The current issue of Cruise Travel has an interesting letter to the editor. In it, the writer claims an 18% gratuity was added to the bill for a passengers medical services. They didn't mention the line but given the 18% I assume it is NCL.
I've never used the ship's medical services. Anyone ever heard of them tipping the doctor? So much for being a licensed pro!
I used the doctor last year on the Fantasy. It was $60 for the office visit. $18 for the antibiotics and no tip was added. You do use your sail and sign but there is no gratuity.
Posts: 1288 | Location: birmingham, al | Registered: April 30, 2007
Dave, you speculated it may be NCL, that would not surprise me at all. NCL is stepping way out there with their fees, going well beyond what the rest of the industry is doing. When everyone else added the $5. per day, pp fuel S/C they made theirs $7. and were the only line charging for 3rd and 4th pax. Then when others added another $2. to $3. they took theirs up to $9. and still add $3. for add'l pax. While the rest of the industry still has guidelines for tips/gratuities, they just call theirs a service fee and make it manditory. Even if you recieve poor service and try to get it resolved, no matter how many complaints or issues or whether they actually resolve any of them, I've never heard a single case where they waived this fee. Then they stopped offering premium cuts of beef at the dining choices that are included in the cruise fare. Want a ribeye, prime rib or just a sirloin? Gotta go to the optional, add'l cost, resteraunts. You can still get round steak or tip steak in the regular places, who wants round steak in the dining room? My wife is an animal lover and our two dogs eat that well on occasion. What will be next as a revenue source? Will there be cover charges for the theatre and lounges?
I have nothing against NCL in general but thier system seems to be broken and they're going about generating income in some ways I don't care much for. Why not just increase the cruise rates and offer reasonable services and fees without hiding the real cost of their cruises? Its beginning to result in some pretty nasty reports from people exiting their ships. That can't possibly be good for business. Unhappy clients reflect on more than the cruiseline, those booking the cruises get an earfull too. I provide lots of disclaimers when booking anyone on any of there ships now. I'm certain others are doing the same. Without such words of warning we get slammed along with the line for not warning them what to expect. As a result my NCL bookings are way down. Hope they get the hint at some point or they're going to need another infusion of cash from another major investment firm.
Originally posted by TrvlPro: ....snip....Will there be cover charges for the theatre and lounges?
...snip
Cheers, Neil
Now there's an idea that might come to light- having reserved seats in the show lounge so you don't have to arrive 40 minutes early. Say something like $15 per head.
Originally posted by TrvlPro: NCL bookings are way down. Hope they get the hint at some point or they're going to need another infusion of cash from another major investment firm.
Cheers, Neil
Hopefully the 2.0 project will resolve a lot of issues with NCL.
A few years ago our TA was pushing NCL a little. Now she does not. She tries to discourage people from cruising with them. She does not want to handle the problems after the cruise.
Gary you have a wise agent. I had great hopes for the program Cruise Fanatic mentioned when it was announced. Hoping the issues from the past would be resolved. For a week or two after the announcement it appeared they were really working toward resolving internal issue, then they reverted just as quickly back to same ol' same ol'. Their invoicing is a mess, mistakes are frequent and resolving them a nightmare. Advertising for promotions for onboard credit and the client never getting it is common. They never correct the issue after the sailing, even if you have doccumentation. They give you a name and extension that always is on voice mail. Then you never get a return call. You write, you call, you get the name and ext of who is responsible and get no return call, ever. You bring it to the attention of the Rep and hear only that they're working on the issues and are given the same names and exts. Eventually they know you'll have to move on and book another cruise as you don't have the time to try and get things resolved. They seem to know this and ignore the issues. Then the client is angry, not at the cruiseline, but at the afent and agency that was foolish enough to post their promotion with the details of the offer they never got. Agencies then send out checks to clients to keep from losing them long term. Does NCL ever acknowledge that they were at fault and pay the agencies back for these errors? Nope, they send another Rep to tell you about a new promotion coming up and encourage you to let your clients know what a generous offer they have. As I mentioned earlier, my NCL bookings are way down. I'm taking the same approach your agent is. I'm discouraging people from choosing a line with so many issues that I cannot seem to ever get resolved.
If you do like NCL and intend to continue to book with them, be aware that its not your agent that did not provide the onboard credit you were offered. It's not the agent who overcharged or double billed your CC. They will go to bat for you to try and get things fixed but in the end when it gets resolved, you probably should send a thank you to that agent and agency for the extrodinary efforts and expense they most likely went through to make it right.
