question abbout tipping!!!

[seabourndt]

i read in the brochure that tips are either put on your balance or on the shipboard account! these cannot now be amended or changed!

 

is this correct as i've not seen anything about this previously.

dave

[mpk218]

i read in the brochure that tips are either put on your balance or on the shipboard account! these cannot now be amended or changed!

 

is this correct as i've not seen anything about this previously.

dave

 

Yes its correct. And its been like this for quite some time. When was your last cruise ?

[chrisbd1]

I shall start this, since it seems to pop up daily :) I understand that our friends from Great Britain have different ideas on tipping. The consensus of those from Great Britain is that the service charge is wrong and the cruise line should pay a working wage. Unfortunately, this is not how it is done on cruise lines. I shan't debate the right or wrong of it, only state that this is how it it done.

 

If you have a problem with the service, NCL would prefer you take it up with them when it happens. You can reduce your amount if you still feel that your service was no satisfactory. If you insist on removing the service charge and want to just leave a tip in your room, your room attendant, under punishment of having their contract canceled and being sent home if they don't, will have to put that money in the tip pool anyway. The service charge goes to the front and behind the scenes people who make your cruise a worry free vacation or as close to it as they can.

 

Again, I understand that Americans and our friends from Great Britain view this differently but it is what it is.

[Ginny, not Hermione]

i read in the brochure that tips are either put on your balance or on the shipboard account! these cannot now be amended or changed!

 

is this correct as i've not seen anything about this previously.

dave

 

I looked at the UK NCL web page, there is an option to pre-pay the tip (or service charge) available. Call your travel agent and ask if the charge has been pre-paid, added to you total charge for the trip, you may have already paid and not realized.

 

GB has a VAT (value added tax) try thinking of the service charge as something similar. It's just something you have to pay, not optional. I understand Europeans don't tip on a regular basis, but on cruise ships, at least those out of the US, tipping is expected and usual.

 

Salaries are lower for those in the service industry because tipping is such a large part of their salary. Waitstaff are taxed on what they SHOULD have made, not just what their employer reports.

 

If you do not want to tip cruising may not be the vacation for you. Are there any cruise lines that do not have service charges or tipping? Maybe you could investigate another line? Sorry it was a surprise to you.

[sjbdtz]

I shall start this, since it seems to pop up daily :) I understand that our friends from Great Britain have different ideas on tipping. The consensus of those from Great Britain is that the service charge is wrong and the cruise line should pay a working wage. Unfortunately, this is not how it is done on cruise lines. I shan't debate the right or wrong of it, only state that this is how it it done.

 

If you have a problem with the service, NCL would prefer you take it up with them when it happens. You can reduce your amount if you still feel that your service was no satisfactory. If you insist on removing the service charge and want to just leave a tip in your room, your room attendant, under punishment of having their contract canceled and being sent home if they don't, will have to put that money in the tip pool anyway. The service charge goes to the front and behind the scenes people who make your cruise a worry free vacation or as close to it as they can.

 

Again, I understand that Americans and our friends from Great Britain view this differently but it is what it is.

 

 

But they DO pay a working wage....they even show the passenger how much it is.....by separating it out as a Service Charge. This is the amount that you are charged....for service! :rolleyes:

[seabourndt]

my last NCL cruise was april 2008 on the DREAM. i'm sure it was added to the bill at that time. i certainly do not begrudge paying the service charge as they call it. but finding out they may have already put it on the balance i was not expecting. i shall certainly find out from my agent if it has been applyed.

thank you

dave

[chrisbd1]

But they DO pay a working wage....they even show the passenger how much it is.....by separating it out as a Service Charge. This is the amount that you are charged....for service! :rolleyes:

 

Sorry, I meant a living wage or whatever my friends from Great Britain insist the workers should be paid instead of having the service charge. :)

[pengu1n]

If you insist on removing the service charge and want to just leave a tip in your room, your room attendant, under punishment of having their contract canceled and being sent home if they don't, will have to put that money in the tip pool anyway.

 

Is this only when you remove the service charge, or anytime you leave an extra tip for a job well done -- does that too go in the tip pool or do the individuals get to keep it?

[cruise4kicks]

Is this only when you remove the service charge, or anytime you leave an extra tip for a job well done -- does that too go in the tip pool or do the individuals get to keep it?

If you leave the service charge in place the employee may keep any extra you give them. :)

[mylesf]

my last NCL cruise was april 2008 on the DREAM. i'm sure it was added to the bill at that time. i certainly do not begrudge paying the service charge as they call it. but finding out they may have already put it on the balance i was not expecting. i shall certainly find out from my agent if it has been applyed.

thank you

dave

 

The service fee is added to your ship board account, daily. It is not just added in one lump sum. When you get your final bill you will see the daily charge.

[newmexicoNita]

i read in the brochure that tips are either put on your balance or on the shipboard account! these cannot now be amended or changed!

 

is this correct as i've not seen anything about this previously.

dave

 

It says they can not be, but if you have a legit reason for adjusting and have made an effort to correct problems you can have them removed or adjusted..I always wonder why someone would ask this question prior to cruising unless you expect poor service or object to tipping. The service charge is added daily not at the beginning of the cruise.

 

 

Nita

[anniebell]

The service charge now is added as standard to all UK bookings with NCL or with a travel agent so you, in effect, have pre-paid all the service fees even before you step on board.

 

From ncl.co.uk: "The service charge applicable to your cruise will be added to your holiday price and shown separately on your confirmation invoice. If you do not wish to pay it this way, you must tell us at the time of booking or at any time up to 2 weeks before departure (if not already paid) and we will arrange for the charge to be added to your shipboard account."

 

Works out fine for me as I wouldn't dream of removing the charge anyway!!! Plus it helps me budget for my onboard spending as my account won't have the charge added on due to it being pre-paid with the cost of the cruise :)

[falken]

 

Tipped employees in the US are taxed on what they report they made (if this amount is below minimum wage, the employeer must make up the difference). Yes, if you are reporting just above minimum wage and work at a high end restaraunt you may eventually be investigated or your employeer may not let you report that little because they don't believe you and don't want any tax man trouble. You are not just taxed on 18% of your gross receipts, as has been mentioned here before. If your employeer is reporting for you at XX% of your gross receipts and you are not making that you need to object as you are fileing false tax statements, which is illegal.

 

Most employees on the ship are also not from the US, they are paid in cash and must report their earning themselves to their country according to its laws (non-US flagged ships).

[jocap]

i read in the brochure that tips are either put on your balance or on the shipboard account! these cannot now be amended or changed!

 

is this correct as i've not seen anything about this previously.

dave

Dave, as mentioned above, the USA and UK have very different ideas about tipping, and the US cruise lines are getting a huge bashing on UK web sites because of it. When you pay NCL UK you also add on this "service charge", so it is all paid up front. You will also find a long line of Europeans at Reception removing this, sometimes with great indignation. We always pay up front and shrug it off as a cultural difference. If you travel on P&O, Fred Olsen or Island, you are "encouraged" to tip; I believe that both Thomsons and Saga are non-tip lines. The difficulty is that many people say that there is no UK minimum wage paid on ships, and the cruise lines hide it , also that prices will increase if you don't fall into line. P&O are owned by Carnival, but run on very British lines, therefore they would not dare! Saga, of course, is only for the over 50s, and fairly expensive, so the no-tipping is probably all in. If you have been to the USA with a tour company like Virgin you will probably have noticed the constant warnings from the reps that tipping is expected in all sorts of situations that you would never have dreamed of back home. It's even slightly different in London to the rest of the UK-my husband is from London and would tip 10% after a meal, which brought Northerners out in a rash at the thought! As I say, it's cultural, and with NCL's prices, quite acceptable.-jocap.

[smeyer418]

(if this amount is below minimum wage, the employeer must make up the difference)...).

 

not true.

 

with tipped employees there is a significantly lower federal minimum wage. the employer has to pay this and does not have to make up any short fall(in most states some states have different rules) to the regular minimum wage

[elisamarie]

I'd really like to have my tips pre paid with the cost of my cruise. It would give me that much more to spend on my actual vacation. And we almost always (ok, there was the one cruise that we had horrible service but that was the exception) tip extra for service.

[sjbdtz]

I'd really like to have my tips pre paid with the cost of my cruise. It would give me that much more to spend on my actual vacation..

 

 

HUH?????

 

You do understand that the cost of the cruise would have to increase, don't you? :confused:

[Leafpeeper]

We just returned from a wonderful cruise on the GEM. However, we did have one day of bad service and DH was planning to remove one day of tips becuase of it. We were told to come to the pursers desk on the last day of the cruise to remove the tips. The day after this incident we received a gift card in our cabin for a free dinner and bottle of wine at any specialty restaurant for our family of 4 adults. Because of the excellent response to our complaint, we never did remove any tips and actually tipped extra. We enjoy tipping for excellent service, but we don't like tipping for bad service.

 

One thing that did annoy us was that we were never notified after booking our cruise that our tips would increase from $10per person per day to $12 per person per day. I read this info on Cruise Critic before the cruise but was suprised that NCL never notified us of the service charge (tips) increase before we boarded. I simply don't like surpise added on after I agree to purchase something at a specific price.

I think this service charge increase would have been more acceptable if it was added on in smaller increments each year.

 

Just my opinion. BTW, I will be posting a review for anyone who is interested in the GEM.

[shopping*mommy]

So does anyone know - if I'm going on a 7 night cruise on the Star, will I be charged 7 days or 8 days of fees? Seeing as we leave the ship on Saturday am it seems silly to pay a fee on that day as well. :confused:

[cruizinwithkids]

So does anyone know - if I'm going on a 7 night cruise on the Star, will I be charged 7 days or 8 days of fees? Seeing as we leave the ship on Saturday am it seems silly to pay a fee on that day as well. :confused:

 

7 days

[golfer1957]

This is a first for me, 3 people x $12.00 a day on the dawn. I told them when I checked in I prefer to tip as I go and they said ok. So for 7 day days of morning room sevice I tip. 3 out of 7 days I leave the boat for ports and have lunch off the boat and tip. 3 out of 7 nights I eat in the preminum resteraunts and tip. I look at my bil and see 7 days at $36.00 per day for service charges. I say BS and am not paying it. She says I need to fill out a form and I change it to $7.00 per person a day. The bs is people who never affected my happiness are compensated. BS!

[*Wink*]

This is a first for me, 3 people x $12.00 a day on the dawn. I told them when I checked in I prefer to tip as I go and they said ok. So for 7 day days of morning room sevice I tip. 3 out of 7 days I leave the boat for ports and have lunch off the boat and tip. 3 out of 7 nights I eat in the preminum resteraunts and tip. I look at my bil and see 7 days at $36.00 per day for service charges. I say BS and am not paying it. She says I need to fill out a form and I change it to $7.00 per person a day. The bs is people who never affected my happiness are compensated. BS!

Unfortunately, you have no idea who "affects your happiness." It's one thing to do what you did, but another to come on here and boast about it. Obviously you're proud of your behavior.

 

I give up.. I'll never understand.

[golfer1957]

Whatever happened to freestyling tipping. I don't understand.

[falken]

not true.

 

with tipped employees there is a significantly lower federal minimum wage. the employer has to pay this and does not have to make up any short fall(in most states some states have different rules) to the regular minimum wage

 

Could have fooled me...

 

Employers of “tipped employees” must pay a cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour if they claim a tip credit against their minimum wage obligation. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the

minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference. Certain other conditions must also be met.

 

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/posters/minwage.pdf

 

 

[elisamarie]

HUH?????

 

You do understand that the cost of the cruise would have to increase, don't you? :confused:

 

Only by $70 for a 7 day cruise. I'd rather pay that up front. It's money already spent when I get on the ship.