The cruise industry gave me everything I have in life, and I can't stand aside and watch cruising get a bad name over gratuities, people being criticized for removing them, and crew members living in uncertainty, not knowing what their next paycheck will look like.

Today's reality is that so many passengers have started removing the service charge that cruise lines can no longer ignore this topic. Still, how could I blame the passengers? They only want things to be more transparent and straightforward — no surprises, no second thoughts, just one clear price for their cruise. And I can’t blame the cruise lines either. In a situation where there’s no law requiring them to include the gratuities in the cruise fare, no cruise line will take that step alone and make its offer seem less attractive than the competition.

That's why I decided to start this petition, whose goal is to bring all cruise lines (that charge gratuities separately) to the table to ideally decide to include* them in the cruise fare. So, whether you are a passenger, a crew member, or a travel agent, your voice matters. Sign and share this petition if you believe cruise lines should come together and do this for the good of everyone involved.

*Also, I understand that some passengers would prefer the gratuities to be waived by cruise lines, but I know the inner workings of cruise ships very well, and I can guarantee it won’t happen. So, either they will include the gratuities in the fare (like luxury cruise lines do), or we'll keep wasting time discussing them instead of focusing on our next cruise and enjoying all the benefits — amazing service from friendly, well-trained crew members from all around the world, food included, a room cleaned every day, different shows in the theater every night, tons of other entertainment options, indoor and outdoor pools, and visits to some of the most beautiful places on earth without the hassle of packing and unpacking each time and waiting at airports. Nothing comes close to that, and I just hope cruise lines won’t let such a technicality continue to overshadow all their efforts to give passengers the vacation of a lifetime.

— Zlatko Simovski, former employee aboard cruise ships.