Hotel Service Charge on Land Portion?

[calteacher]

We are considering an Alaska land/cruise tour for 2020.  We will only be on the ship four days.  Will we be charged the $14.50 daily service charge per person on the land portion of the trip?

 

[kwb101]

We did this two years ago,  and the only HSC we saw was for the days on the ship. On land, save for the baggage handlers at each place you'll stay (whose tips are already included in your fare), the only ones you may want to tip are your bus driver and your Journey Host. If you don't have the HAL meal package, you may want to tip your servers at the restaurants. 

[Pair of Hikers]

We did a land/cruise tour in May. You are only charged for gratuities on the ship. However, you need to plan to tip your journey host, bus drivers, tour guides on excursions, etc. Tips for the baggage handlers are included in the cost of the trip. This is all outlined in several documents that HAL will provide to you about your travel. It includes suggested amounts for each individual you need to tip. Our journey host was extraordinary and we tipped her more than the recommended amount - we know several others did as well.  Please remember in your planning that the tips are a huge part of their compensation, and that these individuals work hard and play a huge role in making your vacation fabulous. Hope this answers your question and you don't mind the extra advice.

[calteacher]

No problem with tipping others.  Just wondered how much on-board credit would be taken with the hotel service charge.  It will help in deciding what tours we want to add as I think we may end up with quite a bit of OBC.  Thanks.