Cruise gratuities are daily automatic service charges of $14–$20/person/day covering your cabin steward, dining staff, and other crew. On most lines, you can request to have them removed — but it's complicated.
Photo: Carnival Cruise Line
Cruise gratuities — also called daily service charges, hotel service fees, or crew appreciation — are one of the most misunderstood costs in cruising. Here's everything you need to know.
Current daily gratuity rates by cruise line
| Cruise line | Per person per day | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean | $18.00 | $20.50 for suites |
| Carnival | $16.00 | $18.00 for suites |
| Norwegian | $20.00 | |
| Celebrity | $18.00 | Often included in fare |
| MSC | $14.00 | |
| Disney | $14.50 | |
| Princess | $16.00 | |
| Holland America | $15.50 |
For a couple on a 7-night Royal Caribbean sailing, that's $252 automatically added to your account.
Photo: Carnival Cruise Line
What do gratuities actually cover?
The money is pooled and distributed to:
- Your cabin steward
- Main dining room waitstaff and assistants
- Buffet and room service staff
- Behind-the-scenes crew
It does NOT cover: bartenders (tipping suggested separately), specialty restaurant servers, spa staff, or casino dealers.
Photo: Carnival Cruise Line
Can you remove cruise gratuities?
Technically, yes on most lines. You can go to Guest Services and request removal. The removed amount then returns to your shipboard account credit.
But here's the reality:
- When you remove gratuities, crew members are notified — your steward and dining staff now know their pooled tips were pulled by cabin X
- You're not stiffing "the cruise line" — you're directly affecting crew compensation who often earn $1,500–$2,500/month base wage and depend on gratuity pools
- Some lines (Disney, MSC, certain packages) make gratuities non-removable
Best approach: prepay before boarding
Paying gratuities in advance (available on most lines' websites) locks in the current rate — they sometimes increase mid-year. It also means that cost is off your shipboard account during the cruise.
Want to know your total gratuity cost for a specific trip? CruiseMutiny calculates it automatically for any sailing.
Watch: What are cruise gratuities and can you remove them?
Published
Video Transcript
Your cruise bill has a hidden charge you probably didn't catch. Gratuities. That's $14 to $20 per person per day... automatically added. For a family of four on a week-long cruise? That's like paying $400 to $600 extra just for tips.
Here's what you're actually paying for: your cabin steward, your dining room server, bartenders, busboys... basically anyone who touches your experience gets a cut.
Can you remove them? Yes. But the cruise lines make it... let's say "not convenient."
You can request removal at guest services on embarkation day. Or — and this is the part they don't advertise — you can call the cruise line before you sail. Most lines will do it if you ask. I'm talking Royal Caribbean, Disney, Carnival, Norwegian... they'll remove them.
BUT — and this matters — you still need to tip. If you remove auto-gratuities and don't tip your crew, you're basically saying "my service was worth zero dollars." The cabin steward who cleaned your room twice a day? They're making minimum wage in a foreign country. That's not on them.
So here's the real question: should you remove them?
Only if you plan to tip in cash or tip better than the auto-amount. Otherwise... you're just moving money around and creating awkwardness.
Some people remove them because the auto-gratuity doesn't match their budget. Fair. Some remove them and then tip electronically at the end. Also fine.
The gratuities aren't hidden from you — they're just automatically applied. That's the part that bugs people, and honestly? It should. You should see every cost upfront.
Full cost breakdowns at travelmutiny.com — link in bio.