Trip Bacon โ€” The secret ingredient to the perfect getaway logo
Trip Bacon

Cruise Gratuities Explained: You Don't HAVE To Prepay

Professor Melissa
Professor Melissa
๐Ÿ…Authority
๐Ÿ‘๏ธ 20K views๐Ÿ“… 1 years agoโฑ๏ธ 6:17
What This Creator Said
Creator Had Mixed FeelingsTips & Advice๐Ÿ…Authority Creator
Veteran Cruiser

Source: Our analysis of the creator's lived experience, based on what they said in this video.

Creator's Key Takeaways

I see Zero benefit at all in paying for something before I have to

I personally tip around $20 per person for the week for shorter sailings up to 5 nights

I generally do a split I tip my Steward $20 on the first day with a promise of more to come later

I'll tip about $2 per bag which is fairly customary

Creator's Tips & Advice

โœ“You do not have to prepay gratuities; they will be charged to your onboard account later.
โœ“Tip your room steward around $20 per person for a week-long sailing.
โœ“Tip porters about $2 per bag, or more for heavy or oversized bags.
โœ“Consider tipping main dining staff at the end of the sailing if you have fixed dining.

๐Ÿ†•New to Cruising? This Creator Addresses:

Confusion about whether gratuities are required or optional โ€” Gratuities are automatically added to your onboard account; you don't have to prepay them.
Uncertainty about how much to tip extra staff โ€” Tip room stewards around $20 per person for a week, porters $2 per bag, and dining staff at the end if you have fixed dining.

Questions This Creator Answers

QWhat are cruise gratuities and who gets them?
QHow much are required gratuities on a cruise?
QDo you have to prepay cruise gratuities?
QWhich staff members should you tip extra, and how much?

Topics Covered

Service CrewMehEmbarkationMehValue PricingMeh
How to read the Trip Bacon Score
Happy Bacon โ€” creators loved this aspect
Sad Bacon โ€” creators took issue with this
Meh โ€” no strong opinion either way

Scale: 0โ€“5 strips in half-step increments. 0 = โ€œmehโ€, 5 = โ€œbacon blissโ€. Aggregated from creator-review sentiment, weighted by channel expertise.

About our Bacon Score methodology
YouTube Video Descriptionโ†“

There is a lot of confusion about cruise ship prepaid gratuities, so in this video we'll cover the basics of what they are, who gets them, how much they are, and whether or not you have to actually prepay them. You can also ready my complete cruise tipping and money guide online at https://profmelissa.com/cruise-tipping/ ------------------------------------------------- LINKS ๐Ÿ›ณ Shop my favorite cruise outfits and essentials: https://profmel.com/shop ๐Ÿ›ณ Want to become a travel agent? https://www.profmelissa.com/travelagent ๐Ÿ›ณ Get my top recommended travel card: http://www.profmel.com/card ๐Ÿ›ณ Want to book a cruise or take a cruise with me? https://profmel.com/book ๐Ÿ›ณ Get FREE Port Guides, cruise advice, and more at https://www.profmelissa.com/ ๐Ÿ›ณ Get my FREE Cruise Packing List & Planning Guide: https://profmel.com/subscribe ๐Ÿ›ณ Want to book my favorite private drivers? http://www.profmel.com/drivers ------------------------------------------------- CONNECT WITH ME TikTok: / professormelissa Facebook: / profmelissacruises Instagram: / dr_melissa_newman ------------------------------------------------- Please note that sometimes my posts contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a commission through purchases, but this does not affect you as a consumer or cost you more in any way. I appreciate your use of my links, as this helps support my channel. โ™ฅ๏ธ