NCL Pearl and Tipping

[steveknj]

I was reading the latest review of the Pearl on this board and now I'm a bit concerned. It was my understanding that the $10 a day "service charge" was supposed to replace tipping. Now, I am NOT against give a few extra dollars for "exceptional service", but to have to tip everyone ON TOP of this service charge is crazy!!

 

With that said, I don't want to seem like a cheapskate, so what is the "suggested" tips and to whom do we tip and when.

 

Obviously, bar bills, casino gaming and the like I assumed a tip would be required, but I'm talking about waiters/bus boys/room stewards/maitre d' and so on. Do you tip at the end of the cruise are at the time of service rendered?

 

Any help would be wonderful so I can readjust my budget.

 

Sailing June 3rd to Alaska!!

[LateCruiser]

I usually gave the bar waiters a small tip at the time of service (I'm just a generous sort of person:) ). I also gave our room steward a good tip at the end of the cruise (he did a great job - I considered it above the norm).

[Don Haynes]

You don't have to tip any more, the $10 per day auto-tip per person is enough for being waited on. Keep in mind this does not cover spa tips or the Kids crew, they will need to be tipped.

 

 

But when I ask for something special, I do tip a buck or two more.

[steveknj]

You don't have to tip any more, the $10 per day auto-tip per person is enough for being waited on. Keep in mind this does not cover spa tips or the Kids crew, they will need to be tipped.

 

 

But when I ask for something special, I do tip a buck or two more.

 

That's what I thought, but the reviewer at this link

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=378

says:

 

"Gratuity

NCL adds $10 per day per adult ($5 for children to age 12) to onboard accounts, which serves as a "service charge" and not a tip. Guests are encouraged to "tip" for exceptional service, but we're also assured that the service charge does go to the crew. Most guests tip their room stewards extra; suite guests also tip their butlers and the concierge -- who are not in the "service charge" pool -- and because of Freestyle dining, where you don't have the same waitstaff every night, many guests bring cash to tip their servers if they've done an excellent job. On Pearl, a 15 percent gratuity is also added to bar bills and spa services."

 

So that leads me to believe that the reviewer doesn't consider the service charge a tip.

[steveknj]

You don't have to tip any more, the $10 per day auto-tip per person is enough for being waited on. Keep in mind this does not cover spa tips or the Kids crew, they will need to be tipped.

 

 

But when I ask for something special, I do tip a buck or two more.

 

That's what I thought, but the reviewer at this link

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=378

says:

 

"Gratuity

NCL adds $10 per day per adult ($5 for children to age 12) to onboard accounts, which serves as a "service charge" and not a tip. Guests are encouraged to "tip" for exceptional service, but we're also assured that the service charge does go to the crew. Most guests tip their room stewards extra; suite guests also tip their butlers and the concierge -- who are not in the "service charge" pool -- and because of Freestyle dining, where you don't have the same waitstaff every night, many guests bring cash to tip their servers if they've done an excellent job. On Pearl, a 15 percent gratuity is also added to bar bills and spa services."

 

So that leads me to believe that the reviewer doesn't consider the service charge a tip.

[Don Haynes]

With NCLA ships, the Prides in Hawaii, there is no auto-tip, the surcharge is for their American employees benefits. Since the American crewed ships are paid an American salary, under American labor laws, there is no need to tip. The American crewed shiips under American labor laws have significantly more labor costs than salary. For example, work related injury pay, union dues, retirement plans, health care, etc.

 

But this isn't so with the NCL ships. Their international crewed ships are paid an international salary with no American benefits. Many of the crew are paid almost nothing, its the tips that pay their salary.

 

I believe you are confusing the two. You don't think Americans work for an international crewed wage? You don't think Americans work without American labor law benefits? Well the international crews do.

[steveknj]

With NCLA ships, the Prides in Hawaii, there is no auto-tip, the surcharge is for their American employees benefits. Since the American crewed ships are paid an American salary, under American labor laws, there is no need to tip. The American crewed shiips under American labor laws have significantly more labor costs than salary. For example, work related injury pay, union dues, retirement plans, health care, etc.

 

But this isn't so with the NCL ships. Their international crewed ships are paid an international salary with no American benefits. Many of the crew are paid almost nothing, its the tips that pay their salary.

 

I believe you are confusing the two. You don't think Americans work for an international crewed wage? You don't think Americans work without American labor law benefits? Well the international crews do.

 

Nope, not confusing the two, in fact, I've never heard of NCLA. It was just my understanding, through discussions with my TA, through some folks on this and other forums that the $10 SC was in lieu of tips and if you want to tip for exceptional service, that's entirely up to you. The one other cruise I went on some years back actually published suggested tipping for their crew. From what I heard, most of the cruise lines use this SC as their method to eliminate tips. I believe even NCL in their brochure states this.

 

I agree, these international crew members are making lousy wages and should be tipped if they go beyond the call so to speak. But I refuse to feel "obligated" to tip above this SC and that is the way that review made it sound.

[TAXFREEMAN]

If you have a different wait staff every night you can't tip the conventional way. The $10 per person is a better arrangement.

[flyingpirate]

The $10. per day IS a service charge which goes directly to the crew as tips. (on NCL)

 

I haven't found anywhere in writing and have never found in person that guests are encouraged to tip extra, other than the concierge letter at the end of the cruise, suggesting that we remember our butlers, concierge (!) and any crew who may have made the trip more special.

 

No one should feel obligated to tip a penny more than the service fee if they do not wish to do so, but if the service warrants it, by all means do.

 

On Pearl, though, one finds that the urge to give out larger gratuities is there because the crew is overwhelmingly good.

 

An example, on our recent Dawn cruise the goodbye letter from the concierge ended with "We hope you have enjoyed some-or all- of your cruise with us and you will return to NCL" , Yes "some or all". On Pearl, it was "if your vacation was anything less than excellent, that was not acceptable to us"

 

I can hardly wait to go back and leave more money for that crew.

[Jana]

That's what I thought, but the reviewer at this link

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=378

says:

 

"Gratuity

NCL adds $10 per day per adult ($5 for children to age 12) to onboard accounts, which serves as a "service charge" and not a tip. Guests are encouraged to "tip" for exceptional service, but we're also assured that the service charge does go to the crew. Most guests tip their room stewards extra; suite guests also tip their butlers and the concierge -- who are not in the "service charge" pool -- and because of Freestyle dining, where you don't have the same waitstaff every night, many guests bring cash to tip their servers if they've done an excellent job. On Pearl, a 15 percent gratuity is also added to bar bills and spa services."

 

So that leads me to believe that the reviewer doesn't consider the service charge a tip.

 

Hi,

 

I'm the "reviewer" and what I think about the service charge doesn't really enter into it. The issue of tipping on NCL ships is pretty confusing... personally, I wish that the company had just left the name of the $10 a day fee alone and continued to call it a "tip." But they didn't, and in fact, it was documented in Cruise Critic's News section a year and a half ago.

 

http://cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1373

 

The thing is, no matter what you call it, even on other lines that don't offer Freestyle but still deduct the $10 per day, guests who have really enjoyed the services of their wait staff offer extra at the end of the cruise. And, on both NCL and NCL-A, since you don;t have the same wait staff every day, the ONLY way to offer extra is to doi it in cash as you go, and a lot of people just get into the habit of bringing some $1s or $5s with them to their meals.

 

The $10. per day IS a service charge which goes directly to the crew as tips. (on NCL)

 

I haven't found anywhere in writing and have never found in person that guests are encouraged to tip extra, other than the concierge letter at the end of the cruise, suggesting that we remember our butlers, concierge (!) and any crew who may have made the trip more special.

 

Here you go, directly from NCL:

 

SERVICE CHARGE

A fixed service charge of $10 per person, per day will be added to your onboard account. For children ages 3-12, a $5 per person per day charge will be added to your onboard account; there is no charge for children under the age of three. Our crew is encouraged to work together as a service team and is compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that the service charge supports. It is our earnest wish that you enjoy your Freestyle Cruising experience and that our entire crew in all areas of the ship will provide you with the standard of service for which NCL is known. Therefore, if you have any concerns about the service you receive during your cruise, please bring them to the immediate attention of our reception desk staff on board so that we can address any issues in a timely manner before the cruise is over.

Both NCL and NCL America have a structured guest satisfaction program on board designed to handle any concerns raised by our guests relating to the service or on board product quickly and efficiently. In almost all cases we are able to come up with a satisfactory solution to any issues which are raised and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise vacation. In the unlikely event we cannot satisfactorily resolve the issue through our guest satisfaction program, guests will be able to adjust the service charge according to the level of inconvenience they feel they have experienced. Our clear priority is to have the opportunity of resolving the issue, when it happens, to everyone’s complete satisfaction.

GRATUITIES

Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on NCL America or Norwegian Cruise Line ships. Guests should not feel obliged to offer a gratuity for service that is generally rendered to all guests.

However, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile", and so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities entirely at the discretion of our guests who wish to acknowledge particular staff members for exceptional or outstanding service. In other words, there is genuinely no need to tip but you should feel free to do so if you have a desire to acknowledge particular individuals.

Also, certain staff positions provide service on an individual basis to only some guests. We encourage those guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. For example, for guests purchasing bar drinks the recommended gratuity is 15 percent. Similarly, for guests using concierge and butler services, we recommend they consider offering a gratuity commensurate with services rendered.

 

I hope that helps!

 

Jana

[whatawonderfulworld]

The $10. per day IS a service charge which goes directly to the crew as tips. (on NCL)

 

I haven't found anywhere in writing and have never found in person that guests are encouraged to tip extra, other than the concierge letter at the end of the cruise, suggesting that we remember our butlers, concierge (!) and any crew who may have made the trip more special.

 

No one should feel obligated to tip a penny more than the service fee if they do not wish to do so, but if the service warrants it, by all means do.

 

On Pearl, though, one finds that the urge to give out larger gratuities is there because the crew is overwhelmingly good.

 

An example, on our recent Dawn cruise the goodbye letter from the concierge ended with "We hope you have enjoyed some-or all- of your cruise with us and you will return to NCL" , Yes "some or all". On Pearl, it was "if your vacation was anything less than excellent, that was not acceptable to us"

 

I can hardly wait to go back and leave more money for that crew.

 

I am shocked regarding the Dawn concierge's letter...can you share who the concierge was? From a customer service standpoint that is completely unacceptable. What ever happened to ensuring that the customer's needs are addressed? What has happened to the Dawn? That sounds like a complete turnaround from when we were on her last October.

 

I haven't yet been on the Pearl, but she sounds terrific and we cannot wait to board in September!

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

[whatawonderfulworld]

I was reading the latest review of the Pearl on this board and now I'm a bit concerned. It was my understanding that the $10 a day "service charge" was supposed to replace tipping. Now, I am NOT against give a few extra dollars for "exceptional service", but to have to tip everyone ON TOP of this service charge is crazy!!

 

With that said, I don't want to seem like a cheapskate, so what is the "suggested" tips and to whom do we tip and when.

 

Obviously, bar bills, casino gaming and the like I assumed a tip would be required, but I'm talking about waiters/bus boys/room stewards/maitre d' and so on. Do you tip at the end of the cruise are at the time of service rendered?

 

Any help would be wonderful so I can readjust my budget.

 

Sailing June 3rd to Alaska!!

 

 

We were on an AC during our Dawn cruise - which includes a butler and concierge service. I followed the very good advice I received here. Since the butler and concierge are not included in the tipping/$10 a day service charge, I gave them something separate. Our butler was wonderful...and I mean wonderful...and we came up with a daily amount to give him. The concierge was very lovely and we used her a few times...she was given a separate amount based on the amount of times we used her services. Our two room stewards were delightful...they were given something extra as well..they did extra work and I felt it was more than appropriate. The young lady in the spa - well they add in the gratuity so that was a no brainer. In the specialty extra fee restaurants, we added something extra if the service warranted it. Oops..almost forgot the drinker servers...they were tipped a bit more as well. And the bigger the smile, the bigger the gratuity!

 

Have a wonderful cruise and come back and tell us all about it!

 

Ciao,

W A W W

[ADPeterson]

Can you add the tips for the butler and the concierge to your ship credit account or do you have to take care of them with cash?

[whatawonderfulworld]

Can you add the tips for the butler and the concierge to your ship credit account or do you have to take care of them with cash?

 

Which is why we planned on giving them cash. We sought out the concierge the day before and handed it to her in an envelope thanking her for her services. We also gave it directly to our butler (at our final breakfast) as we did for the two stewards (our final night on board).

 

Ciao,

W A W W

[flyingpirate]

You can't charge it directly to your account, but you can go to the casino and take a cash advance to cover the tips, and , ultimately it is billed to your shipboard account.

 

You still get your credit card miles and it's not a cash advance. And it saves having to carry tons of extra cash on the cruise. And it plumps up your onboard spending records.

 

All very win-win :D

[flyingpirate]

Hi Kids -

 

Onboard the exquisite Pearl - from today's Freestyle Daily -

 

"With all of these choices, one question is always asked: Who do I tip? On a traditional cruise, you have one waiter, one busboy and one Maitre d'. On an NCL cruise you've got many different Service Staff Members catering to your every need.

 

A $100 per day per guest gratuity is added to your onboard account and this amount goes to the entire service team, including your Room Steward/ess, here on the Norwegian Pearl."

 

That should clear it up, right from the horse's mouth :D

 

 

 

WAWW, I'm happy to give you all the details about the Dawn trip , but it would be indiscrete to do so on the open internet, email me at laurelcarpenter at gmail if you would like.

[immargaret]

A $100 per day per guest gratuity is added to your onboard account and this amount goes to the entire service team, including your Room Steward/ess, here on the Norwegian Pearl."

 

$100 a day seems a bit high for tips if you ask me:D

[hotspur]

"A $100 per day per guest gratuity is added to your onboard account and this amount goes to the entire service team, including your Room Steward/ess, here on the Norwegian Pearl."

 

That should clear it up, right from the horse's mouth :D

I'm hoping that's a typo and you meant $10 per day per guest. ;)

[bossman03]

For DON HAYES: DO you think that Americans don't deserve to be tipped. Tell that to any shoreside waiter or bartender working 10 hours days for $2.13 an hour and see what kind of service they give you. As far as employee benefits and union dues coverage, there are NONE! The crew has to take care of that themselves.

 

The NCL and NCL America service charge works the same. $10 per person per day is collected (7-day cruise, couple = $140) multiplied by 2000 passengers is 280,000. The crew members that actually receive some of this money are the stateroom stewards, waiters and junior waiters (room service staff and butlers also receive a much smaller portion but NCL doesnt tell you that). What they also dont tell you is that the amount of money these crew members get is based on the percentage of guests that actually pay this OPTIONAL service charge which can be adjusted at the end of voyage. If less than 94% of the passengers pay then the percentage goes down and continues to drop in increments. Most importantly (based on a 100% scenario) stewards and waiters will only get a maximum gratuity of 22% of the hours that they have worked that voyage. Average week = 70 hours BOTTOM LINE: the crew member gets about $200 a week from this service charge pool that is created. OUt of approximately 1000 crew members, only 300 receive any of this. so $50,000 is distributed out of the 280,000 that is collected in the form of a TIP! So you might want to consider a personal tip for anyone that actually does anything for you because there is very little motivation for the crew members otherwise!

[daveco58]

I dont know where the idea came about that international crews are non-union, not paid, and have no benefits. The International Transport Workers Federation represents seaman from all around the world. As far as I know, all the Cruise lines abide by ITF standards. The ITF in conjunction with the International Maritime Organization (A UN commission) sets wage scales and benefits for all workers, based on their country of origin.

So, yes, Indonesian seamen work for less than German seamen. This is why, for instance, Princess brags about "European" Staff, but they are all from Eastern Europe, former Communist Bloc countries. A Czech steward is paid less than, say, a British steward would be. But they are all paid decent wages, by the standards of their home countries, and they are all protected in terms of hours worked, breaks, medical coverage, etc.

The Seamans International Union, which represents American seaman, is an affiliate of the ITF, so NCLA crews, while they might be paid better, are exactly as Unionized as international crews. No more, no less. And international crews may not have American labor law protection, but they do have the UN at their back.

Furthermore, the two Americans I know who worked on cruise ships (a cousin and a friend) worked for Carnival, on Bahamian and Liberian ships, never complained about their wages (though they griped about the long hours), and saved up enough money to buy, respectively, a house in Los Angeles, and a little bar in Valencia, Spain. So, yes, Americans can and do work for international wages, on international ships.

[MrLee]

For DON HAYES: DO you think that Americans don't deserve to be tipped. Tell that to any shoreside waiter or bartender working 10 hours days for $2.13 an hour and see what kind of service they give you. As far as employee benefits and union dues coverage, there are NONE! The crew has to take care of that themselves.

 

The NCL and NCL America service charge works the same. $10 per person per day is collected (7-day cruise, couple = $140) multiplied by 2000 passengers is 280,000. The crew members that actually receive some of this money are the stateroom stewards, waiters and junior waiters (room service staff and butlers also receive a much smaller portion but NCL doesnt tell you that). What they also dont tell you is that the amount of money these crew members get is based on the percentage of guests that actually pay this OPTIONAL service charge which can be adjusted at the end of voyage. If less than 94% of the passengers pay then the percentage goes down and continues to drop in increments. Most importantly (based on a 100% scenario) stewards and waiters will only get a maximum gratuity of 22% of the hours that they have worked that voyage. Average week = 70 hours BOTTOM LINE: the crew member gets about $200 a week from this service charge pool that is created. OUt of approximately 1000 crew members, only 300 receive any of this. so $50,000 is distributed out of the 280,000 that is collected in the form of a TIP! So you might want to consider a personal tip for anyone that actually does anything for you because there is very little motivation for the crew members otherwise!

 

Just to maintain the proper perspective, I'd like to point out that 2000 passengers is 1000 couples which would put your figure at $140,000.

[snorklinbarb]

Hi,

 

I'm the "reviewer" and what I think about the service charge doesn't really enter into it. The issue of tipping on NCL ships is pretty confusing... personally, I wish that the company had just left the name of the $10 a day fee alone and continued to call it a "tip." But they didn't, and in fact, it was documented in Cruise Critic's News section a year and a half ago.

 

http://cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1373

 

The thing is, no matter what you call it, even on other lines that don't offer Freestyle but still deduct the $10 per day, guests who have really enjoyed the services of their wait staff offer extra at the end of the cruise. And, on both NCL and NCL-A, since you don;t have the same wait staff every day, the ONLY way to offer extra is to doi it in cash as you go, and a lot of people just get into the habit of bringing some $1s or $5s with them to their meals.

 

 

 

Here you go, directly from NCL:

 

SERVICE CHARGE

A fixed service charge of $10 per person, per day will be added to your onboard account. For children ages 3-12, a $5 per person per day charge will be added to your onboard account; there is no charge for children under the age of three. Our crew is encouraged to work together as a service team and is compensated by a combination of salary and incentive programs that the service charge supports. It is our earnest wish that you enjoy your Freestyle Cruising experience and that our entire crew in all areas of the ship will provide you with the standard of service for which NCL is known. Therefore, if you have any concerns about the service you receive during your cruise, please bring them to the immediate attention of our reception desk staff on board so that we can address any issues in a timely manner before the cruise is over.

 

Both NCL and NCL America have a structured guest satisfaction program on board designed to handle any concerns raised by our guests relating to the service or on board product quickly and efficiently. In almost all cases we are able to come up with a satisfactory solution to any issues which are raised and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise vacation. In the unlikely event we cannot satisfactorily resolve the issue through our guest satisfaction program, guests will be able to adjust the service charge according to the level of inconvenience they feel they have experienced. Our clear priority is to have the opportunity of resolving the issue, when it happens, to everyone’s complete satisfaction.

 

 

GRATUITIES

Unlike most other ships in the cruise industry, there is no required or recommended tipping on NCL America or Norwegian Cruise Line ships. Guests should not feel obliged to offer a gratuity for service that is generally rendered to all guests.

 

However, all of our staff are encouraged to "go the extra mile", and so they are permitted to accept cash gratuities entirely at the discretion of our guests who wish to acknowledge particular staff members for exceptional or outstanding service. In other words, there is genuinely no need to tip but you should feel free to do so if you have a desire to acknowledge particular individuals.

 

Also, certain staff positions provide service on an individual basis to only some guests. We encourage those guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities. For example, for guests purchasing bar drinks the recommended gratuity is 15 percent. Similarly, for guests using concierge and butler services, we recommend they consider offering a gratuity commensurate with services rendered.

 

I hope that helps!

 

Jana

 

Hi Jana,

 

Really enjoyed your review especially since we know Laurel so it was really fun watching the adventure unfold.

 

To the OP, the $10pp/day, as others have said, is all that is expected. Many do leave a little extra for room stewards (who have gone above and beyond) or in the specialty restaurants if the service warrants it. Of course, that leaves the kids crew, concierge and butlers (who are not part of the pool) to be tipped separately.

 

Jana, I think what stood out in your review (and I had the same reaction as the OP) was the comment that because of "freestyle many people bring cash to tip the servers." This may not have been the intent, but some people not familiar with freestyle, might think that means they should take cash along with them to even the DR's or that it's expected. More often, I have seen cash tips in the spec. (and done it myself) though many people find it easier to just write in an extra tip on the bill. Did you see a lot of people on the Pearl bring $ to the DR's, too?

 

Of course, just to make it clear to the OP, tips in the specialty upcharge restaurants is also not "expected," but many people do leave a little extra for superb service.

 

Bottom line, do what feels right to you. I have never seen anybody on an NCL with their hand out and most of the time I have to chase around looking for my room stewards to press a tip in their hand. Sincere thanks all around.

 

La, can't wait to hear about your latest Pearl trip and do hope the terrible fires out your way are far far from home. Now let's get that azipod fixed.

 

And sellie, have a blast in Alaska on the beautiful Pearl. We just booked Gem 1/16/08 out of NYC (10 nights Southern Caribbean). Can't wait!:D