Removing Gratuity Charges?

[newmexicoNita]

16 hours ago, Shorty6095 said:

Hello all, first time cruiser here!  We'll be on the Pearl from Mar 6-10.  I have been scouring these message boards and finding lots of information!  One thing I've seen mentioned multiple times is that we have the option to remove the gratuity charges from our credit card that we made the reservation with.  We would prefer to tip with cash.  Even if we aren't able to remove the gratuities from the credit card, we'll still tip with cash while on the ship because that is just how we are.  We are very appreciative of those in the service industry and we'd rather put cash in their hand instead of NCL deciding how to divide up gratuity. 

Anyways... is having the gratuity charges removed as simple as calling NCL?

Just signed on and haven't read the responses, but I am pretty sure most will agree with me: you are cheating a lot of people who work behind the scenes if you even think of removing tips. There is a reason most lines have added daily service charges and what do you think that reason is? It is because too many people really were not tipping or not tipping enough. Yes you can have them removed but I am not sure about prior to sailing. But that doesn't mean you should. Please don't !!!!!!!!!!  And yes, they are supposed to turn in their cash tips but I wonder how many really do? We will never have the answer to that one.  I wouldn't blame them if they didn't 

[beerman2]

15 hours ago, Shorty6095 said:

 

What does DSC mean?

Daily Service Charge. As some have mentioned the behind the scenes workers get some of that. ( Laundry workers for example) who you never interact with but do a service for you. 

 

IMO just leave the DCS on and tip cash to those YOU want to give extra too.

 

Heck I remember what a pain it was years ago to put cash in the envelopes the last night of the cruise. The Dining room would be half full because pax didn't want to tip the staff.

[Newleno]

13 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

That's a nice way to spin it to make it seem like I'm an ass for considering removing it.   In the end, we.decided it wasn't worth it but I'll give you a brief answer below.   I think we can all agree that there are occasionally bad staff who act in an inappropriate manner.  Those are the times I think it's ok to remove it for that particular employee.   And I'll also add, since we didn't pursue it, I don't even know if it can been removed only from one person.

 

So we started our 7 day cruise with a pretty long talk with our cabin steward.   I actually thought it was nice though my wife and I both agreed he way over stayed hus welcome and it was a bit awkward.   That turned into "oh, there are my friends" and hin him flowing us into our room 3 times over the next two days.  Now it was uncomfortable and annoying but I still felt he .want well and was just socially inept. 

 

By the 4th day, he took my wife's arm and pulled her into the linen closest twice to tell her secrets.   Clearly not something almost any woman would we be ok with.   I didnt find this out until a few days later.  Stuff like this kept happening.  

 

Finally, on the 2nd to last night he tells us some story about missing dinner and asking if we could have the butler bring 2 orders of wings from o'sheehans at a certain time.  I thought it was extremely inappropriate.   I was so surprised he was asking that I didnt even hear half his story or know what to say.  Then, in front of me, he pulled my wife into the linen closet and shut the door.  Nothing really bad happened or trust me, I'd have made the news from throwing him overboard but my wife was furious and thought he was "rapey". 

 

So yeah, I absolutely can see where guests feel like there are times they don't want to tip.  Qnd truthfully,  we should have reported him so no one else had to deal with that. 

I really appreciate all the hard work of the staff, truly amazing.  Your story, yeah wow, as a frequent cruiser I get it, believe it or not some cruisers love when the staff try to be best friends with you. (not my cup of tea).  Funny cause as a joke between my and my wife, well when we leave our room I will push her back and I will run down the hall trying to avoid the room steward leaving her to deal with the after mass.  Seriously even then sometimes I still hear from the steward, "Mr Billy, Mr Billy" damn foiled again and I have to go back and have a chat.

[Gampy1967]

What I like to do is have the DSC removed and get the equivalent cash in singles.  I then invite all of the applicable personnel (room steward, waiters, etc.) to my room on the last day and throw it in the air so they can battle for the cash gladiator style.  Trust me on this.  It is better than in MMA fight you have ever witnessed.

[Newleno]

13 hours ago, NLH Arizona said:

The following is from a poster who worked in the cruise industry and is in the know:

 

The only thing that is "guaranteed" to a crew member is the minimum total compensation, which is currently $614/month for a 40 hour work week, plus overtime at 125% of the base wage for hours over 40/week. This totals out to about $1500/month. If the base wage, overtime, and DSC totals more than this, per their contract, they get that much, if the DSC is reduced, their wages can drop to the above minimum.

Hmm wonder how accurate this is, plus they do get room/board or do they have to leave the ship each night?  what about healthcare/dental?  the amazing workers I see, seem to work way more than 40 hours per week.  the room steward seems to be on duty 24/7.

[mymirabella]

Sort of related question.I don't want to start a new thread give how controversial these get. 

My oldest son is officially in my in-laws room because we have 3 children and there are no 5 person regular cabins, he will actually be in our room. Will they allow me to remove the DSC from their cabin or do they have to do it? Will they allow 5 peoples DSC in one cabin or do I just give out cash for the 5th person? Will they give us a hard time if the in-laws get their upgrade bid to haven about the lower DSC since he won't be using any of the extra amenities staying with us?

[dcipjr]

4 minutes ago, Newleno said:

Hmm wonder how accurate this is, plus they do get room/board or do they have to leave the ship each night?

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by dcipjr

[Newleno]

11 hours ago, Shorty6095 said:

Thank you to those who understand that my reasoning for asking about removing gratuities, that it has nothing to do with trying to save money.  It has everything to do with being skeptical of NCL taking a cut of the gratuities and not paying a livable wage.  I just assumed that the staff would prefer to be tipped directly with cash.  I'm just a first time cruiser who does not have knowledge about how everything works and I appreciate those who responded without name calling or making assumptions. 

oh this topic, yeah been a lot of drag down fights, like hatfield-Mccoy feud.  dont take anything personnel, just a silly web page with people with nothing to do.  

[erdoran]

51 minutes ago, mymirabella said:

Sort of related question.I don't want to start a new thread give how controversial these get. 

My oldest son is officially in my in-laws room because we have 3 children and there are no 5 person regular cabins, he will actually be in our room. Will they allow me to remove the DSC from their cabin or do they have to do it? Will they allow 5 peoples DSC in one cabin or do I just give out cash for the 5th person? Will they give us a hard time if the in-laws get their upgrade bid to haven about the lower DSC since he won't be using any of the extra amenities staying with us?

My guess is that the DSC doesn't go directly to the staff anyway, and I"m sure each cabin is charged DSC x number of pax, so just leave it alone. The steward from your cabin and the one for your in-laws benefit equally.  Tip your steward a bit extra if he does a decent job, since you are making extra work.   

 

Pay the DSC for your son as part of DSC for in-law's cabin.  If they get their upgrade I don't think (not sure) their DSC goes up; even if it does it's only a couple of dollars per day so just pay it, it's really not that much more money.   

 

And to jump back into the fight - I personally have a problem when someone is accused of "cheating", "stealing", "stiffing" or any one of the offensive, pejorative terms that are used for removing DSC.   The EMPLOYER is cheating, stiffing, stealing etc when they make a portion of the wage of the non-customer facing people depending on the goodwill of the pax, and totally unrelated to their performance.   Pax rightfully consider a gratuity based on SERVICE and believe they are within their rights removing DSC for poor service.  NCL can always call it a "service charge" like they do with UBP and make it non-removable, right?  But then it would be taxed differently because it is no longer optional and therefore, not a gratuity.

[Jachred]

2 hours ago, myjillian said:

If the tips go to the employees...how come they get a set paycheck and it doesn't vary???  Sometimes the ships are full...sometimes not.  We have taken about 70 cruises over the past 22 years over all of the cruise lines from 7 days to 33 days and since this "new" policy ( we cruised for years with the white envelope method ) we have questioned many many employees and the answer has always been the same....their paychecks stay the same !!!  So think about it

 

So from what I researched, it is not a TIP, or for good service. Its to pay employee's wages.   From what I can gather, they used to pay people crap... and said You'll make tips...  Then people stopped tipping... So they raised their wages to keep them happy, but then charged all passengers the Service Charge (Not tip) for the added expense of paying their crew.  While it doesn't go to the crew directly, it seems that instead of making them tipped positions they just get a real check for what they are worth now, and call the rest a service charge because "everyone else" is doing it.. So they have to stay competitive.   Just the way they word it is very weird.. 

 

 

 

[Jachred]

7 minutes ago, erdoran said:

My guess is that the DSC doesn't go directly to the staff anyway, and I"m sure each cabin is charged DSC x number of pax, so just leave it alone. The steward from your cabin and the one for your in-laws benefit equally.  Tip your steward a bit extra if he does a decent job, since you are making extra work.   

 

Pay the DSC for your son as part of DSC for in-law's cabin.  If they get their upgrade I don't think (not sure) their DSC goes up; even if it does it's only a couple of dollars per day so just pay it, it's really not that much more money.   

 

And to jump back into the fight - I personally have a problem when someone is accused of "cheating", "stealing", "stiffing" or any one of the offensive, pejorative terms that are used for removing DSC.   The EMPLOYER is cheating, stiffing, stealing etc when they make a portion of the wage of the non-customer facing people depending on the oodgwill of the pax, and totally unrelated to their performance.   Pax rightfully consider a gratuity based on SERVICE and believe they are within their rights removing DSC for poor service.  NCL can always call it a "service charge" like they do with UBP and make it non-removable, right?  But then it would be taxed differently because it is no longer optional and therefore, not a gratuity.

 

I see it similarly different.  I don't think the crew are affected at all by removing the DSC. Therefore, I would change the sentence to, The CRUISE LINE is t cheating, stiffing, stealing etc when they make a portion of the wage of the non-customer facing people a guilt trip hidden fare increase to the passenger. 

 

 

[mymirabella]

7 minutes ago, erdoran said:

My guess is that the DSC doesn't go directly to the staff anyway, and I"m sure each cabin is charged DSC x number of pax, so just leave it alone. The steward from your cabin and the one for your in-laws benefit equally.  Tip your steward a bit extra if he does a decent job, since you are making extra work.   

 

Pay the DSC for your son as part of DSC for in-law's cabin.  If they get their upgrade I don't think (not sure) their DSC goes up; even if it does it's only a couple of dollars per day so just pay it, it's really not that much more money.   

 Do you have in-laws? I have some of the most amazing in the world and still everything is always more complicated then just pay it as part of their cabin. Also I have OBC that I believe I can use for DSC charges (refundable). I already booked so obviously its not a deal breaker it will just be easier if his charges are not connected to their room. 

 

[Peachypooh]

18 hours ago, Shorty6095 said:

Hello all, first time cruiser here!  We'll be on the Pearl from Mar 6-10.  I have been scouring these message boards and finding lots of information!  One thing I've seen mentioned multiple times is that we have the option to remove the gratuity charges from our credit card that we made the reservation with.  We would prefer to tip with cash.  Even if we aren't able to remove the gratuities from the credit card, we'll still tip with cash while on the ship because that is just how we are.  We are very appreciative of those in the service industry and we'd rather put cash in their hand instead of NCL deciding how to divide up gratuity. 

Anyways... is having the gratuity charges removed as simple as calling NCL?

 

The Pearl has one of the best crews in the fleet. Your DSC covers not only people you interact with

but those behind the scenes like the person who gets rid of fingerprints in the elevators. In other words

the hard working people who don't necessarily interact with guests. I would suggest paying the DSC and

then handing cash to those who serve you and you think do a good job. And yes, not everyone agrees with me

so this is just my sort on the whole gratuity thing.

[dltvermont]

I always leave ours on. I dont necessarily agree with it but just count it as part of my fare.

 

That being said, those of you that get on here and slam people for considering removal, and call them all sorts of names, I hope that when you go to a nice restaurant, when you are done with your dinner, you go the the back of the house and hand out money to the dishwashers, cooks, people that launder the linens etc. If not you are being ultra hypocritical here. I worked for years as a dishwasher when I was younger and never once saw the tips given to the waitstaff divided up with me or the cook staff, prep staff etc.

 

[FranknBeans]

25 minutes ago, Jachred said:

 

I see it similarly different.  I don't think the crew are affected at all by removing the DSC. Therefore, I would change the sentence to, The CRUISE LINE is t cheating, stiffing, stealing etc when they make a portion of the wage of the non-customer facing people a guilt trip hidden fare increase to the passenger. 

 

 

Whether NCL takes a cut I'm not sure but the staff seem to be always happy and accomdating even to the nasty pax.

And you gotta love the posters that just come on CC just to debate their jibber. For most of them they have done no research and have nothing else to do but stir the pot on any subject.

Edited February 27, 2019 by FranknBeans

[Peachypooh]

1 hour ago, Newleno said:

Hmm wonder how accurate this is, plus they do get room/board or do they have to leave the ship each night?  what about healthcare/dental?  the amazing workers I see, seem to work way more than 40 hours per week.  the room steward seems to be on duty 24/7.

Do they have to leave the ship each night? Think about this. If you are on a transatlantic how would this be practical.

In the broader sense I don't know about the benefits per se but they do sleep and eat on the ship.

[Oakman58]

54 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

 

That being said, those of you that get on here and slam people for considering removal, and call them all sorts of names, I hope that when you go to a nice restaurant, when you are done with your dinner, you go the the back of the house and hand out money to the dishwashers, cooks, people that launder the linens etc. If not you are being ultra hypocritical here. I worked for years as a dishwasher when I was younger and never once saw the tips given to the waitstaff divided up with me or the cook staff, prep staff etc.

 

Since you worked in the restaurant business then you know that dishwashers and restaurant cooks get paid at the very least a minimum wage while waitresses/waiters get paid at a lower hourly wage.  Here in MO the minimum wage for waitstaff is $4.30 an hour while the minimum wage for cooks, dishwashers, etc. is $8.60.  Even so, some restaurants require the waitstaff to share a portion of their tips with the others.

 

As to the DSC, I would never remove it even if I had bad service.  I consider it part of the cost of cruising.  I do tip the room steward extra because he/she cleans my messy cabin everyday. 

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Newleno said:

seem to work way more than 40 hours per week.  the room steward seems to be on duty 24/7.

It’s a 80 work week and why the $$$/hr is half. 

[dltvermont]

5 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

Since you worked in the restaurant business then you know that dishwashers and restaurant cooks get paid at the very least a minimum wage while waitresses/waiters get paid at a lower hourly wage.  Here in MO the minimum wage for waitstaff is $4.30 an hour while the minimum wage for cooks, dishwashers, etc. is $8.60.  Even so, some restaurants require the waitstaff to share a portion of their tips with the others.

 

As to the DSC, I would never remove it even if I had bad service.  I consider it part of the cost of cruising.  I do tip the room steward extra because he/she cleans my messy cabin everyday. 

 

Agreed, it really comes down to.... the cruise lines should pay all of the staff properly and then let people recognize special, good service on their own. The crew has no recourse as they arent governed under US law so can pay whatever they want.

[NLH Arizona]

10 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

 

Agreed, it really comes down to.... the cruise lines should pay all of the staff properly and then let people recognize special, good service on their own. The crew has no recourse as they arent governed under US law so can pay whatever they want.

I've said all along, if the cruise line raised the fare to include the DSC, the crew would come out the winners.  Those that tip, will continue to do so for good service and those that removed the DSC and didn't tip, will continue to leave their dollars in their pockets.  I know some would be ticked off if they did this, while others would say that the crew is getting a decent wage, even though they would be getting the same wage as they would have gotten before any change.  I really don't understand why people are okay with paying, say, $300 a day for a cruise, but have such an issue paying $285 a day plus $15 DSC.  It is the same and the crew would get the same wages.

 

Not true that the cruise lines can pay whatever they want.  As Chengkp75 has explained over and over again, the crew is under the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006), which sets the minimum wage for all mariners, not just cruise ship crew.  And he has also said that their compensation is a combination of wages and "incentive" program, which is the DSC.

Edited February 27, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[Jachred]

52 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

I've said all along, if the cruise line raised the fare to include the DSC, the crew would come out the winners.  Those that tip, will continue to do so for good service and those that removed the DSC and didn't tip, will continue to leave their dollars in their pockets.  I know some would be ticked off if they did this, while others would say that the crew is getting a decent wage, even though they would be getting the same wage as they would have gotten before any change.  I really don't understand why people are okay with paying, say, $300 a day for a cruise, but have such an issue paying $285 a day plus $15 DSC.  It is the same and the crew would get the same wages.

 

Not true that the cruise lines can pay whatever they want.  As Chengkp75 has explained over and over again, the crew is under the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC 2006), which sets the minimum wage for all mariners, not just cruise ship crew.  And he has also said that their compensation is a combination of wages and "incentive" program, which is the DSC.

For me it is two fold... 285+15   they market 285, and charge 300.... Therefore is just smoke and mirrors.  But I guess thats more of a legislation issue than a cruise issue since hotels can do it, but not airlines for some reason....     Also they say it goes to the crew.... I don't think it does, to bring it to a larger discussion, when shopping cruise lines, you also have to look and see what the "Crew Fee" is... its just a pain.  I always budget extra above and beyond the cruise fare for this reason.  The reason i would remove it is.  Because I can, because it doesn't hurt anyone but shareholders/NCL,  I feel that the deception and guilt trip is not appropriate, I really don't care if they are making money or not, its in my best interest to keep as much money in my pocket as I can..  

 

Another example is... If you booked a 2000 cruise 1 year out and before final payment, it goes to 1700... Would you still pay 2000 or 1700?   Removing DSC to me is the same as getting a fare drop, not hurting anyone but the NCL, who can adjust how much they charge for the cruises at any time..

 

Again this is the Assumption that the CREW directly get 0% of this money. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by Jachred

[Newleno]

3 hours ago, dcipjr said:

 

Hook, Line, Sinker, 🙂

[Newleno]

2 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

Do they have to leave the ship each night? Think about this. If you are on a transatlantic how would this be practical.

In the broader sense I don't know about the benefits per se but they do sleep and eat on the ship.

Shirley you cant be serious, 🙂

[NLH Arizona]

15 minutes ago, Jachred said:

For me it is two fold... 285+15   they market 285, and charge 300.... Therefore is just smoke and mirrors.  But I guess thats more of a legislation issue than a cruise issue since hotels can do it, but not airlines for some reason....     Also they say it goes to the crew.... I don't think it does, to bring it to a larger discussion, when shopping cruise lines, you also have to look and see what the "Crew Fee" is... its just a pain.  I always budget extra above and beyond the cruise fare for this reason.  The reason i would remove it is.  Because I can, because it doesn't hurt anyone but shareholders/NCL,  I feel that the deception and guilt trip is not appropriate, I really don't care if they are making money or not, its in my best interest to keep as much money in my pocket as I can..  

 

Another example is... If you booked a $ cruise 1 year out and before final payment, it goes to 1700... Would you still pay 2000 or 1700?   Removing DSC to me is the same as getting a fare drop, not hurting anyone but the NCL, who can adjust how much they charge for the cruises at any time..

 

Again this is the Assumption that the CREW directly get 0% of this money. 

 

Your opinion is that removing the DSC only hurts NCL/shareholders, but as Chengkp75, who worked for cruise lines, has said If the base wage, overtime, and DSC totals more than this, per their contract, they get that much, if the DSC is reduced, their wages can drop to the above minimum.  

 

I guess we think differently, I would never remove my DSC to compensate myself for a price drop.

 

    

Edited February 27, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[Jachred]

3 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

Your opinion is that removing the DSC only hurts NCL/shareholders, but as Chengkp75, who worked for cruise lines, has said If the base wage, overtime, and DSC totals more than this, per their contract, they get that much, if the DSC is reduced, their wages can drop to the above minimum.  

 

I guess we think differently, I would never remove my DSC to compensate myself for a price drop.

 

    

I agree its a different way of thinking.  Its not to compensate you for a price drop, its to drop the price.  IE an extra price drop.  Others have stated the crew check stays the same no matter how many pax are onboard.  

 

They can drop to the MINIMUM.  But how do they get over the minimum?  is it 100% DSC, is it a lower wage +DSC... Thats what I am trying to find out... If they always get the min, or does it really go to the crew...