Carnival’s Newest Experiment Puts Your Tipping Habits on a Sticker

Carnival Cruise Line is testing a new way to recognize guests who have already paid their crew gratuities: a sticker on the guest’s Sign & Sail card reading “Crew love, I pre-paid my gratuities.” The idea is to let crew members see at a glance which guests have taken care of tips in advance.

Not everyone sees it as a harmless gesture. Some cruisers have taken to calling the stickers “shame stickers,” arguing that they publicly mark who did and did not prepay. The criticism centers on the idea that a visible label could pressure guests or change how they are treated onboard.

Carnival’s response, as relayed in a travel recap, is that this is only a pilot that the line is evaluating. The company has not said how many ships are involved or when the trial began, and the scope remains unclear.

If you have a Carnival cruise booked, the practical question is whether your ship is part of the test. Guests who prefer to adjust gratuities onboard can generally still do so, but it is worth checking your cruise documents and the Carnival app before sailing so that you are not surprised at embarkation.

Sources: Eye of the Flyer