Carnival Cruise lines are the next to announce a rise in gratuities charges

Carnival Cruise lines have just announced that they will be increasing their on-board gratuities charge from $12 to $12.95 a person for passengers staying in a standard stateroom.

This news comes not too long after Royal Caribbean have announced a increase in standard gratuity charges from $12.95 a day to $13.50 per person per day.

At the beginning of last year Norwegian Cruise line increased their gratuity charge from $12 to $12.95 and then later in the year to $13.50 per person per day.

In May last year P&O put their daily gratuity amount up by over 25% to £5 per person per day.

I am always happy to pay the service charges and I know how hard the crew work for them. I do find it hard to understand why the amount are being increased in recent times though, inflation and wages are virtually standing still in general.

Do you think that these prices hikes are reasonable or not really a reflection of the economy in general ?