Princess Hiking Daily Gratuities $1 Per Person, Per Day

In what is now a seemingly annual occurrence among cruise lines, Princess is the latest to announce an increase in the daily gratuity amount aboard its cruise ships.

According to CruiseCritic, Princess has announced they will raise their daily gratuity fees later this month. The change will make Princess the fifth major cruise line – following Carnival, Holland America, Norwegian and Disney – in the past year to increase the amount passengers need pay in addition to their fare.

Princess cruise ship logo

Effective May 21, 2019, per-person rates will increase by $1 per day for all levels of accommodations. This means passengers who have not pre-paid their gratuities by May 14 will be charged as follows:

  • Standard cabins (balcony and below): $14.50 per person, per day.
  • Mini-suites: $15.50 per person, per day.
  • Suites: $16.50 per person, per day.

If you’ve already made reservations for a Princess cruise and want to avoid the new, higher fees, act quickly. Cruisers who have booked their voyages and prepaid their gratuities before May 14 will not be affected by the changes.

Princess told Cruise Critic that, “The increase underscores our commitment to reward our crew for the excellent service provided to our guests.”

While passengers might be upset by an increase in the daily tip amount, Princess has actually been slower than some other lines to raise the fee. The cruise line’s last increase was in December 2016. At that time, the rate increased from $12.95 per person, per day for most cabins to $13.50.

Furthermore, this increase isn’t totally unexpected. Its sister cruise line Carnival increased its daily gratuity amount in December 2018 to $13.99 per person. That meant Carnival’s daily tip amount was actually higher than Princess, despite Princess being seen as a more luxurious brand.

All told, two people traveling on a week-long cruise aboard Princess in a standard cabin will now see $203 in gratuity charges. If you want to calculate what the charges will be on your trip for any major cruise line, see our gratuity calculator here.

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