tim...

Must be different where you come from

round ere, the cruise company's booking forms usually say: a "compulsory"
tip of some absurd amount of money per day will be billed to your credit
card.

You can, in theory, refuse to pay it by making a complaint, but AIUI you
really have to try hard to avoid it.

The problem is that cruises are seen as "luxury" services providing a
restful holiday (quite how being forced out of bed at 6am to have time for
breakfast before an 8am trip is restful, is beyond me!), and not as simple
transport between interesting locations, and are staffed accordingly [1].
Even if you don't want that level of service, you still have to pay for

Depends on the cruise line, apparently. There's been no compulsory tip on
ships I've been on that's mentioned anywhere. A hidden one would be
another matter, of course, but then the question is whether it's even a
tip.


--
biblioholic medievalist via iPad