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The average daily gratuity on a cruise is $14-15 USD per person – approximately $30 per day, per couple in a cabin. A couple should budget about $200 in gratuities for a 7 day cruise. Most cruise lines charge for children as well, although there are some exceptions for very young children on select cruise lines. You also have the option to prepay your gratuities before your cruise.
What are automatic gratuities?
When there is an assistant server, I’ll usually give them a bit as well. If the service is just average, I’ll sometimes leave nothing extra. Technically, yes, though Celebrity -- like most mainstream cruise lines -- insists these tips are only suggested. If you wish to adjust the amount you pay, this can be done onboard at guest relations. Automatic gratuity charges are standard on cruise ships and typically range from $15 to $20 per person daily.
Should I tip ship bartenders?
With the introduction of automatic gratuities, it’s much more difficult to avoid paying tips on your cruise. That said, in theory you could request that tips be removed from your account and not tip at all. 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. Passengers would then put cash in the envelope for the crew members. On the other hand, many luxury and boutique cruise lines (like Azamara, Regent Seven Seas and Silversea) have no-tipping policies in place. In these cases, the staff gratuities are built directly into the all-inclusive fares, and their crewmembers are paid accordingly.
Should I Prepay the Gratuity Charges?
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 the cruise you’ll have the ability to prepay gratuities. You simply pay this extra amount in full for your cruise as part of your cruise fare. In short, gratuities should not be viewed as an optional extra, but more as a required service fee, which ensures fare wages for the hardworking cruise crew.
However, it’s important to note that there may be restrictions on the amount and type of alcohol allowed. Make sure to check the alcohol policy and prohibited items list before your trip. Visa requirements and processing can often be overwhelming and time-consuming, but with this package, everything is handled seamlessly. Each destination along this world cruise offers a unique blend of history, natural beauty, and vibrant cultures that will leave you in awe.
Carnival Cruise Line makes a dining change, asks customers to tip - TheStreet
Carnival Cruise Line makes a dining change, asks customers to tip.
Posted: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
An envelope will be delivered to your stateroom for any extra (optional) tips. You can pick up more envelopes at Guest Services if there are additional crew members you would like to tip. When in Europe, Euros are the preferred currency for tipping on both ocean and river cruises. Or you can usually put the gratuities directly onto your onboard account and credit card. Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian automatically add a room service delivery fee. On Cunard, daily gratuities vary depending on the cabin category and date of sailing.
Is it necessary to tip the crew members who provide services that are already covered by the automatic daily charges?
During your cruise vacation, you’ll probably receive services from other people who aren’t cruise line employees—but you might not realize it! Near the end of your cruise, you’ll probably receive some comment cards in your stateroom that you can use to leave feedback about a member of the crew. You don’t need to write a novel—just a few sentences about how the crew member made your cruise even better will do. The amount you tip is up to you—I generally give about $5 per person per day to my stateroom steward. For favorite bartenders or waitstaff, I give about $20 to each for a seven-day cruise.
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. If opting for this, remember that while standard gratuities cover the basics like your housekeeping and dining teams, add-ons like spa services and specialty dining are typically not included. 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.
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You are free, however, to tip staff members extra if you’re especially impressed with their work. Figuring out which service employees you should tip—and how much you should give—is a perennial head scratcher in travel. To help remove some of the guesswork, many cruise lines now automatically apply recommended “crew appreciation” amounts to your stateroom account. I love sharing my best cruise tips with you, along with reviews of cruise destinations, shore excursions, cruise ships and cruise lines. When you’re tipping in cash on a cruise, it’s always best to use the official currency on the ship.
As the Editor in Chief, he brings a wealth of experience and an unwavering passion for travel to the helm of our cruise-centric platform. 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.
If mainstream cruise lines decided to abolish tipping and pay all crew members a reasonable rate per hour, they would have to significantly raise the cost of cruise fares. So they follow this model with many of their crew members who perform services for passengers. Tipped crew on many cruise lines include housekeeping, dining, and laundry workers.
It’s not uncommon for cruise lines to increase daily gratuity by $1 or $2 every few years. If you prepay gratuities and the price increases before your cruise, you won’t have to pay the new daily rate. Butlers are covered in standard automatic tips, but feel free to tip an additional amount directly to the butler if service is exceptional.
Accordingly, when planning your cruise vacation budget, be sure to factor in the estimated cost of gratuities for the duration of your sailing. 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. Tipping your stateroom steward on a cruise is customary and appreciated for their housekeeping, turndown, and other services.
Knowing we’re paying an automatic tip means that the service should be special to consider tipping extra in the specialty dining restaurants on a ship. When that happens, I’ll generally leave an extra $10 +/- for a specialty dining restaurant tip. Cruise lines typically provide guidelines for gratuities, either as a daily per-person amount or as a recommended total for the duration of the cruise. These amounts can vary, but they generally range from $15 to $25 per person per day, depending on the cruise line and cabin category.
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