Many cruise lines keep raising what once was a voluntary tip choice by passengers. By tradition, if and when service in your cabin, at dining tables and bars was adequate, you could choose to tip 10 to 20% of the bill. Or if dissatisfied, leave nothing at all.

An example of required tips, now calling them gratuities, Norwegian Cruise Line is raising the required tip per-day for cabin service from $13.99 to $14.50. Other cruise lines are issuing similar rules. The same applies to Norwegian onboard bar purchases, automatically applying 18% to those bills. When booking your next cruise, find the real amount of out-of-pocket charges that will be added to the advertised price. Ask your travel agent to tell you the actual cost you’ll be required to pay.