When can I prepay gratuities for Disney Cruise?

You definitely can arrange to have the gratuities prepaid before your cruise. Disney Cruise Line asks that you request this at least three days prior to your sail date (or make arrangements while onboard at Guest Services).



For a Disney Cruise Line vacation, you have the option to prepay your gratuities at almost any point from the moment you book until a few days before your sail date. Specifically, you can add prepaid gratuities to your reservation online through the "My Reservations" section of the Disney Cruise Line website or via the mobile app up to 3 days prior to embarkation. If you booked through a travel agent, they can also add these for you. Prepaying covers the suggested tips for your Dining Room Server, Assistant Server, Head Server, and Stateroom Host, which currently totals approximately $14.50 to $15.50 per person per night depending on the cabin category. If you choose not to prepay, the standard amount will be automatically charged to your onboard account on a daily basis. Prepaying is highly recommended for many travelers as it helps in budgeting for the total cost of the cruise before ever leaving home. It is important to note that you can still adjust these amounts (either up or down) once you are on the ship by visiting the Guest Services desk, and gratuities for spa services or bar drinks are automatically added as a 18% service charge at the time of purchase.

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You can prepay gratuities when you book or pay them as part of your onboard bill at the end of your sailing. You can look for a package that offers a discount on prepaid gratuities or a promotion offering free prepaid gratuities. Whether prepaid gratuities are worth it is up to you and how you budget for travel.

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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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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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Prepaying your gratuities just makes everything easier – you know how much you need to spend before you sail, and then you don't have to worry about it. Yes, if you have onboard credit it might make sense to put that towards gratuities instead.

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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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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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Benefits of Prepaying Gratuities Another advantage is that cruise lines regularly raise gratuity amounts. So if you book a cruise for a year from now, the gratuity price may be higher when you sail. People that pay beforehand are grandfathered in under the rate they've already paid.

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HOW EARLY CAN I BOARD THE SHIP? For Bahamian and Caribbean cruises, check-in registration begins at 11:00 am and embarkation begins at 1:00 pm. All Guests must board the ship no later than 4:00 pm. Please plan your arrival accordingly to avoid the possibility of not being permitted to sail.

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According to the results of my three polls: 61% tip their stateroom attendant an additional $20–$40 per couple per week, 26% tip $40–$70, and 13% tip an additional $70–$140.

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On booking there might be an option not to pre-pay gratuities before you sail. However, if you opt out at this stage, most cruise lines will add the gratuity to your onboard account daily. You can choose to either amend the amount or remove altogether by visiting guest services in most cases.

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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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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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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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