“Celebrity has amazing service and the crew deserve to be paid well, but it’s hard to trust big corporations,” said Harry Evans, 66, an avid cruiser who recently retired in Miami. “The costs keep adding up, and if this trend continues, I’m going to go back to tipping cash.”
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Royal Caribbean Group, which owns Celebrity Cruises, said gratuities are shared and are a part of crew compensation.
The fee is bundled into the overall fare, which also includes accommodations, food and entertainment, creating one predictable price tag, which is one of the main draws of a cruise.
Carnival also recently raised the price of its “Bottomless Bubbles” nonalcoholic beverage package for adults to $11.99 per day, up from $9.50, plus an automatic 20 percent gratuity, citing the higher cost of newly added Coca-Cola products.
Some cruise lines are also making changes to their booking and payment policies. Princess Cruises recently announced an increase to deposit prices and tightened the deadline for final payments before a voyage. For short sailings of six to nine days, deposits will be raised to $300 per passenger, up from $250, in stateroom categories, and suite deposits will cost $600 per passenger, up from $500. For longer sailings of 10 to 44 days, deposits will range from $500 to $1,000, depending on the cabin category.