Service charge increase fleetwide

[teamflames]

You are paying for the staff serving you. Not the ship.

 

 

 

Doesn’t explain why staff on the Sun get 6$ more than the other ships?

 

 

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[sandycruzr]

Just curious, POA was in Hawaii when you worked on her so you were entitled to the protection of all American labor laws....right? That is a VERY different experience than what all the workers on other NCL ships experience. No minimum wage and no overtime! I really do hope that NCL is passing the gratuities that we all pay Tom the staff but I am doubtful. I have had 3 separate NCL employees tell me they are not supposed to talk about it but they do not get the full gratuity. They get a small portion. A cabin steward told me it was $1 per day per person in a cabin. Also, with the Beverage packages, the bartenders are NOT getting the gratuity we pay with the package. I was told by 2different bartenders that on NCL they received a very small increase in base pay but they are all losing money in lost tips. On Celebrity I was told the same thing by staff that I know. That all being said, all employees that told me this agreed that they are still better off working on the ships than their home country. I really don’t want to believe it but....quote=gaabbee;55620025]Hey everyone! So I used to work for NCL on the POA back in 2011. I was a junior waiter at the time and we did receive the gratuities in our paychecks. It was never explained to us how it was broken down or divided but in my experience it was about $50 a week. Not much but we did get minimum wage plus overtime. Average was 60-70 hrs a week.

[MizDemeanor]

Doesn’t explain why staff on the Sun get 6$ more than the other ships?

 

 

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The amenities that are included, for example Open Beverage and Dining are built into the cruise fare. It seems cost shave gone up.

 

Our cost on Non-Inclusive NCL ships for these Perks are at an 18% gratuity rate for the 'Free Perks' or $39.54 per day per person for the Unlimted Beverages and the Dining for 3 Specialty meals.

 

At the old rates.

[teamflames]

The amenities that are included, for example Open Beverage and Dining are built into the cruise fare. It seems cost shave gone up.

 

Our cost on Non-Inclusive NCL ships for these Perks are at an 18% gratuity rate for the 'Free Perks' or $39.54 per day per person for the Unlimted Beverages and the Dining for 3 Specialty meals.

 

At the old rates.

 

 

 

Strange because on my Sun booking I have paid the 18% already as I chose drinks under the free at sea. I am confused. I have sent my TA an email.

 

 

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[ElaineKeagy]

I just got the email saying my sailing on the Sun in Dec is affected. It is out of Santiago and says $19.99 a day for an inside! Why is it so high on this basic ship?

 

 

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Call customer service. Your cruise should be 14.50 not 19.99 because you are 1) not sailing from Canaveral 2) longer than 3-4 nights and no Open Bar.

Talk to a supervisor if you need to.

 

 

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[gaabbee]

Just curious, POA was in Hawaii when you worked on her so you were entitled to the protection of all American labor laws....right? That is a VERY different experience than what all the workers on other NCL ships experience. No minimum wage and no overtime! I really do hope that NCL is passing the gratuities that we all pay Tom the staff but I am doubtful. I have had 3 separate NCL employees tell me they are not supposed to talk about it but they do not get the full gratuity. They get a small portion. A cabin steward told me it was $1 per day per person in a cabin. Also, with the Beverage packages, the bartenders are NOT getting the gratuity we pay with the package. I was told by 2different bartenders that on NCL they received a very small increase in base pay but they are all losing money in lost tips. On Celebrity I was told the same thing by staff that I know. That all being said, all employees that told me this agreed that they are still better off working on the ships than their home country. I really don’t want to believe it but....quote=gaabbee;55620025]Hey everyone! So I used to work for NCL on the POA back in 2011. I was a junior waiter at the time and we did receive the gratuities in our paychecks. It was never explained to us how it was broken down or divided but in my experience it was about $50 a week. Not much but we did get minimum wage plus overtime. Average was 60-70 hrs a week.

 

Yes we did fallow US rules and labor laws. We would also get a percentage of the alcohol sales but again nothing was ever explained to us as far as exactly what. NCL could be keeping some but I never saw any numbers saying so. The other ships don't pay as well as the POA did in base pay but as far as I know everything else was similar. With my rough est of 3000 passengers and say $10 pppd when I worked. Divide that by 1500 crew. Seems a little low I guess

[teamflames]

Call customer service. Your cruise should be 14.50 not 19.99 because you are 1) not sailing from Canaveral 2) longer than 3-4 nights and no Open Bar.

Talk to a supervisor if you need to.

 

 

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Will do, thanks

 

 

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[efoote01]

Can u use onboard credits to pay the gratuity charge?

[teamflames]

I feel the gratuity on the specialty dining is a scam. Last year we had a real good waiter on the Breakaway he wasn't charging us tax on drinks in ports and made sure we always had a full glass of wine. Needless to say we asked for him every night. I gave him an extra tip the last night. A couple nights we couldn't have him as our waiter because he was working in a specialty restaurant. He basically told us he usually works the main dining room but if its busier at a specialty restaurant he could be moved there. He said most wait staff is moved around to accommodate crowds.

 

 

 

This made me realize, if the ship serves 4000 diners every night it should't matter where you eat. Their isn't extra staff waiting to work. If everyone ate in the MDR and no one was in the specialty restaurants the wait staff would all be in the MDR. If I only eat at the main dining room my tips are already paid for. If I eat at a specialty restaurant that means I am not eating in the MDR but have already paid a gratuity.

 

 

 

So who keeps the mystery MDR money when you eat at a specialty restaurant.

 

 

 

Exactly, we have made this point to ncl many times onboard and have only been met with silence but acknowledging eyes.

 

 

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[MizDemeanor]

I feel the gratuity on the specialty dining is a scam. Last year we had a real good waiter on the Breakaway he wasn't charging us tax on drinks in ports and made sure we always had a full glass of wine. Needless to say we asked for him every night. I gave him an extra tip the last night. A couple nights we couldn't have him as our waiter because he was working in a specialty restaurant. He basically told us he usually works the main dining room but if its busier at a specialty restaurant he could be moved there. He said most wait staff is moved around to accommodate crowds.

 

This made me realize, if the ship serves 4000 diners every night it should't matter where you eat. Their isn't extra staff waiting to work. If everyone ate in the MDR and no one was in the specialty restaurants the wait staff would all be in the MDR. If I only eat at the main dining room my tips are already paid for. If I eat at a specialty restaurant that means I am not eating in the MDR but have already paid a gratuity.

 

So who keeps the mystery MDR money when you eat at a specialty restaurant.

 

That same wait staff also covers the dining room at breakfast and or lunch or in the buffets. Because you are not using for dinner in the MDR does not mean that they are not working through out your cruise and you are not seeing them.

[teamflames]

Can u use onboard credits to pay the gratuity charge?

 

 

 

We have not been able to on past cruises. Other cruise lines always

 

 

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[HowardK]

Yet the price of the cruises keeps going up as well and those increases should be going to salaries etc...

Pretty soon they are going to charge for the buffet as well! Maybe like even a fee for using a toaster

[pbenjamin]

Good grief, this is making me worry about what kind of people I will encounter on NCL. All this anger about what amounts to an additional $7.14 on a 7 day cruise for two people. Roughly the cost of a Bud Light. Give me a break.

[Georgie562]

Yet the price of the cruises keeps going up as well and those increases should be going to salaries etc...

Pretty soon they are going to charge for the buffet as well! Maybe like even a fee for using a toaster

All them fees gonna be toastin peoples wallets. LOL

;p

 

Up next: Gratuities on UBP and UDP from 20% to 30%.... wait for it :)

[Moby0215]

I think it says as long as you pay before you sail.

 

Still inflation on a NCL cruise is higher than anything else. and it seems like quality has gone down in the last couple years at a steady pace (Mainly food and service).

 

I still love cruising NCL but man it feels like they are sticking it to us.

 

 

 

Prices go up for all kinds of things. Not just cruises and their respective service charges. It’s simple economics. Doesn’t mean “they are sticking it to is”. They will continue to increase prices until they see a decline in bookings.

 

 

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[lisakoivu]

I'm gonna get flamed but, you don't have to pay the increase, you can decline all the service charge or you can pay what you feel is deserved.

 

A HUGE number of people doing that on our cruise last week. I was surprised because I thought you had to apply to Miami or something, but that didn't seem to be the case.

 

Maybe all those refunds are why its going up, lol.

[Mistizoom]

Can u use onboard credits to pay the gratuity charge?

If they are refundable credits, yes. If they are non-refundable credits, no.

[notalandlover]

I feel the gratuity on the specialty dining is a scam. Last year we had a real good waiter on the Breakaway he wasn't charging us tax on drinks in ports and made sure we always had a full glass of wine. Needless to say we asked for him every night. I gave him an extra tip the last night. A couple nights we couldn't have him as our waiter because he was working in a specialty restaurant. He basically told us he usually works the main dining room but if its busier at a specialty restaurant he could be moved there. He said most wait staff is moved around to accommodate crowds.

 

This made me realize, if the ship serves 4000 diners every night it should't matter where you eat. Their isn't extra staff waiting to work. If everyone ate in the MDR and no one was in the specialty restaurants the wait staff would all be in the MDR. If I only eat at the main dining room my tips are already paid for. If I eat at a specialty restaurant that means I am not eating in the MDR but have already paid a gratuity.

 

So who keeps the mystery MDR money when you eat at a specialty restaurant.

 

 

 

You made a good point

[foxgoodrich]

I have calculated this increase, and it will increase our gratuities by $14.28 for two of us on our upcoming 14 night Panama Canal cruise. It works out to be $7.14 per person @ 51 cents per day per person. It is a 3.6% increase in our gratuities.

 

I'm happy to say that I think we can afford an additional $14.28 for our cruise, and I can't say we really mind paying an extra 14 bucks and change (or 51 cents/day times 2) to the staff/crew who serve us, but your mileage may vary.

 

 

(We have the UBP amenity so we don't have to pay for drinks:D...thus we feel generous.;):D;))

Judy

[Regguy]

I have calculated this increase, and it will increase our gratuities by $14.28 for two of us on our upcoming 14 night Panama Canal cruise. It works out to be $7.14 per person @ 51 cents per day per person. It is a 3.6% increase in our gratuities.

 

I'm happy to say that I think we can afford an additional $14.28 for our cruise, and I can't say we really mind paying an extra 14 bucks and change (or 51 cents/day times 2) to the staff/crew who serve us, but your mileage may vary.

 

 

(We have the UBP amenity so we don't have to pay for drinks:D...thus we feel generous.;):D;))

Judy

 

Of course an incremental $14 is affordable to almost everyone. That's why they do it this way. We're on a 16-day, family of 4. So, our "service charge" was already $895.36. It's one thing to say it's "only" another $32.64, but the additional $32.64 is on top of a surplus charge bringing it up to close to a thousand dollars.

 

Also, it's just so deceptive and cynical. It's like hotel resort fees on steroids. Imagine if you got an e-mail from NCL saying, "We know you booked your cruise for $1800, but we decided that we want more money, so your cruise fare is now $1815. I know we promised that it would only be $1800, but really, it's only $15 and you're spending $1800 on your cruise, so you can totally afford it. You'll be charged at the pier, unless you want to prepay the supposedly discretionary part of the cruise fare."

 

It is what it is. I'm spitting into the wind, I know -- it's a waste of time I guess complaining about these really cynical marketing things that hotels and cruise lines, and even airlines now, are doing to make the fare look as low as possible and drive ancillary revenue. The spin is just so insincere.

[Love my butler]

I suspect a change in the ability to adjust the Discretionary Service Charge may be coming soon. NCL keeps jacking the charge up and from all the information I have gathered, the crew is not being rewarded with these increases. More and more passengers seem to be adjusting their Discretionary Service Charge and I have a feeling NCL is looking very hard on how to limit or eliminate the ability.

 

Source: Dozens of cruises on NCL and many crew I consider friends who seem to tell me the truth about what actually happens at NCL.

[MizDemeanor]

Of course an incremental $14 is affordable to almost everyone. That's why they do it this way. We're on a 16-day, family of 4. So, our "service charge" was already $895.36. It's one thing to say it's "only" another $32.64, but the additional $32.64 is on top of a surplus charge bringing it up to close to a thousand dollars.

 

Also, it's just so deceptive and cynical. It's like hotel resort fees on steroids. Imagine if you got an e-mail from NCL saying, "We know you booked your cruise for $1800, but we decided that we want more money, so your cruise fare is now $1815. I know we promised that it would only be $1800, but really, it's only $15 and you're spending $1800 on your cruise, so you can totally afford it. You'll be charged at the pier, unless you want to prepay the supposedly discretionary part of the cruise fare."

 

It is what it is. I'm spitting into the wind, I know -- it's a waste of time I guess complaining about these really cynical marketing things that hotels and cruise lines, and even airlines now, are doing to make the fare look as low as possible and drive ancillary revenue. The spin is just so insincere.

 

That's like kvetching...I have to go on a 16 day cruise we just booked for the four of us...its costing me a fortune already and now I have to pay another $32 out of nowhere....

 

Who is really going to feel sorry for you? :cool:

[Regguy]

That's like kvetching...I have to go on a 16 day cruise we just booked for the four of us...its costing me a fortune already and now I have to pay another $32 out of nowhere....

 

Who is really going to feel sorry for you? :cool:

 

Well, we're very clean and don't require much cleaning after. :0)

 

Yeah, obviously, it's all relative. One thing that's interesting about the service charge is that it's regressive. If they didn't charge it, and they simply charged more in cruise fare to pay their staff appropriately, it is very unlikely they would charge it the same across the board. For our 16-day cruise, there are cabins for 4 for $3,000 and cabins for 4 (non suites) for $14,000. On the lower end of the spectrum, the service charge is nearly 25 percent of the total cruise fare and on the higher it's 7 percent. There's no way it would be priced that way if they were just adding it to the cruise fare. They could never get away with jacking up the insides by $1,000. It would surely be distributed more proportionately. I don't really have a point here, other than to note that for a 16 day cruise on a jewel class, the total service charge that is being paid by passengers is about $450,000. If they did away with the service charge and spread that $450,000 around to collect in other ways, there definitely would be winners and losers over the way they do it now and it would surely be apportioned so that those who pay more would be charged more. Just a minor point.

[MizDemeanor]

Well, we're very clean and don't require much cleaning after. :0)

 

Yeah, obviously, it's all relative. One thing that's interesting about the service charge is that it's regressive. If they didn't charge it, and they simply charged more in cruise fare to pay their staff appropriately, it is very unlikely they would charge it the same across the board. For our 16-day cruise, there are cabins for 4 for $3,000 and cabins for 4 (non suites) for $14,000. On the lower end of the spectrum, the service charge is nearly 25 percent of the total cruise fare and on the higher it's 7 percent. There's no way it would be priced that way if they were just adding it to the cruise fare. They could never get away with jacking up the insides by $1,000. It would surely be distributed more proportionately. I don't really have a point here, other than to note that for a 16 day cruise on a jewel class, the total service charge that is being paid by passengers is about $450,000. If they did away with the service charge and spread that $450,000 around to collect in other ways, there definitely would be winners and losers over the way they do it now and it would surely be apportioned so that those who pay more would be charged more. Just a minor point.

 

 

Ok so lets have some fun....as individuals with 401K plans, do we have Federal wages that do not include 401K contributions or other wages/revenue that is deferred or offset? Of course we do, it our income tax structure.

 

Corporations have revenue limitations that excude certain wage(s) and burden to certain employees that are unapplicable their true INCOME.

 

Can everyone STOP suggesitng that the cruiseline(s), who are big business, have a tax and revenue structure that WE like as though we have a say in it?

 

Tell the little guy in the bodega that you are fed up with tax rules, since you refrain from participating in them in your employer plans. (sarcasm noted....:rolleyes:) and not be a hypocrite.

Edited March 22, 2018 by MizDemeanor

[Regguy]

Ok so lets have some fun....as individuals with 401K plans, do we have Federal wages that do not include 401K contributions or other wages/revenue that is deferred or offset? Of course we do, it our income tax structure.

 

Corporations have revenue limitations that excude certain wage(s) and burden to certain employees that are unapplicable their true INCOME.

 

Can everyone STOP suggesitng that the cruiseline(s), who are big business, have a tax and revenue structure that WE like as though we have a say in it?

 

Tell the little guy in the bodega that you are fed up with tax rules, since you refrain from participating in them in your employer plans. (sarcasm noted....:rolleyes:) and not be a hypocrite.

 

Huh? Did you mean to quote me or are you responding to someone else here.