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Will you reduce DSC

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Out to sea!

Out to sea!

Posted
Posted
Got a lot of people cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

 

I am not going to not buy a drink because it now has an additional 30 cent tip. I am not going to skip room service because the fee is $3 more than I usually leave for meal delivery. And though I have rarely done the speciality dining, the 18% isn't much more than the 15% I have left before.

 

The attitude of NCL might keep me from booking them again (on Celebrity for the last and next cruise), but skipping crap that I enjoy on a vacation that I am already committed to to spite a corporation seems kind of stupid to me.

 

And screwing the crew is like going home and kicking your dog when you've had a bad day. It's just a low life thing to do.

 

Before, nothing needed to be left because the wait staff in the specialty restaurants were part of the DSC. NOW, NCL is trying to say they aren't in the DSC so it's 18% more than it used to be, not the 3% you are stating.

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johnritt

johnritt

Posted
Posted (edited)
Before, nothing needed to be left because the wait staff in the specialty restaurants were part of the DSC. NOW, NCL is trying to say they aren't in the DSC so it's 18% more than it used to be, not the 3% you are stating.

 

Not for me. I have noted the difference in service and have tipped accordingly. Thus the 3% difference for me.

 

I technically didn't have to tip the room service delivery either. But I did.

 

But even if it was 18% or around $12 or so for my wife and me, I still wouldn't screw up the enjoyment of my vacation over it as I don't have the time or money for as many vacations as I would like now. Spending the money for a vacation and then not maximizing the vacation because I was pissed off at the supplier of the vacation is not for me.

 

I might not use them again in the future, but I am not screwing up the one I'm on.

Edited by johnritt
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johnritt

johnritt

Posted
Posted (edited)
It's a real shame when the cruise line don't pay their behind the scene employees. I agree but it's not my problem. I have my own charities, and ncl is not on my list.

 

You see, I know about the service charge, knew about it when I booked all of my cruises. I understood it was how many of the crew got the vast majority of their pay for working, and I chose not to be a low life and scam the system. I chose to not have them work for me for free, and I chose not to sneak off of the ship like a coward.

 

I will continue to choose to pay the service charge in the future. If I was so opposed to paying a service charge, I would choose to sail a line that did not use a service charge to pay the crew, rather than sneaking around getting the crew to work for me for free.

 

Paying the crew isn't a charity. They work for a living.

Edited by johnritt
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FreestyleNovice

FreestyleNovice

Posted
Posted

If you want to make a statement through your wallet

..

 

Or, get 3000 of your closest friends to book a cruise and then all cancel the day of final payment and force NCL to scramble to fill a ship in 6 weeks.

 

That would be one action to pull off! ;)

 

Ontopic; not reducing.

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Out to sea!

Out to sea!

Posted
Posted
You see, I know about the service charge, knew about it when I booked all of my cruises. I understood it was how many of the crew got the vast majority of their pay for working, and I chose not to be a low life and scam the system. I chose to not have them work for me for free, and I chose not to sneak off of the ship like a coward.

 

I will continue to choose to pay the service charge in the future. If I was so opposed to paying a service charge, I would choose to sail a line that did not use a service charge to pay the crew, rather than sneaking around getting the crew to work for me for free.

 

Paying the crew isn't a charity. They work for a living.

 

Trust me, that posters knows all too well what is expected of them (the DSC). They just make a conscious decision to stiff the staff's hard work and justify that decision by saying that it's NCL's fault for not paying their workers. This rationalization allows the poster to sleep at night.

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

Posted
Posted
You see, I know about the service charge, knew about it when I booked all of my cruises. I understood it was how many of the crew got the vast majority of their pay for working, and I chose not to be a low life and scam the system. I chose to not have them work for me for free, and I chose not to sneak off of the ship like a coward.

 

I will continue to choose to pay the service charge in the future. If I was so opposed to paying a service charge, I would choose to sail a line that did not use a service charge to pay the crew, rather than sneaking around getting the crew to work for me for free.

 

Paying the crew isn't a charity. They work for a living.

 

and what too many forget is: if we had no DSC, the basic rate of the cruise would be increased to cover any additional salaries the cruise line has to pay. I am always suspecious of people who say, they want to pay individuals independently. I wonder how much they really pay those individuals? I can remember the days when we did our tipping the last night. It was always amazing how many didn't show up for dinner that night. And people, this is one of the reasons a DSC has been added.

 

How many people have noticed an increase in service charges versus tips in restaurants, especially in Fl or the number of hotels that have added a resort tax? Or the countries who have used Service charge policy for years. Bahamas is one. They have used if for as long as I can remember. Some hotel restaurants in UK are now doing the same. It isn't just the cruise industry.

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tarheelmjfan

tarheelmjfan

Posted
Posted
Was just in FL for a business conference and saw no such thing anywhere.

 

Living between Ft. Lauderdale & Miami means we don't stay in the hotels here. It's common for our restaurants to add an automatic 18% gratuity for all parties, regardless of their size though. I'm sure this is a result of so many people not tipping the suggested amount.

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NLH Arizona

NLH Arizona

Posted
Posted
and what too many forget is: if we had no DSC, the basic rate of the cruise would be increased to cover any additional salaries the cruise line has to pay. I am always suspecious of people who say, they want to pay individuals independently. I wonder how much they really pay those individuals? I can remember the days when we did our tipping the last night. It was always amazing how many didn't show up for dinner that night. And people, this is one of the reasons a DSC has been added.

 

How many people have noticed an increase in service charges versus tips in restaurants, especially in Fl or the number of hotels that have added a resort tax? Or the countries who have used Service charge policy for years. Bahamas is one. They have used if for as long as I can remember. Some hotel restaurants in UK are now doing the same. It isn't just the cruise industry.

Nita, you are right about how the DSC or automatic gratuity came about. I remember cruising in the "olden" days and was totally confused why so many didn't make it down to dinner the last night. When I asked someone at my table, they explained that that is how they got out of paying the tips. I prefer the automatic system, as I don't have to worry about it (I always pre-pay) and then tip additional when warranted).

 

Regarding restaurants putting on a service charge, I remember reading something about a law that was going into effect January of this year, where the IRS defined the service charge as a mandatory tip and restaurants had to be put it on the server's paycheck as taxable income and because of this new law many restaurants dropped the service charge altogether.

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LoveyHowell

LoveyHowell

Posted
Posted
Living between Ft. Lauderdale & Miami means we don't stay in the hotels here. It's common for our restaurants to add an automatic 18% gratuity for all parties, regardless of their size though. I'm sure this is a result of so many people not tipping the suggested amount.

 

Do you mean to say that when you and your wife go to eat at a non-hotel restaurant you are charged 18% service fees more often than not?

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tarheelmjfan

tarheelmjfan

Posted
Posted
Do you mean to say that when you and your wife go to eat at a non-hotel restaurant you are charged 18% service fees more often than not?

 

First, I'm the wife, but that's irrelevant to the discussion. ;) I wouldn't say it happens more often than not, but it happens often enough for us to not be surprised by it. The first time it happened we didn't care, but we were surprised. DH was ready to tip our usual 20% on the entire check, until I noticed it was already included. Now, we know to look for it, because it very well could be included.

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LoveyHowell

LoveyHowell

Posted
Posted
First, I'm the wife, but that's irrelevant to the discussion. ;) I wouldn't say it happens more often than not, but it happens often enough for us to not be surprised by it. The first time it happened we didn't care, but we were surprised. DH was ready to tip our usual 20% on the entire check, until I noticed it was already included. Now, we know to look for it, because it very well could be included.

 

Thanks for your response. It is insightful for me. My apologies on the gender mistake.

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johnritt

johnritt

Posted
Posted
and what too many forget is: if we had no DSC, the basic rate of the cruise would be increased to cover any additional salaries the cruise line has to pay. I am always suspecious of people who say, they want to pay individuals independently. I wonder how much they really pay those individuals? I can remember the days when we did our tipping the last night. It was always amazing how many didn't show up for dinner that night. And people, this is one of the reasons a DSC has been added.

 

How many people have noticed an increase in service charges versus tips in restaurants, especially in Fl or the number of hotels that have added a resort tax? Or the countries who have used Service charge policy for years. Bahamas is one. They have used if for as long as I can remember. Some hotel restaurants in UK are now doing the same. It isn't just the cruise industry.

 

I might actually have just a tiny bit of respect for those righteous non tippers if they actually had the courage or honor to tell those who are serving them that they would not pay them for their work and all that they were doing would be for free, and do this on the first day of their cruise.

 

But who am I kidding. Cowardly little sneak thieves would never do that. It would require courage, and thieves have no honor anyway.

 

I would love to see the service charge become mandatory. It would lead to a better class of cruiser, as the thieves would go elsewhere and I could probably worry less about someone stealing my camera.

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cruzsnooze

cruzsnooze

Posted
Posted

I will eliminate my DSC and use cash only. I will leave $$ at dinner and pay my cabin attendant in cash. If they wish to turn it into a pool then it's their choice, I paid my tips to those that actually served me. Since it is still a suggested DSC and not mandatory it can be done my way.

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pieshops

pieshops

Posted
Posted

I don't believe for one second that the people who say they remove the DSC and tip More in cash do this. You can believe what you want but this hurts ALL the crew. Keep the DSC in Place and tip additionally if you want.

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Out to sea!

Out to sea!

Posted
Posted
Living between Ft. Lauderdale & Miami means we don't stay in the hotels here. It's common for our restaurants to add an automatic 18% gratuity for all parties, regardless of their size though. I'm sure this is a result of so many people not tipping the suggested amount.

 

That may be the case in Miami but not in Central or Northern Florida. Even at Disney, they only add the auto 18% gratuity on parties of 6 or more.

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Out to sea!

Out to sea!

Posted
Posted
I will eliminate my DSC and use cash only. I will leave $$ at dinner and pay my cabin attendant in cash. If they wish to turn it into a pool then it's their choice, I paid my tips to those that actually served me. Since it is still a suggested DSC and not mandatory it can be done my way.

 

So you'll be tipping the folks at the buffet, going down to the laundry and tipping those that clean your sheets, and of course tipping the folks on deck who pick up after you? :rolleyes:

 

Yes, it CAN be done that way but that doesn't make it right just because it can be done that way.

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