is all that will ever matter though.

[pieshops]

How do you think tips were given before they started implementing this "DSC" nonsense??? It was always in cash, and always directly to your server, steward, bartender, etc., with spare envelopes given to you for whoever else you wanted to tip.

 

They were given in cash in envelopes to your servers directly ..........AND it was amazing how empty the main dining rooms used to be on the last night with people eating at the buffet so they could stiff their servers.

[maywell]

You should read the contract too. It's on the NCL website. It's very helpful and informative

 

Oh I did - they can change the itinerary and # of days, even after final payment, completely if they wanted to for whatever reason even (Exhibit A is the Pearl that gets chartering off alot). But I guess you knew that already. :rolleyes: