Cruise gratuities are a daily per-guest charge that supports the onboard crew. On the major lines, the standard 2026 amount is generally $17 to $20 per guest per day, with two notable edges in this comparison: Disney recommends $16, while Virgin Voyages charges $22 onboard or $20 when prepaid.
The important part is not just the headline rate. Cabin category, guest age, booking date, itinerary, and bundled fare can change what your reservation owes. The table below uses rates published on each cruise line's own website and was checked on August 10, 2026.
2026 cruise gratuity rates by cruise line
| Cruise line | Standard accommodation | Higher accommodation | Who is charged? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean | $18.50 per guest/day | $21 in any suite | Every guest; Royal says gratuities still apply to children sailing under Kids Sail Free |
| Carnival | $17 per guest/day | $19 in suites | All guests except children under 2 |
| Celebrity | $18 per guest/day for Inside, Oceanview, and Veranda | $19 Concierge/AquaClass; $23 The Retreat | Published per guest |
| Princess | $18 per guest/day for most staterooms | $19 Mini-Suites, Cabanas, and Reserve Collection; $20 suites | Published per guest; regional exceptions apply |
| Norwegian | $20 per guest/day for Club Balcony Suite and below | $25 for The Haven and suites | Guests age 3 and older |
| MSC Cruises | $17 per guest/night on current U.S., Caribbean, and Alaska bookings | $23 Yacht Club | Age 2 and older for cruises booked from May 11, 2026; other booking dates and regions use different schedules |
| Virgin Voyages | $20 per Sailor/night prepaid; $22 onboard | Same published daily rate | Published per Sailor |
| Disney Cruise Line | $16 recommended per guest/night | $27.25 in Concierge Staterooms and Suites | Includes infants and children |
All figures are in U.S. dollars. They are not interchangeable across every market: Princess publishes an Australia/New Zealand exception, and MSC maintains multiple schedules based on destination, booking date, age, and currency. Use your booking confirmation when it differs from the U.S. figures above.
What gratuities cost on a seven-night cruise
The multiplication is simple:
Daily rate × number of charged guests × cruise nights
For two guests in a standard cabin on a seven-night sailing:
| Cruise line | Seven-night total for two |
|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean | $259 |
| Carnival | $238 |
| Celebrity | $252 |
| Princess | $252 |
| Norwegian | $280 |
| MSC Cruises | $238 |
| Virgin Voyages | $280 prepaid or $308 onboard |
| Disney Cruise Line | $224 recommended |
Those examples cover only the daily crew charge. They do not include automatic percentages added to purchases. Put your actual guest count, cruise length, and extras into our cruise cost calculator to see the complete trip budget.
Do children pay cruise gratuities?
Often, yes. A “kids sail free” promotion normally refers to the base fare, not the service charge.
- Royal Caribbean: its own Kids Sail Free explanation says taxes, port fees, and gratuities still apply to every guest, including children.
- Carnival: service gratuities apply to every guest except children under age 2.
- Norwegian: the onboard service charge applies to guests age 3 and older.
- MSC: for current U.S., Caribbean, and Alaska cruises booked from May 11, 2026, the charge applies from age 2. Older bookings and other regions can follow different age bands.
- Disney Cruise Line: the recommended $16 amount explicitly includes infants and children.
The official Celebrity, Princess, and Virgin policies state their rates per guest or Sailor but do not provide a child exemption on the cited rate pages. Rather than infer one, budget every traveler and confirm the total shown on your reservation.
Daily gratuities and purchase service charges are different
Paying the daily crew charge does not make every other gratuity disappear. Cruise lines can also add automatic percentages when you buy drinks, specialty meals, spa treatments, room service, or packages.
- Royal Caribbean: 18% on beverages, beverage packages, specialty dining, room service, and minibar purchases; 20% on spa and salon purchases.
- Carnival: 20% on beverage purchases and specialty-dining reservations.
- Celebrity: 20% on beverages, beverage packages, specialty dining, spa and salon services, room service, and minibar purchases.
- Virgin Voyages: its published policy says the daily service gratuity is the only gratuity requested and that it does not add extra gratuities to drinks, spa services, or dining.
Package rules can change the checkout presentation. For example, Celebrity says beverage-package gratuities are included in All Included, but daily onboard staff gratuities are charged separately. Princess says Plus and Premier include crew appreciation for the applicable cabin category.
For beverage-specific math, use the cruise drink package calculator and read our 2026 drink package cost guide.
Should you prepay cruise gratuities?
Prepaying does not automatically make the charge cheaper on most lines, but it does move a known expense out of the onboard account. That makes the final bill easier to understand and the cruise easier to compare with another vacation.
Virgin is the clear published exception in this group: its daily service gratuity is $20 per Sailor per night when prepaid and $22 when charged onboard. Princess also published a temporary prepayment deadline tied to its March 2026 rate change, but that deadline has passed; current bookings should use the rate shown in the table.
If your fare or package already includes crew appreciation, do not add it twice. Princess Plus and Premier cover it. Celebrity's current All Included package includes beverage-package gratuities but explicitly keeps daily onboard staff gratuities separate.
Can you remove cruise gratuities?
Several cruise lines describe the charge as discretionary or adjustable. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Princess say guests may request an adjustment at Guest Relations before disembarkation. Carnival's ticket terms also call its service gratuity adjustable, and Virgin says an onboard-paid amount may be modified through Sailor Services before disembarkation.
That is a policy explanation, not a recommendation to zero out a routine crew charge. If service is genuinely poor, raise it onboard immediately so the line has a chance to fix the problem. Also remember that a removable daily charge and an automatic service charge attached to a specific purchase are not necessarily governed by the same rule.
Official cruise-line sources
Rates and policies were checked directly against these cruise-line pages on August 10, 2026:
- Royal Caribbean service gratuity policy
- Carnival service gratuities
- Celebrity gratuity program
- Princess onboard experience FAQ
- Norwegian onboard service charge
- MSC hotel service charge
- Virgin Voyages service gratuities policy
- Disney Cruise Line gratuity recommendations
Budget the whole cruise, not just gratuities
Gratuities are one of the few predictable extras. Drinks, Wi-Fi, dining, shore excursions, transportation, parking, and insurance depend much more on how you travel. Our free cruise cost calculator starts with these published daily crew rates and lets you edit every other assumption to match your real quote.
For the full budgeting method, including fare inclusions, transportation, hotels, insurance, and worked examples, read how much a cruise really costs in 2026.
If you would rather compare complete sailings instead of spreadsheets, tell us what you are planning. We compare the full trip cost and do not charge a planning fee.