Increase in gratuity

[Markanddonna]

Just received this:

 

Norwegian Cruise Line is making a nominal adjustment to its daily service charges, effective April 1, 2019. Norwegian's discretionary daily service charges make it easy for guests to provide gratuities to the onboard staff dedicated to delivering superior guest service throughout the cruise.  



The new rates are:

·         $14.99 per person per day for any category up to a mini-suite stateroom

·         $17.99 per person per day for any suite or The Haven category

Any guest that has made a booking by March 31, 2019 will have the option of prepaying their service charges at the current rate if done prior to sail date. Guests with existing cruise reservations who have already pre-paid their service charges at the current rate are not affected.
 

[KeithJenner]

What was it previously? I thought it was already $14.99

[Gershep]

This is ridiculous. They raise them every year. 

[ColeThornton]

7 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

What was it previously? I thought it was already $14.99

 

 

Current rates:

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#what-is-onboard-service-charge

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Current rates:

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#what-is-onboard-service-charge

That link doesn't work for me, as the UK site doesn't have the DSC rates on it.

[Outerdog]

Current Rates:

 

How much are the service charges?

 

For bookings made prior to April 1st, 2018, that prepay their service charges before their sail date:

• • $16.99 USD per person per day for The Haven and Suites;
  • $13.99 USD per person per day for all other stateroom types

Norwegian Sky All-Inclusive and Norwegian Sun All-Inclusive (Port Canaveral sailings only)

• • $21.99 USD per person per day for Suites;
  • $18.99 USD per person per day for all other stateroom types

For bookings made on or after April 1, 2018 or for sailings April 1, 2018 and beyond whose service charges have not been prepaid:

 

For all ships excluding Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Sun (3-5 night sailings departing from Port Canaveral) and Norwegian Joy

• • $17.50 USD per person per day for The Haven and Suites
  • $14.50 USD per person per day for all other stateroom type

Norwegian Sky All-Inclusive and Norwegian Sun All-Inclusive (Port Canaveral sailings only)

• • $22.99 USD per person per day for Suites
  • $19.99 USD per person per day for all other stateroom types

[spanishguy1970]

12 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

Just received this:

 

Norwegian Cruise Line is making a nominal adjustment to its daily service charges, effective April 1, 2019. Norwegian's discretionary daily service charges make it easy for guests to provide gratuities to the onboard staff dedicated to delivering superior guest service throughout the cruise.  



The new rates are:

·         $14.99 per person per day for any category up to a mini-suite stateroom

·         $17.99 per person per day for any suite or The Haven category

Any guest that has made a booking by March 31, 2019 will have the option of prepaying their service charges at the current rate if done prior to sail date. Guests with existing cruise reservations who have already pre-paid their service charges at the current rate are not affected.
 

this is getting ridiculous, when is it enough?  they do this almost every year. Soon, taking cruises wont be the best bang for your buck...

[mking8288]

We just paid $14.50 p/p per day this January (Escape - non-Haven,) figured that another increase is coming this Spring.  

 

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by mking8288

[Casino Comp Chick]

13 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

We just paid $14.50 p/p per day this January (Escape - non-Haven,) figured that another increase is coming this Spring.  

 

 

smdh

[shof515]

Soo glad i added pre-paid gratuities with today current for my next future cruises. After my next two cruises with NCL, i guess i may stop sailing on NCL with all of these price increasing they are doing every 6-12 months.its crazy and insane

[newmexicoNita]

6 minutes ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

smdh

I guess we could have figured this would happen. Yes, it is going up once a year it seems. I understand but I sure don't like it. But then I look at it this way: $3.50 for a 7 day cruise isn't going to kill any of us. In fact most of us might not even notice. To me, it is more the principal than the actual money. I will add for those of you who say, I am not going to sail NCL anymore because of this, check the gratuities on some of the other lines. There is really very little difference. 

[KeithJenner]

2 minutes ago, shof515 said:

Soo glad i added pre-paid gratuities with today current for my next future cruises. After my next two cruises with NCL, i guess i may stop sailing on NCL with all of these price increasing they are doing every 6-12 months.its crazy and insane

It wouldn’t have mattered if you hadn’t prepaid the gratuities, as it can be done any time before sailing.

[mdsgu]

I don't recommend it, but you are allowed to adjust (up or down) the gratuities simply by visiting the Guest Services desk.  No explanation is necessary.

[shof515]

3 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

It wouldn’t have mattered if you hadn’t prepaid the gratuities, as it can be done any time before sailing.

yes..but i tell my travel agent to add it to my booking automatically which is then added to the final payment so i dont even have to think about it otherwise i risk forgetting to pay it online before sail date

[spanishguy1970]

Just now, mdsgu said:

I don't recommend it, but you are allowed to adjust (up or down) the gratuities simply by visiting the Guest Services desk.  No explanation is necessary.

maybe this is why they raise the prices every year, they figure some people will go to the Guest services desk to adjust the gratuity. 😞

[ColinIllinois]

I think a lot of people will just take this in stride and pay it but at the same time the folks who usually tip above and beyond the DSC will stop doing that.   Of course, I said that last time so who really knows what people will do (or cares).

[Peachypooh]

48 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

What was it previously? I thought it was already $14.99

I pre paid for my Encore cruise in the Haven. It was $17.50 pp per day

[littlelulu01]

4 years ago the dsc was $12/day for those in suites and not in suites.  Suite dsc has increased 50% in four years compared to inflation which was a little over 5% during the same time period. If only passenger  income and the ship employees income had increased by 50% in the same period!

 

Service fees on purchasing dinners and drinks and spa went up from 15% to 20% during that period as well as adding the $7.95 room service fee.  

 

I hope ncl is taking care of their employees with all these increases. When passengers are charged such high tip rates in dsc specialty dining and beverage fees, they’re likely not tipping the extra cash they otherwise would. My fear is the ship staff resentment from decreased cash tips. 

[allyfrizzle]

I was pricing out a Sky cruise and noticed the $19.99. So even though it's open bar/no free at sea gratuity... they're still getting you!

[CruisingNole]

4 minutes ago, allyfrizzle said:

I was pricing out a Sky cruise and noticed the $19.99. So even though it's open bar/no free at sea gratuity... they're still getting you!

 

Those are still a great deal, IMO. You're basically paying an extra $5 for your alcohol gratuities. Much better than the $19.80 you'll pay on other NCL ships.

[cdnsteelman]

31 minutes ago, spanishguy1970 said:

maybe this is why they raise the prices every year, they figure some people will go to the Guest services desk to adjust the gratuity.

In this age of big data they can predict with great accuracy what percentage of passengers will reduce or remove the DSC. While I don't often use the term nickel-and-dime, this is exactly that. As @newmexicoNita suggests, the $3.50 per person on a 7 day cruise will be hardly noticed and is in line with what other lines are charging. As such, NCL seems to be adding half-a-buck a day annually and giving it a year to soak.

 

Here's some quick math... the double-occupancy boiler plate guest capacity of NCL's 17 ships is 50,494. For the sake of simplicity let's assume the average annual occupancy at 90% (I have no idea if that's right but it seems reasonable). Without getting into differentials for suites etc. a 50-cent per day per pax increase creates a "nickel-and-dime" revenue stream of slightly under $8.3 million dollars for the year.

 

I don't wish to get into whether that money is actual bookable revenue as a DSC or not but it is fair to say it costs NCL NOTHING to garner another ~$8.3 million annually.

 

 

[allyfrizzle]

4 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

 

Those are still a great deal, IMO. You're basically paying an extra $5 for your alcohol gratuities. Much better than the $19.80 you'll pay on other NCL ships.

Oh you're absolutely right. I'm used to mega ships, I haven't tried the Sky or Sun... any advice?

[fstuff1]

53 minutes ago, mdsgu said:

I don't recommend it, but you are allowed to adjust (up or down) the gratuities simply by visiting the Guest Services desk.  No explanation is necessary.

 

the form asks for a reason why you are removing it.

you just leave it blank?

[CruisingNole]

1 minute ago, allyfrizzle said:

Oh you're absolutely right. I'm used to mega ships, I haven't tried the Sky or Sun... any advice?

 

I did the Sun to Bahamas last May. It was a 3-night (Fri-Mon) with open bar so it's what you'd expect, a booze cruise. Mediocre food and the "open bar" has a limited alcohol selection.  But for the price, it's still worth it. We got an inside guarantee for less than $300pp. Book after final payment for sure unless your schedule isn't flexible. I think after gratuities, taxes, etc it was maybe $900 total. Hard to beat that.

 

You're not going to get the top shelf mixed drinks you might be used to but I was satisfied with Tito's Vodka and Jameson whiskey. TIP: Make sure you specify what liquor you want when you order your drink. If you just ask for a vodka tonic, the bartender will reach straight for the garbage well bottle.

[allyfrizzle]

3 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

 

I did the Sun to Bahamas last May. It was a 3-night (Fri-Mon) with open bar so it's what you'd expect, a booze cruise. Mediocre food and the "open bar" has a limited alcohol selection.  But for the price, it's still worth it. We got an inside guarantee for less than $300pp. Book after final payment for sure unless your schedule isn't flexible. I think after gratuities, taxes, etc it was maybe $900 total. Hard to beat that.

 

You're not going to get the top shelf mixed drinks you might be used to but I was satisfied with Tito's Vodka and Jameson whiskey. TIP: Make sure you specify what liquor you want when you order your drink. If you just ask for a vodka tonic, the bartender will reach straight for the garbage well bottle.

Great advice, thank you. I'm a shot of Jameson and Miller Lite kinda gal... with an occasional mudslide if I'm feeling frisky. I'm trying to convince the husband we can swing an October cruise in addition to the April one we've got coming up.