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The extra cost of the automatic gratuity charges can be a shock to first-time cruisers. And, unlike the typical service fee or resort fee found at a land resort, they are not per room. Some cruise ships like Disney and Royal Caribbean will give you a receipt to sign for every drink.
How do I tip? Do I pay in cash on the ship?
Here is a list of the daily gratuity charges by major cruise lines. You also have the option to prepay your gratuities before your cruise. This is a convenient option for cruise passengers that don’t want to think about extra charges once onboard. We like to prepay gratuities when we make our final payment for our cruise, but this is optional. Cruise line tipping policies vary from one cruise company to another. Even though cruise gratuities technically aren’t mandatory, they are customary on most mainstream cruise lines.
Cruise Tipping Etiquette: A Guide to Gratuities at Sea
Below is a line-by-line look at policies for automatic gratuity charges (called service charges or "crew appreciation" charges at some lines). The included tip amount varies by cruise line but is typically 15% to 20% of the bill. Be warned that the receipt often includes a line for an additional gratuity, even when one is automatically added. Never feel pressured to add an extra tip when you've already paid one. Most of the biggest cruise lines automatically add some type of service or gratuity fee onto passenger bills. There is no set amount for how much to tip on a cruise, and once you have paid your gratuities, there’s no need to tip more if you don’t want to.
The Ultimate Cruise Tipping Guide
Whatever you feel like, how about compromising, if your number was $39 and his $50 split the difference and make it $40. Tell him you'll have to deduct the extra tip from the budget on the next cruise. I'm sure this has been asked before, and a search revealed all kinds of debate on the merits of tipping etc, but I'm needing opinions on how much extra to tip. When sailing across different international waters, you'll find that tipping customs can vary widely. Understanding these can help you navigate etiquette with ease.
Note that there are also gratuities applied automatically and separately to some optional onboard services, like drinks at the bar or spa and salon services. 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. Accordingly, when planning your cruise vacation budget, be sure to factor in the estimated cost of gratuities for the duration of your sailing. When you’re tipping in cash on a cruise, it’s always best to use the official currency on the ship. Giving service staff tips in a currency they can’t easily use means they’ll have to pay a fee to change your cash tip into another currency.
Beyond that, don’t feel pressured or obligated for additional tipping. You're likely interact with your cabin attendant the most during your cruise. Should you choose to, for a seven-night cruise, consider tipping about $2 to $3 per person, per day. Because tips are technically voluntary, most cruise lines do allow passengers to opt out of the automatic service charge and to tip by themselves in cash. On most cruise lines that collect automatic gratuities, you’re able to remove or adjust the charges by visiting the passenger services desk. On NCL, passengers who don’t want to pay autograts need to file a claim for reimbursement after the cruise.
She simply stated that everyone’s economic situations are different. Conversely, an American passenger will normally budget extra money for their cruise to accommodate additional gratuities while on board. I love sharing my best cruise tips with you, along with reviews of cruise destinations, shore excursions, cruise ships and cruise lines. Automatic gratuities, also called autogratuities or autograts, is the cruise term for the system most cruise lines now use to simplify tipping for passengers. Some cruise lines refer to these tips as a “service charge”. Many luxury all-inclusive cruise lines include gratuities in their cruise fares, or have a “tips neither expected nor required” policy.
Carnival Cruise Line makes a clear statement on 'mandatory' tips - TheStreet
Carnival Cruise Line makes a clear statement on 'mandatory' tips.
Posted: Sat, 26 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
And sometimes you can choose to prepay these tips, which means that you’ll avoid any surprise charges when you check out. As well, a tip of 15% to 18% is typically added onto drinks purchases. Tips are included in the fare on Virgin Voyages cruises, so you don’t need to worry about any extra charges.
What are automatic gratuities?
Daily grats are a fixed $14.50 pp pd, not a % - maybe you are thinking of drinks or other purchases which have an 18% grats. Remember, while tipping is discretionary, it rewards the hard work of those dedicated to making your cruise experience enjoyable. There are several misconceptions about tipping crew members that can alter your view on the service received.
These additional service charges are a flat fee charged per person, per day, that is then distributed to the staff, including the behind the scenes crew. Many of the same servers and your stateroom attendant receive a portion of these fees. When you pay for specialty dining on your, even if it’s a perk in a package from cruise lines like Norwegian, you’re going to be paying a mandatory gratuity when booking. 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 establish their own tipping policies which can differ, so it's important for you to review the guidelines provided by your cruise line ahead of time.
So, while the decision to tip on a cruise is up to you, hopefully, you have a better sense of what other cruisers typically do during a sailing. If we do end up spending more time at one bar, then we would give around $20. We also frequent the coffee shop, so we generally provide these servers with a similar tip at the end of the cruise. Below are our suggestions, but again, they are just guidelines. How much you tip is determinant on the service you receive and the monetary value that you see fit.
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. Tipping on a cruise might be the most discussed and debated topic among both novice and seasoned cruisers. It doesn't help that tipping etiquette and different cruise line policies on the practice can be baffling. Whether you're wondering how much to tip a cruise porter or the waiter on a cruise ship, there is a lot of gray area.
For example, stay in a Queens Grill suite on a Cunard ship and you get a butler who can help with unpacking your suitcase to shining your shoes. You pay an extra 18% service charge for all beverage, mini-bar purchases, spa and salon purchases (added separately at the time of purchase). There’s an additional 20% NCL service charge for all bar andbeverage purchases and specialty restaurant dining. As with mainstream cruise lines, tips are automatically added to your onboard account when sailing with Mickey and his pals. Figuring out which service employees you should tip—and how much you should give—is a perennial head scratcher in travel.
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