Norwegian Cruise Line Raises Gratuities
by Daniel McCarthy /
Starting April 1, Norwegian Cruise Line will increase its gratuities on all of its ships.
Gratuities on most of the fleet will go up from $13.50 per person, per day to $13.99 per person, per day, a 3.6% increase. Suite guests will be charged $16.99 per person, per day, a 10% increase.
The one exception: guests in standard rooms on Norwegian Sky will pay $18.99 per person, per day, an increase of more than 40%, which Norwegian said is due to the “all-inclusive” nature of the ship.
The increases mean that guests in a standard room on a ship other than Sky will be paying $97.93 in gratuities for a seven-night sailing and that a family of four will be paying $391.72 total.
While the charges are automatically added to a guest’s bill, “the discretionary service charges can always be adjusted as guests wish. They simply need to visit guest services desk onboard,” NCL told TMR in a statement.
The gratuity increase is one of the firsts of this year in the industry, but comes after four other major lines announced similar increases in 2016. Princess Cruises was the last to do so—it increased gratuities for interior, ocean view and balcony staterooms from $12.95 to $13.50 per guest per day on Dec. 15.