We offer you this handy calculator tool for determining the appropriate gratuities
for the crew members that help make your Disney cruise magical. Included here are the baseline
(i.e. recommended) gratuities, and the ability to increase or decrease the amounts as you desire. This
page also includes information and advice regarding Disney Cruise Line service and gratuities.
For more information regarding gratuities, see section below the calculator.
| # of Nights | # of Guests | Total Gratuities |
| | $406.00 |
Although all gratuities are technically optional, first-time cruisers should be aware that paying gratuities for the
four crew members shown in the calculator above (except the Concierge Team) is considered customary. As is the case
with many service-based jobs, these crew members are compensated by the cruise line under the assumption that a
substantial portion of their income will come from guest gratuities, so it's considered "good form" to reward
them for the service they provide.
Unless you have pre-paid gratuities in advance of your cruise, the recommended gratuities shown above are automatically
placed on your onboard account by Disney Cruise Line. Of course, you may elect to change the amounts by going to Guest
Services on the ship.
The Server, Assistant Server, and Head Server gratuities shown above relate to your regular dining rotation. You may, at
your discretion, choose to also tip the Dining Room Manager, though most people do not. If you dine at Palo or Remy, you
should pay gratuities when settling your bill at the end of the meal in the same manner as you would at any restaurant.
Please note that the meal price paid at Palo is well below the value of the meal, and you should consider
tipping on the basis of the value and not the price. Please note that a gratuity may already be included on your bill,
so take that into account when calculating your gratuity.
Concierge service is provided to guests who have booked suites and certain staterooms for their cruise. In the past,
the concierge team was strictly prohibited from accepting gratuities from guests (trust us, we tried and
they wouldn't!). However, that has since changed, and guests can and should reward the concierge team for the
personalized services they provide during the cruise. The amount of this gratuity is completely at your discretion,
and Disney Cruise Line provides no guidance or recommendation for this.
When purchasing alcoholic beverages in bars and clubs on the ship, a gratuity is automatically added to the check. You can,
of course, choose to add additional gratuities to the amount.
Though not common, if you are not receiving the quality of service you expect from any of the service crew members, it's important that you
notify management as soon as possible. In the case of your dining rotation servers, that usually means notifying the Head
Server of your issue. Waiting until the end of the cruise and then "resolving" the service issue by
withholding gratuities will not improve your service experience. We have found that every effort will be
made (including the re-assignment of servers) to make your service experience a good one, as long as you make your
complaints known as soon as you experience a problem. Nothing is more frustrating for the crew member or the cruise
line to find out only after the fact (when it's too late to fix) that there was a problem, and you will be happier to have
the issue resolved while you are still enjoying your cruise.
Do you have any other questions about service and gratuities on the Disney Cruise Line? Just give us a call and we will be
happy to answer these or any other questions you have about Disney travel destinations!