Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Lines have announced they are raising their gratuities by up to 15 per cent.

The move follows a series of price hikes since late last year, with other cruise lines moving up their gratuities by an average eight per cent.

It means passengers could face up to $24.68 per day per person in gratuity fees for their suites next year. A family of four in a standard cabin could pay $572.46 in service charges on a typical seven-night cruise.

Gratuity fees have long been a bone of contention for some passengers, who love their crews but feel a set amount is an imposition. Most lines say guests can pay cash and tell the purser they don’t want to be automatically billed for tips.

Luxury cruise lines such as Crystal Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, Ponant, Silversea and Azamara Club Cruises have been switching to include gratuities in base fares.

We compared the most recent gratuity charges of the contemporary ocean lines to see how they measure up to each other.

Among the cruise lines who have announced increases from late last year, Carnival Cruise Lines has the highest percentage rise at eight and 15 per cent for their standard cabins and suites respectively. This comes up to about $19.73 per day for standard cabins and up to $22.55 for their suites.

Most expensive are Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and Holland America Line with a per day charge of about $20.45 for standard cabins and about $24.68 for suites, except Holland America Line who charges about $22.56 at their suites.

A family of four in a standard cabin can be paying up to $572.46 in service charges on a typical seven-night cruise. The amount comes up to $690.90 if the family chooses to stay in a suite.

Families travelling with young children can consider booking with Costa Cruises as no gratuities are collected for passengers under age 4 and ages 3 to 14 pay 50 per cent of the adult rate. Children under two pay half the adult rate for gratuities on MSC Cruises as well.

Some luxury cruise lines continue to charge gratuities to their passengers as an add-on and this is how they compare.

Only Celebrity Cruises announced a 7 per cent increase to their gratuity charges late last year, bringing it up to about $20.45. This is in the park of Oceania’s $22.56 and Viking’s $21.15. Cunard stands out with a smaller gratuity fee of about $16.22.

Paying gratuities on cruise holidays is nothing new but with increases of more than 25 per cent over the past three years, it can really add to the final bill for add-ons at the end of your holiday. Keeping in mind that there are additional bar and spa gratuities of 15 to 20 per cent to be considered depending on the ship you sail on, you should consider preparing a larger holiday budget to cover these additional expenses.

Here are the charges at different cruise lines at a glance:

Gratuities listed mostly apply to ships outside of Australia. Cruise lines such as Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines and P&O Australia do not apply gratuities on ships leaving Australia.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $20.45
Daily gratuities (suite): $24.68
Bar gratuities: 20 per cent
Spa gratuities: none

Royal Caribbean Line

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $20.45
Daily gratuities (suite): $24.68
Bar gratuities: 18 per cent
Spa gratuities: 18 per cent

Holland America Line

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $20.45
Daily gratuities (suite): $22.56
Bar gratuities: 15 per cent
Spa gratuities: none

Carnival Cruise Line

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $19.73
Daily gratuities (suite): $22.55
Bar gratuities: 15 per cent
Spa gratuities: 15 per cent

Princess Cruises

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $19.04
Daily gratuities (suite): up to $21.86
Bar gratuities: 15 per cent
Spa gratuities: none

Costa Cruises

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $17.63
Daily gratuities (suite): $23.27
Bar gratuities: none
Spa gratuities: none

MSC

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $17.63
Daily gratuities (suite): $17.63
Bar gratuities: 15 per cent
Spa gratuities: none

Disney Cruise Line

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $16.92
Daily gratuities (suite): $16.92
Bar gratuities: 15 per cent
Spa gratuities: 18 per cent

Oceania Cruises

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $22.56
Daily gratuities (suite): $32.43
Bar gratuities: 18 per cent
Spa gratuities: none

Viking Cruises

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $21.15
Daily gratuities (suite): $21.15
Bar gratuities: none
Spa gratuities: none

Celebrity Cruises

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $20.45
Daily gratuities (suite): $20.45
Bar gratuities: 18 per cent
Spa gratuities: none

Cunard Line

Daily gratuities (standard cabin): $16.22
Daily gratuities (suite): $19.04
Bar gratuities: 15 per cent
Spa gratuities: none

Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Lines new prices will come into effect from December 1, 2018.