SEATTLE, June 14 (Our Washington Times) — A review of Holland America Line’s own customer FAQ pages shows the cruise company is automatically adding a daily “Crew Appreciation” charge of $18 per guest for non-suite staterooms and $20 per guest for suites — a cost that can add hundreds of dollars to a cruise bill for travelers from Washington comparing total trip prices.
The company’s booking FAQ lists the daily rates at $18 for non-suite rooms and $20 for suites. A separate onboard FAQ says the charge is “a daily gratuity automatically added to your onboard account” and says it is meant “to recognize the many Holland America Line team members who make your cruise feel effortless.”
Holland America also says the money is pooled across shipboard roles, not limited to staff passengers see directly. In its onboard FAQ, the company says Crew Appreciation “appears as a daily charge on your onboard account, and it is pooled to support team members across the ship who contribute to your experience, including roles you see every day, and those working quietly in the background.”
Those company records do not spell out the prior rates in the FAQ text provided here, but Fox News reported June 13, citing Holland America materials and a company spokesperson, that the current rates took effect June 1. Fox News reported the previous automatic daily amounts were $17 for non-suite guests and $19 for suite guests.
Fox News also reported that guests may adjust the daily gratuity amount while onboard. In the same report, a Holland America spokesperson said “100% goes directly to our shipboard team” and described the charge as “in line with the cruise industry competitive standards.”
For travelers trying to compare cruise prices before booking, the practical issue is that Crew Appreciation is charged per person, per day, not per cabin. That means a couple in a suite would see $40 a day added automatically under Holland America’s current rate. Over a seven-day sailing, that totals $280. A couple in a non-suite room would pay $252 over the same period.
Holland America’s public FAQs also say the rates are subject to change.
The company pages reviewed for this article do not include a broader industry comparison. But The Points Guy, in a February roundup of cruise tipping practices, reported that some cruise lines’ automatic gratuity charges can run as high as $25 per person per day. The same roundup listed Holland America at $17 a day for most cabins and $19 for suites at that time, indicating the line was charging less earlier this year than it is now.
What the company’s records establish clearly is the current structure: the charge is automatic, it is applied daily, it differs by cabin type, and Holland America says it is distributed across shipboard jobs. What the records provided here do not establish on their own is why the company changed the amount, beyond the spokesperson’s statement to Fox News that the pricing is competitive within the industry.
For Washington cruise customers budgeting summer sailings, the added charge is now part of the base math even before optional onboard spending. Holland America’s own FAQs list the automatic daily Crew Appreciation at $18 per guest for non-suites and $20 per guest for suites, and say those rates can change.
