Celebrity Cruises has increased automatic gratuities for 2026 sailings. Here’s how much passengers will pay, when the new rates take effect, and how they compare with other cruise lines.
Celebrity Cruises has raised gratuity rates for upcoming cruises.
From July 29, automatic charges, per passenger, per day, will apply to all stateroom folios without pre-paid gratuities. The charge will be $19.50 for Inside, Oceanview, and Veranda staterooms; $20.50 for Concierge Class and Aqua Class staterooms; and $24.50 for the all-suite accommodations category, The Retreat.
Booked guests were informed of the changes via e-mail. Guests who booked before July 29 and elect to pre-pay gratuities can still do so at the previous per-day gratuity rates, as long as they do so more than 48 hours in advance of their sailing.
Celebrity is the sixth cruise line to raise its gratuities this year. Margaritaville at Sea, Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Holland America Line have all announced increases. Norwegian, Disney, and Celebrity’s sister brand Royal Caribbean have not announced increases.
Gratuities on cruise lines typically range between $16 and $22 per person per day. The gratuities are pooled and distributed to staff onboard as a major portion of their overall compensation. Travelers can typically elect to pre-pay gratuities in advance of their sailing, or have the amount automatically applied to their shipboard account. There’s also an option to request the amount be adjusted upwards or downwards once onboard.
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Many cruise lines also charge a standard gratuity for each onboard food or beverage purchase; those gratuity amounts have not changed.
Luxury cruise lines are a holdout to the automatic gratuity practice, instead structuring crew compensation to be independent of guest-paid gratuities. Regent Seven Seas, Silversea, Seabourn, Azamara, Lindblad, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Ponant, and SeaDream Yacht Club all include onboard service in their fares.
Many cruise lines periodically include gratuities in cruise fares on a promotional basis. Princess Cruises includes gratuities (termed “Crew Appreciation”) in their two bundled fare types, Princess Plus and Princess Premier. Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Virgin Voyages, and Windstar have similar options.
Cruise lines have automatically added voluntary, adjustable gratuity amounts to guest room accounts since the 1990s. Prior to that, passengers were provided with envelopes to tip employees in cash, as well as suggested amounts per passenger, per day. Moving to automatic gratuities allowed cruise lines to more evenly distribute gratuities, including to more back-of-house crew who would less frequently interact with passengers directly.
The practice of tipping crew on ships predates the rise of mass-market cruising. Ocean-going passengers have long paid cash gratuities to stateroom stewards, although this practice was largely dictated by custom until cruise lines began suggesting amounts within the last several decades.
Gratuities collected through the automated systems are given to the ship’s hotel staff—stateroom and dining room stewards, bartenders, culinary staff, laundry staff, maintenance staff, lounge staff, and butlers. Spa and casino staff are typically employed by contractors and have their own commission and gratuity structures, as do retail workers. Entertainment staff, medical officers, and navigational crew and officers are not tipped.
There are also geographical differences. On sailings departing Australia or New Zealand, where tipping is not a standard practice, cruise lines don’t charge separate gratuities for residents of those two countries, but do continue their normal gratuity policies for passengers coming from other countries. Conversely, cruise lines charge Australia and New Zealand residents their normal auto-gratuity on sailings departing from other regions of the world.
Cruise lines typically increase gratuities around every two years to cover inflation and keep wage structures competitive. Celebrity’s auto-gratuity amounts prior to the most recent increase had been in place since 2023.