Princess Cruises has recently increased a fee that many travelers find unacceptable.

Unfortunately, Princess Cruises enthusiasts: Expect to see higher fees for your cruise experience.

The fifth-largest cruise line globally has discreetly raised its daily service fee to the highest point in its history.

The updated "crew appreciation" fee is now $17 per person, per day for most cabin guests.

This marks a 6.25% hike from the former $16 rate—more than double the U.S. inflation rate over the last year.

Princess last increased its service charge on December 14, 2022.

With this adjustment, Princess is also raising its service charge for suite guests to $19 per person, per day—a 5.6% rise from the former $18.

Guests in minisuites, cabanas, and Club Class cabins will now be charged $18 per person, per day—a 5.9% increase from the previous $17 rate.

The announcement of a service charge hike at Princess arrives just six months after sister brand Holland America implemented a similar increase to its service charge. Holland America currently charges $17 per day for most cabin guests and $19 per day for suite passengers.

With the recent fee increase at Princess, a family of four in a standard cabin will face nearly $500 in automatic gratuities during a seven-night cruise.

This positions Princess ahead of many of its main competitors regarding gratuity charges. Among other leading lines, Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard Line, Windstar Cruises, and MSC Cruises impose $16 per person, per day in service charges for most cabins.

Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean charge $18 per person, per day, while Norwegian Cruise Line applies a $20 per person, per day gratuity. Viking enforces a $17 per person, per day service charge.

Such elevated service charges are becoming increasingly contentious among some cruisers, who view them as a disguised way for lines to obscure the actual costs of their voyages when advertising fares online.

In a statement on its website, Princess explains that the funds collected from service charges are allocated to ship staff "as compensation, including bonuses." Essentially, this money goes toward paying crew salaries.

The recent increases in fees at Princess and Holland America coincide with a wave of price hikes across cruise lines for various services, despite some reductions in onboard service quality.

Escalating fees at cruise lines

Most major cruise lines, including Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian, automatically apply some form of gratuity or service fee to passenger invoices. Travelers usually have the option to prepay these fees when making reservations or have them added to their onboard charges, settled at the end of each cruise.

Nonetheless, the overall number of lines charging a service fee has been declining over the years. Many smaller and upscale cruise companies now incorporate these fees into their base prices.

Cruise lines that now incorporate gratuities into their pricing include Azamara, Ponant Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Seabourn, SeaDream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruises, and Virgin Voyages.

For cruise lines that implement them, service and gratuity fees are promoted as a convenient substitute for the traditional cash tipping method onboard—a practice that used to be prevalent.

Cruise lines that impose these charges generally raise their rates every one to two years.

It's important to note that passengers dissatisfied with the service on Princess ships can modify their daily gratuity amounts while onboard by visiting the Guest Services desk.

Adjustments are permitted only when gratuities are billed to onboard accounts during the cruise. Passengers who have already prepaid their gratuities cannot alter the amount while onboard.

The hike in service charge rates at Princess coincides with the line encouraging customers to purchase a prepaid package of extras for their cruises, which includes service charges, specialty dining at additional costs, and a drinks package. Recently, the line enhanced its top-tier package, Princess Premier, to include unlimited specialty dining and drinks, while simultaneously increasing the fee from $80 to $90 per person, per day.

Princess has been introducing new fees across its fleet as it promotes the bundles.