Opting out of paying Daily Service Charge

[KeithJenner]

3 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

You can prepay them. Can’t our friends in the UK do basic math?

When we do an online booking, the price that is quoted includes the DSC. You have to specifically opt out of prepaying it, so it is very easy to see what the total is including the DSC.

[PTC DAWG]

18 minutes ago, liverpoollad said:

John, because the replies are from US folk who are used to paying grats.,

 

Here in the UK  in 2017 NCL changed the gratuity rule & stated that to attract more UK cruises the gratuities would be included in the all-inclusive deals. I too have just booked a cruise with them & find that this is not the case & there is a charge.

This is most annoying & do not know when this changed, you get no help from NCL on this issue.

What our friends in the USA don't understand that most Brits & Aussies hate the paying these gratuities & would prefer them included in the price & then we get a better idea of the end price.

The last three cruises I have done the gratuities were included.

Seriously, what’s the difference, it costs what it cost.  Tipping and gratuities have always been a part of cruising.  When in Rome...

[liverpoollad]

mjka.  You are near the truth that some Brits., do remove all the charge.

Why & when  they stopped having the Grats., included it I don't know.

We were probably paying more for the cruise but at least the Grats, were included, which we prefer.

[BirdTravels]

7 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

You can prepay them. Can’t our friends in the UK do basic math?

The “issue” is back in 2017, it was included in the cruise fare. Last year, they made it a separate charge which our friends in the UK and AUS what to opt out of to save a quid. 

[SeaShark]

13 minutes ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

Exactly where.? There is not one comment that is answering my question which was "NCL however did say that the charge was discretionary and that you could go to guest services on the first day, complete a form and then there would be no charge on your account". Is this easy enough to do but nobody has yet answered

 

Actually, if you go back and re-read the first post, you will see that there is not one single "?" in it...thus, no questions were asked.

 

You did, however, say that "Any help would be appreciated"...ANY...yet it seems you aren't appreciative of what help you've been given.

 

If you question is about ease, let me answer...NO, IT IS NOT EASY. Instead of just paying at the end (or pre-paying beforehand) and being done with it, this requires that you spend time going to guest services, standing in a long line, filling out a form, monitoring your account to ensure that everything happens properly, and...on top of that...carrying cash and going around and tipping everyone individually. So, NO...that isn't easy...just pay the DSC and stop worrying about it...THAT is easy.

 

Again...WHY would anyone want to go through all of that when you can just pay and be done?

[zqvol]

4 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

All I can say is: remember if you opt out there will be many, who work behind the scenes that will not benefit from the tips you will not be leaving. These are those who we never meet but are part of the tipping pool. On the other hand if you do opt out you can tip those you want at a much higher rate. I personally would never opt out. 

 

Completely untrue. The DSC goes to NCL. All crew is paid a salary. The only people who might get a little less each week would be the waiters and stewards.

 

There is no such thing as a tipping pool. The rules for paying mariners changed about  5 or 6 years ago and  you are talking about the way things used to be, not the way theey  are now.

 

Also the OP is in GB, their booking rules are different than in the US.

[JOHNHOWARTH2]

24 minutes ago, liverpoollad said:

mjka.  You are near the truth that some Brits., do remove all the charge.

Why & when  they stopped having the Grats., included it I don't know.

We were probably paying more for the cruise but at least the Grats, were included, which we prefer.

Thanks Liverpoollad for actually answering my question. I guess it takes a good Northerner to actually understand what I was asking

[liverpoollad]

John & European champions😀😁😀

[JOHNHOWARTH2]

29 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Actually, if you go back and re-read the first post, you will see that there is not one single "?" in it...thus, no questions were asked.

 

 

Is this not a question "but all I am trying to establish is if this practice actually works and if anybody has successfully had the discretionary DSC waived from their account."

[NLH Arizona]

1 hour ago, liverpoollad said:

John, because the replies are from US folk who are used to paying grats.,

 

What our friends in the USA don't understand that most Brits & Aussies hate the paying these gratuities & would prefer them included in the price & then we get a better idea of the end price.

 

There are things that are custom in other countries that US folks are not use to doing or don't like doing, but we do it because we have researched the country and try to abide by their customs.

 

What our Brit and Aussie friends don't understand is that some of us would also prefer to have the DSC included in the price, but it is what it is and until it changes most pay it.

 

To the OP, I've been on over sixty cruises and have never once opted out of the DSC/Auto gratuities/gratuities, etc. and even in the olden days, I never went down to the MDR without an envelope with my tips nor did I ever stiff the Room Steward.  And yes, there are hundreds of us on Cruise Critic who have never opted out of the DSC.  Also, I would never want to go back to the old envelope days, because it was embarrassing to see the MDR half full, because folks didn't want to tip the staff.

Edited June 8, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[NLH Arizona]

56 minutes ago, liverpoollad said:

mjka.  You are near the truth that some Brits., do remove all the charge.

 

I remember when a parent of a crew member posted that their daughter hated sailing out of Southhampton, because so many of the passengers removed the DSC and didn't tip anyone that they didn't make near the amount of money they made on cruises leaving from other ports.

[SeaShark]

28 minutes ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

Is this not a question "but all I am trying to establish is if this practice actually works and if anybody has successfully had the discretionary DSC waived from their account."

 

No...it is not. You don't start off with an interrogative and you don't finish with the expected "?" which define a question.

 

What you refer to is more of a statement of purpose or a want.

 

"I am trying to establish the correct time" will get you a friendly "Well, good luck with that". However, a "What time is it?" will get you an "Its 4:30".

 

 

To add to my earlier answer...spending time debating this dead horse topic on CC does NOT contribute to making this "easy". Still...just paying and being done with it IS THE EASY WAY. Hard to imagine why anyone would jump through all these hoops if they are simply concerned with ease.

Edited June 8, 2019 by SeaShark

[JOHNHOWARTH2]

6 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

No...it is not. You don't start off with an interrogative and you don't finish with the expected "?" which define a question.

 

What you refer to is more of a statement of purpose or a want.

 

 

 

 

I am so sorry. When I  need to learn English I will next time ask an American. LOL

Edited June 8, 2019 by JOHNHOWARTH2
typo

[willsears94]

The one thing I am certain on DSC is that it has been over-discussed.

 

Pay it or don't pay it. The choice is yours and not to be worried about by another. The cruise industry and Collective Bargaining Agreement will adapt if you do not. 

 

I, for one (as stated before), only sail when my DSC is included as a perk, either by my TA (NCL), promotional offering (most often on Celebrity) or as a standard of the line (Virgin).  

[ColeThornton]

"The United States and Great Britain...two nations separated by a common language".

[FranknBeans]

5 hours ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

I have just booked on the Epic next month and booked through NCL UK. They asked me did I want to pre-pay the Daily Service Charge or sort it out on board. NCL however did say that the charge was discretionary and that you could go to guest services on the first day, complete a form and then there would be no charge on your account at the end. I believe that the idea is if you prefer to tip individuals yourself. This is not an attempt to not pay the hard working staff, but all I am trying to establish is if this practice actually works and if anybody has successfully had the discretionary DSC waived from their account. Any help would be appreciated

 

 

Why would you want to steal food from staffs mouths and their families back in there country when they work seven days a week for months and put up with all the crap from pax on a daily basis.

I know that this is Brit thing  need to get over it and remember  your not in your own country.

 

That is unless you are deciding to clean your own sheets,  wash your towels  and vacuum your cabin floor

> Lastly in case you didn't know camping is much cheaper and you don't have to tip

Edited June 8, 2019 by FranknBeans
addition

[JOHNHOWARTH2]

1 minute ago, FranknBeans said:

 

 

Why would you want to steal food from staffs mouths and their families back in there country when they work seven days a week for months and put up with all the crap from pax on a daily basis.

I know that this is Brit thing  need to get over it and remember  your not in your own country.

 

That is unless you are deciding to clean your own sheets,  wash your towels  and vacuum your cabin floor

You quoted my opening post, but unfortunately you failed to properly read it or offer any help as requested. 

[fshagan]

2 hours ago, gooch47 said:

I wish once and for all we could get a clear answer about the issue of paying the Daily Service Charge vs. giving money directly to various employees.  Do they get to keep it?  Does it have to go into the pool?  You hear various answers where people are 100% certain it is one way, or %100 certain it is the other.

 

NCL says you can give cash tips to the staff if you like:

 

While you should not feel obligated to offer a gratuity, all of our staff are encouraged to “go the extra mile,” so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities for exceptional or outstanding service if you care to offer them.

 

Source: https://www.ncl.com/faq#!#what-about-gratuities

Edited June 8, 2019 by fshagan

[FranknBeans]

3 minutes ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

You quoted my opening post, but unfortunately you failed to properly read it or offer any help as requested. 

Sorry but I don't buy the line that pax will pay staff on their own this is an excuse that is constantly used on this  topic.

[graphicguy]

OP....yes....the DSC works well.  Yes, it’s a hassle to go to customer service to get the DSC removed.  Yes, it is a hassle to tip the steward, all the bartenders, all the wait staff in every restaurant you eat in, leaving $$$ for the cruise line to give to behind the scenes folks, the maitre d, etc

 

There are people here from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and th U.S. to assist with language.

[nikkiw60]

2 hours ago, JOHNHOWARTH2 said:

I made it particularly clear in my opening post, that I was not looking to "cheap out" as you put it, whatever that means, merely asking for anybody to advise is it as easy as NCL suggest that it is to request not to be billed for the DSC. Why would they call it discretionary if it wasn't. ?

From all the replies, there has only been Keith (from the UK) who has come close to answering the question. All the remaining replies are from USA members. Is everybody afraid to admit they may have done the same in case they are castigated by comments on here or have passengers signed the form not been members of Cruise Critic?

We have booked from the UK and daily service charge is showing as included in the rate.

[fshagan]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

The problem is that when they added the service charge to the price, people complained that the cruise cost had gone up.

 

In the end, I believe that NCL moved away from the all inclusive model because, despite the fact that people say they would rather these things were added to the cruise cost, when it is done they stop booking the cruises because they are more expensive. They scrapped it a couple of months ago.

 

I find it is best to just ignore how things are presented and just work out how much it is going to cost in total.

 

I thought that would probably happen. As much as everyone thinks they prefer an airline with no baggage fees, or an all-inclusive cruise fare, the truth is that we do not act that way.

 

I think there's a "first lowest price" selection process going on, where we quickly look at two or three offerings and start the process to compare them. Those two or three are going to be the ones that present us with the most value, which for most people includes the lowest price. After we dig in, if we find an extra charge that is ALSO on the other two, we continue to book. The more inclusive fare has a higher initial price, so it is not even in the final selection of two or three offerings, even though it may be the same or less cost.

 

 

[JOHNHOWARTH2]

2 minutes ago, nikkiw60 said:

We have booked from the UK and daily service charge is showing as included in the rate.

I saw that on NCL UK, the daily service charge was included in the costing. However, when I rang NCL last week to actually book, the lady asked me did I want to include the charge or not and I said no. She then said that the charge was optional and that if I preferred not to have them included, then all I would need to do was to go to guest services when on board and simply sign a form to have them removed with no questions asked.That was the reason for my opening post, but unfortunately nearly everybody (certainly from USA) are putting their own spin on the subject 

[graphicguy]

OP...I’m still confused.  What do you want from us?  You decided to remove the tips/DSC.

 

Since you’ve made that decision, what are you asking?

 

 

[fshagan]

46 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

I remember when a parent of a crew member posted that their daughter hated sailing out of Southhampton, because so many of the passengers removed the DSC and didn't tip anyone that they didn't make near the amount of money they made on cruises leaving from other ports.

 

Yep. Meanwhile, when we visited the UK last year, we did research and found they do indeed have a "tipping culture", albeit at a lower percentage than I'm used to in restaurants. At least in London. We routinely tip 20% here in California even though all servers are paid at least $10.50 an hour (about the same as the mythical "living wage" in the UK). And tour guides in Scotland definitely keep their hand out at the end of the tour.