Gratuities while cruising

One thing that may surprise most people is that when they book a cruise it may not cover gratuities, which is the major source of income for many employees on the ship. The cruise line does not usually pay the people that help you in the dining rooms and in your stateroom; you pay them, separately.

Gratuities are automatically charged to your room on a per person and per day basis. So for example, if there are 4 people in your cabin and you go on a 7 day cruise, the current Carnival rate would mean you would be charged $391.72 at the end of your trip. This can be even larger in a suite or on another cruise line, so be mindful of this.

Most cruise lines give you the option of either paying these gratuities in advance or having it added to your on board account.

How much do they are

Here is a breakdown oh what cruise lines charge. Obviously there are many more, but I just wanted to give you a summary for your benefit of understanding the differences. In addition the below rates are for those sailing from the US only, other cruises within the lines may vary.

• Azamara gratuities are included in standard cruise fare.
• Carnival recommends $13.99 per person/per day for standard rooms and $15.99 per person/per day for suites. Kids under 2 are not charged gartuities.
• Celebrity recommends $15.50 per person/per day in standard rooms, $16.00 per person/per day in Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms and $19.00 per person/per day in suites.
• Costa recommends $13.50 per person/per day in standard rooms and $16.50 per person/per day for suites.
• Crystal gratuities are included in standard cruise fare.
• Disney recommends $12.00 per person/per day, regardless of room category.
• Holland America recommends $14.50 per person/per day in standard rooms and $16.00 per person/per day in suites.
• MSC recommends $12.50 per person/per day for all room classes, and allows a 50% discount for all children over 3, and does not charge gratuities for children under 3.
• Norwegian recommends $14.99 per person/per day in standard rooms and $17.99 per person/per day in suits. Children under 3 are not charged garuities.
• Oceania recommends $16.00 per person/per day in standard rooms and $23.00 per person/per day in suites.
• Princess recommends $14.50 per person/per day for interior, oceanview, and balcony staterooms, $15.50 per person/per day for mini-suites and club class, and $16.50 per person/per day for suites.
• Royal Caribbean recommends $14.50 per person/per in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 per person/per day for Grand Suites and above

What you tip extra for

Although you paid your gratuities, you are not done with paying them. If you do not get an unlimited drink package (which you pre-pay the gratuities on), you pay a tip every time you order a drink (usually 15-20%) (read more at: Alcohol on a cruise ship for the kosher cruiser). Spa services are the same thing; if you decide to have your nails done or to get a message, make sure to find out about tipping and budget accordingly.

Adjusting your tips

Although most cruise lines allow for you to remove your tips entirely or adjust them as you see fit, if you don’t do anything, they will be on your bill the last night, unless you pre-paid them. Most cruisers will tell you never to adjust your tips, unless its to raise them, but as a kosher cruiser that may be slightly different.

Before you decide what to tip and how much, think about the service you received. The first main item is in the dining hall. Typically you will have dealt with a maitre’d, head waiter and at least one assistant waiter. I have been on cruises where the maitre’d actually took  all my ordering and brought me the food (read more at: Eating kosher Lunch/Dinner on a cruise). In this instance I asked guest services to allocate more to the maitre’d than to my waiter because they simply did more.

I have been on other cruises where my waiter went above and beyond what was expected of them so I raised there tips. I have had a waiter from dinner see me in the buffet during lunch and come up to me just to make sure I was taken care of. There is no reason they need to do that, but it was very much appreciated and therefore their tips were raised.

Your stateroom attendant is another person you may wish to add more, and hopefully never less, as they do work extremely hard for you. Unless you request otherwise, they will make up your room twice a day. A cleaning in the morning and a turn down service at night. I always ask my attendant to make sure my ice bucket is full, as I use this ice both for drinks and to keep my kosher food cold while on the go (read more at: Eat kosher food on your cruise's port days). I also rely on them to get me in and out of my room on Shabbos (read more at: Accessing your cruise's stateroom on Shabbos). Assuming they take good care of you, I would always suggest throwing them a little extra.