ConGRATSulations!

Over the years there has always been a big debate in the cruising industry regarding paying gratuities (or tipping). whether it’s before you have started your cruise or when it’s automatically charged to your on-board account. However one New York restaurateur by the name of Danny Meyer is looking to reverse that trend by banning tipping in all of his restaurants and paying his staff a fair wage instead. 

The entrepreneur who owns thirteen restaurants in New York, including The Modern, believes that tipping is an unfair system as it only benefited a few restaurant workers. Although this seems a radical move by Danny Meyer, menu prices will increase from between 25-35%. It’s hoped most guests won’t notice a difference as this extra would have been around what they were tipping anyway. Really!!!

Gratuities has always been an American ‘thing’,  handing out dollar bill tips to people for opening a car door for them or serving a drink in a bar. So when it comes to cruising it’s not because British people are mean, although some no doubt simply do resent paying tips, it’s purely a cultural thing. Cultural or not, gratuities have always been a headache for cruise lines as first they have to justify them and then find ways to make sure people pay them. The obvious answer would be is to include them in the price.

British cruise lines including Noble Caledonia, Saga, Thomson and Swan Hellenic, recognise that tipping is not something the British are comfortable with, likewise package gratuities into the cruise fare. P&O and Fred Olsen held out for a long time using the traditional cash-in-envelopes method of the past, which gave way to vouchers in envelopes. This had the benefit of allowing folk to put the tip on their end-of-cruise account but kept the personal touch. Now, they simply put a per person per night charge to every passenger’s cruise account, however these can be still taken off if you wish by going down or calling reception.

The amount you are advised to tip varies enormously between cruise lines, with the likes of P&O Cruises and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines recommending a moderate £4 and £5 per person per night respectively, with no charge for children under 12 on P&O. Click on the highlighted gratuities to find out more about all the major cruise lines gratuities policy.

So what are your thoughts? How do you prefer to pay for your tips?

Would you be happy paying a bit more for your cruise knowing all gratuities and service charges are included?