Welcome aboard, Kimberly! Congratulations on your very first cruise with
Disney Cruise Line! You have so much magic in store when you set sail with Captain Mickey and his crew!
The
gratuities that you'll pay onboard the ship are either pre-paid or charged to your stateroom account at the end of your sailing. Traditionally, these tips are paid to your stateroom host, and dining service team. Though they are charged all at once, they are per night of the sailing, per guest, and yes, that does include children.
Traditionally, the following gratuities are paid:
Stateroom Host: $4
Dining Server: $4
Assistant Dining Server: $3
Head Server of Dining Room: $1
Just multiply each of those by the number of people in your family and then by the number of nights of your sailing. For example, a family of five on a four night sailing would pay the stateroom host $4 per person, so $20 per night since there are five guests, times four nights of the sailing, so $80 total to the stateroom host.
The night before you leave the ship, you'll receive little envelopes with each of those Cast Members titles on them. You'll also receive little printed tickets showing the gratuities charged. You're welcome to take those to Guest Services to adjust from the traditional gratuity amount. We always add a little extra for those who really go above and beyond for us. And due to the fabulous Disney service, it's usually all of those folks that really exceed our expectations! The Guest Services team can help you adjust those tips should you like. Then, hand the little envelopes to those Cast Members as you say goodbye. Should you forget to bring the envelopes, it's okay. They'll still receive their tips!
I hope those details help as you begin planning, Kimberly! Have a great cruise!
Marcy