Thread: Can You Remove Ncl Service Charges

Hi All Can You Remove Ncl Service Charges Is There A Way Of Doing That And Leaving Your Own Gratuities Just Wondering

Just go to the purser's desk and request that they be removed.
I personally like the convenience of the pre-paids because I don't have to carry lots of cash around,have the exact change for the envelopes and distribute the envelopes. If somebody has given exceptional service, it's easy to slip them a few more bucks.

Ma Cruise

HAL's Policy:

If you wish to remove the auto tip, you have to sign a form. All the heads, i.e., dining room manger, housekeeping, etc., are all notified that you have done this. Any cash tips that you give to your cabin steward and the dining room staff must be turned in!! They are not allowed to keep those tips. That tip money goes into a pool to be divided by everyone (as HAL calls it -- the behind the scenes people). Should an employee get caught keeping that tip, he will lose his job.

That is why we leave the auto tips in place. And we can tip those people extra at the end of the cruise and know that they are allowed to keep that extra tip.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that the "NCL service charges" were put in place when they went to the anytime dining (or whatever it's called on NCL--so many with differnt names!) concept and you had different servers every night. That way everyone gets their gratuities no matter where you choose to dine. Not so sure NCL will take them off.

Originally Posted by Char

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that the "NCL service charges" were put in place when they went to the anytime dining (or whatever it's called on NCL--so many with differnt names!) concept and you had different servers every night. That way everyone gets their gratuities no matter where you choose to dine. Not so sure NCL will take them off.

It's called "Freestyle" dining on NCL, Char. They won't remove those charges, it's required of all guests except those little ones under 3 years old. Here's a paragraph from their FAQ's:

NCL Service Charge
On all NCL ships payment of Pre- Paid Service Fee is required. 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.

Thanks for confirming that, Ken!

I agree that these pre paid service charges are one way to ensure that the behind the scenes people get their due.

I'd prefer that all lines simply pay staff an adequate wage -- more for the unseen ones and return to tipping at the traveller's discretion. Yes, basic cruise prices would rise, but those delivering exceptional front line service would be rewarded.

We're relatively new to cruising but on longer HAL and Celebrity trips we quietly left a good tip for our cabin stewards mid cruise. This seemed to ensure even more attentive service.

And on a recent HAL cruise I wrote a long letter commending the Lido Deck lad who served coffee and tea. I addressed it to his boss, but apparently it eventually was posted on some internal computer system and he got the original letter. We rec'd such smiles at the front desk when I explained the contents of our letter. I suspect they initially feared a fellow crew member would earn demerit points.

Until cruise lines change their policies, I do think the precharges should be left in place. A letter of complaint about the one crew member who failed to meet your expectations would do more good/damage then depriving everyone of their expected wage bonus.

This is a PS to my previous missive.

We've booked a very economical NCL cruise for Jan. '09. Given the price of window steerage, I can only suspect that their crews are less well paid than either HAL or Celebrity staff. If this is the case, how much more they must depend upon generous tipping.

My Bad.
W12, I should have read your post more carefully.
According to the NCL website, you give additional tips to the staff and if you have a problem, you can also have the service charge adjusted:
NCL - Questions about cruising? We've got answers.
(It's at the bottom)
I have heard of people on recent cruises getting this adjustment.

I really wish that all lines did like the luxury lines and included the tips in the fare.
I can never believe that anybody received poor service from the multitude of people who attended to them on a cruise. Removing the service charge or the tips because of the service of one or two people makes the rest of the crew suffer.

Gotta go brush down my dander.

Ma Cruise

Originally Posted by Krazy Kruizers

HAL's Policy:

If you wish to remove the auto tip, you have to sign a form. All the heads, i.e., dining room manger, housekeeping, etc., are all notified that you have done this. Any cash tips that you give to your cabin steward and the dining room staff must be turned in!! They are not allowed to keep those tips. That tip money goes into a pool to be divided by everyone (as HAL calls it -- the behind the scenes people). Should an employee get caught keeping that tip, he will lose his job.

That is why we leave the auto tips in place. And we can tip those people extra at the end of the cruise and know that they are allowed to keep that extra tip.

This is the same on Princess. Like Ma Cruise, I like the convenience of the auto-tips as hubby and I don't have to get out our cash on the final day and figure out how much to put in each envelope. Now, we just go to the passenger services desk and get some tipping envelopes for anything extra we're giving (including one for the kids' program counselors) and concentrate on those extra rewards.

I don't think everyone knows that if you remove the auto-tips, that any cash you give a crew member must be turned into his supervisor and then split among all in his pool.