It's easy to get a bargain on a family cruise vacation, but Americans are discovering a new hidden fee that has them shelling out hundreds of extra dollars on their voyages.
Popular cruise lines like Carnival, Celebrity, Princess and MSC charge passengers a daily gratuity fee that is given to crew members - and on most cruise lines the fees are rising.
In April, Carnival Cruise Line upped its daily tip rate by $1, to $17 per person per day for staterooms and a whopping $19 per day for suites.
According to the New York Times, the company said its team members provide 'exceptional service' and that guests would agree that the 'slight increase was well deserved.'
In March, Princess Cruises boosted its gratuity rates to between $18 and $20 per person per day. Princess Cruises said that 'these changes bring greater consistency to the booking process and reflect broader industry practices.'
And in July, Celebrity Cruises increased its daily gratuity charge by $1.50. Now, the fee runs between $19.50 and $24.50 per person per day.
But for those who would prefer not to pay the fee or decide on their own tip amount, there's a silver lining. Travel expert Gaurav Jaura tells the Daily Mail you can always opt out.
'Princess automatically adds its crew appreciation charge, although it states that guests can request an adjustment if they are dissatisfied with the service,' Jaura told the us.
Disney Cruise Line charges a prepaid gratuity of $14.50 per night per guest, although passengers can opt to pay on the last night of the cruise
In April, Carnival Cruise Line upped its daily tip rate by $1, to $17 per person per day for staterooms and a whopping $19 per day for suites
Passengers can opt out of automatic daily gratuities on Princess Cruises, Carnival and Celebrity Cruise Line by visiting the guest services desk once they are onboard the ship. Seasoned travelers suggest doing this on the first day of the cruise to avoid any unwanted charges.
Disney Cruise Line, meanwhile, charges a prepaid gratuity of $14.50 per night per guest, according to the company's website - and it has a similar policy allowing guests to opt out of automatic daily tipping.
Disney explained this fee goes to crew members that directly interact with guests on board, including the rotational dining server, rotational dining assistant server, rotational dining head server and stateroom host.
'If you choose not to prepay, the suggested amount is automatically added to your stateroom folio and charged on the final night of your cruise,' Disney states.
Princess Cruises has also changed its booking and payment policies, announcing higher deposit requirements and a shorter window for making final payments.
For six to nine-day cruises, deposits will increase from $250 to $300 per passenger for most staterooms - suite deposits will go from $500 to $600 per passenger. For longer excursions lasting 10 to 44 days, deposits will range from $500 to $1,000, depending on the cabin size.
Princess will also require final payments 120 days before departure, with cancellation fees increasing as the sailing date gets closer - that means these vacations will come with less flexibility for travelers. The company confirmed these updated rates will apply to bookings made after September 2 for next year's cruises.
Food service workers on cruise ships earn an estimated $22,930 per year according to Indeed
According to travel advisor Sarah Pardi, cruisers need to watch out for the fee before the payment window closes
For veteran travelers, the increased fees aren't surprising, especially considering crew members are serving passengers around the clock.
Travel expert Ritu Panesar told the Daily Mail that while the fees are hardly new, they were tolerated when they remained under $10 per day. Now that they keep rising, customers are getting fed up.
'A family of four walks off the ship $500 lighter than the fare they booked,' Panesar told us. 'Cruise lines are quietly turning tipping into a second ticket.'
According to travel advisor Sarah Pardi, cruisers need to watch out for the fee before the payment window closes.
'The most important thing that consumers can do is to look at any fine print to see exactly what is expected of them, payment-wise,' Pardi told the Daily Mail. 'They should do this before they pay.'
For some social media users, though, the 'prepaid' gratuity charge only left them confused - or frustrated.
'We finally pulled the trigger last cruise and tipped in cash,' one Reddit user wrote. 'I’m kind of over this whole tipping for random jobs that shouldn’t be tipped nonsense. We tipped basically the same amount exclusively to our state room, waiter, and bar staff.'
'Personally, I’m in team 'pay the Auto Gratuities and then give a little extra to select crew members who made my cruise extra special,' but that’s just me,' another added. But according to Panesar, the anger towards these added fees is often misplaced.
'Cruise crews make the experience function in ways most travelers never see,' he added. 'These workers should not be the casualty of a pricing model passengers resent.
'The issue is transparency. If cruise lines depend on daily service charges to support the crew, the cleaner model is to show the traveler the real cost before they fall in love with the fare.'
