Gratuities/Daily Service Charges increasing!!

[dbrown84]

49 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

As stated, I don't know how they could quantify the quality of your excuse.  Just say something like "dining service, including the buffets, was poor all week" - who's to dispute that?

Or just write "none of your business " and turn the form in.  I say that to be funny, but I actually had a rep tell me to just write"personal "

[Minnesota Rookie]

So I now not only pay for the ship and the cruise, but I have to hire and pay the staff as well? I think Norwegian has really made a bad promotional move in this case. I intend to significantly reduce my gratuities once I get onboard--something I have never done before--as a protest, and we simply won't ever take another Norwegian cruise. We've had enough of these cruise lines, and Norwegian is the straw that breaks the camel's back for us, nickel and diming (hundreds and thousands) their customers to death in pursuit of ever larger profits. 

 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

It's a 25% increase, so, let's not talk about inflation.

 

For me the $56 isn't going to break the bank.  The $56 is just one more annoying point where NCL is grabbing more money.   

 

I don't even mind the idea of an increase considering the aforementioned rate of inflation.  What catches my attention is the 25% increase.

This increase is driven by inflation.  

I wonder how many who are objecting to this increase are criticizing walmart for increasing the price of eggs which increased by 10% in October?

I get it, people are being hammered by inflation.  I don't like it either but NCL didn't cause inflation.  You'll have to look elsewhere for the culprits who caused inflation.

[New2cruise2022]

34 minutes ago, Minnesota Rookie said:

I intend to significantly reduce my gratuities once I get onboard--something I have never done before--as a protest,

I think this is the value of an adjustable, removable service charge. While perhaps not the intention of NCL, as a consumer it is the only leverage point to convey dissatisfaction in a meaningful way. 
However, I think there is some strong opinions that may come across as shaming the practice of reducing or removing DSC. I agree with @dbrown84, I think the decision and request is personal. That being said, if more people like @dbrown84 shared the experience, I think others might feel emboldened enough to ask that the DSC be removed/refunded. 
As far as employee compensation, by law, NCL will be compelled to pay crew the contracted rate, regardless of consumers’ decision to cruise or remove/reduce DSC. That is NCL responsibility to navigate that obligation, not the consumers. 

[spanishguy1970]

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

This increase is driven by inflation.  

I wonder how many who are objecting to this increase are criticizing walmart for increasing the price of eggs which increased by 10% in October?

I get it, people are being hammered by inflation.  I don't like it either but NCL didn't cause inflation.  You'll have to look elsewhere for the culprits who caused inflation.

it has nothing to do with inflation and everything to do with greed, want employees to be appreciated? pay them higher wages, period the end.

[PATRLR]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

This increase is driven by inflation.  

I wonder how many who are objecting to this increase are criticizing walmart for increasing the price of eggs which increased by 10% in October?

I get it, people are being hammered by inflation.  I don't like it either but NCL didn't cause inflation.  You'll have to look elsewhere for the culprits who caused inflation.

Increasing a price by 25% when the rate of inflation is 1/3 of that supports the claim that many make stating inflation is being fueled by corporate greed.  If those people are correct (and I have no opinion nor do I care), then actually it is NCLs fault.  

[RocketMan275]

42 minutes ago, Minnesota Rookie said:

So I now not only pay for the ship and the cruise, but I have to hire and pay the staff as well? I think Norwegian has really made a bad promotional move in this case. I intend to significantly reduce my gratuities once I get onboard--something I have never done before--as a protest, and we simply won't ever take another Norwegian cruise. We've had enough of these cruise lines, and Norwegian is the straw that breaks the camel's back for us, nickel and diming (hundreds and thousands) their customers to death in pursuit of ever larger profits. 

 

Who did you expect to hire and pay the staff?  All expenses are paid by the passengers.

BTW, nothing like taking  your displeasure out on the crew.  They didn't cause this increase.

[RocketMan275]

Just now, PATRLR said:

Increasing a price by 25% when the rate of inflation is 1/3 of that supports the claim that many make stating inflation is being fueled by corporate greed.  If those people are correct (and I have no opinion nor do I care), then actually it is NCLs fault.  

Really? Corporate greed is causing inflation?  Economics says otherwise.

[PATRLR]

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Really? Corporate greed is causing inflation?  Economics says otherwise.

Not going to debate this topic as I don't know enough about it.  But I read quite a bit and there are definitely very strong arguments supporting that claim.  If you really are surprised to hear of that claim, which is what I infer from your comment, you might want to look into a bit yourself, if you care.

[Hannodcruise]

58 minutes ago, Minnesota Rookie said:

So I now not only pay for the ship and the cruise, but I have to hire and pay the staff as well? I think Norwegian has really made a bad promotional move in this case. I intend to significantly reduce my gratuities once I get onboard--something I have never done before--as a protest, and we simply won't ever take another Norwegian cruise. We've had enough of these cruise lines, and Norwegian is the straw that breaks the camel's back for us, nickel and diming (hundreds and thousands) their customers to death in pursuit of ever larger profits. 

 

If you decide to do this, just be honest with the reason.  What you’ve said here would be appropriate if that is how you feel.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, Minnesota Rookie said:

and we simply won't ever take another Norwegian cruise. We've had enough of these cruise lines, and Norwegian is the straw that breaks the camel's back for us, nickel and diming (hundreds and thousands) their customers to death in pursuit of ever larger profits. 

 

Great!  If you (and many others who claim that they are done with NCL for life) actually follow through, that equals less demand, which will reduce my NCL prices on future cruises.  It's econ 101.  Supply and demand. 😎 (it will also reduce those pesky profits which are apparently NOT the reason that a business exists - I must have missed that in econ 101)

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 minutes ago, Hannodcruise said:

If you decide to do this, just be honest with the reason.  What you’ve said here would be appropriate if that is how you feel.

Yep.  I didn't stiff the hard working dude because I'm cheap.  I did it as a matter of principle, to protest the evil corporation.  Teach the corporation that maximizing revenue is not in their best interest.  Huh!?

[mianmike]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

If you think you can find a better deal, then go for it.

 

 

Oh, I find great deals all the time.  But these assorted fees make comparing "apples to apples" all the more arduous.  That's why corporations keep adding fees, they are counting on most people not putting forth the effort to find real value.  

 

I wish someone (travel agency) would create a cruise search engine that searches multiple cruise lines, sorts by cabin category, factors in the perks you want, sorts by destination, adds the all the fees and calculates the total cost of the cruise.  

[hallux]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Inflation is running at over 7%.  

 

It is, and many companies don't offer wage increases commensurate with inflation.  But, let's not talk about the increase as a percentage of the total fare, let's talk about the increase as a percentage of increase from what it was previously - it's a 25% increase in this portion of the cost of cruising, nearly 4x what inflation is.

 

Oh, and from one video I saw this increase came hot on the heels of a very positive report from NCL - best day of bookings, best week of bookings, even best MONTH of bookings (probably for the year).  People have been booking NCL like crazy, even though they were the only line without deep discounts, and now they feel the need to go and raise this cost by this much.

[Oakman58]

From $16 to $20 is a 25% increase way more than inflation.  I'll let my checkbook do my talking and cruise with other lines.  If they all fall in line with this ridiculous increase, then I'll simply go back to doing all-inclusive land based resorts.

[mianmike]

21 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Great!  If you (and many others who claim that they are done with NCL for life) actually follow through, that equals less demand, which will reduce my NCL prices on future cruises.  It's econ 101.  Supply and demand. 😎 (it will also reduce those pesky profits which are apparently NOT the reason that a business exists - I must have missed that in econ 101)

 

Someone missed econ 101 . . , either FDR or you.   FDR has stated multiple times they will not "price to fill."  

[scooter6139]

I just popped into 4 different major cruise forums here on CC and on 3 of the 4, there were the same "they are raising X$$$ and Y$$$!  " rants going on.  All were on the first page.  The other had it a couple pages in.

 

So guess what?  EVERYONE is raising their prices.  Don't like it?  Don't cruise.  

[mianmike]

25 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

I just popped into 4 different major cruise forums here on CC and on 3 of the 4, there were the same "they are raising X$$$ and Y$$$!  " rants going on.  All were on the first page.  The other had it a couple pages in.

 

So guess what?  EVERYONE is raising their prices.  Don't like it?  Don't cruise.  

 

On the Royal Caribbean page they are complaining about NCL raising the DSC by 25%.  LOL

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

I'll let my checkbook do my talking and cruise with other lines. 

Do you really write checks to pay for your cruises???

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, mianmike said:

 

Someone missed econ 101 . . , either FDR or you.   FDR has stated multiple times they will not "price to fill."  

You are making two errors.  Let me help you out:

a) don't believe what other posters say

b) don't believe what corporate officers say to the public

 

NCL will make their money because cruisers who proclaim that they "WILL NEVER SAIL NCL AGAIN," don't really mean it.  You missed the "IF" in my post:

3 hours ago, mianmike said:

If you (and many others who claim that they are done with NCL for life).....

I can't speak for FDR, but I certainly didn't miss econ 101.  Got an A in it!!  😎 (one of the easiest A's in a difficult STEM curriculum)

[travelgalnow]

This may not be the thread to start this discussion but wouldn't it be wonderful if all the cruises just stated the full price of the cruise that included the "service charge."  It really is part of their wages.

[travelgalnow]

22 hours ago, julig22 said:

NCL changed their policy some time ago.

 

Thanks for the heads up on this! I've been doing some research, and it appears I may have some refundable and some non-refundable OB credit.  So I may be able to use the refundable credit toward my service charges.

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 minutes ago, travelgalnow said:

This may not be the thread to start this discussion but wouldn't it be wonderful if all the cruises just stated the full price of the cruise that included the "service charge."  It really is part of their wages.

NCL does!!  Just go to NCL.com, create a mock booking and see what the out-the-door price is.  If you are nervous about DSC, just select the pre-pay option.  Easy!!

[travelgalnow]

20 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

NCL does!!  Just go to NCL.com, create a mock booking and see what the out-the-door price is.  If you are nervous about DSC, just select the pre-pay option.  Easy!!

 

Sure, I get that you can calculate. Just sayin' it would be more transparent not to have to do the calculation. Just state it up front. 🙂

[mianmike]

3 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You are making two errors.  Let me help you out:

a) don't believe what other posters say

b) don't believe what corporate officers say to the public

I can't speak for FDR, but I certainly didn't miss econ 101.  Got an A in it!!  😎 (one of the easiest A's in a difficult STEM curriculum)

 

Since you got an "A" in econ 101 it appears your econ 101 didn't cover SEC regulations.  As you assert, it is possible the NCLH corporate officers could be lying to investors, but that would be a grave error.  When FDR discloses to investors that the company will deviate from previous norms and not price to fill, that's material.  A company that discloses information to investors must do so truthfully and accurately.  A company cannot make partial or misleading disclosures. Disclosures containing material misstatements or omissions “reasonably calculated to influence investors” can expose NCLH to Rule 10b-5 liability.