Carnival reveals where gratuities go – but cruisers say it doesn’t go far enough

• A cruise blogger has revealed a breakdown in their Carnival gratuities bill showing where their gratuities go.
• However, cruisers still want to know more about where their money goes and how crews’ salaries really work.
• Is it time for cruise lines to offer more transparency about gratuities and crew wages?

It’s an eternal question for cruise passengers: “Just where do my gratuities go?”

It appears that Carnival has cleared up this mystery for some of their cruisers, with a popular cruise blogger sharing a breakdown from Carnival of their gratuities.

Cruise blogger Alex Roberson paid USD$240 ($336) in gratuities, of which USD$113.40 ($158), or just under 50 per cent, went to team dining services. Another USD$70 ($98), or about 30 per cent, went to the Stateroom Steward, while the remaining USD$56.40 ($78), about 23 per cent, went to alternative services. 

Alternative services generally refers to the crew members who you don’t see or interact with as much, such as those working behind the scenes in laundry, cleaning, those working below deck and more.

This is interesting information for lots of cruisers, and for Carnival cruisers at least, it reveals a breakdown of where their gratuities go.

However, the truth is, as many cruisers pointed out, this reveals little as to the actual salaries of these crew members, and whether the Carnival gratuities are given on top of a base salary, or used to supplement existing salaries. 

For Aussie cruisers, this clears nothing up, as gratuities aren’t applied in Australia, raising questions over how this can work in relation to crew member salaries in Australia when compared to Carnival.

What are people saying

Jaime Giles said: “My question has never been if it goes to them or not, but how cruise lines utilize it. From my understanding, they receive a set amount of pay, and the lines use this to supplement them. 

“It is not in addition to their base pay. So, even if gratuity is not paid, cruise lines make sure they hit that guaranteed pay, but not extra. I don’t know what to believe.”

Cruiser Kelly McNiven is similarly secptical: “So my question, if they get the same pay even when people cancel their gratuities. How does it benefit Carnival to use the paid gratuities towards their pay. Is it just they save $$ on wages or is there more of a benefit to the company?”

Other cruisers shared different questions.

Robin McKee Pollock said: “I wonder if when I give my room steward a cash gratuity if he/she gets to keep all of it or if they have to turn it into a tipping pool!”

The need for transparency 

For Aussies and USA cruisers alike, what’s really wanted is transparency. Everyone wants to know their crew members are being paid fairly, and wants to have the information to know whether they should tip extra.

For example, Aussies are told there’s no need to tip extra, but aren’t told how this system works, for example if crew members are paid less than in the USA due to not receiving gratuities. 

Then those in the USA want to know if gratuities are simply used to supplement existing salaries, or a fair chunk added on top. As if it’s simply a supplement, most cruisers would probably prefer to just have gratuities included like in Australia and the crew get a fair wage from that. Whereas if tips are really a bonus on top, then plenty of cruisers would be happy and willing to offer more on top when they experience good services. 

These questions have plagued cruisers for years, and it’s time that cruise lines offer more transparency, not just who the gratuities go to, but how are they applied and what the payment structure for crew is like.