What shall I do about gratuities?

This is a hot topic amongst cruise goers. Should gratuities be paid in advance or is it best to pay onboard? Most cruise lines will let you choose how you pay (apart from Costa Cruises). There are pros and cons for both I suppose. If you pay in advance you can relax knowing that they are taken care of and that you’ve paid a fixed amount. If you pay onboard though you are then able to reward the staff who you think most deserve it.

Many cruise lines now add it automatically to your on board account without giving you a choice, however you can just go and see them and ask them to either reduce it or remove it altogether. They will ask you why ofcourse, to put you in the spot, but if you are well prepared with the right answers for example, why an infant should be charged the full amount of adult gratuities?
The other argument is whether cruise staff should be paid more by the cruise line in the first place so that they don’t have to rely so heavily on tips?!Personally, I would rather pay gratuities onboard which allows me a bit more control. What do you think?

Below is a guide for how much cruise lines are adding for gratuities on your on board account:

Cruise Line	How Much Per Day Per Adult	Converted in GBP *	How Much Per Day Per Child	Converted in GBP *	Ways to Pay	Additional Charges
Azamara Club Cruises	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	18% on Spa service Gratuities
Carnival Cruises	$12	£8.36	$12 under 2’s are free	£8.36 under 2’s are free	Pre pay, Auto	15% on Drinks, 18% on spa treatments
Celebrity Cruises	$13.50 per day, per guest in Standard staterooms $14.00 per day, per guest in Concierge Class & AquaClass® staterooms $17.00 per day, per guest in Suite Class	£9.34, £9.69 for Concierge Class and Aquaclass, and £11.76 for Suite Guests	$13.50 per day, per guest in Standard staterooms $14.00 per day, per guest in Concierge Class & AquaClass® staterooms $17.00 per day, per guest in Suite Class	£9.34, £9.69 for Concierge Class and Aquaclass, and £11.76 for Suite Guests	You can either pay on board or pre-pay your gratuities before you board. For their convenience we automatically add gratuities for restaurant and stateroom services to your guests on board SeaPass® account on a daily basis which can be adjusted at their discretion Gratuities are shared by guests Dining & Culinary Services staff, Stateroom Attendants, Other Housekeeping Services Personnel, as well as staff from other departments who work behind the scenes to enhance the cruise experience	An 18% gratuity will be automatically added to all beverages, mini bar purchases, spa and salon services
Costa Cruises	€Cruises from Europe €8 / Cruise from caribbean & usa – $11/ World cruise €7	Cruises from Europe – £6.53/ Cruise from Caribbean & USA – £7/ World cruise – £5.55	Cruises from Europe – €4/ Cruise from Caribbean & USA – $5.50/ World cruise – €3.50	Cruises from Europe – £3.18/ Cruise from Caribbean & USA – £3.50/ World cruise – £2.28	Auto	–
Cruise & Maritime	£5	£5	£5	£5	Auto	–
Crystal	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	18% for spa services
Cunard	$11.50 Britannia categories & $13.50 Suite Passengers	£7.64 Britannia categories & £8.97 Suite categories	Equal to adult	£7.64 Britannia categories & £8.97 Suite categories	Auto	15% on Drinks
Disney	$12	£7.70	$12	£7.70	Pre pay, Auto, Personally	15% on Drinks
Fred Olsen	£4	£4	£4	£4	Auto, Personally	–
Hebridean	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	–
Holland America Line	$12.50, $13.50 suite guests	=	$12.50, $13.50 suite guests	=	Auto, personally	–
Hurtigruten	No tipping policy. It is at your discretion	–	–	–	–	–
Island Cruises	Included	–	–	–	–	–
MSC	$12	£7.70	$6	M£3.80	pre pay, personally, Auto	–
NCL	$12.95	£8.75	$12.95 No charge for under 3’s	£8.75 No charge for under 3’s	Pre pay, Auto, Personally	18% on Drinks and Spa
Oceania	$16 and $23 for suites.	&pound10.95 and £15.74 for suites	$16 and $23 for suites.	&pound10.95 and £15.74 for suites	Auto, Personally	18% on Drinks and Spa services
P&O Cruises	£6	–	£3.95. No charge for under 12’s	–	Auto	–
Pullmantur	€10.20	£8.08	€10.20	£8.08	Auto	–
Princess Cruises	$11.50 and $12 for mini suites and suites	£7.34 and £7.70 for mini suites and suites	$11.50 and $12 for mini suites and suites	£7.34 and £7.70 for mini suites and suites	Auto, Personally	15% on Drinks and 18% on Beauty treatments
Regent	Included	–	–	–	–	–
Royal Caribbean	$12.95 and $15.95 grand suite and above	£8.63 and £10.62 grand suite and above	$12.95 and $15.95 grand suite and above	£8.63 and £10.62 grand suite and above	Pre pay, Auto, personally	18% on drinks
Seabourn	Included	–	–	–	–	–
Seadream	Included	–	–	–	–	–
Silversea	Included	–	–	–	–	–
Star Clipper	€8	£6.35	€8	£6.35	pre pay, auto, Personally	–
Swan Hellenic	Included	–	–	–	–	–
Thomson	Included	–	–	–	–	–
Voyages of Discovery	Included	–	–	–	–	–
Voyages to Antiquity	Included	–	–	–	–	12.5% for Drinks
Windstar	$12	£7.70	$12	£7.70	Auto, pre pay	15% on Drinks