How do I prepay gratuities on Royal Caribbean?

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**.



Prepaying gratuities on Royal Caribbean in 2026 is a straightforward process that can be handled up to 48 hours before your sail date. You can do this by logging into the "Manage My Cruise" section on the Royal Caribbean website or using the official mobile app. Once logged in, navigate to the "Planning" or "Order History" section, where you can add "Pre-Paid Gratuities" to your reservation. If you booked through a travel agent, they must add the gratuities to your invoice for you. Prepaying in 2026 is highly recommended because it "locks in" the current daily rate, protecting you from any automatic price increases that might occur before you board. Currently, for 2026 sailings, the rate is approximately $18.50 per guest, per day for standard staterooms and $21.00 for suites. If you choose not to prepay, these daily amounts will be automatically charged to your "SeaPass" onboard account each night of the cruise. Note that prepaying also allows you to settle the cost in your local currency before travel, helping you manage your vacation budget more effectively.

You can prepay your gratuities on Royal Caribbean through the "Manage My Cruise" section on their website or mobile app before your sailing date. In 2026, the daily rate is approximately $18.50 per guest for standard staterooms and $21.00 for suites. Prepaying is a popular "travel hack" because it locks in the current rate, protecting you from any price increases that might occur before you board. If you booked through a travel agent, they can also add these to your invoice. If you choose not to prepay, the charges will be automatically added to your SeaPass account daily during the cruise. Prepaying helps with vacation budgeting, ensuring that your final bill on disembarkation day isn't inflated by hundreds of dollars in service fees for the hard-working crew.

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Technically speaking, you can remove gratuities on a Royal Caribbean cruise, but you absolutely shouldn't do this. Although Royal Caribbean gives you two options for paying gratuities (prepaying or being charged daily once onboard), some passengers try to opt out of paying any gratuities whatsoever.

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Just like in restaurants and hotels, guests on many cruises are generally expected to leave tips for certain cruise staff members serving them. Pre-paid gratuities means that we {Cruise Specialists} have negotiated a special offer for you and you are not expected nor will you be charged for tips.

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Your client's Future Cruise Credit will be equal to 100% of the cruise fare (commissionable and non- commissionable cruise fare) paid to Royal Caribbean. Any taxes & fees, refundable air, pre/post hotels, transfers, prepaid gratuities, and taxes/fees will be refunded to the original form of payment.

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If you do not opt to prepay gratuities, a daily charge will appear on your SeaPass account every day of the cruise for the daily gratuity rate per guest.

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Cash is also a good option if you want to tip some workers extra for service that warrants it. If you've dined in mostly one spot every night of the cruise, you might want to give tips to especially attentive waitstaff on the last evening of the cruise.

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Just like some land-based hotels, guests can expect to see an initial $99.75 pending charge or authorization on their credit card. This pending amount is used to secure funds for anticipated onboard purchases. Purchases made onboard over the initial $99.75 will generate additional holds.

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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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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. 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.

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Regardless of what way you choose to go about it, having your gratuities prepaid before your vacation begins is a surefire way to ensure that you don't get any hidden surprises at the end and further enjoy the luxury of convenience. Potentially, you could board your cruise and not spend another penny.

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Whether you order from the bar, main dining room, or a specialty restaurant, soda will cost extra on all Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Currently, the price for a can of soda is $3.50, before the 18% gratuity. Additionally, cruisers wanting juice from a bar or during other meals will also be charged $3.50.

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Does everyone in my stateroom need to buy the Deluxe Beverage Package? The Deluxe Beverage Package policy requires all guests wishing to purchase the Deluxe Beverage Package to do so for ALL guests of legal drinking age in the same stateroom.

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