New Service Charge Change

[Krazy Kruizers]

First:

HAL will deduct your daily service charges and all other on-board purchases first from your OBC. Only after your OBC is used up will HAL start using other sources of payment.

 

Second:

HAL asks for a credit card at check in and then they place a hold on your card, but do not actually charge your credit card that amount (the $400 you mentioned). Most hotels, car rental agencies, and other cruise lines do the same thing, but they don't disclose the size of the hold.

 

At the end of the cruise, HAL will charge your credit card for all purchases and service charges above your OBC. They will also notify your bank to release the credit hold (but that won't happen as fast, usually).

 

I have heard that it is better not to use a debit/check card for the hold since your actual money is held up rather than just part of the credit line on a credit card. While a bank is supposed to release the hold after the end of the cruise, it can take up to 30 days for this to happen.

 

Also, I have heard that on American Express cards, there are no holds. HAL does take American Express at check-in, so that can be a good option if you have an AmEx card.

 

If you don't have or don't want to use a credit card, HAL asks for a cash deposit (can be traveler's checks) at the start of the cruise. If you make a cash deposit, and then spend less than that deposit amount during the cruise, on disembarkation morning you will be asked to go to the Front Office (front desk) to collect, in cash, the unused portion of your deposit. I once received a large OBC from my travel agent and had money left over at the end of the cruise. HAL also refunded the remainder of that OBC in cash on the final morning of the cruise.

 

Right -- we use AMEX and even though we see the amount of the hold when we complete our Signature Boarding Passes -- it is not acttually withheld once we sign in at the pier.

One time on a Hawaiian cruise -- we had so much bad weather and so many tours were cancelled for everyone -- and many of us had prebooked excursions -- we had a ton of shipboard credit at the end of the cruise. Many of us got letters indicating that we would be sent a check within so many days.

[Loucat]

First:

HAL will deduct your daily service charges and all other on-board purchases first from your OBC. Only after your OBC is used up will HAL start using other sources of payment.

 

Second:

HAL asks for a credit card at check in and then they place a hold on your card, but do not actually charge your credit card that amount (the $400 you mentioned). Most hotels, car rental agencies, and other cruise lines do the same thing, but they don't disclose the size of the hold.

 

At the end of the cruise, HAL will charge your credit card for all purchases and service charges above your OBC. They will also notify your bank to release the credit hold (but that won't happen as fast, usually).

 

I have heard that it is better not to use a debit/check card for the hold since your actual money is held up rather than just part of the credit line on a credit card. While a bank is supposed to release the hold after the end of the cruise, it can take up to 30 days for this to happen.

 

Also, I have heard that on American Express cards, there are no holds. HAL does take American Express at check-in, so that can be a good option if you have an AmEx card.

 

If you don't have or don't want to use a credit card, HAL asks for a cash deposit (can be traveler's checks) at the start of the cruise. If you make a cash deposit, and then spend less than that deposit amount during the cruise, on disembarkation morning you will be asked to go to the Front Office (front desk) to collect, in cash, the unused portion of your deposit. I once received a large OBC from my travel agent and had money left over at the end of the cruise. HAL also refunded the remainder of that OBC in cash on the final morning of the cruise.

Thank you so much for that clear information. I am not sure how you can check in without a card, but I appreciate your response. AmEx might be a good option.

Now I can complete check in!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you so much for that clear information. I am not sure how you can check in without a card, but I appreciate your response. AmEx might be a good option.

Now I can complete check in!!

 

You can fill in the Signature Boarding Pass any time. But you can not print it out until 50 days before your sailing date. You will get an e-mail from HAL reminding you that it is time to print the Pass.

You can do the check-in without a credit card -- there is a place where you can mark that you are paying cash. Once on the ship you will be required to go to the front desk and put down whatever amount they need -- depends on the length of your cruise -- if you choose to pay by cash.

[woody14h]

HAL never had little cards and envelopes to give out, as previous to the present system it was "Tipping not required". Envelopes were always available at the Front Desk, and they still are.

You could also bring some Thank You notes and include any additional cash you plan to give inside.

 

Don't forget that one of the best, and most appreciated, "something extra" is to mention a superlative employee---by name---on the Comment Card at the end of the cruise.

 

We have been doing this for years. There is always one or more stewards, etc. who deserve to be recognized. Naming them enhances their status with the home office. They are very proud of their accomplishments and a smile and handshake can make their day. Of course, a little extra token doesn't hurt.

[Mary Ellen]

HAL never had the envelopes when we started cruising with them. Back then it was "Tips Included" -- but we still tipped those people whom we felt made our cruise enjoyable.

That must have been before our time. We've been sailing on HAL since 1980. It was "tipping not required". Something different than "included". The Front Desk has always been happy to give us extra envelopes if we wanted more than what was in our cabin.

 

We give something extra to those who deserve it, but we really try to keep track of the names of the ones we want mention at the end of the cruise. Be it the guy at the omelet station or the beverage manager that merit the kudos.

[adrift@sea]

HAL never had the envelopes when we started cruising with them. Back then it was "Tips Included" -- but we still tipped those people whom we felt made our cruise enjoyable.

 

I believe the policy was "TIPPING NOT REQUIRED"; I don't recall tips ever being included with HAL.

[Randyk47]

I believe the policy was "TIPPING NOT REQUIRED"; I don't recall tips ever being included with HAL.

 

I think that's correct. I don't remember the details but our brick and mortar TA at the time made a big deal of not having to tip. There was some spiel at the time about "we pay our staff high wages to provide you the best possible service" and "tips are not required or expected". I don't remember anything about tips being included in the cruise fare. Quite honestly we went on our first HAL cruise not prepared to tip at the end of the cruise. We actually saw other passengers doing it the last day and we scrambled to put together tips for selected crew members like our cabin steward, dining room wait staff, etc.

[sail7seas]

HAL's previous policy as applied to gratuities was:

 

Tipping Not Required.

 

Many TA's gave the wrong information to their clients (purposefully or not) and often said, Tipping Included.

That was NOT the policy. Tipping was never included as long as we have sailed HAL which is since about 1991.

[adrift@sea]

Many TA's gave the wrong information to their clients (purposefully or not) and often said, Tipping Included.

That was NOT the policy. Tipping was never included as long as we have sailed HAL which is since about 1991.

 

I remember this as well. Many, many passengers believed (or chose to believe) that there was a no tipping policy. Quite a large number of World Cruise Passengers also believed this and would not tip after being on board for 100+ days.

[Cruzer Two]

I haven’t read all of the remarks on this thread, so some of my opinions might have been previous mentioned. I’m sure that some of my remarks will draw flak from those who do not agree with my opinions, but here goes. I would prefer that HAL and other cruise lines completely do away with the hotel charges/tips/gratuities that supposedly goes to the employees and increase the price of the cruise by an appropriate amount to cover employee wages. This would ensure that everyone is paying the same amount. I’m always appalled to see the lines of passengers at the purser’s desk requesting that these charges be removed from their bill. Passengers would still be free to directly tip employees who provide extra ordinary services. The present system is a complete joke.

 

On most cruise lines, the room steward used to attend to all of the passenger’s needs. These days, room stewards rarely do anything except clean the staterooms. Everything else is handled by room service. In the dining rooms, waiters now have so many tables assigned to their stations that they spend the entire night running back and forth to the kitchen and have little time to perform any real personalize service. Don’t get me wrong, I still love cruising, but some of the changes mentioned above have somewhat degraded the experience.

 

None of this is meant to take away from the job performed by the cruise line employees. Most of them preform there job in an exemplary manner and should be compensated accordingly. In my opinion, there would be more money for the employees if the hotel charge was added to the upfront price of the cruise.

 

Ron

[taxmantoo]

I’m always appalled to see the lines of passengers at the purser’s desk requesting that these charges be removed from their bill.

 

Have you actually surveyed the people in line as to their reason for being there? :rolleyes:

[Cruzer Two]

Have you actually surveyed the people in line as to their reason for being there? :rolleyes:

 

You don't have to conduct a survey. All you have to do is stand around the pursers desk on the next to the last day of any cruise and listen to the passengers requesting to have the tips reduced or removed. You would be surprised at the number of people making such requests.

 

Ron

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I’m always appalled to see the lines of passengers at the purser’s desk requesting that these charges be removed from their bill.

Ron, I am just curious how you knew that the long line is for those wanting to remove the Hotel Service Charge. Did you go to each one and ask them :confused: Actually very few people remove this so to say you saw a long line to remove this really does not make sense. Most people who go to the front desk are doing many other things such as checking on how much they have spent, getting a new key card, checking on the status of something, some passengers actually deposit money and not use a credit card and they deposit additional money. Then some just like to go ask questions.

 

Have you stayed at any large resort in recent times. Hotel Service Charges are here to stay. Almost every hotel in Las Vegas now Charges a Hotel Service Charge and the money does NOT go to the service staff that wait on you. You are still expected to tip them. I rather like the idea know that my Hotel Service Charge is going to the crew and they have a guarantee of their income. I like having the amount separated and knowing exactly what I am paying for the cruise.

[MandB]

OK, first; we have never removed the automatic charges and have never left a ship without giving something extra to the crew members who directly supported us during our cruise.

 

Having said that I still have a problem with the automatic charge. It comes across as a way to have customers subsidize the crew's wages while allowing the line to advertise lower cruise fares. I will change my opinion on this if someone can show me that the wages of the "behind the scenes" crew members were kept the same when the cruise lines implemented the automatic charges. At the time they said part of the charges was going to be given to them since they also served the customers but were seldom recognized. If their total compensation remained the same because their wages were reduced when they started to get part of the 'tips' then this is nothing more than the lines shifting wage costs to the customers. It also seems like the behind the scenes duties (like cleaning the public areas) should be a normal cost of business for the cruise line.

[Cruzer Two]

Ron, I am just curious how you knew that the long line is for those wanting to remove the Hotel Service Charge. Did you go to each one and ask them :confused: Actually very few people remove this so to say you saw a long line to remove this really does not make sense. Most people who go to the front desk are doing many other things such as checking on how much they have spent, getting a new key card, checking on the status of something, some passengers actually deposit money and not use a credit card and they deposit additional money. Then some just like to go ask questions.

 

Have you stayed at any large resort in recent times. Hotel Service Charges are here to stay. Almost every hotel in Las Vegas now Charges a Hotel Service Charge and the money does NOT go to the service staff that wait on you. You are still expected to tip them. I rather like the idea know that my Hotel Service Charge is going to the crew and they have a guarantee of their income. I like having the amount separated and knowing exactly what I am paying for the cruise.

 

 

Lisa, I am just curious how you knew the people at the purser’s desk were not asking to have the tips removed. Did you go to each one and ask them? Obviously, there are many reasons to go to the purser’s desk, but a surprising number of them are asking to have the tips removed. I know this for a fact.

 

Many industries lack pricing power due to the internet and have stated using additional fees to increase their revenue. Look at the pricing structure of the airlines. Do you really want to purchase a cruise and how all sorts of added junk fees?

 

You really have no idea how the money from these additional charges is allocated. Have the hotels in Las Vegas give their employees a raise as a result of the Hotel Service Charge? I think not. Does all of the tip money collected by the cruise lines really go to the employees? Hmmmmm!

 

The only price I care about is the bottom line. The real cost of cruising or staying in a Las Vegas hotel includes the hotel charge, so why not be upfront and include this in the advertised price of the cruise.

 

Just my thoughts,

Ron

[Krazy Kruizers]

I believe the policy was "TIPPING NOT REQUIRED"; I don't recall tips ever being included with HAL.

 

That was what was told to us when we did our first HAL cruise and asked people on the ship what the tipping policy was.

[Swelldame]

MandB: It comes across as a way to have customers subsidize the crew's wages while allowing the line to advertise lower cruise fares.

 

It's a method used even more so by airlines..... all of sudden things that used to be included are now extras. Pillows, peanuts, baggage, blankets, earphones, bulkhead seating and now even use of the potty. Sure the "base price" SEEMS lower. But then again, tipping has always been an "extra" on cruise ships and in restaurants. At least they're not charging us extra for pillows and blankets.... yet.

 

In the past it was very common to tip your hotel maid. It's only occasionally now that I find those little "Your room was cleaned by _______" envelopes in a hotel room. I wonder if these resort service charges are a way of putting that back on the customer, while keeping the booking price competitive.

 

I guess we all have to keep "buyer beware" in mind, and always make sure we know the real cost of things.

 

Here's a good (and rather humorous) lesson in that:

:D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa, I am just curious how you knew the people at the purser’s desk were not asking to have the tips removed. Did you go to each one and ask them? Obviously, there are many reasons to go to the purser’s desk, but a surprising number of them are asking to have the tips removed. I know this for a fact.

 

Many industries lack pricing power due to the internet and have stated using additional fees to increase their revenue. Look at the pricing structure of the airlines. Do you really want to purchase a cruise and how all sorts of added junk fees?

 

You really have no idea how the money from these additional charges is allocated. Have the hotels in Las Vegas give their employees a raise as a result of the Hotel Service Charge? I think not. Does all of the tip money collected by the cruise lines really go to the employees? Hmmmmm!

 

The only price I care about is the bottom line. The real cost of cruising or staying in a Las Vegas hotel includes the hotel charge, so why not be upfront and include this in the advertised price of the cruise.

 

Just my thoughts,

Ron

Well to answer your question in a nut shell I am personal close friends with several Guest Relation Managers and Several Hotel Managers, this discussion has been discussed with them several times so basically I have heard it from the horses mouth, so tell me how do you think you know this :rolleyes:

 

Yes I do know and for a fact that Holland America does in fact give all this money to their crew members which is another reason as to why it is charged separately.

 

If the only price you are concerned with is the bottom line then you should be happy the way it is because that is what they are giving you.

[InTheWASide]

The only price I care about is the bottom line. The real cost of cruising or staying in a Las Vegas hotel includes the hotel charge, so why not be upfront and include this in the advertised price of the cruise.

 

Just my thoughts,

Ron

 

HAL is upfront about the Hotel Service Charge. It's in all the brochures, it's on your cruise docs when you print them out, it's on the website... They also let you adjust or remove it if you prefer to go about it a different way.

 

If you don't want to be annoyed by it when you're onboard, buy yourselves onboard credit in the amount of the Hotel Service Charge when you make your booking. And there you go... Done! Already paid for and you took care of it "upfront"

[IRL_Joanie]

I haven’t read all of the remarks on this thread, so some of my opinions might have been previous mentioned. I’m sure that some of my remarks will draw flak from those who do not agree with my opinions, but here goes. I would prefer that HAL and other cruise lines completely do away with the hotel charges/tips/gratuities that supposedly goes to the employees and increase the price of the cruise by an appropriate amount to cover employee wages. This would ensure that everyone is paying the same amount. I’m always appalled to see the lines of passengers at the purser’s desk requesting that these charges be removed from their bill. Passengers would still be free to directly tip employees who provide extra ordinary services. The present system is a complete joke.

 

On most cruise lines, the room steward used to attend to all of the passenger’s needs. These days, room stewards rarely do anything except clean the staterooms. Everything else is handled by room service. In the dining rooms, waiters now have so many tables assigned to their stations that they spend the entire night running back and forth to the kitchen and have little time to perform any real personalize service. Don’t get me wrong, I still love cruising, but some of the changes mentioned above have somewhat degraded the experience.

 

None of this is meant to take away from the job performed by the cruise line employees. Most of them preform there job in an exemplary manner and should be compensated accordingly. In my opinion, there would be more money for the employees if the hotel charge was added to the upfront price of the cruise.

 

Ron

Ron, and others who feel the same......... I will only say that I wish that HAL would make it impossible/totally remove the ability to remove the Hotel Service Charge/Fee.

 

A rose is a rose by any other name and in this case I feel that Hoptel Service Charge/Fee is not a tip/gratuity but a Charge/Fee that should be up front and counted into the cost iof the cruise when booking it.

 

I do not know what the service from the stewards was like previously, but I do know what I receive from them now and it is wonderful and I am made to feel like a queen.

 

Tip/Fee, still ends up the same. Just change it to be added into the cost of the cruise and not something that anyone can remove.

 

Joanie

[Cruzer Two]

If the only price you are concerned with is the bottom line then you should be happy the way it is because that is what they are giving you.

 

HAL is upfront about the Hotel Service Charge. It's in all the brochures, it's on your cruise docs when you print them out, it's on the website... They also let you adjust or remove it if you prefer to go about it a different way.quote]

 

Ron, and others who feel the same......... I will only say that I wish that HAL would make it impossible/totally remove the ability to remove the Hotel Service Charge/Fee.

 

Joanie

 

 

So there you go, we all have different opinions and can freely express them here on Cruise Critic. We can all quote our experts to make our point, but the fact remains that none of this is going to make any difference on how HAL or any other company conducts their business. Lisa, ask you friends if HAL is giving their service employees a raise as a result of the increase in the hotel charge?

 

Every company wants to advertise the lowest price possible to make their product or service look attractive and then make up the difference with additional fees. Why don't the cruise lines include the taxes and port charges in the advertised price. After all this is certainly a cost of doing business. I've seen cases where the taxes and port charges actually exceeded the advertised price of the cruise. Of course, you know all of this before actually making the booking, but I would still like to see the real cost of the curise being advertized.

 

Ron

[LAFFNVEGAS]

 

Lisa, ask you friends if HAL is giving their service employees a raise as a result of the increase in the hotel charge?

 

 

Ron, I know for a fact they are getting a raise because this was negotiated on their most recent Union contract which is why I brought it up in June that I knew this was going into effect I was just not sure of the date that the raise was going into effect.

[IRL_Joanie]

I've seen cases where the taxes and port charges actually exceeded the advertised price of the cruise. Of course, you know all of this before actually making the booking, but I would still like to see the real cost of the curise being advertized.

 

Ron

 

Port Taxes are set, modified, etc by the ports and the countries, islands who are in control. HAL cannot modify the Taxes or the Port Fees, they can only pass them on to us, the same as Fuel Surcharges (which we have been lucky enough to not have to see in quite awhile.)

 

If Ports raise their fees HAL can only pass them on to us, same as any price increase on any item you buy at home.

 

Joanie

[Cruzer Two]

Ron, I know for a fact they are getting a raise because this was negotiated on their most recent Union contract which is why I brought it up in June that I knew this was going into effect I was just not sure of the date that the raise was going into effect.

 

Lisa, good for them!!

 

I've talked to several waiters and cabin stewards on past cruises, who have families living in Europe and have taken a forced paycut due to the Dollar being so weak against the Euro. They are paid in US Dollars that must be converted into Euros to meet their family expenses. Some of them were forced to quit and look for other types of imployment in their home country. Maybe this small salary increase helps.

 

Ron

[Boytjie]

Have you actually surveyed the people in line as to their reason for being there? :rolleyes:

 

You don't have to conduct a survey. All you have to do is stand around the pursers desk on the next to the last day of any cruise and listen to the passengers requesting to have the tips reduced or removed.

 

I never had a need or urge to hang around the front desk on the last day of a cruise.