Just days after we reported on Margaritaville at Sea hiking their gratuities to the highest in the industry, another major cruise line is following suit with price increases of their own. This time it’s Carnival Cruise Line, and they’re not just raising one thing – they’re hitting cruisers with multiple cost increases that will affect your vacation budget.
The New Gratuity Rates
Beginning April 2, 2026, Carnival is bumping up their daily gratuities by $1 per day per guest across the board:
- Standard staterooms: $17 per day per guest (up from $16)
- Suites: $19 per day per guest (up from $18)
For a couple in a standard cabin on a seven-night cruise, that’s an extra $14 you’ll need to budget. Not a massive hit on its own, but when you add it to everything else? It starts to add up.
If you have a cruise departing after April 2, 2026, you can lock in the current rate by pre-paying the gratuities before the new rates go into effect.
Bottomless Bubbles Gets a Lot Less Bottomless-Friendly
Here’s where things get a bit more painful. Carnival has also increased the price of their adult Bottomless Bubbles soda package from $9.50 per day to $11.99 per day (plus the 20% gratuity on top). That’s a 26% price increase for unlimited sodas, juices, and non-alcoholic drinks.
For a week-long cruise, you’re looking at paying $100.72 per person for the adult package (including that 20% gratuity) compared to the previous $79.80. That’s nearly $21 more per person just for sodas.
The silver lining? The children’s Bottomless Bubbles package remains unchanged at $6.95 per day plus the 20% gratuity. So if you’re cruising with kids, at least that part of your budget stays the same.
It’s Not Carnival’s First Increase Recently
What makes this sting a bit more is that Carnival already raised costs just a few months ago. In December 2025, they increased their standard gratuity rate from 18% to 20%. This is the automatic gratuity that gets tacked onto purchases like beverage packages, specialty dining, and bar tabs.
So that Bottomless Bubbles package? You’re not just paying more for the base price – you’re also paying that higher 20% gratuity on top of it. The increases are compounding.
Tools to Help You Budget
As cruise lines continue to raise prices across the board, proper budgeting becomes more important than ever. The days of booking a cruise and knowing exactly what you’ll pay are long gone – between gratuities, drink packages, specialty dining, excursions, and WiFi, the extras can easily double your base fare if you’re not careful.
We’ve built two tools to help you figure out what you’ll actually spend:
- Beverage Package Calculator – Before you commit to any drink package, use this calculator to see if it actually makes sense for your drinking habits. Enter how many drinks you plan to have per day and see whether buying the package saves you money or costs you more than paying per drink. It might surprise you.
- Daily Gratuity Calculator – This tool will help you calculate exactly how much you’ll pay in daily service fees based on your cabin type, cruise length, and cruise line. No more surprise charges when you get your final bill.
| Cruise Line | Standard | Suite |
|---|---|---|
| Carnival Cruise Line | $17.00 | $19.00 |
| Celebrity Cruises | $18.00 | $23.00 |
| Cunard Line | $16.00 | $18.00 |
| Disney Cruise Line | $16.00 | $27.25 |
| Holland America Line | $17.00 | $19.00 |
| Margaritaville at Sea | $22.00 | $25.00 |
| MSC Cruises | $16.00 | $20.00 |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | $18.00 | $20.00 |
| Princess Cruises | $17.00 | $18.00 |
| Royal Caribbean | $18.50 | $21.00 |
| Virgin Voyages | $22.00 | $22.00 |
Both tools cover all the major cruise lines including Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, Holland America, Margaritaville at Sea, Norwegian, MSC, and Royal Caribbean.
Nobody loves price increases, but they’re becoming a regular part of cruising. Carnival’s April 2026 changes aren’t dramatic on their own, but combined with December’s gratuity percentage increase and rising costs across the industry, it’s worth recalculating what your next cruise will actually cost.
The best defense is a good budget. Know what you’re going to pay before you sail, and you won’t get any unpleasant surprises when you check your onboard account at the end of your trip.