Cruise Line gratuity policies have changed over the past few years.
In days of old, you had to worry about setting aside enough cash to tip at the end of your cruise. Envelopes were delivered to your stateroom and the last night of the cruise you would hand them out to your cabin steward, waiter and assistant waiter at dinner in the main dining room.
The cruise lines have now streamlined this process to make things more convenient for you: you can pay for your gratuities in advance when you book your cruise or they will be charged to your shipboard account and you can settle up at the end of your cruise.
Exactly how much the gratuities are, I can tell you that it varies by cruise line, but the standard is between $10.00 – $15.00 per person per day.
This may sound like a lot, but when you consider all the people that it’s divied up between, it seems more than fair.
Especially when you consider that it is supplemental pay for those that deliver the service that helps make your cruise great.
The amount you pay per day is usually split among stateroom services, dining room services (including but not limited to your waiter and assistant waiter), and alternative services.
Just think of it as if you were going out to dinner at a nice restaurant 3 times a day, you would probably tip more there for mediocre service that doesn’t come close to comparing to the service you receive on a cruise ship.
You may be thinking that at least in a restaurant you choose the amount you tip based on the service you receive, and most ships you can still do just that. The amounts they have set aside are suggestions and if you do nothing that is the amount that will be charge to your onboard spending account.
However, if you have received superior service and would like to give more to one person or all of them or if the service hasn’t lived up to your expectations, you can go to the pursers (service desk) and they can alter the amount for you.
If you are still opposed to tipping perhaps you should try one of the luxury lines that have a no tipping policy, such as Cruise West, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn or Silver Seas.
In Part 2: Cruise Line Gratuities I will outline the specific policies of each cruise line!
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