According to the Daily Mail, Royal Caribbean International has found that us Brits are far less likely to 'tip' than our american counterparts.
Robin Shaw, RCI's vice president and UK MD, put our differences down to the 'huge cultural difference' on tipping between us.
He said: 'We are evaluating our options. Gratuities form part of the remuneration for our crew and when there is a large contingency of UK guests on board, the remuneration is not at the same level. It is a challenge to us.'
The US company has encountered the problem as it continues to try and attract new cruisers from Europe and other areas as well as catering for its established American audience.
Different cultures mean that some passengers from countries without an established tipping policy can see on board gratuities as a negative - this is often the problem in the UK.
Royal Caribbean is one of the few mainstream cruise lines which still offers a 'cash in the envelope' tipping policy on its ships as opposed to automatically adding gratuities to passengers' accounts.
He spoke as part of a wider discussion on add-ons cruise companies charge on top of the holiday price for items such as speciality restaurant meals and other extras.
Mr Shaw also explained that is was almost impossible to offer an 'up front price' saying it was a 'commercial reality' that on board revenue was a way for ships to recover their return on investment.
Royal Caribbean have allocated more of their ships for UK sailings and next month the company will launch the world's largest cruise ship to date - Oasis of the Seas.
Robin Shaw, RCI's vice president and UK MD, put our differences down to the 'huge cultural difference' on tipping between us.
He said: 'We are evaluating our options. Gratuities form part of the remuneration for our crew and when there is a large contingency of UK guests on board, the remuneration is not at the same level. It is a challenge to us.'
The US company has encountered the problem as it continues to try and attract new cruisers from Europe and other areas as well as catering for its established American audience.
Different cultures mean that some passengers from countries without an established tipping policy can see on board gratuities as a negative - this is often the problem in the UK.
Royal Caribbean is one of the few mainstream cruise lines which still offers a 'cash in the envelope' tipping policy on its ships as opposed to automatically adding gratuities to passengers' accounts.
He spoke as part of a wider discussion on add-ons cruise companies charge on top of the holiday price for items such as speciality restaurant meals and other extras.
Mr Shaw also explained that is was almost impossible to offer an 'up front price' saying it was a 'commercial reality' that on board revenue was a way for ships to recover their return on investment.
Royal Caribbean have allocated more of their ships for UK sailings and next month the company will launch the world's largest cruise ship to date - Oasis of the Seas.
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