Unable to Prepay Daily Service Charge

[RaiderDuck]

On every previous cruise, we've always prepaid the Gratuities/Service Charges online before the cruise (the one exception coming when we had Free Prepaid Gratuities as a perk). However, we've twice tried to prepay the DSC for our upcoming Panama Canal cruise on the Star via the NCL site; both times, everything appeared to have gone through, but within a few days, the checkbox to prepay the DSC appeared again and there was never any charge to our CC account. Should I call Customer Service directly or just say "F it" and let the DSC be charged to our shipboard account? And could the fact that we initially booked this cruise through an online TA have anything to do with this?

[NLH Arizona]

I would call and I would also keep checking my credit card statement to make sure it did not go through there in your attempts.

[trivimp]

I've got a similar situation with an online TA booking, so I guess that's why. (I'm going with the "F it" option.)

[coffeenmorecoffee]

Curious: is pre-paying beforehand just a budgeting thing for you? Or is there otherwise an advantage to pay before getting your final bill on the ship?

[trivimp]

For me, just a budget thing. Gets it out of the way.

[coffeenmorecoffee]

For me, just a budget thing. Gets it out of the way.

 

Fair enough!

[fredflint]

I would recommend not doing prepay, we had it included as part of the Free from NCL and I believe our cabin steward knew it was prepaid. He was the worst by far of any steward I have ever had. We left the room one day at 7AM and came back at 3PM the room was not made up. I tried calling him on the room phone no answer, called the desk no answer. Went down and after a while he spoke to someone and our room was cleaned by someone other than him.

How do I know he did not do it: 2 Bad light bulbs were replaced and the card I put in the slot by the door to keep things on while we were out had been removed, the First and ONLY time it was pulled.

 

So I will pretty much never again prepay the room gratuities. I asked if I could just have the amounts adjusted to give the people in the buffet more and him less and was told I could not!

 

Put the cash in an envelope if you need to or get a prepaid Visa card for the amount to use at the end. Just don't pay up front it could cause your service to be reduced!

[ColinIllinois]

I would recommend not doing prepay, we had it included as part of the Free from NCL and I believe our cabin steward knew it was prepaid. He was the worst by far of any steward I have ever had. We left the room one day at 7AM and came back at 3PM the room was not made up. I tried calling him on the room phone no answer, called the desk no answer. Went down and after a while he spoke to someone and our room was cleaned by someone other than him.

How do I know he did not do it: 2 Bad light bulbs were replaced and the card I put in the slot by the door to keep things on while we were out had been removed, the First and ONLY time it was pulled.

 

So I will pretty much never again prepay the room gratuities. I asked if I could just have the amounts adjusted to give the people in the buffet more and him less and was told I could not!

 

Put the cash in an envelope if you need to or get a prepaid Visa card for the amount to use at the end. Just don't pay up front it could cause your service to be reduced!

 

I seriously doubt that has anything to do with pre-paying the DSC. That's just most likely a case of a crappy room steward.

[Two Wheels Only]

I seriously doubt that has anything to do with pre-paying the DSC. That's just most likely a case of a crappy room steward.

I agree.

Even when DSC waived is a "free" promo, the steward doesn't change their level of service. Good stewards are good stewards. Crappy stewards are crappy stewards.

[RocketSci73]

I've always had great room steward service on NCL cruises, and I usually pre-pay my room gratuities through my travel agent. Of course, some stewards were better than others, but all have been good. I like to not worry about money when I'm on vacation.

Sounds like yours was the exception. You did the right thing by contacting the guest services desk.

[grouchomarx]

I would recommend not doing prepay, we had it included as part of the Free from NCL and I believe our cabin steward knew it was prepaid. He was the worst by far of any steward I have ever had. We left the room one day at 7AM and came back at 3PM the room was not made up. I tried calling him on the room phone no answer, called the desk no answer. Went down and after a while he spoke to someone and our room was cleaned by someone other than him.

How do I know he did not do it: 2 Bad light bulbs were replaced and the card I put in the slot by the door to keep things on while we were out had been removed, the First and ONLY time it was pulled.

 

So I will pretty much never again prepay the room gratuities. I asked if I could just have the amounts adjusted to give the people in the buffet more and him less and was told I could not!

 

Put the cash in an envelope if you need to or get a prepaid Visa card for the amount to use at the end. Just don't pay up front it could cause your service to be reduced!

 

What’s the difference it’s the same amount of money either way? Just before vs after. Is there something I’m not understanding here?

[fredflint]

The Steward knew he was going to get the full gratuity no matter how little service he gave us. So he did the least he could to get buy and no more. It seemed like his lead/manager was not happy with his work at then start of the cruise. There were a couple of heated conversations in a foreign language we overheard.

 

Some people feel that not having the same waiter every night also leads to reduced dining room service.

I usually tend to overtip as most of the crew really does work hard. I ordered coffee and some fruit one morning since all they had were decaf pods. A different steward brought the coffee and stuff I gave him a 5 buck tip.

[cb at sea]

Whether you pay in advance or on the ship, it will be the same amount. Either/or. Don't stress about it!

[deefer]

Curious: is pre-paying beforehand just a budgeting thing for you? Or is there otherwise an advantage to pay before getting your final bill on the ship?

 

We tend to spend frequently (not always large purchases) while on a cruise, maybe a bottle of Perrier with dinner, a specialty coffee mid afternoon, some spa charges etc. We usually have 2 pages of charges. The daily service charge shows daily on your final bill, not in a lump sum at the end, so a 2 page final bill will be at least 4 pages if not 5.

 

For us prepaying just makes the final bill less “messy” and easier to check for mistakes (especially if we have taken advantage of the UDP:beer-toast:)

 

I wouldn’t say it’s an advantage, but that’s why we do it.

[casofilia]

We have always prepaid (except on the one occasion when it was perked) and have never had a reason to complain about the steward's service. How would they know if you prepaid, were comped or if it was just on your bill daily?

 

Most stewards do a great job and deserve the little bit extra we give them at the end.

[deladypilot]

I would recommend not doing prepay, we had it included as part of the Free from NCL and I believe our cabin steward knew it was prepaid. He was the worst by far of any steward I have ever had. We left the room one day at 7AM and came back at 3PM the room was not made up. I tried calling him on the room phone no answer, called the desk no answer. Went down and after a while he spoke to someone and our room was cleaned by someone other than him.

How do I know he did not do it: 2 Bad light bulbs were replaced and the card I put in the slot by the door to keep things on while we were out had been removed, the First and ONLY time it was pulled.

 

So I will pretty much never again prepay the room gratuities. I asked if I could just have the amounts adjusted to give the people in the buffet more and him less and was told I could not!

 

Put the cash in an envelope if you need to or get a prepaid Visa card for the amount to use at the end. Just don't pay up front it could cause your service to be reduced!

 

We always pre-pay our gratuities and have never had a bad steward. Our last cruise it was a perk, so we did not pay at all. Turns out, it was our best steward. I think it is all a matter of the steward himself/herself. They are either good or not.

[NMLady]

I seriously doubt that has anything to do with pre-paying the DSC. That's just most likely a case of a crappy room steward.

 

I agree. We always prepay our DSC and have never had a problem with cabin steward. In fact we have had some go out of their way in doing things for us. We figured it was because they knew they wouldn't be cheated out of their "tips".

[shadowmeboy]

Whether you pay in advance or on the ship, it will be the same amount. Either/or. Don't stress about it!

 

Unless you booked prior to a gratuity increase and are grandfathered into the previous price if you prepay your gratuities. Which is the case with my cruise in a month. I save some money by prepaying.

[NLH Arizona]

I agree. We always prepay our DSC and have never had a problem with cabin steward. In fact we have had some go out of their way in doing things for us. We figured it was because they knew they wouldn't be cheated out of their "tips".

I also pre-pay my DSC and have never had any problems with the Cabin Stewards. I wonder if they even know one pre-pays their DSC.