About to book - current status on gratuities?

[skudy]

Hi. I'm about to book an NCL cruise. I am booking 2 rooms for my family of 5. I understand there is a service charge or gratuity fee of around $14USD per person per day.

 

However, I can't find any official information about this on NCL's website. All information on service charges seems to be removed from NCL's website.

 

In fact, I went through the entire booking process up to the point of entering my credit card, and there was not a single mention of service charge, gratuities or tipping. This seems odd that there wouldn't be any mention of quite a significant fee at the time of booking (perhaps even illegal???).

Does anyone know what's going on here? For what it's worth, I'm in Canada. Not sure if others in other countries get the same results as me.

[FredZiffle]

Found it buried in the FAQ.

 

How much are the service charges?

 

 

- For bookings made prior to April 1st, 2017, regardless of the date of your cruise:

PREPAID service charges will be charged the CURRENT price of:

• $15.50 USD per person per day The Haven and Suites; $13.50 USD per person per day for Mini-Suites and below - FOR ALL SHIPS

 

 

(To pre-pay your service charges, Log In to My NCL or contact your travel professional)

 

 

- For bookings made on or after April 1, 2017:

All PREPAID service charges will be charged the NEW price of:

• $16.99 USD per person per day The Haven and Suites; $13.99 USD per person per day for Mini-Suites and below.

• Norwegian Sky - $21.99 USD per person per day for Suites; $18.99 USD per person per day for Mini-Suites and below.

 

 

- For sailings on or after April 1, 2017:

All service charges PAID ONBOARD, regardless of booking date will be charged the NEW price of:

• $16.99 USD per person per day The Haven and Suites; $13.99 USD per person per day for Mini-Suites and below.

• Norwegian Sky - $21.99 USD per person per day for Suites; $18.99 USD per person per day for Mini-Suites and below.

 

 

Guests sailing to Hawaii will be charged an additional 4.275% Pre Paid Service Charge GET Tax

 

Are service charges across the board for all guests?

All guests 3 years or older.

[ColeThornton]

It's hardly "buried" in the FAQ's. The FAQ's are right there on the main menus on the home page.

[skudy]

Thank you for the replies so far.

 

Can somebody provide a link to this information? I can't find it. I have tried 2 different browsers and 2 different devices.

 

For example, when I search NCL.com for service charges, it shows a link to this page https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/faq#service-charge but the page comes up completely blank for me other than the navigation menus. Again, I'm viewing from Canada, so i get redirected to /ca/en.

 

In addition, isn't it odd that I can go through the entire booking process up to the point of paying for my cruise and there is not a single mention of service charges or gratuities? I've even read the fine print.

[sanger727]

https://www.ncl.com/faq%2523service-charge

 

No, not really. Prior to service charges days, it was expected that you would tip; even though that's hardly ever mentioned ahead of time. Now it's just phrased as the service charge is for your convenience so you don't have to do the cash tips. All the American based cruise lines charge this way.

 

I'm surprised though that it didn't offer you a chance to pre-pay them. Thought that was usually offered during booking so would have been notice of them. It will certainly show in your cruise planner once you have booked.

 

 

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[skudy]

I want to clarify that I have no problem paying the service charge. However, as consumer, I want to go into my purchase knowing all of the terms and conditions that bind me to the contract I am about to enter into with NCL when I book my cruise - which of course includes knowledge of service charges and fees. Hence this thread and my quest for clarification.

 

The link provided above does not work for me. It redirects me to https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/faq%2523service-charge which does not contain any information about service charges.

 

Am I correct then in assuming that since there is no mention of a service charge on their site or during the booking process, that I'm under no obligation to pay the service charge? Of course, I would pay it, but I find it odd (and perhaps even illegal?) that there is no mention of it during the booking process or on their website.

[ggTexasGal]

Hi. I'm about to book an NCL cruise. I am booking 2 rooms for my family of 5. I understand there is a service charge or gratuity fee of around $14USD per person per day.

 

However, I can't find any official information about this on NCL's website. All information on service charges seems to be removed from NCL's website.

 

In fact, I went through the entire booking process up to the point of entering my credit card, and there was not a single mention of service charge, gratuities or tipping. This seems odd that there wouldn't be any mention of quite a significant fee at the time of booking (perhaps even illegal???).

Does anyone know what's going on here? For what it's worth, I'm in Canada. Not sure if others in other countries get the same results as me.

 

It seems that the Canadian site does not currently display the information you are seeking, yet it easily found on the US site. The main things to keep in mind are: Each passenger (age 3 or older) will be charged $13.99 USD per day. These charges can be prepaid by logging into your My NCL, or calling NCL or your TA to pay with your preferred method. OR, NCl will apply the charges for each individual per day during the cruise. If you have "Refundable" Onboard Credits (OBC) on your account, those can be used ON the ship to cover these, or other expenses. Most "Non-refundable" OBC cannot be applied toward Daily Service Charges (DSC)!

 

A good resource for people seeking more info of covered and non-covered cruise items, can find much more here on Cruise Critic!

[ggTexasGal]

I want to clarify that I have no problem paying the service charge. However, as consumer, I want to go into my purchase knowing all of the terms and conditions that bind me to the contract I am about to enter into with NCL when I book my cruise - which of course includes knowledge of service charges and fees. Hence this thread and my quest for clarification.

 

The link provided above does not work for me. It redirects me to https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/faq%2523service-charge which does not contain any information about service charges.

 

Am I correct then in assuming that since there is no mention of a service charge on their site or during the booking process, that I'm under no obligation to pay the service charge? Of course, I would pay it, but I find it odd (and perhaps even illegal?) that there is no mention of it during the booking process or on their website.

 

Hopefully, someone in Canada who has cruised/is cruising soon will chime in with more info for you!

[skudy]

Would the rules be different for Canadian residents (or anyone booking through a Canadian IP address)? In other words, maybe there is some Canadian law that doesn't allow cruise lines to force customers to pay a mandatory gratuities?

 

I can't fathom a company allowing somebody to make a purchase only to reveal (after paying) that there are additional mandatory charges. However, this seems to be the case on the Canadian site as there is absolutely no mention of service charges on their Canadian site or throughout the entire booking process.

[Até]

Both the faq#service-charge and faq#tipping links have been removed from the Canadian site. They should be under the Money Matters heading, but are gone. Evidently they are being re-written.

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/faq#service-charge

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/faq#tipping

[All-ready2cruise]

I can't find it on NCL either but when I log in it sure is waiting to be paid ;)

And here's the scoop, this is from my reservation:

 

Add Prepaid Service Charges

 

The convenience of pre-paying service charges allows you to plan your budget prior to your cruise giving you additional freedom while on board. A discretionary charge of $13.99 USD per person per day for all guests 3 years or older will automatically be added to your onboard account. Your service charges will total $XXXXX USD for all guests, for your entire cruise. Guests sailing to Hawaii will be charged an additional 4.275% Pre Paid Service Charge GET Tax

PS my cruise is solo and for 15 days so don't look at the amount I will pay but it will be in USD.

Edited August 10, 2017 by All-ready2cruise
Did not include add'l info

[skudy]

Great info. Thank you all very much!

[fshagan]

Thank you for the replies so far.

 

Can somebody provide a link to this information? I can't find it. I have tried 2 different browsers and 2 different devices.

 

For example, when I search NCL.com for service charges, it shows a link to this page https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/faq#service-charge but the page comes up completely blank for me other than the navigation menus. Again, I'm viewing from Canada, so i get redirected to /ca/en.

 

In addition, isn't it odd that I can go through the entire booking process up to the point of paying for my cruise and there is not a single mention of service charges or gratuities? I've even read the fine print.

 

I can see what you are talking about. I can get to that page, and I see the navigation menu on the left, but under "Money Matters", where the service charge information is on the US site, there is no mention of the service charge.

 

[nomad098]

I can see what you are talking about. I can get to that page, and I see the navigation menu on the left, but under "Money Matters", where the service charge information is on the US site, there is no mention of the service charge.

 

 

I wonder if they may be taking the Canadian site down the same route as the UK and EU sites and making it an all inclusive booking. So drinks and gratuities are included and no need for that information on the Canadian website for future bookings.

 

Either that or NCL website department are doing another bang up job. :D:confused::D

[All-ready2cruise]

Either that or NCL website department are doing another bang up job. :D:confused::D

 

I think this is it... again :rolleyes:

 

This type of thing happens frequently on our site. I basically just ignore it and either call my very knowledgable PCC (yes, I know that's an oximoron) or just wait it out.

[Até]

I wouldn't blame it on the IT website department. My bet NCL has a team of legal specialists that will work on it for a week or so tweaking the wording to meet Canadian law. Then it will get published only to find out there are errors and has to be rewritten to the extent it is vague and barely understandable.

[sandyh85]

I would guess it's not illegal as they still do call it a discretionary charge.

 

Yes, they make it extraordinarily difficult to reclaim your monies, but it is technically not a mandatory charge.

 

Sadly, the lack of open communication on this matter will just anger people when they are surprised with the cost at the end of their cruise.

 

Hopefully they fix the site soon. I, for one, would prefer to have the pre-pay gratuities option prior to booking; a check box that would add the sum (a la Carnival) to the total cost would be nice.

[fshagan]

I wonder if they may be taking the Canadian site down the same route as the UK and EU sites and making it an all inclusive booking. So drinks and gratuities are included and no need for that information on the Canadian website for future bookings.

 

It's an odd omission. Perhaps they are going the route of the UK process and forcing all customers to pay the gratuities as part of their fare, with no possible refunds. Not sure I understand why that's better, but the Brits wanted it.

 

I wasn't under the impression it was a problem for Canadians, though, as it is for Brits and Aussies, as I certainly tip the same way in CA than I do in the US.

[Orleanscruiser]

Hi. I'm about to book an NCL cruise. I am booking 2 rooms for my family of 5. I understand there is a service charge or gratuity fee of around $14USD per person per day.

 

However, I can't find any official information about this on NCL's website. All information on service charges seems to be removed from NCL's website.

 

In fact, I went through the entire booking process up to the point of entering my credit card, and there was not a single mention of service charge, gratuities or tipping. This seems odd that there wouldn't be any mention of quite a significant fee at the time of booking (perhaps even illegal???).

Does anyone know what's going on here? For what it's worth, I'm in Canada. Not sure if others in other countries get the same results as me.

 

 

a good place to start is to read the norwegian cruise line , Guest ticket contract chapter 3a and c https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Guest_Ticket_Contract_04-2017_2.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Moby0215]

I want to clarify that I have no problem paying the service charge. However, as consumer, I want to go into my purchase knowing all of the terms and conditions that bind me to the contract I am about to enter into with NCL when I book my cruise - which of course includes knowledge of service charges and fees. Hence this thread and my quest for clarification.

 

 

 

The link provided above does not work for me. It redirects me to https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/faq%2523service-charge which does not contain any information about service charges.

 

 

 

Am I correct then in assuming that since there is no mention of a service charge on their site or during the booking process, that I'm under no obligation to pay the service charge? Of course, I would pay it, but I find it odd (and perhaps even illegal?) that there is no mention of it during the booking process or on their website.

 

 

 

Yes, you are correct. The DSC is not obligatory and can be removed or reimbursed depending on your location and/or ship.

 

 

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[NLH Arizona]

 

Am I correct then in assuming that since there is no mention of a service charge on their site or during the booking process, that I'm under no obligation to pay the service charge? Of course, I would pay it, but I find it odd (and perhaps even illegal?) that there is no mention of it during the booking process or on their website.

You will get many guesses on this, so why don't you call NCL and ask the question.

[Moby0215]

You will get many guesses on this, so why don't you call NCL and ask the question.

 

 

 

What do you mean guesses? I am certainly not guessing when I say 100% the DSC is not obligatory. You will however get many opinions on if it is right or wrong to actually remove the DSC.

 

 

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[fshagan]

Am I correct then in assuming that since there is no mention of a service charge on their site or during the booking process, that I'm under no obligation to pay the service charge? Of course, I would pay it, but I find it odd (and perhaps even illegal?) that there is no mention of it during the booking process or on their website.

 

You are half right. There is no obligation to pay the service charge, as NCL calls it discretionary and allows it to be removed. But that's separate from the legal issue. You could tell them the info was missing from the website and you, on principle, cannot allow them to break Canadian consumer law, and they will remove it. Which they will if you simply say you don't want to pay it because you prefer to tip those that serve you individually (even if you only tip yourself).

 

Them not mentioning it and applying it to your bill would be a question for a lawyer or the Canadian version of the US' Federal Trade Commission that oversees such things ... Competition Bureau Canada, maybe? (I'm not sure). Find out if they have a way to complain to them about unfair or deceptive advertising and file a complaint.

[Moby0215]

You are half right. There is no obligation to pay the service charge, as NCL calls it discretionary and allows it to be removed. But that's separate from the legal issue. You could tell them the info was missing from the website and you, on principle, cannot allow them to break Canadian consumer law, and they will remove it. Which they will if you simply say you don't want to pay it because you prefer to tip those that serve you individually (even if you only tip yourself).

 

 

 

Them not mentioning it and applying it to your bill would be a question for a lawyer or the Canadian version of the US' Federal Trade Commission that oversees such things ... Competition Bureau Canada, maybe? (I'm not sure). Find out if they have a way to complain to them about unfair or deceptive advertising and file a complaint.

 

 

 

Where is the half right part? It is 100% right that the DSC is optional and can be removed.

 

 

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[NLH Arizona]

What do you mean guesses? I am certainly not guessing when I say 100% the DSC is not obligatory. You will however get many opinions on if it is right or wrong to actually remove the DSC.

 

 

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I was speaking to the OP's question as far as the information not being on the site the OP was looking at. Edited August 13, 2017 by NLH Arizona