Celebrity Cruises have recently announced they will be increasing their Gratuity charges. This goes into place from 14th June and will be on all sailings departing from 1st July 2016. The new Gratuities guidelines will be as follows
$13.50 per person per day for standard staterooms
$14.00 per person per day for Concierge Class and Aqua Class Staterooms
$17.00 per person per day for Suite passengers.
If passengers are already booked with Celebrity they do still have the option of pre paying their gratuities before the date this will come into place and can still pay the lower amounts which are
$12.95 per person per day for standard staterooms
$13.45 per person per day for Concierge Class and Aqua Class staterooms
$16.45 per person per day for Suite passengers
Celebrity Cruises have said they have made this adjustment with gratuities to help recognise the work of their staff and crew. Guests on board Celebrity ships are still free to change the gratuities amount at their discretion when they board the ship at the guest relations desk. Alternatively Celebrity Cruises will automatically add the gratuities to your on board account unless they have been pre paid before passengers depart.
Gratuities are always a mixed topic of conversation from talking to clients. I do see views from both sides. It is a good idea to pre pay them as you know you don’t need to worry about this while on board however you haven’t received the service at this point. Other passengers feel they want to hand the money to individuals as they say they don’t actually know where their money goes to. The new increase with Celebrity isn’t huge but over a longer cruise will soon add up. I still feel it would be an idea if cruise lines incorporate these into the cruise cost and then it is up to the passengers if they wish to tip the staff further. It will be interesting to see how the new increase goes down with passengers.