NCL Cruise Service Charge Refund

[LMaxwell]

I've never read any disparaging comments about someone removing the DSC for true service issues (that they tried to correct on the ship), what we hear on here is "we don't tip in our country", "I only want to tip those that serve me directly", "It is not our culture to tip, so I'm removing the DSC", etc. I think if someone has a service issue that is not corrected on the ship, they should by all means reduce their DSC.

 

Removing the DSC is cheap, period...if it offends, so be it.

 

You were saying?

[Toofarfromthesea]

Another beef I have with the whole remove/don't remove the dsc, is when the comment of the "staff have such poor wages to begin with". People, this is not indentured servitude. Each staff member knows exactly what salary they will be paid before they sign their contract. They are also well aware of the hours that will be required before signing. They go into this well informed and make the decision to take the job without any coercion. Just because you think they aren't paid enough makes absolutely no difference. You might not would agree to work for the wages NCL pays but the staff obviously do not share that opinion. Many do it because it gives them the excellent opportunity to send the majority of their salary home to their family while not having to pay for room and board themselves.

 

 

If NCL did not feel that these daily service charges were "optional", they would not have a procedure in place for removing/refunding them, simple as that. If you want to think them mandatory or morally required, that is your prerogative. If someone else wishes to remove them because of sub-par service, that is also their prerogative.

 

No they take the jobs in the expectation that most people will be decent human beings who will do the right thing. As most of us are, and do.

[NLH Arizona]

You were saying?

You need to read what I wrote, I didn't see that they said it was because of a service issue.

[pieshops]

I earned my money the hard way-I worked for it and I don't like to throw it away on bad service. I do not reward bad behavior or bad service, it's my money and I expect as a norm more than a casual whatever attitude. One can disparage those that remove DSC all one wants but to reward bad behavior creates more of the same. You want good service? Let them know by with holding $$ and they'll get around to doing their job properly. You want the same lousy service? Continue to pay your DSC when the service is deplorable then the next time you embark on NCL don't complain about the service. That is what is wrong in our society, people expect something for minimal effort and fail to produce and then there are the people that feels sorry for them and gives them what they want anyway. If someone comes to paint your home and slops paint all over your sidewalk, brick and tramples your shrubs I guess you'd not expect them to repair the damage and pay them regardless. It's your money, go ahead.

 

The flaw with your point is like it or not the DSC is split among many many people so if you get bad service from one and withhold or remove the charge you are hurting all. Unless of course every person you come in contact with and even the behind the scenes people have service issues but I real;y doubt that

[newmexicoNita]

No, I don't. We are paying $19.99/pp per night (Sky) and I think that's fair believe it or not. The first time I cruised where I was in charge, so to speak, of how our money was distributed was 10 years ago. In the 10 years and many cruises since, we've left the service charges on. I still don't think it's a very fair system; we don't use the MDR, we tip extra in the higher-end restaurants, and we drink a lot at the bar. On the Getaway earlier in the month we realized how screwy the system is (unless the tips are distributed by card-swipe, which I doubt) so we are going to supplement with some cash.

 

I hate the current use of the word "fair", but to me the DSC system is NOT fair. I can see how the envelope system has its flaws, but at least the money went to the people who helped you, and that would be different for different cruisers, so I would think the money should be just naturally equally distributed? Behind-the-scenes workers should be compensated at a wage that doesn't demand tips to be a fair wage, just as kitchen staff in a restaurant is paid at a higher rate that front-of-the-house staff.

 

But this debate is as old as this board, probably, and I'm not going to change anything. I'm just going to augment as I see fit and how I am comfortable doing so budget-wise. The other weird but good but bad (LOL, depending on the situation) is that you are not presented a receipt on NCL to add a tip for service above and beyond, forcing you to have to sort of make arrangements to bring the money with you. I like to not have a purse, phone, etc. on the ship so that's a problem. But on the other hand, it's nice to not have 48573 pieces of paper (receipts) to deal with and better for the environment, too.

 

First world problem, whether to carry a purse with money in it, to be sure!!!

Oh I perfectly understand and many feel as you do. I was only curios as to whether, from your comments if you intend on removing the DSC. I do not think people who do not like the system are all cheap. I am not crazy over the policy either except for the ease, but I still do, as I mention tip a few a little extra. That is just me. I do think all others need to do it if they do not want to. I do have a serious problem with anyone who removes the DSC and I don't care how the justify it.

[newmexicoNita]

The flaw with your point is like it or not the DSC is split among many many people so if you get bad service from one and withhold or remove the charge you are hurting all. Unless of course every person you come in contact with and even the behind the scenes people have service issues but I real;y doubt that

I can honestly say in all my cruises I have never gotten really crappy service. I have gotten iffy service on a few occasions especially in the MDR. We have had a couple of cabin stewards or in 2 cases stewardess, that were just fair, but never have we had truly bad service.

 

I can say, I think the whole tipping game is getting out of hand. It seems every time we turn around someone wants a tip and the acceptable % keeps increasing. I go bananas when I see a tip jar at at fast food restaurant. OK, someone took to order and told me how much I owed. Then someone else called out our number to pick up our order. Do I tip? Heck no. Before we know it our sales people at Kohl's will expect to be tipped for ringing up our purchase and asking if it it cash or charge?

[Level six]

Oh I perfectly understand and many feel as you do. I was only curios as to whether, from your comments if you intend on removing the DSC. I do not think people who do not like the system are all cheap. I am not crazy over the policy either except for the ease, but I still do, as I mention tip a few a little extra. That is just me. I do think all others need to do it if they do not want to. I do have a serious problem with anyone who removes the DSC and I don't care how the justify it.

 

Why do you have a problem? It doesn't affect you and you don't know if they are tipping on their own. Why do you care? Let everyone live with their decisions.

 

I always tip well and don't really care what other people do. I prefer the previous system of envelopes because I think I got better service and I also knew for sure who was getting my money.

 

The main thing that bothers me is that I have no idea if the people who made my cruise enjoyable even got a share of the DSC. We rarely eat in the dining room, so I have little contact with a certain wait staff. But, on our last cruise, I went out of my way to tip the guy who served ice cream because he was always so happy and nice. If I tip them personally, I know that they got the money and that I showed my appreciation for their effort. BUT, I didn't care if anyone else tipped the ice cream guy...............to each his own.

[ElaineKeagy]

I have no problem with paying the DSC. I think at $15 a day it’s a deal. If I was staying at a hotel and eating out breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack, I’d be spending more than $15 a day in tips.

 

 

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[newmexicoNita]

Why do you have a problem? It doesn't affect you and you don't know if they are tipping on their own. Why do you care? Let everyone live with their decisions.

 

I always tip well and don't really care what other people do. I prefer the previous system of envelopes because I think I got better service and I also knew for sure who was getting my money.

 

The main thing that bothers me is that I have no idea if the people who made my cruise enjoyable even got a share of the DSC. We rarely eat in the dining room, so I have little contact with a certain wait staff. But, on our last cruise, I went out of my way to tip the guy who served ice cream because he was always so happy and nice. If I tip them personally, I know that they got the money and that I showed my appreciation for their effort. BUT, I didn't care if anyone else tipped the ice cream guy...............to each his own.

to each his own or her own is true but I still have my doubts about people who remove the service charge and always will. I too would like to be assured the right people are getting the tips, but I also realize some of the people who would never see a tip because they work behind the scenes are able to get something when there is a DSC instead of leaving it up to the guests to tip appropriately and only to those we actually come in contact with. I too liked the old way but never, at the time thought about those who do work behind the scenes and it was very clear many people were not tipping at all. Do you remember when the dining rooms were almost empty or only 1/2 full the last night of our sailing? What about the fact that most lines now have open dining, thus we rarely have the same wait staff more than once or twice on any cruise? Things have changed in life and I happen to be one of those who tries to adjust to changes.

[Wyoming2010]

to each his own or her own is true but I still have my doubts about people who remove the service charge and always will. I too would like to be assured the right people are getting the tips, but I also realize some of the people who would never see a tip because they work behind the scenes are able to get something when there is a DSC instead of leaving it up to the guests to tip appropriately and only to those we actually come in contact with. I too liked the old way but never, at the time thought about those who do work behind the scenes and it was very clear many people were not tipping at all. Do you remember when the dining rooms were almost empty or only 1/2 full the last night of our sailing? What about the fact that most lines now have open dining, thus we rarely have the same wait staff more than once or twice on any cruise? Things have changed in life and I happen to be one of those who tries to adjust to changes.

 

As I said previously (and didn't even expand on how bad it truly was), the service we received was from many staff and crew, between rotten attitudes during service, filthy rooms and other issues, no one on that ship fulfilled their jobs and no one deserved to be rewarded in any way. We did tip the specialty restaurant servers and the bartenders -- the only people who actually did their jobs and didn't look miserable. In 2 decades of cruising, it was the one and only time we have not tipped. Heck, I even leave tips in hotel rooms. And most of the time, during a cruise, we add tips on our last night to each person individually for their great service.

 

This particular situation was unique to say the least, and screams "exception to the rule". I truly hope the reports are true that they have gotten their crap together and made it a better experience on POA.

[flyguy]

The flaw with your point is like it or not the DSC is split among many many people so if you get bad service from one and withhold or remove the charge you are hurting all. Unless of course every person you come in contact with and even the behind the scenes people have service issues but I real;y doubt that

 

You have a point but how would you address poor service? Go to the "desk int the central area" and tell the uniformed person there? They couldn't care less about what we think. Somehow one has to bear witness that a certain individual is rude or the service is poor. But how-where it will do good? I still don't believe in rewarding poor duties/service. We pay more now for a cruise than we did a few years ago and even then they were raising costs for fuel increases. With the increase in cruise costs shouldn't we receive a bit more? Better food, waiters attentiveness etc. Before when we were handed envelopes to tip the crew members I tend to think they were more dedicated and took care of the passengers in a more favorable manner.

[pieshops]

You have a point but how would you address poor service? Go to the "desk int the central area" and tell the uniformed person there? They couldn't care less about what we think. Somehow one has to bear witness that a certain individual is rude or the service is poor. But how-where it will do good? I still don't believe in rewarding poor duties/service. We pay more now for a cruise than we did a few years ago and even then they were raising costs for fuel increases. With the increase in cruise costs shouldn't we receive a bit more? Better food, waiters attentiveness etc. Before when we were handed envelopes to tip the crew members I tend to think they were more dedicated and took care of the passengers in a more favorable manner.

Have you ever attended a cruise critic meet and greet? They supply you with a list of all officers and contact info, I would speak to one of the directors if there is a service issue as soon as it happens on board the ship.

[NLH Arizona]

Before when we were handed envelopes to tip the crew members I tend to think they were more dedicated and took care of the passengers in a more favorable manner.

But unfortunately, many didn't show up at the last dinner and avoided their Cabin Steward, so they didn't have to tip them. At least now, a some don't suffer from non-tippers, while others get tipped.

[Sam Ting]

Have you ever attended a cruise critic meet and greet? They supply you with a list of all officers and contact info, I would speak to one of the directors if there is a service issue as soon as it happens on board the ship.

 

 

I would never squeal in someone affecting their livelihood. We remove all service charge and tip as we go so the tip would be less that day I guess, just like on land.

 

Service has always been good maybe it’s because we tip as we go. Who knows.

[pieshops]

I would never squeal in someone affecting their livelihood. We remove all service charge and tip as we go so the tip would be less that day I guess, just like on land.

 

Service has always been good maybe it’s because we tip as we go. Who knows.

This is one if the most idiotic comments I have heard in a while, When you go to these get togethers you are encouraged to speak up if any issues. How in the world is the service going to improve when there is an issue if nobody says anything, do you think they will magically know that something has happened? This will not effect their livelihood unless there are multiple complains about the same issues and if that happens then why should they have a job? I work my ass off over 90 hours at my catering business and when I take a vacation with my hard earned money, I will certainly speak out if a major issue arises.

 

I encourage every one of my customers to let us know immediately when there is an issue so it can be fixed.

 

I am not even going to get into the removing and tipping as you go thing

[Sam Ting]

This is one if the most idiotic comments I have heard in a while, When you go to these get togethers you are encouraged to speak up if any issues. How in the world is the service going to improve when there is an issue if nobody says anything, do you think they will magically know that something has happened? This will not effect their livelihood unless there are multiple complains about the same issues and if that happens then why should they have a job? I work my ass off over 90 hours at my catering business and when I take a vacation with my hard earned money, I will certainly speak out if a major issue arises.

 

I encourage every one of my customers to let us know immediately when there is an issue so it can be fixed.

 

I am not even going to get into the removing and tipping as you go thing

 

You have no idea how complaints affect their livelihood. Your just guessing. Again I am not a squealer and go around ratting people out for having a bad day.

[pieshops]

You have no idea how complaints affect their livelihood. Your just guessing. Again I am not a squealer and go around ratting people out for having a bad day.

Actually I do having worked for NCL for 8 years, I know exactly how it works

[Sam Ting]

Actually I do having worked for NCL for 8 years, I know exactly how it works

Yeah, sure you have. LOL!

[Toofarfromthesea]

You have no idea how complaints affect their livelihood. Your just guessing. Again I am not a squealer and go around ratting people out for having a bad day.

 

No, you anonymously punish them financially.

[Sam Ting]

No, you anonymously punish them financially.

 

We leave e appropriate gratuity on the table. Complaining to the management about employees is crazy. Just gets people in trouble maybe even lose their job or don’t get renewed.....all because they weren’t up to your standards. Terrible.

[Toofarfromthesea]

We leave e appropriate gratuity on the table. Complaining to the management about employees is crazy. Just gets people in trouble maybe even lose their job or don’t get renewed.....all because they weren’t up to your standards. Terrible.

 

You can keep saying that, but virtually everyone around here knows how this works on mass market cruise lines and understands exactly what you are doing, and why.

[erdoran]

So if there is a legit issue what is the “cc approved “ way to handle it?

[erdoran]

You were saying?

Exactly. A number of blanket “no matter what don’t mess with dsc”

[erdoran]

to each his own or her own is true but I still have my doubts about people who remove the service charge and always will. I too would like to be assured the right people are getting the tips, but I also realize some of the people who would never see a tip because they work behind the scenes are able to get something when there is a DSC instead of leaving it up to the guests to tip appropriately and only to those we actually come in contact with. I too liked the old way but never, at the time thought about those who do work behind the scenes and it was very clear many people were not tipping at all. Do you remember when the dining rooms were almost empty or only 1/2 full the last night of our sailing? What about the fact that most lines now have open dining, thus we rarely have the same wait staff more than once or twice on any cruise? Things have changed in life and I happen to be one of those who tries to adjust to changes.

 

People behind the scenes are paid appropriately in other industries and are not tipped.

 

The advocates of tip everyone-feel free to go to your hotel’s laundry room and hand out tips, and figure out all the other tipped dsc people and tip their counterparts off the ship.

 

What irks me is that tips were always for good service and appreciated. Now they are an entitlement in the cruise industry. And you do t dare remove any portion of dsc because of all the poor innocent people who will be affected. That makes it not a tip or gratuity but an additional fixed cost of the cruise.

 

Yes I pay my dsc. No flames. But I am entitled to my opinion.

[Gampy1967]

People behind the scenes are paid appropriately in other industries and are not tipped.

 

The advocates of tip everyone-feel free to go to your hotel’s laundry room and hand out tips, and figure out all the other tipped dsc people and tip their counterparts off the ship.

 

What irks me is that tips were always for good service and appreciated. Now they are an entitlement in the cruise industry. And you do t dare remove any portion of dsc because of all the poor innocent people who will be affected. That makes it not a tip or gratuity but an additional fixed cost of the cruise.

 

Yes I pay my dsc. No flames. But I am entitled to my opinion.

 

I 100% agree. I would gladly pay the DSC as it is simply a portion of the cost of the cruise. However, if I did have a service issue that was not resolved I would have no problem at all of removing a portion of the DSC as that is the only avenue I have to address unresolved service issues.