Will All Cruise Lines Eventually Scrap Gratuities? now that is a good question!!
I think it could be a possibility in the future, will the likes of Cunard, Princess etc follow in the footsteps of Norwegian Cruise Line, Marella, and P&O who all included gratuities in the cost of the cruise fare? With Princess and Cunard both under the Carnival umbrella they could both be a possibility but then again these cruise lines have a different clientele.
I always ask my customers if they would like to pre-pay their gratuities and 90% of the time its a NO, some customers even like to go on to explain why the reasons tend to be , I like to tip hand in hand to the people who deserve it, The staff don’t see the tips, I don’t trust that the cruise line actually give them anything and some just pay the recommended daily amount at the end with their final bill.
It would be interesting to see some figures from different cruise lines with different clientele showing how many people actually pre-pay, pay with the final bill or tip on own accord. Me personally I think the idea of ALL cruise lines including the gratuities would be the best option, this doesn’t put pressure on anyone who feels like they HAVE to tip, I often have first time cruises worried that they won’t be following the crowd and will always ask for my opinion. I always like to tip hand in hand to the staff members who I think deserve it but I don’t think there is a correct answer, its really just personal preference, and everyone’s preferences are different.
If cruise gratuities aren’t prepaid, most non-luxury lines automatically add tips of anywhere from £5 to £10 per person, per day, to passengers’ shipboard accounts, usually depending on the type of cabin in which passengers are booked. If you don’t want to pay the recommended amount you can always speak with guest relations and tweak to the amount you feel is necessary, or remove completely and tip hand in hand as I would.
Cruise lines say that crew members aren’t told which passengers have removed their auto-gratuities until after the sailing has ended, but I understand the concern that quality of service could suffer if crew members did find out. If you’re worried about this but still wish to remove auto-gratuities in favour of tipping in person via envelope, let your room steward and waiter know up front that this is what you’ll be doing, so no misunderstandings arise.
What are your thoughts on Gratuities?