Royal Caribbean is following other cruise lines and increasing their automatic or daily Gratuities in onboard the ship. This amount is the daily charge you will receive on a a Royal Caribbean cruise per person! However, you do have the option to prepay gratuities before sailing.
See how much these gratuities are increasing based on cabin type and how to keep the lower rate if you prepay gratuities before your sailing. If looking to learn how much are Royal Caribbean’s gratuities, look no further!
Keep in mind, people may tip more than this automatic amount as cruise ship tipping can be complicated on Royal Caribbean with lots of opinions.
24 Comments
It would be interesting to see the comparison between people booking prepaid, or rather already included vs not.
As for celebrity I opted out of their roll in because it is an all or nothing and I don’t need all the drinks or internet. I believe their 3-2-1 allowed you to pick and choose your roll-ins.
Ultimately, I think the add on gratuity gives people a place to get frustrated or even surprised. Then we are so used to them that it feels weird not to have them added on.
Because of the differences in cultures about tipping I think the pay of the crew shouldn’t be optional!
Yes but you realize when you board the ship you can go to guest services and have them turn it off so that you can do what I do and give to the specific crew along the way. On RCCL at least.
Love the hoodie. Am I correct in that it is a South Boston related hoodie? Yes, I grew up in Southie, and our St. Patrick's Day parade (sorry, "Evacuation Day" parade) was always a highlight of the year.
I always opt out of paying gratuities. I tip my stateroom attendant if he/she deserves it.
On gratuities, even on lines such as Celebrity that include gratuities, there still is a debate on whether and who to tip extra. I sail Celebrity and I still plan on tipping 2-300 extra over the course of a cruise partly because I'm never sure who is included in tip pool and I like to reward those crew who go above and beyond.
I agree with your premise that the cruise lines ought to pay to a level where their employees don't need to depend on tips to make a reasonable wage, but to work, it would have to go to point where tips are not just included, but prohibited.
Cruise Virgin. Gratuities are included in the cruise fare, no line for "additional tip" on beverages, spa, or anything. NO ONE has a hand out for a tip, and crew members have said/posted that they are paid about three times as much as they were earning on other lines where passengers tip!
Sailed Oasis on 8/14 out of Newark. Was shocked and disappointed at the full capacity and short staffing dynamic at play for this sailing. You could see it on virtually every crew member’s face. My partner and I tipped like never before on this cruise to acknowledge great service. Did specialty dining throughout to avoid the MDR/Windjammer crowds and lines. I’d love to see RCCL do better by their employees but am happy to ante up, too. These folks, overall, work like dogs. I so appreciate all that’s done to create a great guest experience.
Couldn't agree with you more about gratuities. Spent 40 years in retail. Can't imagine leaving it up to the customers to decide who should be paid what. As mentioned earlier, love the Southie hoodie! Grew up just north of Boston and spent quite a bit of time in Southie.
This culture of guilting consumers for gratuities is out of control.
My local restaurant has a gratuity line even when just ordering takeout!!
I remember sailing when the main dining room waiter and cabin steward amounts were $3.50 per day per passenger. I did a bit of a search and RC increased it's suggested gratuities in 2010 for the first time in 13 years. After that, it appears they increased the suggested gratuity amount every 3-5 years. I look at the suggested gratuity amount as a guideline. This is especially helpful to new cruisers.
Great topic Brandon.
Love this blog Hi Brandon! Since we never use the main dining room staff and always book the Specialty Resteraunts or when we are on an Oasis Class ship we use the Coastal Kitchen since we always book a suite and tip each of our wait staff accordingly and always tip a little extra in the Specialty Resteraunts even though an 18% gratuity is automatically added into the bill.As for our cabin steward we find out what the daily break down individually is and tip them in cash accordingly along with tipping bar staff the ssme.So since we do not use the main dining room we go to the front desk and have the tips removed and do it all in cash for each individual service provided either daily or at the end of our cruise.We've had good and bad service so if the service is subpar (which is rare) then we tip them according to there service.
I heard people are skipping out on the last night in the main dining room so they don't have to tip. Is that true?
I have very strong feelings about this. When people make such a claim that companies should just include it into the price of the service. Couple of issues with that. When is the last time anyone with that view point suggested that restaurants increase the cost of the menu by 20-30%? What about when you have food delivered? What about your Uber / Lyft driver who is independent contractor's and not an actual employee. There are allot of US companies where tipping is customary and employee either W2 or 1099 rely on the tip just so they can get by.
Tipping on cruise ships has been part of the culture for many many years. Do some cruise lines just roll it into the cost of the cruise? Yeah a few do. Your main players still don't include with the cruise fare. Prime example of Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL. Now that Princess and Celebrity now offer rates without the perks, they don't include the gratuities for all guests who opt not to take the perks.
Viking cruise line doesn't include gratuities into the cruise fare and their cost is allot more.
At the end of the day, we are talking about $1.50 per day per person. I'm sure if we all examine what we spend on a day to day bases, that this is a drop in the bucket.
My issue is with selective outcry. Prime example, NCL, Carnival and Disney all this year raised their daily gratuity and got very little traction but the moment Royal did it then people noticed and started to get upset.
I will now see myself out the door 😉
I could not agree with you more.
lemme go get started on this Excel spreadsheet cause this cruise is most definitely not going to be a cheap thrill like Sia!! 💸💸
I think there is more to separating tips from the fare.
1. It give the illusion that the cruise cost less
2. It gives the guest more time to pay the total. The fare is due 90 days out, you can wait until the end of the cruise to pay the gratuities
I agree with what you are saying I don’t mind tipping but the cruise line need to just pay their workers and not depend on tips
OK let me start by saying….I love your videos and im Loyal to Royal With that said…is NOT my responsiblilty to pay the crew member salary. I pay for my cruise and the fact the cruise industry had convince the passengers to pay wages for their employees is unreal. I DO NOT pay the auto tips….I have them removed and tip my cabin steward and waiter and bartenders. Why should I pay wages for their business????? Do you tip the check out person at grocery store or the sales clerk at the retail store? NO…..they make billions of dollars and should pay their employees…just me thoughts
Living in AustralIa when we book with royal our gratuity is included in our fair so they are already doing it why not everywhere
Does this apply to Celebrity also?
I’m all for paying crew, I just wish they would build it into the price of the cruise.
Thanks for the update
Nice Info ~ I agree, include gratuities!
Amen! I love Royal Caribbean (14 cruises booked within 18 months, including 3 transatlantics), but the way they nickel and dime us is annoying and repulsive. Just raise the price, include everything, and pay the crew well. Oh, and the option of some adults only cruises would be heavenly!