NCL Cruise Service Charge Refund

[Sam Ting]

BRAVO.......!!!!!

 

Pretty incredible the amount of and kind of gyrations some in here will go through to make themselves feel better about removing the TIPs/DSC....whatever you want to call them.

 

If you feel your service was poor, go to the service desk and change the DSC. Don’t tip anything extra at the bars and restaurants. You don’t need to justify it to us. That’s between you and the customer service agents/crew/staff on board.

 

May I make a suggestion? If you’re going to remove the DSC, help the offending party understand how they fell below your expectations and tell them face to face you are removing the DSC, and tell them why.

 

Here is my reason. It’s allowed under the contract. If they have a problem with that then they need to speak to their employer., who wrote the contact. Nobody is offending anyone.

 

Have a nice cruise!

[Wyoming2010]

They are more than welcome.

 

I have a family member who works in entertainment on the Getaway. He often talks (almost in awe) about how hard the crew in the service industry works. My conscience is clear.

 

An exemplary example of this is the book "Cruise Confidential" by Brian David Bruns. Really opened my eyes to what we don't see behind the scenes and what the crew go through!

[Wyoming2010]

Yes and thank you. He plays Carl Perkins and is the Stage Captain. From everything he says NCL is a stickler for the rules. For him (an actor and musician) it's like being in the Navy. It has not always been easy, but they have been a very good employer for him. Of course he is doing a good job and follows the rules. They expect that from all of their employees. I have found all the employees I have met to be very professional. From everything I hear and see, I just cannot believe NCL is not doing what they say they do.

 

This thread has taken a turn, but I just could not let it go when folks were saying NCL was lying about what they do with the DSC. There is no proof of that-on this thread anyway.

 

This play (unfortunately) was not playing on the Breakaway when we sailed. We saw it on Broadway and would have definitely gone to see it again on board. It's a great musical about a great piece of history. Congrats.

[graphicguy]

Here is my reason. It’s allowed under the contract. If they have a problem with that then they need to speak to their employer., who wrote the contact. Nobody is offending anyone.

 

Have a nice cruise!

Don't tell me. No one here is the right person to tell.

 

Tell the crew and staff your reasoning. Those are the people who will be negatively affected by your reasoning.

[graphicguy]

Thank you!

Quick question.....do the performers "meet and mingle" with the passengers in the vestibule of the theater after the show? I'll give your (and my) regards to your son if they do.

[Seminole1975]

thanks, you are right...although it is "may leave" and "may go to".

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again all for a very POSITIVE and constructive discussion. Isn't this much more effective than the automatic "terrible person, cheapskate" canned response for someone who questions the DSC?

 

Yes, but some people cannot help themselves apparently.

[Sam Ting]

Don't tell me. No one here is the right person to tell.

 

Tell the crew and staff your reasoning. Those are the people who will be negatively affected by your reasoning.

 

Why don’t you tell them?

[Seminole1975]

Quick question.....do the performers "meet and mingle" with the passengers in the vestibule of the theater after the show? I'll give your (and my) regards to your son if they do.

 

Yes. After each show two of them come out for pictures-one on each side of theater doors (never know which show tho and in which combination) They have more time after the 2nd show, because they have to rest a bit between shows. Kurt and the cast get a kick out of it when someone from CC tells them hi from me (Kurt's mom).

[graphicguy]

Yes. After each show two of them come out for pictures-one on each side of theater doors (never know which show tho and in which combination) They have more time after the 2nd show, because they have to rest a bit between shows. Kurt and the cast get a kick out of it when someone from CC tells them hi from me (Kurt's mom).

Great....I'll make it a point to hang around after the late show.

[Sam Ting]

Great....I'll make it a point to hang around after the late show.

 

I’m sure he will be thrilled. LOL.

[erdoran]

The short version of all of this is "WHO CARES?" Pay the DSC and if you have some reason to think the crew does not deserve it then fill out the form (or whatever the method du Jour is) to ask for it back. No need to go through all these absurd justifications to make yourself feel better or look better in someone else's eyes. No one else cares if you refund the DSC, no one cares how much you tip (if any) and you not impressing anyone by tipping 'better' than the next guy. Dad was right, people get silly about money matters.

 

Some of us do care and want to do the "right thing" - us analytical types are like that. It takes all types, and that's what it's about....and given there's so much angst about the whole DSC thing, instead of just removing and tipping directly, or removing for "poor service", I've taken the time to understand so I can make good decisions for myself, my peace of mind, and any social contract or obligation that exists to pay "discretionary" fees over and above my fare.

 

If you don't care, don't bother reading the discussion. I for one appreciate the others on CC who took the time to respond and inform, rather than flame. That's what these boards are supposed to be about !

[SeaShark]

Some of us do care and want to do the "right thing" - us analytical types are like that. It takes all types, and that's what it's about....and given there's so much angst about the whole DSC thing, instead of just removing and tipping directly, or removing for "poor service", I've taken the time to understand so I can make good decisions for myself, my peace of mind, and any social contract or obligation that exists to pay "discretionary" fees over and above my fare.

 

If you don't care, don't bother reading the discussion. I for one appreciate the others on CC who took the time to respond and inform, rather than flame. That's what these boards are supposed to be about !

 

Here is some additional information that will help shed some light on the topic. I'm providing it not only for the informational aspect, but because it will cause some meltdowns among the cheapskates. ;p

 

What differentiates a service charge from a tip/gratuity? Basically, it is a legal definition. A tip is the earned property of the employee to whom it was left. A service charge belongs to the company and the company has discretion over how that service charge is (or isn't) distributed to employees.

 

 

Service charges and tips/gratuities are NOT the same thing. (If they were the same, there would be no reason to differentiate between the two in the FAQ, right?).

 

 

What is a tip or gratuity?

 

These are the general characteristics of a tip/gratuity:

• The payment must be made free from compulsion.
  
• The customer must have the unrestricted right to determine the amount.
  
• The payment should not be the subject of negotiation or dictated by employer policy.
  
• Generally, the customer has the right to determine who receives the payment.
  

What is a Service Charge?

 

Service charges will usually be clearly indicated as such. If any of the above listed traits for a tip are missing, however, then it is usually a service charge. In other words, a service charge is, when:

• The payment is mandatory, or
  
• The customer does not possess the unrestricted right to determine the amount, or
  
• The payment is the subject of negotiation or dictated by employer policy, or
  
• Generally, the customer does not hold the right to determine who receives the payment.
  

In short, if ALL four characteristics are present, then it is a tip. If one or more are not present, then it is a service charge.

[Newleno]

Ok so quick summary of help (lot of pages on this thread) on our next cruise we will reach platinum status. I am not a big fan of ncl, but if the cruise is cheap we hit it, never have I received any money/obc for any complaints over the years. Not once, So we have a plan to make up for all the things that went wrong (example: safe did not work binoculars locked in so we could not see the whales, replaced carpeting in our room said they would do it at 2pm, we went to get changed at 1pm and room already ripped apart, leak/smell in bathroom, things like that etc...)

 

So our plan is not to pay any service charges on this cruise, a one time thing only to make up for all other mistakes of ncl. Please good people what do we need to do. thank you

[bones774]

Ok so quick summary of help (lot of pages on this thread) on our next cruise we will reach platinum status. I am not a big fan of ncl, but if the cruise is cheap we hit it, never have I received any money/obc for any complaints over the years. Not once, So we have a plan to make up for all the things that went wrong (example: safe did not work binoculars locked in so we could not see the whales, replaced carpeting in our room said they would do it at 2pm, we went to get changed at 1pm and room already ripped apart, leak/smell in bathroom, things like that etc...)

 

So our plan is not to pay any service charges on this cruise, a one time thing only to make up for all other mistakes of ncl. Please good people what do we need to do. thank you

 

 

All you need to do is go to front desk and tell them to remove service charges, be careful in your wording and their actions, they may only remove that days' service charge. I know this because when sailing with wife and kids in two different cabins I asked them to remove charges from one cabin and put service charges on my bill and they just did that one days charges and I meant total of the trip.

That being said I think it's a not a proper response. Your best revenge is to just keep sailing on the cheap, don't buy any of their photo packages, spec dining, bingo, alcohol or casino or NCL run excursions.. I do dirt cheap last minute solos, they are not making any money off of me, i'm just a body filling an empty cabin.

You are sure to get flamed here though.

[LMaxwell]

Ok so quick summary of help (lot of pages on this thread) on our next cruise we will reach platinum status. I am not a big fan of ncl, but if the cruise is cheap we hit it, never have I received any money/obc for any complaints over the years. Not once, So we have a plan to make up for all the things that went wrong (example: safe did not work binoculars locked in so we could not see the whales, replaced carpeting in our room said they would do it at 2pm, we went to get changed at 1pm and room already ripped apart, leak/smell in bathroom, things like that etc...)

 

So our plan is not to pay any service charges on this cruise, a one time thing only to make up for all other mistakes of ncl. Please good people what do we need to do. thank you

 

go to the guest services desk. it is as simple as that

[Maniacal Cruiser]

We did complain to guests services about recurring water leakage in the bathroom, so NCL will have a record of our complaints. We didn't know about the option to adjust the service charge until now. Will reducing the service charge affect the salary of the staff? Remember reading somewhere that it may not affect staffs' pay but not sure. Thanks so much.

 

 

The entire DSC goes to the crew members as an incentive program. It will impact whatever the incentive program is but it won't impact their salary.

[Maniacal Cruiser]

Ok so quick summary of help (lot of pages on this thread) on our next cruise we will reach platinum status. I am not a big fan of ncl, but if the cruise is cheap we hit it, never have I received any money/obc for any complaints over the years. Not once, So we have a plan to make up for all the things that went wrong (example: safe did not work binoculars locked in so we could not see the whales, replaced carpeting in our room said they would do it at 2pm, we went to get changed at 1pm and room already ripped apart, leak/smell in bathroom, things like that etc...)

 

So our plan is not to pay any service charges on this cruise, a one time thing only to make up for all other mistakes of ncl. Please good people what do we need to do. thank you

 

So you are going to short change the crew on the current cruise to "make up for" mistake by other crews?

[Newleno]

All you need to do is go to front desk and tell them to remove service charges, be careful in your wording and their actions, they may only remove that days' service charge. I know this because when sailing with wife and kids in two different cabins I asked them to remove charges from one cabin and put service charges on my bill and they just did that one days charges and I meant total of the trip.

That being said I think it's a not a proper response. Your best revenge is to just keep sailing on the cheap, don't buy any of their photo packages, spec dining, bingo, alcohol or casino or NCL run excursions.. I do dirt cheap last minute solos, they are not making any money off of me, i'm just a body filling an empty cabin.

You are sure to get flamed here though.

thank you but we never buy anything anyway so that strategy wont work, in our 70 nights of past ncl cruising. This is a one time deal to ensure fair value.

[NLH Arizona]

So our plan is not to pay any service charges on this cruise, a one time thing only to make up for all other mistakes of ncl. Please good people what do we need to do. thank you

Take a list of all the issues, by cruise, to the front desk and ask for your DSC back.

[Maniacal Cruiser]

thank you but we never buy anything anyway so that strategy wont work, in our 70 nights of past ncl cruising. This is a one time deal to ensure fair value.

 

 

You are ensuring no such thing.

[Newleno]

thank you for the responses, so all this past talk about forms is not necessary? I just tell them this is what we want and that is it?

[bones774]

thank you for the responses, so all this past talk about forms is not necessary? I just tell them this is what we want and that is it?

 

No form when you are standing there in front of desk.

[eddeb]

A 6 year old boy recently asked his parents: "What could you possibly

do before the internet." His parents looked at each other, then answered

their son. "Well son, that's why you have 6 brothers and sisters."

 

Next year the Dsc's will probably be $20 pp per day at the rate they are raising

everything else. NCL used to be Free Style with Kevin, now it is Fee Style

with Andy and Jorge. I love Convenience Fees! They are so convenient for

upper mgmt. Gotta love it folks.

Safe travels everyone.

It's always 5 O'clock on the ship.

 

The Moore's

Tampa Bay :cool:

[L1211]

Ok so quick summary of help (lot of pages on this thread) on our next cruise we will reach platinum status. I am not a big fan of ncl, but if the cruise is cheap we hit it, never have I received any money/obc for any complaints over the years. Not once, So we have a plan to make up for all the things that went wrong (example: safe did not work binoculars locked in so we could not see the whales, replaced carpeting in our room said they would do it at 2pm, we went to get changed at 1pm and room already ripped apart, leak/smell in bathroom, things like that etc...)

 

 

 

So our plan is not to pay any service charges on this cruise, a one time thing only to make up for all other mistakes of ncl. Please good people what do we need to do. thank you

 

 

 

That’s it, stick it to NCL! No. Wait. You are actually sticking it to the wonderful workers who will bust their tails to provide you service all week. That must feel great!! Go you.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[aimish]

Serious question...If DSC is split between a large percentage of the crew, then how would one cabin removing their DSC (or even a few cabins per cruise) really affect any crew member? Seems like they’d lose pennies.

 

Also, wth is NCL doing with all the money they are getting? My fare has literally gone up over $6k in the last couple of years, plus they have raised the DSC. Let them stop building new ships every month and give their employees a raise!