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This way, you’re ready to personally hand it to the room service delivery person. You can get the charge out of the way early, or hold onto your money until you actually sail. If you’ve never cruised, then there is no doubt that these questions and more might be floating through your head.
What If You Want to Tip Extra?
As a general rule of thumb, 15-20% of the total cost of your spa treatments is considered appropriate. These services may include laundry workers, dishwashers, galley attendants, and below-deck positions. It’s important to note that many low-level crew members rely heavily on gratuities as they are usually paid lower wages than other industries. You might be surprised to learn a gratuity isn't always necessary. Here are seven times you shouldn't tip (even if you feel slightly obliged).
Charged to Your Onboard Account
If you feel that you wish to give an extra amount to anyone who you feel has done a great job, they will be appreciative. We like to keep a few dollars handy for this purpose as we board our cruise ship. Viking Cruises gratuities are $15.00 per person, per day for all staterooms. If you’re new to cruising, you might be wondering who to tip on a cruise, how much to tip, and exactly how onboard gratuities work. Finally, people who provide you with service on land — such as baggage handlers and shore excursion operators — are not affiliated with the cruise line, so should be tipped separately. In general, withholding tips is only recommended if there was no effort towards good service.
Gratuities on a Cruise: How Much to Tip? (18 Cruise Lines)
The tipping culture in Europe and Asia isn’t as robust as it is in the United States, so you may tip less (or not at all) in these locations. Viking Ocean Cruises has been making waves for bundling a whole bunch of freebies into their cruise price. Gratuities on Princess Cruises are also automatic and shared among the waitstaff and housekeeping staff. The idea is that tips are now shared among all staff, including behind-the-scenes workers, not just room stewards and waiters. If you’re heading out on a cruise, you might be wondering how much you should tip. That said, we completely understand there may be times where you aren’t satisfied with the service provided.
Most cruise lines allow you to remove (or increase) prepaid gratuities, but remember crew members rely heavily on tips for their income as they make up a significant portion of their pay. Before removing gratuities, talk to guest service to see if there are any solutions to your particular issues. Tipping your stateroom steward on a cruise is customary and appreciated for their housekeeping, turndown, and other services. The standard tip for a stateroom steward is $3 to $5 per person per day, but you can tip more for exceptional service. If you need additional guidance on how much to tip, you can ask your stateroom steward for a recommendation. If opting for this, remember that while standard gratuities cover the basics like your housekeeping and dining teams, add-ons like spa services and specialty dining are typically not included.
To determine the final total of these costs, simply visit your selected cruise line’s website. All the exact numbers are there to help you plan accordingly for the actual price of your upcoming cruise. Here's everything you need to know about cruise gratuities, with an ultimate guide covering how it all works. Whether you choose to tip or not, it’s important to be aware of the expectations and guidelines for gratuities and tips on your specific cruise.
Shore Excursion Staff
Hopefully, these folks will then hand out cash to those who have worked hard for them during the cruise. If you’re a solo traveler and only have one large bag to check, a $5 tip is appropriate. Be aware that when you sign the receipt there will be another line for an additional tip. On the first river cruise with Emerald I felt no pressure to tip – it was never mentioned. Below are examples from 6 of the largest American cruise lines.
Carnival-Owned Cruise Line Increases Gratuities for Guests - Cruise Hive
Carnival-Owned Cruise Line Increases Gratuities for Guests.
Posted: Tue, 16 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Crew perspectives on gratuities
If you’ve cruised before, then you’re familiar with these charges, which can add up to hundreds of dollars on your cruise. Gratuity charges on cruise ships range, depending on the cruise line and your type of accommodation (suites are pricier than rooms). As is common, a beverage service charge (18% for Windstar) is automatically added to your bar bill and any wine/beer you order in the dining room. Tipping on Holland America, which jumped on February 1, 2023, is recorded daily. And, as is customary, the line’s “hotel service charge” is automatically added to your shipboard account.
Cruise Lines Without Automatic Gratuities
If you find a favorite spot at the same bar, chances are quite good that the bartender will learn your name (and maybe even your choice of beverage). Start the cruise with a nice tip upfront, and thank him or her at the end with another. In former times, tips were only given to the crew who had face-to-face interactions with the passengers. This practice favored the front-of-the-house staff while others working behind the scenes had little opportunity to make more money.
If we receive outstanding service and want to provide an extra tip, we do so in cash. By giving our extra tip in cash, we know it’s going directly to the crew member who gave us the outstanding service. You do not need to tip the maitre d', as they are a ship's officer and paid accordingly. Tipping isn't mandatory on a cruise, but you should consider that gratuities distributed onboard a modern cruise ship are much more than mere bonuses.
Virgin Voyages includes gratuities in the cruise fare, but they call it a “Voyage Fare” instead of a gratuity. This means you won’t have to worry about tipping your crew members during your voyage. This means you won’t have to worry about tipping your room steward, waiter, or any other onboard staff.
If the service has been exceptional, consider a tip of $10 to $15 at the end of your cruise. Room service fees have become the norm on many major cruise lines. Room service waiters are also part of the tip pool for autogratuities. Still, some people do leave a little extra for crew members who go above and beyond. How much to tip extra on a cruise is entirely up to you because it is in no way required. Still, some critics see the charges as a sneaky way for cruise lines to make their fares appear lower than they really are.
Automatic gratuity charges are standard on cruise ships and typically range from $15 to $20 per person daily. These charges are automatically added to your onboard account and distributed among the guest-facing crew members who provide services during your trip and select behind-the-scenes employees. If you are new to cruising, you should know that not everything is included in your cruise vacation. In addition to your cruise fare, there are other services charges for which you will need to budget. This includes daily per person cruise gratuities as well as service charges added to purchases like drinks and spa treatments.
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]
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. I create cruise content across YouTube, this website and my social accounts, all with the aim of helping you to find, and take your perfect cruise. If you do have a spa treatment on a cruise one thing to be aware of is that the treatment is often followed by a sales pitch for various products.
Also, bring along some envelopes or even a pack of small, printed thank you cards. When you have great service (or need to tip those above who are not part of the gratuity pool), hand the cash, envelope or card directly to the person. And, as the time to disembark approaches, make sure you let the crew members whom you have come to know that you appreciate them.
The advantage here is that you get to hold on to more of your money for longer. Instead of handing over the charges well in advance of your sailing, you can keep it until you’re actually on your cruise. That said, it’s unusual to adjust the gratuity amount, and the staff works extremely hard to make your trip enjoyable. If you have a major issue, however, you can change your gratuity amount accordingly. A couple traveling together will see about $30-$40 per day in gratuities, or about $200+ over the course of a week-long cruise. No matter the language, they all end up being the same thing — a set daily charge to passengers that’s passed on to the crew.
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