Refunding prepaid DSC onboard

[triptastic]

hi,

My question is, if I prepay my DSC prior to my trip and have a service issue, what are the chances of having my DSC adjusted? The only reason I ask is because as these charges increase, I really question how they can justify almost $100 CAD daily ( 2 small kids and 2 adults) when I will hardly be on the boat. I am going on a Med cruise next year for 12 days. These charges seem rather steep now! I am not looking to pay less in the DSC, I only want to know if that I am covered in the event of dissatisfaction?

Thanks in advance.

[LoveyHowell]

I do not know the answer, but I also know you are not likely to get one here. Try their social media page or their guest relations email.

[ColinIllinois]

http://www.ncl.com/faq#service-charge

 

If there is a service issue can the service charges be adjusted on board?

 

Guest satisfaction is the highest priority at Norwegian Cruise Line. We have structured a guest satisfaction program designed to handle any concerns about service or on-board product quickly and efficiently. However, in the event a service issue should arise during your cruise please let our on-board guest services desk staff know right away, so that we can address these in a timely manner. It is our goal to reach a satisfactory solution to any issue when it happens and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise. Should your concerns not be met with satisfaction you can adjust the charges.

[sparks1093]

hi,

My question is, if I prepay my DSC prior to my trip and have a service issue, what are the chances of having my DSC adjusted? The only reason I ask is because as these charges increase, I really question how they can justify almost $100 CAD daily ( 2 small kids and 2 adults) when I will hardly be on the boat. I am going on a Med cruise next year for 12 days. These charges seem rather steep now! I am not looking to pay less in the DSC, I only want to know if that I am covered in the event of dissatisfaction?

Thanks in advance.

 

I had to eat in restaurants twice in the same day (breakfast and dinner) a little while ago and the tips came to $9.50 per person for the two meals and we aren't talking eating in high end restaurants (to add a little perspective).

 

It is my understanding that if you have a service issue once onboard you may adjust your service charges but I believe the refund will be put back on the method of payment.

[zqvol]

The way to stop these increases is to make these fees mandatory and not allow removal or reduction. Just wait - it's coming sooner or later.

[LoveyHowell]

The way to stop these increases is to make these fees mandatory and not allow removal or reduction. Just wait - it's coming sooner or later.

 

Do you know the answer to OP's question or just proving my point?

[jb456]

hi,

My question is, if I prepay my DSC prior to my trip and have a service issue, what are the chances of having my DSC adjusted? The only reason I ask is because as these charges increase, I really question how they can justify almost $100 CAD daily ( 2 small kids and 2 adults) when I will hardly be on the boat. I am going on a Med cruise next year for 12 days. These charges seem rather steep now! I am not looking to pay less in the DSC, I only want to know if that I am covered in the event of dissatisfaction?

Thanks in advance.

 

Agree with you - 90% of guests off ship the entire day in a port yet they still charge the same amount as a sea day. Also ridiculous how they can charge a 3 year old the same amount as an adult.

 

Go to guest services, remove them to zero and tip in cash.

[PaulMCO]

Agree with you - 90% of guests off ship the entire day in a port yet they still charge the same amount as a sea day. Also ridiculous how they can charge a 3 year old the same amount as an adult.

 

Go to guest services, remove them to zero and tip in cash.

 

 

And what about the other people behind the scenes that you do not come into daily contact who are dependent on these gratuity funds??

 

Okay -- I suppose your three year old -- does not sleep in a bed that has to be made up by housekeeping. Does not eat any food from the dining room. Will never use the pool or deck area.

 

In the cruise industry gratuities except for the all inclusive lines (Regent, Silversea), require you to pay gratuities for the staff on a per person basis.

Royal, Disney, Holland, etc all do it.

[Jane Don]

And what about the other people behind the scenes that you do not come into daily contact who are dependent on these gratuity funds??

 

Okay -- I suppose your three year old -- does not sleep in a bed that has to be made up by housekeeping. Does not eat any food from the dining room. Will never use the pool or deck area.

 

In the cruise industry gratuities except for the all inclusive lines (Regent, Silversea), require you to pay gratuities for the staff on a per person basis.

Royal, Disney, Holland, etc all do it.

 

There is an argument that NCL should be paying behind the scenes staff a decent wage on their own.

 

More importantly, why would one attempt to shame or bully another into paying a discretionary charge. If you want to pay it pay it. If you don't, don't. Live and let live.

[jb456]

And what about the other people behind the scenes that you do not come into daily contact who are dependent on these gratuity funds??

 

Okay -- I suppose your three year old -- does not sleep in a bed that has to be made up by housekeeping. Does not eat any food from the dining room. Will never use the pool or deck area.

 

In the cruise industry gratuities except for the all inclusive lines (Regent, Silversea), require you to pay gratuities for the staff on a per person basis.

Royal, Disney, Holland, etc all do it.

 

Not my problem! Do you go to a restaurant and tip before being seated? Walk into the kitchen to tip the staff? No you tip based on how the service was and whoever else the waiter has to tip takes it up from there.

 

Cruise ship workers are hired to do a job that they applied for. If they go above and beyond their duties then tip. You don't tip before even receiving the service lol. Cruise lines do this because they know 95% of guests will not waste 30 minutes of their cruise to go to guest services to complain about bad service and make an adjustment on the gratuities. They know the guest will just suck it up and not bother with it.

 

Again not my problem if the 3rd janitor assistant /trainer, behind the scenes depends on that tip. You don't tip the guy that cleans the toilets at a restaurant do you?

 

I have a question for you and would like to here your opinion on it?? A port day. A family of 4 wake up - get right off the ship - eat breakfast in port, spend the day in port, eat an early supper in port, get back on the ship, go straight to their room to put young ones down, sit on the balcony for a couple of hours then go to bed. Does that justify paying $34 in tips for the day? When the room staff get like $3 a day out of the $13.50?

 

 

 

Same as the ridiculous automatic charge on alcohol drinks. Not fair at all. What does the bartender care if he gives you bad service and makes you wait 20 minutes? He knows he is getting the tip regardless. The bartender that is attentive, friendly service, knows what you drink and is asking if you need another when he sees you have one sip left deserves the tip. Not the cranky one that could care less.

 

Another thing that is ridiculous is beer buckets (don't know if it's like that on NCL) but on a recent Princess cruise. When you order a bucket of 5 beer it's a $2.45 tip. All the bartender does is puts 4 in a bucket and opens 1 beer. $2.45 to open one beer awesome money maker there for them lol

 

Each to their own. Gratuities are at your own discretion and tipping is not supposed to be a "bribe" for better service. If you want to tip in advance before even receiving a service then thank cruise lines superb marketing skills for their efforts on hooking you:D

[bluesea777]

hi,

My question is, if I prepay my DSC prior to my trip and have a service issue, what are the chances of having my DSC adjusted? The only reason I ask is because as these charges increase, I really question how they can justify almost $100 CAD daily ( 2 small kids and 2 adults) when I will hardly be on the boat. I am going on a Med cruise next year for 12 days. These charges seem rather steep now! I am not looking to pay less in the DSC, I only want to know if that I am covered in the event of dissatisfaction?

Thanks in advance.

 

Maybe you're bad at Maths. Try less than $69 CAD.

 

Also I suggest you wait until the last morning of the cruise - the disembarkation morning - before deciding to go to Guest Services to have the DSC removed .... have fun. :rolleyes:

[sjbdtz]

The answer is absolutely YES, you can adjust in the event of a Service issue.

 

 

HOWEVER, they ask that before you reach the point where you feel the need to adjust, you advise and give them an opportunity to correct.

 

 

Also, know that when you adjust for a service reason, you could be directly impacting a person(s) future employment with NCL. There's a low tolerance threshold for poor service.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

[bluesea777]

Agree with you - 90% of guests off ship the entire day in a port yet they still charge the same amount as a sea day. Also ridiculous how they can charge a 3 year old the same amount as an adult.

 

Go to guest services, remove them to zero and tip in cash.

 

While you are at the Guest Services please book to go on the Behind The Scenes tour so you can tip everyone you see during the tour - make sure you bring around $150 worth of one dollar bills.

 

There are just so many people behind the scenes that help make the cruise.

Edited July 16, 2015 by bluesea777

[jackson bernard]

hi,

My question is, if I prepay my DSC prior to my trip and have a service issue, what are the chances of having my DSC adjusted? The only reason I ask is because as these charges increase, I really question how they can justify almost $100 CAD daily ( 2 small kids and 2 adults) when I will hardly be on the boat. I am going on a Med cruise next year for 12 days. These charges seem rather steep now! I am not looking to pay less in the DSC, I only want to know if that I am covered in the event of dissatisfaction?

Thanks in advance.

 

Don't prepay. We were on the jade and some people from Australia said they went to the desk and have them removed. They were told they would have to wait a few months and they would get a credit on their credit card. Don't know if they ever got it or not

[sjbdtz]

Don't prepay. We were on the jade and some people from Australia said they went to the desk and have them removed. They were told they would have to wait a few months and they would get a credit on their credit card. Don't know if they ever got it or not

 

So somebody should not follow their plans, because YOU don't know if a 3rd party got what they wanted?

 

 

Weird...you're not the 1st party, nor the 3rd... but everybody should follow your direction?

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[jb456]

If cruise lines had the "best interest" in guests they would devise a better system for gratuities. Instead they blindly steal from guests.

 

Example - If a family of 4 are on a 10 night cruise and only eat at the dinning room 4 times they should not be charged the portion of dinning room gratuities ($5pp daily or wtv the amount is) for the other nights. Cruise line would rather steal $120 from that family for a service they did not even use on particular nights!! And you want me to care about the behind the scene assistant trainer 3rd level worker getting a tip when the cruise line is taking advantage? HAH dont think so :)

 

Could be a simple process as in the waiter scans your cruise card when eating in the dinning room. The days the card is not scanned in the dinning room the system automatically removes that portion of the gratuities.

 

But you see cruise lines don't implement anything in their system like that because they DO NOT have you the consumers best interest in mind. All they want is to take your money.

 

Till they diverse a better system I will continue tipping in cash.

Edited July 16, 2015 by jb456

[sjbdtz]

If cruise lines had the "best interest" in guests they would devise a better system for gratuities. Instead they blindly steal from guests.

 

Example - If a family of 4 are on a 10 night cruise and only eat at the dinning room 4 times they should not be charged the portion of dinning room gratuities ($5pp daily or wtv the amount is) for the other nights. Cruise line would rather steal $120 from that family for a service they did not even use on particular nights!! And you want me to care about the behind the scene assistant trainer 3rd level worker getting a tip when the cruise line is taking advantage? HAH dont think so :)

 

Could be a simple process as in the waiter scans your cruise card when eating in the dinning room. The days the card is not scanned in the dinning room the system automatically removes that portion of the gratuities.

 

But you see cruise lines don't implement anything in their system like that because they DO NOT have you the consumers best interest in mind. All they want is to take your money.

 

Till they diverse a better system I will continue tipping in cash.

 

So you're not eating at all, for 4 days?

 

The buffet staff need to be paid too, as do the bussboys, the hostesses, the dishwashers, etc.

 

Since your fare only covers gas & lodging, these other services are covered by the ... wait for it..... Service Charge.

 

 

Seems like an IDEAL system.

 

 

.

[jb456]

So you're not eating at all, for 4 days?

 

The buffet staff need to be paid too, as do the bussboys, the hostesses, the dishwashers, etc.

 

Since your fare only covers gas & lodging, these other services are covered by the ... wait for it..... Service Charge.

 

 

Seems like an IDEAL system.

 

 

.

 

Where can I find the breakdown on what amount each portion of the daily service goes to for NCL?

 

Other lines list the breakdown. Below is an OLD breakdown for another line.

 

$ 3.70 - Per Day Stateroom Services

 

$ 5.80 - Per Day Dining Room Services

 

$ 2.00 - Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to kitchen, entertainment, guest services and other hotel staff members.

 

 

The way I read that and have read on other cruise critic threads in the past is that amount $5.80 per day is for dinning room ONLY --- Not the buffet.. So in that breakdown (I know it's not NCL breakdown just using as an example) why would a family of 4 have to pay $139.20 for 6 nights at the dinning room that they did not even go to?????????

Edited July 16, 2015 by jb456

[zqvol]

Agree with you - 90% of guests off ship the entire day in a port yet they still charge the same amount as a sea day. Also ridiculous how they can charge a 3 year old the same amount as an adult.

 

Go to guest services, remove them to zero and tip in cash.

 

Why would you think that because a guest is off the ship that the crew would do less. On a port day 99% of all guests eat breakfast and dinner on the ship, and 100 % of the cabins are cleaned, so the workload and the service that is provided is basically the same.

 

As far as the three year old is concerned the DSC should be higher for the infant than the adult. They make more of a mess everywhere.

 

Suggesting removal of the DSC is appropriate is only speeding the cruise lines to make them mandatory and not removable or adjustable.

[bangzoom6877]

Where can I find the breakdown on what amount each portion of the daily service goes to for NCL?

 

Other lines list the breakdown. Below is an OLD breakdown for another line.

 

$ 3.70 - Per Day Stateroom Services

 

$ 5.80 - Per Day Dining Room Services

 

$ 2.00 - Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to kitchen, entertainment, guest services and other hotel staff members.

 

 

The way I read that and have read on other cruise critic threads in the past is that amount $5.80 per day is for dinning room ONLY --- Not the buffet.. So in that breakdown (I know it's not NCL breakdown just using as an example) why would a family of 4 have to pay $139.20 for 6 nights at the dinning room that they did not even go to?????????

 

NCL is different than other cruise lines because of their freestyle concept. You will see servers one day in the dining room, and another day at the buffet. Another time at the pub/24-hr. eatery. They rotate. The NCL service charge definitely covers crew members working at the buffet.

 

Furthermore, your cruise fare also includes unlimited food onboard. If you choose to purchase a meal in port instead of eating dinner on the ship one night at all, should the cruise line refund a portion of your cruise fare too?

Edited July 16, 2015 by bangzoom6877

[bangzoom6877]

Agree with you - 90% of guests off ship the entire day in a port yet they still charge the same amount as a sea day. Also ridiculous how they can charge a 3 year old the same amount as an adult.

 

Go to guest services, remove them to zero and tip in cash.

 

We cruised with our children when they were little. 18 months old, 4 years old. The crew went above and beyond for them. In fact, because of the very attentive service, we tipped extra. Have you ever worked in the service industry? Waiting on tables with small children is a lot more of a challenge than waiting on tables of adults only. And yes, I speak from experience.

[jb456]

NCL is different than other cruise lines because of their freestyle concept. You will see servers one day in the dining room, and another day at the buffet. Another time at the pub/24-hr. eatery. They rotate. The NCL service charge definitely covers crew members working at the buffet.

 

Furthermore, your cruise fare also includes unlimited food onboard. If you choose to purchase a meal in port instead of eating dinner on the ship one night at all, should the cruise line refund a portion of your cruise fare too?

 

I will revert back to my other question I posted above that no one seemed to want to answer........

 

Question -

 

A port day. A family of 4 wake up - get right off the ship - eat breakfast in port, spend the day in port, eat an early supper in port, get back on the ship, go straight to their room to put young ones down, sit on the balcony for a couple of hours then go to bed. Does that justify paying $34 in tips for the day? When the room staff get like $3 a day out of the $13.50?

[jackson bernard]

So somebody should not follow their plans, because YOU don't know if a 3rd party got what they wanted?

 

 

Weird...you're not the 1st party, nor the 3rd... but everybody should follow your direction?

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

 

Go outside and play. School will be here before you know it.

[sjbdtz]

I will revert back to my other question I posted above that no one seemed to want to answer........

 

Question -

 

A port day. A family of 4 wake up - get right off the ship - eat breakfast in port, spend the day in port, eat an early supper in port, get back on the ship, go straight to their room to put young ones down, sit on the balcony for a couple of hours then go to bed. Does that justify paying $34 in tips for the day? When the room staff get like $3 a day out of the $13.50?

 

 

That doesn't happen every day. The days it does happen, are therefore exceptions.

 

Most families eat somewhere, at some time.

 

Besides, you pay taxes for roads. You may not drive on them every day, but you DO require them to be available (plowed, paved, etc.) for you when you choose to opt-in.

 

The taxes don't change just because you choose not to take advantage.

 

 

It's no different. The staff are needed, because they have no way of divining whether you'll visit the dining room, the buffet, or simply sit on the balcony.

 

 

So they may get an easier day....but they still rely on this income to feed their families.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[bangzoom6877]

That doesn't happen every day. The days it does happen, are therefore exceptions.

 

Most families eat somewhere, at some time.

 

Besides, you pay taxes for roads. You may not drive on them every day, but you DO require them to be available (plowed, paved, etc.) for you when you choose to opt-in.

 

The taxes don't change just because you choose not to take advantage.

 

 

It's no different. The staff are needed, because they have no way of divining whether you'll visit the dining room, the buffet, or simply sit on the balcony.

 

 

So they may get an easier day....but they still rely on this income to feed their families.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

 

I agree with this 100%! And I will also add...we do not truly know how NCL or any other cruise line figures out what the DSC should be. They could very well be taking into consideration that some guests might eat in port sometimes when calculating the daily amount. Just because it's paid "per day" doesn't mean they consider all days equal service. Maybe one day the service charge should be $20 and the next day it should be $7. That averages to $13.50.