Royal Caribbean International on Jan. 2 is implementing a $1 increase to the daily gratuity, to $14.50 per guest, for cruise passengers in stateroom accommodations.
Suite guests will pay $17.50 per day, also a $1 increase.
Guests who book before Jan. 2 can pre-pay gratuities before their sailing at the current rate.
The daily gratuity, automatically added to guest accounts, is shared among dining and bar servers, stateroom attendants, and hotel services teams who work behind the scenes.
The cruise industry is “breaking through the glass ceiling” and is finally being recognised as a mainstream holiday.
David Dingle, Clia Europe’s deputy chair, also said the number of UK cruise passengers will hit two million by 2020.
He said: “We are getting to that two million figure. We hit 1.9 million passengers in 2016, so I definitely think we will hit two million by 2020.
“We are really breaking through the glass ceiling. I think we are at the stage where cruising is being recognised as a mainstream holiday.
“Whether we see the same year on year growth yield as we did this year that will unfold, but at the moment we are seeing further growth.”
The cruise industry is undergoing a “significant” new shipbuilding programme following the financial slump in 2008.
“During that period there has been a lag in the introduction of new capacity,” Dingle said. “So as much as anything we are going through a catching up exercise.”
There are 72 ships on order all of which are set to be built before 2025. The value of that order is $50billion.
All the major lines, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises and Carnival, have ships launching in 2018.
Marella and AIDA Cruises, Germany’s largest line, also have new vessels due to launch.
“The year of 2017 has been a very good year for yield growth but whether we can have that much growth year on year remains to be seen,” Dingle added. “At the moment they are good indicators.”
Dingle pointed to the role of the trade press in helping to boost the cruise sector and also highlighted how comedian Rob Brydon might not have fronted a P&O Cruises television advertisement campaign “five or 10 years ago”.
Costa and MSC in Majorca Port
Cruise liners are threatening to shun Majorca and Ibiza unless the Balearic government changes its mind about charging passengers two euros (£1.78) a day to stay on the islands under the new tourist tax rules.
The association of cruise companies in Europe, the Cruise Lines International Association, says the new fee is undemocratic and could force companies to leave the islands out of its routes.
And it says that unless the Balearics rescinds the decision to slap the tourist tax on all cruise passengers for the first time next year, it might take the issue to court.
The islands’ government has already come under fire for doubling the so-called eco tax for all holidaymakers in the high season of 2018, meaning guests in luxury accommodation will pay a much as four euros (£3.56) a day.
Until now, cruise ship passengers have been exempt from the fee unless they were docked for more than 12 hours.
But from summer 2018, they will pay two euros a day regardless of the duration of the stay and the Balearic government says this move alone will generate revenue of about 1.8 million euros (£1.6million).
Wetravel2u's Weblog 