CruiseStar
TikTok said Royal Caribbean raised its gratuity rate to 20 percent. Royal Caribbean says that never happened.
Here is the short version: the line's website showed the wrong number in its gratuity FAQ for a stretch, one influencer's video ran up more than 61,000 views, and a fake press release piled on the confusion. The actual rates did not move. 18 percent on drinks and dining, 20 percent at the spa, same as before. And the one change that is real is in your favor.
At a glance
- What broke: Royal Caribbean's gratuity FAQ briefly listed 20 percent on beverages, dining packages, room service, and minibar
- What is true: rates are unchanged, 18 percent on drinks and dining, 20 percent on spa and salon services
- What is new: the FAQ now says these gratuities "may be adjusted or removed at the guest's sole discretion"
- What is fake: a circulating press release claiming daily gratuities can no longer be adjusted
- Daily gratuities: $18.50 per person per day in standard cabins, $21 in suites, unchanged since November 2024
Royal Caribbean
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The viral video that started it
The panic started the way most cruise drama starts now: a TikTok. Influencer Charity Bradley posted a three minute video reading the FAQ wording and telling viewers Royal Caribbean had "just changed its gratuity policy," with 20 percent showing on beverages, beverage packages, specialty dining, dining packages, room service, and minibar purchases.
The video is not lying about what the website said. It was just reading a page that was wrong.
What Royal Caribbean actually said
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson confirmed to both Royal Caribbean Blog and Cruise Hive that nothing changed. The quote is worth printing in full, because it is rare to get a cruise line to say anything this plainly:
We recently identified an error in an FAQ that incorrectly stated gratuity information. To clarify, there has been no change to our gratuity rates. Gratuities for beverages and dining remain at 18% as previously communicated. The FAQ has been corrected, and we apologize for any confusion this error may have caused.
The Travel checked the UK version of the FAQ, which still showed 20 percent even after the US page was fixed, and the line confirmed that page reflected 18 percent too. Same number worldwide, same mistake.
The one real change: you can now remove them
This is the part nobody in the rumor chain read carefully. The revised FAQ adds an entirely new line:
These gratuities are optional and may be adjusted or removed at the guest's sole discretion.
That now covers the purchase based charges too: the 18 percent on drinks and specialty dining, and the 20 percent on spa and salon services. Previously it was not obvious whether those percentages could be touched at all. Daily gratuities were always adjustable at Guest Services; now the line has put the purchase based ones in writing.
The fake press release
Separate from the FAQ error, a fake Royal Caribbean press release has been circulating online claiming guests can no longer adjust or remove daily gratuities. Royal Caribbean Blog debunked it on October 21: the document is not legitimate, and the line's own FAQ still says gratuities are optional and adjustable.
If a screenshot shows Royal Caribbean killing gratuity adjustments, it is the fake. The real FAQ says the opposite.
The rates, for the record
As of October 2026, the Royal Caribbean gratuity schedule is:
- 18 percent: beverages and beverage packages, specialty dining and dining packages, room service, minibar
- 20 percent: spa and salon services
- $18.50 per person per day: daily gratuities in standard cabins (inside, outside view, balcony)
- $21 per person per day: daily gratuities in suites
The daily rates have not changed since November 2024. All of the above are now explicitly adjustable or removable at your discretion.
How to budget for it
A family of four in a standard balcony pays $518 in daily gratuities on a seven night cruise at the $18.50 rate. Then add 18 percent to every bar bill, specialty dinner, and room service order on top of that. Run the numbers on your actual drink habits before you buy a beverage package: the drink package calculator will tell you whether the package beats paying per drink once that 18 percent is added in.
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