Do You Have To Pay Gratuities on a Cruise? (2024)

This is exactly why I think it’s important to talk about.

If you head to a cruise forum to ask questions about removing tips (or really any gratuity topic in general) you’ll be met with sarcasm, judgemental comments, and sometimes straight up bullying. Die-hard cruisers have been known to shun gratuity removers both online and in person. It’s become a hush-hush topic that leaves inquiring minds with little to no information.

Instead of judging one another or criticizing the cruise lines, I think it’s important to know more about tipping and why the cruise lines have this practice in the first place.

Before I dive into the extremely polarizing sides of this article, I want to preface that I believe tipping is important. I am a huge fan of cruising and I see the intense amount of work the staff put in, day in and day out. These workers deserve to be recognized both monetarily and through mentions to their superiors or in surveys. Some of the best customer service I have ever received in my life has been aboard cruise ships, exceeding even that of uber-luxury brand 5-star hotels on land.

When I am getting great service from my cruise family, I am more than happy to tip. However, I do understand the other side of the argument when (very rarely) people receive lack-luster service and get disgruntled by being seemingly being forced to tip anyway.

Cruise line gratuities are usually between $12 to $16 USD, per person, per day.

The average across all major cruise lines is $14 per person, per day.If you book in a higher class room, like a suite or a penthouse, auto-gratuities are charged 20% higher.

In addition to to the industry average of $14 USD per person/per day, there are also added gratuities on:

• Buying drinks without a drink package = 15%-18% of bill
• Spa Services = 15%-20% of bill
• Speciality Dining = 15%-20% of bill

Dining Room Staff

Room Attendant

Alternative Services (behind the scenes staff)

→ Some people say they don’t want to be responsible for paying for a cruise lines overhead costs or to supplement the wage of employees. Cruise industry profits are soaring, so some ask “why do I need to pay your staff for you?”

→ If the traveler comes from a culture where tipping is not customary. Some countries are completely foreign to the idea of gratuities, especially ones given before hand. If a cruiser comes from a place where tipping is discouraged, having auto-charged gratuities can be a hard pill to swallow.

→ They want to control how they tip and ensure the stars get the majority of their generosity. Some cruisers get personal joy and satisfaction of rewarding good service face to face. Others also like to ensure that the crew members who stood out the most are rewarded more handsomely than others.

→ They don’t like being forced to tip on an automatic basis. Some people just frankly don't like being told what to do. They want to make up their own minds if staff deserve tips and feel it's well within their rights to decide how to spend their own money.

→ It makes the cruise a breeze. Many cruisers love the fact they don't need to carry cash, remember to bring their wallet everywhere, or hang around waiting to give out a tip.

→ They worry about the ‘hidden stars'. Some travellers understand many of the behind the scenes workers (like janitors, food runners, bus boys, etc) might not get any tips if people only cash-tipped the main faces on the ship.

→ To reward hard working staff.Frequent cruisers have compassion for the high number of hours worked per day by the staff. They start to see cruising as a sort of family and community and like to ensure they are taking care of the people who take care of them.

→ They see it as the total cost of cruising.Many people see this as a cost they would have spent anyway and should be considered into the entire cruise budget. They wouldn't dream of debating it further.

Here is a list of the mainstream cruise lines that allow you to remove gratuities:

• Celebrity
• Royal Caribbean
• Cunard
• Carnival
• Holland America
• MSC
• Oceania
• NCL
• Windstar

With brands like Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and MSC, you simply need to head to Guest Relations BEFORE the end of your cruise and they will remove the charges for you.
Rumor has it that other brands like NCL require you to speak to Guest Relations on board, fill out paperwork, pay the gratuities and then claim them back post-cruise.

But wait, maybe you don’t actually want to remove your tips to ‘tip as you go’ – and instead you just have an issue with one particular event onboard. You can choose to increase or decrease your gratuities as well.

Increase: You may want to have Guest Relations increase your gratuities if you received great service during your cruise, but you didn’t bring extra cash to tip with. They can adjust your daily rate up by a few cents or a few dollars, the choice is yours.

Decrease: You might want to decrease your daily gratuity rate if you received sub-par service, but don’t want to remove them all-together. If for some reason you don’t agree with the amount of the daily rate, or you have a complaint about the service, Guest Relations can adjust it down for you. No one should be forced to pay tips if they indeed had a very poor experience.

There are a few cruise lines (mostly higher end luxury ones) that include ALL gratuities in your fare so there are no added charges at the end of your cruise.
These cruise lines are typically going to cost much more than a main stream brand.

• Azamara
• Crystal Cruises
• Paul Gauguin
• Regent
• Seabourne
• Silversea

Cruising is one of the best vacations you can take, hands down. A huge part of why cruising is so great comes down to the staff. They bend over backward to give you a perfect voyage and I believe they should be rewarded for that.
Now… do I believe they should be automatically rewarded for their good service, in which they come to expect it? Not really.

I've got to be honest and say I don't necessarily agree with automatic gratuities. This is because I believe each individual has the right to determine how and when they spend their hard earned money.
Also, there is no accountability in the industry to ensure every penny IS going to the staff, we've just had to take the cruise line's word for it. As stocks soar in price and profits increase, I think it's prudent to ask: “Are a portion of these gratuities being used for something else?”

Some people argue that the cruise lines have established this system because people won't tip otherwise, but I don't fully agree.In other service industries, like restaurants, hotels and taxis, people are left to their own discretion for tipping, and they still do it 9 times out of 10.

On the flip side, and like I stated before, I 100% agree with tipping cruise ship staff. They work extremely hard and the vast majority of them deserve every penny. They are wonderful people who are masters at the art of service and I believe they deserve fair and generous gratuities.

Final Thoughts: Treat others how you wish to be treated, be kind, and have fun on your cruise!

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Cruise Lines That Offer Free Room Service
Transpacific Repositioning Cruises – Review of Vancouver to Tokyo
Royal Caribbean vs Celebrity – What are the differences

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