Special Report: The great cruise gratuities debate

Posted on 12 January, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

I took this Photo on the Norwegian Jade, the gentleman in the front has gained a promotion. The crew that you see and don’t see work hard to make sure that we have the best possible cruise experience, they deserve our Gratuities and more.

A hike in rates by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises reignited the debate about onboard tipping. Amie Keelie and Harry Kemble report

News that Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have upped their gratuities by 7% prompted dozens of responses from cruisers on consumer forums (Travel Weekly, January 4).

Some questioned whether the service they receive justified the hike. Some asked if charging gratuities meant cruise lines get away with paying staff low basic salaries. And some wondered if the tips even went to the staff.

Others said they were happy to reward hardworking crew for the long hours they put in to make their holidays as good as possible.

So which lines charge the most, why do gratuities even exist and are they justified?

Why do gratuities exist?

The concept of automatic gratuities stemmed from cruise ships being a cashless environment. Generally, passengers did not carry wads of cash and so were unable to reward crew members for excellent service.

It also became a way to distribute tips fairly to all the crew, including those behind the scenes working just as hard as the butler that passengers saw every day.

Lines justify the cost by claiming a superior level of customer service guests receives on a cruise ship compared with a hotel or resort on land.

“When we do our survey of guests, one of their top reasons they give to cruise is the service levels, so we stand up well against other sectors,” says Andy Harmer, Clia’s senior vice-president for membership.

“In cruise, you get to build up a relationship with the crew – you see them several times a day – compared to a hotel where you might not see the person turning down your bed at all.”

Ben Bouldin, associate vice-president of Royal Caribbean International and managing director for the UK and Ireland, agrees. “Gratuities are something our customers are comfortable with because they understand the outstanding level of service.”

However, as one agent told Travel Weekly: “If a cruise line is going to increase its gratuities, it had better make sure its customer service is impeccable”.

It is accepted that American cruisers are more than happy to pay automatic gratuities, often in advance of their cruise, but Brits much less so. Cruise lines have adapted their policies to reflect the different markets they sell in, allowing cruise customers to opt out of paying auto-gratuities at the end of their cruise when they pay their final bill.

“[In Britain] we don’t have a history of tipping in the way other cultures have,” says Harmer. “What a lot of passengers don’t realise is that if they do have issues, they should raise these on the ship so they can be dealt with and if they’re not happy they can have [the gratuity] taken off.”

Mike Hall, Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ head of marketing, says: “The reason why gratuities are such an issue is because of that cultural difference. Americans will give a staff member $50, while here in the UK, a conversation about gratuities is one we do not want to have.”

Gratuity rates

Royal and Celebrity Cruises’ recent increases now mean passengers pay $14.50 a day in standard accommodation, making it one of the highest in the sector.

“Royal and Celebrity need to be careful because it could put customers off,” the cruise agent added. “For a couple travelling on a 14-night cruise that’s an extra $400, so it needs to be better than a hotel which doesn’t have auto-gratuities.”

The agent also warned that if gratuities continued to rise on mainstream lines, luxury cruise brands, which more often than not include them in the price, would become more appealing.

By comparison, discretionary gratuity fees for P&O Cruises, MSC Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, CMV and Carnival Cruise Line range from £4 to €13 per passenger per night and continue to be automatically added to onboard accounts. The majority of river cruise lines suggest a recommended amount to give the crew at the end of their cruise.

Last year, Norwegian Cruise Line became the first mainstream line to incorporate gratuities, among a host of other ‘extras’, into its fares, when it rolled out its Premium All Inclusive concept.

NCL’s Nick Wilkinson said: “Premium All Inclusive has driven greater simplicity for agents having to explain and sell cruises, and greater confidence in consumers having to budget.

“The biggest change since introducing Premium All-Inclusive is double-digit growth we’ve seen in the long-tail of agents we’ve never worked with before, now selling Norwegian. They are comfortable selling us.”

So could other mainstream lines follow suit? Wilkinson added: “I think it’s very telling how many mainstream lines are using the term ‘all-inclusive’ in their wave campaigns as they recognise it appeals to agents and consumers.

“But we are the only mainstream line offering a truly all-inclusive product, including gratuities.”

Full breakdown by cruise line here

Views on gratuities

“Gratuity fees should be phased out, not increased. They are an archaic way of paying salaries, they should be included in the fare.”

David Speakman, chairman, Travel Counsellors

“I wish all cruise companies would include them [gratuities], then everyone would pay the same. It would stop a lot of people asking for them to be taken off once on board.”

Travel agent, name withheld

“As customers, we would never take off service and hotel charges but, in a way, I hope many do. You never know, we might yet see the dawn of non-deductible service or all-inclusive charges on cruises. If all passengers paid their gratuities on a two-week cruise, that would be $578,000 on Eclipse – getting a little silly, don’t you think? The cruise lines are cutting back and increasing gratuities.”

In Havana, historic gathering pairs cruise CEOs with government officials

Posted on 1 January, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

The Norwegian Sky in Havana.

Cruise lines are laying the groundwork for further expansion into Cuba now that the rules governing U.S. tourism to the island have been revised and clarified by the Trump administration.

CEOs from seven cruise companies met in Havana on Nov. 27 with Cuban government officials, along with representatives from CLIA and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, to exchange viewpoints.

It was the first time so many cruise CEOs had gathered in Havana, according to Charles A. Robertson, who attended the meeting as chairman and CEO of Pearl Seas Cruises, which sails to Cuba from Fort Lauderdale.

“It was very positive,” he said. “The Cuban government did a great job. I think the whole relationship with the cruise industry is maturing very nicely.”

Cruise lines were left largely unscathed when the new rules for U.S. trade and travel to Cuba were announced a month ago. Hotels in Havana that are owned or operated by entities with ties to the Cuban military were made off limits, crimping land tourism. The Trump administration also blocked individual travel to Cuba, restricting visits to groups in itineraries designated as people-to-people exchanges.

MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato, who also attended the Nov. 27 summit, said Cuban officials asked the group to back an easing of President Trump’s restrictions.

“We had sort of an official presentation of CLIA to the Cuban authorities, and the Cuban authorities were also asking for some sort of help or support to lift the ban,” Onorato said.

An effort to seek comment through Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism was unsuccessful.

As a practical matter, the cruise lines were unaffected by almost all the new U.S. restrictions.

“I would say it’s a minimal impact,” Robertson said. “It’s sort of a refining of the people-to-people rules under the general [travel] permit. There’s no significant change.”

So, for example, Robertson said that Pearl Seas passengers taking the line’s 10-day cruises circumnavigating Cuba can participate in organized group tours with guides and interpreters, but they also have time on their own.

“They do both,” Robertson said. “That’s true in all the cities we visit in Cuba.”

Cruise ships sailing from Florida have only been visiting Cuba since May 2016, when the now-defunct Carnival Corp. brand Fathom offered the first regular cruise to depart the U.S. for Havana in 50 years.

Since then, two Carnival Corp. brands, all three Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings brands and two Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. brands have made plans to visit the island from the U.S., along with Pearl Seas and Victory Cruise Line.

Cruise CEOs have said that pricing and demand for the cruises have been strong, stimulating plans to add new capacity. Norwegian Cruise Line has scheduled Cuba calls on a second ship in 2018, adding the Norwegian Sun from Port Canaveral to its Cuba cruises on the Norwegian Sky from Miami.

Cruises on both ships will include overnights in Havana.

A day after the summit in Miami, Royal Caribbean International announced that it, too, would add a second Cuba ship. Starting in April, its 2,350-passenger Majesty of the Seas will offer four- and five-day cruises from Tampa that include day trips and overnight stays in Havana. In October, it will do the same from Fort Lauderdale.

Royal’s 1,602-passenger Empress of the Seas, which had been sailing to Havana from Tampa, will move to Miami, where it will offer more varied itineraries. Along with five-day sailings to Havana and Key West, the Empress will offer seven-day trips that feature Nassau, Havana and Cienfuegos, which is a new Cuba destination for Royal.

The Empress will also debut an eight-day cruise that calls in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, another new port, along with Grand Cayman and Royal’s private destination in Labadee, Haiti.

Robertson said Pearl Seas, too, is planning to expand. In 2018 and 2019, it will offer more Cuba cruises on its 210-passenger Pearl Mist. By late 2019, Pearl Seas expects to take delivery of two more ships, at least one of which will likely be added to Cuba.

MSC Cruises is in a somewhat different position. Based in Geneva, it already has a well-developed business of taking European passengers to Havana. It has two ships, the MSC Armonia and the MSC Opera, that homeport in Havana year-round. In addition, it operates a ship seasonally from Martinique or Guadalupe that calls in Havana.

None of those cruises is sold in the U.S., so MSC doesn’t have to conform to U.S. regulations.

But MSC is also adding ships in North America, beginning with the MSC Seaside in Miami later this month, and Onorato said he is definitely interested in adding a Cuban port call for those ships in the future.

He said MSC has announced itineraries for its North American ships through 2020. “Until 2020, we don’t go,” he said. “We see the worst thing you can do in this business is to change itineraries because this creates uncertainty and disruptions among the customers.”

As things stand, it wouldn’t be feasible anyway for either the 3,502-passenger Divina or the 4,138-passenger Seaside to call in Cuba because the ships are too large for existing piers there.

Robertson said Cuban officials addressed the infrastructure obstacles at the summit.

“I think they’re working on it,” he said. “There were no specifics that I heard, but they are working on it, and I think we’re all going to see some improvements in the infrastructure coming along fairly soon.”

Another stumbling block was a U.S. State Department warning against travel to Cuba. Issued in late September, the warning was tied to mysterious health symptoms suffered by some U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Havana.

Robertson said the impact on bookings was short-lived.

“Demand remains strong,” he said. “When the travel warning came out, there was a dip for about 10 days. I would say it’s quite normal now, and it’s encouraging us to operate more to Cuba.”

MSC Seaside offers sights, experiences unlike any other

Posted on 4 December, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato in the two-story Top Sail Lounge, part of the MSC Yacht Club luxury enclave on MSC Seaside. Photo Credit: Tom StieghorstONBOARD THE MSC SEASIDE — When executives at MSC Cruises went looking for a design completely different from any other in the industry, they found it gathering dust in a desk drawer at the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

The line’s newest ship, the MSC Seaside, was conceived 12 years ago by a visionary Fincantieri engineer, but it languished because no cruise line wanted it, according to MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato.

To start with, the ship’s funnel was in the middle, not the back. That alone spooked buyers worried that soot would rain down on sunbathers gathered around the Deck 16 swimming pool behind it.

MSC likens the aft design to a Miami Beach condo. The suites there overlook a broad pool area on Deck 8. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

The design had an oddly narrowed tower of cabins in the back, opening space for a broad, uncovered promenade on Deck 8 and an expansive platform at the very aft where another pool was placed. A pair of glass-walled elevators connected the two pool decks.

When Onorato saw the plans, he knew he’d found something that wouldn’t be mistaken for any other cruise ship afloat.

“This is what we wanted,” Onorato said.

I had a chance to experience the nearly completed Seaside on a short cruise from Fincantieri’s yard in Monfalcone, Italy, to Trieste, about 20 minutes away. I came away thinking that passengers are going to want to try this ship, which is just the response MSC is seeking in its ongoing bid for recognition in North America.

Start with that rear profile, which MSC likens to a Miami Beach condo. It wastes space extravagantly, but it looks very cool. And from my cabin on Deck 15, I could descend to poolside in about 30 seconds.

MSC intends to sail the Seaside in the Caribbean from Miami year-round starting on Dec. 23. The ship has what seems like acres of open space on the top deck, ideal for sun-searchers from cold climates.

Onorato said new exhaust scrubber technologies solve the soot problem. There’s a giant LED screen for videos. And the pool on Deck 16 can be covered at night, creating a dance space beneath the tropical stars.

The midship funnel on the Seaside is the starting point for one of the ship’s neatest features, a 344-foot zip line that threads riders through two sets of giant hoops before ending on an aft platform.

The four-story atrium features stairs with transparent steps embedded with Swarovski crystals and tiny lights. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

Several waterslides also start on the funnel structure, including one in which passengers ride a board that transmits electronic data, turning it into an interactive video game.

Inside, the design of the Seaside carries on some of the themes of MSC’s first year-round North American ship, the MSC Divina. The Seaside has lots of shiny, sparkly metallic surfaces and an assertively neutral colour palette consisting mainly of white, black, grey and beige, with maroon in the carpets.

The levels of a four-story open atrium are linked by stairs that feature transparent steps embedded with tiny white lights and Swarovski crystals. Large LED screens with changing displays adorn the main wall of the atrium.

But the Seaside differs from the Divina, too.

The Seaside’s MSC Yacht Club luxury enclave is larger and, unlike on Divina, it includes a restaurant. The two-story Top Sail Lounge has magnificent forward views. (If you’re not staying in the Yacht Club, the Seaside has no public views from the bow).

The Deck 16 pool can be covered at night to turn it into a dance floor. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

There’s a trio of speciality restaurants (seafood, steak and Asian) on Deck 16, which creates a foodie destination, according to Onorato. The theatre is smaller, but there will be more frequent shows, giving diners the flexibility to eat when they want and still catch the entertainment.

And then there’s that promenade, which brings cruisers as close to the water as they’re likely to get on a 4,138-passenger vessel.

Inside the ship, one sure-to-be-talked-about feature is the wall of liquid chocolate in the Venchi 1878 Chocolate Bar, which sends a sweet fragrance of chocolate wafting through several decks around it.

Although it is not entirely original, I liked the two-lane, full-size bowling alley in the arcade on Deck 7. I also enjoyed the Garage Club, a ’50s car-themed room that is a teen club by day and a bar at night.

One thing yet to be determined on the Seaside is whether MSC has tailored the food and service to American sensibilities. Onorato said it has. He said past perceptions of indifferent service and Euro-centric foods are the legacy of a time when the North American market was an afterthought for Geneva-based MSC.

That changed several years ago, Onorato said, and the Seaside will reflect all that MSC has learned about appealing to North American passengers. The reality, he said, is that improvements have been made and should be evident onboard the Seaside.

“Obviously, it takes time for those improvements to be fully acknowledged by everyone,” he said.