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However, an additional tip is always appreciated if you receive exceptional service or dine at specialty restaurants where the gratuity isn’t included. Bartenders and baristas may not be as visible as other crew members, but they still play an important role in creating a fun atmosphere onboard. While there typically is a separate gratuity for beverages, tipping these employees around $1-2 per drink is appreciated. Still, some critics see the charges as a sneaky way for cruise lines to make their fares appear lower than they really are.
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Charging every passenger an automatic cruise gratuity also assures that crew members who work behind the scenes to deliver an exceptional vacation experience receive a share. On the higher end of the spectrum, Oceania Cruises charges $18 per day in tips for passengers in regular staterooms, $23 per day for customers in suites. So if you’re planning to go on a 7-day cruise, expect to give a total of between $112 and $161 per person in gratuities. Don’t forget to factor those charges into your overall vacation budget. Do you feel guilty about not offering gratuities on an all-inclusive cruise ship?
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What if I want to tip some crew members more than the automatically generated amounts?
This allows you to show appreciation for exceptional service and tailor your tipping based on personal experience rather than a set daily amount. If you prefer to opt-out or adjust these automatic gratuities, most cruise lines allow you to do so by simply visiting the guest services desk. How gratuities are paid depends on the type of cruise line you are sailing.
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As a thanks for their service, it’s customary to provide a tip. Passengers sometimes plan in advance to bring small gifts to leave with their cabin stewards, either at the beginning or end of the cruise. Keep in mind that cruise crew members live in tight quarters, so small (and edible) gifts are preferred. Though automated gratuities are the easiest and most common way to tip, some passengers prefer to instead tip their attendants in cash, either in addition to the automated gratuity or in place of it. Note that paying in cash does not necessarily circumvent the pooling system -- attendants are officially required to turn in any cash gratuities to put toward the pool. Given the high level of service, passengers often wonder how much they should plan to tip their cabin steward, particularly when a stateroom attendant exceeds expectations.
Can I change the amount charged?
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. 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. You might want to remove their tips as a punishment for poor service. The practice of tipping is controversial, even in the United States where paying tips is part of the culture.
If you opt for a specialty restaurant, the tip isn’t usually included. It’s customary to tip the waiters generously at specialty restaurants. We like to keep a few dollars handy for this purpose as we board our cruise ship. In general, withholding tips is only recommended if there was no effort towards good service. Remember, crew members are not paid the same as in the US and rely on tips for their livelihood.
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. 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. The charges are applied per passenger, per sailing night and are added to your cruise account.
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. You have two primary tipping options on a cruise - prepaid or onboard tipping. Prepaid tipping allows you to pay all the gratuities upfront, often at the time of booking or before the sailing date.
Keep a few dollars handy to tip the cruise porters on embarkation day. The porters will assist with your luggage and it’s customary to tip for their service. Service charges for guests ages 4-14 are half of the adult rate. In this post, I’ll be going through the cruise tipping policies by cruise line and answer some of the most common questions people have about gratuities on a cruise.
So when you leave the room you don’t have to put down any extra cash (unless you want to). And when you leave the dining room, no need to drop down any money on the table. 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.
Whether your cruise line calls them daily service fees, cruise ship gratuities or crew appreciation, it’s simply tipping on a cruise. Nearly every cruise line has a name for these automatically-added service fees. But with other packages, tips are only covered where specified. But those amounts vary by ship, cruise line, stateroom, and other factors.
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. The tips, which can also be prepaid, are shared by dining services staff, cabin attendants and other housekeeping personnel. Passengers who opt for Royal Caribbean's flexible My Time Dining must prepay gratuities. Guidelines are the same for all passengers, regardless of age. A 20% gratuity is automatically added to specialty dining, beverage, beverage package, room service, mini bar purchases, and spa & salon purchases.
Cruise tipping etiquette generally includes automatic daily gratuities ranging from $14 to $18 per person, per day, covering service personnel like cabin stewards and dining staff. Additional tipping for exceptional service is optional and at the guest's discretion. The second option is to allow the charge to be added each day to your onboard account. All expenses accrued (and not included in the price of your trip) will be due at the end of the voyage.
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