A day after guests began receiving notifications of an increase in gratuity rates, Celebrity Cruises is clarifying the change. Cruise Hive reported on the cruise line’s original notification sent to guests July 29, 2026.

That notification specified that, starting that day, rates for gratuities onboard Celebrity Cruises ships would be increasing by an extra $1.50 per guest, per day. This fleet-wide change prompted intense backlash from guests. Many cruisers already booked on upcoming cruises were upset at the last-minute change. 

The company initially stated that guests could still pre-pay gratuities at the “current rate”. However, it did not specify whether that would be the updated pricing or the previous cheaper rate.

“If you’d like, you’re welcome to prepay these discretionary gratuities at the current rate prior to your sailing,” the original email reads. “Otherwise, they will be conveniently applied to your onboard account daily at the new rate starting July 29, 2026.”

Guests who had not yet prepaid these gratuities expressed concerns that they would be automatically charged a higher rate than they were originally expecting at the time of booking. Now, Celebrity Cruises has sent out another email to guests clarifying the change.

“Yesterday, you received communication about an update regarding gratuity changes that went into effect,” the email states. “Please note that the new gratuity amounts impact new reservations booked on or after July 29, 2026.”

The cruise line clarified that guests who booked their sailings prior to July 29 will be able to prepay their gratuities at the original lower rate, not the increased rate. However, the lower rate will only be applied for guests who prepay prior to sailing.

Guests must ensure that gratuities are completely paid no later than 48 hours prior to their sailing date to receive the previous rate. The notification also ensured that guests who have already prepaid their gratuities would not be impacted.

Some Guests Still Unhappy With The Change

In a Reddit post sharing the email, some cruisers still expressed frustration with the price increase. Many took particular umbrage with Celebrity Cruises’ handling of the situation.

“Obviously that’s not what their email said, but they’re ‘walking it back’ and changing their plans,” one user commented.

Some cruisers were of the opinion that gratuities shouldn’t be prepaid at all. They argue that offering cash tips to crew members is a better method for the staff and your own pocketbook.

“Never pay gratuities on a cruise on your bill,” said one user in a comment. “The crew gets paid the same no matter how much they collect in tips on your bill. Feel free to tip directly if you want. Gratuities are subsidized salaries.”

Celebrity Cruises does not state that gratuities are deducted from crew members’ salaries, however. Instead, its gratuity policy states that prepaid tips are “pooled and applied toward the compensation of onboard crew members.” However, it does not clarify in the policy how exactly those pooled gratuities are applied.

Crucially, it also states that guests who choose not to prepay their gratuities will have gratuities automatically applied on a daily basis to their SeaPass account. However, guests are permitted to modify their gratuities onboard at the Guest Relations desk at their discretion.

Guests booked on upcoming sailings across the Celebrity Cruises fleet have been receiving notifications of a gratuity increase that has already begun as of Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

The gratuities adjustment notification clarifies how these charges are shared amongst the crew and what the increase will be.

“These gratuities are thoughtfully shared among our dining, bar and culinary teams, stateroom attendants, and the many crew members who help create the elevated experience you’ll enjoy onboard,” the email notes. “Beginning July 29, 2026, these gratuity charges will be updated.”

The increase applies to every type of stateroom onboard every Celebrity Cruises ship at the rate of an extra $1.50 per guest, per day regardless of stateroom type.

For inside, oceanview, and veranda staterooms, the gratuities have increased from $18 per guest, per day to $19.50 per guest, per day, while concierge and AquaClass staterooms are now $20.50 per guest, per day instead of the previous $19 rate.

Staterooms in The Retreat now have a gratuity rate of $24.50 per guest, per day. The previous rate was $23 per guest, per day.

Relatively, these increases are 8.3% for inside, oceanview, and veranda staterooms; 7.9% for concierge and AquaClass staterooms, and 6.5% for the Retreat.

Celebrity Cruises does give guests the option to review and adjust gratuities at their discretion. This may be done onboard the ship at the Guest Relations desk, but cannot be done after a sailing has ended.

Guests Unhappy With Timing

Gratuity increases do happen regularly, but Celebrity Cruises guests are particularly unhappy with the timing of this increase.

The notification explicitly gave guests the option to prepay at the previous lower gratuity rate if they pre-paid for gratuities before setting sail.

“If you’d like, you’re welcome to prepay these discretionary gratuities at the current rate prior to your sailing,” the email explained, giving instructions for how to do so through the cruise line’s website.

“Otherwise, they will be conveniently applied to your onboard account daily at the new rate starting July 29, 2026.”

For many guests, however, the problem is that they received the email notification on the very same day of the increase. This means if guests try to login to prepay before an upcoming sailing, the “current rate” may already be the increased rate.

“Leaving in a week with a family of five. So we effectively just got a last minute price increase of $52.50,” one poster on Reddit described. “Feels like kind of a cheap move for a ‘premium’ cruise line.”

Are Gratuities Getting Too High?

With gratuity rates creeping higher, many guests are talking about removing gratuities altogether. This stems from frustration with increased rates, no changes in overall service, and uncertainty about exactly how much of each guest’s individual gratuities actually go to the crew members who serve them.

“Transparency is needed. Celebrity needs to make a statement about where the money goes. Is it extra for the staff or is it just part of payroll?” another poster commented.

Instead, more guests are choosing to remove automatic gratuities and offer tips in cash to those crew members who provide exceptional service.

Read Also: How Much Should You Tip Crew Members?

For comparison, just five years ago Celebrity Cruises’ gratuities were $15.50 per person, per day for standard staterooms, $16 for concierge and AquaClass, and $19 for The Retreat.

With the latest increase, the lowest categories of staterooms now pay more in gratuities than the most elite staterooms paid in late 2021.

At the new pricing, Celebrity Cruises’ gratuities are slightly above the rates of other major cruise lines but remain below the highest rates, which Cruise Hive reported in February 2026 as Margaritaville at Sea.

All lines do increase their gratuity rates periodically. Time will tell which lines will follow Celebrity Cruises’ latest increase with higher gratuity rates of their own.