Cruise fares are pretty straightforward – you know what you’re paying for. But then there are the extras that spark debate, and none more so than gratuities.
Sure, most people understand what gratuities cover, but the real question is how to pay them. Many cruise lines give you the option to prepay – but is that a smart move, or could it backfire if the service isn’t up to scratch?
In most cases, I recommend prepaying, but there are a few times when it’s better to hold off. Here’s why…
How Gratuities Work On Cruise Ships
Gratuities are the tips that are paid to cruise ship crew members. These make up a large chunk of their salary. Gratuities are typically added to your cruise account automatically, but can also be prepaid. Some cruise lines include them in the cruise fare instead.
Most of the crew on a cruise ship are paid an hourly salary, which tends to be quite low. That salary is then supplemented with gratuities – a service charge that is applied to every guest on the ship (except, usually, for children under a certain age).
There are some cruise lines that include these gratuities in your cruise fare, so you don’t have to worry about them.
Cruise lines that include gratuities:
- Azamara
- Celestyal
- Marella
- MSC Cruises (when booked in the UK)
- P&O Cruises
- Regent Seven Seas
- Saga
- Silversea
- Virgin Voyages
There are also some other cruise lines which may offer special deals where gratuities are included – look out for these when you book.
Typically, though, if you’re cruising with another line not listed above, your gratuities will be added to your account during the sailing, and you’ll then pay them off when you settle your final bill on the last day of your cruise.
But most cruise lines also give you the option to prepay your gratuities – paying for them in advance. You can sometimes add this option as you book your cruise, otherwise, you would log into your account with the cruise line and add them on once the booking has been made.
What Prepaid Gratuities Cover
Prepaid gratuities cover the standard daily service charge that is added to your cruise account. They do not cover any additional service charges which may be added for one-off purchases when you’re on your cruise, such as drinks or speciality dining reservations.
It’s important to be clear on the distinction – there are two main types of service charge when you cruise. The first is the standard charge, which is the daily amount charged to every passenger on the ship.
| Cruise line | Daily cost of gratuities | Depending on |
|---|---|---|
| Ambassador Cruise Line | £5 – £6 | Cruise length |
| Carnival | $16 – $18 | Stateroom type |
| Celebrity Cruises | $17.50 – $21 | Stateroom type |
| Costa Cruises | €11 – $16.50 | Stateroom type and destination |
| Cunard | $17 – $19 | Stateroom type |
| Disney Cruise Line | $16 – $27.25 | Stateroom type |
| Fred. Olsen | £5 | |
| Holland America | $16 – $17.50 | Stateroom type |
| NCL | $20 – $25 | Stateroom type |
| Princess Cruises | $17 – $19 | Stateroom type |
| Royal Caribbean | $18.50 – $21 | Stateroom type |
The second type is a service charge applied to certain purchases you make either during your cruise or in advance of your cruise. Typically ranging from 15% to 20%, this is automatically added every time you buy a drink or reserve a speciality dining restaurant. It can also be added to drinks packages too.
If you prepay gratuities on cruise holidays, you are paying for the standing daily charge only. You are not excluding yourself from the additional charges levied against drinks or dining reservations – you’ll still need to pay those!
Reasons You Should Prepay Gratuities
There are a couple of key reasons why it makes sense to prepay your gratuities, and a third reason which applies only to some cruise lines.
1. Prepaying Gratuities Helps You to Budget
When you prepay your gratuities, you’re making it much easier to manage your spending budget onboard the ship. After all, it’s one less thing you have to pay for.
Some cruise lines, like Carnival, add the gratuities in one bulk charge towards the end of your cruise. If you’ve forgotten about them, you might get a nasty surprise when it comes to the time to settle your bill!
Paying in advance means you don’t need to set aside funds to cover your tips for the crew, and you know that you only need to pay for the drinks and other purchases you make during the cruise itself.
2. Prepaying Tips Locks in the Price
Cruise gratuities are not a permanently fixed price, and for most cruise lines, they typically rise every year.
Prepaying your gratuities, when you are cruising more than a year in advance, could therefore save you money since you can lock them in at the older rate, before any rise is pushed through.
Once a price rise is announced, anyone who has not yet prepaid gratuities will be subject to the higher rate if they are sailing after the increase date.
But if you have already prepaid, you won’t pay extra, even if the costs do increase before you sail. The cruise line won’t tell you to pay the difference between what you’ve prepaid and what you would pay with the new pricing.
3. Prepaying Gratuities May Unlock More Dining Options
With some cruise lines, prepaying your gratuities is required for certain flexible dining options.
The Royal Caribbean prepaid gratuities are the most well-known example. If you don’t want a traditional dining time and you want the flexibility to eat in the Main Dining Room at a time that suits you, you’ll need to choose MyTime Dining.
But to do that, you need to prepay your gratuities.
Why You Might Not Want to Prepay Gratuities
There are three main reasons why you might not want to prepay gratuities. One of those is absolutely valid, but I disagree with the other two.
Let’s start with the valid one though…
1. You May Want To Use Onboard Credit To Pay for Your Tips
Some cruise lines, like Carnival and Royal Caribbean, may have special offers where you get a set amount of onboard credit to enjoy during your cruise. You can also get onboard credit for some cruise lines if you’re a shareholder.
This credit can usually be applied to your tips, but only during your cruise. You aren’t given the onboard credit in advance (the clue is in the name – “onboard” credit), so if you want to use it for gratuities, you have to wait until you’re on the ship.
2. You May Prefer to Tip in Cash
Some cruisers prefer to remove gratuities from their cruise account and instead hand out cash to crew members that they feel are most deserving of it. This may be in an envelope on the last day, or with a $2 bill for each drink.
However, I strongly believe that you should always pay your tips through your cruise account, either on the ship or by prepaying.
If you choose to pay in cash instead, you’re missing out on tipping many of the crew who work behind the scenes to keep everything running perfectly during your cruise.
Trust me, you might think you can track down all of the crew who have made your vacation special, but you can’t. There are so many people you don’t see who work tirelessly and are equally deserving of your gratuities.
3. You Might Not Be a Fan of Tipping at All Unless the Service Justifies It
If you’re someone who isn’t a fan of tipping in general, you should understand that these crew members rely on tips for their salary. Tips are not really a reward – they are essential, and if you choose to avoid paying tips, you’re essentially saying the crew shouldn’t be paid.
Whenever you have an issue with poor service, ask for help from Guest Services and they can probably resolve any problems quickly. That way, you don’t need to worry about withholding gratuities from crew members who really do deserve them.
Read more: Can You Refuse To Pay Gratuities On A Cruise?
Is It Better To Do Prepaid Gratuities on a Cruise?
It is normally better to prepay your gratuities for your cruise. The only exception is where you’re able to apply onboard credit against your gratuity charges, and where you don’t intend to spend that onboard credit on other things.
Prepaying your gratuities just makes everything easier – you know how much you need to spend before you sail, and then you don’t have to worry about it.
Yes, if you have onboard credit, it might make sense to put that towards gratuities instead. But if you intend to buy drinks, or spa treatments, or reserve seats at a speciality restaurant, you might be better off leaving your onboard credit to cover those purchases instead, and then prepaying the gratuities still makes sense.
Is It Cheaper To Prepay Gratuities on a Cruise?
There are no cruise lines that offer cheaper deals on gratuities if you pay them in advance. However, it can be cheaper to do so anyway, as it can mean avoiding any price rises if you’re booking at least a few months before you sail.
For example, in January each year, Carnival typically announces a hike in its gratuity charges, which will come into effect from April or May of that year.
If you’ve booked a cruise after this announcement is made, you’d have to pay the new rate.
But if you had booked your summer cruise in the prior December, and prepaid your gratuities before the increase was announced, you’d still only pay the old rate even though your sailing was taking place once the price increase had happened.
So if you’re inclined towards prepaying your gratuities, do so as soon as you can, to lock in the price before it goes up.
What Does ‘Free Prepaid Gratuities’ Mean?
If a cruise line offers free prepaid gratuities, it means that your gratuities are included in the special deal and don’t need to be paid by you. You’ll still have to pay any additional service charges for drinks or dining reservations, though.
Cruise lines that always include gratuities in their fare don’t generally call it “free prepaid gratuities” – they just say that the tips are included in what you pay. So if you see “free prepaid gratuities”, it is more likely to be a sale or discounted offer.
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How to Prepay Gratuities
You can prepay your gratuities at any time before your cruise. The exact process will vary by cruise line, but generally, you should log onto your cruise booking on the cruise line’s website.
There’ll be an option to add extras to your booking, one of which will be prepaid gratuities. If you can’t find it or you have any problem adding it to your account, you should call the cruise line to find out more.
If you’ve booked with a travel agent, speak to them and they should be able to arrange to have the gratuities added to your account in advance.
Advice for Each Cruise Line…
Check for your specific cruise line below for what you need to know about prepaying gratuities…
Carnival
It is usually better to prepay your gratuities on a Carnival cruise unless you want to use onboard credit to pay for them. You can prepay Carnival gratuities by logging onto your booking on the Carnival website and adding them to your package.
Royal Caribbean
It is typically better to prepay your Royal Caribbean gratuities. You can wait to pay them onboard if you want to use onboard credit to cover them, but be aware that this means you can’t choose MyTime Dining – that’s only available when you prepay your tips.
Norwegian Cruise Line
It is best to prepay your gratuities on an NCL cruise if you can. A lot of NCL cruises will offer onboard credit as a special promotion, and you might prefer to wait and use that to cover the tips. There are also regular promotions that include free prepaid gratuities too.
Princess Cruises
If you want to manage your budget more effectively, it’s a good idea to prepay your gratuities for your Princess cruise. The only time you would be better off waiting is if you want to use any onboard credit towards the gratuity amount.
Disney Cruise Line
You can prepay gratuities on your Disney cruise, although you have a slightly shorter window than with other cruise lines – you must do so at least three days before you sail. Other cruise lines let you prepay right up to your sailing day.
Holland America Line
You can prepay your Crew Appreciation service charges on a Holland America cruise. Once your cruise is booked, log onto the website with your booking details, and you can find the option to add the gratuities and pay them in advance.
Final Word
In most cases, it makes sense to prepay your gratuities where you can. Having one less thing to think about on the ship is a blessing and means you can focus on budgeting for things you actually want to buy.
If you don’t prepay, make sure you are still paying through the account – it really isn’t fair on the background crew if you remove the gratuities and pay in cash.
TODAY’S BEST CRUISE DEALS!
Don’t miss these offers…
Related Posts:
- 13 Embarrassing Tipping Errors To Avoid On A Cruise
- Can You Refuse To Pay Gratuities On A Cruise?
- What Crew Members Really Think About Tipping On Cruises
- 13 Things Your Cabin Steward Secretly LOVES You Doing
I agree, the staff most definitely deserve to be paid a higher wage.
Without the staff there would be no cruise.
They work very long hours, always have a smile on their faces.
They deserve it.
I always tip some of the staff weather I’ve paid gratuities or not.
They are all amazing people .
These are the people who make your cruise special.
You say that “Tips are not really a reward – they are essential, and if you choose to avoid paying tips, you’re essentially saying the crew shouldn’t be paid.”
Tips have always been seen by the British, at least, as a reward for service that goes that extra inch and, therefore, should not be automatic otherwise individual standards will never improve.
As far as crew pay is concerned perhaps the company should be paying a decent and transparent wage – transparency being the operative word and then passengers could be satisfied where and to whom the money is being apportioned.
Cruise lines should pay there staff a decent wage if it is not already, tipping is an American disease that should be stopped and left to the individual. I would sooner pay all at the start. Oh and by the way if the staff are that poorly paid why do it.
Tipping is an insidious American disease that should be banned not promoted. The tour industry love it as it puts money back into the pockets of the companies.🤬
I always cruise Royal Caribbean and always choose My Time Dining. I have never prepaid my gratuities. In fact, I always remove gratuities and pay cash at the end of cruise. Now with that being said. I never have my attendant clean my room, I just exchange dirty towels for clean ones myself. I don’t like anyone in my cabin. Although I choose my time dining, I have never eaten in the main dining room. I only eat at buffet. I do not drink alcohol so I’ve never had a drink made at a bar. I do purchase the refreshment pkg for non-alcoholic drinks and although tips are included, I always add an extra dollar or 2 for my zero proofs. So I think everyone’s situation is different.
Maybe, just maybe, America should start paying its people a decent wage and do away with the tipping crap?
You thing you forgot to mention which is an important one. If you don’t pay for tips up front, and for whatever reason you are unable to sail, that is one amount you don’t have to worry about about getting refunded back to you. This money is loss especially if you insurance doesn’t cover all events for canceling.