Reducing OSC, gratuities or similar charges

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

It’s not my job to pay their wages. That’s on NCL. 

Breaking news: you do pay the crews wages. 

Just like you pay for fuel for the ship, the food you eat, etc., etc.  

All the expenses of operating the cruise line is paid from revenue from the passengers.

Edited April 5 by RocketMan275

[dmwnc1959]

6 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Breaking news: you do pay the crews wages. 
 

Just like you pay for fuel for the ship, the food you eat, etc., etc.  

 

All the expenses of operating the cruise line is paid from revenue from the passengers.

But isn’t all of that pretty much already baked into the singular price of the cruise? But not so for the extra onboard service charge that’s paid as an extra supplemental crew income? 
 

🤔

 

 

Edited April 5 by dmwnc1959

[IrieBajan54]

5 hours ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

I’ve found that I generally get just as good, if not better, service in Europe. 

Agree! Another good thing about European service is that there is no need to bribe (advanced Euros) for doing the job they were hired to do.

[IrieBajan54]

2 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Well said. Sometimes, it beggars belief that people cannot simply answer a question. The OP was only asking about how, and when, a passenger could ask about reducing, or eliminating, the daily service charge. But instead of answering, many people went off on tangents about whether it was the right thing to do, scolding/judging the OP for even asking the question, etc. Wow. Remind me never to ask people about what I should do in regard to tipping. As @dmwnc1959 said, it's my money. And how I spend my money is nobody's business but mine.

Ditto! Never let a stranger on the Internet tell you how to spend or giveaway your money. Bleeding hearts can do whatever they want with theirs.

[RocketMan275]

32 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

But isn’t all of that pretty much already baked into the singular price of the cruise? But not so for the extra onboard service charge that’s paid as an extra supplemental crew income? 
 

🤔

 

 

One way or the other, you're paying the wages of the crew.

[Oakman58]

I think it's interesting that NCL quit referring to it as a Discretionary Service Charge and now call it the Onboard Service Charge.

[RocketMan275]

8 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

Agree! Another good thing about European service is that there is no need to bribe (advanced Euros) for doing the job they were hired to do.

paying for services received is not a bribe.

[Rick&Jeannie]

LOL! I'm changing the channel...I've seen this movie several times! 😄

[ChiefMateJRK]

57 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

Bleeding hearts can do whatever they want with theirs.

Aren't such folks generally interested in doing what they want with other people's money?

[ChiefMateJRK]

46 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

LOL! I'm changing the channel...I've seen this movie several times! 😄

If you find a better channel, please come back and let us know.😎

[Mike07]

7 hours 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. 

 

 

Totally agree.

 

I've never lowered gratuities once but I wish they were completely done away with.... And fares came up a bit.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

8 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

It very much depends where you go, how busy they are, what time of year, etc. (And often, whether you speak the local language or not.) Too many variables for me to make a blanket statement. My point was to say that if we get rid of tips onboard the ships, there might be unanticipated adverse consequences.

I’ve been ten or so countries in Europe, during all 4 seasons. I’ve spent enough time there and enough in the US to make a valid comparison based on my observations.

Edited April 6 by Distinctive-Destinations

[YVRteacher]

I hate these threads.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

23 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

I hate these threads.

Good job of replying to push it to the top so it continues though…

[ChiefMateJRK]

16 minutes ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

Good job of replying to push it to the top so it continues though…

It doesn't matter if this one lives or dies.  There will be another, and another, and....

 

Be nice to my good friend @YVRteacher.  She's a fun person and fantastic daughter.😎

Edited April 6 by ChiefMateJRK

[Asawi]

5 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

I think it's interesting that NCL quit referring to it as a Discretionary Service Charge and now call it the Onboard Service Charge.

But did NCL actually ever call it Discretionary Service Charge? I thought the D stood for Daily if DSL was used in NCL documentation. It somehow turned to Discretionary here at CC through. 

[complawyer]

mikeo. if they did away with the dsc and raised the fare prices, bet your a** people would them complain about the increase in fare quote the departed rick nelson " you cant  please everyone, so you got to please yourself"

[graphicguy]

Generally speaking, EU fares are higher since they bake in the service charges into the fare.  

 

Do whatever you want.  It doesn't affect me one iota (unless it raises my total out of pocket when I sail).  I know how much I'll spend in total  before I sail because service charges, taxes and fees are part of the cost.  Just add them in and decide whether you want to take the cruise or not.

 

IF it exceeds your budget when you total it all up, keep shopping for another cruise.

 

But, this whole "I'm not paying crew because I don't want to" excuse is tired and pretty worthless.  They forget cruising is part of the service industry.  Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts, etc....one way or the other it's baked in, no matter how the pie is sliced up.  IF you want to have it removed, go to Customer Service and tell them.  When they ask why, tell them that, too.  When your cabin steward cleans your room, tell him/her why.  When the bartender serves you a drink, tell them why.

 

If you're going to do it, spread your point of view to the people who are affected instead of skulking around here and trying to gather mindshare.

[Mike07]

9 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

It doesn't matter if this one lives or dies.  There will be another, and another, and....

 

Be nice to my good friend @YVRteacher.  She's a fun person and fantastic daughter.😎

 

 

Absolutely... thread was bumped 51 minutes ago.... and I'll say that if you ever are having a slow day, you can always kick the hornets nest with a new "hot-take" on gratuities and get people riled up. 😂

[graphicguy]

9 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

It doesn't matter if this one lives or dies.  There will be another, and another, and....

 

Be nice to my good friend @YVRteacher.  She's a fun person and fantastic daughter.😎

I concur.

 

The thing is, who really cares if you go to Customer Service to remove the DSC?  If you're going to do it, get on with it.

 

We don't need anyone to announce it here!  Why even announce it?

Edited April 6 by graphicguy

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

But, this whole "I'm not paying crew because I don't want to" excuse is tired and pretty worthless.  They forget cruising is part of the service industry.  Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts, etc....one way or the other it's baked in, no matter how the pie is sliced up.  IF you want to have it removed, go to Customer Service and tell them.  When they ask why, tell them that, too.  When your cabin steward cleans your room, tell him/her why.  When the bartender serves you a drink, tell them why.

 

If you're going to do it, spread your point of view to the people who are affected instead of skulking around here and trying to gather mindshare.

Excellent comment.  

IMHO, anyone who removes/reduces the Service Fee should be honest and inform the service workers that you believe they are paid enough without your contributions to the fee and that you've removed/reduced your contributions.  

[dmwnc1959]

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Do whatever you want.  It doesn't affect me one iota (unless it raises my total out of pocket when I sail).  I know how much I'll spend in total  before I sail because service charges, taxes and fees are part of the cost.  Just add them in and decide whether you want to take the cruise or not.

 

IF it exceeds your budget when you total it all up, keep shopping for another cruise.

 

But, this whole "I'm not paying crew because I don't want to" excuse is tired and pretty worthless.  They forget cruising is part of the service industry.  Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts, etc....one way or the other it's baked in, no matter how the pie is sliced up.  IF you want to have it removed, go to Customer Service and tell them.  When they ask why, tell them that, too.  When your cabin steward cleans your room, tell him/her why.  When the bartender serves you a drink, tell them why.

 

If you're going to do it, spread your point of view to the people who are affected instead of skulking around here and trying to gather mindshare.

 

Service fees are not “part of the cost”. It’s an additional cost. If the Onboard Service Charge was part of the cost it would be added into the cost of the actual cruise along with the port charges and taxes. The OSC is no more part of the cost than if I buy a water package or a dining package or a shore excursion. Those all have to be added by the passenger (when pre-paid) to the cost of the actual cruise costs when you’re paying off the balance. 
 

 

38 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Excellent comment.  

IMHO, anyone who removes/reduces the Service Fee should be honest and inform the service workers that you believe they are paid enough without your contributions to the fee and that you've removed/reduced your contributions.  

If anyone makes that decision to remove the extra onboard salary compensation charges they really owe an explanation to no one. It’s that person’s choice. And the customer service desk shouldn’t interrogate a passenger into why they’ve come to that decision.
 

And if the drink package includes the 18% gratuity for the bar staff, and the specialty dining packages include the 18% gratuity for those staff, and I personally tip the cabin steward and the MDR staff, then I’m good with that. I don’t have to explain to a single soul why I’m not tipping anyone and everyone for just doing their job. 

[Mike07]

29 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

 

If anyone makes that decision to remove the extra onboard salary compensation charges they really owe an explanation to no one. It’s that person’s choice. And the customer service desk shouldn’t interrogate a passenger into why they’ve come to that decision.

 

 

 

 

While I don't necessarily like that comment, I do agree with it. Per normal cruise rules such as being back by stated onboard time, normal cruise rules also dictate that by policy, guests are allowed to upward or downward adjust gratuities. To my knowledge, all have similar language to go to Guest Services to make said changes. I'm sure if it could be done thru an app or website, more would be willing to lower or remove them. Sadly, I know people that make fine salaries that are cheap enough to remove gratuities to save a buck.

Edited April 6 by Mike07

[graphicguy]

If I’m going out to dinner and I think the tab will be $100, I bring $125 with me because that’s the total cost coming out of my wallet with tip.

 

In my 60+ years age, I can think of only twice I did not include a service charge or tip as part of my bill.  
 

It’s part of the out of pocket.

 

Just booked a 7 nite Bermuda Cruise for $3,500.  I know and budget for $175 for service charges to cover cabin steward, bartenders, wait staff, etc.  

 

Taxes and fees are $335.

 

My out of pocket, the only number that matters is right about $4,000.

 

BTW…the service charge is right at 5%.  That’s cheap!

Edited April 6 by graphicguy

[RocketMan275]

38 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

If anyone makes that decision to remove the extra onboard salary compensation charges they really owe an explanation to no one. It’s that person’s choice. And the customer service desk shouldn’t interrogate a passenger into why they’ve come to that decision.

So,  you're too ashamed of removing the service charge to explain to those affected what/why you've done so?