Tipping on a Cruise Ship The Ultimate Guide to Cruise Gratuities

Table Of Content

• Carnival Gratuities (Tips): Full Guide to Cost & How They Work
• Can I remove my cruise ship gratuities?
• How are tips divided among crew members?
• Individual Tipping
• Not booking your next cruise while you’re still on the ship
• Rude Things NEVER to Do on a Cruise (According to Real Passengers)
• My Cruise Line Calls it a Crew Incentive or Service Charge. Is that the Same Thing?

With a morgue on board they can keep the body in good condition until reaching a port. When it comes to having a fling on the ship, your eyes might be tempted by the crew. They’re generally young, fit, international, and seem to be having a lot of fun. Getting it on between passengers and crew is expressly prohibited. It can reportedly cost the crew member their job, no questions asked. Shhh… don’t tell anyone, but you can actually debark the cruise ship when you want when your trip ends.

Carnival Gratuities (Tips): Full Guide to Cost & How They Work

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For example, Carnival does not charge tips for kids under two years old. Norwegian Cruise Lines doesn’t charge gratuities for kids under three. However, for the most part you can expect that every passenger on your trip will see a charge. In the past, the process used to be that the cruise line would put envelopes in your room on the last day of the cruise.

Can I remove my cruise ship gratuities?

They pay their crew (usually recruited from countries with limited economic opportunities) per contract, not by the hour. I’ll explain everything you need to know about cruise gratuities—from who you should tip, how much you should tip, and who you should never tip on a cruise ship. It’s unlikely you will meet every crew member onboard who would otherwise receive a percentage of gratuities. Although details on how gratuities are allocated are not shared with the public, it’s likely Royal Caribbean has a pool of gratuities that is split amongst the crew members. Guests in non-suite staterooms (including Junior Suites) pay $18 USD per person, per day for gratuities. Those in Grand Suites and above pay $20.50 USD per person, per day.

How are tips divided among crew members?

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. The daily gratuities get divided up between several crew positions on your ship. Some of it goes toward your cabin steward, some to the main dining staff, and some to other housekeeping crew members. This is typically paid ahead of time, but you can wait until your cruise and pay it then if you would like. If you wait to pay for gratuities it will be added to your bill each day, and you can settle it with a credit card at the end of your voyage.

If you are adjusting a gratuity charge downward, expect to be asked about the reasons behind the adjustment. The guest relations staff will want to know if you've experienced particular service issues. Some people also like to pay their service charges in advance for budgeting purposes. It'll be one less thing on your final bill at the end of the cruise. Still, some critics see the charges as a sneaky way for cruise lines to make their fares appear lower than they really are.

Individual Tipping

With fewer people on the ship, prices can be cut to entice demand. Instead, if you are only going up or down a few decks it’s definitely easier and faster to just hoof it with the stairs. Plus you get to work off a few of those extra “cruise calories” from eating so much. That’s why when you board the ship, you should either turn your phone completely off or turn it on airplane mode to where it doesn’t use up data (but can still connect to wi-fi). It’s the simplest way to make sure there are no big surprises when you get your next phone bill.

Not booking your next cruise while you’re still on the ship

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First and foremost, if you’re feeling generous and want to leave an extra tip for a service, don’t accidentally double-tip! Beyond that, don’t feel pressured or obligated for additional tipping. Many luxury all-inclusive cruise lines include gratuities in their cruise fares, or have a “tips neither expected nor required” policy. But the sticker price of their fares tends to scare off many budget-minded travelers.

Rude Things NEVER to Do on a Cruise (According to Real Passengers)

On April 1, 2023, Carnival raised its services fees to $16.00 per person per day for those in standard staterooms. Suite passengers now pay $18.00, an increase of $1.50 per day. A 20% gratuity is automatically added to specialty dining, beverage, beverage package, room service, mini bar purchases, and spa & salon purchases. Passengers who want to adjust the amount of their cabin auto-gratuity in either direction can do so at the guest services desk.

If you already have all your bags and want to leave, you can just head down whenever you like. The staff doesn’t check what deck your cabin is on, and they simply want passengers off the ship so that they can get ready for the next group. Are you the sort of person that packs for a month when you’re only going for a week? Good news is the cruise lines don’t have near as stringent baggage policies as the airlines. There are no baggage fees, or real restrictions on how much you can bring (within reason). You also don’t have to worry about the 3-ounce liquid rule.

Service charges for guests ages 4-14 are half of the adult rate. 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. This way, you’re ready to personally hand it to the room service delivery person.

Regardless of your demeanor with us, we’ll always do our best to help you, but we won’t be motivated to go above and beyond for you. This gets even more complicated on cruises where you can choose your own dining time like on Norwegian Cruise Lines with their freestyle dining. You may never encounter the same server twice, so tipping becomes more difficult. At the end of the day, the choice is always yours on whether or not to tip the cabin steward extra. Cash tips are certainly still welcomed—especially if that’s what you’re more comfortable with or if you don't want to rely on the cruise line’s predetermined amounts.

To avoid tipping in the wrong currency, it’s a good idea to do some research before your trip. This way, you can ensure that you’re following the local customs and showing respect to the culture. Remember, respecting local customs is an essential part of traveling, and tipping in the right currency is a simple way to show that respect. Some have the viewpoint that tipping should only be done when service is surprisingly beyond compare. A full guide to cruise ship tipping with some issues to avoid on your voyage.

You can buy a Wi-Fi package, for instance, that will let you make FaceTime calls and stream videos (on some ships) over Wi-Fi without using phone data. Independent tours also can take you to places that the cruise line-organized tours don't. ToursByLocals has staff on hand around-the-clock to respond to questions, and — for those worried about missing your ship — they offer a return-to-ship guarantee with every tour.