Comments on: Everything About Cruise Ship Gratuities for 2024 (Amounts, Etiquette, and More)

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 19:28:21 +0000

We have just returned from a Cruise on NCL around the Canaries and Med
The Crew was 65% Philipino and were on minimum wage.
Although I appreciate that NCL is a USA Company that has no respect for its workers it is why they recruit from Asia, instead of paying a decent living wage they charge the passenger’s outrageous gratuities to compensate for their bad business practices.
The only reason they will not add the Gratuites to the original brochure price or remove them like P&O has is then they would have to pay their crew a living wage.
In the UK we tip for good service not to prop up the wages of poorly paid employees.

By: Silvia

Silvia — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 06:16:24 +0000

The employer has to pay its employees their salaries And we thé customers should not be worried about this. We pay the Cruise and that’s it. This tipping business is getting out of control and is shifting responsibility from the employers to the clients using our guilty conscience from being on a cruise? Also in the restaurants, hair salons, all businesses …this is all wrong

By: Steve Daugherty

Steve Daugherty — Sun, 13 Aug 2023 23:03:40 +0000

The baggage porters at the port do not work for the cruise line, but for the port itself. You customarily tip $1 – $2 per bag (more if you want) OR you can NOT tip and risk that the one guy you didn’t tip handles your bag with care and the bag actually makes it on the ship and doesn’t “accidently” get left behind. The risk to me isn’t worth the $5 tip we give for 2 bags.
On another subject, what makes Miami the worse port? We just booked a cruise out of Miami for the first time in 10 years. What makes it “the worse”, other than your bad experience with the porters dictating what you should tip, which is 199% wrong, in my opinion.

By: Chrisie

Chrisie — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:25:51 +0000

I don’t understand why we are paying the salaries of the teams and not the cruise line. I know Tui and P&O don’t charge gratuities, it’s actually the choice of the person if they wish to give a tip. I have booked with NCL next year because I’m advised taking my money can either be pre paid or can opt out. I so hope that’s true.

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 24 May 2023 17:16:17 +0000

I think this was an excellent way of looking. Have a set routine payout and adjust accordingly to the level of service.

By: James

James — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 01:50:28 +0000

This abuse of tipping allows companies to pay their workers a lower wage and pocket the profits. Whatever happened to just doing the job you’re paid for? Housekeeping is supposed to make up rooms, servers are supposed to serve food… But I’m supposed to pay a hundred bucks a day for a family of five, in the same room, and after I’ve already paid five grand for the cruise? Ridiculous.

By: John

John — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 04:18:40 +0000

All of you have great advice. I too pay in cash and at times have given extra. What do you do about the porters at the ports. I gave always given them money to take my bags to the ship. Tipping is out of control everywhere. In Miami the worst place to board the ship. I have stepped out of the shuttle seeing the conveyer a short distance away. The porter stands there counts the luggage and has told the price for a handling fee. Really, do they get an hourly wage that’s so low they need tip to survive? Are tips required? What the real deal? If tips are not required, do their supervisors know about this up charge?

By: Ange

Ange — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 14:59:22 +0000

In reply to Bruce. Thank you! You were extremely helpful for my upcoming cruise!

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:27:59 +0000

If I travel with my family of 4, and I pay the waiting $20 ($5 per person) staff each time we eat in the dining room, which would be for dinner only, over 7 days, that would $140. Then if I pay another $5 per person each day for room clean-up, that’s another $140, for a total of $280. I think these amounts are reasonable. But RCCL wants to charge $448. That doesn’t seem fair.

By: T

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 08:42:06 +0000

When we researched tipping policy on a recent Princess cruise, we found that the cruise line pools that money and uses it for bonuses, etc. over all its ships, not just the cruise we were on. I find this to be an outrageous ploy to hide the true costs of a cruise. We nearly always opt out of tips and tip whom we want directly.