Royal Caribbean discovers the downside to putting cruise ships in England:

mercedes · October 9, 2009

Say what you will about Americans, but they do tip well, and that's been a boon to the cruise industry as it has grown up in North America. For years cruise lines have relied on hefty tips from American customers to provide the bulk of their workers' incomes.

But what do you do when you start branching out to other cultures that don't tip quite as much if at all? That's the problem facing Royal Caribbean as it expands rapidly in England.

UK-based industry watcher Travel Weekly says the line's managing director for the UK and Ireland, Robin Shaw, told a cruise forum in Barcelona Thursday that the company is rethinking its tipping system because the British won't tip.

The news outlet quotes Shaw as saying it has become a "significant issue" for Royal Caribbean as the number of British customers at the line surges. In the last few years Royal Caribbean has based one of its largest ships, the 3,634-passenger Independence of the Seas, in Southampton, England for the summers, and next year the ship will begin sailing out of the port year-round.

Royal Caribbean's sister line, Celebrity Cruises, also is dedicating a ship to the English market starting next summer.

Unlike some lines, Royal Caribbean doesn't automatically add tips onto customer bills, instead relying on customers to present cabin stewards and table waiters with gratuities at the end of voyages.

"The British don't tip and that is a challenge for us," Travel Weekly quotes Shaw as saying.