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Norwegian cruises gratuity increase ?

rbell

By rbell,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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KeithJenner "Live from...." Rare

KeithJenner

Posted
Posted
We are sailing twice with NCL this year -- June and November. We have prepaid our gratuities for the June sailing, so this change won't affect that one. For November, we just asked the TA to include the gratuities for us. It shows up on the invoice we got, but at this point, we have only paid the deposit. It won't get paid off until sometime in August. Since it was already booked through the TA, will those gratuities be grandfathered as well?

 

 

 

Your second cruise should be fine, you will pay the old rate.

 

When people refer to prepaying the DSC, what they actually mean is that it gets added to the final payment. That rate is now fixed.

 

That is how that has worked in the past with these increases.

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kerryincork

kerryincork

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this is an idiotic statement, when you go out to dinner and leave a tip do you ask how much they have to tip out to the bartender or how much they have to tip out to the bus boy or barrack etc, no you don't, you just leave a tip. What is the fascination on who gets what and how much they get, my god. Don't like it don't cruise NCL.

But it is not the same. I would think most people when they give tips to waiters, expect that money to go the waiter and those who help them. Not you give a waiter a tip who then gives money to manager who puts it in their pocket. With NCL for all we know a $1 goes to the crew while $13 furnishes the $50 million bonus of the company directors.

$14 pppd is not that large expense, if actually going to crew , who on the whole work very hard. It's the thought of duplicity, NCL making increases , for our convenience , while using the money increase their own profits. That sticks in people's craw.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Forums mobile app

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Jetlagged787

Jetlagged787

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All listed on the post #7:

 

 

 

The change will definitely not affect you if you prepay, shouldn't anyway as the changes usually come in effect on the first cruise departing on or after the announced date which is April 1, 2017.

 

NCL have said nothing. Even an employee of the TA concerned has not heard the news. Check the date folks. Is this just another employee at thecsameTA having an early joke?

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Justaddvodka68

Justaddvodka68

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I'm with you, I hated the envelopes and hated even more that people just didn't show up for dinner the last night so they didn't have to tip the waitstaff.

 

Agreed. I like knowing it's taken care of and I can extra tip when I want to.

 

As the cost of this goes up, however, I have been trying to time my booking for when DSC is a perk. It's worth slightly more than specialty dining, since they moved that to 3 nights, especially on a longer cruise. (We're doing an 11 day in October.) . I do the beverage package and DSC and just purchase a dining package for however many nights we want to do that.

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KeithJenner "Live from...." Rare

KeithJenner

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NCL have said nothing. Even an employee of the TA concerned has not heard the news. Check the date folks. Is this just another employee at thecsameTA having an early joke?

 

 

 

If it is a TA having a joke then he needs some lessons.

 

Rule 1, don't email customers that prices are going up as a joke.

 

Rule 2, there is no rule 2 as nobody gets past rule 1 and keeps their jobs.

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hoopics

hoopics

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gratuity. ... noun, plural gratuities. a gift of money, over and above payment due for service, as to a waiter or bellhop; tip. something given without claim or demand.

 

wage. ... noun, plural wages. A fixed regular payment earned for work or services, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis.

 

If you are mandating your customers pay a significant defined fee as a condition of carriage, and increasing it to cover your increased cost of operations (e.g. the crew's very reasonable demands for increased compensation in an inflationary period), that fee ceases to be a gratuity. It is asking your customers to cover your payroll costs so that you don't have to raise wages. It utterly defeats the notion of a gratuity as a reward for exceptional service, or a tool for direct feedback to over / under performing individuals in the service industry as to how they're doing. That I am now encouraged to prepay this fee -- before having my first interaction with any of the hard working service team who notionally earn it by keeping me happy -- underscores this.

 

If it weren't for the knowledge that corporate doesn't care, I'd refuse to pay it. But that would only hurt the people who are least able to bear the loss of the money -- hourly workers from poor countries breaking their backs to feed families half a world away. And the cruise line knows this. The entire practice has become so divorced from what it originally represented that it would be comical, except for livelihoods being at stake.

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Justaddvodka68

Justaddvodka68

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$14.00 a day? Considering that is a typical tip for my family of 4 when we go out to dinner, it feels like a steal for all of the service we receive on board from the staff. We also tip above and beyond that because it just doesn't feel sufficient.

 

Needless to say, this is a non issue for me.

 

Exactly. Whenever these threads pop up, I wonder how poorly these complainers must tip on land.

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Justaddvodka68

Justaddvodka68

Posted
Posted
gratuity. ... noun, plural gratuities. a gift of money, over and above payment due for service, as to a waiter or bellhop; tip. something given without claim or demand.

 

wage. ... noun, plural wages. A fixed regular payment earned for work or services, typically paid on a daily or weekly basis.

 

If you are mandating your customers pay a significant defined fee as a condition of carriage, and increasing it to cover your increased cost of operations (e.g. the crew's very reasonable demands for increased compensation in an inflationary period), that fee ceases to be a gratuity.

 

Exactly why it's not called a gratuity and instead called a daily service change.

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hoopics

hoopics

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Exactly why it's not called a gratuity and instead called a daily service change.

 

Oh, legal did their job in the marketing collateral, I grant you that. But here's how ncl.com describes it:

 

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. How much is the charge? Onboard Service Charges are additional.

 

 

In my view, that sure reads like what a typical person would think of as a gratuity. The thing that astounds me is this -- of gratuities they say:

 

 

What about Gratuities?

Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on our ships for service that is generally rendered to all Guests. While you should not feel obligated to offer a gratuity, all of our staff are encouraged to “go the extra mile,” so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities for exceptional or outstanding service if you care to offer them. Also, certain staff positions (e.g., concierge, butler, youth program staff and beverage service) provide service on an individual basis to only some guests and do not benefit from the overall service charge. We encourage those Guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. Additionally, there is an 18% gratuity and spa service charge added for all spa and salon services, as well as an 18% gratuity and beverage service charge added for all beverage purchases and an 18% gratuity and specialty service charge added to all specialty restaurant dining and entertainment based dining. Read more about the service charge.

 

 

Having had to pay a daily charge to cover employee service, I'd have thought it went to all passenger-facing employees. But no. After paying a supplement to cover some but not all wages, NOW I start tipping. How many of these folks who don't share in the DSC end up under-tipped because people wrongly think they've already gotten 18%?

 

As an aside, the email above is real. If you go to NCL all the details of the new program are buried in the FAQ. There appear to be advantages to prepaying for cruises after April 1; the prepay rate appears to be grandfathered, while the onboard rate is not. Classy.

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phillyguy31

phillyguy31

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But it is not the same. I would think most people when they give tips to waiters, expect that money to go the waiter and those who help them. Not you give a waiter a tip who then gives money to manager who puts it in their pocket. With NCL for all we know a $1 goes to the crew while $13 furnishes the $50 million bonus of the company directors.

$14 pppd is not that large expense, if actually going to crew , who on the whole work very hard. It's the thought of duplicity, NCL making increases , for our convenience , while using the money increase their own profits. That sticks in people's craw.

 

 

Ok maybe I am stupid but where is the fact stated that only $1.00 goes to the crew and the rest to corporate greed?

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NLH Arizona

NLH Arizona

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In my view, that sure reads like what a typical person would think of as a gratuity.

With wording like this: are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports, it doesn't sound like a gratuity at all, it sounds like their compensation.
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clskinsfan

clskinsfan

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I thought that the gratuity was an optional thing.

 

 

This right here. I have had bad service and removed money from the DSC in the past. There is nothing stopping anyone from adjusting their tipping amount while on the ship.

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hawkeyetlse

hawkeyetlse

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So, gratuities are going up 49 cents per person per day on our July GA cruise. Am I understanding correctly that if I prepay them before April 1st, I would pay the old price? I haven't seen anything on my booking about this yet.
If they do it like the other times, you can pre-pay at the old rate ($13.50) anytime before sailing. It doesn't have to be before April 1.
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