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Most lines charge $16 at the moment, but it steadily rises each year. 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. The big advantage to paying cruise tips in advance is that you lock in the current rate. If your line raises the rate between the time you pay and the time you sail, you won't pay more.
Housekeeping Team (Stateroom Steward)
This will allow you to add an appropriate gratuity AND avoid double tipping. When planning for your next adventure on the high seas, leave an opening in your budget for cruise gratuities. This is an expense that many travelers overlook when tallying the cost of a voyage. Yet, it can add hundreds of dollars to the final numbers and falls into the category of an important item for most passengers. Many cruise passengers from Britain and a few European countries where tipping isn’t a common practice, prefer to have the automatically-added tips removed from their account.
Royal Caribbean Raising Gratuity Rates for All Passengers - Cruise Hive
Royal Caribbean Raising Gratuity Rates for All Passengers.
Posted: Wed, 01 Nov 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Explained: What Exactly Are Cruise Ship Gratuities
Some passengers just choose to tip extra to feel like they’re getting priority service, but in reality, I rarely see anyone get served ahead of another customer because they’re tippers. Passengers, especially those from the United States equate bar service with tipping. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to see bartenders getting tipped frequently on a cruise. Virgin Voyages actually includes gratuities in their advertised cruise fares!
Should you tip a room steward / cabin attendant?
MSC Cruises charges a little more for Grand Voyages depending on the itinerary, it’s best to confirm this with them at the time of booking. Bringing extra cash to tip crew members is completely optional, though! You'll still have a fantastic vacation even if you don't carry around a few extra dollars. Gratuities for South Africa cruises are $10 per guest 12 and older per night and $5 per guest, per night between the ages of 2-11. No need to worry about setting money aside to cover gratuities.
The amount can depend upon size, weight and amount of luggage. Be aware that when you sign the receipt there will be another line for an additional tip. Unless you are feeling generous, there’s no need to tip more. From the passenger perspective, the gratuity amount is simple — pay a set amount per person, per day, and be done.
How To Book A Cruise For The First Time
Passengers who opt for Royal Caribbean's flexible My Time Dining must prepay gratuities. Guidelines are the same for all passengers, regardless of age. Tips can either be prepaid up to three days prior to the start of your Disney cruise or will be automatically charged to onboard accounts. To adjust the amount of your automatic tips or to tip independently, see the purser's office. Meanwhile, cruise fares are often shown as dirt-cheap prices.
If the fee is required and cannot be adjusted downward, it is a true service charge and is no different than a port charge. Most cruise lines add the recommended service charge to your account, and you can adjust it if you think necessary. An exception is Costa Cruises, which considers the service charge integral to the cruise fare, and does not allow adjustments. Should you wish to adjust NCL's service charges, you must contact the onboard reception desk. A 20% gratuity is added to bar bills, specialty and entertainment dining, and spa services.
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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. 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.
The comfort of your own cabin, endless buffets, and exciting excursions. It may not be the most glamorous aspect of cruising, but it’s an important one, particularly to the crew. So, if it is unclear, it is acceptable to ask if and which tips have been automatically charged to your bill.
Holland America gratuities are automatically charged at $17 per person, per day for regular cabin passengers and $19 for suite passengers. Passengers should visit guest services to adjust these if they want. An automatic 18% gratuity is added to beverage packages, specialty dining, spa services, bar packages and main dining room wine purchases. New cruisers need to realize that most cruise lines do not pay their service staff a living wage, and tips or service charges make up most of their compensation. In order to keep the advertised price down, passengers are expected to subsidize the service staff through these added service charges or tips. Most, if not all, major cruise lines impose automatic gratuities now.
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. Having several small bills is very handy, especially for early morning breakfast delivery. $2.00 to $5.00 is appropriate, depending on the food or how many meals ordered. 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.
“Alternative services” refer to positions that enhance your cruise but aren’t covered by the automatic daily service charge. The crew members who are most visible to passengers are usually those that receive the majority of tips, such as cabin stewards, waiters, and assistant waiters. However, there are many other crew members working behind the scenes who also receive a portion of the daily gratuities. These include kitchen staff, laundry attendants, and maintenance workers. Some of these gratuities are automatically added to your cruise cost prior to the trip, while others are automatically charged to your onboard account at the time of service.
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