How should you tip ??

The old fashioned way of tipping in an envelope on P&O and most cruises is now a thing of the past. This is such a controversial subject especially for us Brits !

Just this week there are rumours of a major cruise company making it compulsary to pay gratuities onboard. Then we have Royal Caribbean and Celebrity who are sister companies yet just recently the have adopted different policies depending on your dining experience.
Celebrity make it compulsary that if you book their freedom dining you have to pre pay the tips before you travel, Royal Caribbean have made it possible to remove the tips on their my time dining ?

Who should you tip ?
The main people that usually deserve to be tipped;
Baggage Handlers they do a great job of carrying your luggage on and off the ship.
Cabin Stewards and Butlers who keep your cabin tidy and turn down your beds at night.
Room Service Stewards Bring you your midnight snack or breakfast in bed .
Bartenders gets you your favourite tipple.
Wine Sommeliers recommends wine with your meals.
Dining Room Waiters you may see the same waiters at every meal time over the duration of your cruise.

There are also other staff that you may use their services whilst onboard are
Shore Excursion staff , Kids club staff, Spa staff and if you have a flutter in the casino …

This doesn’t even touch the people that you don’t see like the chefs, kitchen staff and those that wash your towels.When you look at exactly how many staff look after you on a day to day basis it really make you think its worth paying upfront.You could spend half your cruise looking for these people to pay your tip to !!

Is it right or wrong to expect to have to pay tips ??

Most mainstream cruise lines pay the men and women who serve their passengers a low base wage, nearly all big-ship lines their crew are dependent on us being generous to make up their income. The cruise lines believe it is the tips that help incentivize higher service standards.

When I take all of the above into consideration then I do think yes lets go with it my but my biggest argument is that some cruise companies have it wrong where families are concerned. Why should children pay full price this can really bump the price of family cruising up.

What is your take on gratuities ?