No gratuities…..P&O lead the way……………..

P&O have recently announced they are no longer going to be charging gratuities on their Cruises from May 2019, Happy days, I’m sure this will come as a massive bonus for P&O passengers who have already got sailings confirmed for next year and will only bring more customers their way who do not agree with the service charge policy as a whole.

This comes as a big turn round from P&O who to my knowledge only increased their daily service charge recently so really why the big change of heart.

I believe that as they have increasing competition with Cruise lines growing fleets sailing out of the UK, where of course P&O have the majority of their business, they are trying to establish a firm unique selling point to its customers that you will not be stung for an extra £50 per person at the end of a seven day cruise.

I personally dislike the fact that Cruise lines dictate to you what they feel is an adequate amount for a daily tip, I  always tell passengers where possible to remove the gratuity charge on their account and pay what they feel is a deserved amount, whether that be more or less than the recommended amount. We’re not American, I’d never walk into a restaurant and squeeze $50 into the Waiters top pocket to buy their service for the night. I worked in the Caribbean for 3 years and saw it happen so many times, I used to get so annoyed, half the time my Customers could not understand why they were constantly left standing at the bar when other Holidaymakers were being lavished with Cocktails, wine, and beer on demand.

However I do also wonder if P&O will be cheekily increasing their prices more than normal to hide the service charges they may be missing out on, only time will tell………………let’s enjoy it for now!