Tipping on a cruise isn’t new, but many are questioning why it’s not part of the cruise fare.
Royal Caribbean announced this week it will increase the daily gratuity rate it charges passengers by 50 cents per day, per person.
It’s not a major increase, and it’s in line with the cruise line’s more or less annual gratuity rate change. But a major debate erupted online as to why gratuities are still charged as if they’re an optional cost.
“May as well be shouting into the wind, but stop separating gratuities and just put it in your pricing,” is what one user on the Royal Caribbean sub reddit posted. It’s a sentiment a lot of other people seem to share.
As of right now, gratuities are an extra cost beyond the base cruise fare. If you book a cruise and do nothing else, every person in your cabin would be charged automatically the daily gratuity rate every night of the cruise.
- $18.50 per person, per night for standard cabins
- $21.00 per person, per night for suites
Royal Caribbean says customers can prepay gratuities before the change takes place on November 1 and lock in the old rate for any existing bookings they have.
Those gratuities cover your stateroom attendant and dining room staff during the cruise. The automatic nature of it means there’s no awkward tipping at the end of the cruise, as was the tradition for many years.
Tipping on a cruise extends beyond the automatic daily gratuities, because Royal Caribbean also charges gratuity on many onboard purchases. If you order a cocktail or get a spa appointment, there is an automatic 20% gratuity added onto that purchase (up from 18%).
Gratuities are one of the top hidden costs of a cruise vacation, and Royal Caribbean’s increase has sparked debate if it’s time to roll them into the fare.
Fierce opinions
Should tipping be included in the cruise fare? Many people shared their thoughts on the matter.
“Tipping is stupid,” wrote sonuyosrox. “It should be included in the price. It’s not my responsibility to pay your staff. On top of that I don’t even know where the tip is going.”
Sweetydarling77 pointed out, “That’s exactly how it should be and how it is if you book from Australia. They have to include gratuities in the price here, as it should be.”
That user is correct. Royal Caribbean includes gratuities in the cruise fares for certain countries already, where tipping is not part of their culture.
“If the cruise line can arbitrarily raise gratuities then it’s not a gratuity. It’s a fee,” added carefreeguru.
User midtreblebass thinks Royal Caribbean could learn from other lines, “I think they need to seriously consider what Virgin is doing. Make it part of the cruise fare, so that everyone pays into it.”
“I’m on team just pay your employees directly and leave me out of it and put the gratuities into the price of the cruise,” wrote ZacPetkanas.
“Rising gratuities and declining services is a hard pill to swallow.”
What some passengers do instead of tipping
Royal Caribbean provides a recourse for anyone who isn’t satisfied with the service they receive on a cruise by allowing them to remove the gratuities once onboard the ship.
If a passenger goes to Guest Services, they can request to have the gratuities removed from their account.
“Gratuities may be modified in the guest’s sole discretion by visiting the Guest Services desk onboard at any time prior to the morning of disembarkation.”
This option is meant for passengers to pay cash tips instead, either because they prefer to give out cash or they want to adjust the gratuity rate. Usually because service has been so good, they want to reward a crew member.
The online debate about tipping lead to if it’s ethical to remove gratuities and not tip, either to save money on the vacation cost or on principle that tips should be earned for over the top extraordinary service.
“Tipping is something you do out of your heart. If they don’t feel like tipping then it is totally OK not to tip. People really need to stop guilt tripping others into tipping,” wrote sonuyosrox.
User twaggle countered that until the policy changes, not tipping hurts the wrong people, “Because whether it’s stupid or not or you hate it or not you still agreed to it by purchasing the voyage.”
“I’m all for hating it, but putting your foot down literally only hurts the lowest man not [Royal Caribbean].”
Why Royal Caribbean doesn’t want to offer all-inclusive prices
The debate of including more in the cruise fare isn’t new, and Royal Caribbean’s top executives have certainly considered the options.
During the 2024 President’s Cruise, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley indicated there were no plans to include more in the cruise fare.
The cruise line has found from its internal research that the brand needs to give everyone the decision of what they want to be included in their vacation.
His rationale was how tipping is viewed in certain countries, such as the United States.
“Because of the scale of our brand, we need to give everybody the choice,” Mr. Bayley said.
Bayley, who’s lived in the U.S. for decades, joked, “You’re just you’re trained to tip for everything. You tip for this, tip for that.”
“I’m Americanized, [so] when I go to the UK and I go to the pub with my sister and we have drinks, they bring the change and she puts it in her pocket. And I’m like, what is the matter with you?”
Mr. Bayley did not mention it, but not including gratuities in the cruise fare also helps with marketing cruise fares. By keeping the base fare lower, it’s more attractive when customers are pricing out a vacation.
