Brits and Tips Royal Caribbean International vice president and UK managing director Robin Shaw disclosed that the payment of gratuities to remunerate cruise ship employees had become a “significant issue”. Shaw said the company was experiencing a “huge cultural difference” between US passengers who are used to tipping for service and those from the UK who are not. He admitted that cruise ship staff received far less tips when British passengers are on board.
British cruise passengers have been complaining about the US tipping system on board cruise ships for years. I think this issue is coming to a head now we have more big US ships visiting UK ports each summer and ‘Independence of the Seas’ will be offering year-round ex-UK sailings from the end of next year.
Now our American friends may simply regard us Brits as ‘mean’. However I think than many Brits feel that ‘Tips’ are a hidden cost. Many feel that the crew should be paid a living wage and the cruise fare should simply include their wages. Let’s not also forget us Brits (and Europeans) also pay much higher fares for our cruises than our American Friends often do. £100 per nigh, per person for an inside cabin is our norm and often on a ship that has hundreds of Balcony cabins.
Us Brits are not big tippers at home. For example we do not tip bar staff and we may not tip in cafés. When we do tip, 10% might well be our maximum. Therefore the employees of UK catering staff and bar staff have to pay a living wage. The employer cannot say “You will make your salary up in tips” because they probably won’t.
Cruise tipping is probably the most emotive subject on the nets many cruise forums. Here are some of the recent forum comments in response to Royal Caribbean’s review of their tipping policy:
“Well in my honest opinion all Brits and Aussies (and any others) should simply get a grip, tips are a fact of life”.
“In Britain a tip is something you add on afterwards as a reward for service over and above the call of duty.
One expects ‘normal service’ to be part of the included price”.
“Then they should not cruise on ships that cater to North Americans. When in Rome, do as the Romans do”
“If US based cruise lines are going to reposition their fleet to do cruises in regions where they know the bulk of the guests will be UK or AUS then they need to tailor their policies to minimize guest dissatisfaction.”
Celebrity Cruises were obviously well aware of the UK’s Cultural differences back in 1998. I did a Celebrity cruise to Alaska. Tips were included in the fare for Brits. I was given some vouchers to give to key crew members, which represented my tips. If I was not pleased with the service, I could simply not pass over the vouchers. American’s passengers on board tipped in the normal manner. I’m not sure how long this system was employed for Brits, but Celebrity does not use it now.
Personally I feel the system where the crew rely on passenger’s generosity is an antiquated system. I appreciate that American’s feel that tipping ensures good service. However, I feel that good service can be achieved by good training and good management rather than by a primitive ‘carrot and stick’ method.
Tipping is also inconsistent: I assume American’s do not tip on trains, planes and Ferries, do they? ‘Thomson cruises’, who mainly cater for British passengers has a ‘no tips required’ policy. This is a big attraction for many Brits (in addition to their reasonable drink prices which do not include a 15% service charge – but that’s another story.) Interestingly their crew on Thomson ships are as good as I’ve experience on any ship, in fact some are better. The friendliness and on board atmosphere is second to none. This is surely proof positive that it can be achieved.
Personally I am convinced that Royal Caribbean will be introducing a ‘Tips Included’ policy for Brits in 2010, although the traditional system seems to still work well for American passengers. Other lines will almost certainly follow suit if RC take the lead.
What do you feel about this ‘hot’ issue? (No need to join to post a message)
Malcolm Oliver
