Gratuities

[sjbdtz]

I agree. I never asked how much he made....I asked if he gets the tips that I give him. That is not rude. People think they are tipping a server, wouldn't they have a right to know if it actually gets to them? It is my money and my right.I wouldn't leave a penny if it all went right back to the corporation.

 

 

Here's the problem:

 

- You were discussing the DSC with your friend.

 

Then you asked the server about tips.

 

 

They're two different things.

 

 

The DSC is part of his variable compensation package, which supplements his base pay.

 

As for "seeing it", of course he doesn't. It's deposited into his onboard account as part of his payroll.

 

 

.

[jackson bernard]

Here's the problem:

 

 

 

- You were discussing the DSC with your friend.

 

 

 

Then you asked the server about tips.

 

 

 

 

 

They're two different things.

 

 

 

 

 

The DSC is part of his variable compensation package, which supplements his base pay.

 

 

 

As for "seeing it", of course he doesn't. It's deposited into his onboard account as part of his payroll.

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

How do you know this? Do you work in the accounting department for the cruise line?

[bnorris10]

Just my experience as a waitress We got something like 2.13 a hour when I waited tables and if I did not make a least minimum wage with my tips the company was forced to give me extra $$ to bring it up to minimum wage so maybe just maybe the same thing happens on the boats - perhaps they are garunteed to make x amount and if they don't with their tips then NCL gives them the difference and if that is the case then they may want cash so that NCL does not know how much they are making so if this were the case then they would be trying to scam NCL not the customer

[abe3]

You're splitting hairs. You're asking the guy about his pay. It's none of your business. Leave the tip, or don't, that is the limit of your "rights".

 

 

 

So silly to be hung up on rights. Very American-centric thing to say.

 

 

 

By the way, how much money do you make?

 

 

Exactly!

[FranknBeans]

my cousin and i were discussing the concept of prepaid gratuities or a "dsc" while eating at o'sheehans yesterday. We finally decided to ask our waiter if they actually see any of that money and how cash gratuities are handled.

He told us that they never see any money from the dsc or when cruisers write in a tip amount while signing their receipt. If they receive a cash tip, it is theirs to keep. That is another reason to carry small bills and tip your wait staff and bartenders a dollar or two!

 

 

Delete

Edited December 2, 2015 by FranknBeans

[NLH Arizona]

Just my experience as a waitress We got something like 2.13 a hour when I waited tables and if I did not make a least minimum wage with my tips the company was forced to give me extra $$ to bring it up to minimum wage so maybe just maybe the same thing happens on the boats - perhaps they are garunteed to make x amount and if they don't with their tips then NCL gives them the difference and if that is the case then they may want cash so that NCL does not know how much they are making so if this were the case then they would be trying to scam NCL not the customer

 

I would bet that there is a minimum guaranteed salary and if the DSC doesn't cover it, NCL would have to pay it out of their revenue. I don't doubt that some troll for tips, but as a former NCL employee has said, they might not know that their salary comes from the DSC and when someone asks them what the get from the DSC they say none. Or they just say that they get none to those that ask inappropriate personal questions about their compensation.

[loubetti]

Just my experience as a waitress We got something like 2.13 a hour when I waited tables and if I did not make a least minimum wage with my tips the company was forced to give me extra $$ to bring it up to minimum wage so maybe just maybe the same thing happens on the boats - perhaps they are garunteed to make x amount and if they don't with their tips then NCL gives them the difference and if that is the case then they may want cash so that NCL does not know how much they are making so if this were the case then they would be trying to scam NCL not the customer

 

Very wishful thinking!:rolleyes:

 

What you experienced was as a waitress in the USA. Foreign flagged ships do not need to abide by US wage and hour laws, and I can assure you that none do. Figure that your waiter, cabin steward, etc. earn maybe $50 per month + gratuities. There is no minimum wage at sea.

Edited December 2, 2015 by loubetti

[rochelle_s]

I don't think the OP was rude in asking the server if they received a gratuity that is written in on the guest check or handed to them personally in a venue such as O'Sheehan's.

 

There has also been some less than flattering remarks made in regards to the servers response.

 

Personally I don't think the matter is so black and white as many on here would like to believe.

 

First off the server in O'Sheehan's is covered under the DSC to which NCL has their own internal method of distribution. Whether he feels he is receiving this money or not is really between him and his employer. As to a bill or receipt to which a guest could add a gratuity that would be for beverage service in this venue. These amounts are pooled with the gratuities for all beverage services. I have no idea how these funds are distributed but it is very unlikely that the server would ever directly get the entire amount.

 

If food servers did actually get the automatic and extra add on gratuities in their entirety I would imagine you would see some phenomenal beverage service in dining venues. What better way for them to have a direct influence on a supposed increased income?

 

 

Rochelle

[triptolemus]

I guess, for me, the bottom line is I see many, many people on this forum who appear overly concerned, even obsessed, with other people's money. This is usually coupled with a misplaced sympathy for the crew ("poor, hard-working") who evidently are unable to escape the chains of cruise ship slavery lest their families return to eating from dumpsters they find while navigating rivers of feces.

 

The question to the server may not have crossed over into "how much are you paid" but goddamn... why is there so much interest in peeking into someone else's finances? Are they attempting to assuage their privilege guilt?

 

The obsession on this forum with the DSC and tips is undeniably quite bizarre.

Edited December 2, 2015 by triptolemus

[hawkeyetlse]

The obsession on this forum with the DSC and tips is undeniably quite bizarre.

Forget the DSC and the auto-tips for now. Just focus on the additional tips that someone might choose to write in, or leave in cash. This is money that the passenger chooses to give to the server, completely freely. Why is it automatically so wrong to ask the server in what form he/she prefers to receive this money? It has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of their pay or finances.

[Moby0215]

Very wishful thinking!:rolleyes:

 

What you experienced was as a waitress in the USA. Foreign flagged ships do not need to abide by US wage and hour laws, and I can assure you that none do. Figure that your waiter, cabin steward, etc. earn maybe $50 per month + gratuities. There is no minimum wage at sea.

 

 

No minimum wage per law but certainly a minimum guarantee per their contract.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ColinIllinois]

I guess, for me, the bottom line is I see many, many people on this forum who appear overly concerned, even obsessed, with other people's money. This is usually coupled with a misplaced sympathy for the crew ("poor, hard-working") who evidently are unable to escape the chains of cruise ship slavery lest their families return to eating from dumpsters they find while navigating rivers of feces.

 

The question to the server may not have crossed over into "how much are you paid" but goddamn... why is there so much interest in peeking into someone else's finances? Are they attempting to assuage their privilege guilt?

 

The obsession on this forum with the DSC and tips is undeniably quite bizarre.

 

 

Bingo!

[Qwerty731]

You got played. Of course they get the tips that you write on the receipt.

[luddite]

I sure do. You asked and I chose to answer. I asked and you chose not to. It is both of our rights to do that. How Americentric of us :)......adding that so you know I'm laughing and not really getting worked up

 

But...

but.....

but hold on....

why should anyone believe you?

[All-ready2cruise]

But...

but.....

but hold on....

why should anyone believe you?

 

But....

But......

why should anyone care?

 

We do what we feel is right and just.... they do what they feel is right and just... somewhere in the middle we meet.... ;)

 

It's all good, stop worrying.

 

Love life, love cruising... :D

[swedish weave]

It is interesting that those who think they know what is going on try to out talk those who do know what is going on.

 

If you are told something, and you believe it, you are automatically disparaged and called names if you post it on this forum.

 

AND -- It is usually the same few posters who will try to out talk you...

Edited December 3, 2015 by swedish weave

[All-ready2cruise]

It is interesting that those who think they know what is going on try to out talk those who do know what is going on.

 

If you are told something, and you believe it, you are automatically disparaged and called names if you post it on this forum.

 

AND -- It is usually the same few posters who will try to out talk you...

 

So I guess if they just ignore you, it's not such a bad thing, is it?

 

Freedom ... and ... freestyle...

[sjbdtz]

How do you know this? Do you work in the accounting department for the cruise line?

 

 

 

Oh that's easy. I understand how to read plain English, without inserting my own bias into it.

 

Once one can do that, the intent & purpose of the DSC is crystal clear.

 

 

 

.

[Deedee85]

Well, I was just relaying the information that I was told. Whether the waiter was telling the truth or not is debatable but I never expected my post to be so controversial. I will continue to tip in cash in addition to the DSC. I wasn't "played" as some people have stated because I was already planning on tipping him. The answer made no difference.

I was a waitress in highschool and college, perhaps that is why I choose to tip extra. Some customers are demanding and impossible to please. They work hard and deserve it.

[MotherofTrips]

Well, I was just relaying the information that I was told. Whether the waiter was telling the truth or not is debatable but I never expected my post to be so controversial. I will continue to tip in cash in addition to the DSC. I wasn't "played" as some people have stated because I was already planning on tipping him. The answer made no difference.

I was a waitress in highschool and college, perhaps that is why I choose to tip extra. Some customers are demanding and impossible to please. They work hard and deserve it.

 

 

I don't think there was anything wrong with you asking. First of all there are so many posts on cc regarding gratuities and speculation on if they actually receive the tips we give, so I don't know why anyone on here would give you a hard time for asking. I will do al my extra tipping on cash. Thank you

[jackson bernard]

Oh that's easy. I understand how to read plain English, without inserting my own bias into it.

 

 

 

Once one can do that, the intent & purpose of the DSC is crystal clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

No it's anything but crystal clear. What are you talking "aboat"?

[aubreyc1988]

My cousin and I were discussing the concept of prepaid gratuities or a "DSC" while eating at O'Sheehans yesterday. We finally decided to ask our waiter if they actually see any of that money and how cash gratuities are handled.

He told us that they never see any money from the DSC OR when cruisers write in a tip amount while signing their receipt. If they receive a cash tip, it is theirs to keep. That is another reason to carry small bills and tip your wait staff and bartenders a dollar or two!

 

First of all, I don't believe what the waiter told you, just based on my own "Extra" receipt tipping. I think any extra tips on receipts the crew DO receive, they just might pool it, which MANY places in the US do so it's pretty common. It might be true that cash tips are held in higher value, as there is less of a "paper trail", but I can't be certain oft that. And they might not get the DSC directly, but they do get paid an amount they contractually agreed to, which is not my concern.

 

Second of all, I have gone back and forth with myself trying to figure it out in my head, due to many different strange things I have had happen to me with DSC. When doing mock bookings for cruises, on 3 different occasions, I was quoted online with different beverage and dining gratuities than what they should have been, which does make me wonder how much of that 18% beverage gratuity they receive.

 

But then, after thinking for a bit about this, I decided that, in the end, it is NOT my business - NCL tells me "this is what we think is fair for you to pay for DSC" and I AGREE to pay that, just as NCL employees AGREE to whatever salary/tips/commission NCL pays them in their contract. So any extra tipping I do, I do because I want to, not because I think they aren't getting paid what they should be or that they aren't getting their fair share of the DSC or whatever.

 

I find it fascinating the number of tipping threads for cruising. It's not as if we all spend this much time trying to figure out what our waitresses and waiters make on land

[mugtech]

I had heard it said that some servers prefer to not be tipped in cash because of security problems on the ship, would rather you added it to the bill.

[Deedee85]

No it's anything but crystal clear. What are you talking "aboat"?

 

Thank You!

Remember the old envelope system? I miss those days.

[Deedee85]

I had heard it said that some servers prefer to not be tipped in cash because of security problems on the ship, would rather you added it to the bill.

Interesting. Perhaps it is a personal preference.