Tipping on Cruise Ships
Tipping practices vary greatly amongst the cruise lines today, ranging
from a required added service charge to no tipping at all. It is very
important that you know the policy of the cruise line before you
cruise so you can budget accordingly. When planning your cruise, check
with your travel agent or the cruise line about the tipping policy.
Often the recommended tips, which run from about $10 to $15 per
passenger per day, are published in the cruise brochure or on the
cruise line Web page. The cruise director will also remind passengers
(sometimes over and over) about how much and who the cruise line
recommends you tip.
Most tips on cruise ships are really
service charges, which is one of the reasons why cruise lines seem to
be moving towards adding a flat fee to your onboard account rather
than make the tip amount entirely optional.
New cruisers need to realize that most
cruise lines do not pay their service staff a living wage, and tips or
service charges make up much of their compensation. In order to keep
the advertised price down, passengers are expected to subsidize the
service staff through these added service charges or tips.
All tips used to be given to the
stewards and dining room staff on the last night of the cruise.
Envelopes were passed out to the passengers and you presented the cash
tip to the steward in the cabin and handed it to the wait staff at
dinner. Some cruise ships still follow this policy, but others add a
flat fee per day to your onboard account which may or may not be
adjusted downwards, depending on the cruise line. If the fee is
required and cannot be adjusted downward, it is a true service charge,
and is no different than a port charge. Most cruise lines add the
recommended service charge to your account, and you can adjust it if
you think necessary. Personally, one of the things I love about
cruising is the excellent service and wonderful attitude of the crew.
I've never understood people who did not think the crew deserved at
least the recommended service/tipping charge.
The last few years, cruise lines have
moved away from traditional tipping for two reasons. First, as
cruising has become more international, cruise lines recognized that
many passengers from western Europe and the Far East were not
accustomed to tipping. It was easier to just add a service charge to
the bill (as is done in most hotels in Europe) than to educate the
passengers. Second, many large cruise ships have added multiple
alternative dining rooms and have moved away from fixed seating times
and tables. Passengers have different wait staff each evening, which
makes tipping more problematic. Adding a service charge to be split
amongst all the wait staff is easier for all, although the top cabin
stewards and dining staff probably make less than they used to since
the service charge is split into more pieces.
Many cruisers wish that all cruise
lines would adopt the "no tipping expected" polices of upscale lines
such as Cruise West, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, and Silversea.
However, it looks like the service charge concept is here to stay.
Below are links or information on the
tipping policies at some of the major cruise lines.
Tipping Policies on Some of the
Major Cruise Lines
