New DSC Removal Form

[legion3]

Umm, they take 4-6 weeks to mail out a check for refundable OBC and you don't see the potential for abuse they just did to the DSC-Removers? Well, we're find out by the end of September or October, if they actually process within 2 weeks at end of some people's trips.

 

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Abuse? No. You think oddly. They will abuse this by sending the money a few weeks later. OK I guess... most everyone will wait and then like a holiday card get $ in the mail when they don't expect it.

 

Delay is not a big deal, except in your mind. I still get my $ back.

[LMaxwell]

This is true. It will also lead to negative consequences against those who abuse the policy.

 

I don't see that anyone said that NCL was going to "punish" anyone for removing all or part of the DSC. Could you please point out that post.

 

Posted by someone who has been on one cruise ever, on a different line, stating that there will be negative consequences. A very emotional response based on zero fact.

[legion3]

I will neither be dissatisfied nor punished. I will either get my $ back or I won't. Simple as that.

[LMaxwell]

Abuse? No. You think oddly. They will abuse this by sending the money a few weeks later. OK I guess... most everyone will wait and then like a holiday card get $ in the mail when they don't expect it.

 

Delay is not a big deal, except in your mind. I still get my $ back.

 

Yeah, right? If I fill out an online redemption form or rebate form I look how long it will take, and then I wait. I don't expect money to spit out of my computer. And we all know companies are much faster at taking money than refunding it. This is not a new idea or concept.

[NLH Arizona]

Posted by someone who has been on one cruise ever, on a different line, stating that there will be negative consequences. A very emotional response based on zero fact.

Thanks, sorry I missed that post. I seriously doubt if NCL is doing this to punish customers over this.

[NLH Arizona]

Um, what is that even relevant?

NCL's not going to turn down future reservations from people who get refunds.

Who said they were going to turn down future reservations?

[janpo]

Yeah, that advice is way too simple, much to easy to follow and completely happy - Staying angry at NCL because they want payment for services rendered with the fare, involves alot steps and much difficulty plus raging. [emoji4]

 

And come on - you know you can't help but shake your head at a absurdity of how long some stay upset or length they're willing to go to avoid paying their service charges. Its like wow - kinda hard to read the forum without spitting out my tea/coffee/water at times, lol.

 

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You sure it's just tea or coffee?

[rochelle_s]

I don't see that anyone said that NCL was going to "punish" anyone for removing all or part of the DSC. Could you please point out that post.

 

It has been mentioned within this thread and in the thread started by pokerpro5 when he was on board and all of this came to light. There are implications of it here in this thread as well. You yourself have mentioned the company keeping track of those people that remove. Why would they do this? What purpose would it serve?

 

As someone else stated they are not going to deny a cabin to someone who, in the past, has removed their DSC. As long as it is set up the way it is and for its intended purpose then people will be free to exercise their right to adjust as set out in the ticket contract. Just by saying that NCL is keeping a list of these people is implying that they will be tracked and there may be possible consequences for doing so.

 

Exercising one's right should not be held over one's head... implied or otherwise.

 

 

Rochelle

[legion3]

Thanks, sorry I missed that post. I seriously doubt if NCL is doing this to punish customers over this.

 

I know their not. It's a legal way to hopefully hassle people so they won't make the effort and they can keep more of the DSC. Many will forget or fail to be timely and some won't go to the effort. Some will.

 

They seem to be in need of cash, this is one way of hopefully getting it.

 

Considering the fares I see they have for upcoming cruises, its not the only way...

[LMaxwell]

Thanks, sorry I missed that post. I seriously doubt if NCL is doing this to punish customers over this.

 

I always find it best to stick with facts; contracts and official company documents. The emotional response to this before people even gather facts is staggering. But, in this day and age it is not surprising to see people act on feelings and not facts. What is somewhat troubling is those that not only act on emotion but then take delight over something which has no meaning to their lives.

 

I don't see it in the HAL forum, RCI forum, Princess forum, maybe a little bit in the Carnival forum, but the NCL forum is LOADED with people who take delight when a guest doesn't get what they are paid for, or they log in every day to wag a finger and say "nanny nanny poo poo" and hurl invectives. Why? If you don't want to discuss something based on actual fact, why discuss at all? Do you know what I mean?

[NLH Arizona]

Nowhere does it say dissatisfied. But maybe you are right. Maybe DSC can be increased onboard. I don't know at this point. I doubt anyone on this forum knows.

 

And, again, if we are going to base discussions on the contract, let's refer back to the contract.

The form clearly says:

 

We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the service provided to you by our crew members and that we were unable to resolve your concerns through our guest satisfaction program.

 

It doesn't say the word dissatisfied, but unhappy, so I don't think they would give this to someone that wanted to increase or leave their DSC intact.

 

Unhappy: not satisfied or pleased with (a situation).

Dissatisfied: not content or happy with something

[LMaxwell]

The form clearly says:

 

We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the service provided to you by our crew members and that we were unable to resolve your concerns through our guest satisfaction program.

 

It doesn't say the word dissatisfied, but unhappy, so I don't think they would give this to someone that wanted to increase or leave their DSC intact.

 

Unhappy: not satisfied or pleased with (a situation).

Dissatisfied: not content or happy with something

 

That's a basic fallacy and false assumption by NCL. Since it can be modified for any reason they should not jump to the conclusion that anyone is actually unhappy.

 

Do unhappy and dissatisfied mean largely the same thing? Sure. Okay. I'll agree to that. Does it state anywhere you MUST be unhappy or dissatisfied? No. Maybe that is a psychological deterrent to get someone to pause and go "hmm....was I REALLY unhappy with the service?"

[maywell]

Thanks, sorry I missed that post. I seriously doubt if NCL is doing this to punish customers over this.

Outright punish? No. Making them wait 2 weeks or more? Yes, and I can see how that would come across as punishing in some people's eyes....

 

'Processed within 2 weeks of receipt" could mean, a person could had sent it out today, 9/15, NCL techincally didn't really received it until 9/22 to actually processed for whatever reason, then the employee doing the processing decides to take the full 2 weeks and you're not seeing the money until 10/5 or 6. And hopefully NCL will send out out a automatic email with a telephone number to call because there's none whatsoever on the actual form - and if there's no telephone number to the department that processing these forms, will the regular customer reps be able to answer questions? Some good questions to ask...

 

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[NLH Arizona]

It has been mentioned within this thread and in the thread started by pokerpro5 when he was on board and all of this came to light. There are implications of it here in this thread as well. You yourself have mentioned the company keeping track of those people that remove. Why would they do this? What purpose would it serve?

 

As someone else stated they are not going to deny a cabin to someone who, in the past, has removed their DSC. As long as it is set up the way it is and for its intended purpose then people will be free to exercise their right to adjust as set out in the ticket contract. Just by saying that NCL is keeping a list of these people is implying that they will be tracked and there may be possible consequences for doing so.

 

Exercising one's right should not be held over one's head... implied or otherwise.

 

 

Rochelle

Yes, I did say NCL would track it and if you read by threads (here is one: Also, you are right the policy hasn't changed, the procedure for getting money back has. The only thing it does is two fold, (1) it makes the person jump through a few hoops to get their money back and (2) allows NCL to keep track of those customers that do this. I think #2 is great, because I would bet that some have, in the past, just said it was because they didn't feel they got good service and now if the same people continually remove or reduce the DSC, NCL will see the pattern and it will not go against the crew. Good job NCL on both counts!), I never implied that someone would be punished nor has anyone other than the one poster who quoted someone from another line's threads. I said it would be good for the crew and I feel it will be.

 

Not sure why the comment about not denying a cabin to a DSC remover ever came about, as no one ever wrote or implied that.

 

NCL hasn't changed their policy, anyone is still free to reduce or remove the DSC, the only thing they changed is the procedure for someone to get those dollars back.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Suggest you go to FB and see the form. You just have to follow the directions on the form and wait the prescribed amount of time for it to be handled. Nothing on the form indicates that a decision has to be rendered; it is not an appeal process. Fill out form. Send in form. Form gets redeemed.

 

Again, I can't stress this highly enough, the policy has not changed. The contract has not changed. the only change was that now it is handled OFF the ship instead of ON the ship.

 

I agree. If anything this policy makes it easier to remove tips. No embarrassing face to face confrontation. Sure you have to wait for your money but now it's AFTER you get off the ship. People will think heck we won't ever see (insert name here) again. Let's get $250 bucks back.

[rochelle_s]

Outright punish? No. Making them wait 2 weeks or more? Yes, and I can see how that would come across as punishing in some people's eyes....

 

'Processed within 2 weeks of receipt" could mean, a person could had sent it out today, 9/15, NCL techincally didn't really received it until 9/22 to actually processed for whatever reason, then the employee doing the processing decides to take the full 2 weeks and you're not seeing the money until 10/5 or 6. And hopefully NCL will send out out a automatic email with a telephone number to call because there's none whatsoever on the actual form - and if there's no telephone number to the department that processing these forms, will the regular customer reps be able to answer questions? Some good questions to ask...

 

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It is my understanding that the proper way to submit the form is via email which means it is practically instantaneous for them to 'receive'. There is no "technically didn't receive" date. It will be received the day it is sent. The department then has two weeks to process and then there is whatever time it takes for the postal service to deliver the refund.

 

If, as you implied earlier, NCL wants to stick it to the person requesting a refund there are systems in place to prevent those sorts of things. Many email services are able to tell you when an email has been opened and read by the recipient. As long as someone does not delete their sent messages file, then they will have a copy and receipt built into their email that can verify the date it was sent.

 

Frankly I don't think NCL is into these games you envision them playing. They are a large company with much bigger concerns than how to make it harder for a guest to receive a refund.

 

 

Rochelle

[NLH Arizona]

That's a basic fallacy and false assumption by NCL. Since it can be modified for any reason they should not jump to the conclusion that anyone is actually unhappy.

 

Do unhappy and dissatisfied mean largely the same thing? Sure. Okay. I'll agree to that. Does it state anywhere you MUST be unhappy or dissatisfied? No. Maybe that is a psychological deterrent to get someone to pause and go "hmm....was I REALLY unhappy with the service?"

Well, let's look at the FAQ: 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.[/I]

 

I think that NCL thinks (or hopes), wrongly, that one would only remove or reduce the DSC because their service was not up to the passengers standards and could not be fixed. I have to admit that I never heard of folks removing the automatic gratuities that are on their onboard account, until I came on Cruise Critic and mostly on NCL's threads. I knew that folks skipped out on them, before the systems were changed, but had never heard anyone say that they removed them from their onboard account.

 

Well this form does state unhappy, so possibly a suggestion would be for them to make another form that says "We are sorry to hear that you would like to reduce or remove....."

Edited September 15, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[Wendy&Grumpy]

After seeing the form - it doesn't really keep track of the abuse but it does make the person(s) removing it, jump through alot hoops to get their refund back due to the 3 sentences at the bottom. That means NCL can actually claim they didn't receive the form due to server issues or whatever until the 30 day deadline.They can slack off to the last day and then process it 2 weeks later - OUCH.....

 

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Call or follow up with an email afterwards and before the last week.

 

Within two weeks of receipt. - seems pretty straight forward. Heck NCL will likely send a confirm email that they got it automatically.

 

Actually, when I emailed the address provided to request the form, I received an automatic form reply email with a "case" number.

 

So there's no chance of claiming server error unless one doesn't receive that email, and in that case, they should just keep sending until they do!

Edited September 15, 2015 by Wendy&Grumpy

[legion3]

Outright punish? No. Making them wait 2 weeks or more? Yes, and I can see how that would come across as punishing in some people's eyes....

 

'Processed within 2 weeks of receipt" could mean, a person could had sent it out today, 9/15, NCL techincally didn't really received it until 9/22 to actually processed for whatever reason, then the employee doing the processing decides to take the full 2 weeks and you're not seeing the money until 10/5 or 6. And hopefully NCL will send out out a automatic email with a telephone number to call because there's none whatsoever on the actual form - and if there's no telephone number to the department that processing these forms, will the regular customer reps be able to answer questions? Some good questions to ask...

 

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Except emails don't take 7 days to arrive? Do they? I think not.

 

This is simply looking for a way to try to make this out to be a positive for NCL and a negative for those planning to remove DSC. An exercise in making one's own views mainstream. I'm sure the 800 # can connect me. No worries.

[legion3]

Actually, when I emailed the address provided to request the form, I received an automatic form reply email with a "case" number.

 

So there's no chance of claiming server error unless one doesn't receive that email, and in that case, they should just keep sending until they do!

 

Yeah that's what I suspected.

[SeaShark]

That's the first form I've ever seen from NCL on plain white paper. I guess the new management doesn't believe in letterhead.

 

Another cost saving move? [emoji15]

Edited September 15, 2015 by SeaShark

[NLH Arizona]

I agree. If anything this policy makes it easier to remove tips. No embarrassing face to face confrontation. Sure you have to wait for your money but now it's AFTER you get off the ship. People will think heck we won't ever see (insert name here) again. Let's get $250 bucks back.

Are they going to be putting this in every cabin or does one have to go to Guest Service to get a copy. If they have to go to Guest Services, I doubt those that have no intention of removing or reducing the DSC or those that have no service issue would ever know that this form exists. NCL would make a very stupid move if they put this form in all the cabins!!!

[legion3]

Well, let's look at the FAQ: 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.[/I]

 

I think that NCL thinks (or hopes), wrongly, that one would only remove or reduce the DSC because their service was not up to the passengers standards and could not be fixed. I have to admit that I never heard of folks removing the automatic gratuities that are on their onboard account, until I came on Cruise Critic and mostly on NCL's threads. I knew that folks skipped out on them, before the systems were changed, but had never heard anyone say that they removed them from their onboard account.

 

Well this form does state unhappy, so possibly a suggestion would be for them to make another form that says "We are sorry to hear that you would like to reduce or remove....."

 

Service charge or automatic gratuities?

 

Why is irrelevant. Happy or unhappy is subjective.

[legion3]

Are they going to be putting this in every cabin or does one have to go to Guest Service to get a copy. If they have to go to Guest Services, I doubt those that have no intention of removing or reducing the DSC or those that have no service issue would ever know that this form exists. NCL would make a very stupid move if they put this form in all the cabins!!!

 

People know when they have poor service and will go to guest services to complain and the form will appear. CC vets will know to get one when the line is short and hold on to it in case it is needed, poor service or not.

 

Plenty of non CC'ers know how to get $ back.

[NLH Arizona]

People know when they have poor service and will go to guest services to complain and the form will appear. CC vets will know to get one when the line is short and hold on to it in case it is needed, poor service or not.

 

Plenty of non CC'ers know how to get $ back.

Great, that means only a small percentage of a small percent will be removing their DSC.