Passengers sailing on Princess should get ready to pay a little bit more on their next cruise.
In a change we first noticed on Friday, the cruise line is now showing an increase in the rates for daily gratuity on the ship. Whether sailing in the lowest-cost interior cabin or the highest-end suite, rates are higher across the board.
Princess has previously broken down the daily cost of what it calls “crew appreciation” into three categories, with charges starting at $16 per day.
Old charges:
- Interior, oceanview, and balcony cabins: $16 per person, per day
- Mini-suite and Reserve Collection cabins: $17 per person, per day
- Suites: $18 per person, per day
With these rates, a couple traveling on a week-long cruise in a balcony cabin would pay a total of $224 in gratuity charges.
Now, the cruise line is showing new rates. Charges posted to its website show the following categories and costs for passengers.
New charges:
- Suites: $19 per person, per day
- Mini-suite, cabanas, and Club Class cabins: $18 per person, per day
- All other cabin types: $17 per person, per day
The charges have all risen by $1 per person, per day.
In the case of a balcony cabin, passengers will now pay $17 per day instead of $16 per day. That’s a bump of 6.3% in the cost. In the case of a couple traveling on a week-long cruise, they would now pay $238 in daily gratuity charges or $14 more over the course of the trip.
Princess last raised its daily gratuity charge in February 2023. At that time, the cost jumped from $14.50 per person, per day for most cabins — including interior, oceanview, and balcony rooms — to $16 per person, per day.
Don’t like to see rising gratuity costs? Princess does say that “guests have complete discretion to adjust these crew appreciation while onboard; however, crew appreciation may only be adjusted prior to disembarking the ship and not refundable post cruise.”
Another way to lessen the impact? If you book the cruise line’s Princess Plus or Princess Premier packages ($60 and $90 per day, respectively), then you have the daily crew appreciation charge included. In addition, you also get wi-fi, a drink package, and more perks included with your fare.
