NCL increasing daily service charge

[supermax]

Two Wheels Only, you are absolutely right- one needs to look at the total cost. The problem is that NCL (and everyone else) make it difficult to figure out this cost.

[triptolemus]

The problem is that NCL (and everyone else) make it difficult to figure out this cost.

 

No...not really.

[NLH Arizona]

The problem is that NCL (and everyone else) make it difficult to figure out this cost.

How is it difficult to figure out?

 

When I book, I get a confirmation from NCL with everything except for the DSC amount and that is easily found on their website.

[Crusin6]

Reducing the DSC doesn't get Del Rio's attention, it simply penalizes waiters, cabin steward, and others who benefit from DSC.

 

 

I'm fairly certain that NCL does indeed know when dsc is reduced

 

And if fdr is the successful businessman he is made out to be he not only has someone reporting back to him on what is being said on cc but he also has someone reporting to him the level of dsc reduction/refund requests per cruise. Remember knowledge is power.

 

 

If you think this is not the case you are misinformed....ever since Andy Stuart said in an interview that it comes down to the number of drinks sold per cruise (before UBP perk of course) that may well determine if that cruise turns a profit , I know Ncl is counting pennies

 

 

Ncl knows to the penny how much they need to get from each pax while on the ship in order for that particular cruise to turn a profit

 

 

Just like in retail sales....where sales volume and $$$ are monitored hourly and compared to previous year/month/days sales etc ...Ncl is monitoring their incoming and outgoing at least on a daily basis...

 

 

 

Btw..... it has been debated to death on cc that dsc reduction does not reduce the waiters etc paycheck

 

 

The real way to help the waiters etc is to hand them cash. The entire pax body can reduce dsc and the waiter still gets his paycheck. Why? Because it's contractual. Do they perhaps get a bonus every few months? Very possible ....but giving the crew member a $10 in cash and writing a positive review of him on the comment card is what you should do

 

 

Before anyone says..." what about the engine crew?" Um really?

 

Also I didn't say remove Dsc ....I suggested reducing it by the amount of the increase....IF...the increase bothers you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited March 24, 2017 by Crusin6

[NLH Arizona]

I'm fairly certain that NCL does indeed know when dsc is reduced

 

And if fdr is the successful businessman he is made out to be he not only has someone reporting back to him on what is being said on cc but he also has someone reporting to him the level of dsc reduction/refund requests per cruise. Remember knowledge is power.

 

If you think this is not the case you are misinformed....ever since Andy Stuart said in an interview that it comes down to the number of drinks sold per cruise (before UBP perk of course) that may well determine if that cruise makes a profit , I know Ncl is counting pennies

 

Ncl knows to the penny how much they need to get from each pax while on the ship in order for that particular cruise to turn a profit

 

Just like in retail sales....where sales volume and $$$ are monitored hourly and compared to previous year/month/days sales etc ...Ncl is monitoring their incoming and outgoing at least on a daily basis...

 

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I have no doubt that Mr. Stuart has employees that report back to him. What they report back is that money garnered from the DSC is either up this % or down this %, but I seriously doubt if he is given a run down on the reasons that folks remove or reduce it, as that is information for the Hotel Directors of the ships to handle. Now, once the information is passed up the line, the only thing Mr. Stuart does if the % is down is to say raise it by this amount.

[Crusin6]

I remember the first increase in the DSC in 2015 (I think it was in 2015) was met by most people without too much objection, but the second one a few months later created a lot of anger. Since NCL provides two competing services now, cruising and creating anger among cruisers, I expect the tone deaf execs over there to bump it up again in a few months since this one was met with such acceptance. It will be very funny if they do.

 

 

I've been saying it since fdr came in like a bulldozer....Ncl is looking for newbie /novice/ infrequent cruisers

 

 

Seasoned cruisers understand the game Ncl plays and don't always appreciate it and know how to avoid it

 

 

Novice cruisers are so excited to be cruising....they will pay whatever they are told and just think these prices and fees are the norm

 

 

They also think they must use Ncl excursions too for that matter. Lol.

 

 

They just don't have the game under control yet and Ncl knows that

 

Seasoned cruisers know the ropes

 

 

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[BS Racing]

I have no doubt that Mr. Stuart has employees that report back to him. What they report back is that money garnered from the DSC is either up this % or down this %, but I seriously doubt if he is given a run down on the reasons that folks remove or reduce it, as that is information for the Hotel Directors of the ships to handle. Now, once the information is passed up the line, the only thing Mr. Stuart does if the % is down is to say raise it by this amount.

IF NCL is anything like Boeing is all the Hotel Directors do is blow fairy dust and unicorns up Mr. Stuarts back side. Jedi to storm trooper "this is not the problem you want to see"

[Crusin6]

I have no doubt that Mr. Stuart has employees that report back to him. What they report back is that money garnered from the DSC is either up this % or down this %, but I seriously doubt if he is given a run down on the reasons that folks remove or reduce it, as that is information for the Hotel Directors of the ships to handle. Now, once the information is passed up the line, the only thing Mr. Stuart does if the % is down is to say raise it by this amount.

 

 

Don't you think most upper level execs like Stuart and fdr want to know the reasons for the variance?

 

 

Corporations pay financial analysts lots of money to not only report the ups and downs...but to report the Reasons for the variance

 

 

A good CEO/coo needs to know the why's

 

 

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[Crusin6]

I seriously doubt that anyone cancel their cruise because They couldn't carry their bagel back to their room. For that matter I don't think there is a single penny of lost revenue because of the buffet ban.

 

 

Ok we all know the buffet ban was removed and people probably didn't cancel their already booked cruises because of this....but...

 

 

This scenario....they want to bring buffet food back because they are.....

 

 

Family with young kids

 

 

Family with elderly

 

 

Family with disabled

 

 

Family on a budget and can't afford overprice room service garbage

 

 

Family too tired after a day at the beach and wants to relax on the balcony and eat

 

 

 

While they wouldn't cancel their already booked cruise....but they may certainly have looked elsewhere for their next cruise had the ban not been lifted

 

 

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[ColinIllinois]

They may have looked elsewhere, they may not have. That's pure speculation and conjecture.

[NLH Arizona]

Don't you think most upper level execs like Stuart and fdr want to know the reasons for the variance?

 

Corporations pay financial analysts lots of money to not only report the ups and downs...but to report the Reasons for the variance

 

A good CEO/coo needs to know the why's

 

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A President and/or CEO of a multi billion dollar company doesn't have the time for the mimutiae, as to why the DSC figures goes down; they are concerned with the overall big picture and they depend on their staff to correct any issues.

[ashley@cruisecritic]

Yup - and a Cruise Critic forum member reported the story three days before that.

 

The thread has since been deleted... no surprise as to why. Was here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2472233

 

Yes, a forum member did report it, and you'll notice we gave credit in our story. Our editorial staff has nothing to do with thread removal. "No surprise as to why" -- I'm curious what you think the reason was, as we frequently hear about news from you guys first and always give shout-outs in our content when that's the case.

[luvcruzing]

Wait. What? "Our editorial staff has nothing to do with thread removal. ". Then who does? And, yes, I also know why it was removed.

[ColinIllinois]

Wait. What? "Our editorial staff has nothing to do with thread removal. ". Then who does? And, yes, I also know why it was removed.

 

 

The moderators kill threads, not the writers.

[triptolemus]

Yes, a forum member did report it, and you'll notice we gave credit in our story. Our editorial staff has nothing to do with thread removal. "No surprise as to why" -- I'm curious what you think the reason was, as we frequently hear about news from you guys first and always give shout-outs in our content when that's the case.

 

"No surprise as to why" means DSC/tipping threads regularly derail in train-wreck fashion and are routinely deleted by moderators.

 

My quip was general in nature, intended to note the fact that the editorial staff on the site often post "news" as a sticky days after a thread on the topic has already been started by a forum member . This results in multiple threads with splintered information. Multiple threads on the same topic is generally considered poor practice on a forum. Moderators and admins (editors, too) could sticky their news announcement link and recognize the forum membership by linking to the existing thread and closing their sticky when they post it. Existing threads on news topics are not hard to find -- always on the first page of the forum.

 

Curiously, the previously deleted thread I mentioned has been restored -- which is probably a good thing since the Cruise News story links to it.

 

It's not a big deal. To me, it's just a small slap to the membership when CC staff "swoops in" and posts "news" that has been discussed for days.

[luvcruzing]

"Curiously, the previously deleted thread I mentioned has been restored -- which is probably a good thing since the Cruise News story links to it. "

 

 

Can you post a link?

[Crusin6]

A President and/or CEO of a multi billion dollar company doesn't have the time for the mimutiae, as to why the DSC figures goes down; they are concerned with the overall big picture and they depend on their staff to correct any issues.

 

 

The dsc on cruise ships is big money as it's how the company pays the crew

 

 

It's sheer numbers on a cruise

 

 

If they get $1 per pax per day for some silly extra like a specialty coffee X4000 pax. Equals $4000 a day X 7 equals $28,000 per week

 

Now reverse that and assume a dsc reduction of $1 per day per pax....

 

 

Why do you think when they increase dsc the do it in say .50 increments?

 

 

Cruising $$$$ is all about minutiae ....X 4000. Lol

 

 

 

 

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[NLH Arizona]

Cruising $$$$ is all about minutiae ....X 4000. Lol

 

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Re-read my post, I never called the money garnered by the DSC minutiae, I called the reasoning it has been remove as the minutiae, but think what you like and I'll think what I like.

[supermax]

How is it difficult to figure out?

 

When I book, I get a confirmation from NCL with everything except for the DSC amount and that is easily found on their website.

It is difficult if you are not familiar with the rules. They advertise per person rates, but they don't exist. The minimum one will pay for the room is the double of what they show. They don't show the taxes until you get to the checkout page. And, as you said, if you don't know about the DSC, you will only find out when it is time to pay. The honest and easy to understand way to advertise a "$1000 per person" room would be "$2500 for 1-2 people".

[NLH Arizona]

The honest and easy to understand way to advertise a "$1000 per person" room would be "$2500 for 1-2 people".

I guess you had better take this up with every cruise line there is, because they all do it this way.

 

 

It says when you go to dates and pricing: Fares shown are in US dollars and are per person, based on double occupancy

Edited March 25, 2017 by NLH Arizona

[supermax]

I guess you had better take this up with every cruise line there is, because they all do it this way.

 

 

It says when you go to dates and pricing: Fares shown are in US dollars and are per person, based on double occupancy

 

Of course they all do that, and this is what my initial post was all about. In the rest of the world the prices advertised are inclusive of all taxes and fees. Only in US one will book an $100 hotel, pay $115 with taxes, and get hit with another $10 'resort fee' on arrival. When this kind of the pricing strategy proliferates worldwide, many are confused.

[geezer466]

Get rid of mandatory tipping. It's a dumb practice. Gives workers no incentive to work harder or provide service beyond the normal. Would rather tip onboard separately for great service. Go back to the old way of tipping. And do we really know the DSC is ending up in the hands of the proper people?

 

Couple of things I learned from a recent cruise confirmed by another guest who had an officer relation on board and a member of the Entertainment staff who had family on board whom we new.

 

1. Money collected from the DSC is not automatically passed on to staff, Waiting on, stewards or those in the bowels of the ships. They have some pretty demanding targets to hit before qualifying and it seems NCL can be 'vigorous' in applying these standards. As to what happens to the money withheld nothing was said.

 

2. All those nationalities where tipping at this sort of level is not customary (mainly Europeans) can have the DSC removed by requesting so at reception. There is a form to fill out and a reason has to be given but as I understand it the procedure is straightforward. It was implied that US citizens 'ought to know better' about these charges and will often be given the runaround and made to jump through hoops at the desk when making this request. If it is done on-board before the end of the cruise it will be applied to the on board account before dis-embarkation.

 

3. It was also implied that NCL apply a % fee (not know how much) for collecting this money on behalf of the crew.

 

Clearly it is not fair that NCL should treat US citizens less favorably than others.

 

The time has come for NCL to add these charges to their advertised rates and do away with the uncertainty and double dealing with their guests.

[bmwman]

This may have been covered here, but I hadn't seen it yet. My TA called me about my cruise next year and suggested pre-paying now (which I did) to get the lower rate.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2017/03/20/norwegian-cruise-service-charge-gratuity/99331992/

 

And the bit that everyone has missed in the UK - with weak pound this is very painful and thr UK market will react very badly to this again especially with crude heavy fuel cheaper than ever this is not warranted.

 

Now wait for the UK cruisers refusing to pay on the last day - remember UK get the credit on the day. UK consumer laws.

[NLH Arizona]

Now wait for the UK cruisers refusing to pay on the last day - remember UK get the credit on the day. UK consumer laws.

I don't understand this. If you know going onto the cruise that you will remove your DSC, why do you wait until the last day to remove it when the lines are long?

[bmwman]

I don't understand this. If you know going onto the cruise that you will remove your DSC, why do you wait until the last day to remove it when the lines are long?

 

Just our experience. I do not agree but now the UK brochure actually offers this (due to UK consumer law) and it is univerallly now known that you do not need to pay the service charge if you do not wish to. We always do.

 

I do not want to start a debate about tipping removal but just saying this will only make matters worst!