Reducing OSC, gratuities or similar charges

[mmt44]

When is the time to get the auto charges reduced or eliminated?  The day before debarking?

 

Does NCL allow you to tell customer service desk the amount you want to pay or do you have to totally eliminate all the charges?

 

 

Edited April 5 by mmt44

[edspec]

I would say never as the staff works very hard for their money.  I would definitely speak to Guest Services if your steward or waiter isn't doing their job.  Understand that those tips go to many staff that you don't see who are working to make your cruise enjoyable and safe. 

[RocketMan275]

24 minutes ago, mmt44 said:

When is the time to get the auto charges reduced or eliminated?  The day before debarking?

 

Does NCL allow you to tell customer service desk the amount you want to pay or do you have to totally eliminate all the charges?

 

 

Why wait till the last day? 

Do it on day one and be sure and inform the crew why you did so.

[wolft927]

27 minutes ago, mmt44 said:

When is the time to get the auto charges reduced or eliminated?  The day before debarking?

 

Does NCL allow you to tell customer service desk the amount you want to pay or do you have to totally eliminate all the charges?

 

 

I never understand this. Why you already have set in your mind before you cruise that your going to reduce or eliminate DSC. If you cant afford the service charges do not go on a cruise! Would love to hear the reason for this but have a feeling we wont here anything. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

40 minutes ago, mmt44 said:

When is the time to get the auto charges reduced or eliminated?  The day before debarking?

 

Does NCL allow you to tell customer service desk the amount you want to pay or do you have to totally eliminate all the charges?

 

 

Seriously?

[Asawi]

If there is something you're unhappy with, let guest services know early to give them a chance to fix whatever is wrong. 

[FlGoodShips]

42 minutes ago, mmt44 said:

When is the time to get the auto charges reduced or eliminated?  The day before debarking?

 

Does NCL allow you to tell customer service desk the amount you want to pay or do you have to totally eliminate all the charges?

 

 

Please, please DO NOT eliminate these charges.

The crew works sooo hard to make your vacation a dream. 

Like someone else said...if you can afford the cruise, you can afford to help out the crew by NOT eliminating these charges.

[Two Wheels Only]

I guess the "Late 8" thread has died so now we get to see how many people take the bait with this thread...

 

Next up "How early do I have to get up to reserve a lounger that's next to the pool?..."

[yakcruiser]

Just now, Two Wheels Only said:

I guess the "Late 8" thread has died so now we get to see how many people take the bait with this thread...

 

 

You beat me to it. I was typing the same exact thing.

[cruiseny4life]

Oh....my!

[schmoopie17]

Oh...I get it. A belated April Fools joke.

[dltvermont]

Im going to preface this by saying I do NOT remove my service charges (they are not tips), and I usually give extra to steward and servers etc.

 

For those of you who always say they all make our cruise amazing and never to remove them, Id really like to know, if you go on a huge land vacation, stay in an expensive hotel and eat at expensive restaurants and go to expensive venues for entertainment, WHO exactly do you hand tips to? 

[LongIsland-Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

Im going to preface this by saying I do NOT remove my service charges (they are not tips), and I usually give extra to steward and servers etc.

 

For those of you who always say they all make our cruise amazing and never to remove them, Id really like to know, if you go on a huge land vacation, stay in an expensive hotel and eat at expensive restaurants and go to expensive venues for entertainment, WHO exactly do you hand tips to? 

This is an asinine question as the pay system on a land based vacation is not set up in the same way as a cruise, so you are basically comparing apples to oranges and asking why the orange isn't red.

 

You withhold fees if they haven't done a good job.  The fact that you are already trying to withhold fees before you even get on a ship shows that no matter how hard they work, they are not going to get a gratuity from you.  

[Menocchio]

I wish they'd just raise the fares the same amount per night, drop the separate charge, explain that tips are not expected, and then continue to pay the crew more proportional to how full the ship is.

 

Because that's what this really is. It's not a tip, it's a part of their basic compensation that's (for marketing purposes) charged separately to the passengers. They waive it sometimes for other marketing purposes or to appease angry passengers (and I presume the ability to do that is part of the reason why they keep it separate), but it's not really optional the way a tip is supposed to be. 

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, mmt44 said:

When is the time to get the auto charges reduced or eliminated?  The day before debarking?

 

Does NCL allow you to tell customer service desk the amount you want to pay or do you have to totally eliminate all the charges?

 

 

Most people who choose to reduce or eliminate the DSC do so on the day before disembarkation. Yes, you may request that a different amount be paid (higher or lower than the DSC).

Now that your question has been answered, I'll add to my response by agreeing with those who point out that the DSC does go a lot of people whom you never see. I have never even considered reducing or eliminating it. However, I know there are people who've been treated shabbily on cruises who chose to ask to have it reduced or eliminated. If there are service issues along the way, best to bring them to management's attention early on so they can be rectified.

 

[DCGuy64]

3 minutes ago, Menocchio said:

and I presume the ability to do that is part of the reason why they keep it separate

That's it exactly. If it were rolled into the cost of the cruise, there'd be no way to refund it to the dissatisfied.

[dltvermont]

5 minutes ago, Menocchio said:

I wish they'd just raise the fares the same amount per night, drop the separate charge, explain that tips are not expected, and then continue to pay the crew more proportional to how full the ship is.

 

Because that's what this really is. It's not a tip, it's a part of their basic compensation that's (for marketing purposes) charged separately to the passengers. They waive it sometimes for other marketing purposes or to appease angry passengers (and I presume the ability to do that is part of the reason why they keep it separate), but it's not really optional the way a tip is supposed to be. 

BINGO, you nailed it!

[SimplyAlbert]

While I'm in the never eliminate or remove service charges camp, and on almost every cruise give extra for outstanding service, if I had extremely poor service or a problem and contacted the appropriate manager and the matter was ignored/the buck passed/not addressed/ or wasn't resolved properly, I would do it as soon as I knew it wasn't going to be/hadn't been resolved.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

I’d never remove it, but if I was ever in a situation where I even considered doing that, I’d be at guest services ASAP. 
 

I’ve also never understood leaving no tip at a restaurant either. Talk to the server (or preferably their manager) at the very least. Otherwise the next person at the table is probably going to have the same problem you did.

[G-DawgMN]

2 hours ago, mmt44 said:

When is the time to get the auto charges reduced or eliminated?  The day before debarking?

 

Does NCL allow you to tell customer service desk the amount you want to pay or do you have to totally eliminate all the charges?

 

 

 

 

  You can just go do it the first day if you want. I don't see any reason why you would want to do that unless you're just trying to save money and stiff the staff. It's not feasible to individually tip as you go along since it covers more than just the people you interact with.

 

 

 

[dltvermont]

15 minutes ago, LongIsland-Cruiser said:

This is an asinine question as the pay system on a land based vacation is not set up in the same way as a cruise, so you are basically comparing apples to oranges and asking why the orange isn't red.

 

You withhold fees if they haven't done a good job.  The fact that you are already trying to withhold fees before you even get on a ship shows that no matter how hard they work, they are not going to get a gratuity from you.  

 

My point is, when you "tip" anywhere else for a job well done, you are not giving tips to the back of the house, and rarely does the front of the house share with them.

 

To your point, as mentioned by another post, they should just absorb the service charges into the fares and be done with it instead of making people who dont believe in tipping everyone feel less because they remove them.

 

I believe that there are no service charges on european cruises because "tipping" isnt a thing over there? I think I read that? So are their workers just out of luck or are they paid more?

[G-DawgMN]

2 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

 

 

 

I believe that there are no service charges on european cruises because "tipping" isnt a thing over there? I think I read that? So are their workers just out of luck or are they paid more?

 

 There may be specific cruise lines that do that, but if you're on an NCL cruise in Europe you still have the DSC.

  Now I know people in Europe may have different fares with different rules than we do, but I can't really speak to that.

 

 

[bkrickles1]

I'm considering a cruise in 2027 and was wondering if I could eliminate my future osc now and reserve loungers by the pool? Of course I'll be sharing my drink package with whomever doesn't have one. 

Lol 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 

Clownshow! 

[RocketMan275]

4 minutes ago, dltvermont said:

My point is, when you "tip" anywhere else for a job well done, you are not giving tips to the back of the house, and rarely does the front of the house share with them.

 

To your point, as mentioned by another post, they should just absorb the service charges into the fares and be done with it instead of making people who dont believe in tipping everyone feel less because they remove them.

 

Actually, it's not at all uncommon for the front of the house to share with the back of the house.

If you don't wish to feel 'less' then don't remove the tips.

[ngrund]

15 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

That's it exactly. If it were rolled into the cost of the cruise, there'd be no way to refund it to the dissatisfied.

Also, that way the service charges would not be refunded if you have to cancel past final payment.