Please find below the latest tipping policies for many of the cruise lines. I have researched the cruise lines listed below for their latest policies and gathered them into one location.
I will try to keep this page updated every month or so. If you don’t see a cruise line listed, drop me a note and I will try to add it to the list.
This page last updated: July 4, 2012
| Cruise Line | Tipping Policy | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Azamara | Gratuities included for housekeeping, dining and bar staff | |
| Carnival | Automatically Charged to Sail and Sign account. Passengers encouraged to address service issues with pursuer’s desk. Tipping amounts can be adjusted at any time. Gratuities can be Pre-Paid 15 % automatically added for beverage service. | $10 per person per day. $ 3.50 Per Day Stateroom Services $ 5.50 Per Day Dining Room Services $ 1.00 Per Day Alternative Services: distributed to other kitchen and hotel service staff For Cruises-To-Nowhere, gratuities of $10 per guest, per day must be prepaid. Automatic bar service gratuity of 15% is added to Sign and Sail Card at time of purchase. Starting with sailings Dec 1, 2011 the daily per person rate will increase to $11.50 |
| Celebrity | Gratuities automatically added to the Seapass account. Passengers may add additional tips to the auto tip but may not reduce the amount. Passengers may request that the auto tips be removed from their account if they choose to tip differently than suggested amounts. | $11.50 to $15.00 per person per day depending on state room class broken down as follows. Waiter: $3.65 p/day Assistant Waiter: $2.10 p/day Butler (suites only): $3.50 p/day Dining Room Management: $1.00 p/day Stateroom Service: $3.50 p/day Stateroom Service (Concierge Class): $4.00 p/day Other Service Personnel: $1.25 per p/day Children pay full tip even when sharing cabin with parents. |
| Costa Cruises General | Tipping is a personal matter, and your own judgment is the best guide. For your convenience, Costa will automatically debit your onboard account a modest service charge per person per day. Should you wish to change the amount, contact the Guest Relations Desk.”*************** Costa Varies their tipping guidelines by region. We are waiting for an update from Costa on their current rates, the rates listed below are as of 2009. ********** 15% gratuity is added to beverage purchases automatically. | |
| Costa Caribbean Sailings from US | Caribbean sailings departing from the U.S.: $10.00 US per adult per day for cruises up to 8 nights; $7.50 US per adult per day on longer cruises. The applicable service charge for teens between the ages of 14 and 17 will be 50% of these amounts; there will be no service charge for children under the age of 14. | |
| Costa Europe, Dubai and Costa Marina sailings | Euro 6.00 per adult per day for cruises up to 8 nights; Euro 4.50 per adult per day on longer cruises. The applicable service charge for teens between the ages of 14 and 17 will be 50% of these amounts; there will be no service charge for children under the age of 14. | |
| Costa Caribbean sailings departing from non-US. ports | Euro 6.00 per adult per day for cruises up to 8 nights; Euro 4.50 per adult per day on longer cruises. The applicable service charge for teens between the ages of 14 and 17 will be 50% of these amounts; there will be no service charge for children under the age of 14. | |
| Costa Transatlantic sailings | Euro 4.50 per adult per day. The applicable service charge for teens between the ages of 14 and 17 will be 50% of this amount; there will be no service charge for children under the age of 14. | |
| Costa South America sailings | $6.00 US per adult per day for cruises up to 8 nights; $4.50 US per adult per day on longer cruises. The applicable service charge for teens between the ages of 14 and 17 will be 50% of these amounts; there will be no service charge for children under the age of 14. | |
| Costa Far East and Costa Allegra sailings | Euro 6.00 per adult per day for cruises over 8 nights. The applicable service charge for teens between the ages of 14 and 17 will be 50% of these amounts; there will be no service charge for children under the age of 14. | |
| Crystal | Crystal states that tips for the maitre’d, headwaiter, assistant stewardess and night Room Service personnel are at your discretion. Gratuities may be prepaid or charged to your shipboard account. | Stewardess, $4 per guest, per day (single travelers, $5 per day); senior waiter, $4 per guest, per day; waiter, $3 per guest, per day; butler (Penthouse Decks), $4 per guest, per day. For our specialty restaurants, At Prego, Jade Garden, Silk Road and The Sushi Bar, they suggest $7 per guest, per dinner. A 15% gratuity for all bar drinks and wines is added to your bar check automatically. They suggest a 15% gratuity for Crystal Spa & Salon services. |
| Cunard | Auto tipping added to on board account. Passengers can “opt out” of this at any time and then tip in person according to their discretion. | $11 per day per person for std cabins, $13 per person per day for passengers with cabins qualifying them for the “Grill”, covers State Room and Dining Service. |
| Disney | Disney states “It is customary to give gratuities in recognition of service, which you will most likely be treated to in abundance aboard the ship. Tipping can be done with cash or automatically added to your on board account. | Per Guest per cruise 3-Night cruise: $12 for dining room server, $9. for asst dining room server, $3 for head waiter, and $12 for Stateroom Host/Hostess.******* 4-Night $16 for dining room server, $12. for asst dining room server, $4 for head waiter, and $16 for Stateroom Host/Hostess. ******** 7-Night $28 for dining room server, $21. for asst dining room server, $7 for head waiter, and $28 for Stateroom Host/Hostess. ********* Dining Manager Your Discretion Room Service Your Discretion Palo Gratuity included Vista Spa & Salon Your Discretion For your convenience, a 15% gratuity is automatically added to bar, beverage, wine and deck service tabs. |
| Hapag-Lloyd Cruises | Tipping is not obligatory on board. Acknowledgment of particularly good service is at the discretion of each guest. | No guidelines provided on the Hapag-Lloyd site, but perhaps the industry standards could be used in their place. |
| Holland America | HAL states “Our crew works very hard to make sure that every aspect of your cruise meets the highest standards. This includes those crew members who serve you directly, such as dining room wait staff and the stewards who service your stateroom each day. There are also many others who support their efforts whom you may never meet, such as galley and laundry staff.” Tips are automatically added to account with passengers having the ability to adjust the amounts up or down at their discretion. “The Hotel Service Charge is paid entirely to Holland America Line crew members, and represents an important part of their compensation. | $10 per person per day. Beginning with sailings departing after December 2, 2011, the daily Hotel Service Charge for suites is US$12.00 per guest per day, and US$11.50 per guest per day for other staterooms. All sailings departing prior to December 2, 2011, the daily Hotel Service Charge is US$11.00 per guest per day. (The charges are subject to change without notice) |
| NCL | NCL calls it a Fixed Service Charge and it is automatically added to your on board account or prepaid. Additional tipping is not discouraged. | $12 per person per day 18% is added for beverage services. |
| Oceania | Auto tipping added to on board account. | A suggested gratuity of $12.50 per Guest, per day, will be automatically added to your on board account for your stateroom attendant and all restaurant staff. All dining room staff gratuities are combined in a pool due to the fact that the ships offer multiple open-seating dining venues. Guests occupying Penthouse, Vista, or Owner’s Suites will have an additional $4.00 gratuity per guest, per day added in recognition of outstanding Butler Service. An 18% gratuity is automatically added to all beverage purchases and spa and salon services. |
| P&O | Who, when and how much to tip is at guests discretion. Tips are usually given in cash at the end of your holiday to your stateroom Steward, Restaurant Stewards in the Club Dining restaurants, and to any other staff who you feel you wish to reward. The only exception to this is for passengers traveling on Oceana and Ventura who have opted to utilize their Freedom Dining as, with this style of dining, guests may be seated at a different table and served by a different waiter on each occasion. They will therefore add an automatic service charge of £1.60 per passenger, per day to your shipboard account for the Restaurant Stewards. | Suggested amount per person (aged 12 and over) of £3.10 per day, which covers all staff who have looked after you during your holiday. Guests are free to increase or decrease this charge at their discretion by visiting Reception at any point during your cruise. Guests are free to tip any other staff, including stateroom Steward as they feel appropriate. |
| Princess | Automatically charged to your on board account, passengers can “op out” if they choose. | To simplify the tipping process for our passengers, a discretionary gratuity of $12 per person for mini-suites and suites, and $11.50 per passenger in all other staterooms per day (including children) will be automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. This gratuity will be shared amongst those staff who help provide and support your cruise experience, including all waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, and housekeeping staff across the fleet. A 15% charge is automatically added to your bar charges and dining room wine account. This is shared amongst the beverage staff and their support staff, including cleaners and utility staff. |
| Regent Seven Seas | Gratuities are not expected on board; they are included in your cruise fare. | |
| Royal Caribbean | Gratuities are at the discretion of each guest. Royal Caribbean does not automatically add gratuities to guest accounts. Only those guests who have signed up for My Time Dining will continue to have their gratuities added to their account. | Guidelines: Waiter: $3.75 USD a day per guest Assistant Waiter: $2.15 USD a day per guest Head Waiter: $.75 USD a day per guest Stateroom Attendant/ Other Housekeeping Services: $5.00 USD a day per guest Suite Attendant/ Other Housekeeping Services: $7.25 USD a day per guest A 15% gratuity will automatically be added to your bar bill or wine check when you are served. |
| Seabourn | Tipping is neither required nor expected. | |
| Silver Seas | All gratuities are included in your cruise fare. Tipping is discouraged. |
I dont think MSC is included in this list but I have just read at www.cruises.co.uk/109-cruise_news/4011-msc_more_service_charge.html that now they will start to add a compulosory service charge of up to $12 which has come into effect from now.
I have read a lot of reviews about tipping on ships and how people get annoyed that they have to tip. Reading one review on www.cruise.co.uk/cruise-reviews/ it says that the team on Fred. Olsen made her feel that she had to tip. I think it should be left to people to decide whether they should tip or not, I personal feel that if the service is good people should tip but some people may feel that they have not had the best service and that they do not deserve to be tipped which I can fully understand, no-one should be made to do something that they dont want to do.
Just got off RCL Monarch 10/15/2012 . We tipped in cash as it said on the paper delivered to the cabin that an additional fee would be charged if you chose to add the tips to your seaboard account( credit card)
Paula,
Thanks for you comments.
I am concerned if Royal is doing it this way.
I like the convenience of auto tipping and have gone down to the customer relations desk on another cruise line and had the extra put on at no surcharge. I wonder why the would make it harder to tip extra?
I talked to a couple of people who are frequent cruisers with Royal and they thought that maybe the daily news paper was referring to the charge that you would pay if you get the cash for extra tipping by using you Seapass at the casino to get cash? Could it have been referring to that rather than if you have it added through guest relations?
If you still have you news letter could you quote the exact wording for us. We want to make sure that our readers are getting the most current and accurate information
I just wanted to clarify, I have done some research and it is a misunderstanding that there is a surcharge for adding tips to the Seapass account.
There is no extra charge to add additional tips to this account on Royal Caribbean. Pay cash or have the extra added to the Seapass account, it will cost you exactly the same.