Norwegian Cruise Lines Service Charge!!!!

branny1982

thanks for the replies (except moonrakerz, you nob)

i know these people rely on tips, but the issue is their salaries, not the amount we tip.
i think people should be tipped when they deserve it.

the cruise already cost 700 dollars each without flights... i was just interested if i could save by refusing the service charge.

i will no doubt try to decline it and ...... no doubt end up paying :-D

colmil

I have cruised with NCL twice and I try to be thorough before I take any holiday regarding possible 'unseen costs'

Another cruise line charges 18% service charge, by the way!

In reality, potential clients should add 15% to their initial costs and decide if they think it is worth it.

I would be interested to know just how much of a 'pint' one actually receive, can anyone tell me?

hansi

branny1982 wrote:

thanks for the replies (except moonrakerz, you nob)

i know these people rely on tips, but the issue is their salaries, not the amount we tip.
i think people should be tipped when they deserve it.

the cruise already cost 700 dollars each without flights... i was just interested if i could save by refusing the service charge.

i will no doubt try to decline it and ...... no doubt end up paying :-D

I speak as a well travelled cruiser and have cruised mainly with Princess who are one of the companies who have gratuities automatically added to my account, for "my convenience". Let's get a few things straight.

1. The first thing I do is got the Pursers Office and ask for it to be removed from my account. In previous years, this has been actioned without question, but recently, you have to complete a form saying why. My option is to choose " I will pay the tips myself". Incidentally one of the options is "Do you think the amount is too high?"

3. My reason for doing this is that I figure that if the staff know they are going to get a tip anyway, the service could become complacent, of which I have had experience. Also, it is not the passengers job to provide or subsidise the wages of the staff on board. I only tip where I have received service over and above the call of duty. You should see some of the looks I get from taxi drivers and no, I am not a cheapskate.

3. The amount they suggest is ridiculous anyway. I am shortly to embark on a 28 night cruise and if I followed the suggested amounts it would cost me
and my wife $560 for tips. Ridiculous!!!

4. Unless it is in the booking conditions that you have to pay the tips, you can ask for them to be removed or the amount amended. Princess make this very clear in their booking conditions.

Hope this helps.

hansi

vickyj wrote:

You have to bear oin ind that the crew menbers are paid virtually NOTHING tyour tips make about 90% of thier wage the per person tipping system is pretty standard on most cruise lines.

I agree, but it's not the passenger's job to pay or subsidise their wages. It's only become the norm because most people just accept it. You don't have it on land based holidays, so why on a cruise ship?

branny1982

hansi wrote:

1. The first thing I do is got the Pursers Office and ask for it to be removed from my account. In previous years, this has been actioned without question, but recently, you have to complete a form saying why. My option is to choose " I will pay the tips myself". Incidentally one of the options is "Do you think the amount is too high?"

thanks for the good advice!! i will be doing this!

the service cost was not stated anywhere in the booking procedure.... i will no doubt tip people $10 a day anyway... its not really the money (although this cruise is bankrupting me) its the principal of people taking my money without my consent!!!!

i just want to further add that Moonrakerz-

nobhead wrote:

However if you are such a cheapskate that you have decided to not pay it already, I hope you get lousy service !

is officially the least useful member of the moneysavingexpert forums, i wish him very well as he obviously has a tough life and not many friends.

londonlad35

Hi

I just came off a NCL cruise in December. I know that the service charge can be adjusted / removed by the Front Desk if the service is bad. On my particular cruise, I spoke to loads of people who had it removed. There were actually queues of people at the front desk doing this! We then tipped in cash the people who made a difference, and had still paid 15% service charge on all the drinks which obviously can't be removed.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

nelly_2

We did a nyc to caribean cruise with NCL too, you can remove the service charges.

I was a bit p1ssed off they added SC to the drinks at every bar too.

What boat you going on? the Spirit?

lisyloo

You don't have it on land based holidays, so why on a cruise ship?

I would say that the service that you get on a cruise ship is different to that which you get on a lnad based holiday.
You have people around to help you constantly (say with towels at the poolside).
It is meant to be an important aspect of a cruise.

I would agree that
a) they overplay this element
b) the charges are too high
c) people shouldn't be forced into it

But as far as I can tell it's not a big deal to get these things removed. So just do that.

moonrakerz

It may interest readers of this thread to know that I have received an obscene and offensive Private Message which also threatened me with physical violence, from the initiator of this thread.

I am more than happy to discuss the point at issue with other posters in a civilised and even combative manner. However, I think this PM says far more than I ever could.

I shall be making a formal complaint to the operators of this site and asking that this person be banned from the site.

AND I still think that asking for a "service charge" to be removed before the event is mean !

hansi

moonrakerz, I was very concerned that you have received an offensive PM. We are all entitled to our opinions even if everyone does not agree. It would be a very boring world if we all did agree. I enjoy a bit of banter as well as any other person, but I hope you are successful in getting this person (sic) banned form the board.