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You can still hand out cash to individual members of the staff that you appreciate, although it’s not required. A couple traveling together will see about $30-$40 per day in gratuities, or about $200+ over the course of a week-long cruise. Royal Caribbean crew members work extremely hard throughout their multi-month contracts, and gratuities are a way to reward them for providing amazing service. Viking Cruises gratuities are $15.00 per person, per day for all staterooms.
Luxury Cruise Lines
Choosing a cruise can be an exciting but sometimes challenging decision. Here are some steps to help you choose the best cruise destination for your next adventure. 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. According to Disney Cruise Line, for instance, tipping applies to everyone—even infants.
Who else should you tip on a cruise ship?
I had prepaid my gratuities, and I assumed the porter was a cruise line employee, so I didn’t tip him. Automatic gratuities cover just about every tipped crew member on the ship. If you order room service, it’s customary to give the person that delivers your tray about $1-2 per meal. If you enjoy tipping in cash, consider giving an extra cash tip to the crew members who gave you excellent service on your cruise. As for the question, I use this as a guideline regardless of the cruise length actually. With gratuities already being added to the cruise, and they are ever-increasing, I’ve become more selective on how I choose to tip extra.
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However, if someone goes above and beyond during your trip (such as a particularly helpful stateroom steward), feel free to give them extra. Many people wonder how tips work for other crew members on a cruise ship, such as housekeeping, laundry, or spa staff. While it may vary depending on the cruise line and its policies, these tips are often pooled together with the rest of the gratuities and distributed among crew members. However, cruise lines encourage paying the flat per-day gratuity rate to support all workers, including those working in the laundry room, washing dishes, or cleaning the ship late at night. While automatic gratuity charges may be convenient for some passengers, others prefer alternative tipping onboard.
You can also leave a small gift for your favorite crew member. Just remember that cruise ship crew live in very tight quarters, without much room for personal belongings. So something edible (maybe a favorite candy or snack from your home region?) will be more appreciated than something they would have to store. If there’s a crew member who goes above and beyond for you, there are some other ways to show your appreciation. Beyond leaving a cash tip for your cabin steward, or favorite server or bartender, some other small gestures will go a long way. With the autograt system, many crew members who rarely received tips before now get a share—like the laundry or kitchen staff on some cruise lines.
One of the most luxurious aspects of cruising is the service of room stewards -- that team of people who often go unseen in their daily mission to keep your cruise cabin sparkling fresh and clean. The worst thing you can do is wait until you are home from your cruise to address it. You may want to give them a tip per drink or a larger tip at the end or even the beginning of your cruise. There will be an 18-20% tip automatically charged when ordering an individual drink, so no need to add more in most cases. Tipping can impact the quality of service you receive on a cruise ship and support hard-working crew members who rely heavily on tips for fair compensation and often support their families back home.
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Cunard‘s daily gratuities are set at $11.50 per person, per day for guests in standard cabins. The cost is $13.50 per person, per day for guests in Grill Class suites. On Costa Cruises, service charges of $12.50 per person, per day are charged for cruises departing from the US. Cruises in Europe, World cruises and those departing from a non-US Caribbean port charge 10 Euros per person, per day. Here is a list of the daily gratuity charges by major cruise lines. The average daily gratuity on a cruise is $14-15 USD per person – approximately $30 per day, per couple in a cabin.
Prepaid vs. Onboard Tipping
Embarking on your cruise vacation should be stress-free and exciting. To ensure that, understanding the tipping practices before you set sail will help you sail smoothly through your journey. Automated gratuities are often viewed with skepticism, with some believing they don't reach the crew. The truth is, these gratuities are generally divided among the ship's service staff. And, the crew will still get their regular share even though you have received a discount on the cost. Additionally, make a list of the employees who provided the best service and send a note of appreciation to the cruise line with their names included.
Who Shares the Automatic Cruise Gratuities
These are usually calculated on a per person/per day (or night) basis by the cruise lines. Always remember to check your cruise line’s policy on tipping before setting sail, and don’t hesitate to tip more for exceptional service. With a generous attitude and an open mind, you’ll have a memorable and enjoyable cruising experience, thanks to the hard-working crew. On cruise lines where gratuities are not included, you can monitor the charges on your shipboard bill either from the Front Desk or on your stateroom TV.
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First and foremost, if you’re feeling generous and want to leave an extra tip for a service, don’t accidentally double-tip! Beyond that, don’t feel pressured or obligated for additional tipping. Olsen gratuities are entirely at the discretion of each passenger. The recommended amount is £5 per passenger, per day, to be divided equally between the cabin stewards and waiters. This amount is automatically added to passengers' onboard accounts toward the end of the cruise, but it can be adjusted at reception at any point during the sailing.
The top tier of crew recipients, however, are the waiters and stateroom attendants. For this example, the amounts listed below are for standard (non-suite) staterooms, may vary by a dollar or so and subject to change every couple of years. Here’s another category that needs addressing; room service delivery fees. Also, if you pre-pay your gratuities, and should the cruise line raise the cruise tip amount before you sail, you are “grandfathered-in” at the previous lower rate. Savvy cruisers know that gratuities begin before you board your ship. If you plan to drop off your larger pieces of luggage, be prepared to give the portside luggage handler a $2- $5 tip per bag.
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This is an excellent article, which really clearly explains all the issues around tipping. In the UK, tips are completely discretionary and are only to reward service that goes above the normal expectations. 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.
All of this complicates the question of which crew members to tip extra and when it’s appropriate to tip on a cruise. So we have put together a quick guide on what we have experienced in 20 years of cruising when it comes to tips for the crew. Before we get into tipping etiquette when you go on a cruise vacation, it’s important to point out that attitudes on extra tipping are largely cultural and vary greatly. Americans have tipping engrained in their DNA whereas Europeans don’t consider tipping a requirement. For Europeans, it is more of a gesture of simple “thanks” no matter how small the amount is.
This allows you to pay off your cruise balance early, so that by the time you get onboard, you won’t have to worry about extra charges. Cruise line tipping policies vary from one cruise company to another. Even though cruise gratuities technically aren’t mandatory, they are customary on most mainstream cruise lines. It’s customary to tip at the end of your cruise, either by leaving cash in an envelope in your room or adding it to your bill.
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