A small tip for safely tipping extra on NCL ships

[BreeYark]

On my last cruise, I had an unpleasant situation at a specialty restaurant. I had the SDP, with prepaid tips, but I decided to add an extra tip to the bill, having received great service. So I clearly wrote "1.00$" on the extra tip line. My account then showed a 10.00$ charge at that restaurant. I went to customer service to mention the mistake and all they could do was "leave a note for the specialty restaurant". It never got corrected. I don't like to waste time on these unpleasant things during a cruise, so I let it go, just making sure I never extra-tip that specific waitress again.

 

I'm not sure if this is a common scheme from the restaurant staff or if this is just an honest mistake, but I learned from that and I started writing my extra tips with words and letters, just to make sure I don't open up the opportunity for the same situation ever again. Now I clearly write "One dollar" on the extra tip line, with lines before and after, just like I would on a check.

 

So my tip for safely tipping extra is just this : Write everything in words, not in numbers. This will greatly reduce the opportunity for a hard-to-correct unpleasant mistake to show up on your account.

[Sissaaaaaa]

$1.00? I'm not sure if this is a joke or not ...

[mjkacmom]

Well, here the $ goes before the amount, and it's common to leave $1 if you are unhappy with the service, like an insult. $1 is fine for s tip on a drink, and leaving nothing is fine, but it's not nice to leave $1 for your server.

[janpo]

Why leave a $1.00? That's an insult. Better to leave nothing than what you did.

[TonyFred]

Cheap. Very cheap.

[PhillyTravelBug]

That is very insulting to the waiter. We left $10 for the hibachi chef and in Cagney.

[FranknBeans]

Wow $1

[ColinIllinois]

Just take a bunch of quarters and then leave four on the table. That way there won't be a mistake on the receipt.

[david5272]

having received great service. So I clearly wrote "1.00$" on the extra tip line. My account then showed a 10.00$ charge at that restaurant. I went to customer service to mention the mistake and all they could do was "leave a note for the specialty restaurant". It never got corrected. I don't like to waste time on these unpleasant things during a cruise, so I let it go, just making sure I never extra-tip that specific waitress again.

 

Are you serious....we gave the waitress in the Manhatten dinning room $10 each night...we had her all four nights we ate there, requested her eat time after meeting her the first time we ate there.

[hockey1963]

OMG 1.00$ seriously?! I would be embarrassed to leave so little! We usually leave at least 10.00$

[kerryincork]

Hang on she had paid her tips as part of her package, she didn't have to leave anything. Even if you and the waiter thinks it insulting to leave a $1.00 tip it is still stealing from the passenger to alter the tip.

I have seen plenty of CC'ers jump up and down accusing people of stealing from NCL if they get someone a single drink. But you think it's OK for crew to steal from passengers.

 

BreeYark I heard about this trick of altering tip line years back. I always strike through the space for extra tip and write total in space provided. If there was an automatic tip added to my bill I will often round it up to nearest dollar.

 

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[mpk218]

Maybe tipping is different in Canada .. It could be ;)

[hawkeyetlse]

Did you just write in the tip, or did you write in the tip and the new total? There is redundancy built into the ticket, if you fill it out completely the way you're supposed to. Also, if it's a round number, there is no need to write the extra zeroes, just write "$1". With a line after it, if you're afraid they're going to falsify the ticket. Or write the zeroes smaller, like "$1.ºº".

 

Your complaint was handled poorly on board. They are supposed to dig up the actual ticket and show it to you. I thought all the tickets were sent to Guest Services, but maybe the restaurant still had yours. In either case, they should have gotten back to you.

 

I do think that they probably see very few $1 tips written in, and many more $10 tips, so I would be willing to accept that this was an honest mistake. But it should have been corrected.

Edited October 5, 2016 by hawkeyetlse

[JohnIreland]

Wow $1

 

To be fair the op tipped $1 + expected tip.

[ColinIllinois]

Hang on she had paid her tips as part of her package, she didn't have to leave anything. Even if you and the waiter thinks it insulting to leave a $1.00 tip it is still stealing from the passenger to alter the tip.

I have seen plenty of CC'ers jump up and down accusing people of stealing from NCL if they get someone a single drink. But you think it's OK for crew to steal from passengers.

 

BreeYark I heard about this trick of altering tip line years back. I always strike through the space for extra tip and write total in space provided. If there was an automatic tip added to my bill I will often round it up to nearest dollar.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

I think, just my opinion, that it was most likely just an honest mistake rather than a crew member stealing from the passenger. That would be too easy to catch and they would get in trouble for it. Hardly worth the effort.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

In the U.S., a small tip is considered a message to the server that you were unhappy with their service--as some have indicated. But, the OP isn't from the U.S. and TBH, I don't know the tipping culture in Canada, so I assume it doesn't mean the same thing there. There are varying reports about whether the waiters in the specialties receive part of the DSC or part of the upcharge for the meal. Personally, I don't care--I tip them. Some people are very happy with the service but feel there's no need to tip more than the tips they either prepaid or will pay on their onboard account.

 

It doesn't sound like the OP was unhappy with the service. On the contrary, he or she was pleased and decided to leave extra. If you come from a country that doesn't have a tipping culture similar to the U.S. then that would be considered sufficient and in some cases generous.

 

I don't see where anyone condoned changing the amount of the tip from $1.00 to $10.00--did anyone say they thought that was okay? If they did, I didn't see it... I suspect it was an honest error on the part of whomever ran the ticket. I think it's probably pretty unusual for someone to leave $1 as a tip in a specialty restaurant and pretty common for people to leave $10. I wouldn't assume it was some sort of scheme to bilk the OP out of extra.

 

OP, I would personally not have gotten off the ship without resolving the issue if my tip was increase x10! You shouldn't have to write your tip in numbers and words to assure you're charged the right amount. Did you total the ticket? Just curious--I always total the ticket so that it's very clear in case they can't read my writing.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I think, just my opinion, that it was most likely just an honest mistake rather than a crew member stealing from the passenger. That would be too easy to catch and they would get in trouble for it. Hardly worth the effort.

 

Agree!

[hockey1963]

Maybe tipping is different in Canada .. It could be ;)

Actually Im Canadian and we usually leave 20% as most Canadians ;-)

[Two Wheels Only]

Mistaking $1 for $10 was probably an honest mistake. Heck, even mistaking $1.00 for $100 could be an honest mistake.

 

Usually, below the "tip" line is a "total" line. If the original total was $0.00 and $1.00 was added, the new total and the tip would have the same amount and less likely to lead to a mistake.

 

I would have just used my UBP to have an "extra" drink to forget the whole thing. :D

[BreeYark]

You guys read that wrong. 1.00$ is an EXTRA tip, for only one person, on top of the automatic 18%. Total makes it around 21% or 22%. Not sure what's the custom in the U.S., but here in Canada, that's pretty generous!

[emcelh]

To be fair the op tipped $1 + expected tip.

 

True. But $1.00? Why bother?

[luddite]

I think, just my opinion, that it was most likely just an honest mistake rather than a crew member stealing from the passenger. That would be too easy to catch and they would get in trouble for it. Hardly worth the effort.

 

Honest mistake would be the likeliest scenario.

Mostly because they wouldn't be thinking that anyone would bother with adding a one dollar tip.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

You guys read that wrong. 1.00$ is an EXTRA tip, for only one person, on top of the automatic 18%. Total makes it around 21% or 22%. Not sure what's the custom in the U.S., but here in Canada, that's pretty generous!

 

I don't think we read it wrong. In the U.S. it's customary to tip 15-20% for good service and many tip more if they consider the service exceptional. I can't speak for anyone else, but I tip $5 (I'm a solo traveler) extra in an NCL specialty restaurant if I get really good service. If the service is nothing special, I tip nothing extra as I've already tipped 18%. If people are reporting accurately, most who tip extra in the specialty restaurants tip $5 per person and some even tip an extra $10 per person. I believe that's why you're getting so many comments about tipping "only" $1.

[mjkacmom]

You guys read that wrong. 1.00$ is an EXTRA tip, for only one person, on top of the automatic 18%. Total makes it around 21% or 22%. Not sure what's the custom in the U.S., but here in Canada, that's pretty generous!

 

But although the gratuity from the SPD goes towards financial compensation for the servers, it's not the same as 18% added on to a big party of 6+, which is a common practice in the US, and that 18% goes directly into the server's pocket.

 

As many have stated, usually it's better to leave nothing than $1, which indicates poor service was received.

[GUEST080219]

Just as a reminder NCL has ships not only on round trip US cruises. And there is a diverse guest structure coming from all over the world. IMHO the staff on board is much better more aware of it than some of the comments here make it seem.

 

At the time where you still had to sign bar receipts I always made sure to cross out the tipping line.