Prepaid gratuities/service charge

Please can someone clear up an argument (discussion) for me. We are going on a cruise with friends in May. We have prepaid our gratuities but they insist they will go to reception and have them removed so that they can decide who to tip. I think I have read that this can't be done, that they are added to your on board account and you have to request a form to fill in and request a refund when your cruise is over. Who is correct?

can be done, should not be done

Both of you really.

You are correct that a form needs filling in.......if you are from the US.

As you are from the UK, I believe your friends will be able to just get it adjusted.

Great another gratuities/service charge thread. How about you tell your friends to not be cheap and just pay the requested amount.

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Great another gratuities/service charge thread. How about you tell your friends to not be cheap and just pay the requested amount.

 

 

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was there another one, I have not seen one in years;)

Great another gratuities/service charge thread. How about you tell your friends to not be cheap and just pay the requested amount.

 

 

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I thought it was a happy coincidence that this thread appeared just after someone on that thread said he resented the suggestion that British people asked for it to be removed.

Anyway, they are just asking a question. Let's leave it at that, rather than start another debate.

was there another one, I have not seen one in years;)

Look at the "Don't Flame Me" thread that is going strong. 114 posts so far and counting.

Why would anyone pre-pay the gratuities when they already know they will go to CS to have them removed? Assuming a UK booking and plan to remove first day?

Edit: I assume you meant your cabin pre-paid and theirs hasn't/won't.

Why would anyone pre-pay the gratuities when they already know they will go to CS to have them removed? Assuming a UK booking and plan to remove first day?

The OP has prepaid, but their friend hasn't.

If you prepay then you can't adjust onboard. The OP obviously has no intention of not paying.

Hmm, that makes me wonder. What would happen if they were in the same cabin? Two people pre-pay and two want to remove on board.

I'm not sure you can do that. I always prepay when booking and it's never been suggested that it is something that some in the cabin could do and some not.

Not that they would particularly point that out, but I've always seen it as an all or nothing thing.

Hmm, that makes me wonder. What would happen if they were in the same cabin? Two people pre-pay and two want to remove on board.

You can't. Cruised with a friend recently and either both pre-pay or neither does. No option for just some to pre-pay. I wanted to pay mine in advance for the cc points do I just bought OBC in an amount to cover it.

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Seriously??? Another DSC thread. Starting to think these get done on purpose to start drama. Just like the chair hog one today.

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was there another one, I have not seen one in years;)

Bahahahaha

We were on the Pearl last week and received a notice that there was a problem with our on board account. I had swiped our credit card for me and my husband as we were checking in the day before. Customer service said they needed a signature from me to add my husband. I was thinking why does it matter because most likely he won't be buying anything anyway. Then I realized it was for the daily gratuities. So when I went to customer service, I asked them to removed the daily gratuities for both me and my husband since they needed my signature. They said I could not remove the gratuities until the last day of the cruise because that is when they add them to the bill. They told me they are open 24 hours a day. So I went to customer service at around 6:00am the last day and the woman said I need to come back after 9:00am because that is when they have the forms to remove gratuities. I felt like it was a run around & intentionally done as a way to discourage people from removing gratuities. Just because they can add $280 to my bill for gratuities as a back end fee, include it in the ticket contract doesn't mean I want to pay it. I think it's poor customer service to expect gratuities for service that has not been rendered and for someone doing their job. The cruise industry is consistently raising the gratuities. Is this simply a way for them to pay investors and for CEOs to live in their cushy over priced mansions? How do I even know the staff is receiving the gratuities? I don't care who calls me cheap!!! The whole reason the ships are not flagged in America is because the cruise industry is being cheap and doesn't want to pay their staff a living wage. When I was a waitress, I received minimum wage of $3.25 an hour back in 1980. Tips were an extra bonus for good service. Now it seems like companies expect the customers to pay the salary of their employees. I'm not feeling sorry for a corporation that doesn't care about customer service. If I want to pay a tip, I will tip the person myself. I always think it's funny the cruise industry encourages the customers to tip staff above and beyond the auto gratuities.

We have a winner!!

Now it seems like companies expect the customers to pay the salary of their employees.

Isn't that always the case?:confused:

I was watching a British TA on YouTube reviewing Fred Olsen Lines and he mentioned that while they are a Norwegian-based company (meaning they are from the country of Norway), they are decidedly British with a vast majority of the passengers from the UK. In his list of "things not included" were the gratuities that are added automatically to your bill.

WAIT! A cruise line that caters to Brits that has gratuities added to the bill? What about "I come from a non-tipping culture". Evidently Fred Olsen Lines is able to fill up its ships with Brits who pay the grats, while American lines hear the excuse "we're not from a tipping culture".

Last time I checked this city is in England: Tipping in London

And this UK guide to tipping looks pretty much like our standards here: TripAdvisor UK Tipping Guide

There is a cultural difference in that first one that is interesting. Let's see if any one else sees the common refrain from the cheap-skates who say they won't pay the automatic gratuities. Disclaimer: only half of the people who don't pay gratuities are low down, rotten cheap-skates, and the rest are wonderful generous people, and I of course consider everyone here to be in the latter group.

Please can someone clear up an argument (discussion) for me. We are going on a cruise with friends in May. We have prepaid our gratuities but they insist they will go to reception and have them removed so that they can decide who to tip. I think I have read that this can't be done, that they are added to your on board account and you have to request a form to fill in and request a refund when your cruise is over. Who is correct?

This post is a red alert to me!! When the highlighted phraseology is used, almost without fail the question is being asked at a personal level and NOT on behalf of friends....my thoughts!

Whilst I agree that many Brits do not fully accept the NCL tipping strategy, the vast majority do pay them. It is therefore unfair when posters (albeit a minority) label the Brits as non tipping cheapskates. Even on this thread, there is at least one USA poster who clearly does not pay tips!

At first I thought you were kidding. Wow, you actually sleep at night? As said above, "We have a winner" ding ding ding.

We were on the Pearl last week and received a notice that there was a problem with our on board account. I had swiped our credit card for me and my husband as we were checking in the day before. Customer service said they needed a signature from me to add my husband. I was thinking why does it matter because most likely he won't be buying anything anyway. Then I realized it was for the daily gratuities. So when I went to customer service, I asked them to removed the daily gratuities for both me and my husband since they needed my signature. They said I could not remove the gratuities until the last day of the cruise because that is when they add them to the bill. They told me they are open 24 hours a day. So I went to customer service at around 6:00am the last day and the woman said I need to come back after 9:00am because that is when they have the forms to remove gratuities. I felt like it was a run around & intentionally done as a way to discourage people from removing gratuities. Just because they can add $280 to my bill for gratuities as a back end fee, include it in the ticket contract doesn't mean I want to pay it. I think it's poor customer service to expect gratuities for service that has not been rendered and for someone doing their job. The cruise industry is consistently raising the gratuities. Is this simply a way for them to pay investors and for CEOs to live in their cushy over priced mansions? How do I even know the staff is receiving the gratuities? I don't care who calls me cheap!!! The whole reason the ships are not flagged in America is because the cruise industry is being cheap and doesn't want to pay their staff a living wage. When I was a waitress, I received minimum wage of $3.25 an hour back in 1980. Tips were an extra bonus for good service. Now it seems like companies expect the customers to pay the salary of their employees. I'm not feeling sorry for a corporation that doesn't care about customer service. If I want to pay a tip, I will tip the person myself. I always think it's funny the cruise industry encourages the customers to tip staff above and beyond the auto gratuities.

If you pay the DSC, then you have "tipped" all of those who are supposed to be "tipped". Period. End of story. No further tips are expected or required.

This is interesting! An American saying they will remove the 'gratuities' and another American saying the service charge should be included in the fare as it is part of the staff pay.

I am disappointed that cruise lines catering to the UK market have adopted the US tipping system. I do not expect to stay in a hotel in the UK and be told that I have to pay extra to have my room cleaned and towels changed. I do not expect to visit a restaurant and find that the staff entrusted to bring my food to the table are not being paid properly.

If the extra payment is for staff wages, it is part of the cruise fare, and should be included. A tip, IMHO, is a small extra thank you to the staff.

If cruise lines operating out of the UK do not understand and recognise the difference, they should not be surprised if Brits interpret this the way we normally understand it.

I understand that in the US, there is some system to ensure that service staff pay taxes on their tips. In the UK this is not so straightforward. Service staff are paid a wage and their employer deducts their taxes from what they have earned from them. If the tips were of the high amounts expected in the US, this money would be quite substantial untaxed earnings. This is not fair, not only because the employee is not contributing properly to the many benefits UK taxes provide, but they may also claim additional benefits including among others, free medical prescriptions, and top up payments for the low paid, to which they are not entitled.

Including the 'gratuities' in the cruise fare would ensure that no passengers of any nationality,would be able to deprive the staff of what they have earned.

....Including the 'gratuities' in the cruise fare would ensure that no passengers of any nationality,would be able to deprive the staff of what they have earned.

I agree that would solve the problem, but under the current system all passengers can ensure that staff are not deprived of their well-earned tips....just leave the DSC intact, whether pre-paid or paid via onboard account.

I always include the Daily Service Charge (DSC) when I book our cruises. That way, it's paid at final payment & becomes part of our cruise fare. :D

When I want to tip someone, I do that in cash on our last day............

It is therefore unfair when posters (albeit a minority) label the Brits as non tipping cheapskates.