Royal Caribbean Raises Daily Gratuities Charges

by Daniel McCarthy March 30, 2016

Royal Caribbean will charge 55 cents more per person per day for onboard gratuities, as it joins the ranks of cruise lines who have already increased their service fees in the past year.

Travelers who are already booked can avoid the increase by prepaying gratuities before April 14. After that, cruisers in standard cabins on Royal Caribbean ships will have to pay $13.50 (up from $12.95) for daily gratuities; those in suites will pay $16.50 (up from $15.95).

According to Royal Caribbean, the new increase is designed “to better align with industry standards” and to recognize the “exceptional work” that its staff does onboard.

This is the second gratuity increase for Royal in the past year. In May 2015 it raised fees for standard guests from $12.00 to $12.95, and fees for suite guests from $14.95 to $15.95 per person, per day.

Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America, and Princess Cruises all have changed their service-fee policies within the past year. In September, Norwegian began requiring guests to wait until the end of their cruise to adjust or remove the daily service charge on their accounts. Norwegian charges $13.50 per person per day for standard cabins and $15.50 for suites.

A month later, Holland America rolled out a $1 increase for non-suite passengers (making the charge $12.50) and a $1.50 increase (to $13.50) for suite passengers.

Then Princess announced it was lifting its daily charge for guests by 13% and for suite guests by 16%; non-suite guests now pay $12.95 per person per day, and suite guests pay $13.50.