How do you pay gratuities on a cruise?

These days, everything is automatic. When you book the cruise you'll have the ability to prepay gratuities. You are charged a set amount (the amount varies depending on the cruise line), per person, per day. You simply pay this extra amount in full for your cruise as part of your cruise fare.



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These days, everything is automatic. When you book the cruise you'll have the ability to prepay gratuities. You are charged a set amount (the amount varies depending on the cruise line), per person, per day. You simply pay this extra amount in full for your cruise as part of your cruise fare.

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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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Some people also like to pay their service charges in advance for budgeting purposes. It'll be one less thing on your final bill at the end of the cruise. If you prefer to pay for tips once you're on board your cruise, you'll generally find that the gratuities automatically appear on your bill.

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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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The amount you pay will vary by cruise line, but they are all in the same ballpark. You can expect to pay about $15-$20 per person, per day. So a couple traveling together will see about $30-$40 per day in gratuities, or about $200+ over the course of a week-long cruise.

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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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Carnival gratuities are not optional, in that they are automatically added to your account. They can be removed, but only if you visit the Guest Services desk on the ship and ask them to take them off your account. Otherwise, you are expected to pay.

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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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If you plan to remove tips from your onboard bill, you will need to plan in advance to bring enough cash for personal tipping, then wait in a potentially long line at the guest services desk to remove the auto-gratuities and chase down all the crew members you wish to thank on the last evening.

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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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You probably won't need much actual cash while onboard, as many cruise lines will just charge purchases to your account. Even ship casinos these days have cashless credit systems. On nearly all cruises, passengers are given an itemized bill at the end of the trip listing all charged expenses.

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Tipping on a Cruise Begins Before Sailaway Savvy cruisers know that gratuities begin before you board your ship. Why? If you plan to drop off your larger pieces of luggage, be prepared to give the portside luggage handler a $2- $5 tip per bag. The amount can depend upon size, weight and amount of luggage.

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Many river cruise lines include the gratuities, but for those that don't, the suggested range is between $10 and $20 per passenger, per day. Similarly, some expedition cruise lines include gratuities while those that don't recommend a gratuity of around $10 to $15 per person, per day.

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