A petition calling on all cruise lines to include tips in their fares has been launched by a former crew member.
Zlatko Simovski, who worked on cruises for six years, says passengers who have the option to pay gratuities separately are increasingly refusing to do so.
In his post on ipetitions.com, Zlatko said he believes this is because passengers often mistakenly believe that cruise lines keep the gratuities, rather than paying them to staff.
In fact, if passengers request the gratuities are removed from their bills, staff get less in their pay cheques, he said.
“The cruise industry gave me everything I have in life, and I can’t stand aside and watch cruising get a bad name over gratuities, people being criticized for removing them, and crew members living in uncertainty, not knowing what their next paycheck [sic] will look like,” he wrote.
While some cruise lines include gratuities in their fares, it’s common for some – especially North American lines – to add them to passengers’ final bills, which are settled before they disembark.
Cruise lines that don’t include gratuities in the fare, but instead add them to the onboard bill, including Celebrity, Cunard, Fred. Olsen, NCL, Princess and Royal Caribbean. They typically add about £12-£14 per person per day to the cost of a cruise.
Zlatko acknowledged that cruise lines are concerned that adding gratuities to their headline prices will make them look more expensive than their competitors, which is why he has launched his petition.
“In a situation where there’s no law requiring them to include the gratuities in the cruise fare, no cruise line will take that step alone and make its offer seem less attractive than the competition,” he wrote.
“That’s why I decided to start this petition, whose goal is to bring all cruise lines (that charge gratuities separately) to the table to ideally decide to include them in the cruise fare.
“So, whether you are a passenger, a crew member, or a travel agent, your voice matters. Sign and share this petition if you believe cruise lines should come together and do this for the good of everyone involved.”
Travel Gossip has asked cruise lines to comment on the petition.
This story was first reported by the family cruise blog, Cruise Mummy.
