Cruise line's service fee non-negotiable!!!

This really stinks. Call it what they might, it really is a fixed part of the
cruise fare. Why on earth should it be seperated from the price of the cruise?
I've always been a bit skeptical about the American flagging by a foreign
owned cruiseline, hoping to capitolize on patriotism of the American flagged
vessels and with an all-American crew that I've never believed could or would
deliver the same level of service that we've come to expect. Yes, I understand
that the ships do not have to visit Fanning Island because of the Passenger
Control (?) Act. So far the sevice level has not been very good at all
according to most reports.

> Bottom line for vacationers: Expect to pay $70 a person more for a one-
> week cruise than the "lead price" seen in advertisements.

I like it. I have never not tipped anyone. I have often tipped more for
better service. About three years ago I was on a very difficult cruise
where a large group, 400, from Mexico city were on the ship and created
havoc. The last night I only saw about 20% of the people come to dinner. I
saw crew, wait staff and cabin staff who received no tips at all for 14 days
work. I think the staff will work better and harder because I think their
income will rise and their jobs will be more valuable to them.

Paul. I believe I've read that the $10 per day "service charge" is not tips.

In article <AhwKc.55878$Kz3.5561308@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net >, Tom &
Linda <tkanitra@> wrote:

> Maybe if they do it that way, it's not taxable income - since it just gets
> passed to someone else anyway.

The employees on the US flagged ships would no doubt have to report
tips as income. However if it is not tips but other income, I think it
would still be taxable. I don't see how they could get around that.

What could be a possible benifit to employees though with calling it a
service charge and making it mandatory is that large employers who have
employees who get tips report what the company thinks the employee
should have got in tips to the IRS. If people stiff the service
employee, no tip at all, as I understand it, then they get screwed
since somewhere between 5 to 10 per cent of sales is reported as tip
income even if no tip is left.

--
Charles

"Charles" <fort@his.com.remove.invalid> wrote in message
news:180720041135112586%fort@his.com.remove.invali d...
> In article <AhwKc.55878$Kz3.5561308@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net >, Tom &
> Linda <tkanitra@> wrote:
>
> > Maybe if they do it that way, it's not taxable income - since it just
gets
> > passed to someone else anyway.
>
> The employees on the US flagged ships would no doubt have to report
> tips as income. However if it is not tips but other income, I think it
> would still be taxable. I don't see how they could get around that.
>
> What could be a possible benifit to employees though with calling it a
> service charge and making it mandatory is that large employers who have
> employees who get tips report what the company thinks the employee
> should have got in tips to the IRS. If people stiff the service
> employee, no tip at all, as I understand it, then they get screwed
> since somewhere between 5 to 10 per cent of sales is reported as tip
> income even if no tip is left.
>
> --
> Charles

I was thinking more from the company's perspective. And we must recognize
that Star is an Asian based company, so they may have different tax rules
than US based companies.

Though they do business out of the US, so some US tax rules may apply as
well.

--Tom

On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 09:35:39 -0400, while the Captain of the mv
Perfecto was guiding her to her next port, *bicker*
<1NVAL1D@1NVAL1D.1NVAL1D> wrote:

>Because competitors don't include that aspect of the cost of
>the trip in the prices of their cruises. It is a
>well-established fair-market practice to report such fees
>separately for that very reason.

When the Canadian government introduced the Goods and Services Tax,
retailers were given the choice of pricing items with the GST in, or
adding it on at the cash register. Most retailers that added it in
reported a drop in sales, as their goods were considered more
expensive compared to competitors that added it at the register.

Stephan