Question about "Free at Sea" offer gratuities

[momneedsrest]

My sister and I just booked ourselves and our mom on  Epic for a 10 day Greek Isles for Apr/May 2024. I am looking over the itemized bill and am wondering what the heck this is: What does this mean? Why is there a charge for something called "Free at Sea?" The next box on the page has a radio button/option to pay $600 for service charges in advance, which kind of tracks-$20 per person per day, if we so choose. Are these two separate things?

Can someone please explain this?

[ColeThornton]

Yes, they are two separate things.

 

For the Free at Sea, read the Terms and Conditions which detail the gratuity charges.

 

https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

 

Daily Service charge info from the NCL FAQ's.

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#!#what-is-onboard-service-charge

 

(under "Money Matters" in the FAQ's)

Edited June 2, 2023 by ColeThornton

[cruiseny4life]

21 minutes ago, momneedsrest said:

wondering what the heck this is: What does this mean?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZE gratuities and specialty dining gratuities! 

[shof515]

the service charges that is 20 per person per day is for the room steward, housekeeping and other people. this is standard upon all cruise lines and each cruise line calls it different names

 

the free at sea gratuity is two complete separate things. there is one gratuity for the drink package and one gratuity for the dinning package. The package in itself it is "free" but the gratuity is not and you need to pay for at the time of booking 

[MoCruiseFan]

32 minutes ago, momneedsrest said:

My sister and I just booked ourselves and our mom on  Epic for a 10 day Greek Isles for Apr/May 2024. I am looking over the itemized bill and am wondering what the heck this is: What does this mean? Why is there a charge for something called "Free at Sea?" The next box on the page has a radio button/option to pay $600 for service charges in advance, which kind of tracks-$20 per person per day, if we so choose. Are these two separate things?

Can someone please explain this?

 

 

You both took the free drink package.  The drink packages have an automatic 20% gratuity that you must pay whether you buy the package or get it free.  The package itself is free.  You did not pay for it at all.  If you do not like the idea of paying the gratuities even if the package is free, then by all means call back and have them remove it then go pay full price for it instead.  Your choice.  However remember the barkeep still prepares your drink just the same whether you get the package free or not and should be tipped either way.

About the DSC read this-> https://www.ncl.com/faq#!#what-is-onboard-service-charge

[The Traveling Man]

27 minutes ago, momneedsrest said:

My sister and I just booked ourselves and our mom on  Epic for a 10 day Greek Isles for Apr/May 2024. I am looking over the itemized bill and am wondering what the heck this is: What does this mean? Why is there a charge for something called "Free at Sea?" The next box on the page has a radio button/option to pay $600 for service charges in advance, which kind of tracks-$20 per person per day, if we so choose. Are these two separate things?

Can someone please explain this?

Welcome to Cruise Critic and welcome to the reality of sailing with NCL.  After plowing through 20 pages or so of fine print in your cruise contract you may find a full and complete explanation, but the short answer is that freedom isn't free.  If you select a "Free at Sea" (FAS) option such as the beverage package, the price of the package is included with your fare, but a gratuity of 20% of the retail price of the package will be added to your total.  The Daily Service Charge (DSC) is $20 per person per day for most reservations.  This is separate from the FAS gratuity.  NCL indicates that it is intended to provide incentives for certain crew members, such as waiters and stateroom attendants, but also for other personnel with whom you may not come into contact, such as laundry workers.  Many passengers think of the DSC as a gratuity for service workers.  The DSC is optional, but most passengers do pay it unless there is a serious problem with service on board.

[momneedsrest]

20 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic and welcome to the reality of sailing with NCL.  After plowing through 20 pages or so of fine print in your cruise contract you may find a full and complete explanation, but the short answer is that freedom isn't free.  If you select a "Free at Sea" (FAS) option such as the beverage package, the price of the package is included with your fare, but a gratuity of 20% of the retail price of the package will be added to your total.  The Daily Service Charge (DSC) is $20 per person per day for most reservations.  This is separate from the FAS gratuity.  NCL indicates that it is intended to provide incentives for certain crew members, such as waiters and stateroom attendants, but also for other personnel with whom you may not come into contact, such as laundry workers.  Many passengers think of the DSC as a gratuity for service workers.  The DSC is optional, but most passengers do pay it unless there is a serious problem with service on board.

Thank you so much for spelling this out! Now if only the bathroom situation on the Epic wasn't so freakin' weird!

[Two Wheels Only]

12 minutes ago, momneedsrest said:

Thank you so much for spelling this out! Now if only the bathroom situation on the Epic wasn't so freakin' weird!

 

It's actually weirder than you think. If your bed is near the "bathroom", your "bathroom" sink can be either near your feet or near your head when you're asleep. 😂

 

 

[boltnut55]

First I was like, "oooh, it comes w/free drinks" which hardly means anything to me since no one drinks alcohol... then i saw the gratuities and unclick the box.  I can't even afford the gratuities!  I wish they would give us a choice of replacing w/free soda.  It saves them money but can still collect on the gratuities.

Edited June 3, 2023 by boltnut55

[tomk3212]

You can always turn the FAS drink package down.  While DW & I aren't teetotalers we figure for the small amount of drinks we have on a typical cruise it's just not worth the $$ we'd spend on just the gratuities.  So we always turn down the FAS package for alcoholic beverages.  The Specialty Dining gratuities are around $25 so we go with them.

 

My 2 cents.

[mistertomatoe]

And yes, you pay the full gratuities of 20% on $109 per day per person to the bar staff regardless of how much you drink. Try drinking $109’s worth each day on average. I always feel terrible on my cruise.  Drink less than that amount, you’ve actually tipped them extra. And no, it is not really free and not just because of the 20%. You and everyone else pay for it with the cruise fare and everything else NCL does to nickel and dime their guests. If the sail away rate is available you actually pay a little less but you are probably still subsidizing someone else (especially heavy drinkers) getting their discounts on the open bar. NCL isn’t stupid and the free promo is there to make money. 

[Happy-48]

I am lucky, the free at sea package was down to 100 euroś . As European we don t have to pay the 20% gratuity

But i know that cruiseprices are cheaper for people from overseas, in general

[quack2]

Sounds like Additional Dealer Markup.

[graphicguy]

6 hours ago, mistertomatoe said:

And yes, you pay the full gratuities of 20% on $109 per day per person to the bar staff regardless of how much you drink. Try drinking $109’s worth each day on average. I always feel terrible on my cruise.  Drink less than that amount, you’ve actually tipped them extra. And no, it is not really free and not just because of the 20%. You and everyone else pay for it with the cruise fare and everything else NCL does to nickel and dime their guests. If the sail away rate is available you actually pay a little less but you are probably still subsidizing someone else (especially heavy drinkers) getting their discounts on the open bar. NCL isn’t stupid and the free promo is there to make money. 

Have asked this before on other threads for those who quote the daily drink charges without FAS…..did you actually “buy” the drink package at $109/day/pp?

 

OP…the charges you’re seeing are the gratuities for the Free at Sea Drinks and Specialty Dinners.  Both are perks with the exception of the tips, which is the charges you’re seeing.

Edited June 4, 2023 by graphicguy

[mjkacmom]

8 hours ago, mistertomatoe said:

And yes, you pay the full gratuities of 20% on $109 per day per person to the bar staff regardless of how much you drink. Try drinking $109’s worth each day on average. I always feel terrible on my cruise.  Drink less than that amount, you’ve actually tipped them extra. And no, it is not really free and not just because of the 20%. You and everyone else pay for it with the cruise fare and everything else NCL does to nickel and dime their guests. If the sail away rate is available you actually pay a little less but you are probably still subsidizing someone else (especially heavy drinkers) getting their discounts on the open bar. NCL isn’t stupid and the free promo is there to make money. 

The gratuity on the UDP is $20 a day, the cost of 1 1/2 cocktails. I can and will drink more than 1 1/2 cocktails a day easily. If you don’t drink 1 1/2 drinks a day uncheck the box and pay $0.

[schmoopie17]

This all may be a moot point if the Epic doesn't return to Europe in 2024, as rumored.

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by schmoopie17