Didn't like the Non-Optional Service Charges
Norwegian Dawn Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 01, 2015
Ship: Norwegian Dawn
Cabin type: Inside
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 9 years ago
Review summary
The cruise was excellent but the Service Charges imposed by NCL are onerous. Two People $182.00 - come on! They say its to evenly distribute tips to their employees. I don't want to be a part of NCL's compensation package. That's none of my business and it's inappropriate to forcibly charge me that money after we have already paid for our tickets. On future cruises we will automatically add that amount to their advertised cruise price to make a decision on using them. Henry Fleming
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ports of call
Cozumel, Mexico Did not visit port
Belize City, Belize Did not visit port
Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras Did not visit port
Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico Did not visit port
6 Comments
JusMe 9 years ago
If the service charge was not automatically put onto your bill would you have left tips ? The staff do not even make minimum wage, they count on the tips to make a living.
I liked the old days where you had the envelopes and you tipped as you saw fit, but I can see a lot of people not tipping that way so the lines put in the auto gratuity at the suggested levels.
I use a web site to do my bookings a lot of the time and it tells you what the tips per day will be. Tipping has been part of the cost of a cruise as long as I have been cruising. For bad service you can go to the desk and have tips removed.
glomarrone 9 years ago
Last I heard Princess does not make you pre-pay gratuities but do add them on daily. Some cruise lines if you do Flexible Dining force you to pre-pay. . I don't mind paying them daily but I am against pre-paying them. If you went to a restaurant you would tip even you you go to an expensive one. I just do as you say, add it into the cost of the cruise when you are comparing cruises.
I took a very long cruise on HAL and one perk was that gratuities were included. It was a big perk but the cost of the trip reflected this.
Johngold 9 years ago
There are various schools of thought on the "Service Charges". An experience travel agent will inform the customer of these charges. If nothing else, it informs the user that these will be charged at the end of the cruise. I prepay those charges when I pay off the cruise, so I have no great surprises. I agree with you, if you factor that amount into the cruise package price it can make a difference