Royal Caribbean Increasing Automatic Gratuity as of July 1st

Jan115 · May 18, 2015

Royal Caribbean International plans to raise the suggested daily gratuity amount by 8% on its cruises from $12 to $12.95 per person as of July 1, 2015.

"Effective on cruises departing on or after July 1, 2015, Royal Caribbean will automatically add a $12.95 USD gratuity, $15.95 USD for Suite guests, to each guest's SeaPass® account on a daily basis. This gratuity replaces our previously recommended gratuity guidelines, and will apply to all guests who did not prepay gratuities before June 1, 2015. The new daily gratuity amount is $0.95 USD more than the previously recommended daily gratuity amount ($1.70 more for suites)." - Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean last raised its suggested tip amount in February 2013, from $11.65 to $12.

DebbieandJerry · May 19, 2015

It will only be awhile before all the lines follow

lordofthesea · September 29, 2015

Speaking of gratuity, you know how guests get the optional chance to give additional gratuity in envelopes addressed to their favorite member of staff? Does the named person get 100% of the cash in the envelope?

Jan115 · September 30, 2015

You're right, that certainly is an option, but most of the mainstream cruise lines certainly don't push the idea, and I think most cruisers - at least over here in the good 'ole US of A - are preferring the auto gratuity. However, some cruise lines still supply envelopes for those who want to tip the old-fashioned way including Disney and Viking, to name a few. Good question about who really gets the cash in the envelope - hopefully, someone here can help answer that.

WeCruiseToo · October 3, 2015

Speaking of gratuity, you know how guests get the optional chance to give additional gratuity in envelopes addressed to their favorite member of staff? Does the named person get 100% of the cash in the envelope?

When we want to give something extra to a deserving crew member I always try to discretely put the cash right in their hand. Some cruise lines may have a policy about pooling any additional tips as well but at least the crew member knows we appreciated them and intended the extra just for them.

DebbieandJerry · October 9, 2015

We also give the extra cash directly to the cruise member who went above and beyond. We tell him/her that the money is for him/her and that we have taken care of their helpers as well.

Last week I had the majority of my lunches from the Mongolian Stir Fry. For 7 meals, I gave $1 to the person who cooked the meal for me. Amazing how many other travelers saw what I was doing (because I saw someone else do it) and followed suit.

We did the same for the guy behind the deli station, the guy at the pizza station and the room service people who brought us our "pre" breakfast in the mornings. All in all, this probably added up to less than $20 in extra one dollar tips.