Tipping on NCL

[oyveymama]

This is our first time cruising when a service charge is automatically added to our bill. So - is it possible to change the amount of the daily service charge added to our account? What if we want to tip less, or add more for exceptional service? We are on the Spirit in April.

[patseacruiser]

Feel free to add more. If you want to remove your DSC I am under the impression it can be done but expect a call from the hotel manager to ask what the problem is so it can be corrected.

[Happy ks]

I'd never tip less, rather make a complaint for poor service towards an individual. I don't think you can adjust the service charge to tip an individual less money, instead you would cut everyone out of a tip. With all the restaurants on NCL, it would be difficult to tip out cash to everyone who serves you every time you eat.

 

I think if you want to give more, just give that person cash in a thank you card (or just hand it to them).

[trish1c]

We leave it alone & give cash directly to those who merit it.

[luddite]

We leave it alone & give cash directly to those who merit it.

 

That'd be the good policy.

[smeyer418]

if you remove it or leave less any cash you give to any employee on NCL must be turned in no matter how much. So if you want to reward someone extra there are two relatively simple way to do it, the first as others describe is leave extra, the second is ask for a style card from reception wrote a note praising that extra going employee and they will be rewarded with better assignments a larger share of the DSC(a promotion) or even a day off!

Likewise removing the DSC or a part of it rarely gets taken off from the person you want to say didn't do right by you. So writing a negative style card will get the person a demotion, extra assignments(like cleaning out the grease traps) or other negatives.

Do employees just pocket the cash? sometimes BUT the employees live in close quarters and know each others business fairly well. They don't like keeping large amounts of cash in their rooms either(which they share with 2-3 people. It was eye opening to me when the cruise lines had their crime logs posted how many employees had reported thefts!

 

IMO leave it on give extra where warranted and write a positive or negative note instead.

[macksmom330]

While I was reading member reviews of the Norwegian Gem recently I saw a guy comment that he went and cancelled his tips/got them reduced...something like that. So yes, it is possible to change the amount of tips given. But like others have said, I don't think the people who work on cruise ships really get paid that much money, so they really need it! Writing a tip card might just be your best bet!

[Bonnie J.]

Once on NCL we tried to lower our steward's tip and couldn't lower an indivigual's tip. So we canceled all and gave our fantastic waitress and her assistant $5 or more each night and a big one at the end of the cruise. This was when they 1st started automatic tipping. Now we leave it alone and hand cash to everyone who deserves a thank you for extra service.

[cruisin'tex]

This is our first time cruising when a service charge is automatically added to our bill. So - is it possible to change the amount of the daily service charge added to our account? What if we want to tip less, or add more for exceptional service? We are on the Spirit in April.

 

You can always adjust at the purser's desk.

[firefly333]

This is our first time cruising when a service charge is automatically added to our bill. So - is it possible to change the amount of the daily service charge added to our account? What if we want to tip less, or add more for exceptional service? We are on the Spirit in April.

 

Iv heard it is very hard to completely remove, though you can remove part of it ..still hard.

 

Clearly anyone asking wants to tip less as you would easily know how to tip more, leave it alone and tip the extra in cash.

 

We had a group cruise cancelled on NCL because of cheap people, 5 people cancelled when the group leader told them they wouldnt be able to completely remove the tips which on NCL are now called service charge.

 

I think all the cruiselines need to make it this difficult to tip less.

[patseacruiser]

I took a seminar at sea on the Jewel in September. We had a large function with John O'Hara, hotel manager. I specifically asked the question if you can remove the DSC and if you do remove it and tip the staff do they have to turn it in. I repeated the question more than once so that we were on the same page. He said you can remove the DSC but you will receive a visit from him. He wants to know why and who is responsible for the poor service that makes you feel you want to remove the DSC and he will take action on that employee. If you tip in cash to one or more specific people, even if you removed the DSC, they are allowed to keep it. He said he has had people say they wanted to remove the DSC and tip their butler $1,000. He said you know they didn't tip that much but if they insist then that's that. So please don't flame me because after reading it on these boards I wanted the answer from the horse's mouth.

 

But I think you will see that there is NO REASON TO REMOVE THE DSC. The service you receive will warrant just leaving it in place. If you receive even better service than you thought - just leave extra to those that provided it. If you remove it and think you can tip $5 to everyone who helps you then you don't really see what goes on behind the scenes. Even your cabin steward couldn't provide the service he or she provides if there weren't people doing the wash so you'd get clean sheets or towels. Or people printing the dailies so they can leave one on your bed. If they had to do that work themselves there would be no time for a towel animal on your bed. The waiter doesn't serve you unless many people in the galley washed, cut, cooked the food he's going to serve you. And it goes on and on.

[MMMD]

This is our first time cruising when a service charge is automatically added to our bill. So - is it possible to change the amount of the daily service charge added to our account? What if we want to tip less, or add more for exceptional service? We are on the Spirit in April.

 

Don't adjust your Service Charge. This charge includes staff that you will never see, but work very hard to make your cruise wonderful.

 

If you wish to tip a staff member extra, give cash to the person directly.

 

As long as the Service Charge is in place, any staff member who receives cash can keep it.

 

If you adjust or remove the charge, any cash is turned in and pooled for everyone to split.

 

It's best to leave it alone and tip extra in cash.

[MMMD]

double post

[MMMD]

I took a seminar at sea on the Jewel in September. If you tip in cash to one or more specific people, even if you removed the DSC, they are allowed to keep it. He said he has had people say they wanted to remove the DSC and tip their butler $1,000. He said you know they didn't tip that much but if they insist then that's that. So please don't flame me because after reading it on these boards I wanted the answer from the horse's mouth.

 

 

Our "horse's mouth" said the opposite in January on the Jewel.

 

If you adjust or remove the Service Charge, all cash tips are turned in and pooled for everyone to share.

 

 

Butlers and the Concierge are NOT included in the Service Charge anyway.

 

The Service Charge is for every other staff member BUT them.

 

Any cash you give to your Butler or Concierge is for them to keep. The OP never mentioned sailing in a Suite.

[njhorseman]

I took a seminar at sea on the Jewel in September. We had a large function with John O'Hara, hotel manager. I specifically asked the question if you can remove the DSC and if you do remove it and tip the staff do they have to turn it in. I repeated the question more than once so that we were on the same page. He said you can remove the DSC but you will receive a visit from him. He wants to know why and who is responsible for the poor service that makes you feel you want to remove the DSC and he will take action on that employee. If you tip in cash to one or more specific people, even if you removed the DSC, they are allowed to keep it. He said he has had people say they wanted to remove the DSC and tip their butler $1,000. He said you know they didn't tip that much but if they insist then that's that. So please don't flame me because after reading it on these boards I wanted the answer from the horse's mouth.

 

But I think you will see that there is NO REASON TO REMOVE THE DSC. The service you receive will warrant just leaving it in place. If you receive even better service than you thought - just leave extra to those that provided it. If you remove it and think you can tip $5 to everyone who helps you then you don't really see what goes on behind the scenes. Even your cabin steward couldn't provide the service he or she provides if there weren't people doing the wash so you'd get clean sheets or towels. Or people printing the dailies so they can leave one on your bed. If they had to do that work themselves there would be no time for a towel animal on your bed. The waiter doesn't serve you unless many people in the galley washed, cut, cooked the food he's going to serve you. And it goes on and on.

 

Butlers are not compensated from the DSC pool because they only provide service to a small percentage of passengers, so that answer makes no sense, or at best is incomplete, and I'd be very surprised if that's exactly what John O'Hara said. On the other hand it wouldn't be the first time a hotel director got his facts mixed up. Not long ago, Hugo V., the long time hotel director on the Norwegian Dawn, insisted that an OBC from the cruise line could not be used to pay the DSC. After checking with his staff, he had to sheepishly admit that he was wrong. It was their former written policy, but was dropped some time ago when they realized their accounting system wasn't set up that way despite what the written policy said.

 

Sometimes the "horse" doesn't always speak from its mouth...it can the other end talking (and believe me, I know horses ;)).

 

FYI, here's the NCL FAQ on tipping. Note the specific mention of butler and concierge:

 

http://www2.ncl.com/faq#n19261

 

What about Tipping?

Guests should not feel obliged to offer a gratuity for good service. However, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile," and so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities entirely at the discretion of our guests who wish to acknowledge particular staff members for exceptional or outstanding service. In other words, there is genuinely no need to tip but you should feel free to do so if you have a desire to acknowledge particular individuals.

 

Also, certain staff positions provide service on an individual basis to only some guests. We encourage those guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. For example, for guests purchasing bar drinks the recommended gratuity is 15 percent. For guests purchasing spa treatments the recommended gratuity is 18 percent. Similarly, for guests using concierge and butler services, we recommend they consider offering a gratuity commensurate with services rendered.