13 Big Tipping Mistakes NOT to Make on a Cruise

Are you going on a cruise & wondering about cruise ship gratuities? Knowing who to tip (and who not to tip) on the cruise ship & in ports can be confusing. Unfortunately, this can lead to some big tipping mistakes on a cruise.

If you're a first time cruiser, this cruise information will be super helpful. Even experienced cruisers just we don't talk enough about cruise tipping norms & etiquette. In this video I share helpful cruise tips & advice that you can use as you're preparing for a cruise vacation.

Whether your cruise is on Carnival cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Holland America, MSC Cruises, Virgin Voyages (or any cruise ship), this video about cruise gratuities, tipping crew members, service fees, & crew incentives is a must-watch.

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Please note that I am unable to give personal cruise and travel advice. If you leave a comment I try my best to answer.

ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!

Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
Some of the video footage for this video is courtesy of RCCL and Princess Cruises.
Music Credit: Surf Time by Lux-InspiraMusicMusic

[squeestar]

My very first cruise with my husband, our steward discovered I brought along a stuffed monkey and always left it on the bed. So, throughout the cruise we would come back to our cabin and find my stuffed toy in various "scenes" such as watching tv, or drawing a banana on a pad of paper. This escalated when he created a mouse made out of a washcloth at which point, we would find scenes like our pillow chocolates with a lil piece cut out and the mouse and monkey would be on the bed with the remote sharing the chocolate. We found the experience so fun we left that guy an extra tip along with a note thanking him for "monkeying around with us". 🙂

[davidrayner]

Australian here. One thing we hate about cruising (and visiting the US) is tipping. We begrudgingly accept the practice and we do it but why can't all businesses, no matter what or where they are, simply pay their workers a decent living wage that doesn't need to be suplimented by the customer?

[danm]

When tipping becomes confusing, much like this, I just opt out. It should be clear for the consumer to decide if they received great service and provide the tip.

[ORCLEAM]

One thing we learned is that tipping doesn't stop when you cross the brow on departure. The survey you get from the line is also a form of tipping. Remember the names of the staff that really impressed you and why they impressed you. The survey is going to ask you who went out of their way to make you cruise great. The mentions earn the crewmembers things like extra phone time with their families, promotion points and other perks.

[liseoppenheimer]

I hate this expectation of tipping every minute of the day. When I book m6 cruise, tell me the actual cost, then leave me alone. This nickel and diming is ridiculous

[raymondwong]

Wow, I don't realize people are so generous when cruising, money don't come easy for me, not many people tip like that in real life.

[leslieoconnell]

We always tip or room stewards and wait staff but we also enjoy carrying $5 bills to give to random workers who ordinarily don’t get tips. Their appreciation is amazing.

[elpe]

Giving a tip is your own choice. Its a sign of being grateful to the service you received.

[druegillis]

Ilana, Don’t forget $2.00 bills! I got a bunch of 2’s for our cruise because they are rare and the person you are tipping will remember who gave them. Plus it reduces the number of one dollar bills you need on hand. And it makes it easy to tip baggage handlers. 3 bags, 3 $2 dollar bills. Sometimes your bank will have to order some in for you but they are unique and service providers will remember you!

[judywelday]

I always extra tip our cabin attendants and our MDR servers because these people take care of us daily and we really appreciate them. Love your videos!

[MoDavI-sliy]

I love your videos. You explain everything with such clarity & class.

But I must say, watching all of these videos about do's & dont's on a cruise, what to pack & not pack, etc. It all makes me wish I would've booked an all-inclusive vacation out of the country somewhere. This appears to be a bit much, & so stressful.

[susantownsend]

On land or shipboard I frequently tip anyone I see cleaning a restroom. Imagine a cruise, restaurant, or entertainment experience without them! I’m not going to miss those few dollars.

[lesmotley]

Ive found in life that countries like japan Australia and those in the EU where tipping is not common people tend to offer better service than the US where tipping is part of the culture. Tipping in japan is particularly frowned upon, the Japanese give their best service and honesty because this is expected in their culture.

[monicap]

Great tips and on point as always. We always prepay our gratuities when booking our cruise and still give out tips to our bar tenders and servers. We also always start out our cruise with a gift to our cabin Stewart that includes a thank you card in advance with cash, international calling cards and candies. On the last evening of our cruise, we will again tip for all of the assistance provided us during the week. They all work so hard and very long hours and deserve it!

[LA]

This is exactly what I did on one NCL cruise. My server was absolutely ridiculous, I have my mom with me, on the whilechare...
I went to a customer service desk, and asked them to remove 50% of my gratuity, and took that money and gave 2 girls who really helped me on that cruise.

[rmatthews]

Merriam-Webster definition for gratuity is "something given voluntarily or beyond obligation", Cruise ship nor any other company should make tipping part of your bill. I would like the cruise lines and all other companies set their prices so they can pay their employees what they deserve and we can tip for excellent work. It appears these companies are trying to show a lower price item, then add on after and during the cruise. Some people are saving years to take this cruse and not able to pay the extra money, we need to let those people know it's OK to just say THANKS!

[pm]

I hate this tipping nonsense……..it shuld be included in people’s wages ! 😊

[mikeeno]

I cruise mostly Holland America. I prepay gratuities every time and never regret it. I never use cash on any of my cruise, however I do tip porters, taxies, and off-ship services. My rule of thumb is 20% tip for good service.

[patriciasmith]

My husband and I keep one tip on the bill and we remove the other tip. We use the removed money, along with extra money to tip the waiters, the room attendant and anyone else who has done anything extra for us. A 5 day cruise will usually amount to close to $100 for the tip that we keep on the tab, and we usually end up giving out another $200. That usually works out well for us.

[Mushkiepotamus]

I recently went on my first cruise, taking my mom for her 84th birthday!! We were Aqua Class, all included (gratuities, wifi, classic drink package) on Celebrity Constellation for 10 nights in the Caribbean! I upgraded to the premium drink package.
Even though I pre-paid the gratuity I still spent over $700 +++ on extra tips. I viewed the pre-paid tips as they were for those people that were behind the scenes, those I didn’t interact with face to face- entertainment, kitchen staff, maintenance people. If I saw them face to face and they helped us or made the cruise easier or more fun- I gave a cash tip and often asked to speak to their supervisor and took their picture with their name tag so I made sure I could include them in my post-cruise survey.
It started at the terminal- we tipped the porter $5 per bag ($20), $10 for the valet, another $20 for the crew that got my mom a wheelchair and wheeled her to our cabin. Same goes for debarkation day staff. I gave $20 to the person that delivered the bag to our room. I typically tipped $5 each time I ordered my mom and i’s cocktails. Since we had the premium package, the tips were finite and we LOVED our bartenders at the Martini Bar and they deserved tips with each FABULOUS CONCOCTION they made us. Cafe Bacio- $5 for the 2 coffees, if they brought pastries with our coffee- then $10. My cabin steward was awesome and tipped him $150. The wine sommelier that chose some wonderful wines- about $15 tip per bottle. The bus driver for the excursion, I tipped $20 and our tour host $25. The buffet food was pretty tasteless, so we only went for a couple of times but when we did stop in, if someone brought us cocktails or cleared away the dirty dishes, I tipped them $5-10. We tipped the hostess at Blu $40 because she always seemed to find a wonderful table for us- we never made a reservation. My mom rode a scooter or used a walker to get around the ship- when we would go to and from our cabin, there were always other cabin crew cleaning rooms and their carts were in the hall. Most were pleasant about moving their cart so she could get by. One was grumpy and rude. Regardless we would apologize for making their work harder and thanked them profusely for being so kind to move their cart. One of the cabin stewards ALWAYS smiled, moved his cart out of the way along before we go to where he was. He always asked us how our day was going or how our night was - he wasn’t even our steward. I pulled him aside one day and thank him for his kindness, his never ending smile and how much his attitude and actions made my mom feel comfortable and not a burden. I gave him $20 and asked to speak to his supervisors- which I did. I also included him in my survey- along with all the others that made the cruise soo wonderful for my mom.
The one thing I took away from this cruise is how hard the staff works - day and night. And when you verbally thank them, show appreciation to them, tell their supervisors about the wonderful service they provided- they were over the moon thrilled. When a tip is included - it was a different response- almost emotional- sooo many of the crew are supporting family they rarely get to see. The tip meant life - food, rent, medical and schooling, etc to families that back home.