Cruise Extra Charges: What’s No Longer Free on Board

Cruising still bundles more into the fare than almost any other holiday, but the bundle has been quietly shrinking. Things that were simply part of the ship a decade ago, a tray of sandwiches to the cabin, the bus from the berth into town, now arrive with a charge attached, and the changes rarely make the brochure.

This guide rounds up what has moved from included to extra, with the current position on the lines sailing from the UK. Prices change and policies vary by ship and fare, so treat the figures as a guide and check your own line before you sail. The good news sits at the end: the list of what is still genuinely free remains long.

Room Service: the Clearest Change

The tray to the cabin is where the shift is most visible, and the rules now differ sharply by line and even by cabin grade.

1. Cunard charges after breakfast. Since June 2025, room service on Cunard carries a charge after 10am for Britannia grade staterooms. Breakfast ordered before 10am stays complimentary, and Princess Grill and Queens Grill suites keep free room service around the clock.
2. P&O charges outside the breakfast window. Room service breakfast is free between 7am and 11am on P&O, with charges applying to orders at other times, and a delivery charge applies on Iona and Arvia. The menu prices are per item, so a late-night snack adds up quickly.
3. Royal Caribbean charges per order. Royal Caribbean applies a $7.95 service charge plus an 18% gratuity to every room service order, with only the continental breakfast excluded. Ordering for the cabin twice a day costs more than a speciality meal by the end of a week.
4. Princess charges for the app and the phone. Princess applies a one-time $14.99 access fee for OceanNow app delivery and a $5 fee per room service order placed by stateroom phone, with both waived on the Plus and Premier packages. Our Princess Plus vs Premier guide covers whether the package earns its keep.

Getting Ashore: Port Shuttles

The bus from the berth to the town gate used to be part of arriving. Now it depends on the port, the line and sometimes the fare you booked.

1. Free only where you cannot walk. P&O provides shuttles free of charge where they are necessary to exit a working port. Where the shuttle is a convenience rather than a necessity, it is included for Select fare bookings and charged, typically a few pounds each way, for Saver fares.
2. Every line draws the line differently. Some lines include all shuttles, some charge everyone, and some tie it to fare type or loyalty tier. The daily programme states the charge for each port, and our shuttle buses guide explains how to read the arrangements before you sail.

Dining: What Costs Extra Now

Nobody has made the main dining room chargeable, but the territory around it keeps shrinking.

1. Speciality venues keep multiplying. New ships launch with more paid restaurants and fewer included ones than the ships they replace. The included venues remain good; there are simply fewer square metres of them.
2. Premium dishes inside included restaurants. Several lines now list supplement-priced dishes, a premium steak, a lobster upgrade, on otherwise included menus. The supplement is always printed; the surprise is that it exists at all.
3. Room service drinks sit outside drinks packages. On Royal Caribbean, drinks ordered through room service are not covered by a beverage package and are charged separately. If you have a package, order at a bar rather than through the phone.

Drinks: Read the Small Print

Drinks pricing is less about the menu price than the lines around it.

1. The automatic service charge. US-based lines add an automatic gratuity, typically 18%, to every drinks purchase and to the price of drinks packages themselves. A $12 cocktail is not a $12 cocktail, and a package priced per day costs roughly a fifth more than the headline.
2. Package price ceilings. Several lines cap the per-drink price a package covers; order above the ceiling and you pay the difference. The cap is published in the package terms, and premium pours and large-format wines are the usual casualties.
3. Bottled water at the gangway. Tap and station water remain free everywhere, but bottled water is a paid item on most lines, including at the gangway on port days. A refillable bottle filled at the buffet costs nothing. Our drinks packages guide runs the full numbers by line.

Service Charges: the UK Split

Gratuities are the sharpest divide between UK-focused and US-based lines, and the difference is worth hundreds of pounds over a fortnight.

1. P&O and Marella include tips. P&O rolled gratuities into the fare in 2019, and Marella sails all-inclusive of tips. On these lines the price you book really is the price, with tipping beyond it entirely at your discretion.
2. So, increasingly, do the other UK lines. Saga is fully all-inclusive, with tips, drinks and even excursions in the fare. Fred Olsen includes gratuities in its fares on 2026 sailings, and most MSC cruises booked in the UK include the service charge too, though some European itineraries still add around £11 a night on board.
3. Cunard and the US lines charge daily. Cunard’s Hotel and Dining Service Charge runs $17 per person per night in Britannia grades and $19 in the Grills. Royal Caribbean charges $18.50 in standard cabins and $21 in suites, and Princess’s Crew Appreciation runs $18 to $20 by cabin grade. Over a fortnight for two, that is a bill in the hundreds, added automatically.
4. Virgin’s included tips have ended. Virgin Voyages included gratuities for years, but bookings made from October 2025 pay a separate charge of $20 per person per night prepaid, or $22 if settled on board. Book with the old assumption and the surprise is real.
5. Prepaying fixes the rate. Where daily charges apply, most lines let you prepay gratuities at booking, which locks the rate against mid-year increases and takes the item off the onboard account. Our gratuities guide covers the etiquette and the mechanics.

What Is Still Genuinely Free

After all that, the included list remains the reason cruising holds its value.

• Main dining room and buffet. Full-service dinners, themed menus and all-day buffets remain included on every mainstream line.
• Entertainment. West End style shows, live music, quizzes, deck parties and the daily programme cost nothing extra.
• Pools, gyms and kids clubs. The core facilities, pools, hot tubs, the gym floor and daytime children’s clubs, stay included; only classes, treatments and late-night creche sessions are charged.
• Room service breakfast windows. The morning tray survives: free before 11am on P&O and before 10am on Cunard’s Britannia grades, and the continental option stays free on Royal Caribbean.
• Tap, station and gangway advice. Drinking water from taps and buffet stations, tea and coffee at the buffet, and the ship’s own port talks and destination guidance remain free everywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions