The announcement of the first increase in gratuities aboard cruise ships in a while has reopened the running debate about the way such payments are extracted from guests.
A plethora of policies operate among the lines, adding to the confusion.
Norwegian Cruise Lines announced an increase in its gratuities this week – a rise of $US.95 to $12.95 per passenger per day.
Cruise Passenger readers responded with a series of complaints – mainly about the lack of transparency.
Some cruise lines like P&O Australia, Princess Cruises, Scenic Tours and Avalon Waterways include the cost of gratuities when cruisers book and pay for their holidays. So there is no more to pay, unless you want to.
Others like Royal Caribbean itemise the gratuities on your bill. Guests have the option of whether they wish to pay the fee or not.
Still other lines add on an additional gratuity fee for spa treatments, bars and excursions. Guests are unaware, and sometimes leave even more cash.
Lines like Silversea include gratuities in the fare but say services received shore side or in the spa are at the guest’s own discretion.
Other lines like Ponant recommend a figure to their guests, but again, payment is discretionary.
A spokesperson from Ponant said: “It is not compulsory to provide gratuities, however we suggest an amount of 10 to 12 euros per day, per person, the total amount of which to be distributed among the crew.
“Envelopes are placed in cabins for this purpose at the end of the cruise. Gratuities are at guests’ discretion, with the recommended amount suggested, however if guests wish to recognise exceptional service from an individual staff member, they are welcome to do so of course.
“Guests can pay the gratuities by charging to their onboard account. Or directly by cash in the envelope delivered in each cabin the day before the disembarkation day.”
One Cruise Passenger reader Lucy Jones recently went on a cruise and was more than happy with the gratuity charge. But was unimpressed with the additional gratuity charges added on.
“I thought the $12 per person per day gratuity charge on my last cruise was reasonable, but I did get annoyed at the additional 18% gratuity that was added on to just about everything else on board. Even the shore excursions! I resent paying 18% extra just for the privilege of booking a tour.”
Other readers like Judith Roberts want more transparency when paying the gratuities.
“On Holland America in 2014 I don’t think we had a choice – $11 or $12 per person per day just added to the account. Not to say that the service wasn’t good – the crew were fabulous, but it would be nice to make the tipping decision for yourself.”
Readers like Helen Pask said the gratuity fees are already too high.
“I will not pay gratuities. I prefer to tip my cabin boy myself. NCL’s gratuities are double that charged by P&O. It is a rip-off. You charge gratuities and then add a tip to all drinks. If you paid your staff a decent salary, there would be no need for tips.”
Norwegian Cruise Lines did not respond to Cruise Passenger’s questions.
Tell us what you think. Should cruise lines be more transparent about how they charge gratuities?
Let’s face it. Gratuities are just part of the staff wages. If we refuse to pay them it’s the staff that suffer, not the cruise line. But I wish there was standard fee for any cabin on any ship and it was shown and paid as part of the cruise fare, much like RCL usually does, so you could just pay and forget.
As for the 15% on drinks, most lines no longer refer to them as tips, because they’re clearly not. They are usually called Service Charges.
Tips and gratuities should be abolished altogether, if correct wages were paid there would be no need for people to pay tips at all. If anyone wants to tip do so but do not expect everyone to do the same.
My wife and I have been on a few cruises and the gratuity problem raises its’ head each time. I don’t mind tipping (although in Australia we do not) if the service is exceptional. We have just returned from a cruise around Hawaii with Norwegian Cruise Line. (Never again) There were so many hidden costs, everything was plus, plus. Gratuities were more demanded than even expected. Then there were the bar tips, the dining tips and the tour tips. Then when you try to elect out of the gratuities you are treated very badly. The fact that the Company collects the gratuities and then distributes them is very ‘cloak and dagger’, who gets what? Forced gratuities certainly does not get my vote and this is why we will not travel Norwegian Cruise Lines again.
This is essentially an American thing, borrowed originally from Europe, but not an Australian thing which is why Australian travellers often have the amount built into the fare structure.
My argument has always been, and wil remain so – it is not my responsibility to get good service through tipping; it is the responsibility of the provider of those servicse, i.e. the cruise company, to provide me with the appropriate quality of service for a given price.
In Australia we do not do tips or Gratuities we pay our price and that is all if Other countries want to have us as customers it should be working on our regulations if we go to their country it is only fair to pay all their costs as they do
If the crews were paid to an award system by the cruise lines there would be no need for this blatant ripoff of the public,I will tip the cabin personal on a cruise but that is all as that should be sufficient
Gratuities should be a personal choice. Why should I “HAVE” to pay extra for a company that doesn’t pay their staff a sufficient wage.
Having said that I am willing to pay gratuities personally for the service I receive.
On a recent cruise I heard from a crew member that all gratuities paid to individual crew must be handed over and put with other gratuities to be split between all crew.
I also object to paying an additional gratuity for booking excursions or making purchases on board.
I refuse to pay the gratuities imposed on cruise lines not based in Australia. I prefer to give the cabin boy money at the beginning and the end of the cruise. I also like to give money to the waiters in the dining room who look after me at meals. After all it is all about gratitude for service given. It is also wrong for the Cruise lines to add gratuities to the paid services that you choose whilst on the cruise.
You should have the option of paying your own tips or having it added on your bill but every person should pay something.
I consider that the practice of cruise lines charging gratuities to the “Cruiser” runs completely counter to the purpose of “tipping” which began its life as way for a customer to reward or show his /her personal appreciation for good service to a waiter, steward or any other person who has provided them with good service.
It is my firm conviction that cruise lines today use the charging of gratuities as a means of having their passengers supplement the wages they pay to their crews thus enabling them to offer lower fares> Deny that if you will!!!
My wife and I have been quite happy to pay an agreed amount in gratuities BUT some cruise lines don’t come to the party. Some use US dollars onboard which adds (at current exchange rates) a considerable amount to the total bill in Australian dollars AND the exchange rates can be somewhat extortionate. Also, if there is an overall gratuity “charge”per person per day, there should be no “service” or “gratuity” charges on drinks or services. Having recently discussed this issue with a number of passengers aboard a cruise ship, there was a consensus that passengers should be given an account of the total gratuities collected and how much was paid to each crew member (on average). There is more than a suspicion that the crew do not receive the total in gratuities collected on their behalf. Certainly my wife and I intend to opt out of pre-arranged gratuity payments until there is greater transparency/accountability by cruise lines and/or a % gratuity is not added to every purchase or service.
Gratuities are a Reward for good Service beyond the normal. It is not a legitimate Fee and should not be charged as part of the Cruise Price nor added to an Account without the passenger’s approval.
It should be at the discretion of the Passenger as to whom and how much it is given.
This gratuities issue is generated mainly from an American culture whereby employees work for very low hourly rates. In Australia and England this tipping is not game that is appreciated, and cruise companies have a hide when they expect passengers to contribute to making up their employees wages shortfall by expecting these gratuities regimes be adopted outside of America.
I have generally always tipped my cabin boy and my table waiter in the dinning area’s and it’s an amount that I personally feel is a nice gesture to make and I don’t need a shipping company to tell me of a compulsory gratuities scheme.
Cruise lines need to address this gratuities rip-off as I believe passengers outside of American culture have had enough. Tipping is a personal thing, so leave it to passengers own discrepancy on to Tip or not to Tip.
Firstly I would like to know who on board actually get the gratuities? Does some go to the Captain, and those next in line etc. We are not aware that Princess gratuities are included in the initial price of the cruise. If this is the case we are being cheated. When we first board Princess we ask that gratuities be taken off. We notice that the amount is shown as a negative on the bill but later added in at the end of the cruise. Can someone please explain this to me, thanks
Please take a look at the meaning of gratuity in a dictionary !
It is YOUR choice as to the amount you wish to give for a present or gift for services rendered to you by a person.
It is not for the shipping company to nominate that amount, whether or not it is indeed payable, or to distribute it(maybe ?) to the receiver.
I whole heartedly agree with Helen Pask. Why are we paying gratuities? In Australia we do not pay gratuities and we expect the rest of the world to be the same. If the cruise companies paid their staff the recommended salary, then we would not be asked to pay gratuities. If a person wants to give a tip, that is their option. The same goes with bar prices – we should be paying the normal rates and not the extra 15% tax. This way everybody knows exactly what their cruise and drinks is going to cost them.
Princess Cruises gratitudes are added to your onboard account each day not included in your fare unless you agree to it on booking .i would prefer to pay staff who atend me daily .
When my sister and I travelled on APT Danube Cruise in 2008, the subject of gratuities was brought up by the passengers and we were told that gratuities were included in the fare. However, if we wish to make a donation at the end of the cruise, we were quite a liberty to do so.
When travelling on Sun Princess in 2010, we went to the Pursers Office and requested the gratuities be dropped and we paid our steward and the dining room waiters directly at the end of the cruise.
With Holland America in 2013, we were told that gratuities would be automatically added on to our bill. It was $US11.50 per day. However, on approaching the Office again, it was reduced to $US6.00 per day. We still gave our steward a further tip at the end.
Travelling with Holland American again shortly, it will be interesting to see what the outcome will be with regards to lowering the gratuities or Hotel Service Charge as they call it.
I might add, for all wine lovers, the corkage surcharge now being charge when bringing a bottle of wine/champagne on board is dreadful. We are glad they did not introduce it until after 2013. Holland America are charging $US18 per bottle to bring it on board at each port (except the port of embarkation). Certainly leaves a very dry and sour taste in one’s mouth!! Anybody else wishing to comment on that??
Gratuity charges are excessive, just for staff members doing their job. If someone does an “over the top” job then I am happy to give something. I now only cruise with lines which include the gratuity in the fare. So you know what you are up for at the start.
The crew members that I have encountered on board the ships I’ve been on have been excellent, but isn’t that their job? I would think that there would be many others that would take on the job if they had the opportunity. I don’t like to be told how much to tip (and being Australian) I’m not used to tipping unless the service has been really exceptional. I tip the person who looks after me in my cabin and at my dining table. These people remember my name and what my preferences are, and I would like to think that the money I give them is in addition to their salary, not extra to make for a short-fall in the wages that they are paid. Nor do I like the idea that they have to hand in the money so that it can be distributed to others on board, or even at times, I believe, to the company to be shared with other crew members on other ships. As far as I’m concerned, ‘gratuities’ is not the term for this type of charge. If the crew is not paid enough, add any extras on to the cost of the cruise and let people make up their mind then if they want to go on the trip.
Yes they should be more upfront, we only book with cruise lines that don’t charge additional gratuities this limits our cruise lines to sail with but its the way we prefer to sail
I was recently on an MSC cruise and they put the $9.00 per day, per passenger on your bill. They also put a $1.50 a day UNICEF donation which we had no knowledge of and was not asked if we wished to donate. Friends of our on the same cruise lost most of their luggage for two days and said they didn’t want to pay for non service. They had to justify why they didn’t wish to pay, with guest relations. They eventually settled for 50% of the gratuities and had to fight to get that discount.
Two months ago we did a great cruise with Seabourn. Amongst the many pluses was Seabourn’s No Gratuity policy.
The wages of a cruise ship’s staff are part of the ship’s operating costs and should be included in the price of the ticket. You do not tip airline stewards/hostesses.
Another rip off is the cost of alcoholic beverages on cruise ships. Try to find the price list for alcoholic beverages on a cruise line web site. The cruise companies buy alcohol duty free and charge Australian restaurant and bar prices, plus 15%service charge.
Five of my last eight cruises have been with lines that serve free alcoholic beverages and do not automatically charge gratuities.
Bon voyage
Bruce
The automatic levy through your on-board account is by definition not a gratuity – it is just a levy. To me it is a thinly disguised way to subsidise staff costs. We have no idea who gets a slice of the benefit, or whether there is any “administrative costs” withheld by the company. I routinely have the gratuities stopped at boarding.
The fare approach like river cruise operators offer is where the big ship cruising business needs to be.
In the old days of sailing it was the norm to tip but these days most people complain about tipping. They want all the air’s and graces associated with cruising and some people treat the crew like dogs and expect everything in the way of service. They even complain when they get home and try to get some sort of refund. I do agree that cruiser travelling with their kids should be an exception or at least not have to pay the gratuities for their kids. $12.95 per person is getting a bit high ($25.90 a day per couple). I dont have a big problem with tips but the cruise lines need to be fair we all know that we are all over the price for drinks, goods, entertainment, specialty restaurants etc maybe the cruise lines should have a look at lowering those prices.
I will not be bullied into paying gratuaties by companies that dont pay a proper wage and expect us to pay to compensate for this.
Even when you do pay it, they stil add it on to things, so how is that fair, why should they double dip
I choose if I want to pay it to anyone
On my last trip with Holland America i found out that a form to not charge gratuities was available from the pursers desk outlining that no charges be made on the billing account.
It also requires that it be completed again as they fragment the charges into 2 period accounts.
WHY i do not know but if you fail to provide a further request gratuities will appear only on the second..so be warned!!!!
My husband and I are going on our first ever cruise soon with Azamara, and the fare we have booked says all gratuities are included. I assume we take this literally, and we will not be charged any further gratuities? I have been told that if we choose to tip our personal butler at the end of the cruise, that is entirely up to us. However, I will be annoyed if I find out we are being charged other gratuities on our bill. Our cruise is supposed to be “all inclusive”. Do you have any advice for us?
We found out via other passengers that on Holland America cruises it is an option (certainly unpublicised) to pay less than the approx. $12 per person per day; which most Australian passengers find fairly steep – perhaps per couple it would be okay, the gratuities add up because they’re added onto other things as well.