Strongly advise looking in to local tour operators. There are quite a few and easy to research and (I assume) all very well versed. You will have no problem beating Viking's mark-up.
It's like the bad old days at the car dealership before the Monroney label. You would agree on a price and then the dealer would lean back in his chair and say: Good! It's a deal! Now, would you like a steering wheel with that?"
One of the isues with "tips" Is: At what point in the booking process does the new customer learn that they will incur a charge for "gratuities"? Is this extra charge made known upfront or sprung on the customer later on? If you pay an agreed upon fare and then find out at some point later on that you are expected to pay a fee in addition to that agreed upon - what do you call that?
Nordstrom would take back stuff they didn't even sell.
My wife worked for the Dayton Hudson Corp. and has lots of stories. One involved a woman who routinely got several new pairs of shoes a year. She would return once a year with what she got last year and state that they were not fitting the bill or some other lame excuse and get all new. It got to the point where they would just tell her go pick out how ever many new pairs and call it a day.
Unless you drink at least a cocktail or two apiece the SSP is probably overkill. Without the package, however, they may well just pour whatever they have - assuming that's what you want. If you wish to see a list to choose from make that known up front.
I was not referring to what people ask for. I was referring to completed sales - "Those tags go for as much as $10 each on the Bay." And yes, eBay, not surprisingly, has fees. And yes, if you ship shipping must be paid for - again not surprisingly. And yes, the poster will do better on the Bay with his tags than leaving them in his drawer.