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Once upon a time tipping aboard cruise ships used to be at the total discretion of passengers.

In fact, very little was said about tipping until the penultimate night of the voyage when the cruise director would give a few “guidelines” for those who wanted to reward good service. And then passengers would stuff some cash into envelopes, print the names of their room stewards and waiters on them, and pass them out to very grateful staff on the final night of the voyage.

It was all very discrete, personal and pleasant, except for the occasional awkward moment when a grumpy waiter was rewarded for poor service with an empty or half-filled envelope.

Today, however, tipping on a cruise ship is not only expected, it’s almost mandatory regardless of the level of service. In fact, most cruise lines now bill service charges directly to your shipboard account and will only reduce it if you complain about the service. Even worse, the service fees are put into a pool and distributed to service staff regardless of their individual contribution. So if you want to reward exceptional service, you actually have to give extra tips directly to that individual on top of what you’ve already put into the pool.

Why did things change if they were working so well in the past? 

The advent of open-seating dining and alternative restaurants in the late 1990s meant that passengers were no longer sitting at the same table with the same waiters every night. As a result, it became increasingly difficult for passengers to find and reward the wide variety of waiters who had served them during their cruise. The solution from the cruise lines was to set a daily service charge that could be pooled and handed out to reward room stewards and waiters at the end of every voyage.

I’m not a big fan of mandatory service charges that are blindly distributed to staff, but I do understand that it makes like easier for cruise lines, and is fairer for most service staff. After all, tips make up the lion’s share of the wages earned by service staff. And without this system, some passengers might not otherwise leave any tips. However, it can end up promoting mediocre service, and usually costs passengers more if they truly want to incent and reward exceptional service.

So what level of service charge can you expect to pay for a cruise?  Most of the ultra-deluxe lines (except Crystal) include tips (excluding optional things like spa services) in your base cruise fare. But for those who don’t, here’s what you can expect to pay per person (some lines charges less for children):

Carnival: $10 per day.

Celebrity: $11.50 per day for regular cabins; $12.50 per day for AquaClass and Concierge Class.

Crystal: $13 per day (not charged to your account unless you request it); plus a recommended $7 per guest tip in alternative restaurants.

Cunard: $11 per day for regular cabins; $13 for Grill Class.

Holland America: $11 per day.

Norwegian Caribbean Line: $12 per day. 

Princess: $10.50 per day; $11 for suites.

Oceania: $11.50 per day.

Royal Caribbean: $9.75 per day (not charged to your account unless you request it).

Windstar: $12 per day.

No Tipping required: Regent, Seabourn, SeaDream and Silversea include the price of tips in their cruise fares.

Other services: Most lines have a mandatory tip of 15% for bar service; Oceania charges 18%.

In summary, if you’re not sailing on a luxury ship that includes tips, a good rule of thumb is to plan for about $11 per person, per day for service, and perhaps another $30 per cruise to reward exceptional individuals. That works out to nearly $200 for a seven-day cruise, which may sound high. But based on the quality of service and positive attitude you’ll find aboard most ships, it shouldn’t be too painful to part with the money – as long as you’ve remembered to build it into your cruise budget.