NCL Gratuities

[zitsky]

Browsing the NCL app.  Many of the restaurants list 20% gratuity plus service charge.  I've already paid DSC.  Will I be charged twice?  I have no problem paying what is fair.

[FLAHAM]

Nope.  

[The Other Tom]

Here's my understanding :  DSC does not cover the speciality restaurant (Cagney's, etc) gratuities.  So you will be charged because not everyone eats in those restaurants, so only the people who eat there pay the gratuities.  Now, if you have a dining plan (one of the perks offered by NCL), you have already paid the gratuities and will not be charged again.

[casofilia]

The Daily Service Charge only covers the staff who deal with the whole cruise population.  Staff who only deal with part of the cruise population are thus not covered.  If you pay for an individual meal or drink on board the staff do not get part of the DSC.  However if you have bought or been perked a meal or drink package you will have had to pay the service charge on the package.

[zitsky]

6 minutes ago, casofilia said:

The Daily Service Charge only covers the staff who deal with the whole cruise population.  Staff who only deal with part of the cruise population are thus not covered.  If you pay for an individual meal or drink on board the staff do not get part of the DSC.  However if you have bought or been perked a meal or drink package you will have had to pay the service charge on the package.

 

I *do* have 4 meal dining package and UBP.  I have prepaid DSC, and drink gratuities.  Am I paying 20% on top of all that?  This is confusing. 

[casofilia]

As you have food and drink packages and have paid the gratuities on them you will NOT have to pay the 20%.  The price you were quoted and paid for the dining package includes the 20%

[Outerdog]

None of you really know how the DSC is distributed among the crew. It will be an amazing day when everyone stops pretending that they do.

 

[zitsky]

8 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

None of you really know how the DSC is distributed among the crew. It will be an amazing day when everyone stops pretending that they do.

 

 

Would you like to tell us how it is done?  I don't know.

[casofilia]

None of you really know how the DSC is distributed among the crew.

 

Of course we don't know HOW it is distributed but we do know WHO doesn't get any of it.

[Outerdog]

6 minutes ago, casofilia said:

Of course we don't know HOW it is distributed but we do know WHO doesn't get any of it.

 

No you don't.

 

[DaCruiseBug]

1 hour ago, Outerdog said:

None of you really know how the DSC is distributed among the crew. It will be an amazing day when everyone stops pretending that they do.

 

 

That's because a majority of that service charge goes directly into NCL profits. Only a small amount actually gets redistributed to the workers. I just wish people would understand it's not like when you leave a tip at a restaurant that the waiter gets all of it.

[Cruise Master 55]

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

Browsing the NCL app.  Many of the restaurants list 20% gratuity plus service charge.  I've already paid DSC.  Will I be charged twice?  I have no problem paying what is fair.

 

 

No, the DSC is not a gratuity.  The 20% is.  You will be charged both of these items but neither will be charged twice.

[Cruise Master 55]

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

I *do* have 4 meal dining package and UBP.  I have prepaid DSC, and drink gratuities.  Am I paying 20% on top of all that?  This is confusing. 

 

 

The 20% was paid when you got the SDP and UBP.

[Cruise Master 55]

3 hours ago, Outerdog said:

None of you really know how the DSC is distributed among the crew. It will be an amazing day when everyone stops pretending that they do.

 

 

 

Its actually irrelevant since it is NOT a gratuity.

[Cruise Master 55]

1 hour ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

That's because a majority of that service charge goes directly into NCL profits. Only a small amount actually gets redistributed to the workers. I just wish people would understand it's not like when you leave a tip at a restaurant that the waiter gets all of it.

 

 

100% conjecture and assumption.

[DaCruiseBug]

2 hours ago, Cruise Master 55 said:

 

 

100% conjecture and assumption.

Not assumption at all. I've spoken to an NCL employee down in South Florida that actually told me this and then if you ever email or chat with NCL and ask them point blank they won't say that the 20% all goes to the workers. So yes, I know for sure this is how it works.

[KateQ22003]

1 hour ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Not assumption at all. I've spoken to an NCL employee down in South Florida that actually told me this and then if you ever email or chat with NCL and ask them point blank they won't say that the 20% all goes to the workers. So yes, I know for sure this is how it works.

I second this. I have been told by several waiters on board that they don't get most of the service charges. I have also been told that if you leave a tip on a credit card slip at a specialty restaurant, they don't get this directly either. The only time they get a tip  is if you give it directly to them IN CASH.

[ziggyuk]

1 hour ago, KateQ22003 said:

The only time they get a tip  is if you give it directly to them IN CASH.

 

Let me share a little story.

We used to use a local Chinese restaurant and always left a good cash tip, one day when the owner was not looking a server quietly told us not to ever leave a tip, she explained the owner kept it for themselves!

Over the years we had left a small fortune at that place and all was stolen.

[bones774]

Does the staff know how much you give? Whether you increase or decrease?

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

I *do* have 4 meal dining package and UBP.  I have prepaid DSC, and drink gratuities.  Am I paying 20% on top of all that?  This is confusing. 

If you purchase any additional food, drinks or spa onboard, you pay 20% on top of your charge. Examples include specialty coffees, paid bakery items, energy drinks, bottled waters, bottles of wine, restaurant upcharges (e.g., sushi, dinner shows). 

 

If you only eat and drink using your packages, then there are no additional charges. 

[Cruise Master 55]

7 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Not assumption at all. I've spoken to an NCL employee down in South Florida that actually told me this and then if you ever email or chat with NCL and ask them point blank they won't say that the 20% all goes to the workers. So yes, I know for sure this is how it works.

 

BAL BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH...  You are muddying the waters.  The DSC NCL never says that the DSC goes directly to the employees as cash, nor do they even imply that.  It is part of an employee INCENTIVE PROGRAM (which can be all sorts of things).  In the end it is really of no consequence at all and NCL has no obligation on any level to disclose how specifically the incentives are allocated.  Just smoke and mirrors on the part of some who want an excuse to complain.

The 20% auto gratuity is a different animal.  No employee would know where all of that goes (accounting of course would).  Just because the one employee you talked to did not get all of that 20% does not mean a thing.  As above NCL is under no obligation to disclose to you which employees get what amount.  Still just more reason to when and complain.

 

[Cruise Master 55]

3 hours ago, bones774 said:

Does the staff know how much you give? Whether you increase or decrease?

You can't decrease the auto gratuities.  It is a flat 20%.

[Cruise Master 55]

4 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Let me share a little story.

We used to use a local Chinese restaurant and always left a good cash tip, one day when the owner was not looking a server quietly told us not to ever leave a tip, she explained the owner kept it for themselves!

Over the years we had left a small fortune at that place and all was stolen.

 

 

Not at all relevant to the discussion at hand.

[ColeThornton]

Looks like Maniacal Cruiser is back with another screen name yet again.  

[zitsky]

6 minutes ago, Cruise Master 55 said:

 

 

Not at all relevant to the discussion at hand.

 

I find it very relevant.