The hot topic of gratuities rears its ugly head again

The hot topic of gratuities rears its ugly head in the cruise line industry once again and and usual seems to divide opinions on this controversial subject.

So It has just been announced that passengers sailing with Royal Caribbean  and Celebrity  Cruises will be required to pay a new increased amount for gratuities starting January 2nd 2018.

Both cruise lines have stated , the gratuity amount is “based on customary industry standards.”

The new per person daily amount for Royal Caribbean  will be $14.50 (an increase from $13.50) for standard accommodations and $17.50 (up from $16.50) for suites.

The new daily amount for Celebrity will be $14.50 (an increase  from $13.50) per person, per day, for standard accommodations, $15 (up from $14) for Concierge Class and AquaClass rooms, and $18 (up from $17) for suites.

Passengers with existing bookings, or who book before January 2nd 2018, can pre-pay their gratuities if  they wish to secure the current rate $1 cheaper than the new rate.

Guests who choose to pay gratuities onboard, regardless of when the cruise was booked, will be subject to the new rates on all sailings departing on or after January 2nd 2018.

Both cruise lines have not upped their gratuities in almost two years as Royal Caribbean  increased the charges by 55 cents in March 2016, while Celebrity  last raised its tips, also by 55 cents, in May 2016.

As with most other lines, cruisers will have the chance to remove the daily gratuity; however, the fee is shared among dining, bar and culinary staff, as well as stateroom attendants and other hotel services crew members who work behind the scenes.

Comments were soon in and overall seems to be an unpopular decision but which camp do you sit in,

Should gratuities be included in the cruise cost? Should the cruise lines pay their staff a decent wage so we can tip good service, see some of the comments below

“Totally unfair system! Cruise lines should not allow people to take off gratuities. Now they have to increase gratuities to cover for the people who don’t pay! Rediculous! Some people don’t believe in gratuities so don’t give anything at all how fair is that! The only fair system is to include everything in the cruise fare.”

“I agree, if cruise lines paid their staff a living wage there wouldn’t be this argument and we could tip what we wanted for staff that deserved it. I think I would rather have it integrated into the initial cruise cost so that we didn’t have this problem.