SEATTLE, June 14 (Our Washington Times) — Washington travelers pricing out a Holland America Line cruise now need to factor in an automatic daily gratuity that the company lists at as much as $20 per person, per day.
Holland America’s official FAQ pages, reviewed by Times Media Service, show a daily “Crew Appreciation” charge of $18 per guest for non-suite staterooms and $20 per guest for suites. The company says the fee is “a daily gratuity automatically added to your onboard account” and says it is pooled to support ship team members in both guest-facing and behind-the-scenes roles.
The per-person structure matters for trip budgets because the charge is not listed by cabin. At the rates now posted on Holland America’s website, a couple in a non-suite room would be charged $36 a day in Crew Appreciation, while a couple in a suite would be charged $40 a day, before any other onboard purchases.
Holland America’s own explanation of the fee is broad. In one onboard FAQ, the company says Crew Appreciation is meant “to recognize the many Holland America Line team members who make your cruise feel effortless.” The same page says the charge appears daily on a guest’s onboard account and is pooled across workers passengers see “every day” and those “working quietly in the background.” A separate booking FAQ says the rates are subject to change.
What the company’s current FAQ text does not clearly show is when the latest rates began or what the earlier amounts were. Fox News, citing company materials, reported that the new rates took effect June 1 and represented a $1-per-day increase, from $17 to $18 for non-suite guests and from $19 to $20 for suite guests. Times Media Service confirmed the current posted rates on Holland America’s website, but the FAQ pages reviewed for this story do not themselves state the prior prices or the June 1 effective date.
In comments reported by Fox News, 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.” Fox News also reported that guests may adjust the daily gratuity amount while onboard. That policy detail was not included in the Holland America FAQ snippets reviewed for this story.
For travelers comparing cruise costs across lines, the available record in this reporting set is limited. A February cruise-tipping roundup by The Points Guy said some cruise lines’ automatic gratuity charges can reach $25 per person, per day. That article did not publish a full industry dataset, so it offers only a broad benchmark rather than a complete market comparison.
Several travel publications have also reported that Holland America raised automatic service charges on some onboard purchases, including bars, specialty dining and spa services. Times Media Service could not independently confirm that change from the official Holland America FAQ pages reviewed for this story, which specifically document the daily Crew Appreciation charge.
The clearest part of the record is the company’s own current pricing language: Holland America now lists Crew Appreciation at $18 per day for non-suite guests and $20 per day for suite guests, automatically added to each guest’s onboard account.
