LAST STRAW! My Last Cruise With Norwegian!

[janpo]

It seems some people just love to rant, others probably think by coming on CC others will follow and then there are those who make mountains out of mole hills. Anyone who would not cruise because of a small service charge doesn't seem to be the most pleasant person in the world.

 

 

Yes, I'm sure its just over that. Couldn't be all the other upcharges they've done and charging for previously included things these last few months. Probably why the OP put Last straw in the title of this thread. Couldn't be that, has to be just what you say.:rolleyes:

Edited December 1, 2015 by janpo

[fshagan]

Usually you'd recognize the revenue when the product ships....or in this case, when the passenger ships.

 

So if you had an order you couldn't fulfill, you wouldn't count that as income until you were able to fulfill.

 

.

 

I'm just thinking that they probably have to use accrual accounting and credit an unearned (or deferred) revenue account at the time they receive the payment for a future item (like cruise fare, DSC, etc.) Then the funds are recognized as (earned) revenue at the time of the cruise.

 

In a lot of companies they recognize a booked but not paid for item the same way. Usually if the booking or the money is given within a short time period, like 30 days or less before anticipated receipt, they simply book it as revenue.

 

The IRS allows American companies some latitude in how they handle the accounting side, but I think in all cases the unearned revenue is included in gross income for federal taxes. A lot of people here have expressed the view that NCL is probably using the pre-payment tax free and earning a lot of interest on it. But they are having to include it as income for tax purposes, so it isn't tax free. And looking at their annual reports I don't see a lot of interest income on the books either.

 

I'm not sure about the cruise industry, though. I've heard each ship is it's own business entity, with separate accounting, so that may affect how the numbers appear on the annual report for the corporation.

[SuiteCruiser]

I'm just thinking that they probably have to use accrual accounting and credit an unearned (or deferred) revenue account at the time they receive the payment for a future item (like cruise fare, DSC, etc.) Then the funds are recognized as (earned) revenue at the time of the cruise.

 

In a lot of companies they recognize a booked but not paid for item the same way. Usually if the booking or the money is given within a short time period, like 30 days or less before anticipated receipt, they simply book it as revenue.

 

The IRS allows American companies some latitude in how they handle the accounting side, but I think in all cases the unearned revenue is included in gross income for federal taxes. A lot of people here have expressed the view that NCL is probably using the pre-payment tax free and earning a lot of interest on it. But they are having to include it as income for tax purposes, so it isn't tax free. And looking at their annual reports I don't see a lot of interest income on the books either.

 

I'm not sure about the cruise industry, though. I've heard each ship is it's own business entity, with separate accounting, so that may affect how the numbers appear on the annual report for the corporation.

 

Unless things work very differently in the US, unearned or deferred income is not taxed, it's only taxed when it's recognized as income.

 

The revenues and expeditures for the cruise need to be recorded in the same fiscal year or period (the matching principle).

Edited December 1, 2015 by SuiteCruiser

[abe3]

It seems some people just love to rant, others probably think by coming on CC others will follow and then there are those who make mountains out of mole hills. Anyone who would not cruise because of a small service charge doesn't seem to be the most pleasant person in the world.

 

 

Absolutely right!

[takeadip]

to the OP...i feel your pain..the only thing constant is change. I think you owe it to yourself to stand by your declaration and abandon NCL. They will no longer benefit from your money. Might I suggest a cruiseline that has not made any changes since inception....oh wait...i seriously cant think of any....because....wait for it...the only thing constant is change...yes it stinks when you feel like NCL cost saving (or making) measures effects you directly..I feel your pain...i booked NCL Breakaway for 3/6/16 and told our son about the Nickelodeon characters being there on the boat...now that is gone and i have some 'splaining to do...

 

Just roll with it..embrace it...and when you get the chance..tell as many as you know....but everyone deals with it..

 

Best,

_Mark

[SuiteCruiser]

to the OP...i feel your pain..the only thing constant is change. I think you owe it to yourself to stand by your declaration and abandon NCL. They will no longer benefit from your money. Might I suggest a cruiseline that has not made any changes since inception....oh wait...i seriously cant think of any....because....wait for it...the only thing constant is change...yes it stinks when you feel like NCL cost saving (or making) measures effects you directly..I feel your pain...i booked NCL Breakaway for 3/6/16 and told our son about the Nickelodeon characters being there on the boat...now that is gone and i have some 'splaining to do...

 

Just roll with it..embrace it...and when you get the chance..tell as many as you know....but everyone deals with it..

 

Best,

_Mark

 

Really?? Change is constant has an entirely different meaning on NCL.

[insidecabin]

Are the tax rates that bad in their home countries that ALL the crew would quit?

 

According to many post on here the crew can make peanuts at best in their home countries. If that is the case you say they can make more money staying at home compared making peanuts oposed to having their $2K - $3k a month being taxed?

 

Bill

 

IF we look at the nation that probably has the highest population of ship workers Philippine.

 

http://seafarertimes.com/2011-12/node/321

 

According to that they would be eligible for no tax on overseas earnings.

 

Anyone with a more recent reference or any evidence that the income would be taxable?

[tjt87]

OK Guys think yourselves lucky.

 

 

You are not Leeds United fans (Believe me I should know) they have just reveled an additional £5 has been added to the previously announced ticket prices. mandatory £5.00 pie and a pint tax, regardless of whether you want one or not!!!

 

 

 

I kid you not, can you imagine how crazy this board would go if NCL tried this

 

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/leeds-united-face-fan-backlash-6937422

[abe3]

OK Guys think yourselves lucky.

 

 

You are not Leeds United fans (Believe me I should know) they have just reveled an additional £5 has been added to the previously announced ticket prices. mandatory £5.00 pie and a pint tax, regardless of whether you want one or not!!!

 

 

 

I kid you not, can you imagine how crazy this board would go if NCL tried this

 

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/leeds-united-face-fan-backlash-6937422

 

 

Fees are everywhere now. Just the way things are now and have to learn to adjust with the times. I like when I buy a tickets for monster jam for my son and I and the service fees are just as much as the ticket on ticketmaster. to avoid the large fee I go to the stadium to purchase the tickets for a smaller convenience fee. There are ways to get around paying more if you are smart but sometimes you just can't get around fees and that is just the way it is.

Edited December 2, 2015 by abe3

[4774Papa]

We have never heard of M'vile. Our last NCL cruise was October 2014. It is hard to imagine giving up on NCL because of this!

[hpecorari]

We have never heard of M'vile. Our last NCL cruise was October 2014. It is hard to imagine giving up on NCL because of this!

 

It's a new venue on the new ship Escape.

 

I don't actually believe many are giving up on NCL *because* of this. I think it's a part of the whole - in regard to changes that have been happening of late.

 

Harriet

[beerman2]

Fees are everywhere now. Just the way things are now and have to learn to adjust with the times. I like when I buy a tickets for monster jam for my son and I and the service fees are just as much as the ticket on ticketmaster. to avoid the large fee I go to the stadium to purchase the tickets for a smaller convenience fee. There are ways to get around paying more if you are smart but sometimes you just can't get around fees and that is just the way it is.

 

So true and makes you wonder what is next. You go to pick up tickets and THEY charge you a convenience fee. As far as Margaritaville goes , for us it's more about cruising with friends, than if I can get a burger. Let us sit outside with an adult beverage and we will be happy!

[Crusin6]

Really?? Change is constant has an entirely different meaning on NCL.

 

 

Exactly! On ncl it means we have a captive audience so we can do whatever we want!

 

Totally off topic but I had this sort of experience with my 4 kids high school education

 

The 1st 3 went to a parochial high school on partial academic scholarships....I won't go into the real nitty gritty...but....guess what? By the time they reached 12 th grade for some reason....the AP and 4 th year level courses we not being offered When I asked they said low enrollment. Ha! All of a sudden they "require" 20 kids in a class to run these courses when for the previous 3 years 12 to 15 students was sufficient. So the "captive" 12 th graders lost out on valuable AP and other courses that colleges need to see a kid taking. The school knew a parent wasn't pulling a senior out of course.

 

Btw they regularly had 15 kids register for the 4 th year courses but of course they all of a sudden wanted 20....of course the 9th and 10 th graders were put in classes of 15 or less and any and every accommodation was made for them because they weren't "captive" and parents could pull them out. 11th grade is highly regulated from an academic standpoint where I live so the school must offer certain courses or risk losing accreditation. Lol so they never played around with that grade.

 

Btw child #4 is flourishing at public high school where they appreciate the fact that we the taxpayers pay their salaries Of course my tuition paid the salaries at the other school but they seemed to not care. Other parents felt the same as me it should be noted. Just sayin

 

Now I understand business but I also understand when business is conducted in an underhanded way

 

The problem is that so many people just can't comprehend that businesses...including...ncl...could act in such a way and those people tend to just forgive underhanded pro stockholder actions

 

I don't think the giddy pax taking their cruise of a lifetime understands the company puts stockholders 1st and pax around 4th Or 5th

 

They dangle the carrot to get you to book and for the most part the cruises are excellent....but once you are captive on the ship...they can do what they want

 

Now I know they don't try to hurt pax or anything but ncl with its incredible lack of communication skills just shows how little they care

 

 

An obc for each pax who booked prior to M vile going $$$ should be the minimum ncl does and anyone who defends that ncl should NOT do this is just not able to comprehend what bait and switch means and is probably an easy target for telemarketing scams too. Lol

 

 

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[Crusin6]

I'm just thinking that they probably have to use accrual accounting and credit an unearned (or deferred) revenue account at the time they receive the payment for a future item (like cruise fare, DSC, etc.) Then the funds are recognized as (earned) revenue at the time of the cruise.

 

In a lot of companies they recognize a booked but not paid for item the same way. Usually if the booking or the money is given within a short time period, like 30 days or less before anticipated receipt, they simply book it as revenue.

 

The IRS allows American companies some latitude in how they handle the accounting side, but I think in all cases the unearned revenue is included in gross income for federal taxes. A lot of people here have expressed the view that NCL is probably using the pre-payment tax free and earning a lot of interest on it. But they are having to include it as income for tax purposes, so it isn't tax free. And looking at their annual reports I don't see a lot of interest income on the books either.

 

I'm not sure about the cruise industry, though. I've heard each ship is it's own business entity, with separate accounting, so that may affect how the numbers appear on the annual report for the corporation.

 

 

I totally understand accounting as I teach it but in the case of ncl I really think that regarding the cash influx from the prepayments of dsc, that it was just a way for them to float themselves a loan without going through a financial institution.

 

 

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[insidecabin]

It's a new venue on the new ship Escape.

 

I don't actually believe many are giving up on NCL *because* of this. I think it's a part of the whole - in regard to changes that have been happening of late.

 

Harriet

 

Not really new just a name/menu change of an alfresco option on ships.

 

Escape has no(included) outside place to get food to have an outside eat experience except the Buffet.

 

Allthough we don't use them all the time we like the ships with this type of option

 

eg. Jewel class with the great outdoors, pool grill and and the mini grill on the deck above the pool which was great for an outdoor snack on returning to ths ship and still be in open air.

[cruise luvr]

Sorry for you if that is why you won't go NCL any longer. Your choice but kinda sounds silly. IMHO

[SuiteCruiser]

Sorry for you if that is why you won't go NCL any longer. Your choice but kinda sounds silly. IMHO

 

Again, the title is "Last Straw" it's been acculmulation of changes and not just this one. Having a dozen things changed out from under you, which negatively impact your vacation, is not a silly reason not to go on NCL anymore.

[sjbdtz]

Exactly! On ncl it means we have a captive audience so we can do whatever we want!

 

 

 

I've never understood why so many people fixated on this one FDR comment. All cruise ships from all lines have a captive audience.

 

All he was saying is let's see what the free-market allows me to charge - I'm not competing with anybody, creating artificial downward pressure.

 

And he may go a Quarter where revenues are down, if he went too far in the wrong direction. Then he'll adjust and find a level floor and revenues will climb and the ships will fill again.

 

 

And the angst will eventually dissipate.

 

 

I hope.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

[my_crib_too]

We will enjoy our cruise but that's it. There are other passenger friendly cruise lines and other vacation options available other than NCL.

 

So what cruise line are you considering next? In your mind, what cruise line is more passenger friendly? Just asking...

[GROOVERS]

My old man was elf employed, had an old man working for him that complained all the darn time...Each and every time the guy started complaining, Dad would say, "Gripe a little bit Walt, go ahead GRIPE!"

 

Complainer's are a dime a dozen...Maybe, just "MAYBE" those griper's will go on some other ship, I am quite sure it won't hurt business with NCL. There are plenty of cruiser's out there, they are not going away, in fact the number's are growing, on all the lines!

 

The worst CRUISE I have ever been on was just FUNDERFUL!

[insidecabin]

I've never understood why so many people fixated on this one FDR comment. All cruise ships from all lines have a captive audience.

 

All he was saying is let's see what the free-market allows me to charge - I'm not competing with anybody, creating artificial downward pressure.

 

And he may go a Quarter where revenues are down, if he went too far in the wrong direction. Then he'll adjust and find a level floor and revenues will climb and the ships will fill again.

 

And the angst will eventually dissipate.

 

I hope.

 

Stephen.

 

I don't think they have to wait for real revenues to fall they can predict quite a long way ahead

 

They can monitor the forward bookings and the cancellation rates along side the real revenues, they aslo have the cruise nexxt data that is a forward booking to be made.

 

There is a lot of data although the increase in forward bookings since choice may have skewed the numbers a bit but we are a year into that now.

 

If this data show a forward trend that might impact revenues they can tweek the choice or offer some other incentive to get the bookings back on track.

 

With the UK/EU opening up choice to longer cruises that could stimulate some bookings especialy for the Star far east which has quite a few excluded.

Edited December 2, 2015 by insidecabin

[sparks1093]

I've never understood why so many people fixated on this one FDR comment. All cruise ships from all lines have a captive audience.

 

All he was saying is let's see what the free-market allows me to charge - I'm not competing with anybody, creating artificial downward pressure.

 

And he may go a Quarter where revenues are down, if he went too far in the wrong direction. Then he'll adjust and find a level floor and revenues will climb and the ships will fill again.

 

 

And the angst will eventually dissipate.

 

 

I hope.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

 

For me it represented a major shift in how I perceived that I was perceived by NCL- under Sheehan I felt I was a valued customer and "family" member (yes, I know the "family" thing is a marketing gimick), whereas Del Rio's comments and strategies make me feel the opposite. Sheehan built up a bit of goodwill with me to the point that I would be willing to pay a bit more for the NCL product, Del Rio has dashed that on the rocks and I'll only cruise NCL if the price is the same or lower as any of the competition. It's not the end of the world by any means.

[SuiteCruiser]

I've never understood why so many people fixated on this one FDR comment. All cruise ships from all lines have a captive audience.

 

All he was saying is let's see what the free-market allows me to charge - I'm not competing with anybody, creating artificial downward pressure.

 

And he may go a Quarter where revenues are down, if he went too far in the wrong direction. Then he'll adjust and find a level floor and revenues will climb and the ships will fill again.

 

 

And the angst will eventually dissipate.

 

 

I hope.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

.

 

 

I think it's less that he made the comment once, and more the fact that he keeps showing us he really means it. Margaritaville and the way it was handled was just the last example.

[NLH Arizona]

Why do I get the feeling that if Mr. Sheehan, instead of Mr. Del Rio, would have made the captive audience comment and made all these changes, those that have issues, would be saying what a great businessman he is and how he cares so much for their customers.

[janpo]

Why do I get the feeling that if Mr. Sheehan, instead of Mr. Del Rio, would have made the captive audience comment and made all these changes, those that have issues, would be saying what a great businessman he is and how he cares so much for their customers.

 

 

And..you're wrong.