With Cruise Critic reporting that Holland America Line will be raising its gratuities by May 1, 2017, the debate of whether or not to bundle tips in the bottom line price emerges once more.
With it, a new question arises: Would other cruise lines follow the lead of parent Carnival Corporation if all of its brands were to begin bundling?
For now, Holland America's gratuities are set to increase by $1.00 per person per day for guests in standard staterooms and by $1.50 per person per day in suites. This will up the former daily amount from $12.50 to $13.50 and the latter from $13.50 to $15.00.
As always, these amounts can be adjusted up or down at a passengers' discretion should they be more or less satisfied with the service they received and can be either prepaid or added to an onboard account once a sailing begins. Paying the amount ahead of time with the cruise fare makes the total easier to swallow.
[READMORE]READ MORE: Onboard Life: Understanding Cruise Gratuities and Service Charges[/READMORE]
However, for those opting to pay afterward, a gratuity of upwards of $210 per couple for a weeklong cruise, using Holland America suites as an example, can come with a bit of sticker shock. This is especially true after any variety of onboard drinks with their own service charges, shore excursions and more are tacked on.
Until now the belief has been that any one cruise brand could only bundle in its gratuities with the cruise fare should all of them decide to industry wide.
When bottom line pricing is crucial to competitiveness, any amount padding that rate, even $100 or so per person, changes the value proposition. To be sure, cruising has always been a fantastic value and would continue to be with this add-on, but they'd all have to follow suit.
So, why not Carnival Corp.?
As the most ubiquitous cruise company with ten brands, they could easily lead the way by setting a new standard of packaged tipping. Would Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Limited then match? They might very well, or they might hold on to their competitive edge.
[READMORE]READ MORE: Carnival's Gratuity Increase: Travel Agents React[/READMORE]
The alternative would be for all Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) member brands, even the independent ones, to all agree to make a change on behalf of the consumer, and it would be a welcome one in combating perceptions of a "nickel and dime" approach. Really, the only argument to be made against such a bundle would be whether it would fly with guests who prefer to keep their option of adjusting or removing tips altogether, but surely the vast majority of travelers would agree that service personnel are deserving of these extras.
In reality, the reason why cruise lines have not decided to go this route might be more tax related. Just as some restaurants have begun adding a service charge to help cover increasing employee health insurance costs without padding their menu item prices, presumably to not be taxed on that amount first as income, so too might cruise companies be hesitant to possibly be taxed more on a gratuity bundle.
Of course, it all comes down to finding a balance between what is right by the customer and what is right for the corporation's ledger. But no consumer likes to feel as though they are taking the brunt of a company's financial struggles, so it sure would be nice to see someone in the cruise industry take a chance to lead on behalf of the traveler.
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