Auto Gratuities/Questions/Options?

[Wedgie23]

Long time reader, first time poster yada yada. I know forced gratuities are a hotly debated topic, I’m not looking to start any drama but I have some questions I’m hoping someone more experienced might be able to clear up. I consider myself a good tipper. However when I break these down they seem exorbitant even coming from a high tipping stand point but perhaps I’m not understanding them correctly. 

 

Firstly the added gratuity for the beverage package, $139 per person for 7 days. That averages out to about $20 per day in tips. Even if you manage to have 10 drinks in a day you’re still leaving a $2 tip per drink, every drink, even if they just hand you a beer. If you’re more like me and have 5 drinks a day, which is still a lot but hey I’m on vacation, that’s a $4 tip per drink. Doesn’t that seem rather excessive? Beer drinkers who only have a few per day are giving more in tips than they would have spent on the beers. 

 

Then the regular gratuity $210 per week for 2 people. I understand this doesn’t cover the room steward who I always tip separately. However I’m confused about who it does cover. Premium restaurants are tipped separately leaving main dining wait staff of which we went to 5 times in the week. That would mean we left a $42 tip each time. Including the time my husband felt like a plate of Nachos so I joined him and had wings, or the lunch where I had a Reuben and he had a burger, the bill for each on land would have come to half of this tip alone. 

 

Am I incorrect about who the tips go to? 

 

I don’t believe in being stingy and if NCL has one great thing it’s their employees. I do believe there’s a line between showing monetary appreciation for good service and tipping like you have a hole in your pocket for a week straight and I think these amounts far cross it, by my math for us the compulsory tips ranged from 75-200%. 

 

I know you can remove the daily gratuity but I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ however I’m wondering if it would be better to just cary cash and tip every server appropriately and well. We got a discount on our next cruise but baring that I believe I will be getting sail away rooms for the lower price and paying for my drinks ala carte so I will be charged appropriate gratuities on each drink I actually consume. 

 

Can anyone point me towards information on who the tips actually go to if it is beyond wait staff? Or if you are someone who has tipped cash and removed gratuities how that worked? Is it possible to receive recipes at main dining rooms, bill an appropriate tip to your room for each server so you can A) Not carry the cash and B) Show guest services when you remove the automatic gratuity that you did make sure your servers were well taken care of?

[kerryincork]

Hey

The tips on the drinks package is ridiculous, but not because of the tip percentage but due to the fact the cost of the drink package is $79 pppd. Which is totally too much, but that is how NCL make there money. Also the servers are only getting 20% tip of the drinks you get so if you get a beer the bar tender is only getting 20% of the listed price.

 

In regards to the daily service charges there are a lot of people included in this group, to name a few: room stewards, room stewards assistant, waiters in main dining room and buffet and anywhere there are complimentary food service, dish washers, bus boys, laundry workers and general cleaners. Each one of this group is getting a very small cut of your $200.

 

The general concensus is if you stop your service charge and give them cash, they then have to hand over this money to the tipping pool. If you leave the gratuities in place anything they get extra they get to keep.

 

I always think of these daily charges as part of the cruise cost, so when I'm pricing a cruise I factor this cost in the total.

 

I hope this helps to explain things.

 

Also you are under no obligation to tip extra once you have paid the service charge. I very rarely do unless I think someone is particularly hard working or great at their job.

[purplecow15]

As you mention,  the gratuities for the drinks package makes it come to about $20pp per day. If you purchase 5 drinks as you say you would probably do you will be spending approximately $10/12 per drink and each drink will come with a 20% gratuity charge. When you do the math the  "free" beverage package comes out  the cheapest. We also like not to have to worry about how much each drink costs and have to sign for them each time and then have the bill at the end of the cruise.

We find the drinks package makes our vacation much more freestyle and enjoyable. 

[KateQ22003]

Please note that the daily gratuity you mention is not a gratuity but a service charge. It doesn't go 100% to the staff; it supports their salaries and "incentive programs".

[Sauer-kraut]

39 minutes ago, KateQ22003 said:

Please note that the daily gratuity you mention is not a gratuity but a service charge. It doesn't go 100% to the staff; it supports their salaries and "incentive programs".

 

Think of this as a resort fee, that most every hotel adds to your final bill.  You can tip above this, but not mandatory.

[KateQ22003]

13 minutes ago, Sauer-kraut said:

 

Think of this as a resort fee, that most every hotel adds to your final bill.  You can tip above this, but not mandatory.

I think this is the best way to describe the DSC. It certainly isn't gratuity, and it isn't distributed 100% to the staff.

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by KateQ22003

[esm54687]

"long time reader"???  yet you ask a question that's been asked probably longer than you've been reading.  just an observation not a criticism.

[Wedgie23]

Thank you all kindly for the replies and information!

 

49 minutes ago, kerryincork said:

The tips on the drinks package is ridiculous, but not because of the tip percentage but due to the fact the cost of the drink package is $79 pppd. Which is totally too much, but that is how NCL make there money. Also the servers are only getting 20% tip of the drinks you get so if you get a beer the bar tender is only getting 20% of the listed price.

Thank you. That does beg the question though of where does the remainder go? In our case there was quite a bit of difference between a 20% tip and the $139 per person left and I can't imagine were alone there. 

 

50 minutes ago, kerryincork said:

In regards to the daily service charges there are a lot of people included in this group, to name a few: room stewards, room stewards assistant, waiters in main dining room and buffet and anywhere there are complimentary food service, dish washers, bus boys, laundry workers and general cleaners. Each one of this group is getting a very small cut of your $200.

Thank you. I figured in order for it to be that high it had to be something other than the wait stuff but given the drink gratuity I thought maybe not. 

 

37 minutes ago, purplecow15 said:

As you mention,  the gratuities for the drinks package makes it come to about $20pp per day. If you purchase 5 drinks as you say you would probably do you will be spending approximately $10/12 per drink and each drink will come with a 20% gratuity charge. When you do the math the  "free" beverage package comes out  the cheapest.

Thank you yes I have done a few 'mock bookings' as I understand they are called here and I notice the price difference between sail away no perks and regular (balcony) with drink package usually comes to a difference of hundreds of dollars depending. So in that case it wouldn't just be the cost between drink package no drink package but the higher room as well. For instance on the next one I'm taking difference between a balcony sail away and a balcony with drink and dining perks was $888 for 2 people, which works out to about $64 each per day we could spend on drinks or anything else we wanted. I do suppose the freedom of not having to care about any of it once you get on board could make up for the high surcharge. Not being a particularly big drinker though I question if it's worth it for me. 

 

57 minutes ago, KateQ22003 said:

Please note that the daily gratuity you mention is not a gratuity but a service charge. It doesn't go 100% to the staff; it supports their salaries and "incentive programs"

Sorry I don't understand. I believed 'gratuity' and 'service charge' to be synonyms. The charge doesn't go directly to the staff working during your cruise? I am confused on exactly which ones and can't find clarity on the NCL website but I did believe it went directly to some members of the staff.

[newmexicoNita]

of course you are going to start another debate so I am not sure the purpose of your post. BTW the DSC which is what it is, does include the cabin steward. If you want to give more that is your choice. As for tipping, it has been mentioned, just like many hotels today,  what you are paying is a resort fee and it goes to many, it is not a tip but a fee. 

[Wedgie23]

5 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

of course you are going to start another debate so I am not sure the purpose of your post. BTW the DSC which is what it is, does include the cabin steward. If you want to give more that is your choice. As for tipping, it has been mentioned, just like many hotels today,  what you are paying is a resort fee and it goes to many, it is not a tip but a fee. 

That's not my intention but even with the answers here I'm not sure I understand. So the gratuities added for the drinks and the dining packages are not similar to the DSC which is resort fee? 

 

Does this mean the wait and dining staff in the main restaurants are not getting dedicated tips like the bar staff is? If that's the case then I believe we should be tipping them. I'm assuming the added gratuity for the dining package is the added tip for the staff when using that service, though in those I know you can add on an extra tip on top of it when you dine. At the main restaurants I don't recall ever being given a receipt where I could have billed a tip just for the wait staff, is this possible to do/get? 

 

Similarly with the added gratuity for the unlimited drink package, kerry stated above only 20% drink gratuity goes to the bar staff so if you pay $139 for the gratuity, order 5 drinks a day at $10 a piece which equals $10/day in 20% gratuities that's only half of the gratuities you've paid, so where is the rest going? 

 

I wish NCL was more clear on their charges. If I understand correctly the added gratuity for the unlimited drink package cannot be removed or reduced down to the 20% amount per drink that is actually going to the bar staff? And if we wanted our bartender to be tipped higher than 20% we would need to do so in cash even though we are paying much higher than 20% for the auto gratuity?

[noobcruiser]

I'll stir the pot.  

 

Why is it that people only question the cost of things when it comes to the hospitality industry?  

 

Did you ever ask yourself how much the price of a tv gets passed on to the employees?  How about a car?  How about the apple or banana that you may have recently eaten?  How about your utilities or cable or cellphone?  

 

The choice here is simple.  Pay it or don't (and by extension cruise or don't)  Why spend so much energy on figuring out where each penny is going instead of just enjoying yourself?

 

 

[purplecow15]

21 minutes ago, noobcruiser said:

The choice here is simple.  Pay it or don't (and by extension cruise or don't)  Why spend so much energy on figuring out where each penny is going instead of just enjoying yourself?

I so agree. So many threads about how the gratuities are delved out. 

 

1 hour ago, Wedgie23 said:

. If I understand correctly the added gratuity for the unlimited drink package cannot be removed or reduced down to the 20% amount per drink that is actually going to the bar staff

The drinks package has the gratuities added whether you purchase it or get it as a perk. You mention 5 drinks but the package is unlimited. NCL has no way of predicting how many drinks you will have in the course of any day. We have always gotten it as a perk and have only tipped when a particular bartender goes above and beyond . There are no mandatory tips to wait staff  in any of the dining rooms or bars.You will have already paid that upfront. If however you feel you want to show more appreciation it is strictly on you. If that's the case you just need to carry around some bills to hand out as you wish. If you wish you need not spend one more penny once you get on board.

[Wedgie23]

45 minutes ago, noobcruiser said:

Why is it that people only question the cost of things when it comes to the hospitality industry? 

I believe the confusion comes from fees that are not adequately explained yet added on top of the advertised price. For instance the 'free' drink package is $139 per person for tips which I'm just learning aren't all going to the barstaff and the DSC pops up only once you're on the cruise. My first time booked through a TA I had no idea it was coming, if there was, as it was called here a resort service fee, I'd assume it would have been paid for as part of the original booking like with all other resorts/higher end hotels I've stayed at. My original booking showed added gratuities so I assumed they were taken care of but what I was seeing was the added gratuities for the dining and drink packages alone.

 

In your apple analogy, I expect to go to the store buy an apple for the price advertised pay the tax and leave. Not see the apples price, have a handling fee attached to it when I get to the register, taxed on a dozen apples instead of the amount I'm going to eat and then have a gratuity charge hit my card a week later. If that was to transpire I don't think anyone would be out of line to ask where it's all going. For cell phones, there are many added fees and taxes but you can pull it out and read each one, my company puts an explanation under each but all are ones you can easily google for an answer and an amount if you so choose. 

 

If the DSC covers all workers, which the site does not say then this is an inadequate tip to be leaving both the room steward and the servers in the main dining rooms, my opinion sure but that clears up my question regarding that. 

 

As for the added gratuities for the UDP I'm even more confused. I'd much rather have thought the barstaff was getting gigantic tips from me than half what I paid for tips going to the ? fund. If we assume 1/2 passengers have the UDP and 1/2 of those drink similarly to myself for a big ship with 4K you're looking at $70,000 every week customers are charged being told it's being given to staff when it isn't because they didn't drink enough for the staff to get it all. 

 

NCL has 18 ships I believe with an average capacity of 3K using the same assumptions as above that's approximately $945,000/week or $49.14 million per year in funds billed to the customers as gratuities for staff that are not being given to the staff. Do you feel it to be acceptable for any other business owner to force a sky high auto gratuity charge on patrons for it's staff, then pocket half of it for themselves if that is in fact what is happening?

 

Just to clarify in case anyone knows, can the UPD gratuity charge be modified at the end of the week like the DSC can?

 

 

[LrgPizza]

Here's a tip. Pay the DSC instead of wasting even 5 seconds thinking about who to pay, how much, where the money goes, how to distribute it to the proper people, etc.  Just add it to your cruise price, and you are done. Why do people want to waste precious vacation time doing this when it can be done automatically which is so much more convenient?

[mjkacmom]

16 minutes ago, Wedgie23 said:

I believe the confusion comes from fees that are not adequately explained yet added on top of the advertised price. For instance the 'free' drink package is $139 per person for tips which I'm just learning aren't all going to the barstaff and the DSC pops up only once you're on the cruise. My first time booked through a TA I had no idea it was coming, if there was, as it was called here a resort service fee, I'd assume it would have been paid for as part of the original booking like with all other resorts/higher end hotels I've stayed at. My original booking showed added gratuities so I assumed they were taken care of but what I was seeing was the added gratuities for the dining and drink packages alone.

 

In your apple analogy, I expect to go to the store buy an apple for the price advertised pay the tax and leave. Not see the apples price, have a handling fee attached to it when I get to the register, taxed on a dozen apples instead of the amount I'm going to eat and then have a gratuity charge hit my card a week later. If that was to transpire I don't think anyone would be out of line to ask where it's all going. For cell phones, there are many added fees and taxes but you can pull it out and read each one, my company puts an explanation under each but all are ones you can easily google for an answer and an amount if you so choose. 

 

If the DSC covers all workers, which the site does not say then this is an inadequate tip to be leaving both the room steward and the servers in the main dining rooms, my opinion sure but that clears up my question regarding that. 

 

As for the added gratuities for the UDP I'm even more confused. I'd much rather have thought the barstaff was getting gigantic tips from me than half what I paid for tips going to the ? fund. If we assume 1/2 passengers have the UDP and 1/2 of those drink similarly to myself for a big ship with 4K you're looking at $70,000 every week customers are charged being told it's being given to staff when it isn't because they didn't drink enough for the staff to get it all. 

 

NCL has 18 ships I believe with an average capacity of 3K using the same assumptions as above that's approximately $945,000/week or $49.14 million per year in funds billed to the customers as gratuities for staff that are not being given to the staff. Do you feel it to be acceptable for any other business owner to force a sky high auto gratuity charge on patrons for it's staff, then pocket half of it for themselves if that is in fact what is happening?

 

Just to clarify in case anyone knows, can the UPD gratuity charge be modified at the end of the week like the DSC can?

 

 

Who says the gratuity on the UBP doesn’t go to the bartenders? They aren’t in the DSC pool. If you don’t have the package, you get charged 20% on each drink. Since you aren’t charged anything for drinks with the UBP, you get charged 20% on the package cost. Do you think bartenders shouldn’t be tipped because you got the package for free? The DSC is very close to the amount that folks were expected to tip to staff in enveloped at the end of the cruise, but instead you just get charged that amount instead of giving cash. 

[jtheile]

30 minutes ago, Wedgie23 said:

 

Just to clarify in case anyone knows, can the UPD gratuity charge be modified at the end of the week like the DSC can?

 

 

 

Why don't you just pass on the drink package and pay for your drinks if you don't feel you will get your moneys worth?

 

Or better yet choose a different cruise line if you don't like NCL's business model. 

[StolidCruiser]

For a "long time reader, first time poster not trying to stir the pot", the OP certainly knows every nuance of the gratuity/DSC debate that has gone on ad nauseum for a decade, culminating in the popular:

 

NCL has 18 ships I believe with an average capacity of 3K using the same assumptions as above that's approximately $945,000/week or $49.14 million per year in funds billed to the customers as gratuities for staff that are not being given to the staff. Do you feel it to be acceptable for any other business owner to force a sky high auto gratuity charge on patrons for it's staff, then pocket half of it for themselves if that is in fact what is happening?

 

Stand aside, people... there's nothing new to see here unless you want to perpetuate the ridiculous assertion that cruiselines are pocketing charges to paid their own bottom line and paying the "indentured servitude" employees pennies on the dollar.

 

 

[purplecow15]

20 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

DSC pops up only once you're on the cruise

Not so. On every NCL cruise we've booked we were given the option of prepaying or paying at the end. We've always chosen to prepay . Every cruise line we've researched has a DSC so this should not come as a surprise.

We just disembarked from a Greek Isles Cruise and our total bill was $30 for a shuttle we chose .  We chose to tip a few of the crew who went above duty .  You can spend as little or as much as you wish. We've never come across a "surprise "expense.

I don't think I could enjoy cruising as much if I worried about where every little bit of gratuities was going. Whether or not you choose the UDP as a perk or pay for each drink you are going to pay 20%. 

[Kingkonig]

51 minutes ago, LrgPizza said:

Here's a tip. Pay the DSC instead of wasting even 5 seconds thinking about who to pay, how much, where the money goes, how to distribute it to the proper people, etc.  Just add it to your cruise price, and you are done. Why do people want to waste precious vacation time doing this when it can be done automatically which is so much more convenient?

 

Cause it’s cheaper not to tip.  They want to have us say “sure, pay $20 to the steward and $20 to the waitstaff, you’re a hero!” Instead of them paying the $200 that splits between everyone

[noobcruiser]

You asked for explanations, so here you go. 

From NCL's FAQ about Service Charges and Gratuities (I have edited them down)

 

What is the onboard service charge?
Why is there a service charge?
The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. 

 

Why would I prepay my service charges?
The convenience of pre-paying the service charges allows you to plan your budget prior to your cruise giving you additional freedom while on board.

 

If there is a service issue can the service charges be adjusted on board?
Guest satisfaction is the highest priority at Norwegian Cruise Line. We have structured a guest satisfaction program designed to handle any concerns about service or on-board product quickly and efficiently. However, in the event a service issue should arise during your cruise please let our on-board guest services desk staff know right away, so that we can address these in a timely manner. It is our goal to reach a satisfactory solution to any issue when it happens and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise. Should your concerns not be met with satisfaction you can adjust the charges.

 

What about gratuities?
Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on our ships for service that is generally rendered to all Guests. While you should not feel obligated to offer a gratuity, all of our staff are encouraged to “go the extra mile,” so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities for exceptional or outstanding service if you care to offer them. Also, certain staff positions (e.g., concierge, butler, youth program staff and beverage service) provide service on an individual basis to only some guests and do not benefit from the overall service charge. We encourage those Guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. Additionally, there is an 20% gratuity and spa service charge added for all spa and salon services, as well as an 20% gratuity and beverage service charge added for all beverage purchases and an 20% gratuity and specialty service charge added to all specialty restaurant dining and entertainment based dining.

 

The basic economics are this: 

If NCL were to move to a flat fee model (complete all-inclusive), people would have a meltdown because they would have no control over gratuities. So, NCL created this hybrid method so that those of us that don't care to quibble about how the money is distributed can pre-pay and be done with it.  For those of you that like to complain, you can abstain from paying and pay as you go or pay at the end of the week by chasing people down and handling them cash money.  (does anyone really miss that? I don't).

 

As a side note, in case it was missed in other replies...whether you pay for the UBP or by the drink (alcoholic or soda) you are always gonna pay the 20%.

 

[Skipper305]

6 hours ago, Wedgie23 said:

 I know forced gratuities are a hotly debated topic, I’m not looking to start any drama...

I have my doubts, to say the least.

[Wedgie23]

6 minutes ago, noobcruiser said:

You asked for explanations, so here you go. 

From NCL's FAQ about Service Charges and Gratuities (I have edited them down)

Thank you kindly. Yes the FAQ was what I was going off of and I was asking if there was any place that had more information. The verbiage in the first part of it made me believe it was just the service staff (though I must have skipped over the part about the steward as I always believed them to be not included) other posters here informed me it was the entire staff even if the FAQ didn't state that. 

 

20 minutes ago, StolidCruiser said:

For a "long time reader, first time poster not trying to stir the pot", the OP certainly knows every nuance of the gratuity/DSC debate that has gone on ad nauseum for a decade, culminating in the popular:

You either missed half the messages or missed all of the math. Kerri and now several other posters have stated that the bar staff receives only a 20% tip on all drinks they serve. If a passenger such as myself has 5 $10 drinks per day that is $70 going to the staff and $70 missing out of the $140/week UDP auto gratuity. This is going by all the other, more knowledgeable than myself posters here repeatedly stating the bar staff only receives 20% no matter how much pre paid gratuity the customer pays. 

 

The bar staff is getting their 20% my question is where is all the left over going and is there a way to reduce the gratuity of the UDP so that there is no left over that isn't given to the employees? 

[ColeThornton]

7 hours ago, Wedgie23 said:

Long time reader, first time poster yada yada. I know forced gratuities are a hotly debated topic, I’m not looking to start any drama but ..........

 

Of course you are.

[graphicguy]

Oh goody....a tipping/DSC thread.  I was just perusing the Royal Caribbean Forum, and they have one going, too.  These are so much fun and so interesting.

 

OP....as of this post, you have 5 posts under your current user name....all of them about tipping/DSC.  Out of anything you can ask, or get information from some of the most seasoned cruisers around, you decide this is the burning question you have to ask?

 

No questions about ports?  Piers that NCL sails from?  Specialty dining menus?  Cruise Directors?  

 

Instead, you want to spend yet another entire thread talking about tipping?

 

Tip....don’t tip....it really doesn’t matter to the vast majority of us.  How about asking us something else more in tune with your particular cruise.  What ship are you sailing?  When are you sailing?  What cabin did you book?  

 

We’d love to talk about those particulars.

[Wedgie23]

32 minutes ago, Kingkonig said:

Cause it’s cheaper not to tip.  They want to have us say “sure, pay $20 to the steward and $20 to the waitstaff, you’re a hero!” Instead of them paying the $200 that splits between everyone

 

32 minutes ago, noobcruiser said:

What is the onboard service charge?
Why is there a service charge?
The reason there's a fixed service charge is an important one: Our Crew (as are the crew from other lines) is encouraged to work together as a team. Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind-the-scenes support staff are compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that your service charge supports. 

Per noobcruisers quote of the FAQ, which was the only information I was able to find directly from NCL before posing my question here, you and other users are extrapolating "Staff members including complimentary restaurant staff, stateroom stewards and behind the scenes staff' to mean 'everyone' and 'you're service charge supports' to 'mean all $210 are divied up equally between them after the cruise'. Considering I'm sure you all have more cruises under your belt than me I will give the benefit of the doubt and assume you are correct. Though no one who holds this opinion has been able to cite any further information about it as I asked for in my original post. I understand that is the commonly understood interpretation of the service charge so I will agree with what the majority believes it to be. 

 

Being as though Kerry explained that in the second post and I acknowledged multiple times now that I understood that to be the answer I don't see why were still debating it. I have two follow up questions to Kerry's post which are where does the difference between the UDP gratuity charge go and the tips the bar staff get and is there any way to lower this gratuity so there isn't any left over?

 

Unless you are drinking $700 worth in a week individually you are paying far more than 20% which per the posters here, is all the staff is getting from your $140 UDP gratuity charge.