How much should you tip per day on a cruise?

Keep reading this article for a quick guide to tipping appropriately on a cruise trip.

While on a cruise vacation, you should expect daily gratuities, which are charged automatically to your onboard account. This amount usually varies from one cruise line to another. Generally, a standard cabin gratuity stays between $14 and $15 per day. In the case of suites, it increases to $17-$18.

Additionally, some cruise ships might add gratuities of 15%-20% on drinks and spa services. They treat these charges as incentives or service fees for crew members and waiters. Usually, the cruise cabin stewards, waiters, and other crew members get to distribute the gratuities among themselves.

Cruise lines generally add gratuities to your onboard bill, which are charged from your credit card at the end of your trip.

Moreover, there is the option of prepayment. It is ideal for those who do not wish to include financial activities within the holiday.

If you wish to pay the gratuities in cash, there is an option for this on most cruise lines. They will charge the amount from you on the last evening of the trip, and you can share the entire gratuity in cash.

Also Check: How to get the best price for a cruise?

Tipping waiters or crew members bringing room service is customary if the menu suggests that no gratuity is being added to the fee. However, it is your discretion to tip the crew members separately.

Now, when it comes to the cruise director, captain, or entertainment staff, there is no need to tip them. Moreover, many cruise lines add an automatic tip to your bills in the spa and bar. Check your bill in advance to avoid overspending. Then again, you can add an additional tip to the bartender or spa attendant if you feel satisfied with their services.

On-shore excursions include bus rides and tours to famous destinations. Here, tipping the bus drivers and tour guides is common. It is up to you how much you wish to tip them. Generally, passengers like to pay about $1-$2 to the bus drivers and about $3-$6 to tour guides based on the service quality.

Adjusting gratuities is possible for passengers. You can ask them to adjust the gratuity amount while maintaining the automatic payment method.

Usually, it is not a problem to decrease the gratuity amount since the tipping amount should usually be up to the guests.

Yes, there are multiple luxury cruise lines with no-tipping policies. Some of these include Silversea, Seabourn, Regent Seven Seas, and others. They have built gratuities in their fares, which allow them to exclude tipping completely. However, these ships allow passengers to pay additional tips to the crew members at their discretion.

Hopefully, that gives you a complete overview regarding tipping crew members while enjoying a cruise vacation. If you are new to cruising, this information will help you avoid overspending or the embarrassment of underpaying tips to the members. Moreover, you can plan your expenses based on the tips required to maintain a fixed budget.