Ahoy, Karen! It's my pleasure to welcome you to planDisney. I am thrilled that you came here with this question as you contemplate an adventure at sea with Captains Mickey and Minnie. My family's first cruise ever was aboard the Disney Dream, and it was love at first sailing.
Figuring out how tips work can seem a little daunting, but hopefully, I can help. The current recommended gratuity is $16 per person per night. This is intended for your dining room server, dining room assistant server, dining room head server and stateroom host.
When we book a
Disney Cruise, we add gratuities to our reservation. Pre-paying the
gratuities wraps it up in the budgeting we do ahead of time. If you do not prepay the gratuities, they will be added to your onboard account.
I'll share with you how it works on the cruise so you know what to expect.
Since this is your first cruise, let's start with
rotational dining. This is a truly magical part of the Disney Cruise experience, and understanding how it works helps make tipping more understandable. With rotational dining, you are assigned a specific dining time (typically, the first seating is around 5:45 p.m., and the second seating is around 8:15 p.m.), a rotation order for each of the three main dining rooms, and a designated table number. Your dining team rotates with you, getting to know you and your preferences.
You also have one stateroom host, whom you will see throughout the cruise. In the morning, they will prepare your stateroom for the day, such as putting the pull-down beds back into their storage compartments. While you're enjoying dinner and a show, they prepare your room for you to sleep.
On one of the last nights on your cruise, your stateroom host will leave a sheet of cardstock paper and envelopes in your stateroom. The paper is printed with each person's name (your dining room server, dining room assistant server, dining room head server and stateroom host) and the amount given to them for their service on board the ship, derived from the consolidated daily tip amounts for each person in your stateroom. You can just tear the sheet along the perforations and add the slips to the envelopes to hand to them.
Although the suggested gratuity amount is provided, you can adjust it at your discretion. We have felt a strong connection to our dining team on cruises and have added extra cash to the envelope to show our appreciation. You can also visit Guest Services on board the ship to request that the amount be adjusted.
There are a few other services that have tipping.
If you order beverages at a lounge, bar, poolside or dining room, an 18% gratuity is automatically added to your bill, which will be reflected on your receipt. Spa services are handled the same way.
Room service is available 24 hours a day on your cruise. Most room service items are included in your cruise fare. (I highly recommend getting warm chocolate chip cookies delivered to your stateroom for a treat.) Tipping for room service is not pre-set, but we typically tip $1 per item ordered. You can either tip in cash or add it to the receipt, which will be charged to your onboard account.
Karen, I know this is a lot of information to take in. I assure you, Disney makes it easy to arrange and share your tips on the cruise. If you have any other questions, we are so happy to help you navigate your cruise. Please sail back by
planDisney!
SEAS the Adventure!
Jana