This cruise tipping guide covers exactly how gratuities work on most major cruise lines – they can add a few hundred dollars to your final bill if you don’t plan for them.
By Vacation Intel
How Cruise Gratuities Work
Daily Service Charges
Most mainstream lines automatically add a daily gratuity charge to your onboard account, typically $16-23 per person, per day depending on your cabin category (suites are usually charged a slightly higher rate). This charge is pooled and distributed among your stateroom attendant, dining staff, and other behind-the-scenes crew who keep the ship running.
Extra Tipping Situations
- Bar and specialty coffee purchases already include an automatic 15-18% gratuity, so no extra cash is expected there.
- Specialty restaurants sometimes add their own service charge separately from the daily rate — check your receipt.
- Room service often includes a delivery charge but tipping a dollar or two in cash is still appreciated.
- Spa treatments usually add an automatic gratuity similar to bars — read the slip before adding more.
How Much Cruise Gratuities Typically Cost
Most mainstream lines charge $16-24 per person per day in automatic gratuities, which covers your stateroom attendant, dining staff, and other behind-the-scenes crew. For a 7-night cruise with two adults, that adds up to roughly $250-340 on top of your cruise fare, so it’s worth budgeting for ahead of time rather than being surprised at checkout.
Our cruise planning tips cover more on budgeting for a cruise, and Cruise Critic’s tipping forums break down current rates by cruise line in more detail.
Cruise Tipping by Line: What’s Different
Luxury and some premium lines (like Regent Seven Seas or Silversea) build gratuities into the cruise fare already, so there’s no separate daily charge to plan for. Mainstream lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian all charge separately, with rates varying slightly by ship and stateroom category.
Specialty restaurant charges, spa treatments, and drink packages typically include their own built-in gratuity (usually 15-18%), separate from your daily service charge, so double-check your bill before adding an extra tip on top.
Some cruisers choose to prepay gratuities before sailing rather than having them charged to their onboard account daily – this doesn’t change the total cost but can make budgeting simpler if you prefer to know the full trip cost upfront.
While gratuities can technically be adjusted or removed at guest services, most cruise lines discourage this since the charge directly supports crew wages, and etiquette generally favors leaving them in place unless service was genuinely poor.
Can You Remove or Prepay Gratuities
Yes — daily gratuities can usually be prepaid when you book, adjusted at guest services once onboard, or in some cases removed entirely, though cruise lines discourage removal since it is how crew members are paid. Prepaying is popular because it locks in the current rate and avoids a surprise on your final bill.
Vacation Intel Tip
Budget for gratuities the same way you budget for excursions: multiply the daily rate by your cruise length and the number of people in your cabin, then add it to your total cost before you compare cruise fares. A “cheap” fare with gratuities excluded can end up costing more than a fare that includes them.
Bar tabs typically add an automatic 15-18% gratuity to every drink, which is why many drink packages advertise a price that already includes tips baked in – always check whether a package price is pre- or post-gratuity before comparing costs against paying per drink.
Room service on most lines now carries a small flat gratuity per delivery, a relatively recent change on several cruise lines, so don’t assume it’s still complimentary the way it was on older sailings you may remember.