Passengers sometimes plan in advance to bring small gifts to leave with their cabin stewards, either at the beginning or end of the cruise. The premium cruise line's fleet of 15 ships sail around the world, from the Galapagos to the Caribbean. What do you think about the custom of tipping on a cruise ship? Do you prefer to prepay your gratuitiesor to pay in cash? Im so glad youre enjoying my blog and find the posts helpful and appreciate the feedback. The onboard price of this package varies from $63 to $89 a day, plus an 18% gratuity. Typical extra tips may be $15-20 per passenger for a seven-day cruise paid to the cabin steward for exceptional work, or an extra $10-20 per passenger to a waiter who offered spectacular dining. Just remember that cruise ship crew live in very tight quarters, without much room for personal belongings. Celebrity Cruises now includes daily gratuities in its Always Included cruise fare. How much you tip on cruise excursions is entirely up to you, but a suggested starting price is $3 per person for a half-day tour and $6 per person for a full-day tour for the guide and $1 to $2 for the bus driver. Typically, this is associated with your credit card which youll be prompted to set up when you complete your online check in. What currency should you use to tip on a cruise? Don't be Held Back on Arrival Royal Caribbean requires you to do an online check-in, at least three days before your published sail date. I'm so glad you found my post! On the flip side, passengers have less control over where their money goes with autogratuities. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'shouldbecruising_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_13',603,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-shouldbecruising_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0');Most mainstream cruise lines will charge you about $14 to $15 per person per day for automatic gratuities. Royal Caribbean Cruises Tipping Policy As of September 7th, 2022, the automatic service gratuity of $16.00 USD per person, per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or $18.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Suites, will be applied to each guest's SeaPass account on a daily basis. a $200 gratuity on top of my prepaid gratuities. Love this! will be more appreciated than something they would have to store. Follow me on Facebook at Life Well Cruised, Follow me onYouTube at Life Well Cruised (Vlogs and cruise tips), Follow me on Pinterest at Life Well Cruised, Follow me on Instagram at Life Well Cruised. on board service charges (Norwegian Cruise Line). Cruise line employees are extremely hard working, I agree, and they go above and beyond so often. You'll find an extensive selection of options all over Canada Should You Prepay Gratuities on a Cruise or Pay Onboard? How Much Does A Cruise Cost? You may also like: 26 Hidden Cruise Fees You Should Know About. New York state residents who wish to purchase the product may visit https://travelcruisecare.com to enroll directly with . 1 1 Quote Cindi Members 12 Author Posted April 16, 2019 I think this depends on who it is and what their job is. Plus, for a limited time, its $10 off. Royal Caribbean's VOOM service has two different levels of service with two different prices. HomeBlogCruise Tips Cruise News Cruise DestinationsAboutContactResourcesFeatured PressPrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyDisclosure PolicyTerms of Use. The one excursion we had a fifty dollar bill and three ones at the end of the (short) trip. Tipped crew on many cruise lines include housekeeping, dining, and laundry workers. Here are the top travel tips for a Royal Caribbean cruise from the experts themselves: At the AquaTheater, acrobats, high divers, slackliners and more put on shows that make a splash. How much to tip waiter and his assistant? Im so glad youre here! Royal Caribbean International What's Included: Dining, stateroom, and other key crew members. Until fairly recently, cruise passengers customarily tipped only in cash, in person. But you should know, that the ship's service staff don't make a salary - your tips are their wages. Most cruise lines charge for children as well, although there are some exceptions for very young children on select cruise lines. The only charges that should appear on my final tab are any extras I decided to add on during the voyage. Afrikaans; Alemannisch; ; ; Azrbaycanca; ; Banjar; ; () You cant choose how much each crew member gets. The finishings are top notch, and the bathroom, in particular, is well-designed with a separate water closet. You wont require cash for 99% of purchases on a cruise, whether specialty restaurants, cocktails, or souvenirs. For example, Royal Caribbean (www.royalcaribbean.com) recently increased its tip recommendations and now suggests $3.75 per day for your main waiter, $5 per day for the cabin housekeeping staff, $2.15 per day for the assistant waiter, and $0.75 per day for the head waiter. There are instances of passengers who prefer not to tip, usually either because they disagree with tipping on principle or they've experienced unsatisfactory service. Hope you enjoy! On NCL, passengers who dont want to pay autograts need to file a claim for reimbursement after the cruise. We sail Celebrity and opt to prepay gratuities. Ive been cruising for over 15 years, and the practice of tipping on a cruise has certainly evolved. They often work 7-10 months at a time and 12-14 hours per day for seven days straight before having a half or even a whole day off. Related: Cruise Line. All rights reserved. If you want to adjust the amount, go to the reception desk. Unless they are below average and that has happened only one time. We never gave him anything. Although cash isnt required for onboard purchases, there are a few scenarios where youll want to have cash available. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'shouldbecruising_com-leader-3','ezslot_16',605,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-shouldbecruising_com-leader-3-0');For other cruise lines, youll be able to adjust your autogratuities at the Passenger Services desk. You can choose to pay in local currency, too, but obtaining money in 3+ currencies before a cruise is not necessary. Holland America Line, whose ships Noordam and Maasdam are regular visitors to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, has the same tipping policy aboard all its ships. Beyond that, consider writing a heartfelt note of thanks or a drawing from your child (many have children they do not see for months at a time). According to RCI's website, of the 2016-updated gratuities (US$13.50), nearly US$8.30 goes to dining / culinary services; suite attendants receive US$6,85; stateroom attendants get US$3,85, and housekeeping service staff - US$1.35. i understand what you are saying.and I know we are paying roughly 15 dollars a day each as a tip already. Thats a funny thing that weve experienced in the past as well. Disclaimer: I may receive a small commission when you make a purchase from a link on this site, at no added charge to you. By Thoughts? Because plasma accounts for approximately 90% of total fluid volume, drinking plenty of water after receiving a transplant is beneficial to your body. Just remember that a cash tip goes to your server, and a charged tip gets added to the tip pool. First is the ATM. If your shore excursion includes lunch, you generally dont have to leave a tipthe tour company takes care of the lunch bill. Paste as plain text instead, For this reason, I have always found being expected to pay tips, on an already expensive cruise, very irritating and have sometimes had them reduced at the service desk. But honestly, theyd prefer cash over a gift basketno matter how yummy your treats are! The best advice I can give Americans and Canadians, if they are tipping questions arise either on the ship or ashore, follow the lead of Aussies and ask their advice. Its also a nice gesture to tip the matre d or head waiter in the main dining room, especially if they were helpful with special menus or seating arrangements. There is a lot of included dining location so how do you know which ones to che. Im an avid cruiser and have been giving out insider tips for more than 10 years! 20102023Regal Sea Media LLC. During your cruise vacation, youll probably receive services from other people who arent cruise line employeesbut you might not realize it! Depending on your bank, the ATM transaction fee may be waived. They did a really good job and I would like to tip them. That is a very personal question. Not only will it improve your cruise experience, but youre also allowing the cruise ship staff the opportunity to make things right. Read more: Should You Prepay Gratuities on a Cruise or Pay Onboard? Clear editor. I believe since these are pooled between everybody, additional tipping should only be done if you feel somebody has gone above and beyond. Here are some daily automatic gratuity costs for several popular ocean cruise lines in USD (prices accurate as of summer 2021): Unlike with the deals you can get for prepaying for drink packages and some other add-ons, you wont get a discount for prepaying your automatic gratuities. 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. But lets say you have a negative experience with your server in the dining room, or you feel that the cabin steward isnt doing their job. At the base level, one person can use the service, and the price rises as you add more logins. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. There was only one cruise where my sons special request was denied. In fact, I think most would agree that cruise line staff make a huge difference in the cruise experience. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Theres no need to add an extra tip for each drink. Please note that gratuities are charged in US dollars for Caribbean, US and Canada cruises. However, cruisers dont always see all of the crew who work behind the scenes for them, like the kitchen and laundry workers. Many ships also have an abundance of kids' activities including kids clubs that . Other people you should tip during your cruise, Nine Things You Need to Check Before Your Cruise, Eight Things That Will Surprise First Time Cruisers, How to Have the Best Embarkation Day on a Cruise, Giada De Laurentiis Named Godmother of Oceania Cruises New Ship Vista, Norwegian Cruise Line Announces 2023 Meet the Winemaker Series, P&O Arvia Naming Ceremony Will Feature Olly Murs, Carnival Now Offering Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagars Santo Tequila Fleetwide, Princess Cruises Introduces Welcome Home Program, https://shouldbecruising.com/privacy-policy/, A Cruise Glossary: Cruise Terms You Should Know, 26 Hidden Cruise Fees You Should Know About. Read our best tips.). Each person you tip gets their own envelope. Have some small bills handy for these times. As I am sure you are aware each cruiser will have gratuities & tips added to their SeaPass account every day (unless you have paid these in advance with your booking). If you opt for a specialty restaurant, the tip isnt usually included. Royal Caribbean offers three all-inclusive drink packages, a premium coffee package and a water package. I love sharing my best cruise tips with you, along with reviews of cruise destinations, shore excursions, cruise ships and cruise lines. You might want to remove their tips as a punishment for poor service. In addition to this, an 18% gratuity is automatically added to all drinks, spa and salon services. The cruise industry has worked this way for a long time, although the automatic gratuities are only the last few years. Below are just some of the people you may want to tip in this way, and some rough guidelines regarding how much - though know this is very subjective, and of course should be commensurate with the level of service that a given person provided. They pay their crew (usually recruited from countries with limited economic opportunities) per contract, not by the hour. This is a good question. I dont think anyone will think youre rude for not tipping over and above this. We had the my time diningsame waiter and assistant every night. For some of them, depending . Outdoor Activities If outdoor fun is your thing, the Carnival Dream offers a near endless array of ways to fill both day and night with fun. It would be so helpful if I could print just the blog to read at random timescar trip, etc. US$13,50 (increased from US$12,95) for standard cabins and US$16,50 (increased from US$15.95) for upper-tier suites. Had same two waiters 4 of those nights. For example, you might give the guide $5 to $10 for a half-day excursion or $10 to $20 for a full-day tour. Near the end of your cruise, youll probably receive some comment cards in your stateroom that you can use to leave feedback about a member of the crew. How much tip receive in cruise royal caribbean? We have also taken a few of the ship's "backstage" tours and could see where the crew members reside, dine, kick back to relax, etc. Most of the biggest cruise lines automatically add some type of service or gratuity fee onto passenger bills. Please share on Facebook or PIN to your favorite Pinterest board (share buttons at the top). That lets him / her know upfront that we tip, and there is more to come at the end of the cruise! Happy cruising :). You can just hand over folded cash, or use the tip envelopes youll find in your stateroom or at Passenger Services. What Is a Cabin Steward on a Cruise Ship? Even though cruise gratuities technically arent mandatory, they are customary on most mainstream cruise lines. (For line by line information, read more about cruise line tipping policies.). Viking Cruises gratuities are $15.00 per person, per day for all staterooms. There is no charge for children under 3 years of age. Cindi IMPORTANT: Since September 7, 2022, Royal Caribbean International (RCI) cruise ship passengers pay USD 16 pp per day in tips (service charge for staterooms Junior Suites and below). I ALWAYS tip extra to the outstanding employees on every cruise I have ever taken. How much are gratuities on Royal Caribbean cruises? Instead, passengers can tipor notat their own discretion. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The automatic service gratuity is $14.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below, or $17.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above, applied to each guest's SeaPass account on a daily basis. (Admit it: You tend to miss those nightly pillow chocolates and towel animals after you get home.) What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? You can also adjust your gratuities up or down. Cruise line employees work their butts off to earn those tips. W. Lines with such charges include both of the two giants of the cruise business, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line, as well as Norwegian, MSC Cruises and Princess Cruises. Cruise gratuities are divided among your cruise cabin steward, waiters and other crew members who work as support behind the scenes. After 50 cruises I know they really mean it! Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to bea useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. Do you tip above and beyond the automatic gratuities? Cruise lines just have contracts with their preferred shore excursion companiesthe guides and drivers arent employees of the line. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. At some North American ports, youll see signs stating that the porters do not accept tips. Norwegian Cruise Line has onboard service charge will is charged automatically for guests 3 and up, and distributed among staff that serve you in various ways. The extra cash may or may not end up in your steward's pocket, but he'll appreciate the gesture nonetheless. When youre on a cruise, you shouldnt tip the captain or the officers. You can purchase the drink package online pre-cruise or once onboard during the first day (or two) of your trip. Tip amount: Gratuities amount to $13.50 per person per day (including children 3 and older) in standard rooms and $15.50 per person in suites. While planning a, The weekend is the perfect time to take a short break, so why not go on a cruise too? In standard cabins, Carnival charges $14.50 per person, per day in tips. Why taking a weekend cruise is a great escape, 11 of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, How to get to Royal Caribbean's cruise terminals and how much parking will cost, Top 16 things on a Royal Caribbean cruise everyone needs to do at least once. When planning your cruise, check with your travel agent or the cruise line about the tipping policy. It really made my day! Cruise lines pay these workers very low wages for the long hours that they work each day, and expect that passengers will tip to increase the crew members earnings to a reasonable rate. There is no charge for children under 2 years of age. Please check Costas website for details. The drink package works at all onboard bars, restaurants, and even Royal Caribbean's private island CocoCay. Your previous content has been restored. The article also reviews major changes in the RCI's gratuities policy implemented fleetwide/on all liners. And if the problem still remains unsolved - then adjust the tips. Our last few cruises on Celebrity and Princess, we actually had lots of interaction from the Maitred and we did appreciate the work they did. If you havent notified your bank, they will usually send you a fraud alert or temporarily freeze your card. They are always pleasant and willing to do whatever they can for you. If you wait to the end to tip, then the servers wont know and you possibly missed out of knowing how wonderful the cabin steward or others could be. I would imagine wed see prices increase overall if they did this, but perhaps it amounts to this anyway. I give my room steward $5 at the very beginning of the cruise. P.S. If not, just leave blank. ATMs usually charge a $5-6 fee per transaction. I also tipped my wait staff very generously in the main dining room and specialty restaurants, as well as my drink waiters! | Royal Caribbean Blog www.royalcaribbeanblog.com. (Youll often see a survey pop up in your email inbox a few days after your cruise.). This is a review of RCI-Royal Caribbean International's gratuities (paid for the crew services), tipping policy and tips (per day/reduced/removed). The amount is the only thing that tends to vary on service levels. How much shouldwe tip? Just like with the Carnival's tipping policy, under the new Royal Caribbean tipping policy guests who believe they've been serviced poorly while onboard their "Of The Seas" ship has the right to ask Guest Services personnel to reduce or even to remove their automatic gratuities. In their case "tipping" doesn't mean "extra" - it means "salary". If cruising from Australia to the South Pacific, Australian dollars are widely accepted. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'shouldbecruising_com-leader-2','ezslot_15',606,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-shouldbecruising_com-leader-2-0');Since you cant remove the automatic tips for just that one crew member, removing or lowering your automatic gratuities hurts all the tipped employees. Look for a link at the bottom of this page or in our privacy policy where you can withdraw consent. It is best to drink 9 to 13 cups of water before donating money in the 24 hours preceding the event. But many cruisers (including myself) choose to prepay to avoid a big charge at the end of the cruise. So something edible (maybe a favorite candy or snack from your home region?) cruise. Based on the amount of the bill. I like knowing that my bill is all set before I sail! In this post, Ill 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. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Cruising can be such a relaxing vacation as well as so much fun. First of all, don't neglect any post-cruise questionnaires, which provide an opportunity to rave about your cabin attendant directly to his or her employer. If your kids have had a great time and youve appreciated the service, a few extra dollars are surely appreciated. About $1-2 (or the equivalent in local currency) per bag is fine. Posted March 5, 2007. Having worked in the service industry, if people want to extra tip, then doing it at the beginning is the way to go. For many cruise passengers, bars play a pretty large role in their experiences. I dont tend to tip in advance, so this is an interesting way of doing things. Disney cruises has a suggested daily gratuity charge of $13.50 per person, per day for all guests. This may be rare, however if theres a problem with service or you have a complaint on your cruise, that you should bring this to the attention of the staff member, supervisor, or guest services when it occurs. When paying the automatic daily gratuities, cruise lines tell us this amount gets divided by your cabin attendant, waiter and other dining staff. Ill definitely look into it and see how I can best do that on this site. This is a convenient option for cruise passengers that dont want to think about extra charges once onboard. So our "big tip" on this subject is this - if you guys have a service staff problem, speak first with your cabin attendant. Hi All, I just wanted to share something with new cruisers (and old if they do not know this). Most cruisers tip anywhere from $2-$10 per person (or the equivalent in the local currency) to the tour guide, and hand a couple of dollars to the driver. Once you book your cruise, there are some things you'll need to do in advance to prepare. 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. Youll want to factor in the cruise line gratuity charge, sometimes called on board service charges (Norwegian Cruise Line). I was very surprised. Since this is the current pay structure for most major cruise lines, removing tips really affects the cruise line workers. You just cant help being extra nice or helpful when you know the people are going to be extra nice to you, ie the extra tips. I'm sure the crew appreciated your extra tips - they all work so hard! balyasny aum TRAVEL PROTECTION PROGRAM. Your email address will not be published. Im a little over a month out before my next cruise, and while its a little early to start packing (is it though? A couple should budget about $200 in gratuities for a 7 day cruise. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'shouldbecruising_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_8',602,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-shouldbecruising_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');With the autograt system, many crew members who rarely received tips before now get a sharelike the laundry or kitchen staff on some cruise lines. Cruises in Europe are charged in Euros. Some cruise lines point out that you may wish to tip the kids club staff. Here's a guide to help you navigate ways to show your appreciation for these hard workers. Carnival cruise gratuities are automatically added to onboard accounts for those in all rooms. Like what you see? $10-20 at the end of the cruise is a nice gratuity for their service. Royal Caribbean raised the service fees on its ships in August by more than 10% to $16 per person per day for those staying in most cabins. A tip of 15%-20% is common, so check the bottom of your bill before adding an additional amount. Norwegian Cruise Line. Great points about luxury lines and that gratuities are included.