rics321

More great info, ric. I assume the theoretical losses you speak of is ADT, Average Daily Theoretical, which Caesars uses to determine comps.

ric, I must say, though, as far as Carnival, I'm getting ready to go on my third free (inside cabin) Carnival cruise. I much prefer Royal Caribbean over Carnival and based upon what you're saying, I'll be looking to go on Royal Caribbean again.

That is correct .... theoretical loss is exactly the same as ADT.

I am a diamond at Caesars too .... NCL's comps are on par with Caesars. RCI additional comps are about 3X greater than Caesars, since the new guy took over. Precomp on room are based on history with RCI (its been great lately) ... however they will transfer your history from Caesars (I did it in 2012 on my 1st Allure sailing). Do you have a host agency which works with RCI ... if not you should get one .... they'd work better comps for you.

"A tip pool cannot be allocated to employers, or to employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips. These non-eligible employees include dishwashers, cooks, chefs, and janitors.[49]"

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.pdf

 

I guess the key word here is "customarily and regularly receive tips". Can NCL define janitors and floor cleaners as someone who customarily and regularly receives tips?

 

I'm sure they because of loopholes but...you are enabling their dirty practice by letting them hit you with that charge. If we stopped allowing that and tipped based on service, anyone not receiving tips would not get a reasonable wage thus they would leave the cruise ship. NCL would be forced to raise wages to keep workers.

 

I'm not going to let NCL change the definition of gratuity. They need to change their nasty tactics. Kevin Sheehan (CEO of NCL) makes 1.55 million a year as of 2013 with a 5% increase each year. The company can afford to do business right with their employees. But consumers enabling them is why they continue to do it.

 

Just saying.. I respect your thoughts on it though.

They are based in Nassau, Bahamas ... to skirt US laws. But that was cute that you pointed US law! Nothing on this cruise ships follow US law.

My first cruise is in three weeks and this is what I plan on doing. I'm getting really tired of how tipping works these days. When you order a pizza online, there is an option to tip before you even get the pizza. When you go pickup your food at a restaurant for takeout, there is an option to tip. When you order a coffee, you are sort of expected to tip.

 

Whatever happened to tipping based on service? Giving the option to tip or in this case, essentially forcing the tip on you defeats the whole purpose of a tip. You tip based on service. If service provided wasn't up to the standards you were expecting, why tip? I almost ALWAYS tip. But, there have been a few times I don't because I don't think they deserved it.

 

If I like a bartender on the Pearl in three weeks, I'll tip him more. If I get one that isn't attentive and doesn't care about me sitting there, I give him nothing. That's the way it should be. This forced 160 dollar tip whatever thing makes no sense. I'll tip those who deserve it. And again, I tip pretty much everyone but the amounts differ based on service. /end rant.

If you feel like that you are free to take off the daily service charge off your bill by visiting the front desk and tipping individually. Keep in mind while tipping individually not to over tip.

It's been proven time and time again that msg does not have adverse effects.

 

Pure umami is flavor!

The adverse effect of MSG is it makes you over eat.

Hello everyone.

I am new to CC but not new to cruising. I have been on Carnival, RC, Princess, and Celebrity, with Carnival as my most traveled.

This December I booked a cruise my first cruise with NCL -- Breakaway. I choose this ship because of cost, my home location to the departure port, the timing, and the children activities.

I am excited about my trip, but as I started looking into what the breakaway food options, it made me so confused.

 

I am trying to understand/determine if the UDP is worth it. I did the math

If I go to each speciality restaurant ONCE (not including the Ocean blah blah and the a la carte places) it cost $275 (2 adults and 1 child at half price except the Tappiyanik(sp)) and getting the UDP costs $297.50 (2 adults 1 child at half price, with NCL refunding later).

 

Seems like a no brainer, don't buy the UPD right. BUT wait I have been reading in different forums and message boards that you can use the UPD more than once in a day.

 

Ok enough of the background story here is what I need:

1. For those that have been on the breakaway are the specialty restaurants worth it?
   
2. Are the main dining rooms and other non-pay restaurants that bad that you spent all of your time in the specialty restaurants?
   
3. Did any one get the UPD and regretted it?
   
4. Did any one not get the UDP and wish they had?
   
5. Do the specialty restaurant serve lunch?
   
6. And the biggest question: HAS ANYONE USED THE UDP MULTIPLE TIMES IN MULTIPLE DAYS?
   

 

Depending on on your answers/feedback, I will make the decision on getting the UDP or not. I figured going to a restaurant twice or going to two in one day it would be more beneficial to purchase the UDP.

I am open to all responses but I would really like to hear from those that have been on the Breakaway or has actually had these experiences on a NCL ship. I have read NCLs website the FAQs, the terms and conditions of the UDP etc.

 

Thanks!

How old is your kid ... because young kids they rarely charge for speciality dining and older kids its 1/2 but I don't think they refund 1/2 if you buy the package.

I have cruised with Carnival for years and thought to give NCL a try this year. I have been nothing but disappointed and we are not even set to sail until December. First of all, I have been on hold with them twice for over 20 minutes each time, both of which I ended up hanging up before being helped. Second of all, my teenager loves to get a soda card but we do not drink soda. NCL tells us we either have to inconvenience his privileges and bring his soda on board with us, pay for his individual sodas all cruise or buy a soda package for ALL of us. Totally unacceptable. The boy is already bummed about no free daily sushi. The worst part is every time I do call to ask a question, the customer service is severely lacking. Not that I expect the answer I want every time, but they are not even sorry about having to deliver the bad news. I get a true feeling of 'take it or leave it' from them. Almost to the point of rudeness. I am pretty sure we are going on our first and LAST NCL cruise.

Well I'll tell you this ... its ok to be disappointed than to be dead from food poisoning on the filthy carnival ships. Paying NCL a little more is worth your life ... Isnt it?

Does anyone know what day the chef's table is on the Dawn? - Thanks, Jan

I would strongly advise against the chef's table if you are used to fine dining. That said the presentation of food was pretty good but the food itself was disgusting. The menu is exactly same on all ships (nothing chef inspired) and the pairing with awful wines makes the dinner unpalatable. I have done chefs table several times on ncl hoping each time that it would be better but alas no!

Special notes: It was difficult to taste the underlying taste of the tuna itself .... because the bad fish was being masked by the flavorings. Possibly can cause food poisoning. Also be very very cautious about eating the sea bass ... when fresh its supposed to have a very clean finish, but on ncl it tastes like smelly u know what. You are much better off doing chef's table at a nice place in Miami at similar price.

Mass cruise lines are not a good place for fine dining because they load their food with preservatives and mask/destroy the taste. So I would suggest save your money for a nice meal at awesome place on land .... and enjoy the activities and other cool things that a cruise ship provides!

Who exactly said the DSC is a salary??? The only person's post I can find that references the DSC and the word 'salary' is yours.

 

 

Rochelle

luddite above said its salary/pay and not a tip ... I was clarifying.

DSC is one thing I actually agree with you about. I think it should be made mandatory and should show up in the cruise fare so staff get a living wage and staff are not stiffed in a bad economy.

DSC stands for Daily Service Charge. It's a service that you are paying for. If you deduct your DSC, I think the room steward should deduct your cabin from his/her rounds.

I am per se not against the DSC .... just was clarifying what it is ... its not salary its a tip ... that's all I am saying.

The doozy you have proposed isn't that challenging.

 

 

If the standard (full ship) income expectation of this steward is $ 2,000 (btw...it's nowhere near that), then the week where it's only $1,000 is a week they have to struggle through due to a 1/2 full ship.

 

It's a variable compensation scheme, not dissimilar to a salesperson who receives both a Base (fixed) and Commission (variable) compensation scheme.

 

 

Beyond that, I'm not sure what point you were hoping to make.

 

 

 

.

Someone here was claiming DSC is salary ... I was explaining to her that its a tip. That's all!

BTW its not commission ... commission is earned on a sale, the cruise staff does no sales ... DSC is a tip!

And just for the record when gratuities are offered to a service person they never have to be to be grateful for it, as you suggested. They certainly can be appreciative but they shouldn't have to feel like you are bestowing them with some great favour. When a gratuity is given it should be you who is grateful for the service you have received.

 

 

Rochelle

Of course I am grateful for the service received. That is why I am tipping. You read too much into words and get twisted into a pretzel!

I'd be thrilled if the DSC was built into the cruise fare, eliminating tipping entirely.

Agreed!

Why would someone tip the behind the scenes employees? I will not and will be removing the DSC and tipping as I go. Itvwill probably cost more in the long run, but at least I will know who I was tipping.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Forums mobile app

You definitely are starting to make more and more sense. A tip should be given to the person why provides you service directly and they may choose to divide it up however they please to support staff.

If you were correct, well.....we would be in agreement.

Ok Einstein here is a dozzie for you! If there are 1000 people on a ship on 1 sailing ... and a steward gets paid $1000 for that sailing. Next week there are 2000 people on the same sailing ... so next week the steward gets $2000 because more DSC is collected. Under what basis would salary change from week to week like that? The only reason for the change is because DSC is a tip.

This one is easy. When you eat at a restaurant, assuming you leave the server a tip (yeah, I know what they say about "assume"), the waiter does not get the whole of your tip. He, in turn, tips out part of your tip to his support staff (busboy, host or hostess, dishwashers, etc). In a hotel, you tip the maid service, who in turn tips out to their support staff (generally laundry service or other). This is the way the service industry works, like it or not. On an NCL ship, there is no provision for this when paid cash tips without the DSC, so basically these people are not being paid their proper wages unless they are turned in and pooled with DSC. Since a cruise is a hotel, several restaurants, etc all-in-one, the DSC simplifies the entire process.

 

Yes, yes, we ALL know you intend to remove the DSC, stiff the butler and concierge, ok. Just making the clarification for normal people who intend to leave the DSC in place.

 

Robin

You clearly seem to be overtly emotional in your tipping habits. You act as if tips are the rights of the service people rather than privilege for which they should be grateful.

Can't we have a rational discussion? What some people here are suggesting is tipping such as DSC shouldn't be auto added and that they rather pay the room steward and the steward can distribute like in a hotel to support staff etc. if needed. Tips need to be given to the people who provide you service .... a mandatory tip makes the servers feel that its their right and they can provide substandard service and still feel entitled to it.

The DSC is not a tip. It IS their pay.

If DSC is not are tip but a pay ... then why are passengers allowed to adjust it as they please? You seriously need to look up the definition of tip and pay.

DSC is definitely a tip.

They will never do that as they wouldn't be able to advertise what the real fares are

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Forums mobile app

Well the only way to change the cruise line behavior is everyone collectively needs to stop DSC and then the cruiselines will start adding it to the fare. But that will not happen ... so we are kinda stuck.

That said I do see your point. When we book a hotel room we just pay for the hotel room ... all people are paid out of it. So why should a cruise line be any different? Seems to me they want to expand the tipping culture. I alone cant fight it and I don't wanna stiff the poor people making $50 a month.

Tipping typically should be for people who directly provide you service and not any random person you come in contact with.

Oh the worst thing about tipping on ncl cruise ship is they fold the check to the part of additional gratuity ... thinking you are dumb enough to add more without noticing the 15% already tacked on!

Why not stuff you face with three, maybe four meals. Whilst at it why not ask for a few buckets full of cola to wash it down with to maximise the value of the soft drinks package too. Pure gluttony.

Cruise food is loaded with preservations to keep it fresh longer. Technically speaking its no different from eating cardboard. Even the Ocean Blue restaurant while offering flavorful sauces topped over unpalatable meats is dangerously close to serving semi hazardous waste. Zakarian would never serve the kind of crap he serves on NCL in his NYC restaurant. Guess he figures the budget cruiser will be too enamored by flavoring of his sauces and too unsophisticated to know the quality of meat is lacking.

As a rule of thumb I eat less on cruises and use it more an opportunity to explore, sightsee and have fun!

Have been thinking about the charge for Ocean Blue and even with a discount I think we will pass. After buying the UDP we still have so many options so no need to spend the extra.

 

DD likes fish but not usually her first choice and I cannot eat lobster so it will be easy for us to pass.

Besides Ocean Blue is not as good as its cranked out to be. The food tasted like it was laden with preservatives .... just like any restaurant on all mass cruise lines. Save you money and go to a nice land based restaurant for sea food ...

I can officially taste the difference between fresh and frozen sea food as well as fresh 1 day old seafood and never frozen several day old seafood and ocean blue tastes like 1/2 the stuff is frozen and thawed and then cooked and the other 1/2 is fresh but not the same day fresh ... even on the 1st day of sailing.

Does anyone know what the maximum bets on Blackjack on CCL and/or if they have any "high limit" tables?

If you setup a credit line in excess of $50,000 I think they allow $500 to $5000. But I personally rate 100-2000 tables better because it lets you move 20X initial bet over the 10X in the 500 - 5000. Depends on how you play though.

Also CCL doesn't have PBL ... (personal betting limit), so you cant switch tables if it is running bad unless you want to downgrade your bet. That is why 100-2000 is probably better because atleast you have 2-3 table options and they can change limits on more tables if needed.

My gambling budget has been the same on both NCL and Carnival. NCL treats me so much better. My recent offers: NCL comped ocean view cabin 250$ casino cash and drink card. Carnival $25 casino cash and an opportunity to earn the drink card.

LOL ... That is funnier than you think!

While insurance of products is equivalent to burning money (like extended warrant on crap you buy at best buy etc.).

I have to actually agree with many posters that emergency medical insurance while generally speaking a loss making proposition is necessary as it can mitigate serious financial setbacks in event of a catastrophic event. That said I would never purchase any baggage loss or delay insurance etc. because those are typically covered by the many credit cards now and don't result in losses of catastrophic nature. Also I would never buy the insurance from the ship .... it is inflated and provides coverage you don't need and doesn't provide coverage where you really need!

I have a 1 million USD policy for emergency medical treatment when I travel out of my country. I think the ncl policy only covers $50,000 ... also my policy actually covers any and all pre existing conditions (without that the policy is worthless) and covers all my foreign travels for a whole year! My policy costs $165 a year and I am out of country 4-5 months a year so its great value.

NCL policy buyers beware ..... say you are taking a medication for heart care and you get a heart attack on the ship .... you are covered $0. So even if you don't mind pay the inflated $$$$ for your policy, you need to know in most cases that policy is worthless. It is necessary to get a policy which covers only emergency medical treatment but with my pre-existing condition rider.

OP, I don't think anyone has offered this solution, which is simply to transfer your NCL reservation to the TA of your choice. You have 60 days from booking to complete the transaction, as long as you are not past the final payment date, OR paid in full. A transfer ensures that you do not give up the cabin you already have booked. You retain the OBC and perks NCL offered at the time you booked, AND get anything extra the TA offers in perks like OBC and even a lower base price for the cruise if offered.

 

You would just inform the TA of choice and they will initiate the paperwork. We have transferred cruises a couple times, and it is usually completed within a day or two. We always retained the cabin we already had booked. Of course, once transferred you will deal directly with the TA for any problems or changes to the reservation. You can still make dinner reservations, etc through NCL direct however.

 

By the way, I have always found NCL to be open and above board when discussing pricing as compared to that offered in some cases by TAs. My PCC readily encouraged me to transfer my cruise should I find a better deal with what he called their "travel partners". He also explained step by step what I needed to do to get a transfer accomplished. Some TAs cannot offer a lower base fare. If they cannot, they are certainly not going to recommend you go over to Agency B where they sometimes do. They will simply state that they cannot offer a lower fare. It does not mean they are lying any more than a sales clerk at Sears who has no obligation to tell me I could buy this TV for less down the street. In all our bookings with TAs, I have only had two or three occasions where they could offer a lower base fare than NCL.

Awesome suggestion!

the booking of 20+ cruises with them. I know that when I call to book, they quote me different numbers than the base numbers, but the same numbers as the taxes-in numbers...oh, and I'm not obtuse.

 

That's how.

 

 

.

Just clarifying did you say you were not obtuse?

We now another poster here who has history on this board since 2005 ... who basically says other TAs can charge fares lower than NCL because he used the other TA to make a booking. Now you have made 20+ reservations on NCL as stated by you above ... and you couldn't figure that out ... would that be being obtuse? Pls clarify.

That said it took me like 20 mins of research to figure NCL agents and other TA's lie and that rates can be lower than NCL set prices. So what am I??? LOL Don't answer that question!

But since we are talking of butlers ... Butlers are people who listen and do what they are told kinda like ppl who believe what TA and commission earning ncl agents say .... by believing what TA's and NCL sales people tell they lose 50 to 200 a cruise.

Now look at people like me ... I didn't take the word of a NCL agent at face value because he/she has an inherent conflict of interest. I verified and found he lied in 20 mins on research.

Now lets blow up my skills on the real world level ... my skils could save a billion dollar company hundreds of millions ... so I kinda should get paid a millions for my skill. That are the true skills valued in a capitalistic society.

The person who takes orders and simply follows and believes what they are told and make tons of reservations with ncl just because they are told other TAs cant charge lower than ncl ... they lose ... they get fired! That is my whole point on why a butler should get paid at minimum wage level. There skills are minimum wage level skills in our world. So kinda tip $10 per hr of work a butler does ... so appox $50-$70 a cruise.

I thought that was true until I booked the Epic last year.

In the past, I have always booked right through NCL.

I "think" our prior PCC may have retired as I could no longer reach her. When I considered booking the cruise and was about to call NCL, I happened to receive an email from a travel partner (one of our airlines)that offered a pretty good rate and extra bonus points.

Next, I called NCL and gave my Latitudes # and the desired ship and date.

The price was higher and I questioned it. I was told that sometimes travel partners have booked blocks and the prices cannot be matched.

I went back to the travel partner and booked the cruise. I saw a price drop later and moved from inside to balcony, through the same travel partner, while still monitoring the rate on NCL.

I made out better.

 

Again, I always thought that dealing directly with the cruise line was the best. I now know to check multiple sources.

Thanks for backing me up! Looks like you are I used the exact same TA! The bonus air miles are so sweeeeet, specially if you have their branded cc!

BTW NCL reps lie about our TA booking blocks ... because our TA has discounted price on every room and every sailing. But then again salespeople lie .... and some ppl are so gullible that they will believe anything said by sales people who work on commission!

Someone told me as a fact ...." my travel agent told me rates are fixed by ncl ... that is why they cant give a discount." So precious, so cute ... I simply told that person "A gullible fool and his money are soon parted".