Cruise Gratuity Calculator

How the cruise gratuity calculator works

Most cruise lines add a fixed tip to your onboard account for every guest, every night. The amount depends on the line, your cabin type and sometimes the ages of the people in it. This calculator applies each line’s published rules to your booking so you can see the bill before it lands.

1. Pick your cruise line and itinerary. A few lines charge different amounts by region. MSC, for example, bills euros in the Mediterranean and US dollars in the Caribbean.
2. Enter the nights and your cabin. Choose the cabin type for each cabin, then set every guest as an adult or a child with their age. Children are free on some lines and charged in full on others.
3. Tick anything already included. Packages such as NCL’s Free at Sea Plus, Princess Plus or Holland America’s Early Booking Bonus cover the daily charge. So do prepaid gratuities your travel agent gave you as a perk.
4. Add extras. Enter a drink package price and any spa or specialty dining spend to see the 18–20% service charge on top. Add cash tips if you plan to tip porters or tour guides.

Nights, not days. Lines charge per night on board. The night you embark counts, and the morning you disembark does not. A 7-night cruise from Saturday to Saturday is 7 charges, even though you are on the ship across 8 calendar days.

Cruise gratuities by cruise line (October 2026)

Daily rates per guest, per night, from each line’s own policy page. “Partly confirmed” means the line does not publish the figure on a page we could open, so treat it as a guide and check your booking.

Should you prepay cruise gratuities?

For most lines, prepaying costs exactly the same as paying on board. You are moving the charge from your onboard account to your booking, which helps if you want a fixed holiday budget or someone else is paying for the cruise. Prepaying is worth more in three situations.

• A price rise is coming. In 2026, Carnival raised its rate on 2 April ($16 to $17), MSC raised Caribbean and Alaska rates for bookings from 11 May, Holland America went up on 1 June ($17 to $18) and Celebrity on 29 July ($18 to $19.50 for standard cabins). Carnival guests who prepaid before 2 April kept $16. Princess guests who prepaid before 8 March paid $1 less per person per night. Celebrity guests who booked before 29 July are reported to keep the old rate only if they prepay.
• The line discounts it. Virgin Voyages charges $22 per night on board but $20 if you prepay, which saves $28 for two people on a 7-night voyage. That prepaid amount is non-refundable.
• Your agent pays it. Some travel agents add prepaid gratuities as a booking perk. Tick that box in the calculator so you do not count the charge twice.

Refunds. NCL says prepaid service charges are 100% refundable if you cancel, and Disney refunds prepaid gratuities in full to the original payment method. For other lines, check your booking terms, and see our travel insurance checklist for what a policy covers if you cancel after prepaying extras.

Onboard credit. If you have non-refundable onboard credit, letting gratuities post to your account on board can be a way to use it up. Cunard confirms onboard credit can pay its hotel charge. Credit rules differ by line and promotion, so check yours before deciding.

Prepaid amounts may not show on your folio. Celebrity says gratuities included in your cruise ticket do not appear on your onboard account at all. Carnival lists prepaid gratuities under “Miscellaneous Charge” on your confirmation. Keep that document if you want proof on board.

What your gratuities pay for (and who they don’t cover)

The daily charge is pooled and shared among hotel crew. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity name dining, bar and culinary staff, stateroom attendants and hotel services teams. Disney’s prepaid gratuities go to your dining room server, assistant server, head server and stateroom host, plus the Concierge team in Concierge cabins. Princess pools its crew appreciation fleetwide and pays it out as compensation and bonuses.

The daily charge does not cover everyone you meet. NCL notes that concierges, butlers, youth programme staff and beverage service crew serve guests individually and do not share the service charge. Disney’s prepaid gratuities exclude adult dining, bars, room service, the spa and Port Adventures. Spa staff, shore excursion guides and port porters are outside every line’s daily pool.

The 18–20% service charge on drinks, dining and spa

On top of the daily amount, most lines add a percentage to things you buy: drinks, drink packages, specialty restaurants and spa treatments. This charge applies to the price of the package itself, so it adds up fast.

Worked example. A drink package at $79 per person per day, for 2 adults on a 7-night cruise, costs $1,106. Royal Caribbean adds 20%, which is $221.20, for a total of $1,327.20. That is more than the two of you pay in daily gratuities on the same cruise ($259 at $18.50 per night).

• 20%: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, NCL, Celebrity, Princess, Holland America (drinks and dining), Margaritaville at Sea and Oceania (drinks and spa).
• 18%: Disney (bar, adult dining and spa), Cunard (bars and spa), Holland America (spa), Windstar (a la carte drinks) and Seabourn (spa).
• 15% to 18%: MSC is reported to charge 18% on US dollar ships and 15% on euro ships. It does not publish this on its service charge page.
• 0%: Virgin Voyages adds nothing to drinks, dining or spa. Its daily gratuity is the only one you pay.

Most lines bill the drink package for every adult in the cabin, for every night. Enter the price before service charge and the number of adults buying it, and the calculator applies the right percentage.

Kids, solo travellers and back-to-back cruises

Children. The rules vary more than any other part of the policy. Carnival charges from age 2 and NCL from age 3. MSC charges nothing under 2 and has reduced child rates that depend on the region and when you booked: in the Mediterranean, children aged 2 to 17 pay €10 a night instead of €12 for bookings made from 2 July 2026. Disney and Margaritaville charge infants and children the full rate. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and Cunard publish no child exemption, so plan for every guest to be charged.

Solo. Gratuities are per guest, so a solo traveller pays one share, not a cabin rate. A solo guest on a 7-night Royal Caribbean cruise pays $129.50 in a non-suite cabin.

Back-to-back. Each sailing is charged on its own, at that line’s rate, for its own nights. Use “Add another cruise segment” for each leg. Two 7-night Princess cruises for two adults in a standard cabin come to $504 in crew appreciation ($18 × 2 guests × 14 nights).

Who to tip in cash on top

Cash tips are your choice. These are typical amounts reported by cruise writers, not cruise line rules:

• Pier porters: about $1 to $5 per bag when you drop luggage at the terminal.
• Shore excursion guides: about $5 per person for a half-day tour and $10 for a full day, plus around $2 for the driver.
• Butlers and concierges: on lines where they do not share the service charge, such as NCL, some guests tip at the end. No typical amount is published.
• A crew member who went further: a cash envelope on the last night is common. It is entirely up to you.

Bring small notes; the calculator suggests how many $1 and $5 bills to carry. For restaurants, taxis and hotels on land in your ports, use our Global Tipping Calculator for tipping in port cities on land.

Cruise lines with gratuities included

These lines build gratuities into the fare, so the calculator returns $0 for the daily charge. You may still pay a service charge on spa treatments or extras.

• AIDA Cruises: Bar drinks are not in the fare.
• Marella Cruises: gratuities included in the fare.
• P&O Cruises (UK): Tipping is included in the price of your holiday, so nothing is added on board. P&O Cruises Australia closed in March 2025 and is not listed.
• TUI Cruises (Mein Schiff) (partly confirmed): Booking agents list tips as included in Mein Schiff fares (Premium All Inclusive). We could not open an official TUI Cruises page that states it; confirm before sailing.
• Azamara: All onboard gratuities are included in every cruise fare. Some Azamara terms word it as gratuities for housekeeping, dining and bar staff.
• Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines: Gratuities are included on Freedom Fares for 2026 cruises. Check Saver Fare terms.
• Oceania Cruises: Gratuities for stateroom and suite attendants, butlers and dining staff are in the fare. Beverage purchases and spa services carry a 20% service gratuity.
• Explora Journeys: Gratuities are part of the fare. Destination Experiences and some premium food and drink cost extra.
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises: All gratuities are included except for Serene Spa and Wellness services.
• Seabourn: Optional spa and salon services carry an 18% gratuity that is not in the fare.
• Silversea: Onboard gratuities are in All-Inclusive fares. Older terms exclude spa gratuities; check your voyage terms.
• The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection: Gratuities for restaurant, bar and housekeeping staff are included. Salon, spa and shore excursion tips are voluntary.
• Scenic (river): All tipping and gratuities on board and on shore are included.
• Uniworld Boutique River Cruises: Gratuities for ship staff, crew and the Cruise or Tour Manager are included. In Asia, Egypt and Peru, onshore staff gratuities are included too.
• HX (Hurtigruten Expeditions): HX includes gratuities and does not add discretionary charges to your bill.
• Lindblad Expeditions: Included on listed ships. On the others, crew gratuities are extra and no amount is published here.

Regional exceptions. Celebrity includes the service charge on sailings from Australia and New Zealand. Princess charges no crew appreciation to Australian or New Zealand residents on voyages departing those regions. Viking’s UK Inclusive Value lists onboard gratuities as included for UK bookings, while its US terms say gratuities are extra. P&O Cruises Australia, which did not charge gratuities, closed in March 2025 and is not listed.

Paying gratuities in GBP, AUD or EUR

Most big-ship lines bill gratuities in US dollars even on European sailings, because the ship’s account runs in dollars. MSC bills euros on Mediterranean and Northern Europe itineraries. P&O Cruises, Ambassador and Marella price in pounds.

If your card is in another currency, your bank converts each charge and may add a foreign transaction fee, often around 2.75% to 3%. Set “Show totals in” to your home currency, enter today’s exchange rate from your bank or card provider, and add your card’s fee to see the real cost. The calculator never fetches live rates.

Watch for dynamic currency conversion. If the ship offers to bill your account in your home currency, the exchange rate is usually worse than your card’s. Paying in the ship’s currency is often cheaper. A travel card with no FX fee helps too, as does an eSIM if you want to avoid the ship’s Wi-Fi charges in port.

Can you remove or change automatic gratuities?

On most lines you can, on board, before your account closes. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity say you can modify or remove any gratuity at Guest Relations until the morning of disembarkation. Princess lets you adjust crew appreciation until you settle your onboard account, and after that it is final and non-refundable. Holland America and Cunard allow adjustments on board; Cunard handles them at the Purser’s Office. Disney’s Guest Services can remove or adjust its optional gratuities.

Some charges cannot be changed. MSC’s Hotel Service Charge is a mandatory part of the fare. Margaritaville at Sea describes its charges as fixed and applied to every guest. Holland America’s 20% and 18% service charges on purchases are separate from the adjustable daily amount.

The daily charge makes up part of crew pay on these lines. If something goes wrong, the lines ask you to raise it with Guest Services during the cruise so they can fix it.