Will you reduce DSC

[triptolemus]

Couldn't agree more! Every crew member I interacted with was great. I had a different waiter/waitress each night so tipping at the end would be nearly impossible. would rather not have to pay more, but unfortunately it is what is is. Punishing the hard working crew members is not the answer!

 

If there is any "punishing" being done, it is at the hands on NCL, not the passenger's.

[arb3]

If there is any "punishing" being done, it is at the hands on NCL, not the passenger's.

 

That may be, but in the end you are taking money away from very hard working people that make very little money already. In the grand scheme of things, a few extra dollars means much more to these people. I know I just spent over $3000 for a cruise. I would rather not have to pay any more, but a few extra dollars really isn't going to stop me from taking a vacation. The crew need that money much more than I do!

[SissasMomE]

With all of NCL's new fees for this and that will you be discounting or reducing your DSC on upcoming cruises.

 

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No. Will not spend one dime and anything extra though :) and our next cruise will not be with NCL.

[dna529]

You said; "Better to just not partake in room service, drinks or specialty restaurants if you disagree."

 

Why would I not partake? It is NCL who has set the bar high with the DSC and 18% automatically on all the extras. The 18% is not discretionary on my part and is now in addition to the new DSC. This is what I disagee with. In the past I have always tipped extra, to my cabin steward, in the specialties and on beverage service and this was always at my discretion and I based it on service. If a server was run off their feet because they are busy I would not penalize them because the service is slow. It is NCL who has determined that the service in a specialty restaurant goes above and beyond what has previously been covered by the DSC and has instituted an automatic 18% be added to the bill. I don't like a company telling me exactly how I should rate and tip for the service I receive, that should be for me to decide. But I will play by the new rules and if, as you said, the service is bad I will contact management and if the problem is not corrected then I will adjust.

 

The original question was whether or not I would adjust my DSC in light of all the new increases and fees. And my answer is yes I would if warranted. In the past I would have just left them in place even if I had some awful service issues. In the past I would have just felt sorry for the staff and used my own discretion to tip extra or not. Now that I have no discretion it is NCL who forces me to adjust using the DSC as this is the only avenue they have left me in cases of bad service. Let me clarify I am not talking about things being a little slow or an order not coming out as requested etc. I am talking about BAD service

 

NCL has established their level of service, now they should make sure they provide it.

 

 

Rochelle

 

Well said. I don't plan on punishing myself by not eating at Cagney's but I do expect excellent service.

 

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[NMLady]

with all of ncl's new fees for this and that will you be discounting or reducing your dsc on upcoming cruises.

 

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no!

[Snowrose]

In the past I never worried about it. I trusted the company to pay it out as they seemed fit. I never would have thought about adjusting or removing the DSC.

 

Fast forward to March 1, 2015 and the DSC is increased by 8% for regular cabins and by 25% for suites. I was perfectly fine with this as well. Then within two weeks we are finding out that we will be tipping 18% to the wait staff in the specialty restaurants regardless of the service. The same for anything purchased at the cafe or to have a pizza delivered. When cries of double dipping ring out suddenly we are told that these folks are no longer a part of the DSC. They would like us to believe that the auto tips they will receive will be enough to take care of them. Is there no incentive programs for these staff members? Were they removed because there was not enough in the DSC to take care of them? Should the new increase not cover this? Or why the increase if there is now less people in the pool? Come the end of the month we find out they are 'testing' a new service charge for room service, which will no doubt be implemented fleet wide within a couple of weeks.

 

So if I am faced/forced to pay a high amount for service at every turn I will expect the service to be at least good. I am not a tough customer, pretty easy to please actually. I can roll with the flow but no longer will I shrug off bad service as I have been inclined to do in the past. If service is bad I will take the time out of my holiday and deal with it and if in the end that means I should be making some adjustments to the DSC then that is what I will do.

 

If I just show up, order room service in the morning, eat in a specialty at night and have a few cocktails or wine during the day I could very easily be tipping upwards of $40 each and every day. Will I leave it all in place regardless of service...not any more, I will adjust accordingly. Everyone else can do what they are comfortable with and I will do the same.

 

This.

[sixesandeights]

That may be, but in the end you are taking money away from very hard working people that make very little money already. In the grand scheme of things, a few extra dollars means much more to these people. I know I just spent over $3000 for a cruise. I would rather not have to pay any more, but a few extra dollars really isn't going to stop me from taking a vacation. The crew need that money much more than I do!

 

Do you work? If so then you need the money just as bad as they do. They make money the same as anyone else. What makes them more deserving of my dollar then I am? The answer....NOTHING.

 

With the increased fees at every turn the service better be fantastic. No more having to track down my server in the Specialties as is often the case. No more 30 minute waits between courses in the Specialties as has happened more then once. No more half correct room service orders as is often the case. Before mandatory service charges and fees I could adjust my extra tips according to the service. Now my only recourse is the DSC. If the service is Bad I will adjust my DSC accordingly. I will not drop it to $0. I will remove the 18% i was charged, or the $7.95 the room service cost. Its as simple as that.

 

Just because I am on a vacation does not somehow make me the ATM to over pay the NCL workers. I am a customer not their employer.

 

6&8

[rochelle_s]

Do you work? If so then you need the money just as bad as they do. They make money the same as anyone else. What makes them more deserving of my dollar then I am? The answer....NOTHING.

 

With the increased fees at every turn the service better be fantastic. No more having to track down my server in the Specialties as is often the case. No more 30 minute waits between courses in the Specialties as has happened more then once. No more half correct room service orders as is often the case. Before mandatory service charges and fees I could adjust my extra tips according to the service. Now my only recourse is the DSC. If the service is Bad I will adjust my DSC accordingly. I will not drop it to $0. I will remove the 18% i was charged, or the $7.95 the room service cost. Its as simple as that.

 

Just because I am on a vacation does not somehow make me the ATM to over pay the NCL workers. I am a customer not their employer.

 

6&8

 

 

Exactly!

 

 

Rochelle

[SissasMomE]

Just because I am on a vacation does not somehow make me the ATM to over pay the NCL workers. I am a customer not their employer.

 

6&8

 

Agree with you 1,000%

[pieshops]

All these people who say they won't cruise with NCL again sound like people I would not want to cruise with anyway so this thinning of the herd is awesome. Good job NCL

[backsbanny]

I am not going to reduce it most probably i am going to remove it

 

 

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[Casino Comp Chick]

I always tip $5.00 for my morning coffee, I will not do that anymore and if when I cruise if the fee for the BA is still higher then the GA I will go down and adjust the DSC to the same fee. I have emailed them, made posts to their FB page asking for the reasoning behind this and they have yet to answer.

Until the last month I would have never dreamed of changing my DSC, in fact I always prepay it but the only way I see making a statement (since social media has done no good) is through my wallet.

I will let that speak for me.

[LrgPizza]

Absolutely not.

[aquarianne11]

No. I will just spend less on the ship. No more photos, shore excursions, etc.

 

I'm not sure if I want to buy FCC.

[biker@sea]

I will pay my full DSC and tip plenty too . :D

 

I have faith that My NCL crew will keep me very happy . :)

[TrumpyNor]

With all of NCL's new fees for this and that will you be discounting or reducing your DSC on upcoming cruises.

 

No.

[pieshops]

I will pay my full DSC and tip plenty too . :D

 

I have faith that My NCL crew will keep me very happy . :)

 

AMEN, its the Right thing to do

[jingle5616]

I'm going to be on vacation in April and I'm not interested in battling the new NCL's corporate ham handedness. So I will not adjust my services charges or tips and I will enjoy myself.

 

But I'm also a savvy consumer and NCL will not be seeing me in the future. I'm not brand loyal to anyone, especially if you think I'm stupid, which NCL evidently does. I have a long history with NCL and they have provided me and my family with some great vacations, but lots of companies will do that. I vote with my wallet.

[bangzoom6877]

Do you work? If so then you need the money just as bad as they do. They make money the same as anyone else. What makes them more deserving of my dollar then I am? The answer....NOTHING.

 

With the increased fees at every turn the service better be fantastic. No more having to track down my server in the Specialties as is often the case. No more 30 minute waits between courses in the Specialties as has happened more then once. No more half correct room service orders as is often the case. Before mandatory service charges and fees I could adjust my extra tips according to the service. Now my only recourse is the DSC. If the service is Bad I will adjust my DSC accordingly. I will not drop it to $0. I will remove the 18% i was charged, or the $7.95 the room service cost. Its as simple as that.

 

Just because I am on a vacation does not somehow make me the ATM to over pay the NCL workers. I am a customer not their employer.

 

6&8

 

I do agree with this. If the service is not up to par (within reason of course, I'm not talking about people with a false sense of entitlement who think crew members should kiss their butts), then there's nothing wrong with lowering the DSC. However, I will not automatically lower my DSC just because of what NCL is doing. But I will probably not be as quick to tip extra because I work very hard every single day to earn my money, I get one vacation a year and I am going to enjoy it without breaking the bank. Everyone is on a budget. Whatever that budget may be (inside cabin, haven, etc.), we are all entitled to decide where our money goes.

Edited April 1, 2015 by bangzoom6877

[pieshops]

I do agree with this. If the service is not up to par (within reason of course, I'm not talking about people with a false sense of entitlement who think crew members should kiss their butts), then there's nothing wrong with lowering the DSC. However, I will not automatically lower my DSC just because of what NCL is doing. But I will probably not be as quick to tip extra because I work very hard every single day to earn my money, I get one vacation a year and I am going to enjoy it without breaking the bank. Everyone is on a budget. Whatever that budget may be (inside cabin, haven, etc.), we are all entitled to decide where our money goes.

 

absolutely if bad service adjust away but please make sure you speak to an officer about the issue first and see if it can be resolved. So many people don't say anything and just adjust away

[Barb Nahoumi]

No I won't reduce the DSC. However, I will not use the services that I don't want to pay extra for.

[jackson bernard]

We have budgeted $250 for tips on our upcoming cruise.

 

Since the cruise line has added convenience fees and additional mandatory gratuities in the specialty restaurants after final payment, I will be reducing the dsc commensurate with that amount.

 

So if the additional new fees total $150.00, I will reduce the dsc to $100.00. This is the amount I agreed to when we booked.

 

If frank don't think there is enough for their incentive program, let him kick in the additional amount.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Frankly I'd like to reduce my DSC to $0 and go back to the way it used to be and just give tips in cash at the end of the cruise. This way I know the hard working crew are getting tipped and NCL is not taking the tips of my DSC and applying wherever they feel like it.

 

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In those days, there was no freestyle, and we had assigned dining times with the same waitstaff. Therefore it was possible to cash-tip the staff.

 

Now, those behind the scenes receive a portion of the DSC. We don't see them or know who they are.

 

But, things are quickly changing from FREESTYLE to FEESTYLE.

[sparks1093]

With all of NCL's new fees for this and that will you be discounting or reducing your DSC on upcoming cruises.

 

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No, I am not going to take my displeasure with the company out on the crew. The only reason that I would even consider adjusting the service charge would be for inferior service and then only after I had let management know about the issue.

Edited April 1, 2015 by sparks1093

[Carrickbeg]

No, I would not adjust the DSC.

 

The people I really see hurting with this is the crew. If I order room service I always tip the guy $5. I would not now if they are charging me $7 for room service.

 

I always tip 20% (or sometimes more depending on the service) in the speciality restaurants. Again cash. I won't now if they have added 18% to my check.

 

So all that cash in hand that would have went to the person directly (I assume he/she gets to keep that cash) will not be handed out now.

 

Of course I'm a sucker for some of the crew and will probably tip extra to some, but I think the staff will not be receiving the cash in hand they normally do. So I see them suffering the most because of the changes NCL is implementing.