Carnival Cruises offers a cashless onboard credit program, Sail and Sign®, which allows guests to charge onboard purchases and gratuities directly to their personal account for convenience. All guests, except those under the age of two, must pay the daily gratuity charge, regardless of the level of service. However, guests have the flexibility to adjust or remove gratuity charges if they wish.
Tipping for onshore excursions is a discretionary matter, but it is customary worldwide to tip tour guides if you are pleased with the excursion. A general rule of thumb is one dollar per person for a half-day excursion and two dollars per person for a full-day excursion. Tipping is a discretionary matter, and there is no set rule for tipping or no tipping. If you pre-pay gratuities, you don’t need to tip on the boat, but you will need to tip on shore, including any tour guides during the excursions you’ve booked.
There is no requirement to tip on your prepaid shore excursion. Cash tips for the driver and tour guide are optional. Carnival Cruise Line suggests daily gratuities of $14.50 per person for standard accommodations and $16.50 per person for suite guests, automatically added.
Guests can manage their cruises, manage their shore excursions, in-room gifts and shopping, spa and salon services, and more through Sail and Sign®. An automatic 18 gratuity is added to all bar bills, specialty restaurant cover charges, and spa services. Guests are encouraged to purchase Carnival’s Cruise Vacation Protection Plan to cover any eligible non-refundable shore excursion cancellation charges.
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Does Carnival Cruise automatically charge gratuity?
It is possible to request the removal of automatic gratuities on Carnival Cruises by visiting Guest Services. However, it should be noted that tipping is customary and may influence the quality of service received.
Are you supposed to tip on excursions?
It is customary in the culture where tours are purchased to tip. The cost of a half-day tour is $5 per person, while a full-day tour costs between $8 and $10 per person. It is customary to pay a few dollars per bus driver.
Do you pay gratuities on Carnival Cruises?
Gratuities can be added at the time of booking or anytime up to the sail date. Guests who booked directly with Carnival can add their pre-paid gratuities on Carnival. com, while those booked with a travel agent can contact their travel professional to add them. Prepaid gratuities are reflected in the ‘Miscellaneous Charge’ field on the confirmation and in the guest’s E-Documents. If guests have not pre-paid their gratuities, the recommended amount will be posted to their Sail and Sign account on the second to last day of the cruise.
If a guest is not satisfied with the service, they can contact the Guest Services desk while on board. Gratuities can be adjusted at the guest’s discretion, but they will be considered final after a guest disembarks. Gratuities apply to all guests, except children under 2. They apply regardless of the dining options selected, and an 18 service charge will be added to the bill for beverage purchases, cover charges, and a la carte fees at various restaurants. Additional gratuities can be added at the guest’s discretion.
Why did Carnival charge me $$200?
The information provided on your credit/debit card is crucial for authorization, which will not be obtained until the day of the voyage. The card will be charged with an initial hold of $100 USD for cruises 5 days or less or $200 USD for cruises 6 days or more. As the cruise progresses, incremental holds will be obtained as needed. If a payment is made to replace the card, the hold will remain on your account, reducing the funds available. To set spending privileges, select the person you want to charge to the account by clicking their name. If traveling with minor children under 18, you can enter a spending limit by their name.
Do you tip on cruise shore excursions?
Cruise passengers are expected to tip tour guides and bus drivers on shore excursions, with a suggested starting price of $5 per person for a half-day tour and $10 per person for a full-day tour for the guide and $2 for the bus driver. The tip can be increased based on the experience, such as bonding with a snorkel guide. Porters who collect bags at the pier are expected to tip around $1 to $2 per bag.
If a cruise includes a hotel night, consider leaving a gratuity for the housekeeping staff at the hotel. However, tipping everyone on a cruise is generally considered bad form, as it is generally considered bad form to tip the captain, officers, and management team.
Do you tip in cash on a cruise?
Cruise lines typically prefer electronic tipping to maintain cashless environments onboard their ships. However, passengers who prefer to tip in cash should give cash in the ship’s stated onboard currency, typically US dollars. Some lines change onboard currencies based on the region they’re sailing, such as Princess, which uses US dollars on most sailings, except for a select few departures in Australia.
Royal Caribbean spokesperson Susan Lomax explains that gratuity systems onboard their ships are modeled after land-based resorts, and guests are welcome to tip anyone, but officers, the medical team, and security team are a hard ‘no’.
Some cruise lines eschew tipping, such as Azamara, Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Crystal, P and O Cruises, P and O Cruises Australia, and Ponant, which include tips in their cruise fares. However, each line does not prohibit passengers from tipping crew members personally in cash if they provide above-and-beyond service.
Can you avoid paying gratuities on a cruise?
Gratuities are optional and may be removed from the bill at any time prior to the conclusion of the cruise. Some cruise lines, including P&O, have discontinued the practice of automatically including gratuities on passenger bills.
Is a tip the same as a gratuity?
A gratuity is a fee paid by a customer to an employee for service, entirely at the discretion of the service provider. It is often used as a bonus, but it may not cover monthly expenses. A tip is an informal tip given to a service provider to show appreciation for their work. The tip’s amount depends on personal taste and the amount one can afford to give. While most society considers gratuities and tips illegal, they can be acceptable forms of payment in certain situations.
A gratuity is a fee a customer pays an employee for service, and it can also be referred to as a service charge or corkage fee. Tips, on the other hand, are money given to an employee for service, and can be given to various service workers, including waiters, bartenders, taxi drivers, baristas, tour operators, private boats, tour operators, and airport services. Both gratuities and tips are important in various situations, but the choice depends on personal preference and the specific needs of the individual.
Can I refuse to pay cruise gratuities?
It is possible to decline the automatic gratuity charge and provide compensation to cruise staff in accordance with one’s own preferences. However, it is essential to notify the front desk of this decision. The aforementioned gratuity will be reflected on the final cruise bill and charged to the credit card associated with the account. Prior to the implementation of automatic gratuities, cruise lines provided guests with tip envelopes and suggested daily gratuities for each individual served. For example, cabin stewards and main dining room waiters would be entitled to a gratuity of $3 per day, the maitre d’ would receive $1 per day, and tour guides would be allotted $5 per day.
Can cruise lines force you to pay gratuities?
It should be noted that gratuity charges are optional on the majority of cruise lines. However, these charges are automatically added to the final bill, and any subsequent adjustments or removals require additional effort on the part of the passenger.
What happens if you don’t tip on a cruise?
Gratuities are optional and may be removed from the bill at any time prior to the conclusion of the cruise. Some cruise lines, including P&O, have discontinued the practice of automatically including gratuities on passenger bills.
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