Cruises & the Importance of NOT Excluding Pre-Paid Gratuities

Cruise ship passengers customarily leave tips for the staff in appreciation of their hard work and stellar service.

While cash envelopes used to be the preferred choice among passengers for thanking staff members who directly served them, cruise lines everywhere have transitioned to pre-paid gratuities. This ensures all employees contributing to a passenger's memorable experience—from those seen each day to the ones behind the scenes making the magic happen—are justly compensated for their care and attention to detail.

While some travelers still insist on tipping after their experience, and some travel packages may not include automatic gratuities, pre-paying is the most beneficial method, for everyone: yourself and your clients included.

Why it's important for your clients:

Passengers don't have to worry about money.

One of the main benefits of pre-paid gratuities is that cruise ship passengers won't have to think about money at all while on vacation. No tipping waiters, room service attendants, or anybody else. It's all taken care of.

There's a chance cash will be pooled, anyway.

If a passenger's account shows they've removed auto gratuities, it's likely that any tip given to specific staff will go into a pool, anyway, for equal distribution among employees.

Employees rely on tips.

Just as with restaurant staff, cruise ship employees rely on tips to make a comfortable salary, so it's important that passengers compensate them for their hard work.