Carnival Cruises has just announced that passengers sailing onboard the fleet will now see an 18% gratuity charge on their bar tabs.
The line has made the decision to increase its drink gratuities by 3% (up from 15%), and the change applies to both individual purchases and the all-inclusive Cheers and Bottomless Bubbles beverage packages.
The increase comes just weeks after Carnival raised its general gratuities by $1 to $2 (depending on the stateroom).
Its Cheers pricing was also raised nearly one year ago, and recently changed the maximum allowed value per serving (from $50 to $20) whilst maintaining its limit of 15 alcoholic drinks in a 24-hour period.
Carnival spokesperson, Vance Gulliksen, has stated the increased gratuity is in line with the cruise industry, as well as hotels and restaurants on land.
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises also charge an 18 percent gratuity on drinks whilst Norwegian Cruise Line raised its drink gratuities from 18% to 20 percent in December last year.
In February this year, Carnival addressed a rumour of where extra cash gratuities for cabin stewards really go when it was believed that the staff members would have to turn that money into a tip pool.
The line’s brand ambassador, John Heald revealed: “Please ignore any rumour that you may have read as it is false. Any cash you give our crew is kept by the state room steward 100%.
It is not pooled. He or she may give some to their assistant that helped clean your cabin but again, it is not pooled.
And a massive thank you to everyone who does tip our crew, you are very kind and I know our brilliant crew will continue to strive to exceed your expectations.”
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What do you think of Carnival upping the gratuity charge on bar tabs? Do you think this is inevitable in order for all crew to be paid fairly? Do you give extra cash to your cabin stewards? Let us know below…
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