The cruise lines have moved away from traditional tipping for two reasons. First of all, as cruising as become more international, cruise lines recognized that many passengers from western Europe and the Far East were not accustomed to tipping. So they just added a service charge to the bill (as is done in most hotels in Europe) than to educate the passengers. Secondly, many large cruise ships have added multiple alternative dining rooms and have moved away from fixed seating times and tables. Guests have different wait staff each evening, which makes tipping more problematic. To add a service charge and split it 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.

Numerous 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. But it seems that the service charge concept is here to stay.

You may read about tipping policies at the websites of these major cruise lines:

• Carnival Cruise Lines
• Celebrity Cruises
• Cruise West - onboard gratuities are neither required nor expected
• Crystal Cruises
• Cunard Line - adds $11 to $13 per day service charge per passenger, depending on the class
• Hapag-Lloyd Cruises - Tipping is not obligatory on board; acknowledgement of particularly good service is at the discretion of each guest.
• Holland America Line
• Norwegian Cruise Line
• Oceania Cruises
• Princess Cruises
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises - onboard gratuities are neither required nor expected
• Royal Caribbean International
• Seabourn Cruises - onboard gratuities are neither required nor expected
• Silversea Cruises - onboard gratuities are neither required nor expected
• Viking River Cruises
• Windstar Cruises