Celebrity Cruises Hikes Gratuities Across All Stateroom Types

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.