How Gratuities And Tipping Works On Disney Cruise Line

Tipping and gratuities on Disney Cruise Line made easy with our tipping guide.

Guide

Image: © Disney

Published October 28, 2023 by MFTUK

At Walt Disney World - and America in general - it's customary to tip for service-based roles. This extends to cruises and Disney cruises as well. Thankfully, Disney makes it super easy. You're automatically charged $14.50 ($15.50 in concierge) per person, per night. This charge is added to your onboard account which is then billed to your credit card towards the end of your cruise. This tip covers all your servers and your stateroom host. I know as Walt Disney World regulars, we often leave a couple of bucks on the hotel table for housekeeping when we're off to the parks, but there's no need to do that on a Disney Cruise, it's covered in part of your daily charge.

How Does Tipping Work?

On the final day of the cruise, you're given a sheet explaining how the gratuity is broken down and shared out. You don't have to do anything with this slip - just leave it in your room! However, on the final morning at breakfast your usual server staff will be serving you, so this gives you a chance to give your servers these slips and to thank them in person. The stateroom host slip and envelope should be left in your room if you don't manage to bump into them before you disembark. If you want to tip even more, you can! You can do this at guest services or just slide some cash into the envelope with the slip. I always tend to slide a few more bucks in if any of your server staff or room host goes above and beyond.

Each of the four sections is perforated and can be ripped off and placed in each of the provided envelopes.

Other Servers

You can go to whichever restaurant is open for table-service breakfast or lunch, but it's unlikely you'll get your usual evening servers (but if they see you, they will come and say hi!) You don't need to worry about gratuity here, as weird as it feels just getting up and leaving after you've finished eating. The servers work all day and move around different locations but all the table-service crew members have their assigned evening guests who are all tipping, so it's all covered.

Bars & Lounges

If you buy a drink from any of the bars or lounges, an 18% gratuity charge is automatically added to the bill. You of course have the option to tip extra on the receipt if you so wish, but unless you feel a bartender went above and beyond, the 18% automatic gratuity is sufficient.

Room Service

With room service, it is customary to tip $1 or $2 per plate. You can either give them cash, or they do have a slip with them you can sign to charge a few bucks to your onboard account.

To return to our full guide, navigate back to our Walt Disney World Guide page.