⚡ The Quick Answer
- ✓ Gratuities are charged per person per day, children included, on most lines.
- ✓ Infant policies vary — some lines exempt under-twos, many do not.
- ✓ Suite categories often carry a higher daily rate for everyone in the cabin.
- ✓ You can usually prepay, which fixes the amount and takes it off the onboard bill.
- ✓ Kids’ soda packages are priced per child and rarely pay for themselves.
Gratuity threads are the longest and angriest on any cruise forum, and almost none of them answer the question families actually have, which is simply: what will this cost us?
Here is the arithmetic, and the handful of decisions attached to it.
🧾 How the Charge Works
Mainstream lines add a daily service charge to your onboard account for every guest in the cabin. It is shared among the crew you see and a great many you do not — stateroom attendants, dining staff, galley and laundry teams.
A child occupying a berth is a guest. They generate laundry, they are served meals, their cabin is cleaned. The charge applies.
- It is per person, per night. Multiply by every guest and by the number of nights, not by the number of adults.
- Suites usually cost more per person per day, and that higher rate applies to the children too.
- Infant policies differ. Some lines exempt guests under two, many do not. Check rather than assume.
- It is separate from the fare, so it does not appear in the price you were quoted.
- Bar and spa purchases carry their own service charge on top, typically added automatically.
🚨 Do the multiplication before you book
Take the daily rate, multiply by every guest including children, multiply by nights. For a family of four on a seven-night sailing this is usually the largest single cost you did not plan for. Getting it into the budget early stops it souring the last morning.
💳 Prepay or Pay On Board
Prepaying
Locks the rate
Pay at booking and the amount is fixed, even if the line raises rates before you sail. Rates do go up.
Prepaying
Cleaner onboard bill
Your final account is only what you actually spent, which makes the week easier to track with kids adding charges.
On board
Keeps cash flexible
Nothing wrong with it. You simply pay the prevailing rate rather than the one from booking day.
Removing them
Think hard
It is possible on most lines, but the charge is how the crew serving your family is paid. Worth understanding before you decide.
Get the Cruise Cost Worksheet
Gratuities, taxes, port fees and extras on one printable page, so the real total is in front of you before you book. Free.
🥤 The Kid Extras Worth Buying
Once gratuities are budgeted, the other per-child costs are optional and worth judging individually rather than buying as a bundle.
Soda package: usually no
Priced per child per day. Most children do not drink enough soda to clear the break-even, and water, juice and milk are already included.
Ice cream: already free
Soft serve is included on most ships. The paid gelato counter is the upsell. Your kids will not notice the difference.
Wifi: judge by age
Pointless for a seven year old, close to essential for a fifteen year old. Price per device, and check whether it can be shared.
Late-night kids club: sometimes
Charged per child per hour with a minimum. Two evenings across a week is often money well spent.
✅ Budget It Like This
- Daily gratuities × every guest × every night. Non-negotiable, so put it in first.
- Add roughly a fifth on drinks if you buy any, since bar charges carry their own service charge.
- Assume some late-night club hours if you want evenings out.
- Skip the soda package unless your child genuinely drinks several a day.
- Then price excursions, which is where the discretionary money actually goes.
Rates and infant policies change by line and over time, so use this as the shape of the budget and get the current numbers from your line for your sailing before you commit.
Booked? Here is the part they keep.
A free printable cruise journal for ages 6 to 12 — then port packs for the exact stops on your itinerary.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Planning a family cruise? 🚢
The Passport Pal is a printable cruise journal built for ages 6 to 12, with port-specific packs for the stops on your itinerary.
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