On the rise again !!

P&O have just announced an increase in the auto gratuities that they are charging on board from the 2nd of May from £5.00 to £5.50. This is not long after other cruise companies have raised theirs also . Royal Caribbean International raised its cruise gratuities to $12.95, Carnival Cruise Line is increasing for sailings departing after 1st September this year.

Norwegian Cruise Line are increasing there’s from September also from $12 to $12.95 per person per day.
Princess Cruises will also follow suit and increase theirs in 2016.
The majority of the tipping amount goes to employees such as the stateroom steward, assistant steward, dining room waiter and assistant waiter. A small portion goes to a mix of other personnel who are in guest-facing customer service positions within areas such as culinary and hotel services, along with certain key positions in entertainment and guest services.
Even though the tip amounts are automatically charged to your onboard account they still remain discretionary and can be removed before you disembark and settle your bill.

‘A quote from our Forum’
A bit of maths, if Britannia sails at full capacity and everyone pays the increase is £15,134 per week.

Food for thought when there are a high proportion of staff that aren’t customer facing.
My issue with the gratuities these days are they are increasing all the time but a lot of the staff are no where near as attentive and friendly as they used to be. They don’t seem to be happy about working on the ships as they used to be the crew on board used to make the cruise holidays and stand out from the service you get in a hotel!!
What do you think ? Do you agree with me ?