NCL Mandatory Service Charge Fee

[Stephen]

They should just add it to the price of the cruise to begin with and then advertise NO TIPPING! I think tips will be expected on top of this eventually. My feeling is a tip is an incentive for good service and I'll gladly give it if thats the case.

Stephen

 

[itza my party]

They should just add it to the price of the cruise to begin with and then advertise NO TIPPING! I think tips will be expected on top of this eventually. My feeling is a tip is an incentive for good service and I'll gladly give it if thats the case.

Stephen


amen stephen!!!
the cruise industry is making money hand over fist..and i too will gladly pay for good service...
i agree....the workers will begin to expect a tip..because tipping is so ingrained in us..that people indeed will think they need to tip thereby annoying the workers when folks like us DON'T tip..

 

[Stephen Hensley]

Aloha,

It has been 6 weeks since I was last on the POA. I was working as a server in the bar department. I trained for 2 months on the Star, and worked the reposition of the Sky from Puerto Rico to San Francisco. I have worked in food and beverage for over 15 years, including 4-Star resort hotels in Carmel, CA.

The $10 / day / person ($5 for kids) non-refundable service charge, which some guests have at least got 50% refunded, has been described by NCL(a) to the crew as defraying the high cost of US labor or as going toward the paid vacations. No portion of it goes to any employee as tip or gratuity. All non-management hotel employees that I know of are hourly, not salary, and most were told in hiring that they would also recieve part of the gratuity pool and possible additional tips, as happens on all NCL ships. Only after the re-flagging was the crew informed that there would be no gratuity pool and only after guests recieved explanation letters did the crew understand that NCL(a) recomended no tipping, due to the supposed adequate salaries.

I can send the final e-mail of my cyber journal, origionally sent to family and friends. Please note that the prior 4 e-mails dealt mostly with the adventure of international cruise work and shore exploration, in short they were mostly fun and entertaining. For the last one I warn everyone that it is not fun and probably not entertaining. I would only send the e-mail if they just had to see the dreadful details.

The USA has many 5-Star resorts, hotels, restaurants and spas, with thousands of exceptional service professionals. Here in the Hawaiian Islands we do not have Mobil gas stations (?), so no 5-Star establishments, but it you follow travel magazines like Conde Nast, our resorts, and therefore our servers, are very highly rated. True professionals do not come cheap; an on-call banquet bartender can make $50 thousand / year in Carmel, Tom Cruise bartenders over $100 thousand in Vegas, probably somewhere in between at Hula Grill on Kaanapali Beach.

The job fairs may have been populated by contract headhunters who embellished what the pay might be, but there were also many NCL exaggerations as to how much we would make and how much time off we would have. The problems with Project America is that NCL will not pay wages comparable to shore wages and they believe they can treat the US crew as badly as they treat the international crew, so the people working for them will be young, inexperienced and/or desperate.

Nearly all hotel workers originally hired for this project ended up making considerably less under the US Flag than they were led to believe during hiring and training. There were many exceptional workers when the training started, many saw the writing on the wall leaving soon, a few stuck it out this far. Here is how you get a few cruisers who had a decent cruise; most are new to cruising so do not know what to expect, and there are still a few professionals in every department.

I believe the American Project will fail, because it is run by NCL, not because it is staffed by Americans. If you have the option to cancel, I recommend it. I have stayed in touch with my co-workers and thing have only got worse. Please make your e-mail requests known in the subject line, I deleat all unknown e-mail.

 

[itza my party]

I believe the American Project will fail, because it is run by NCL, not because it is staffed by Americans. If you have the option to cancel, I recommend it. I have stayed in touch with my co-workers and thing have only got worse. Please make your e-mail requests known in the subject line, I deleat all unknown e-mail.

OMG...this is reprehensible...i knew it.
not tips going to the staff...but into ncl's pockets..
bastar******a
you'd better believe then i will protest it if it happens to me...and i will tip accordingly

 

[Bruce Chafkin]

A little history lesson in Hawaiian Cruising....................

American Hawaii Cruises
American Flagged, American Crewed, American Owned
Ships:
SS Independence: Old, run-down, poorly maintained
SS Constitution: Old, run-down, poorly maintained (Sank under mysterious conditions)
M/S Patriot: Old, run-down, poorly maintained
Expensive; marginal but enthusiastic service
Very high crew turnover
BANKRUPT

Aloha Pacific Cruises
American Flagged, American Crewed, American Owned
Ship:
SS Monterey: Old, run-down, poorly maintained
Expensive; marginal but enthusiastic service
Very high crew turnover
BANKRUPT

NCL America Cruise Line
American Flagged, American Crewed, American Owned
Ship:
M/S Pride of Aloha: "Newish", poorly maintained
Expensive, inept but enthusiastic service
Very high crew turnover
Future ?????? Wait and see........

Does anyone besides me see a trend here?????????????????

Carnival Cruise Line
Foreign Flagged, Foreign Crewed, Foreign Owned
Ships:
Various, big, beautiful, well-maintained vessels
Service; good value for the money
Very low crew turnover
The most successful cruise line in the world

Princess Cruises
Foreign Flagged, Foreign Crewed, Foreign Owned
Ships:
Various, big, beautiful, well-maintained vessels
Service; good value for the money
Very low crew turnover
Reviews and business very good

Norwegian Cruise Line
Foreign Flagged, Foreign Crewed, Foreign Owned
Ships:
Various, big, beautiful, well-maintained vessels
Service; good value for the money
Very low crew turnover
Reviews and business very good

Crystal Cruise Line
Foreign Flagged, Foreign Crewed, Foreign Owned
Ships:
Various, big, beautiful, well-maintained vessels
Expensive, but worth it.
Service; great
Very low crew turnover
Reviews and business very good

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
Foreign Flagged, Foreign Crewed, Foreign Owned
Ships:
Various, big, beautiful, well-maintained vessels
Service; good value for the money
Very low crew turnover
Reviews and business very good

Celebrity Cruise Line
Foreign Flagged, Foreign Crewed, Foreign Owned
Ships:
Various, big, beautiful, well-maintained vessels
A bit more expensive
Service; good
Very low crew turnover
Reviews and business very good

Does anyone besides me see another trend here?????????????????

 

[bandman]

I see a trend. I hope that NCL America can make it work. From reading the reviews, I am very happy we sailed Hawaii on the Star before the POA took over. We had an awsom cruise. In fact reading the reviews of the POA made the trip to Fanning Island a good thing.

 

[Don Clark]

Frankly, we should be paying a 15 percent tip, as the IRS expects.....The ten dollars a day for most rooms on Norwegian is far less than 15 percent..... Why are you complaining? Have we turned into cheap skates?

 

[nimiq]

Hi All !!!!

1st of all I personnally think that if this service charge does become in effect and that I do get bas service I will not wait at the end to report it ,this time around I will report right away and ask it to be corrected. If nothing is done on the ship then I will proceed in taking names and the change of event and report after the cruise to NCL.

This wil be our 6th cruise in November and we had yet to have a bad service that would make us regret our cruise so to all of you that have had a bad experience just tell yourself that you are the un lucky one and always try to make the best of everyting on VACATION.

Now to all the people that say (this is just another reason for me not to cruise NCL).......well you have probably nerver have cruise or hate NCL to start with because that is not a reason for me not to cruise with this good company . I will send them my coments on the mandatory tip but so far I think Ncl is geting all these negative comments from people who have always had a gruge agains them to start with.

This reminds me of post or review I have read on the free-style dinning . Some people say they hate NCL because of the wait before diner or the extra they have to pay for the altternative restaurant.
That is NCL you like it or you dont but pls dont bring them down ...just go on an other cruise line.

So far I have yet to see and constructive comments and that is why I think these past post on NCL have been done by people who dont care about NCL and are enjoying this .

It also reminds me at one point of all the bad and negative review thay Carnival used to have until lots of people tried them and thought they were ok for the money u paid for.

As you can see below this has not stop me from booking NCL in November and for me being on a cruise ship with friends and family is always fun.

Sea ya

 

[newmexicoNita]

Bruce, this is what I have been trying to say for weeks. I too, hope NCL will be the company to pull this off, but the history is not good. Let's give it 6 months at least and all this talk about law suits, people geting 100% refunds, etc is nuts! My humble opinion only.


NMNita

 

[bandman]

I agree also. The $10 fee is not outrageous or out of line. I will sail NCL again. If you don't like NCL, there are many other lines to choose from.

 

[Gaijin]

Here in China we have a great many complainers. The Government forces many crazy programs and products on the people and they have no choice to to accept them. Their only option is to complain about it. This gets them nowhere, by the way.

In the West, you have so many freedoms. Aside from paying taxes and dying, nearly everything else is optional. You have CHOICES. Please use that privilege.

If you don`t like or don`t want something, then choose something else. It`s that simple. Vote with your pocketbook. If enough people vote NO, then the undesirable product goes away.

To spend hours on a computer whining about something you don`t like, when you have so many more wonderful things to do is such a waste of a privileged life.

 

[bicker]

I'm also very skeptical about American-crewed ships. I have no doubt in my mind that Americans can provide the best customer service on the face of the Earth, but I believe that most of the Americans who can provide that level of service can readily get higher-paying jobs with better working conditions than those available aboard cruise ships. As long as there is ready-competition from foreign-flagged ships that are not required to employ Americans, American-crewed ships cannot succeed.

 

[Joao]

As newmexicoNita suggests, tipping policies in Europe and the Far East are quite different from our American traditions. The built-in service charge is the norm in Japan and most of Europe (and in Japan an extra gratuity is not expected). NCL has a worldwide clientele and its new service-charge policy will be more familiar and comfortable for Asian and European passengers -- though perhaps not for parochial Americans.

 

[jtutak]

I think it is a great idea that the tips are now included in the Mandatory Service Charge Fee. I have rarely had poor service from anyone in a cruise ship. The few times (Very few) this happened and I mentioned it to the offending crew member he or she bent over backward to please me for the rest of the cruise. I think the cheapskates who whine about poor service and not wanting to pay this charge are just making excuses.

 

[jtutak]

If you cannot afford $10 per day please stay home

 

[Luci]

I have already paid to cruise on the NCL STAR again. This will be the first cruise for my roomie and she is already complaining about the $10. service fee. She says that America has a law that states that we don't have to tip for service because companies should provide a reasonable paycheck for their workers. I informed her that the ship is not American. I have a feeling she is going to get all her money back when she argues with the front desk purser.
I personally will just pay the fees and hope that the pool deck attendants get their share of the fees.

Hey,,,, Bandman..... I remember the NCL Star being a beautiful ship when I cruised on it in Hawaii. This is why I am going back on it again. I got a great deal for Feb.25th, Mex-Riv, 8 days, deck 8, Cat. C, picture window for $740. total price per person. The rates have gone up for the same catagory. I bought at the right time.
Wasn't it a beautiful ship?

Hey Bruce...... Many years ago.... in the early 1970's I had a nightmare that I saw two ships hit eachother and they both sank into the ocean and the names were Independence and the Constitution. I had never cruised in my life before that dream. I did my research and found out that both ships were located in Hawaii. I vowed I would never cruise on them. They sank financially and not literally like in my dream.
I was on the Mercury ship when the Patriot ship went bankrupt and people were stranded on the island. I saw the ship docked next to our ship and I felt sorry for their employees and customers.
When NCL announced an all American crew I knew there was going to be trouble and history may repeat again. I wonder if NCL is using the fees to support the Pride of Aloha?
I loved Fanning Island. It was a memorable experience for my teen grandson who stood in a long line just to get his passport stamped by Kirabiti sp Island. It was optional to have it stamped. The people of that island most likely will miss the NCL ships stopping at their island.

 

[Don Clark]

Ten dollars a day for tipping on a cruise ship serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, between meal snacks, on top of the drinks being served al day is in my opinion too little...... Why should anyone complain about NCL's tipping policy.....or mandatory service charge fee.....

From my experience, if the service isn't up to snuff, complain nicely to the server.....usually they step the service up......

 

[Luci]

I personally love to do my own tipping on the night before I disembark the ship. I go to all my favorite workers and tip them personally and I also buy them gifts that they can use when I go shopping in ports. I have bought them shoes, socks, personal hygine items for the girls, scarfs, jackets, gloves, jewelry, t-shirts that say Hollywood, etc. I have done that all these years. My understanding is that the $10 dollar fee is like a hotel resort fee and not to be used for tipping. I am not a cheap skate but I don't like it that NCL is charging money like a resort hotel. I would rather they include the fees as part of the price of the cruise. I think that is more honest. I always tip more than $10. per day. I am very generous because I know they are poorly paid.
I think I will go fight for the $10. resort fee and give it personally to my favorite workers when I go on my next cruise with NCL on Feb. 25th. I know how to be a real nag. I will nag them until I get the money. I will also write a cruise review. This will be my 4th cruise with NCL just because I liked the NCL Star ship. I know my friend and I will have lots of fun.
I think NCL cruise line has become disorganized and have strange policies. But I am giving them one more chance.