Cruise gratuities are a daily charge, per person, that most cruise lines add to your onboard account automatically. They typically run about $16 to $22 per person, per night, depending on the line and your cabin. For a couple on a 7-night cruise, that's roughly $220 to $310, and it's usually not in the price you saw advertised. It isn't a hidden fee exactly, but it's easy to miss until you're at checkout or looking at your final bill. Here's how it works and how to plan for it.
What gratuities actually pay for
Most of the crew who look after you, such as your stateroom attendant, the dining room team and the galley staff behind them, earn a large part of their pay through gratuities. Rather than asking every guest to hand out cash at the end of the week, cruise lines pool it: a fixed amount per guest, per night, shared across the crew. Different lines call it different things, including gratuities, service charge, crew appreciation or hotel service charge, but it works the same way.
Two details catch people out:
- It's charged per person, not per cabin. Two people in a cabin pay it twice. Check your line's rules for children: Disney, for example, applies its rate to every guest, including kids.
- It's charged for every night of the cruise, including sea days and the night you board.
What each major line charges (2026)
| Cruise line | Standard cabins, per person per night | Suites, per person per night | 7-night couple, standard cabin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnival | $17.00 | $19.00 | $238 |
| Celebrity Cruises | $19.50 | $24.50 (The Retreat) | $273 |
| Disney Cruise Line | $16.00 | $27.25 (Concierge) | $224 |
| Holland America | $18.00 | $20.00 | $252 |
| MSC Cruises (U.S. sailings) | $17.00 | $23.00 (Yacht Club) | $238 |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | $20.00 | $25.00 | $280 |
| Princess Cruises | $18.00 | $20.00 | $252 |
| Royal Caribbean | $18.50 | $21.00 (Grand Suite) | $259 |
| Virgin Voyages | $20.00 prepaid $22.00 onboard |
Same for every cabin | $280 prepaid $308 onboard |
Rates as of September 2026. Cruise lines raise them from time to time, often by a dollar or so, so confirm on your line's website before you sail.
A few line-specific notes:
- Celebrity charges $1 a night more for Concierge Class and AquaClass cabins than the standard rate shown.
- Royal Caribbean's Star Class suite fares already include gratuities.
- Virgin Voyages changed in October 2025: gratuities used to be built into the fare and are now shown separately. Prepaying is $2 a night cheaper than paying onboard.
- MSC calls it a mandatory hotel service charge and charges different amounts depending on where you cruise.
The math for your own trip
The formula is simple:
Daily rate × number of people × number of nights
- A couple on Royal Caribbean for 7 nights: $18.50 × 2 × 7 = $259
- A family of four on the same cruise: $18.50 × 4 × 7 = $518
- The same couple in a Royal Caribbean suite: $21.00 × 2 × 7 = $294
For a family, that can mean several hundred dollars you didn't plan for, which is why it's worth putting it in your budget from the start rather than finding it on your final bill.
Can you change or remove them?
Usually, yes. Most lines let you visit Guest Services onboard and ask to adjust the automatic amount, and some let you prepay it when you book so it's settled before you sail. A few lines treat the charge as mandatory, so check your line's policy.
Should you? Our honest view: budget for the full amount. It's a core part of how the crew is paid, and on most ships the service is well worth it. Adjusting it makes sense if something genuinely went wrong, but it isn't a way to save money on the fare. Personally, I prefer to prepay my gratuities. I don't have to worry about it after that and standing in the line at Guest Services on the last day of the cruise can take a tremendous amount of time.
Where gratuities overlap with drink packages and extras
This is where most surprises happen. Drinks and some extras carry their own service charge on top, separate from your daily gratuities:
- Royal Caribbean adds an 18% gratuity to its Deluxe Beverage Package, so a package priced around $85 a day ends up closer to $100.
- Holland America adds a 20% service charge to onboard purchases.
- Norwegian's "Free at Sea" open bar perk isn't entirely free: you pay the package's service charge, about $28.50 per person per day on cruises of 6 nights or more.
Some bundles work the other way and include your daily gratuities:
- Princess Plus and Princess Premier both include crew gratuities, along with drinks and Wi-Fi.
- Holland America's Have It All does not include gratuities.
- Celebrity's All Included fares no longer include gratuities (they were removed in late 2023).
So when you compare a drink package or an all-in fare against buying things separately, check whether gratuities are inside the price or on top of it. It can swing the comparison by a few hundred dollars.
The bottom line
- Expect roughly $16 to $22 per person per night, charged automatically.
- Multiply by people × nights, and put it in your budget from day one.
- Suites cost a bit more on most lines.
- Drink packages and onboard purchases often carry their own service charge (18–20% on the lines above). Some bundles include your daily gratuities, and many don't.
How CruiseMatch handles this
Gratuities are one of the costs CruiseMatch always shows up front, as its own line in every cost estimate. It uses each line's published rate, applies the higher suite rate if you pick a suite, and multiplies by your party and nights. The math is shown right next to the number. If a bundle the line sells would cover your gratuities, drinks and Wi-Fi for less than buying them separately, the estimate tells you and shows the saving.
Join the launch list to see gratuities and every other cruise cost, line by line, before you book.
About this guide: this article was researched with AI assistance and checked against each cruise line's published information as of September 2026. CruiseMatch earns a commission from cruise lines when you book with us. It never changes your price, and it plays no part in our recommendations or cost estimates.
Sources
- Carnival: Gratuities
- Celebrity Cruises: Gratuity program FAQ
- Disney Cruise Line: Recommended gratuity increase, January 2025
- Holland America: Crew Appreciation charge FAQ
- MSC Cruises: How much are gratuities?
- Norwegian Cruise Line: Tipping on a cruise · Gratuities guide
- Princess Cruises: Crew appreciation increase
- Royal Caribbean: Onboard service gratuity FAQ
- Virgin Voyages: Fare structure change, October 2025