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 the flip side, passengers have less control over where their money goes with autogratuities. When paying the automatic daily gratuities, cruise lines tell us this amount gets divided by your cabin attendant, waiter and other dining staff. How Much Should I Tip My Room Steward on a Cruise? Tipping Etiquette on Cruise Ships - TripSavvy Could you please go into tipping for the haven ncl staff , butlers and more. I'm so glad you found my post! Tipping on a Cruise: Your Complete Big-Ship Tip Guide Royal Caribbean Biggest Ship. .wonder of The Western Caribbean Carnival Dream | Royal Holiday Are very professional, what should a tip look like at the end of a 10 day cruise? 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. The fact is, the tips that crew get from passengers make up a good part of their wage. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. With the exception of a couple cruise lines on this list, most cruises that include gratuities are luxury lines. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? What currency should you use to tip on a cruise? Also, if free gratuities are an amenity, youre not expected to go beyond it unless someone goes way beyond whats normally expected. Porters: $1-5 per bag Room service delivery: $2-4 per tray The Sky Suite on Celebrity was a perfect size for two, at around 320 square feet. In the main dining room, buffet, specialty restaurants, and other dining venues, your tip is included in the automatic gratuities. Whether in Mexico, St. Maarten, Italy, or Vanuatu, having cash is recommended. On a 7 day cruise we usually give $50 to the waiter and $30 to the asst. Holland Americas daily gratuity is $14.50 per person, per day for guests in standard cabins and $16.00 per person, per day for guests in suites. You cannot paste images directly. A kind word or a drawing costs nothing and is always appreciated. The amount is very personal. If you have a special in-room dining experience, like Ultimate Balcony Dining on Princess (which I highly recommend, by the way), its a nice gesture to add an extra cash tip for the servers who brought your meals up and made your dinner a special experience. It is best to drink 9 to 13 cups of water before donating money in the 24 hours preceding the event. You may also like: A Cruise Glossary: Cruise Terms You Should Know. There was only one cruise where my sons special request was denied. In addition, weve included a list of daily gratuities per cruise line and who else you may wish to tip. Im not expecting him to kiss our butts, but come on. For more info, please read myDisclosure Policy. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and leave a comment! What do you think about cruise line gratuities and service onboard? (For line by line information, read more about cruise line tipping policies.). The practice of tipping is controversial, even in the United States where paying tips is part of the culture. Extra tipping doesnt give you the right to be a jerk, but if you are a jerk, you had better extra tip! Ren de Lambert. Cindi This cruise ship was the first of Carnival's unique Dream Class cruise ships. Sometimes a shoddy tip was more insulting than no tip at all. Some cruise lines refer to the gratuities as a crew incentive or a service fee, but essentially these are tips for crew members that are used to augment their low wages. If youre new to cruising, or its been a while since your last cruise, its important to know about cruise tipping guidelines before you sail. I agree with Kelli. Cash is rarely required on a Royal Caribbean cruise, as all payments onboard are made via your SeaPass account. Many cruisers opt to give extra cash tips to crew members who made their vacation that much more enjoyable. Should you prepay automatic gratuities? Either way, expect to spend about $15-20 per day. Manchester 3. Although cash isnt required for onboard purchases, there are a few scenarios where youll want to have cash available. Given the high level of service, passengers often wonder how much they should plan to tip their cabin steward, especially when they go above and beyond. 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. If you want to avoid any ATM charges, though, you can theoretically take money out via the casino. By Once you book your cruise, there are some things you'll need to do in advance to prepare. This fee ranges anywhere from $12.50 to upward of $20 per person, per day, depending on the cruise line -- usually on the higher end if you're staying in a suite. If your shore excursion includes lunch, you generally dont have to leave a tipthe tour company takes care of the lunch bill. The rule of thumb is to tip the guide 10% to 20% of the tour cost, depending on how much you enjoyed the experience. Tips are of course a personal decision. New York state residents who wish to purchase the product may visit https://travelcruisecare.com to enroll directly with . How much to tip waiter and his assistant? Before that, in 2015 RCI upped its gratuities from USD 12 to USD 12,95 (standard cabins) and from USD 14,25 to USD 15,95 (suites). Each passenger is charged for these tips, including kids. Royal Caribbean Cruises Tipping Policy - CruiseCheap.com However, your cruise vacation expenses wont end there. 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). Jan 6. Iwas a waitress for yearslong ago and far away. Our Best Royal Caribbean Cruise Tips And Tricks There will be an 18-20% tip automatically charged when ordering an individual drink, so no need to add more in most cases. Cruise lines usually add a service charge, usually 15-18%, to all beverages that arent complimentary. Stay in one of the Royal Suites and room service is included. How Much Should I Tip My Room Steward on a Cruise? - Cruise Critic If you transfer money to the slot machine and immediately cash out, you can take your cashout slip to the casino cage and receive the listed amount in cash. . Typically, this is associated with your credit card which youll be prompted to set up when you complete your online check in. It May be Time for Some Royal Caribbean Elites to Reconsider Paying for Drink Packages. Royal Caribbean charges a gratuity of $16.00 per person, per day. If youre sailing from the United States to the Caribbean, US dollars are widely accepted in popular cruise ports. Your cruise in April sounds amazing! I dont tend to tip in advance, so this is an interesting way of doing things. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. In the UK, tips are completely discretionary and are only to reward service that goes above the normal expectations. Of course, as always, its at your discretion. Life Well Cruised Ultimate Cruise Planner, YouTube at Life Well Cruised (Vlogs and cruise tips). 1 Royal Caribbean Travel Protection is an optional travel protection add-on to your cruise booking and is available through Royal Caribbean for residents in all states except New York. Some vendors may process your personal data on the basis of legitimate interest, which you can object to by managing your options below. 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. By general rule of thumb, the big ship mainstream cruise lines charge it as an extra payment above and beyond the base cruise fare while luxury lines adopt an all-inclusive approach. Guide to Cruise Line Room Service Fees - Cruise Maven for Cruise and As it is with most cruise shipping companies, RCI's tourists can remove the daily gratuity but know that these tips are for all the housekeeping and dining staff. But if your excursions include free time where you eat lunch on your own, its a good idea to research the local tipping customs in the countries youll be visiting before your cruise. Started in 2010, Royal Caribbean Blog offers daily coverage of news and information related to the Royal Caribbean cruise line along with other relevant topics of cruising, such as entertainment, news, photo updates and more. Some cruise lines allow you to use your cruise card to deposit money in the casino. I think this depends on who it is and what their job is. How Much Water Should I Drink Before Donating Plasma. Hi All, I just wanted to share something with new cruisers (and old if they do not know this). Or you can plan ahead and take enough cash in the correct currency to cover any tips you might want to pay. Most mainstream cruise lines have their headquarters in the US. They have the insider tips to match so that you can make the most of everything that'll be at your fingertips. 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). Some cruise lines refer to these tips as a service charge. 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. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. I believe since these are pooled between everybody, additional tipping should only be done if you feel somebody has gone above and beyond. How do cruise gratuities work? Do I have to tip? | Miami Herald 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. Virgin Voyages does a lot of things differently than its mainstream peers. Credit: Royal Caribbean Show-Stopping Entertainment Can You Refuse to Pay Gratuities on a Cruise? You wont require cash for 99% of purchases on a cruise, whether specialty restaurants, cocktails, or souvenirs. How Much Cash Should I Bring on a Cruise? Budgeting Guide and Averages 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. Royal Caribbean Gratuities: Everything You Need to Know - Cruise Mummy Top Cruise Tips | Royal Caribbean Blog They might feel that it gives them more control over tipping, rewarding the crew based on their level of service. Whether to or not and then how much. And if the problem still remains unsolved - then adjust the tips. You can choose to pay in local currency, too, but obtaining money in 3+ currencies before a cruise is not necessary. royal caribbean cruise cruises deals 2021. What you cant do is adjust or remove automatic gratuities for a specific crew member. Royal Caribbean: $14.50 per person, per day ($17.50 for guests in grand suites and above). Plus, youre never required to make any extra purchases in the first place if you take advantage of the complimentary options available on a Royal Caribbean cruise. April Fools' Day - Wikipedia I do think its a very personal choice, but we can talk about this in a future video for sure! Your article has done a lot to change my philosophy and increase my understanding of why there is this charge and what the implications of reducing it might be. Royal Caribbean Cruise Holiday Deals 2020 & 2021 - Cruise Nation www.cruisenation.com. Children under 4 are not charged. If you feel you would like to give more that is fine and I am sure they will appreciate anything you decide to tip beyond the daily gratuity. Afrikaans; Alemannisch; ; ; Azrbaycanca; ; Banjar; ; () ), it, So youre planning a family cruise with a $2000 budget is it possible? Tips on Cruise Ship Tipping - Who and How Much to Tip! Whats included in your Royal Caribbean cruise fare, 30 Do's and Don'ts for the first day of your cruise, The 20 worst cruise mistakes that will ruin your cruise vacation, The best cruise itineraries for every type of traveler, How to plan a Royal Caribbean cruise on any budget, Best shore excursion in every Caribbean cruise port. The Dream pioneered the innovative and fun cruise ships that are standard today from Carnival Cruise Lines. On a cruise, most guests bring between $100-$120 in cash per day to be spent on transportation, tips, gifts, food, and shopping. Just for comparison, by the old RCCL tipping guidelines, the Royal Caribbean suggested tips/gratuities were a total of USD 11,65 per day per passenger (respectively USD 13,90 for suite passengers) and also guests could pay onboard either in cash or via their shipboard account. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Cruising in 2022: Why Onboard Tipping is More Important Than Ever, Cabin Stewardess on Princess Cruises (Photo: Princess Cruises), A Cash Tip Which is Common on Cruises (Photo: elwynn/Shutterstock). Norwegian Cruise Line. There are also usually comment cards available at the purser's desk or online for additional recognition -- or post a review on Cruise Critic. You may want to give them a tip per drink or a larger tip at the end or even the beginning of your cruise. I believe that often the bartenders will pool their tips b/c there are so many working the crowd but I think it's an individual choice on their parts as to how they handle this. Something you will need cash for on a Royal Caribbean cruise are any extra tips you give to crew members. This practice can eat into the regular wages and livelihood of hardworking crew and is not advised. You dont need to write a noveljust a few sentences about how the crew member made your cruise even better will do. If you dont have a drink package, theyll add the price of each drink plus the service fee to your onboard tab. Tipping on a cruise ship: Everything you need to know Paste as plain text instead, While not obligatory, there are some of the workers you may want to recognize with a tip when cruising. 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. Gratuities or a service charge are added onto some onboard services. Its important to note that, especially on the luxury lines, tipping is not expected. We like to prepay gratuities when we make our final payment for our cruise, but this is optional. Can Drinking Beer The Night Before Donor Plasma Donation Interfere With Similarly, in the main dining room, we tip our waiter around $6 to $8 per day for the two of us, averaging around $50 for a 7-night cruise. Congrats on reaching Diamond :) Happy cruising! For example, you might give the guide $5 to $10 for a half-day excursion or $10 to $20 for a full-day tour. I choose to add the gratuities ahead, just to get them out of the way. Travelers in suites are. 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. How much cash should you bring on a cruise? Which currency you should bring with you on a cruise depends on your departure port and itinerary. Other itineraries may differ. Until fairly recently, cruise passengers customarily tipped only in cash, in person. The cruise line assesses a daily fee and divides the money among the tipped crew. The drink package works at all onboard bars, restaurants, and even Royal Caribbean's private island CocoCay. That was the only time I didn't give an additional cash tip to the wait staff. There are a couple of exceptions, though. I also tipped my wait staff very generously in the main dining room and specialty restaurants, as well as my drink waiters! HomeBlogCruise Tips Cruise News Cruise DestinationsAboutContactResourcesFeatured PressPrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyDisclosure PolicyTerms of Use. ~ janet Many ships also have an abundance of kids' activities including kids clubs that . Do you need to tip at the spa on a cruise? Can you remove or adjust autogratuities on a cruise? Viking Ocean: $15.00 per person, per day Virgin Voyages: includes gratuities in the fare. What is Royal Caribbean's service gratuities (tips) price and policy? 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. There is no service charge applied for children under 2 years of age. They pay their crew (usually recruited from countries with limited economic opportunities) per contract, not by the hour. If you tip extra, you will get FABULOUS service! This is an excellent article, which really clearly explains all the issues around tipping. Royal Caribbean offers three all-inclusive drink packages, a premium coffee package and a water package. At the base level, one person can use the service, and the price rises as you add more logins. cruise. On luxury cruise lines, such as Azamara, Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea, Tauck World Discovery and Uniworld, gratuities are already included in the cost of the cruise, and additional tipping is not expected. We did prepaid gratuities, and then I also see that bar tabs will have the auto 18% added so I feel like it wont be necessary to leave an extra tip on the bar tab. Additionally, shouldbecruising.com participates in various other affiliate programs, and we sometimes receive a commission from purchases made through our links. (Admit it: You tend to miss those nightly pillow chocolates and towel animals after you get home.) We always tip cruise staff but in cash not automatic tipping. Hi this was helpful, thank you. 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. Automatic gratuities, also called autogratuities or autograts, is the cruise term for the system most cruise lines now use to simplify tipping for passengers. This includes drinks at the bar or cafe, spa services and salon visits. Based on the amount of the bill. Tips are added automatically to the onboard account (SeaPass) on a daily basis. 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. Or do you remove them altogether? In the wake of the increase, a family of four in a . Most are experienced cruisers and, as a group, theyre very well-liked. Heres what you should know about cash on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Olsen Cruise Lines and Cruise & Maritime Voyages charge substantially less -- 7 per person per day; while Marella, Saga and P&O Cruises now include tips (MSC Cruises also includes tips for its UK-based ship, Preziosa). I like knowing that my bill is all set before I sail! How it works: Gratuities are automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. How to Pay: Paid in cruise fare at the time of purchase. Here is a list of the daily gratuity charges by major cruise lines for 2021-22. In a survey of 850 cruisers, 71% stated that they took over $100 per person per day when cruising. A As of September 7 th, 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. However, most cruisers do tip them for their service. So our "big tip" on this subject is this - if you guys have a service staff problem, speak first with your cabin attendant. I believe this to be true, too. Here are some other people you should tip during your cruise. You can always add extra for exceptional service, though! Hi Janet! Cruise lines typically flag their ships in countries with lax employment laws. After 23 Royal Caribbean Cruises, What I've Learned About Tipping 15% being the rough standard for satisfactoryservice. When did royal mail stop delivering on christmas day? - JacAnswers There are some exceptions. 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. The COST Series: Cruise Ship TIPPING | Who to tip on a cruise and how much | Royal Caribbean Tipping The Weekend Cruiser 8.96K subscribers Subscribe 588 Share 10K views 8 months ago. Related: Whats included in your Royal Caribbean cruise fare. Royal Caribbean Royal Caribbean charges a $7.95 service fee and room service is available 24-hours a day. I dont think anyone will think youre rude for not tipping over and above this. Princess Cruises will automatically charge a crew incentive of $14.50 per person, per day for guests in inside ocean view and balcony cabins. Please let me know in the comments below. 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. Here's how it works on Royal Caribbean: As of September 7 th, 2022, the automatic service gratuity of $16.00 USD per person, per day for guests in non-suites staterooms, or $18.50 USD per.