MSC Cruises has delayed plans to include service charges in fares for UK and Irish passengers.
The line had hoped to introduce the pricing policy this week but said it was still working on an implementation plan and would update agents and passengers “over the next few weeks”.
Currently, daily gratuities are automatically added to passengers’ onboard accounts. Passengers can remove the optional charge, which varies according to the itinerary.
During the launch of new ship MSC Bellissima last month, Antonio Paradiso, the line’s managing director for the UK and Ireland, said he was working on including service charges for customers in the UK market from April 2.
Paradiso said: “We plan to make this change as soon as possible and are currently working on implementing [this] so that the change causes as little disruption as possible.”
He said the decision to include service charges was based on feedback from agents and passengers, and would further “simplify the booking process”.
“We will share [more] over the next few weeks, giving agents and guests instructions on how any changes will affect existing and future bookings,” he said.
Norwegian Cruise Line scrapped its Premium All Inclusive concept, which included all gratuities in the cruise fare, last week. It replaced it with Free At Sea, which requires customers to pay £99 to access two out of five benefits, two of which include gratuities.
P&O Cruises will scrap daily service charges across its fleet from May. The line said it would help attract new-to-cruise customers.
Jordan Brewer, a sales manager at Worldwide Cruises UK, said including service charges helped sell cruises. “I definitely would welcome it. It is quite a selling point for most of the cruise lines. If service charges are included, we will mention it to customers.”
Brewer was a business development specialist at NCL two years ago when the line decided to include service charges in fares and described the move as a “big undertaking”.
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