Azamara Club Cruises includes gratuities in its fares.
Carnival Cruise Line charges $13.99 per person per day for guests in standard rooms; and $15.99 per person per day for guests in suites. All gratuities go to Carnival’s shipboard staff. According to its website, the amount is spread between its housekeeping team, dining team, and alternate staff.
Carnival recently announced that it would start charging 18 percent, up from 15 percent, on the automatic gratuity it charges for onboard beverages and a la carte dining outlets.
Celebrity Cruise Line charges $14.50 per person per day for those in standard accommodations; $15.00 per person per day for Concierge Class and AquaClass guests; and $18.00 per person per day for those in suites.
On its website, Celebrity says that collected gratuities are shared between stateroom attendants, dining services staff, and housekeeping staff. The cruise line also adds an 18 percent gratuity to all beverages, spa, salon, and minibar purchases.
Crystal Cruises' sailings are all-inclusive, so gratuities for its staff — housekeeping, restaurant, bar, and Penthouse butler staff — are already included in the cruise fare.
Holland America Line charges $14.50 per day per person for all guests staying in standard rooms, and $16.00 per person per day for suite guests.
MSC Cruises' service charges vary by sailing. For the majority of its Caribbean sailings, MSC charges $12.50 per night per adult; and $6.25 per night per child over the age of two. The same goes for its South America and FAE sailings.
For MSC’s South Africa cruises, guests will pay $8 per night per person for adults; and $4 per person per night for children. Guests on the Grand Voyages from South Africa (Northbound) are charged $12.50 per night per person for adults; and $6.25 per night per person for children.
For its Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Antilles, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Oman cruises, MSC automatically charges 10 euros per person per night for adults; and half that for children.
Norwegian Cruise Line guests sailing in any stateroom category up to a mini-suite on most ships will be charged $15 per person per day. Those sailing in any suite, Concierge, or The Haven stateroom will be charged $18 per person per day.
Standard guests on Norwegian Sky and Sun, two ships that sail with an all-inclusive price, will be charged $20.50 per person per day. Suite guests will be charged $23.50 per person per day.
The increases are “nominal adjustments.” Norwegian previously charged $14.50 per day for standard cabins and $17.50 per person per day for suites and Haven guests on ships besides Sky and Sun; and $19.99 for standard guests and $22.99 for suite guests on Sky and Sun.
Oceania Cruises automatically adds $16.00 per person per day for standard guests; and $23.00 per person per day for suite guests. Oceania also adds an 18 percent charge to all beverage purchases, spa services, and specialty dinners.
Paul Gauguin Cruises includes gratuities.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises include gratuities on all sailings. The line also offers another option for guests who want to go above-and-beyond for their crew: donations to the Crew Welfare Fund, which is used for crew events, are welcomed at the Purser Office onboard.
Royal Caribbean International's automatic gratuity is $14.50 per person per day for standard guests, and $17.50 per person per day for suite guests.
Seabourn indicates on their website that “Gratuities are neither required nor expected on Seabourn ships.”
Silversea includes all gratuities except spa services.
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
When it officially launches in 2020, the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will offer a fare that includes onboard gratuities for all restaurant, bar and housekeeping services, along with multiple dining venues, 24-hour in-suite dining, beverages such as beer, select spirits and wines, soft drinks, coffee, tea and bottled water in-suite and throughout the yacht, onboard entertainment and enrichment, use of the marina-style platform with access to watersports, and Wi-Fi.
Viking Ocean Cruises adds a discretionary hotel and dining charge of $15.00 per person per day to shipboard accounts. Those charges are shared among the waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, galley staff, laundry staff, and others. That fee does not include Viking’s 15 percent gratuity for bar and deck service.
Virgin Voyages will include all onboard gratuities when it launches in 2020.
Windstar charges $13.50 per person per day for all guests. Windstar also adds a 15 percent service charge for bar service.
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Most cruise lines allow guests to adjust the automatic gratuities on day 1 of the cruise, or remove them immediately -- in order to give cash. Exception: Norwegian Cruise Line
All gratuities are subject to change.
