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If you prefer to pay for tips once you're on board your cruise, you'll generally find that the gratuities automatically appear on your bill. If there’s a crew member who goes above and beyond for you, there are some other ways to show your appreciation. Beyond leaving a cash tip for your cabin steward, or favorite server or bartender, some other small gestures will go a long way. If you enjoy tipping in cash, consider giving an extra cash tip to the crew members who gave you excellent service on your cruise.
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Stick to automated tipping, which can be prepaid upfront before your sailing or applied to your cruise account as a daily or cumulative fee. If you feel that this automated service charge should be adjusted -- either increased or decreased -- you should make the request with guest services toward the end of the cruise. You can pass these by hand or get a tip envelope from guest services. As we said above, automatic tips ensure fairness to all staff, but also save yourself the headache of having to crunch numbers and track down numerous crewmembers on the final evening of your cruise.
What to Expect on a Cruise: Tipping Crewmembers on a Cruise
Most cruise ships have ATMs, and some have currency exchanges on board. Or you can plan ahead and take enough cash in the correct currency to cover any tips you might want to pay. With a beverage package, you’ve already paid the service fee when you bought the package, so the tip is included. But let’s say you have a negative experience with your server in the dining room, or you feel that the cabin steward isn’t doing their job.
Automatic service charges & gratuities by the major cruise lines
However, you can simply head over to the onboard customer service counter if you would like to donate a larger or smaller amount toward the daily gratuity charge. It is important to keep in mind that there are other situations in which having extra cash on hand could prove to be useful. For example, you may need to tip the porters at the terminal, the guides on shore excursions, or the counsellors at the kids’ club. In these circumstances, you should conduct some study in advance on the rules of your cruise companies and save aside some cash for these situations just in case you need it. Cash is also a good option if you want to tip some workers extra for service that warrants it. If you’ve dined in mostly one spot every night of the cruise, you might want to give tips to especially attentive waitstaff on the last evening of the cruise.
How much are gratuities on a cruise? Increasingly, more and more. - USA TODAY
How much are gratuities on a cruise? Increasingly, more and more..
Posted: Mon, 13 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Everything About Cruise Ship Gratuities for 2024 (Amounts, Etiquette, and More)
If you’re new to cruising, or it’s been a while since your last cruise, it’s important to know about cruise tipping guidelines before you sail. Tipping on a cruise ship isn’t mandatory, but it is customary, and many crew members rely on tips as a large part of their income. About 15% reported never tipping above the cruise ship’s daily gratuities. While another 29% said they sometimes leave additional cruise tips. Tipping on a cruise is even more hotly debated now that most cruise lines institute a mandatory “daily service charge”.
But this should give you an idea as to where the cruise ship tips go and how it’s divvied up at the end. Some cruise lines may call this a “Guest Services Fee” on your onboard account statement. What do you think about cruise line gratuities and service onboard? Virgin Voyages does a lot of things differently than it’s mainstream peers. One of these differences is that cruise gratuities are included. Princess Cruises also has the Princess Plus fare, which includes gratuities or the crew incentive, Medallion Net wifi and Princess’ premium beverage package.
What follows are suggested out-of-pocket tip amounts for your cruise for excellent service. 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.
If you’d like to calculate exactly what your gratuity amount will be before you book your trip, then you can use our calculator here. Simply enter the cruise line, length of trip, and the number of passengers and it will show you precisely how much you’ll be charged. When you book your cruise, the gratuity amount is usually disclosed in full for your trip, with an option to prepay the amount with your cruise fare. While the name sounds fancy, gratuities are nothing more than a tip paid to the staff members for service during the cruise. The staff works hard to ensure that your vacation is a great one. As a thanks for their service, it’s customary to provide a tip.
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]
For instance, an added gratuity of 18 to 20 percent will be included if you purchase a massage or salon service. We break down tipping on a cruise to what you’ll pay depending on your stateroom category, plus any additional service fees. In addition, we’ve included a list of daily gratuities per cruise line and who else you may wish to tip. As a cruise passenger, you want to be aware and set your budget expectations to include these amounts for the cruise ship staff. Luxury cruise lines have a higher upfront cost than most popular cruise lines, however they’ll often include many valuable extras. While each cruise line is different, many include alcoholic drinks, soda and specialty coffee, gratuities, specialty dining and some shore excursions.
Others just prefer the face-to-face experience of handing over a cash tip. For many cruises that operate in the Australian market where tipping isn’t part of the culture, automatic gratuities aren’t added on to passenger bills. Most mainstream cruise lines have their headquarters in the US. 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. Some cruise lines also leave a portion of the service charge for the bar staff and bar servers.
Some cruise lines refer to the gratuities as a crew incentive or a service fee, but essentially these are tips for crew members that are used to augment their low wages. In addition to the automatic daily gratuities, a tip or service fee of 15-20% is added to drinks and/or drink packages as well as spa services on a cruise. You can adjust your Princess automatic gratuities upward or downward, or eliminate them altogether, at the purser's office. An 18% gratuity is automatically added to all specialty dining, bar bills and spa services.
Cruisers would have to tip each of their service personnel (the cabin steward, restaurant servers, bartenders, etc.) separately, near the end of the cruise. Similar to purchasing beverages, if you purchase a dinner at a specialty restaurant, the cruise line often adds a 15 to 20% service charge. Normally, the service we receive in these venues is more personal and upscale, so we usually tip extra here as well, around 15 to 20 percent.
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