Do I have to tip or pay gratuities onboard?

Tipping onboard, also known as 'Gratuities', is different for all cruise lines.

Some cruise lines, such as MSC Cruises and Celebrity cruises, include the tips in the upfront price, so you don't have to worry about tipping onboard unless you feel you've had exceptional service.

Other cruise lines might include the cost of your gratuities in the price when booking, but these are an optional extra, giving you the choice to remove them and then tip who you want, when you want, once onboard.

On other cruises, tips might be an optional extra for you to consider onboard and do not feature in the price when booking.

And some cruise lines, such as Seabourn and Azamara, simply say that tips are neither required, nor expected.

It’s worth considering that when you pre-pay your gratuities, all the staff throughout the ship, behind the scenes as well as those front of house will benefit from your gesture. From the chefs and kitchen staff through to housekeeping, cabin attendants and the rest of the crew, all are dedicated to making your holiday as enjoyable as possible from the minute you step on board and in this way all of the crew are rewarded for their hard work.

If there is an option to pre-pay, this will appear when you book, with an option to accept or decline.

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