Martin wrote:
On Sun, 4 Sep 2016 15:03:39 -0500, Erilar wrote:

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.

If you travel with KD, you have complete freedom of when and where to stop for
the night. and where and what to eat and no tipping. Take a taxi to and from the
boat, if you have mobility problems. You can also get as far as Cochem up the
Mosel.

http://www.kdrhine.com/

I've considered that, but detest one-night hotel stays and living out of a
suitcase. It's one of the reasons I like taking my hotel and restaurant
along, aka river cruise. The problem for this trip is that the only
company offering a route and services I approve of, one I've particularly
liked in the past, is that it's German, which means its tours are in
German, and my friend doesn't speak German. Add this to my now-limited
walking ability so that I can only be her translator on wheeled excursions,
and we have a problem. What I could do five years ago is no longer possible
8-(

--
biblioholic medievalist via iPad