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In former times, tips were only given to the crew who had face-to-face interactions with the passengers. This practice favored the front-of-the-house staff while others working behind the scenes had little opportunity to make more money. The stated reason for the latter (compulsory nature of this fee) is to ensure that all passengers pay their fair share. Although not technically “required,” tips are nonetheless expected. Overall, tipping on a cruise is an important part of showing appreciation for the hardworking crew members who make your vacation possible.
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When you have great service (or need to tip those above who are not part of the gratuity pool), hand the cash, envelope or card directly to the person. And, as the time to disembark approaches, make sure you let the crew members whom you have come to know that you appreciate them. 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. Another circumstance where tipping is recommended beyond the automatic cruise gratuities is during shore excursions. If you have booked a tour with your cruise line at a port of call, your guide should receive a tip at the end. For some cruise lines, bartenders will have to “earn” their tips during the voyage.
Key Takeaways for Cruise Tipping
If you’re paying for a family, it could be a very costly added expense. Some cruise lines may call this a “Guest Services Fee” on your onboard account statement. If you’d like to calculate exactly what your gratuity amount will be before you book your trip, then you can use our calculator here. Simply enter the cruise line, length of trip, and the number of passengers and it will show you precisely how much you’ll be charged.
The Ultimate Cruise Tipping Guide
Room service fees have become the norm on many major cruise lines. Room service waiters are also part of the tip pool for autogratuities. Note that if you purchase a dining or beverage package, most cruise lines will charge you gratuities based on a percentage of the package price. If you get one of these packages for free as a booking perk, as with Norwegian Cruise Line's Free at Sea promotion, you might still be required to pay the gratuities on the free perk.
In some cases, they can be prepaid at the time of your cruise booking. Children are not usually exempt from auto-tipping (with the exception of infants and toddlers, on some lines). On the other hand, many people choose to instead pay the gratuity charges automatically through their onboard account once on the ship. Each day there will be a gratuity charge — or a lump sum added at the end of the trip. "Our crew work as a team and, therefore, service charges are aggregated among all eligible crew members," a NCL spokesperson said.
This flexibility can be advantageous if you find exceptional service or if you encounter any issues that warrant adjustments. However, it is important to manage your onboard spending responsibly to ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover the gratuities at the end of your cruise. Discretionary gratuities provide passengers with the flexibility to adjust the amount of gratuity they wish to give based on their satisfaction with the service they receive. These gratuities can be adjusted either upwards or downwards, depending on the passenger's discretion.
Impact of gratuities on cruise fares
For lines that do have them, service and gratuity charges are touted as a convenient alternative to the practice of cash tipping on cruise ships — something that once was common. Most of the biggest cruise lines automatically add some type of service or gratuity fee onto passenger bills. On April 1, 2023, Carnival raised its services fees to $16.00 per person per day for those in standard staterooms. Roughly speaking, you can expect to pay anywhere from $11.50 – $20.00 per passenger per day for onboard gratuities.
Cruise Gratuities for Special Services
Luxury cruise lines like Azamara, Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, and Virgin Voyages include gratuities in the cruise fare. In addition, when you reserve specialty restaurants, dining packages, drink packages, and spa services on Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Planner website, the gratuity will be added upon checkout. Certain onboard purchases are subject to an 18% gratuity on top of the listed price, including beverages, mini bar items, and spa and salon purchases. It’s totally fine to give extra tips to crew members who go above and beyond during your sailing, but we recommend doing this in addition to the automatic gratuities. The quality of service you receive during your cruise can also influence the gratuity amount you choose to give.
How much do tips cost on cruises?
Royal Caribbean raises automatic gratuity rate, beginning in November - Royal Caribbean Blog
Royal Caribbean raises automatic gratuity rate, beginning in November.
Posted: Tue, 31 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Passengers need not carry cash if they don't want to, as they can add the tips to their onboard accounts. Olsen gratuities are entirely at the discretion of each passenger. The recommended amount is £5 per passenger, per day, to be divided equally between the cabin stewards and waiters. This amount is automatically added to passengers' onboard accounts toward the end of the cruise, but it can be adjusted at reception at any point during the sailing. A 20% gratuity will still be automatically added to all beverages, mini bar purchases, spa and salon services. Though, guests will not pay gratuity for drinks that are part of the complimentary classic beverage package.
Savvy cruisers know that gratuities begin before you board your ship. If you plan to drop off your larger pieces of luggage, be prepared to give the portside luggage handler a $2- $5 tip per bag. The advantage is that you get your payment out of the way ahead of time. The amount you pay will vary by cruise line, but they are all in the same ballpark. Most lines charge $16 at the moment, but it steadily rises each year. No matter the language, they all end up being the same thing — a set daily charge to passengers that’s passed on to the crew.
Celebrity Cruises will hike gratuity rates this month - USA TODAY
Celebrity Cruises will hike gratuity rates this month.
Posted: Wed, 05 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Mainstream cruise lines try to make it less stressful by incorporating an automatic daily gratuity, while luxury lines include them in the base cruise fare. Prepaid gratuities also provide peace of mind, knowing that the crew members will receive their due appreciation regardless of your onboard spending habits. To effectively manage your cruise ship gratuities, it is important to include them in your overall cruise budget.
Prior to doing so, however, speak with someone at the front desk (purser’s desk or reception desk) to try to resolve the issues. If a visit to the spas or salons onboard will be part of your cruise, keep in mind that these crew members may not be part of the tip-sharing program. Similarly, if a waiter (or sommelier) is keeping track of your wine bottles, they are also expecting to receive an appropriate gratuity. And, if you enjoy ordering room service, it is still customary to offer a small tip each time the staff appears at your door with delicious food. For example, passengers were once assigned a dining table and saw the same wait staff throughout the voyage. Today, we can eat in any number of venues and have a host of different servers.
Most cruises offer the one-and-done option of prepaid gratuities, but if you still find yourself wondering just how tip compensation works on a cruise, you’ve come to the right place. If we receive outstanding service and want to provide an extra tip, we do so in cash. By giving our extra tip in cash, we know it’s going directly to the crew member who gave us the outstanding service.
If you choose to thank the staff for making your trip enjoyable, you can choose to tip extra by giving them cash or adjusting your automatic gratuity. Below is a breakdown of the cruise line tipping policies and automatic gratuities charged by each cruise line. You can prepay gratuities at any time up to 48 hours before your sail date. If you booked with a travel agent, contact your travel agent and they can add gratuities to your booking.
In this post, I’ll be going through the cruise tipping policies by cruise line and answer some of the most common questions people have about gratuities on a cruise. Passengers sailing to Hawaii are charged an additional 4.275% Pre Paid Service Charge GET Tax. Disney Cruise Line gratuities start at $14.50 per person, per night for regular cabins and rise to $15.50 per person, per night for Concierge-class and Suite guests. On Cunard, daily gratuities vary depending on the cabin category and date of sailing. On Princess Cruises, the crew appreciation will cost more for voyages departing after February 20, 2023.
As mentioned, cruise lines automatically add gratuities to your onboard account. We break down tipping on a cruise to what you’ll pay depending on your stateroom category, plus any additional service fees. Across most lines, an additional 18% gratuity is added to food and beverage purchases, and up to 20% can be automatically added to spa treatments. While no gratuity is mandatory, it’s true that it’s pretty much par for the course – and they can add up quickly, depending on the length of your cruise and how deeply you indulge on your cruise. Cruise gratuities are, on average, between $11.50 and $20 per passenger, per day.
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