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3 reasons not to remove your cruise tips

The line at Guest Services on the last night of the cruise

If you’ve ever been on a cruise, you’ve seen the long line at guest services the last night of the cruise. Many guests have printed out the 10 pages of their onboard account ready to show the guest services agent! In some cases, the passenger will just say, “remove the tips!”

Here are 3 reasons not to remove your tips (gratuities).

1. The crew is far away from family and friends.

Many of us are fortunate to have jobs where we come home every night! Cruise ship crew are thousands of miles away from their spouses, kids and other family members. In their native countries, they don’t have the opportunity to make a decent income to provide for their loved ones. Keep this in mind when you’re tempted to remove your tips.

2. The crew works very long hours.

Most of you reading this post work 8, 10 or even 12 hour days. Most of us enjoy weekends off! Cruise ship crew mostly work 7 days a week, with little time off in port. Even when in port, they may be involved in a fire drill, cleaning the ship or folding napkins!

3. The smiles of the crew.

Can you imagine working very long hours, 7 days a week, far from your family and still having a smile on your face? Look at the pictures above. Each and every crew member is smiling! How many times has a crew member been kind to you or someone in your party? Has a crew member offered to bring you a cup of coffee, pulled out your chair, or offered a friendly greeting? Crew members go above and beyond every single day to give thousands of guests a memorable cruise experience. No wonder that many cruise passengers are repeat guests!!!

Here’s the bottom line. If someone is too cheap to tip, they should stay home. Excuses like, “Corporate pockets the money” or “Corporate should increase their wages” are inaccurate and just plain wrong.

The crew works hard for their tips and I am embarrassed that so many of my fellow cruise passengers are cheapskates.

Thanks to all of the Holland America Line crew pictured above.

Be sure to follow me on #Instagram @scottlara1961 and my grandson @TheCruiseKid.

 

 

About Scott Lara

President of MilitaryFares.com. Navy Veteran, Travel Agent, love to cruise!

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