DSC cannot be removed onboard anymore

[mjkacmom]

But the other lines tell you exactly how much of your money goes to whom. NCL treats DSC as revenue, CCL does not, it is staff gratuity.

 

The only people who benefit from the DSC are share holders. By paying it and not tipping in cash, you are stiffing the staff.

 

Has it been written anywhere that NCL staff are compensated less than staff on the other ships? Who knows, maybe their base pay is higher, maybe they get bonuses. NCL is not obligated to let me know how they compensate their employees.

 

I also tip my bartenders, room steward, and some servers.

[NMLady]

I plan to remove them and use cash . I already paid 18% for the 7 night dinner at specialty restaurants and refuse to double tip. I will dispute the charge on my credit card if they don't immediately remove them on the ship. This new form is awkward and meant to make it hard on the passenger. Shame on NCL .

 

There is no double tipping since the DSC goes to the "complimentary" dining room servers, not to Specialty dining room servers and not to bar servers.

We prepay our DSC and if there is a service problem --which only happened once-- we take care of it onboard rather than penalize the rest of those in the DSC pool.

[legion3]

Has it been written anywhere that NCL staff are compensated less than staff on the other ships? Who knows, maybe their base pay is higher, maybe they get bonuses. NCL is not obligated to let me know how they compensate their employees.

 

I also tip my bartenders, room steward, and some servers.

 

Somebody is paying them enough that they are willing to do this work. And the wages must be enough to beat what they might make at home.

 

NCl has a contract with them, not me.

[legion3]

There is no double tipping since the DSC goes to the "complimentary" dining room servers, not to Specialty dining room servers and not to bar servers.

We prepay our DSC and if there is a service problem --which only happened once-- we take care of it onboard rather than penalize the rest of those in the DSC pool.

 

What if someone never eats in the complimentary dining rooms?

[nyfltraveler]

Does NCL record the DSC payments as revenue on its books?

[legion3]

Yeah, for you - What about the other cheapskates? :p:D Hehe....

 

Not really relevant. But I suppose getting the $ is really the desired end result.

[Georgeny]

This. Don't like that you have to pay DSC on NCL - then don't sail on NCL, easy peasy.

 

Surely the prefect answer and I agree fully which is why I no linger sail either NCL or RCL. In fact whereas we thought we would be increasing our cruise activity each year eventually spending winter months at sea e opposite is occurring.

 

We sail Royal Princess Oct 1 st 10 day Medley with friends. While we would normally have two or three cruises booked for 2016 already we have NONE!

 

We are voting with our dollar and this is the only way to react to any product that doesn't offer what you are happy with.

 

So NCL, RCL etc can do what they want, I too shall do the same elsewhere.

 

 

George in NY - former cruiseaholic

[legion3]

Does NCL record the DSC payments as revenue on its books?

 

There is some financial bookkeeping reason they won't make it mandatory. Or consumer protection legalities.

Otherwise, given their need for cash, they have demonstrated, why not?

[BlueRiband]

For those interested, the board's industry insider gave this background:

 

Jocap,

 

I agree with you. We need a change. But that change will not be easy.

 

This entire concept of tipping in lieu of regular wages started on the White Star Line in Britain over 100 years ago. Although it has gone through many permutations, the original concept is still basically there; great service staff will receive plenty tips and be happy to stay on the job; poor service staff will not receive very much in the way of tips and be quite happy to leave.

 

But now it is much more complicated than it was a century ago.

 

Most of the tipped crew are not from Britain, but from all over the planet. Each one of the sometimes hundreds of nationalities represented in a ships crew has a different set of tax laws that apply to his or her earnings. In most of those countries, gratuities are not taxed, but earnings are. If passenger fares are increased to cover the gratuities, the total earnings of the service staff will all be taxable - in effect further reducing their salaries.

 

Currently most cruise lines pay tipped employees around US$1 per day plus tips. The staff's official salary is very low, meaning they have little or no tax liability in their home countries. If we change to a salaried system, many countries would not only require the crew to pay income taxes on all those earnings, but would also require the cruise lines to pay local payroll taxes on those total earnings. The cruise lines would be forced to increase your cruise fares much higher to cover the substantial financial losses by the crew and the cruise line companies.

 

Each one of the sometimes hundreds of nationalities represented in a ships crew is a member of a national maritime union - often from their home country. Each union has negotiated a contract with the cruise line, specifying benefits and earnings (including tips).

If the cruise lines change the system of paying their service staff, all the labor contracts with all the unions would have to be renegotiated, which could take decades.

 

My employer just finished a 3 year negotiation with a single labor union that represents about 15% of my crew. The issue was changing the day of the month they got paid. That was the only issue - nothing else.This took three years to negotiate. Can you imagine how long it would take - and how much it would cost - to change the entire earnings system for crewmembers represented by 20 different maritime unions in 20 different countries?

 

And if the tipping concept is removed, we are haunted by an age-old argument from our passengers. If the incentive of tipping is removed, and everyone has a guaranteed salary instead, where is the incentive to do a great job?

Recently enacted Maritime Labor Laws make it nearly impossible to fire a poor employee on a cruise ship. In many cases, if we are able terminate a poor performer, my company is hard-pressed to find a suitable replacement for him. We just do not pay enough anymore to attract top performers.

In most cases it is better to have a warm body doing a poor job, than nobody at all.

 

I still agree with you that some sort of change is desperately needed. But nobody seems to be able to come up with a change that will make the situation better - unless you and I are able to convince your fellow cruisers to pay a 100% surcharge on their cruise fare.

 

...

Auto-tipping was introduced for all the reasons he mentioned. But possibly the biggest reason for the auto-tipping was the fact that the cruise lines with larger ships were marketing their cruises to all of humanity in an effort to fill those larger ships.

In the process they attracted (and continue to attract) a certain percentage of clientele who really cannot afford to cruise - but go anyway.

They are barely able to afford the cruise if they "forget" to tip the staff.

In the late 1980's, into the 1990's, as many as 30% of passengers on a mass market ship "forgot" to leave any tips....

 

The auto-tip acts to shame or otherwise impede the attempts by these "Cheap Charlies" to stiff the service staff in order to afford the cruise.

Most of the major mass market lines now have auto-tipping. On a typical cruise, the number of passengers who go through the trouble to remove the auto tips is under 5%.

 

The tipped service staff are now making more money than they have seen in the past few decades (but not nearly as much as they earned in the 1960's and 1970's when only the wealthy were cruising).

 

When somebody starts moaning about auto-tipping being the source of lower service levels on ships today, they just do not see the big picture...

 

Auto-tipping is an attempt by the cruise lines to solve that problem by making these difficult jobs more financially attractive.

[mjkacmom]

Somebody is paying them enough that they are willing to do this work. And the wages must be enough to beat what they might make at home.

 

NCl has a contract with them, not me.

 

And you have a contract with NCL, which mentions the DSC.

[Jane Don]

There is no double tipping since the DSC goes to the "complimentary" dining room servers, not to Specialty dining room servers and not to bar servers.

We prepay our DSC and if there is a service problem --which only happened once-- we take care of it onboard rather than penalize the rest of those in the DSC pool.

 

THERE IS NO DSC POOL!!!!

 

It is not a gratuity, it is a service charge. The employees make the same whether or not people pay it. If you want someone to receive extra above their salary tripping in cash is the only option.

[legion3]

And you have a contract with NCL, which mentions the DSC.

 

Which allows it to be removed at my discretion. They just made it more complicated perhaps.

 

Now I don't have to waste time in line the last night, so possibly it will be better.

[cruzsnooze]

What if someone never eats in the complimentary dining rooms?

 

Like suites which eat at Cagneys, then it is double tipping because I tip the servers cash in the places I do get service. That is why I will remove the auto tips so I don't double tip. I plan to get the auto tips removed on board without going through hoops. I will go to the highest person in charge and use the concierge if they can help.

Suite guests happen to pay a premium for their real estate and are highly regarded on most cruise lines so will cave in to most suite guests requests.

Edited September 13, 2015 by cruzsnooze

[donsuej]

Why is there a service charge?

The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports.

[Donna_In_India]

Why don't all cruise lines just stop with the nonsense and add the amount directly into everyone's cruise fare? It stopped being a "tip" or "gratuity" when they "suggested" how much I had to pay, who I had to pay it to, not to mention when they automatically charged my account.

 

BTW, I have never stiffed the crew nor have I ever removed the DSC. I just don't like being lied to.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Donna_In_India

[legion3]

Why is there a service charge?

The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports.

 

Work as a team? Combination of salary and incentive programs?

 

That's between them and their crew. DSC appears to be not necessary.

[hpecorari]

From what I can recall the website always said that if there is a problem to please let them know and IF they can't resolve that problem THEN you may adjust your DSC.

 

Only new thing here is:

 

1. You can no longer do it at the GS Desk and must wait until cruise is over

 

2. You have to follow their rules and actually HAVE a problem before adjusting.

 

Harriet

Edited September 13, 2015 by hpecorari

[Leavethekidswithmom]

Like suites which eat at Cagneys, then it is double tipping because I tip the servers cash in the places I do get service. That is why I will remove the auto tips so I don't double tip. I plan to get the auto tips removed on board without going through hoops. I will go to the highest person in charge and use the concierge if they can help.

Suite guests happen to pay a premium for their real estate and are highly regarded on most cruise lines so will cave in to most suite guests requests.

 

 

I'm sure the concierge will make it their priority to help you remove the DSC, just explain to them that you are a big tipper. [emoji57]

[legion3]

From what I can recall the website always said that if there is a problem to please let them know and IF they can't resolve that problem THEN you may adjust your DSC.

 

Only new here is:

 

1. You can no longer do it at the GS Desk and must wait until cruise is over

 

2. You have to follow their rules and actually HAVE a problem before adjusting.

 

Harriet

 

They won't be able to resolve the problem. Trust me. :cool:

[cruzsnooze]

I'm sure the concierge will make it their priority to help you remove the DSC, just explain to them that you are a big tipper. [emoji57]

 

I'm not a big tipper, I'm standard. I use the amounts that RCL and Celebrity suggests because they state how much and to whom.

$3.50 PP PD to cabin attendant

$3.50 pp pd to dining staff

$2 PP PD assistant waiter

I don't the dining room so the head waiter doesn't apply to my tipping. I end up tipping about $11 - $12 per day which is standard, not big , not small.

[legion3]

I'm not a big tipper, I'm standard. I use the amounts that RCL and Celebrity suggests because they state how much and to whom.

$3.50 PP PD to cabin attendant

$3.50 pp pd to dining staff

$2 PP PD assistant waiter

I don't the dining room so the head waiter doesn't apply to my tipping. I end up tipping about $11 - $12 per day which is standard, not big , not small.

 

My original plan was to reduce DSC to something in this range. Now... I may just try out this new policy and just reduce it all. Hmmm... hopefully someone else will post about the outcome of using this system.

[LoveyHowell]

From what I can recall the website always said that if there is a problem to please let them know and IF they can't resolve that problem THEN you may adjust your DSC.

 

Only new here is:

 

1. You can no longer do it at the GS Desk and must wait until cruise is over

 

2. You have to follow their rules and actually HAVE a problem before adjusting.

 

Harriet

 

Point #1 is absolutely correct

 

Point #2 is not correct. Yes, you have to follow their procedure, but you don't have to have a problem. It remains discretionary.

[maywell]

Is there something wrong with you that you feel so superior of your opinion and disregard other peoples opinion. It seems obvious that a significant if not a majority of people disagree with NCL's auto tipping because it does not go to staff that it created a problem for NCL. The number of people who disagree with your point of view is significant but you don't seem to understand there is 2 sides to this story.

 

I must be seeing something different because the majority posting actually agreed with new policy while usual small cast of DSC-Removers are repeating themselves constantly trying to make it seem like its alot of them upset about it when its not. You don't seem to understand that now Guest Services can now deal with those passengers who actually have major service issues and not have to put up with those that want to reduce because they don't want to pay for service.

 

Kudos to NCL for putting end to that stupid nonsense - if you geninuely have a problem and still want to reduce the DSC, then you can get your refund after the trip instead of holding up other people that just want their problem solve but not removing it. Makes the line at Guest Services alot short and makes the investigation into the matter just as short too. That beauty of the new policy - can tell who's having a serious genuine issue and who's being a miserly cheapskate real fast.

 

Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk

[DeBlonde1]

I pre-paid the $336 "DSC" for my trip next month, but this thread really makes me think... I have always paid the recommended amount of DSC/gratuities (or more - back in the day of envelopes and cash). I liked the fact that it was going directly to my room steward and to my servers- and I think the service was better back in the day. Most service in the complimentary dining rooms has been mediocre (at best) on my last 2 NCL trips, and although that can be attributed to having different servers every night that don't get to know you - service should still be better. I feel like giving my room steward cash and tipping the servers based on their service would be a better way to spend my DSC. Now I know the money goes to a few others, but it doesn't look like I can remove any of it in lieu of paying cash with this new system. Plus, I don't think I would go through the hassle. Has any former NCL employees ever commented on the DSC? I am very curious as to what they would say. Not trying to get in the middle of the debate, just saying it really makes me think.

[navybankerteacher]

Of course people who want to remove the DSC should be required to put in writing valid reaso for doing so. Making it easy just made it easy for cheapskates to be cheap. But making it a rebate process exposes NCL's methods: of course the line cannot recapture "tips" once given to staff - so their DSC is clearly an indirect way of increasing line revenue which is directed towards crew compensation.

 

The process could still be handled on board - at a dedicated station on the customer service desk . Sure, people might have to stay in line - but they should be willing to if their complaints about service are serious, and they should not be able to maintain anonynimity in doing so.