Royal Caribbean will hike gratuity rates next month

Royal Caribbean International guests may face steeper bills on their next cruise. The cruise line will raise its recommended gratuity rates next month, according to the company.
Passengers staying in suites will pay $21 per guest each day, up from $20.50, while rates for all other cabin categories will increase from $18 to $18.50.
The changes take effect Nov. 1. Travelers who book and pay their gratuities ahead of that date can lock in the current rate, the cruise line told USA TODAY in an email. 
Gratuities are automatically added to passengers’ onboard accounts, but can be adjusted up or down before they disembark. Those funds are “distributed to crew members, including dining, bar and culinary services staff, stateroom attendants, hotel services teams as well as others onboard who work to enhance the overall cruise experience,” according to the line’s website. 
Cruise lines usually increase gratuity rates in response to “external influences” such as inflation or changing economic activity, according to Danny Genung, CEO of travel agency Harr Travel.
“You look at the cost of hotels and transportation, fuel and food and everything else, and I think it’s really just a normal response,” he told USA TODAY last fall. “You know, compensating employees, offsetting costs that have increased.” 
Princess Cruises also recently raised its crew appreciation charge, and started rolling out the new rates on its ship in August. 
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].