The Ultimate Guide to Cruise Ship Tipping
Table Of Content
Many cruise passengers from Britain and a few European countries where tipping isn’t a common practice, prefer to have the automatically-added tips removed from their account. On cruise lines where gratuities are not included, you can monitor the charges on your shipboard bill either from the Front Desk or on your stateroom TV. If you want to get the daily cruise tipping fees out of the way before your cruise and avoid last-night sticker shock, I always suggest that you pre-pay gratuities. First, any time that you buy a drink from the bar, you will be charged an extra tip, usually 18%-20% of the menu price, depending on the cruise line. With the introduction of automatic gratuities, it’s much more difficult to avoid paying tips on your cruise.
How Much to Tip Cabin Stewards and Butlers
When you get the receipt to sign, you’ll see all of this spelled out clearly, but you’ll also see a line to write in an additional tip. Write in an additional tip if you want, but don’t feel obligated. Room service staff who deliver your meal or snack to your stateroom do not earn a gratuity automatically. It’s customary to give them cash between $2-5 when they bring the food. So for instance, if a husband and wife are sailing, then each will be charged the daily gratuity amount. If there is a family of four, then all four people are charged the daily gratuity, no matter if they are in one room or two.
How Are Cruise Line Gratuities Paid?
On Cunard, daily gratuities vary depending on the cabin category and date of sailing. You can have the automatic gratuity removed from your account by visiting the Purser’s Desk or Guest Services. Further, cruise lines often ask staff members to volunteer for delivery service. The difference might not be too bad if you’re sailing solo, but it could be costly if you’re paying for a group.
How do you get out of paying gratuities on a cruise?
It’s not required, but the staff member will certainly appreciate the extra money. Unlike the U.S., cruise lines do not have to pay a minimum wage but instead pay their crew members a salary often supplemented with tips, plus free room, board, and medical care. This motivates employees to provide excellent service and keeps cruise prices more affordable by passing the cost of tips on to passengers. Many cruise lines are moving toward bundling gratuities and other add-ons as part of the overall cruise fare, allowing guests to feel like they’re getting more value for their dollar. These start at $18 per person per day for Junior Suite passengers (and categories below that). Tips on Royal Caribbean rise to $20.50 per person per day for passengers in Grand Suites and above.
Passengers say that the best benefit to using this method of payment is sticker shock avoidance. While it may not sound like much money when quoted as a per person/per day cost, seeing the total on your final onboard bill can feel expensive. If you prefer to pay your gratuity charges in advance, most cruise lines allow you to pre-pay them before you embark on your trip. If you don’t know what to expect, tipping on cruise ships can be confusing and a bit daunting. Know the gratuity amounts before you go and avoid last-minute surprises, long queues for cash and empty-pocket embarrassment.
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If gratuities are automatically added to your onboard account, they are typically paid at the end of the cruise but may vary depending on the cruise line's policy. It is polite to thank the crew members personally for their service, accompanied by a sincere smile and a few kind words of appreciation. Some cruise lines refer to the gratuities as a crew incentive or a service fee, but essentially these are tips for crew members that are used to augment their low wages. In addition to the automatic daily gratuities, a tip or service fee of 15-20% is added to drinks and/or drink packages as well as spa services on a cruise. If you would prefer to pay ahead of time, most cruise lines allow guests to pre-pay their gratuities at the time of booking or anytime prior to sailing. These fees will then be added into your total cruise fare and covered with your final payment.
However, most cruise ships welcome an extra gratuity if a particular staff member exceeds your expectations; this is usually at your discretion. Tips are included in the fare on Virgin Voyages cruises, so you don’t need to worry about any extra charges. Viking Ocean Cruises tipping policy is to automatically add a daily “hotel and dining charge” to your bill. You can adjust this by heading to the Explorer’s Desk at any time. Unlike other cruise lines, you cannot adjust this onboard if you’re unhappy with the service or your cruise experience. Expect a 15% service charge for bar and wine purchases plus salon services.
How Much Are Gratuities on Princess?
On the majority of cruise lines, gratuities are not mandatory and can be removed if requested. Originally from California, Allison has been living in Bulgaria for the last two years and is obsessed with traveling around the Balkans. She has been published in National Geographic, CNN Arabic, Matador Network, and the Huffington Post.
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The big advantage to paying cruise tips in advance is that you lock in the current rate. If your line raises the rate between the time you pay and the time you sail, you won't pay more. Generally speaking, we provide additional monetary compensation at the end of the cruise to our stateroom attendant and our dining room waitstaff. The All Included cruise fare now incorporates some basic amenities to provide a more all-inclusive feel. Additionally, make a list of the employees who provided the best service and send a note of appreciation to the cruise line with their names included. For some cruise lines, bartenders will have to “earn” their tips during the voyage.
Additionally, some cruise lines offer prepaid packages that include daily cruise gratuities in the overall cost of your voyage. It’s important to consider which method works best for you and plan accordingly before setting sail on a cruise ship. While automatic gratuity charges may be convenient for some passengers, others prefer alternative tipping onboard.
While the cruise lines might say differently, we think that gratuities aren’t included in the headline price for marketing purposes. The cost for two people on a week-long cruise can be well above $200. When you book your cruise, you’ll be given the opportunity to prepay the gratuities. In this case, you can simply choose to have them lumped in with your cruise fare, paying them all at once. Depending on your cruise line, you might find different language used than the word “gratuities.” We’ve seen these charges called tips, gratuities, crew incentives, or service charges. These days, the gratuities are set daily amounts paid by each passenger.
Most cruise lines add daily gratuity fees directly to your onboard account throughout your cruise. Plus, different onboard experiences, from using your stateroom mini-bar to dining in a specialty restaurant, have an added fee. You pay an extra 18% service charge for all beverage, mini-bar purchases, spa and salon purchases (added separately at the time of purchase). If you book through a travel agent, you may find that prepaid gratuities are automatically added before sailing. Otherwise you can prepay the tips up to 48 hours before your cruise. No matter which cruise line you sail, crew gratuities — also known as service charges or crew appreciation — are a fact of life.
For any additional tipping, the general rule of thumb is cash on the last day of the cruise (with exceptions, of course). Don't wait till the morning of disembarkation, though, when everybody is in a frenzied transition mode and it might be difficult to locate the staffer you're seeking. If you leave the service charge on your room bill, you are not expected to leave additional cruise tips for your room attendant or waiters. With the All Included pricing, guests receive tips, basic Wi-Fi, and the Classic Drink Package as part of their cruise fare. These cruise gratuities are divided among stateroom attendants, dining staff, and other behind the scenes crew members in a proportion determined by the cruise line. Guests are usually charged automatically for these additional fees.
When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Guests are also charged up to $12 per person, per day for a fuel charge. If you are cruising to another destination with MSC, you will want to visit the cruise line’s website.
Similarly, if you use room service or a cruise concierge, you may want to consider tipping those staff directly. The top tier of crew recipients, however, are the waiters and stateroom attendants. Here’s another category that needs addressing; room service delivery fees.
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