When passengers purchase the Cheers beverage package on a Carnival Cruise Line ship, they pay the package cost along with an 18% gratuity. Additionally, many passengers choose to tip an extra dollar or two—or even more—for exceptional service.
Although not mandatory, offering extra tips can enhance the level of service received. Waiters, servers, and bartenders tend to remember patrons who provide such gestures, transforming good service into spectacular experiences. This could mean a bartender preparing a drink before it’s ordered or roaming servers being particularly attentive, such as providing water at the pool deck without a direct request.
However, passengers often wonder how tips and the gratuities from prepaid drink packages are distributed among bartenders and servers. John Heald, Carnival Brand Ambassador, recently addressed this issue.
In response to inquiries about the distribution of beverage gratuities, Heald clarified as follows: When gratuities are prepaid, they are shared among the bartenders collectively. Conversely, any cash tips given specifically to a bartender are retained by that individual.
While the extent of the sharing among bar staff is not completely specified—whether it involves all bar staff on the ship or only those where the drinks are served—it is more transparent for roaming bar staff. Heald explained that if a bar server, waiter, or waitress serves a passenger, they keep the entire gratuity. Therefore, the roaming staff who serve passengers directly benefit from the 18% tip included in the prepaid package.