Royal Caribbean Gratuity Rates Unchanged: FAQ Typo and Fake No-Removal Notice Debunked
If you sail with Royal Caribbean, including on or after October 19, 2026, you can still remove or adjust gratuities. Ignore the social media notice claiming they are non-removable. Drinks and dining gratuities remain 18%, and spa and salon services are 20%. If you want a change, visit the Guest Relations desk onboard at any time before the morning of disembarkation. Check your SeaPass account charges against these figures.
My read is that this was a nuisance, not a policy shift, but the timing is awkward for Royal Caribbean. A website slip showing 20% instead of the real 18% on drinks and dining was enough to spark alarm, and the line had to apologize for the confusion. The quiet winner is clarity: the new sentence that gratuities are optional and adjustable at the guest's sole discretion answers a question many cruisers evidently had. The fake release was clever, with clean grammar and even media contacts, yet it carried the old Royal Caribbean International logo the line retired in September 2024, which is a nice dry irony for a notice dated more than two years later. The losers are cruisers who share unverified screenshots. In their shoes, I would not trust a viral notice over the live FAQ. I would check my onboard account, and if I wanted a charge changed I would go to Guest Relations before the morning of disembarkation.