Will you reduce DSC

[CarolinaMamma]

And I pre-booked Cagney's online (we have the UDP) and was not charged. So as far as I know, Cagney's is still included.

 

The cost of cruising has gone DOWN in the last 20 years. The cruise lines are shifting more of the cost of staff salaries onto customers, but the pax still come out ahead.

[cruzsnooze]

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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yes

[NLH Arizona]

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.

[Crusin6]

I never reduce the dsc and always give the steward and specialty waiters extra

 

I think I might not give the steward the extra $50 to $75 I usually give though

 

And not planning on doing any specialties this cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

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[keeponcruising]

Do I like that the DSC has gone up, NO. But I would never, ever consider dropping it or give it to some and tell them to disperse it to the behind the scenes workers at their discretion. Those behind the scenes workers who work very hard, like those in the laundry. I could never live with myself for stiffing the hard workers that make the cruise experience what it is.

[medley01]

Yes. I will reduce the DSC to $0.

 

I will then pay individuals, tips for their services rendered. I tip well, in the 15-20% range normally. If I have poor service, I speak to a manager and if service is corrected, I still tip +10%.

 

I fully understand that crew on these ships make a low wage and live off their tips. If you provide me with good service, I will tip you accordingly.

 

To me, the cruise lines charging these automatic gratuity/service charges is an excuse to foster poor service.

[jb456]

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.

 

So when the cruise line offers promo's of "free gratuity /dsc" and an entire ship gets it free do you really think NCL dips into their pocket and pays out all those fees or do they just mark zero on the computer?

[Crusin6]

So when the cruise line offers promo's of "free gratuity /dsc" and an entire ship gets it free do you really think NCL dips into their pocket and pays out all those fees or do they just mark zero on the computer?

 

 

Actually they have raised your cruise fare by X amount to cover whatever it is they are giving you for "free"

 

 

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[numberguy]

To answer the original question: never.

[pokerpro5]

I have 3 passengers in my party, one of whom is 4 years old (note that they don't charge DSC for 2-year-olds, who make more of a mess than 4 year olds!)

 

We dine ONLY at specialties, which now have a separate mandatory 18% tip.

 

We do not utilize many other services on the ship which would otherwise be covered by the DSC.

 

I have decided to opt out of one of the 3 passengers, and use at least some of that money instead to directly tip the steward and anyone else who directly deals with us often.

 

The other two DSCs I will leave as-is, even though they went up to $13.50 long after I booked.

 

So this is me "one-third opting out", which I think is fair, since I will not be utilizing the MDR at all, and therefore I don't feel like those employees should be getting my full tips as they will never be serving me.

[pieshops]

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

Edited July 25, 2015 by pieshops

[cruzsnooze]

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

You can't compare tax paying workers in the USA with ship crew who have no expenses and the $$$ goes farther in their country.

[pieshops]

You can't compare tax paying workers in the USA with ship crew who have no expenses and the $$$ goes farther in their country.

 

Is that what you got from what i said, really. I was talking about people breaking down who is going to get what percentage of their tips based on how much they use them and what percentage of the DSC they are going to remove or reduce.

[SissasMomE]

Actually they have raised your cruise fare by X amount to cover whatever it is they are giving you for "free"

 

 

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Our cruise on the Escape is cheaper than what we paid for the Getaway, and we have the free beverage package. It really all depends on when you booked.

[Out to sea!]

I never reduce the dsc and always give the steward and specialty waiters extra

 

I think I might not give the steward the extra $50 to $75 I usually give though

 

And not planning on doing any specialties this cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

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If I had not done any specialty restaurants last month on the Sun I would not have reduced my DSC either. Since I didn't, I reduced my DSC the amount of the 18% mandatory gratuity now paid in the specialty restaurant. NCL should have lowered the DSC when they removed the servers in the specialty restaurants from it and instead they increased the DSC. Not fair in my book so therefore I corrected the issue and made it fair.

[Out to sea!]

Yes. I will reduce the DSC to $0.

 

I will then pay individuals, tips for their services rendered. I tip well, in the 15-20% range normally. If I have poor service, I speak to a manager and if service is corrected, I still tip +10%.

 

I fully understand that crew on these ships make a low wage and live off their tips. If you provide me with good service, I will tip you accordingly.

 

To me, the cruise lines charging these automatic gratuity/service charges is an excuse to foster poor service.

 

What is 15-20% of 0? How do you figure out 15-20% for you cabin steward and waiter/waitress in the MDR? Are you going to tip the omelet maker every morning? The washy-washy girl? The guy who cleans your plates off the tables?

[Out to sea!]

I have 3 passengers in my party, one of whom is 4 years old (note that they don't charge DSC for 2-year-olds, who make more of a mess than 4 year olds!)

 

We dine ONLY at specialties, which now have a separate mandatory 18% tip.

 

We do not utilize many other services on the ship which would otherwise be covered by the DSC.

 

I have decided to opt out of one of the 3 passengers, and use at least some of that money instead to directly tip the steward and anyone else who directly deals with us often.

 

The other two DSCs I will leave as-is, even though they went up to $13.50 long after I booked.

 

So this is me "one-third opting out", which I think is fair, since I will not be utilizing the MDR at all, and therefore I don't feel like those employees should be getting my full tips as they will never be serving me.

 

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

[maywell]

Is that what you got from what i said, really. I was talking about people breaking down who is going to get what percentage of their tips based on how much they use them and what percentage of the DSC they are going to remove or reduce.

 

That's I say some of these people who remove DSC and then claim they pay in cash to the server are taking out their tushes because NCL does the same thing as you describe earlier - I like to know how they going to tip the 2-5 servers that gave them service in the MDR or O'Sheenan; are they going them tip as if they were one person or individually?

[maywell]

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

 

Well he can always cough up the cash to the coffee shop for breakfast and lunch. :p Then there;s the suites on the Jade and Dawn-class ships that dine at specialty restaurants as part of theeir perks for those 2 meal times, even though it cover by DSC too. Otherwise, he there's no point in him going to the buffet since that cover by the DSC as well - I highly doubt him or anyone in his group will wash their plates / utensils while vacationing. :cool:

[sjbdtz]

Yes. I will reduce the DSC to $0.

 

I will then pay individuals, tips for their services rendered. I tip well, in the 15-20% range normally. If I have poor service, I speak to a manager and if service is corrected, I still tip +10%.

 

I fully understand that crew on these ships make a low wage and live off their tips. If you provide me with good service, I will tip you accordingly.

 

To me, the cruise lines charging these automatic gratuity/service charges is an excuse to foster poor service.

 

I don't get gratuities of any sort, yet I provide excellent service to my customers.

 

Guess THAT theory is out the window.

 

Seriously, game it out: you can HOPE you get tipped. Or you can be SURE you're getting tipped. Which scenario drives the best service: the latter.

 

 

 

If I had not done any specialty restaurants last month on the Sun I would not have reduced my DSC either. Since I didn't, I reduced my DSC the amount of the 18% mandatory gratuity now paid in the specialty restaurant. NCL should have lowered the DSC when they removed the servers in the specialty restaurants from it and instead they increased the DSC. Not fair in my book so therefore I corrected the issue and made it fair.

 

Fair to you. Unfair to the crew.

 

 

.

[coldflame]

According to NCL the DSC is not what pays the employees salaries it is used as a incentive program and crew welfare fund for parties etc.

 

In the past month not only has the DSC been raised but there is also the addition of 18%. Where I come from that is not a normal tip that is a high tip and for that high tip I will expect above average service. In the past I would have never thought about adjusting the DSC but now if I receive sub par service I will speak to the appropriate people on the ship and if needed I will adjust accordingly.

 

All the new increases and additions are set at a very high standard I will expect the service to reflect this. No more using the guilt factor on me to tip, tip and tip some more. If everything is as it should be then the crew are doing very well indeed for themselves.

 

If service is good the DSC will remain in place . If someone goes above and beyond I will base my decision on whether to tip more on that. I will not worry myself with how others are tipping, everyone else can do as they see fit.

 

Rochelle

 

Yup. I'm all for tipping (and tipping well) cruise employees. It's not an easy life. Far away from your family for months, they work you hard, the people you server expect the best from you, etc. But, in my next trip, I will ask customer service to reduce the DSC to $0. I will pay, in cash -- even if it's inconvenient for me --, to our stateroom keeper, and other miscellaneous people we deem important. Our UDPs already have a 18% tacked on for gratuities. Bartenders, servers, etc. that go above and beyond will get tipped as well. But the big tip upfront concept is no longer a valid model, IMO, specially on NCL that doesn't have a traditional MDR rotation.

 

Paragraph from NCL:

"[...] guests will be able to adjust the Service Charge according to the level of inconvenience they feel they have experienced."

Edited July 25, 2015 by coldflame

[scopewest]

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!

[zqvol]

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.

[SissasMomE]

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.

 

 

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.

[SissasMomE]

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 buy that for a second.