Cruises.co.uk Reveals 38% of Cruise Passengers Prefer to Remove Automatic Tipping

London, United Kingdom, May 27, 2010 --(PR.com)-- www.Cruises.co.uk, UK’s largest cruise information site has found shocking results from a new poll conducted online for automatic gratuities charged on cruises. The cruise poll revealed that 38% of UK cruise passengers prefer to cancel automatic gratuities and like to tip only those who have served them directly.

It has not yet been confirmed whether it was these findings that encouraged MSC Cruises to abolish their mandatory service charge which was introduced in February 2010. MSC Cruise’s decision to automatically add a fixed service charge of up to $12 per person per day caused a riot on the www.cruises.co.uk forum where passengers felt they where being expected to pay for the crew members wage by these fixed charges rather then tipping good service.

The survey also found that 27% of passengers would prefer to abolish tipping altogether and instead would like the gratuities to be built into the advertised price so they only have a one of cost. 8% of passengers who voted in the poll don’t mind automatic gratuities and in fact wouldn’t mind giving more. 12% thought that they where fine and would pay whatever is expected of them while 6% felt that passengers shouldn’t be expected to pay gratuities just to make up staff wages.

American owned cruise lines are the worse culprits for charging extras onboard not only are they very strict about tipping they also charge an extra 15% service charge on all beverages served onboard. On average you are expected to pay between $9.75 on Royal Caribbean to $15 on Celebrity Suites per person per day in tips.

The more traditional British cruise companies are more lenient while encouraging tipping onboard but they are not always expected. Thomson Cruise Line don’t require any extra tipping while P&O cruises recommend a reasonable amount of £3.75 per person per day.

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