Celebrity Cruises will be raising its daily gratuities for the second time in nine months on Tuesday, July 11, 2023.
Gratuities for all staterooms will be increased. All inside, ocean view, and veranda staterooms will increase to $18 per person per day, Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms will increase to $18.50 per person per day, and The Retreat will increase to $23 per person per day. The new gratuity rate is only for new bookings and not for those “all included” or “always included” rates that have already been paid.
While this increase is not a substantial increase for inside, ocean view, veranda, Concierge, and AquaClass staterooms at just 3%, the increase for the Retreat is more substantial at 9.5%. When compared to October 2022, the difference is much more noticeable. When comparing October 2022 to July 2023, the rates have increased 16% for inside, ocean view, and veranda staterooms, 15% for Concierge and AquaClass staterooms, and 21% for The Retreat.
Celebrity Cruises also adds a 20% gratuity to all beverages, mini bar purchases and beverage packages. They also add an 18% gratuity to all spa and salon purchases, and all specialty dining covers, specialty dining packages onboard, and room service.
Celebrity Cruises is not the only cruise line to raise rates in the last year. Royal Caribbean increased gratuities last summer, Norwegian Cruise Line made an increase in January and Carnival raised rates twice from December 2022 to April 2023.
Cruisers always have the option to prepay their gratuities which will typically lock in the current rate. Cruisers also always have the option to cancel or alter their gratuities once onboard. However, per Celebrity Cruises Gratuity Program on their website, these gratuities go directly to crew members to help increase their pay. “Gratuities for stateroom and restaurant services are shared by dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants, and other hotel services teams.”