Tip Breakdown on NCL

[pickle11]

6 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

I tip. Out of gratitude, yes. But it is also a self-aggrandizing practice. I would tip for your opinion and advice. Definitely!

I like you.  Nothing wrong with asking questions.  Keep them coming.  I just might reply with a little sarcasm.  😛

[weltek]

15 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Also one must consider the fact that the crew is making substantially higher wages than they would in their home country.  I remember a bartender on RCCI who had made three contracts with the line and was only going to do two more.  He claimed that in those five contracts he would make enough to support his family plus saving enough to build his dream home in Croatia.

 

You aren't wrong about bartenders in particular. The good ones that bring in additional cash tips are doing really well financially in their home country, and I say good for them. They earn that. They spend months away, work long hours, put up with us,  and live in cramped quarters, and their families are left carrying the weight of raising families/caring for loved ones at home. Anyway, not sure the same can be said, to the same degree, about all crew. For example, I don't think the laundry staff are building dream homes anytime soon.

Edited November 11, 2022 by weltek

[New2cruise2022]

8 minutes ago, pickle11 said:

I like you.  Nothing wrong with asking questions.  Keep them coming.  I just might reply with a little sarcasm.  😛

I have questions. And yes, many of them have already been answered somewhere in some forum or in the corners of the internet gathered by a Google search. But a) I like opinions sprinkled in with facts, b) I love to ask follow-up questions, c) I really love seeing what soap boxes, pet peeves, and passions individual contributors own and put on display for our entertainment. 
 

And d) when your first cruise is still 70 days away but thinking, obsessing, reading, and writing about is added value to my lawyering, business running, dad-duty filled days. This place is my new guilty pleasure/addiction with all of the advice, opinions, and characters that I find here. (It’s also my motivation to keep working hard and earning money so I can go from first-time cruiser to this-is-my-third-cruise-this-year cruiser. 

[pickle11]

1 minute ago, New2cruise2022 said:

I have questions. And yes, many of them have already been answered somewhere in some forum or in the corners of the internet gathered by a Google search. But a) I like opinions sprinkled in with facts, b) I love to ask follow-up questions, c) I really love seeing what soap boxes, pet peeves, and passions individual contributors own and put on display for our entertainment. 
 

And d) when your first cruise is still 70 days away but thinking, obsessing, reading, and writing about is added value to my lawyering, business running, dad-duty filled days. This place is my new guilty pleasure/addiction with all of the advice, opinions, and characters that I find here. (It’s also my motivation to keep working hard and earning money so I can go from first-time cruiser to this-is-my-third-cruise-this-year cruiser. 

It takes time and patience.  I have the time but not the patience.  That is why I book one to two months out.  If I had to wait six months, I would pull my hair out with anxiety.  I only pay attention to CC when I have a pending cruise.  I'm still learning.

But I will be here until your cruise starts.  Thank you for keeping me interested.

[fshagan]

On 11/11/2022 at 5:09 AM, New2cruise2022 said:

Do you think this happens often? People asking for all of it to be removed? (Regardless of whether service was indeed minimal or just an excuse to outlay less money?)

 

People from the UK are often on here saying they remove them because "tipping is not part of our culture". NCL in the UK now has higher fares and includes the service charges in the fares.

 

If you have ever been to the UK you will realize that what they mean is "PAYING tips is not in our culture, but we certainly expect you to pay them when you visit our country." (Insert wry Irish comment here on the moral character of Britons).

[New2cruise2022]

On 11/11/2022 at 7:40 AM, pickle11 said:

It takes time and patience.  I have the time but not the patience.  That is why I book one to two months out.  If I had to wait six months, I would pull my hair out with anxiety.  I only pay attention to CC when I have a pending cruise.  I'm still learning.

But I will be here until your cruise starts.  Thank you for keeping me interested.

Trip is getting closer for me. Less than 2 months. But I’m waiting until Christmas Day to tell my two teenage boys. If it weren’t for conversations on CC I would lose my mind waiting because I have to constantly stop myself from ruining the surprise and asking or telling my boys something about the cruise. Christmas can’t come soon enough to share the planning and excitement with them. 

[curlstravel]

I’m still a little confused about tips. We always give our state room attendant a nice tip before we leave the ship if we are pleased with the service.  Sometimes at the beginning and middle part of the cruise too if they do something special for us. They always accept our tips with a big smile and a thank you.  My question is do they get to keep the tips we give them for themselves or do they have to turn it into a tip fund for the whole crew?

 

 

 

[biker@sea]

50 minutes ago, curlstravel said:

I’m still a little confused about tips. We always give our state room attendant a nice tip before we leave the ship if we are pleased with the service.  Sometimes at the beginning and middle part of the cruise too if they do something special for us. They always accept our tips with a big smile and a thank you.  My question is do they get to keep the tips we give them for themselves or do they have to turn it into a tip fund for the whole crew?

 

 

 

 

If you paid your dsc they put the cash in their pocket.

If the dsc has been removed the cash is to be pooled.

[pcakes122]

On 11/8/2022 at 11:57 AM, ColeThornton said:

The crew don't get any share of the DSC.  They are third world country slaves forced into serving the evil NCL overlords.  

LOL! It honestly amazes me that people do not recognize their unconscious bias when they post about the "poor crew." Just because someone has an accent doesn't mean that they're stupid or ignorant or need protection. In many cases, it just means that they know at least one additional language then most people.  Crew members are intelligent people who have made a deliberate, thoughtful decision to accept a job that benefits them and/or their families.  They get cruise ship jobs through an agency and are fully informed and understand the conditions of employment before they accept the job.  Perhaps the average American would not accept a job for cruise ship pay, but that is because they compare it to American salaries (and they also forget that room & board and food is included, and there is no need for a car, car insurance, etc.) 

 

The best is people who bring "gifts" to the crew like deodorant, toiletries and candy as if they are visiting someone who is incarcerated LOL.

 

I honestly just can't. 🤦‍♀️

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

15 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Trip is getting closer for me. Less than 2 months. But I’m waiting until Christmas Day to tell my two teenage boys. If it weren’t for conversations on CC I would lose my mind waiting because I have to constantly stop myself from ruining the surprise and asking or telling my boys something about the cruise. Christmas can’t come soon enough to share the planning and excitement with them. 

I was on the side of your two teenage boys on our last cruise. I knew we were going on a cruise and that we had a Haven room. What I didn't know is that my husband decided to upgrade us to an aft-balcony suite with our PCC sometime before the cruise. Honestly, I don't even know when he did this as we canceled an August cruise, in August, to go on a September cruise (twice the length, same price as August cruise). 

 

Anyway, it was the best surprise ever to walk into that room. Your boys are going to be absolutely thrilled when you tell them! I know I was thrilled when I saw the room we had actually reserved, instead of the one I thought we were getting. 🙂 I hope that's a little encouragement to keep the secret until Christmas!