Princess Cruises Quietly Increases Daily Gratuities Across All Cabins
Just days after we reported that Princess Cruises was increasing their automatic service charges from 18% to 20%, we see another increase from the line. According to an update on their website, they increased the daily gratuities, or as they call it “crew appreciation,” to $18 – $20 per person per day.
Princess Cruises New Daily Gratuities
For all categories of cabins, the daily gratuity increased by $1 per person per day, a 6% increase over the previous rate. The last increase was in August 2024, when it was also a $1 increase.
| Cabin Type | 2023 | 2024 | New Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suite | $18 | $19 | $20 |
| Mini-Suite, Cabanas, and Reserve Collection | $17 | $18 | $19 |
| All other staterooms | $16 | $17 | $18 |
While the increase is relatively minor, the overall cost adds up. For a standard balcony cabin on a week-long cruise, it adds $252 to the cost of the cruise. Looking at a week-long Caribbean cruise in October, the average price of a balcony cabin is $1,308, meaning the gratuities increase the total price by nearly 20%. It’s not an insignificant amount.
Who Do These Fees Go to?
One of the biggest complains about daily gratuities is not that the crew doesn’t deserve them, but that guests don’t know who the fees go to and if it actually increases their pay (compared to simply reducing what the cruise line has to pay them).
According to the Princess Cruises website, these gratuities go to crewmembers who “work in various departments, many of whom rotate among different ships, throughout our fleet of ships.”
They go on to explain, “The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses, to crewmembers fleetwide who interact directly with guests and/or behind the scenes throughout every cruise, including those in the Bar, Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue areas.”
Guests still have the ability to adjust or remove these gratuities while onboard by visited guests services.
Another Silent Increase for a Carnival Corporation Brand
Carnival Corporation brands (Carnival, Princess Cruises, and Holland America) used to take a very customer-friendly approach and proactively notify guests of changes well in advance. This allowed guests to budget accordingly and prepay service charges to lock in the rates.
But recently, the brands have been doing more “silent” updates, trying to hide the increases and minimize blowback. This time, Princess Cruises did not make an announcement of the change and instead simply updated their website with the new information.
Princess Plus and Premier Packages Not Affected
Princess Cruises’ optional all-inclusive packages are some of the best deals in the cruise industry because not only do they include Wi-Fi, beverage packages, and other items, but they also include the daily gratuities in the package, offering significant savings.
At the time of publication, the packages remain the same price. If purchased ahead of time, the Princess Plus package is $65 per person per day and the Premier package is $100 ($70 and $105 for Sphere Class ships).
This increase in the gratuities makes the packages even more valuable.
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