Tipping on a cruise: What to know about cruise ship gratuities
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Understanding these can help you navigate etiquette with ease. Also, anytime you hire transportation onshore, gratuities for the driver are appropriate (public transit excepted). Look for a tip jar at the front of the bus or van; if you are on an extended tour with other shipmates, passing around an envelope to collect tips may be in order. Pam and her husband, Myron, travel almost three months of the year, enjoying all the benefits of premium cruising. She's learned a thing or two and has a checklist for nearly everything related to cruising, and enjoys sharing those tips and lists with you.
Cruise Gratuities Frequently Asked Questions
In standard cabins, Carnival charges $16 per person, per day in tips. An automatic 18% gratuity is added to all bar bills, specialty restaurant cover charges and spa services. Most, if not all, major cruise lines impose automatic gratuities now. These are in addition to the cruise fare, port taxes, and general taxes.
Luxury Cruise Lines
Most cruise lines allow you to remove (or increase) prepaid gratuities, but remember crew members rely heavily on tips for their income as they make up a significant portion of their pay. Before removing gratuities, talk to guest service to see if there are any solutions to your particular issues. Tipping your stateroom steward on a cruise is customary and appreciated for their housekeeping, turndown, and other services. The standard tip for a stateroom steward is $3 to $5 per person per day, but you can tip more for exceptional service. If you need additional guidance on how much to tip, you can ask your stateroom steward for a recommendation.
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You can get the charge out of the way early, or hold onto your money until you actually sail. If you’ve never cruised, then there is no doubt that these questions and more might be floating through your head. To help explain everything about cruise line gratuities, we’ve answered a number of common questions that will make everything clearer before you set sail. If you don’t have small bills, you can ask Guest Services to break down larger bills. Simply bring a $20, $50, or $100 bill to Guest Services and they will be happy to give you change.
How much are gratuities on Carnival?
Ultimate Guide to Gratuities 2024 - Cruise Passenger
Ultimate Guide to Gratuities 2024.
Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Suite passengers now pay $18.00, an increase of $1.50 per day. Roughly speaking, you can expect to pay anywhere from $11.50 – $20.00 per passenger per day for onboard gratuities. As mentioned, cruise lines automatically add gratuities to your onboard account. Often cruise lines provide additional envelopes to tuck a little extra cash at the end of the cruise just for this purpose. The extra cash may or may not end up in your steward's pocket, but he'll appreciate the gesture nonetheless.
A portion of your automatic tips go to staff like this and others behind the scenes. To give you an example of how the charges work, a couple staying in a balcony cabin for a week would be charged $32 each day ($16.00 x 2) for seven days, for a total of $224. If you want to see how much tips will be on your cruise, you can use our free gratuity calculator here.
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Some cruise lines point out that you may wish to tip the kid’s club staff. If your kids have had a great time and you’ve appreciated the service, a few extra dollars are surely appreciated. Virgin Voyages does a lot of things differently than it’s mainstream peers. One of these differences is that cruise gratuities are included.
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Onboard tipping, on the other hand, automatically adds gratuities to your bill throughout the cruise. Some cruise lines also charge a standard service charge on spa treatments and drinks, typically around 15-20%. For example, Norwegian offers a complimentary Open Bar drinks package for travelers who book its Free at Sea promotion. The cost of that package is typically $109 per person, per day. That means two people sharing a room on a seven-night cruise would pay $308 in tips for an otherwise free drinks package — on top of their daily service charge fees. Automatic gratuity charges are standard on cruise ships and typically range from $15 to $20 per person daily.
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Giving those folks gratuities would be like tipping your doctor or lawyer. There is no gratuity required but, again, you can offer a cash tip if staff members went out of their way to make your kiddo’s sailing extra special. These amounts were also printed on perforated paper and we were supplied with envelopes in case we wanted to tip in cash or give gratuities to attendants in person as a gesture of appreciation. 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.
When giving gratuities on a cruise, it’s important to acknowledge that your money goes beyond the housekeeping and dining staff. “Alternative services” refer to positions that enhance your cruise but aren’t covered by the automatic daily service charge. When tipping on a cruise ship, showing appreciation for the hardworking crew members who make your cruise vacation enjoyable is important. Stateroom stewards are the ones who keep your room clean and tidy throughout your stay, so it’s appreciated–though not mandatory–to tip them an additional $5 per day per person. At most lines, you can pay your service charges before sailing (at the same time you pay your cruise fare). Alternatively, you can have the charges added to your room bill on board.
From information on gratuities added to spa and bar bills to the crew members you should never tip, here's everything you need to know about tipping on a cruise in one handy guide. Second, any time that you purchase anything service related — such as dinner at a specialty restaurant or a service at the spa — expect there to be a tip added on to the cost. Again, this normally runs around 18%, but can range from 15% to 20%, depending on the cruise line. You would think that paying a hefty daily tip would cover everyone on the ship.
If you’re dissatisfied with the service, it’s always best to speak with the management before deciding not to leave a tip. The crew member may have had extenuating circumstances outside their control that affected their performance or the service they could deliver. There is also a difference in gratuity rates depending on your accommodations.
When your cruise concludes, if the port workers aid in getting your bags to your car or a taxi, the same amount would be courteous. The same is true with the entertainment team, with the exception of a piano player performing at a bar who may have a bowl for both tips and song requests. That said, we completely understand there may be times where you aren’t satisfied with the service provided. When you’re on a cruise, you shouldn’t tip the captain or the officers.
All bar bill gratuities are included in the cost of the drink. When you're enjoying a cruise, you may find occasions where the standard tipping policy doesn't fully express your gratitude for excellent service. In such cases, additional tipping can further acknowledge the hard work and special attention you've received.
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