Tip from aboard - Letters - Letter to the Editor

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2002 by Anthony Vandyk

Tipping was the common subject for discussion among passengers on the five cruise ships on which I have traveled this year (Mistral, Marco Polo, Saga Rose, Sundream, and Rhapsody of the Seas). Particularly disliked was the policy of some companies to allow--or even encourage--the solicitation of gratuities when they advertise that tips are included in price charged.

For example, Sun Cruises' brochure states that tips are included in the price of the cruise and that the crew "doesn't expect extra reward for doing what they consider their duty." But toward the end of my Sundream cruise, passengers found four envelopes in their cabins marked for the cabin steward, waiter, assistant water, and head waiter!

Anthony Vandyk, Oxford, England