Do you tip waiters on Royal Caribbean cruise?

A 18% gratuity is automatically added to all beverages, mini bar items, and spa & salon purchases. Guests can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 before the sailing*. Guests booked through travel advisors, need to contact their advisor to add pre-paid gratuities to the booking prior to sailing*.



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A 18% gratuity is automatically added to all beverages, mini bar items, and spa & salon purchases. Guests can pre-pay gratuities by calling 866-562-7625 before the sailing*. Guests booked through travel advisors, need to contact their advisor to add pre-paid gratuities to the booking prior to sailing*.

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On Royal Caribbean, gratuities apply to all passengers. Many cruise lines have special circumstances for younger passengers below 2-3 years old. For instance, Carnival doesn't charge gratuities for kids under two, and Norwegian doesn't charge for kids under three.

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But now, on most cruise lines, guests can choose to dine wherever and whenever they like—a tipping pool ensures that everyone who takes care of passengers receives a tip. It's not necessary, but a small tip can be offered for in-room dining.

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Note that the amount should be tabulated for each individual in your party—don't try to tip once per couple or group. So if you're planning to go on a 7-day cruise, expect to give a total of between $112 and $161 per person in gratuities. Don't forget to factor those charges into your overall vacation budget.

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If you opt not to prepay gratuities, your SeaPass account will be charged $16 or $18.50 each day of your cruise.

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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.

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Your auto-gratuities will cover all waitstaff in the main dining room, buffet restaurants and specialty dining venues alike. If you dine at the same table and enjoy regular service from one or two particularly excellent waiters, consider leaving an additional $10 to $20 at the cruise's end.

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Typical extra tips may be $15-20 per passenger for a seven-day cruise paid to the cabin steward for exceptional work, or an extra $10-20 per passenger to a waiter who offered spectacular dining service. Similarly, it is often acceptable to tip $1-3 when room service is delivered depending on the size of the order.

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If you buy a drink package on either cruise line, you pay an 18% gratuity that goes into the pool for all bar staff. The same applies when you buy an individual drink. If, however, you hand a specific bartender an added tip, they either keep it or share it with their coworkers at that bar.

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In general, plan on giving $16–$23 in gratuities per day for each passenger. Note that the amount should be tabulated for each individual in your party—don't try to tip once per couple or group.

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As mentioned above, not all members of the ship staff receive a share of the gratuities paid by passengers. Bartenders, main show entertainers and third-party shop employees are some of the more obvious ones, but they're not the only ones.

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At the time of purchase, a service charge is added to the drink package cost. This 18% gratuity covers all drink package purchases made onboard the ship, so no additional cost is required by the guest when ordering a beverage. Guests may optionally pay an additional gratuity when ordering a drink at their discretion.

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No matter which cruise line you sail, crew gratuities — also known as service charges or crew appreciation — are a fact of life. This includes sailing on Princess. Like other cruise lines, Princess charges a daily gratuity fee — known as “crew appreciation” — while sailing.

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If you do not prepay gratuities and are instead being charged a daily amount onboard, you can go to Guest Services and request to remove or modify this daily charge.

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There aren't any hard-and-fast guidelines for this type of tip since it's contingent on your experience, but $25 to $40 on behalf of a couple roughly works out to an extra $2 to $3 per person, per day, for a seven-night cruise.

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Many people suggest $100 per day, and this has generally worked well for me in my cruising experiences, but there are a lot of variables to consider.

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Typical extra tips may be $15-20 per passenger for a seven-day cruise paid to the cabin steward for exceptional work, or an extra $10-20 per passenger to a waiter who offered spectacular dining service. Similarly, it is often acceptable to tip $1-3 when room service is delivered depending on the size of the order.

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Because they are charged on a daily basis, you do not have to worry about tipping each crew member yourself. Many passengers, however, still like to leave extra tips for their stateroom attendant and dining room waiters at the end of the cruise.

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