The rise of the 'optional' service charge – and how it adds up to ￡290 to the cost of a cruise
Couples on a two-week cruise with P&O Cruises this summer will have to fork out almost ￡200 extra on top of the cost of their holiday to cover the cost of their tips.
The cruise line is raising its recommended gratuity by 17% from ￡6 to ￡7. The increase, which applies to all cruises after March 23, comes just 12 months after it hiked its gratuities from ￡5 to ￡6. P&O says the charge is an ‘simple way’ to thank crew for their service. Everyone aged over 12 pays unless they ask for the tip to be removed.
It is traditional for cruise passengers to tip crew, but remains a thorny issue with the British, especially as rates have increased substantially in recent years, adding significantly to the cost of the cruise. With this latest rise, P&O Cruises will have more than doubled its charge since 2011. Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises increased their rates in January and now take between $14.50 (￡10.33) and $18 ($12.83) depending on cabin grade.
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Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, which sells almost exclusively in the UK, is also raising its service charge, but from just ￡4 to ￡5 a day from March 7. The company said it is the first increase for 20 years.
Cruise lines add the charge to every bill each day – a system that replaced cash gratuities some years ago to both facilitate payment (people don’t need lots of cash) and discourage passengers from skipping without paying. It is optional but cruisers have to ask for it to be removed at guest services.
Karen Allen, writing on the cruise.co.uk website, said: “I disagree with [tips] being included automatically. [They] are given for great service and pleasant attitude.” Pam Coombe, another cruise.co.uk reader, added: “If you stopped in a hotel, you wouldn’t tip the staff every day. So why on a cruise?”
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Some London hotels, The Connaught and Claridge’s among them, do slap an optional 5% service charge on the final bill and a lot of restaurants now add 12.5%, but tipping remains alien to the British culture. A Direct Line survey in 2016 found Britons were the second-worst tippers after the French.
Norwegian Cruise Line has included tips in the fare in the UK since April 2017. Nick Wilkinson, the cruise line’s managing director, said: “People struggle to understand gratuities so we have made things simple.”
Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises) and Saga Cruises, which sell exclusively to British cruisers, include tips. On luxury lines Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Seabourn, Silversea and SeaDream tipping is not expected.