Thread: Background and History of Tipping

History and Background of Tipping - Tipping on Cruise Ships

By Linda Garrison, About.com Guide

Tipping on a cruise ship has to be one of the most discussed topics about cruising. When do you tip? How much do you tip? Whom do you tip? These questions baffle most travelers, but cruisers are particularly challenged since tips are handled differently than in hotels or restaurants. Let's take a look at tipping in general and tipping on cruise ships.

Background and History of Tipping
There are no laws about tipping; it is always discretionary and subject to local customs. Tipping practices vary world-wide, and can vary from zero to 20 percent (or more) of the original bill. Dr. Michael Lynn, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Management reported in the 2004 Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research that a nation's values can predict both the tip sizes and the number of tipped occupations. Values such as a high value on (1)acceptance of power or status, (2)uncertainty avoidance, and (3)focus on the individual rather than the group often lead to increased tipping. Leaving a tip is one way to increase the certainty of getting good service and to recognize personal attention.

Reading Dr. Lynn's research, it is not surprising to learn that in the United States, we tend to tip more occupations and tip higher amounts since we place a high value on status and believe that a tip will help insure better service. If the quality of service is directly linked to the size of the tip, people who are attracted to tipped occupations will likely have the ability and desire to deliver good service.

Other countries around the world tend to separate tipping from a flat fee service charge. When dining overseas, a charge for service is often automatically added to the bill, and people either tip nothing additional at all, or just leave a small amount of change. As people travel more and the world becomes smaller, tipping practices will change. When I was in Shanghai a few years ago, we had a British guest lecturer on the ship who had lived in Shanghai for many years. He practically begged us to not overtip and to not tip the Shanghai taxi drivers. He said that it was not a common practice in Shanghai, but if tourists started tipping, the locals would be expected to also. I once had a bellman in Japan who had lugged many heavy bags to our room. He was quite pleasant and very helpful, but when I offered him a tip, he refused. It was quite a shock--my first experience with someone who did not expect a payment for (what I perceived was) extra service.

A tip is no more than a gift of money. Some people think that the English term tip is an acronym for "to insure prompt (or proper) service". However, the English word tip was used long before acronyms became common in the 1920s. Jesse Sheidlower, Principal Editor in North America for the Oxford English Dictionary, told CNN Money that "tip" is a 17th century verb meaning "to give". Interestingly, its origin, according to Sheidlower, was in the language of thieves. By the 18th century, "tip" meant to give a gratuity to a servant or employee.
Although the origin of the term "tip" can be debated, most researchers believe that the practice started in restaurants and bars. People felt guilty eating and drinking in front of their server and did not want him to be hungry or thirsty. So, a small amount of money was left for him to have a drink or a bite to eat at the customer's expense.
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Tipping on Cruise Ships
Tipping practices vary greatly amongst the cruise lines today, ranging from a required added service charge to no tipping at all. It is very important that you know the policy of the cruise line before you cruise so you can budget accordingly. When planning your cruise, check with your travel agent or the cruise line about the tipping policy. Often the recommended tips, which run from about $10 to $15 per passenger per day, are published in the cruise brochure or on the cruise line Web page. The cruise director will also remind passengers (sometimes over and over) about how much and who the cruise line recommends you tip.

Most tips on cruise ships are really service charges, which is one of the reasons why cruise lines seem to be moving towards adding a flat fee to your onboard account rather than make the tip amount entirely optional. New cruisers need to realize that most cruise lines do not pay their service staff a living wage, and tips or service charges make up much of their compensation. In order to keep the advertised price down, passengers are expected to subsidize the service staff through these added service charges or tips.

All tips used to be given to the stewards and dining room staff on the last night of the cruise. Envelopes were passed out to the passengers and you presented the cash tip to the steward in the cabin and handed it to the wait staff at dinner. Some cruise ships still follow this policy, but others add a flat fee per day to your onboard account which may or may not be adjusted downwards, depending on the cruise line. If the fee is required and cannot be adjusted downward, it is a true service charge, and is no different than a port charge. Most cruise lines add the recommended service charge to your account, and you can adjust it if you think necessary. Personally, one of the things I love about cruising is the excellent service and wonderful attitude of the crew. I've never understood people who did not think the crew deserved at least the recommended service/tipping charge.

The last few years, cruise lines have moved away from traditional tipping for two reasons. First, as cruising as become more international, cruise lines recognized that many passengers from western Europe and the Far East were not accustomed to tipping. It was easier to just add a service charge to the bill (as is done in most hotels in Europe) than to educate the passengers. Second, many large cruise ships have added multiple alternative dining rooms and have moved away from fixed seating times and tables. Passengers have different wait staff each evening, which makes tipping more problematic. Adding a service charge to be split amongst all the wait staff is easier for all, although the top cabin stewards and dining staff probably make less than they used to since the service charge is split into more pieces.

Many cruisers wish that all cruise lines would adopt the "no tipping expected" polices of upscale lines such as Cruise West, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, and Silversea. However, it looks like the service charge concept is here to stay.


Link to details on tipping --> Tipping Policy details on Some of the Major Cruise Lines

Interesting article...
Char thanks for posting ..and Linda thanks for writing..

The history of tipping was interesting reading. Thanks Char

Thanks for sharing the article, Char. Very interesting. Long before I ever started cruising I only gave "tips" as a thank you for service, NOT to supplement service worker's wages! I would tip my mailman, DW tipped her hair dresser, our UPS driver, etc. Actually ALL of these folks made a better salary than WE did!

Char... It is amazing how some websites will take forever to to update their pages