On most cruises, passengers can expect to be charged for gratuities—tips that are distributed to certain crew members like stateroom attendants and dining room servers.
Although gratuities are customary across the industry to recognize the crew members who work hard to ensure you enjoy your vacation, these added service fees often take first-time cruisers by surprise. The charges applied to some stateroom categories can be as much as $25 per passenger per day on some cruise lines, but most daily gratuity rates run between $16 and $20 per passenger.
Related: Disney Cruise Line raises key onboard fee again
It’s no surprise though that just as cruise lines are raising prices, they’re increasing gratuity rates too. When asked, most cruise lines say their rate adjustments are made in line with industry standards.
In November, Royal Caribbean cited industry standards as it raised its daily gratuity amount from $18 per passenger to $18.50 per passenger for most stateroom categories. More recently, Disney Cruise Line followed suit, increasing its recommended gratuity rate from $14.50 per passenger per night to $16 per passenger per night for non-concierge staterooms.
Now, another cruise line is making an adjustment to its suggested rate too. And this one is increasing its automatic gratuity charge to an amount that’s higher than either of those cruise line’s rates.
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The Islander has multiple pools.
Image source: Margaritaville at Sea.
Margaritaville at Sea bumps up daily gratuity rate
Jimmy Buffett’s cruise line Margaritaville at Sea, which currently sails two cruise ships from Florida ports, is the latest cruise line to raise its gratuities. The change puts Margaritaville at Sea’s rate on par with Norwegian Cruise Line’s onboard service charge, which is higher than most mainstream cruise lines’ gratuity fees.
On its website, Margaritaville at Sea states that as of Feb. 1, gratuities of $20 per person, per night for staterooms and $24.00 per person, per night for suites will be automatically added to passengers’ stateroom accounts during their cruises. This is an increase of $2 over the cruise lines previous gratuity rates of $18 for staterooms and $22 for suites.
Related: Jimmy Buffett’s cruise line in talks for a new homeport
As of Feb. 1, Margaritaville at Sea is also raising its onboard service gratuity from 18% to 20% gratuity for all bar, drink packages, specialty dining, spa and salon tabs.
Although no one wants to pay more for their cruise, most passengers won’t notice a sizeable increase in their final cruise bill.
At the new $20 per-passenger daily gratuity rate, two passengers sailing in an inside stateroom will pay $200 in gratuities on a five-night Margaritaville at Sea cruise rather than $180 at the previous rate, an increase of $20.
You can modify cruise gratuities, if you wish
Cruise gratuity rates are suggested amounts and you are free to modify them at your discretion. Keep in mind though that those gratuities are an essential part of the compensation package for the hardworking crew members who help make your vacation special.
The majority of passengers choose to accept the cruise line’s recommended daily rate and some even reward crew members for exceptional service by providing additional tips.
Related: Royal Caribbean crew member shares the lowdown on tips
For your convenience, most cruise lines will offer you the option to pre-pay gratuities at the recommended rate when booking your cruise. Many passengers like to do this so they know up front how much they’re spending on their cruise. If you pre-pay gratuities and avoid making additional purchases on board your cruise, you could potentially enjoy your vacation without spending another dime.
If you’ve already pre-paid gratuities for an upcoming cruise before a rate increase happens, you’re usually locked in at the previous, lower gratuity rate. If you’d like, you can increase your gratuities by visiting the guest services desk once on board your cruise.
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