NCL: dishonest cruise line

Norwegian Gem Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 14

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Norwegian Gem

7 Night Canada & New England (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 12, 2015

Ship: Norwegian Gem

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

 I was very disappointed to find out that barmen and women only receive a meagre 3.5-4% tip instead of the '18%' gratuity we are told they get. It says on each bar receipt that the server will get "18%", when a few barmen on the Gem this month told me they actually only get 3.5-4% of the total, and not 18%. So why do NCL tell passengers it's 18%? Who knows...maybe they should rewrite it as "the hardworking barman will get 4% and NCL will grab the other 14%..." More displays of greed from NCL...

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Most staff great, but the front desk need a course in public relations

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Ports of call

New York, New York

5 out of 5

Halifax, Nova Scotia

5 out of 5

Saint John, New Brunswick

5 out of 5

Bar Harbor, Maine

5 out of 5

Newport, Rhode Island

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 14

7 Comments

volts    9 years ago

So they told you they only get 3.5-4% and you believed them, did you give them additional cash? That's the only reason why they would tell you that.

stnix    9 years ago

$254 gratuity for 2: $127/person x 2,384 passengers = $302,768 for a week ( 7 days cruise)!

michellebrabazon    9 years ago

I would love to see where the individual bartender gets the whole 18%. As a career bartender I can't imagine that on a cruise line they don't pool their tips and give a percentage to bar backs, etc. I always give cash to my favorite bartenders...unless they are complaining about what they make...

Burbank1    9 years ago

@michellebrabazon No, for every drink a barman sells, he's supposed to get whatever 18% of that total drink price is as a tip for himself. It's not shared like the general NCL gratuities. If you buy a glass of wine in Le Bistro or by the pool deck for example, and it's $10 for a glass, the barman is supposed to get $1.80 tip, but NCL pocket nearly $1.40 and the barman only gets $0.35-0.40. 

Burbank1    9 years ago

@jchrist But regardless of the general gratuity NCL charge on the cruise, barmen are supposed to receive 18% (just for themselves) of every drink they sell. But they are not getting it, they only get a measly 3.5-4%. 

 

michellebrabazon    9 years ago

When you tip at a restaurant your server then has give a portion of that to the bartender, bus person, food runner, etc.

jchrist    9 years ago

It's not just the barmen and women who get those tips. I only paid $254 for gratuity for 2 people on a 10 day cruise.. think about how many people will have to serve us in 10 days

Other reviews of this sailing