Tipping is a way of life in some parts of the world, and something to be avoided in other places. Travellers soon learn whether they need to tip or not.
But it’s on the high seas where things get confusing. Cruise holidays bring together passengers from all parts of the world, and there is often no consensus about how much, or even whether, they should tip.
Since many cruise lines are American, or cater mainly for American, it is generally accepted that passengers will offer gratuities to service staff.
Many cruise companies allow passengers to pay their tips in advance, at a set daily rate. They also allow passengers to modify their tips, or to remove them completely.
I know some people who have done this — Australians who simply weren’t comfortable with the idea of tipping.
As on land, the rationale against tipping is that it transfers the employers’ responsibility to pay their low-earning staff a proper wage to the customer.
Related story: Tipping point
The reality, of course, is that the customer is going to pay for it anyway. In places where tipping is not common practice, the price of service is factored in to the price of purchase.
There have been rumblings on passenger forums about the price of tips on ships going up. Holland America Line has announced that its recommended gratuity is going up from US$12.50 to $13.50 a day for normal staterooms and from $13.50 to $15 for suites.
Is that a fair price to pay to get your bed made, bathroom cleaned and towels changes on a daily basis? Let alone having your food and drinks prepared and served?
Or should the “all-inclusive” cost of a cruise be truly all inclusive?
