costa cruises service charges

• Costa Cruises

Tip / Service charge Costa Fortuna

By CocktailPrincess , October 23, 2023 in Costa Cruises

Recommended Posts

CocktailPrincess

Since booking I have read on forums/reviews that costa charge a service charge of 11EUR a day per person.

Is this true?

If this is the case for my cruise the service charge would cost almost as much as the cruise! we booked a re positional cruise 15 nights for £250pp the service charge would be  165EUR pp

i have tried looking on the website and it doesn't mention Fortuna, does this mean i am in the clear?

thanks in advance

Link to comment

Share on other sites.

Yes, as the most cruise lines Costa charges a service fee as well on markets where this is allowed. This is indeed 11 € per adult and night currently on all ships. It is during booking process shown next to the price of the cruise with the wording “Mandatory service fees are not included in the price: Adults €11/night.” The sheet you put here shows by date when the fee changed to 11 € per ship with the end of the winter season 2021/22. In fact the Fortuna rejoined service after that date. Not all today bookable ships are in the list, while the Luminosa left the fleet in the meanwhile. I think Costa really should renew the table from time to time. Your deal is far below usual pricing, obviously Costa needed to fill some remaining cabins, however this has no influence on additional costs. BTW, if you don’t have an all-inclusive booking drinks with a very few exceptions are not included.

4 hours ago, At7Seas said: It is during booking process shown next to the price of the cruise with the wording “Mandatory service fees are not included in the price: Adults €11/night.”

EU regulations make them post the service fees up front before booking which I really appreciate. Other cruise lines make it more challenging to see the real total cost which is the cruise fare + mandatory service fee (tips) + port and fuel charge. If the cruise misses a port for any reason you will be refunded a portion of the port charges but the other costs are fixed.

All 3 combined is your base cost of the cruise. Any specialty dining, alcoholic drinks and such is extra.

If you wish to avoid service fees I know Virgin rolls it into the cruise fare but that makes the cruise fare higher. I personally don't mind the separate charge especially when they are upfront about it.

10 minutes ago, Yukiie said: EU regulations make them post the service fees up front before booking which I really appreciate.

Apropos EU: here all taxes must be included in the fare. Austria and Germany require that even the service charge is included in the fare. Mentioning up front the amount is not up front enough according to their judges. That’s why I wrote about the service charge “where allowed”. Prices look higher, but aren’t necessarily. Only that the UK, where CocktailPrincess is from, is no longer part of the EU, so local laws are applicable.

Yes I've sailed with Costa before and know drinks aren't included. Was prepared to consider a drinks package or pay as I go.

It's my fault really with the tip, I was in a rush to book this amazing price and obviously didn't see the notice.

I think it would be better to just charge it in the price if it's not optional why save it to later.

I guess I must have paid it 3 years ago on my last costa cruise.

19 minutes ago, At7Seas said:   Apropos EU: here all taxes must be included in the fare. Austria and Germany require that even the service charge is included in the fare. Mentioning up front the amount is not up front enough according to their judges. That’s why I wrote about the service charge “where allowed”. Prices look higher, but aren’t necessarily. Only that the UK, where CocktailPrincess is from, is no longer part of the EU, so local laws are applicable.

Ah that's probably why I don't remember it from last time as i booked when we were in the EU

Well congratulations on achieving such an incredible rate for your cruise! These kinds of deals are few and far between these days.   

Costa have never, to my knowledge included the service charge in UK pricing. I believe you can now choose to pre pay it, but imagine most choose to leave it and pay later onboard. As others have noted, for bookings made in some other markets, gratuities are included in the fare, and so the fare is usually higher, to reflect this.  Service  charge / gratuities on Costa are amongst the lowest in the cruise industry, and are mandatory. As a comparison , Royal caribbean charge US$16 per person per day, and Norwegian US$20 per person per day. I have generally found the service on Costa to be outstanding, and way above expectations, relative to the rates charged. As a result I often tip additionally above the mandatory gratuities.   

I hope you have a fantastic cruise! I must admit to being rather jealous !  

23 minutes ago, Oggiabordo said: Well congratulations on achieving such an incredible rate for your cruise! These kinds of deals are few and far between these days.    Costa have never, to my knowledge included the service charge in UK pricing. I believe you can now choose to pre pay it, but imagine most choose to leave it and pay later onboard. As others have noted, for bookings made in some other markets, gratuities are included in the fare, and so the fare is usually higher, to reflect this.  Service  charge / gratuities on Costa are amongst the lowest in the cruise industry, and are mandatory. As a comparison , Royal caribbean charge US$16 per person per day, and Norwegian US$20 per person per day. I have generally found the service on Costa to be outstanding, and way above expectations, relative to the rates charged. As a result I often tip additionally above the mandatory gratuities.    I hope you have a fantastic cruise! I must admit to being rather jealous !          

I totally agree, we had a fab time before. I do think it's a fair amount , I just hadn't budgeted for it, and as my deal was so low it was a bit of a shock .

the wandering two

23 hours ago, CocktailPrincess said: Ah that's probably why I don't remember it from last time as i booked when we were in the EU

It's always been a payment per day when on the ship. I am from UK and always had to pay at the end of the cruise

I shop around within the EU for the best price or conditions. Years ago I held a booking in the UK and the service charge was added to the price. My Costa cruises booked on the Dutch market and the rest of Europe market (without dedicated country websites) were as UK bookings, service charge was added to the board account. I definitely know that the service charge is included in Germany and Austria since many years, as far as I am aware it is the same in Switzerland, but I never tried it out. Only thing all these bookings had in common: taxes were included, not as Yukiie mentioned for the US market. I am not aware Costa would have ever included the service charge as promotion, while I got the one or other beverage package this way.

If you think you are not getting good service you cannot go to reception and ask them to remove the daily charge, as it is part of the contract. 

As you can see from the screenshot the Toscana sailing for next December has the service charge as zero, there are many others too. 

8 hours ago, the wandering two said: As you can see from the screenshot the Toscana sailing for next December has the service charge as zero, there are many others too. 

Well, not mentioned does not mean not due. The UK strives away from EU regulations and the main legal source of customer protection for me - as I am living within - is the EU legislation. And Costa definitely uses changes to promote their cruises. Did they announce expressively “from date x no service charge added to your bill”? If you really want to know you should ask your customer service whether there is no service charge due.   Costa‘s website for the UK show only one version of terms and conditions, valid since December 12th, 2021. Currently no change is announced or has been introduced recently. This document includes one clear understandable sentence:   "The service charge is not included in the Rates and is debited each day in the same way as occurs for other expenses incurred." https://www.costacruises.co.uk/general-conditions/contract.html   There are several specifications including the one and only exception - for children younger than 4 years old. BTW in this source the Fortuna is mentioned as well.

I have just booked a cruise with a different cruise line and being aware of service-charges/gratuities I was looking for the daily charge. Even putting it in the search column on top of the page it didn't show up. Started to wonder whether it was actually included. To make sure I went through "Things you should know" and found it buried on something like page 40. On the cruise fare only the port-fees were mentioned as due in addition. The adding service charge is such nonsense and due to the tipping policies in the US, just include it in the total of the fare. But then they would need to have to add all the other things, VAT or in the US sales-tax. Why make it easy on the consumer. Took a taxi the other day from JFK into the city and recommended service-charges start with 15 %, then 20 % and 25 % - ridiculous.

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in

• Welcome to Cruise Critic
• Special Event: Q&A with John Waggoner, Founder & CEO Victory Cruise Lines
• Hurricane Zone 2024
• Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com Summer 2024
• New Cruisers
• Cruise Lines “A – O”
• Cruise Lines “P – Z”
• River Cruising
• Cruise Critic News & Features
• Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
• Special Interest Cruising
• Cruise Discussion Topics
• UK Cruising
• Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
• Canadian Cruisers
• North American Homeports
• Ports of Call
• Cruise Conversations

Announcements

• New to Cruise Critic? Join our Community!

Ask Me Anything About

Victory Cruise Lines!

Ask Your Questions Today;

See answers beginning August 12th

Write Your Own Amazing Review !

Click this photo by member XFrancophileX to share your review w/ photos too!

Parliament, Budapest

Features & News

LauraS · Started Friday at 11:17 PM

LauraS · Started Friday at 10:31 PM

LauraS · Started Friday at 06:07 PM

LauraS · Started Friday at 04:15 PM

LauraS · Started Friday at 03:34 PM

Cruise Planning

Find a cruise, popular ports, member reviews.

© 1995— 2024 , The Independent Traveler, Inc.

• Existing user? Sign in OR Create an Account
• Find Your Roll Call
• Meet & Mingle
• Community Help Center
• All Activity
• Member Photo Albums
• Meet & Mingle Photos
• Favorite Cruise Memories
• Cruise Food Photos
• Cruise Ship Photos
• Ports of Call Photos
• Towel Animal Photos
• Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos
• Write a Review
• Live Cruise Reports
• Member Cruise Reviews
• Create New...

USA TODAY's guide to cruise ship service charges and gratuity fees

There perhaps is nothing more controversial in the world of cruising than the gratuity charge.

It is a fee of up to $23 per person, per day that many of the biggest cruise lines, including Carnival, Princess and Norwegian, automatically add to passenger bills, saying it will be passed on to crew members in recognition of their service.

The charge is levied whether or not a passenger feels he or she has experienced good service, though at many lines it can be adjusted or removed while on board.

The practice of adding automatic gratuity charges to cruise bills has sprung up over the past few decades, replacing a more informal system where cruisers tipped room stewards and wait staff at their own discretion, in varying amounts.

Many of the lines that automatically add gratuity charges to bills say they do so as a convenience to passengers. It's just plain simpler for cruisers to pay an automatic gratuity than to be tipping crew members who give them great service one by one, the lines say. Cruise lines also note the money is shared with behind-the-scenes crew members who play an important role in the passenger experience but otherwise might go unrewarded.

RELATED:   Holland America hikes service charges by more than 7 percent  

Critics of the charges say tipping is a personal matter that should be left to passengers. Some see the charges as a thinly disguised method for cruise lines to push the responsibility for paying crew members to their customers. To that point, cruise industry watcher CruiseCritic has  reported  that some lines now pay housekeeping and dining department workers on ships as little as $2 per day in base wages, relying on the automatic gratuity to provide the bulk of their compensation. As much as 95 percent  pay for some cruise ship workers now comes from automatic gratuities, according to CruiseCritic. 

The dollar amounts of automatic gratuity charges, sometimes called service charges, have been soaring in recent years at a rate many times higher than inflation. At some lines, they're  up more than 25 percent over the past three years .

Still, the practice of adding a gratuity charge to bills is at a crossroads in the industry. While mass-market ocean lines such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian are hiking the fees at a rapid rate, a growing number of more upscale ocean lines including Azamara, Crystal, Seabourn, Regent and SeaDream have been eliminating them. The practice also is disappearing at some river lines. Uniworld, Tauck and Scenic Cruises are among those that now include gratuities for crew members in base fares.

Adventure-focused "expedition-style" cruise operators also have begun including gratuity charges in base fares. Just two years ago, category leader Lindblad Expeditions began including gratuities in the fare on two of its ships, National Geographic Explorer and National Geographic Orion.

The listings below offer a look at the amounts major lines catering to North Americans currently are charging to passenger bills in automatic gratuities. In addition to a flat-fee, per-day charge for gratuities, some lines also add a 15 to 18 percent gratuity to bar bills on ships. In some cases, lines also add an additional gratuity charge to bills at extra-charge restaurants on ships and for spa services. The rates for the daily charges listed below are per person, per day.

• Alaskan Dream Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew are not included in the fare and are at the discretion of travelers. ( Read company policy .) Additional charges: None

• Azamara Club Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew including bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .) Additional charges: An 18-percent gratuity is added to bills for spa services.

• Carnival Cruise Line Daily gratuity charge: $13.99 Note: Passengers in suites pay $15.99. No gratuities are collected for passengers under the age of 2. ( Read company policy .) Additional charges: A  15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills. See also:  Carnival raises gratuity charge

• Celebrity Cruises Daily gratuity charge: $14.50 Note: Passengers in Concierge Class and AquaClass cabins pay $15; passengers in suites, $18. ( Read company policy .) Additional charges: An 18 percent gratuity is added to bar bills. See also:  Celebrity Cruises hikes service charge (again!)

• Celestyal Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew and bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: None

• Costa Cruises Daily gratuity charge: $12.50  Note: For ships operating in U.S. dollars; ships operating in euro have a 10 euro charge. On the Costa Serena, Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria, Costa Fortuna and Costa neoRomantica, the charge is $13.50 for most cabins and $16.50 for suites. No gratuities are collected for passengers under the age of 4. Children (ages 4 to 14) pay 50 percent of the adult rate. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: None

• Crystal Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew including bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: An 18 percent gratuity is added to bills for spa services.

• Cunard Line Daily gratuity charge: $11.50 Note: Passengers in Grill Class cabins pay $13.50. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills.

• Disney Cruise Line Daily gratuity charge: $12 Note: Read company policy .  Additional charges: A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills; an 18 percent charge is added to bills for spa services.

• Holland America Line Daily gratuity charge: $14.50 Note: Passengers in suites pay $16. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills. See also:   Holland America plans hefty hike to gratuity charges

• Lindblad Expeditions Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew are included in the fare for passengers on the National Geographic Explorer and National Geographic Orion but not other ships. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: None

• MSC Cruises Daily gratuity charge: $12.50 Note: For Caribbean cruises and some grand voyages. Gratuity charges vary for MSC's other itineraries. Children pay half the adult rate.  Additional charges: A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills.

• Norwegian Cruise Line Daily gratuity charge: $14.50 Note: Passengers in suites pay $17.50. Passengers on the line's two all-inclusive ships, Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun, pay higher rates ($19.99 for standard cabins; $22.99 for suites). ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: A 20 percent gratuity is added to bar bills, the bills at extra-charge specialty restaurants and for services at ship spas. See also:   Norwegian joins Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean in hiking service charges

• Oceania Cruises Daily gratuity charge: $16  Note: Passengers staying in top suites with butler service pay $23. ( Read company policy . ) Additional charges: An 18 percent gratuity is added to bar bills, the bill for extra-charge eatery La Reserve and for services at ship spas.

• Paul Gauguin Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew including bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .) Additional charges: None

• Ponant Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew are not included in the fare. Ponant says tipping is "entirely up to you, and you are under no obligation" to tip. Passengers who want to leave a gratuity for crew are encouraged to put it in an urn at the Reception desk at the end of the voyage. ( Read company policy .)    Additional charges: None

• Princess Cruises Daily gratuity charge: $13.50 Notes: Passengers in minisuites and suites pay $14.50 and $15.50, respectively. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills. See also:  Princess raises sum of suggested gratuities

• Regent Seven Seas Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew including bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .)   Additional charges: None

• Royal Caribbean  Daily gratuity charge: $14.50 Note: Passengers staying in suites pay $17.50. Additional charges: An 18 percent gratuity is added to bar bills as well as services at ship spas and salons. ( Read company policy .) See also:   Royal Caribbean hikes gratuity fees

• Seabourn Cruise Line Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew including bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: None

• SeaDream Yacht Club Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew including bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: None

• Silversea Cruises Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew including bar staff are included in the fare. ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: None

• Star Clippers Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for the crew are not included in the fare. Star Clippers suggests passengers leave crew a gratuity of $10 per day. Additional charges: A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills.

• UnCruise Adventures Daily gratuity charge: None Note: Gratuities for crew are not included in the fare. UnCruise says gratuities "are a personal matter and are entirely at the discretion of the traveler." ( Read company policy .) Additional charges: None

• Viking Ocean Cruises Daily gratuity charge: $15  Note: ( Read company policy .)  Additional charges: A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills.

• Virgin Voyages Daily gratuity charge: None  Note:  Gratuity is already included in the base price (i.e., customers won't see a "gratuity fee" on their bill).i can Additional charges: None

• Windstar Cruises Daily gratuity charge: $12 Additional charges:  A 15 percent gratuity is added to bar bills.