NCL Service Charge - Can this be changed? waved?

[MakinMemries]

Greetings everyone,

We've sailed on Princess and Carnival.

Can someone tell me if the Service Charge is mandatory? Meaning - I realize that tipping is optional in addition to the service charge.... but I prefer doing all this sort of thing on my own and in person.

 

Do I have the right on NCL to ask to have the service charges removed from my account?

 

I'd like to hear of the experience of others. Princess and Carnival allow me to have the entire amount removed.

[Latino81]

Unless u have a real bad experience of some sort the answer is no.

Besides $10 a day is not much to ask for the service u get.

[Toyz711]

AND the fact that since you don't have the same servers...almost impossible to do it any other way. unless you want to spend a whole day combing the ship for ALL your servers from each day?

[zqvol]

If you read the contract, it says that the fee will be imposed and IF there is a compalint about service to bring it to the appropriate peopel ASAP to fix the situation. It is rare under the current version of the contract that the MANDATORY fees are ever waived.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

If you have a problem on the ship, report the problem and see how its fixed. The auto tip is best for the crew-and I'm a crew so I know. This way people from who cleaned your cabin to the people who bus your dirty plates in the buffet see the tip. It workes out best for everyone.

[CC Help Michell]

Greetings everyone,

We've sailed on Princess and Carnival.

Can someone tell me if the Service Charge is mandatory? Meaning - I realize that tipping is optional in addition to the service charge.... but I prefer doing all this sort of thing on my own and in person.

 

Do I have the right on NCL to ask to have the service charges removed from my account?

 

I'd like to hear of the experience of others. Princess and Carnival allow me to have the entire amount removed.

 

Listen to the advice above. Leave the autotips in place, and (if you choose to) tip those who go "above and beyond" some extra in cash. If you remove autotips and tip individuals in cash, those individuals are required to turn all your cash into the tip pool.

 

The tip pool rewards many of the staff on board you may never see, as well as those you do. Removing the autotip and tipping in person just means you wasted your time removing the pool tips, since the people you tip in cash have to turn it in anyway. This is a function of (among other things) Freestyle cruising on NCL -- you will rarely have the same wait crew two nights in a row, let alone the entire cruise -- so let the tip pool do what it's supposed to do -- it tips EVERYONE (face staff, and galley, buffet, general housekeeping, etc -- those you may never see) for the great cruise they provide you.

[salty dingo]

If you feel really strongly about tipping in person, you certainly still can - in addition to the service charge. But it is in very poor taste to remove the mandatory charge just so you can have control over disbursing your money.

 

There are too many rude people out there who would try to save a buck or two for themselves in the process and how else can they be stopped?

[slotaddict]

I think 10.00 pp per day is a bargain for the service that you receive. If we feel that someone has gone over and above of course they will always gladly accept anything you wish to give them after the meal. Perhaps Norwegian has not phrased it correctly by calling it a service charge, when in reality it for gratuities.

Just remember if you insist that they remove it from the bill, make sure you tip each server every night, as you may never see them again.

[greywillow]

This way people from who cleaned your cabin to the people who bus your dirty plates in the buffet see the tip.

I'm sure makinmemries will run all over the buffet to make sure all the people busing dirty plates and those reminding to sanitize your hands and those steering passengers to empty tables are suitably taken care of with appropriate tips.

 

Those who come to Cruise Critic asking how to remove the automatic tips are all the most generous of tippers who want only to be sure everyone on the ship who does something nice for them is tipped lavishly and to ensure that no one is overlooked--and they go to great lengths to assure us of this several times in the course of threads just like this one.

[newmexicoNita]

I'm sure makinmemries will run all over the buffet to make sure all the people busing dirty plates and those reminding to sanitize your hands and those steering passengers to empty tables are suitably taken care of with appropriate tips.

 

Those who come to Cruise Critic asking how to remove the automatic tips are all the most generous of tippers who want only to be sure everyone on the ship who does something nice for them is tipped lavishly and to ensure that no one is overlooked--and they go to great lengths to assure us of this several times in the course of threads just like this one.

and you are saying this: tongue in cheek I am sure!!! lol

 

isn't it amazing how this subject comes up at least once every few weeks and yes, they always claim tipping isn't the issue. Sure it isn't....

 

Nita

[Thrifty]

Although I haven't tried it yet, I like the idea of anytime dining and I think a service charge is the only practical way of tipping the waiters as long as the amounts are modest enough that we can add supplementary tips for our favorite ones and $10 per day seems modest even to someone like me who prides himself on his thriftiness. But somehow I think that passengers should not have to tip anyone who offended them. I can think of only one such person on our several cruises, a cabin steward who rudely interrupted our pursuits to take me down a couple of decks to show me something I didn't care to be shown. It wasn't important enough for me to even consider making a scene about it by reporting it to the management, but I minimized his tip. Perhaps passengers should be given an opportunity to designate by name a particular individual to whom no share of that passenger's service charge would be distributed without having to make a case against the miscreant and which would not affect employment record. The service charge would not be reduced so the others would receive a trifle more. At the end of the day, those who were not negatively designated would receive somewhat more than those negatively designated one or more times, which would serve as the incentive tips were traditionally supposed to provide. Does anyone else resent being required to either make a scene or tip a smart-alec?

[salty dingo]

they always claim tipping isn't the issue. Sure it isn't....

 

Are there really people so cheap, they plot in advance to find a way to avoid spending $140 in tips between them? Do those people actually sleep at night, or are they just psychopaths?

[lgfromdg]

Does anyone else resent being required to either make a scene or tip a smart-alec?

 

If I were in that situation, I would leave the autotips in place, then address the issue on the comment card.

[Toyz711]

a few works on the comment cards can make or break a crew members career. to be honest, i am so busy on a cruise..i don't get into discussions with the crew, except to say "hi" and "thank you". if a crew member was trying to show me something i wasn't interested in, i can think of 1 word "NO". if a crew member was really bothersome, yes, a word to the customer service desk...but to remove the tip could hurt everyone else in the pool, more then the crew member you are having problems with.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I'm sure makinmemries will run all over the buffet to make sure all the people busing dirty plates and those reminding to sanitize your hands and those steering passengers to empty tables are suitably taken care of with appropriate tips.

 

Those who come to Cruise Critic asking how to remove the automatic tips are all the most generous of tippers who want only to be sure everyone on the ship who does something nice for them is tipped lavishly and to ensure that no one is overlooked--and they go to great lengths to assure us of this several times in the course of threads just like this one.

 

I agree some cruise critic people are the best tippers. I didn't want my post to sound like "why are you cheap" the OP clearly stated she wanted to tip people. The only problem I have a problem with are the people who try to get the tips taken off on the first day of the cruise because the OJ had too much pulp in it.

[MakinMemries]

Wow are you people rough! I never said I wouldn't tip anything... please understand.... I want to control who I give what to. And yeah, yeah... I don't want another barrage of all those workers in the back who I wouldn't see.

 

As another passanger said... some people are better than others... and I don't necessarily want an even distribution of my service charge.

 

As for those who are "seen" and those who are not... I've spoken to enough crew to know that if you are a good worker... one gets promoted to the "seen" crew... who I will meet personally and be able to tip personally. Sorry... it doesn't sound fair... but that's life folks... there are the little people in the back... and if you work hard enough, you'll get promoted.

 

As for the crew having to hand in their cash tips... come on now, that may be ship policy, etc. etc... but we all know they don't. Have any of you really spoken to the crew one on one... in private? They don't.

 

Sorry if I sound rude or cheap to you all... but I still like to do these things in person, and give to whom I want to give.

 

Concerning discerning remarks about my desire... how do you know what I tip.. or how much... or can comment that I'm cheap and scold me for wanting to remove this?

 

Have you travelled with Europeans? Tipping is something that North America has elevated... for what purpose? to show off that one is rich?

 

Let's all get back to basics folks... if someone does something out of the ordinary and I get good service, I will tip. If things are mediocre.. I won't.

[Giorgi-one]

Wow are you people rough! I never said I wouldn't tip anything... please understand.... I want to control who I give what to. And yeah, yeah... I don't want another barrage of all those workers in the back who I wouldn't see.

 

As another passanger said... some people are better than others... and I don't necessarily want an even distribution of my service charge.

 

As for those who are "seen" and those who are not... I've spoken to enough crew to know that if you are a good worker... one gets promoted to the "seen" crew... who I will meet personally and be able to tip personally. Sorry... it doesn't sound fair... but that's life folks... there are the little people in the back... and if you work hard enough, you'll get promoted.

 

As for the crew having to hand in their cash tips... come on now, that may be ship policy, etc. etc... but we all know they don't. Have any of you really spoken to the crew one on one... in private? They don't.

 

Sorry if I sound rude or cheap to you all... but I still like to do these things in person, and give to whom I want to give.

 

Concerning discerning remarks about my desire... how do you know what I tip.. or how much... or can comment that I'm cheap and scold me for wanting to remove this?

 

Have you travelled with Europeans? Tipping is something that North America has elevated... for what purpose? to show off that one is rich?

 

Let's all get back to basics folks... if someone does something out of the ordinary and I get good service, I will tip. If things are mediocre.. I won't.

 

Do you really think the people in the Laundry will get promoted to be a waiter? I am not saying that you are cheap, just not practical for freestyle cruising. You still have not addressed how you would tip different waiters each day for three meals. Would you leave $1 tip at each meal? Also, are you going to tip the people working in the buffets?

 

I have spoken to waiters on several ships where tips are handled as service charges. They all said that they prefer this method since many, many people do not tip. The all indicated that many people do not show up at the dining room on the last night to avoid tipping.

 

You should look at the $10 per day as a minimum and tip more for outstanding service.

[zqvol]

These fees are no longer considered "tips". They are service charges which are imposed for rendering services. A number of posters have called them autotips, but that is incorrect. In fact the correct term for a tip is a gratuity, meaning that it is given in thanks.

 

If you are giving gratuities they could be removed, service charges are a different matter and it is highly unlikely that you can have them removed.

[blindrid]

I am pretty tight when it comes to selecting cruises as I shop for a price pretty hard before I book. After that, I do not mess around with getting price reductions after that and I have never or would consider removing the service charge (auto tip or whatever you want to call it). I feel this is the minimum and then tip the employees that make my cruise a great experience.

 

I believe that technically when you give one of them cash they are supposed to put it in the tip pool anyway - but I still do it anyway hoping that they keep it. In doing it that way, it sure makes life simpler.

[Toyz711]

actually, one of the people that answer on this thread is a crew member.

he like this system. but, yes, if a crew member is tipped in cash and you have (for any reason) removed the surcharge, they have to turn in the cash. since they work with a "pool" of others, can you imagine the distrust if the others found out they were cheated out of their wages?

(crew ships are like a small town, everyone knows everyone else's business)

on a 7 day cruise, we never had the same servers, in any of the dining rooms, twice. had very good to great service in each venue...left a little extra each time. but the "face to face, hand out envelopes, get personal thank-you" doesn't work with freestyle.

[greywillow]

... if someone does something out of the ordinary and I get good service, I will tip. If things are mediocre.. I won't.

Oh, please, give us all a break. Do you tip in a restaurant? What must a server in a restaurant do that is "out of the ordinary" in order to get a tip? If the server takes your order and brings your food, do you tip? What's "out of the ordinary" about that? Or do you stiff servers in restaurants, too, in your noble efforts to find "something out of the ordinary."

 

Sorry, but I smell what's going on here. Crew compensation on cruise ships is structured to depend on tips--and, yes, these are tips, not service charges--just like the compensation of servers in restaurants. Anyone who refuses to recognize that is...well...labeling himself with the "C" word.

[Paula W]

Our process (knowing that the $10 will be applied as well) is to tip our room attendant and (this trip anyway!) our butler the first time we see them. If service warrants it, they will each receive a mid-week tip and a last night tip. We always tip the bartender a buck or two if we're sitting at the bar, or the wait staff who serves us drinks. Not so for meals taken in the main dining rooms, but yes, we will tip in the specialty restaurants.

[Guest Anorak33]

You know what I don't understand?

 

How the experienced forum members on here are suckered into answering these posts on an emotive or controversial topic by a nearly zero post OP!

 

And they are the same old topics, again and again.

 

They are not genuine!

These are not new cruisers in need of help!

 

This is just troublemaking by mischevious trolls.

[Paula W]

Oh..

[Thrifty]

The tipping rules seem to change with every cruise I take, so while this may be an old topic, its one in which there is naturally a lot of current interest.

I recollect reading that one of the cruise lines did a test and about 5% of the passengers are "free-riders." I have no sympathy with "free-riders" or anyone who uses exaggerated or even justified dissatisfaction as an excuse to save a few bucks, but I do think that passengers should have some say, perhaps not in the amount of their total contribution, but at least in how it is is distributed.

I am aware that some people do not like the idea that service employees might be rewarded a bit more when they perform better and a bit less when they do not perform as well. But some others, like me, believe in incentives and that eliminating them will lead to a decreased level of service. Different cruise lines have different tipping policies, so we are free to weigh those in our booking decisions along with price, itinerary, etc. How many of us will is a question I cannot answer; I hope I am not the only one.