Angry cruise passengers blast major line over surprise daily gratuity hike

Passengers of Celebrity Cruises are pushing back after the cruise line raised its automatic gratuity charges with little notice, with some guests threatening to remove their payment of the fees altogether and tip crew members in cash instead. As of July 29, guests who do not prepay the gratuities will automatically pay between $19.50 and $24.50 per person, per day, depending on their stateroom category, according to the Celebrity Cruises gratuity policy on the company's website. The increase rai