Tipping on NCL

[esther e]

Am I correct in understanding that if you are in a suite no gratuity for the butler is added to your daily charge? The butler is your own doing? All other ship lines add the daily gratuity for the butler.

[watchdiva]

Am I correct in understanding that if you are in a suite no gratuity for the butler is added to your daily charge? The butler is your own doing? All other ship lines add the daily gratuity for the butler.

The butler and concierge are not included in the daily service charge.

[josephsschmoe]

Y If you remove the service charge to only tip a few crew members then your name is put on a list and the cash tips you give to those crew members is turned back into the pool. If you adjust the service charge amount (like cut it in half for example) then the same applies.

 

This is news to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S Schmoe

 

How did you come by this information?

 

Our two cabin stewards did a wonderful job and we wanted to recognize them individually. We reduced our DSC to $8. We were asked to fill out a form giving the reason for the reduction. Mr. Joseph S Schmoe indicated that he wanted to tip the stewards individually for doing such a great job. Each of the cabin stewards received envelopes containing $30USD (most competing lines recommend tipping $3.50-3.75/day to each steward). The intent was for each steward to receive the money in the envelope as an addition to a share of the $8/person/day that was placed in the common pool.

 

There is alot in this world that has gone by the Schmoes. Should this be added to the list?

[CruisnGram]

This is news to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S Schmoe

 

How did you come by this information?

 

Our two cabin stewards did a wonderful job and we wanted to recognize them individually. We reduced our DSC to $8. We were asked to fill out a form giving the reason for the reduction. Mr. Joseph S Schmoe indicated that he wanted to tip the stewards individually for doing such a great job. Each of the cabin stewards received envelopes containing $30USD (most competing lines recommend tipping $3.50-3.75/day to each steward). The intent was for each steward to receive the money in the envelope as an addition to a share of the $8/person/day that was placed in the common pool.

 

There is alot in this world that has gone by the Schmoes. Should this be added to the list?

 

Yeah it should be added. When you altered your DSC, the money you gave your stewards had to be turned in to share with the rest of the people in the tip pool. Assuming that the DSC was still $10 per day when you sailed, reducing it to $8 per day saved you $14 per person on the DSC. That's $28 total for the 7 day cruise and you gave the stewards $60. They'd have made more had you left he DSC in place and given them each $16 in cash (the $32 differenc). They could have kept it then while still receiving their share of the tip pool.

 

CG

[*Wink*]

This is news to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S Schmoe

 

How did you come by this information?

 

He came by that information because he's their employee.

 

CG is right.. once you alter the DSC, the staff's required to turn in any money they're given by you to be put in the tip pool. Keep the DSC in place, they can keep each additional money they receive from you.

 

But you're right.. It's not common knowledge. :)

[iheartbda]

....... If you remove the service charge to only tip a few crew members then your name is put on a list and the cash tips you give to those crew members is turned back into the pool..........

 

This is news to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S Schmoe

 

How did you come by this information?

Most likely from NCL since James has worked on at least one of their ships for a few years now.;)

[iheartbda]

HA,HA,HA!!!

GREAT minds think alike...check the posting times. Guess you were a nano second quicker than me.:D

[*Wink*]

HA,HA,HA!!!

GREAT minds think alike...check the posting times. Guess you were a nano second quicker than me.:D

Indeed... I'm honored. ;)

[ohioNCLcruiser]

haha great posting time.

 

 

AHHHH 14 hours till I'm back on the ship!

[JamesIlsley]

So....what you're saying is a family of four at $48 pd adds up, therefore, if someone feels that a total of $30 pd is fair, that's what they should pay? Someone else could feel that $25 is fair, and on and on downward.

 

I like to think of it like this: The service charge is a charge. It is not the same thing as a tip. It is part of the cost that everyone agreed to when then book.

 

Think of it like this- If you go to a steak house on land and you and your spouse orders steaks. One is fabulous and the other is kinda over done. The first thing you do is ask the server/manager to make it right- i.e. recook the steak. If after trying to make you happy, the steak still is bad, then you would tell the manager that you do not want to pay for it. The same thing with NCL... you agree to pay the standard service charge. If you have bad service you talk to a manager and resolve the issue. If after trying to rectify the situation everything is still awful beyond help then and only then do you remove the charge. It is not really not all that descretionary in my humble opinion.

 

Another example- if you hire a contractor to do home repair you agree to a price. If there is a problem you give him a chance to fix it and if all else fails and the agreed work is not completed, then you talk about reducing the price. Same thing on the ship... you are agreeing when booking to pay that charge for the services provided. It would be so much easier if they would just include the DSC in the published cruise price but of course all lines would have to follow suit since people comparison shop.

[*Wink*]

James.. have a great first day back to work! Don't let anyone give you any crap!! :D

[ohioNCLcruiser]

James.. have a great first day back to work! Don't let anyone give you any crap!! :D

 

Last night I stood in front of the mirror and practiced my "NO!" so I think I'm ready! ;)

[iheartbda]

Yes,GreaseDJ, your take on things is fair. I do believe that the scenario you propose is just what NCL has in place IF you want to reduce the DSC. They want the opportunity to make things right if a pax has a problem and will exhaust all avenues in doing so.

 

The poster who I was referring to seemed to indicate that ALL you had to do was go and request the DSC be adjusted when it is not as simple as that...there is a process involved. I was taking particular issue with the statement that for a family of four it adds up so just reduce it to whatever an individual thinks is fair.

 

Maybe I was misunderstanding their posts but it could very well make a new cruiser think that the DSC is a "willy nilly" thing and they can do whatever they please.

 

The whole DSC charge is quite simple.

First, factor in the DSC/tips, whatever a particular line calls it, into the final cost of the cruise.

 

Second, IF there is a problem, report it and give the staff a chance to remedy the problem but be sure it is a problem with the staff that has a chance of being corrected. Sometimes people take a situation out on the staff that has nothing to do with them.

 

Third, leave the DSC in place (in the absence of above) and tip extra in cash to anyone you feel deserves extra.:)

[josephsschmoe]

They'd have made more had you left he DSC in place and given them each $16 in cash (the $32 differenc). They could have kept it then while still receiving their share of the tip pool.

 

CG

 

Our intent was to leave the stewards with something in addition to the standard tip pool distribution while not increasing our overall obligation

[Zambini]

Ok, here's a scenario, all quality responses appreciated.

 

We have been on a couple of cruises to Europe that have been so fast paced and port intensive that we really didn't eat in the dining rooms at all, we ate room service for breakfast and hit the ground running, eating lunch and dinner everyday in port.

 

At the end of the cruise, we adjusted the DSC down because we didn't utilize the dining service BUT we tipped the room service delivery and room steward heavily in cash for their extra trouble?

 

OK or Not?

[SuiteCruiser]

Ok, here's a scenario, all quality responses appreciated.

 

We have been on a couple of cruises to Europe that have been so fast paced and port intensive that we really didn't eat in the dining rooms at all, we ate room service for breakfast and hit the ground running, eating lunch and dinner everyday in port.

 

At the end of the cruise, we adjusted the DSC down because we didn't utilize the dining service BUT we tipped the room service delivery and room steward heavily in cash for their extra trouble?

 

OK or Not?

 

I would say not. The stewards in this situation also had to hand in their cash tips. The room service people get to keep theirs, I think, but it might depend on when you adjusted the service charge.

 

I think the confusion now is that it really isn't a tip. It is a daily service charge. NCL is saying that with their daily service charge, there is no obligation to tip anyone anymore. I think a lot of people still consider the DSC to be a tip, which is normally service dependant.

 

As posted above, everyone should add the cost of the DSC to their cruise budget and not worry about tipping. If someone does an awesome job and you want to give them something extra, then you can, and they will be able to keep it.

[G-Funk]

Ok, here's a scenario, all quality responses appreciated.

 

We have been on a couple of cruises to Europe that have been so fast paced and port intensive that we really didn't eat in the dining rooms at all, we ate room service for breakfast and hit the ground running, eating lunch and dinner everyday in port.

 

At the end of the cruise, we adjusted the DSC down because we didn't utilize the dining service BUT we tipped the room service delivery and room steward heavily in cash for their extra trouble?

 

OK or Not?

 

Despite what you will no doubt hear shortly from the tipping fanatics, you can do whatever you want to make things, in your mind, fair for yourself and those that served you.

 

The attempt is being made by some to relabel the DSC (which is really just another name for the suggested tip amount) a required charge, which it is not. If it was required, it would be part of the inital cruise cost, and it is not.

 

I applaud your attempt to reward the appropriate people on your cruise experience.

[iheartbda]

Our intent was to leave the stewards with something in addition to the standard tip pool distribution while not increasing our overall obligation

This still doesn't make sense...forgive me if I'm not understanding correctly.

 

I understand that you want to give the stewards something in addition to the stewards. What I don't understand is, "while not increasing our overall obligation". There are others in the tip pool who would now be getting less when you reduced your "obligation" to $8 per day, for instance the waiters. Were they not satisfactory? There are any number of people getting a part of the DSC that we don't necessarily see or interact with but are still contributing to making a good cruise experience.

[Planer's Edge]

Despite what you will no doubt hear shortly from the tipping fanatics, you can do whatever you want to make things, in your mind, fair for yourself and those that served you.

 

The attempt is being made by some to relabel the DSC (which is really just another name for the suggested tip amount) a required charge, which it is not. If it was required, it would be part of the inital cruise cost, and it is not.

 

I applaud your attempt to reward the appropriate people on your cruise experience.

 

Contrary to what you have to say about this, no one is stating that the service charge is a required fee. They are just informing people just what happens when you adjust or eliminate the service charge. You may not be "rewarding" the appropriate people at all.

 

PE

[G-Funk]

Contrary to what you have to say about this' date=' no one is stating that the service charge is a required fee. They are just informing people just what happens when you adjust or eliminate the service charge. You may not be "rewarding" the appropriate people at all.

 

PE[/quote']

 

I have to respectfully disagree - look at what my good friend AW says in post 37. There are many have made or will make this same point in similar ways.

 

We've hashed it out in the past and don't need to go down that road again. I just like to make sure the discussion is balanced whenever it comes up - paying the suggested DSC is not required and passengers should do what they feel is fair and right in their circumstances.

[Planer's Edge]

I have to respectfully disagree - look at what my good friend AW says in post 37. There are many have made or will make this same point in similar ways.

 

We've hashed it out in the past and don't need to go down that road again. I just like to make sure the discussion is balanced whenever it comes up.

 

I understand completely now.

 

Since you have been here for so very long and are the resident voice of reason. :rolleyes:

 

Besides AWinkler was just quoting from NCL's own information.

 

PE

[G-Funk]

I understand completely now.

 

Since you have been here for so very long and are the resident voice of reason. :rolleyes:

 

Besides AWinkler was just quoting from NCL's own information.

 

PE

 

WOW!! I guess nobody new here is welcome . . . especially if they have an opinion that differs from the masses.

 

And by the way, if you took a moment to look, AW included comments of his own after the material he quoted from the NCL website. That is what I was referring to.

[smeyer418]

Ok, here's a scenario, all quality responses appreciated.

 

We have been on a couple of cruises to Europe that have been so fast paced and port intensive that we really didn't eat in the dining rooms at all, we ate room service for breakfast and hit the ground running, eating lunch and dinner everyday in port.

 

At the end of the cruise, we adjusted the DSC down because we didn't utilize the dining service BUT we tipped the room service delivery and room steward heavily in cash for their extra trouble?

 

OK or Not?

 

interesting post. You never ate at the dining rooms at all buffet etc...remember this is an NCL thread where there is no set time to eat so you can go to the dining room at 10 pm and still get dinner.

The way it works on NCL is that if you remove/reduce the service charge, any cash you give the traditionally tipped staff must be turned in to the pool no matter how much you give them even if it is more that the service charge. the traditionally tipped staff doesn't include the room service delivers(although on Cunard and princess they will tell you these are included in the daily service charge amount) so in this case your room steward had to turn in the full amount you gave them and share it with the pool. They will only get out their percentage share not the money you gave them. The only way to give them extra is to leave it on and give them extra. The crew is happy with this and it really cuts down on the number of passengers that stiff them for no reason or a reason having nothing to do with the service they provide(I didn't like the steak I ordered or the portions are too small the wait staff has nothing to do with either.)

 

There is reasons for this which I won't go into now as this thread is long enough and I have stayed out of it...until now.

[CruisnGram]

Our intent was to leave the stewards with something in addition to the standard tip pool distribution while not increasing our overall obligation

 

Maybe my math is wrong, but you added to your overall obligation didn't you? How many days was the cruise? And was the DSC $10 or $12 per day? My figures were based on $10 pp per day on a 7 day cruise.

 

Regardless, what I originally said stands. By reducing the DSC, you actually penalized your stewards instead of rewarding them extra. If you want to give extra, you just have to fork over more out of your pocket...the way you did it doesn't work. And, if you feel that the DSC is more then sufficient to cover your tips, then just don't leave extra for anyone...it's not necessary.

 

CG

[mpk218]

In the most simple terms :

The daily surcharge is how the employees ( in the pool ) are paid aside from the $50 a month for basics... You can label this thing what ever you like , tip , DSC , handout , payroll , extortion , you pick it.

Let your conscience be your guide. ;)