P&O to abolish tips

Earlier on this week P&O have announced they are to remove tips on board all their ships departing from May 2019. Now, is it a marketing gimmick or is it a different approach to the whole concept of tipping? Are other lines going to follow? Are their prices going to go up to cover these? We have seen in recent years lines like Norwegian Cruise Lines that went all inclusive and tips are included, but their prices have gone up to cover the drinks and tips so it’s just the same as before or even worse as before you can remove the automatic tips from your account and do it at your discretion but now it’s included, you can’t. P&O did not give any other details to how they are going to cover this, are they going to increase the staff wages so they don’t rely on tips? Personally I think it’s a good move as tips can mount to hundreds of pounds on a typical 2 weeks cruise for a family of four especially with the American cruise lines such as Celebrity and Royal Caribbean who charge children the same as adults for tips and it becomes a major expense to add to the cruise cost. However, a genuine solution needs to be found here and it’s not just to say we won’t charge you for tips and then add it to the cruise price as this is wrong. They need to shake up the system of staff wages and include incentives for staff who works hard to satisfy the customer needs and then maybe leave the tips for customers at their discretion and then they can actually tip for good or not tip for bad service. I think over time they will find the solution for that but in the meantime we have to follow the rules as they are.