Ultimate Guide to Tipping on River Cruises 2025
- Shy Bredewold
- Mar 14
- 6 min read
Planning a river cruise but feeling lost down the river when it comes to tipping? Don't worry, you're not alone!
Navigating the world of river cruise tipping can feel like you're sailing a course through uncharted waters. But fear not, fellow traveler! We're here to break down the mysteries of river cruise gratuity policies so you can confidently set sail on your next adventure.
Please note: This article and its contents are for information purposes only. All figures are in USD unless otherwise noted and correct at time of first publish, cruise lines can change their policies at any time.
Smooth Sailing: All-Inclusive Bliss (No Tipping Required!)
Let's start with the music to your ears – luxury river cruise lines that say "bon voyage" to tipping altogether! These are the high-end and luxury river cruise companies which include gratuities as part of their increased value service so you can relax and simply enjoy the incredible scenery.
Why We Love Inclusive River Cruising: It allows you to fully embrace the carefree spirit of vacationing. Your river cruise should be a seamless, stress-free vacation where you can truly relax and soak in every moment.
American Cruise Lines
Want to cruise the great rivers at home here in the USA? American’s fares typically include a selection of shore excursions in addition to passage, dining, and other amenities, fares also include gratuities.
Emerald Cruises
Direct from Emerald, “Luxury river cruising should provide complete peace of mind. This is why we cover all port charges, provide all meals on board with accompanying beverages, offer complimentary Wi-Fi, and cover all gratuities on board and onshore as standard.”
Pandaw River Expeditions
Pandaw’s inclusive rates for river cruises of India and Southeast Asia often feature great promos for families and solo travelers. Crew gratuities are included in your fare, note this does not include local guides for those memorable off-ship excursions.
Scenic River Cruises
Amazing inclusions, everything and everyone involved in your itinerary is covered. Your river cruise fare includes gratuities for drivers, porters, local guides, and wait staff.
Tauck
From Tauck, “All appropriate gratuities for luggage handling, bellmen, doormen, dining room servers, and ship staff are included. Tauck Tour Director and Tauck Cruise Director gratuities are included on all river cruises”
Uniworld Boutique Cruises
European river cruises with Uniworld are an inclusive experience, with gratuities for onboard personnel included in your fare.
For river cruises of Egypt, India, Peru, Vietnam & Cambodia, this extends to onshore personnel as well, including any pre-cruise or post-cruise extensions!
The Automatic Approach: Gratuities Added to Your Onboard Account
Although extremely popular among ocean faring cruise lines, river cruises tend toward either inclusive or discretionary gratuities. This is because most river cruises are a luxury affair, where your trip is as inclusive as possible (gratuities already included) or lean toward that classic vacation style (cash amount to the purser).
Here's how it usually works:
Flat Daily Amount: Those few river cruise lines which do administer a standard daily rate will add the gratuity amount to your shipboard account automatically. This amount can vary slightly depending on the cruise line and cabin category.
Who Benefits: These gratuities are shared among the crew members who work tirelessly to make your vacation special – think stateroom attendants, dining staff, and other behind-the-scenes heroes. This sometimes does not include drivers, local guides, and perhaps somewhat strangely, your Tour Director.
Pre-Paid: Just like ocean cruises, those few cruise lines which do apply automated tipping sums tend to offer pre-paid gratuities as an option before you embark.
Promotional: You may also find certain promotions or cruise deals bundle a pre-paid gratuity as part of your cruise vacation package, meaning the daily gratuity amount never finds its way onto your shipboard account.
Viking River Cruises
Perhaps one of the most well-marketed river cruise lines, Viking has a large fleet of specifically designed longships which pre-dates its ocean cruise fleet.
A daily suggested figure is automatically applied to your account when you sail with Viking River Cruises, you can choose to pre-pay these gratuities or you can pay them before you disembark on your final day on the river.
Viking’s suggested amount varies by destination or included services as follows:
European River Cruises
Viking recommends $20 per guest, per day. If your itinerary includes a land portion, this sum is shared with the land-based Program Director.
Any additional gratuity amount is your discretion. Viking further suggests offering a cash amount of €3 per person per day for hosts, reps, and any guides, €2 per person per day for drivers.
Egypt and Mekong River Cruises
The suggested amount for rivers in Africa or Southeast Asia is $25 per person per day while onboard and $10 per person per day for the land-based segments of your itinerary.
When participating in pre-cruise or post-cruise extensions with Viking River Cruise, your Viking Host, Viking Tour Director, and motorcoach drivers are not included in the above gratuities. Viking further suggests $2 per guest per day for hosts, $1 per guest per day for drivers, and $10 for your Tour Director.
Mississippi River Cruises
Viking recommends $20 per guest per day for their river cruises on the Mississippi, you can choose a pre-paid gratuity for this itinerary or just leave it to Viking to automatically apply this amount to your shipboard account during your sailing.
Should you choose to share anything else it is totally at your discretion, but Viking suggests a small cash amount of $5 per person per day for guides including your Viking Host/Rep and $2 per person per day for drivers.
As with other itineraries, if you’re joining a pre-cruise or post-cruise extension with an escorted segment, these accompanying Tour Directors do not receive a share of the onboard tip and you may choose to share the suggested $5 per person per day to them as well.
Why might this appeal to you? It eliminates any guesswork or potential awkwardness about tipping. You can simply enjoy your cruise knowing that gratuities are being taken care of discreetly and fairly.
You’re in Control with Suggested Tipping
Lastly, there are a few lines which prefer a more "choose your own adventure" approach to gratuities. These companies only provide suggested gratuity amounts for various services, nothing automated or pre-paid, giving you the flexibility to customize your tipping based on your satisfaction. You may not be a big drinker, for example, and would rather share your appreciation with wait staff at your favorite onboard dining experience!
AmaWaterways
AmaWaterways has some lengthy suggestions for gratuities to crew and Cruise Manager - who is not considered a member of the crew - based on length of your river cruise and in which region your ship cruises.
For most itineraries this amount is divided equally among members of the crew:
Europe
€100 per week per guest for 7-night sailings and €25 to the Cruise Manager
The €25 to the Cruise Manager becomes €30 for sailings of Portugal
€143 per week per guest for 10-night sailings and €36 to the Cruise Manager
€158 per week per guest for 11-night sailings and €40 to the Cruise Manager
€200 per week per guest for 14-night sailings and €50 to the Cruise Manager
An additional suggested €4.00 per person per day for pre-cruise and post-cruise extensions
Mekong
$10 per person per day for crew
$3 per person per day for the Cruise Manager
Africa
$15-20 per person per day for Zambezi Queen
$5-10 per person per day for Cape Town to Johannesburg segments
Safari Lodge Stays
$10-20 per person per day to the Safari Ranger or Tracker
$5 per person per day to the Game Tracker (South Africa)
$5 per person per day to lodge butlers & waiters
$10-20 per person per day to the general lodge staff
Avalon Waterways
Avalon does not include gratuities in their cruise fares, simply leaving it to guests to decide their own tip amounts and how to share them.
Riviera River Cruises
Riviera simply suggests that if you’ve received good service, any gratuity is at your discretion at the end of the cruise. They’ll divide evenly among the crew on board, recommending between €5.00- €10.00 per person per day.
They also suggest €2 per person per day for local guides, €1 per person per day for drivers, and it’s again at your discretion should you wish to share a gratuity with your Riviera Cruise Director.
Charting Your Course: Making the Right Choice for You
At the end of the day, it's down to your personal preferences and travel style but you'll likely find more inclusive options for sailings with river cruises. Hopefully this helps make that decision making process an easy one!
Tipping lets those hard working people you meet know that you've an appreciation for their dedication and that you've enjoyed their service. You've got a number of options to help you choose the right river cruise line for your next trip downstream (or up!).
Choose the ship & itinerary which feels right for you, relax, and enjoy the journey!
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