Royal Caribbean just raised a fee that some cruisers found shocking

bad news, Royal Caribbean fan: You’re about to pay a lot more to travel by train.

The world’s largest travel company this week began notifying customers that the automatic service fee it adds to passenger bills will soon increase to $21 per person per day.

In an email to passengers booked on upcoming trips, the line said the daily gratuity, as it calls the fee, will increase to $18.50 per person per day on November 1 for with people staying in most cabins. Passengers staying in luxury rooms will have to pay 21 USD/person/day.

This price is about 3% higher than Royal Caribbean’s current service fee of $18 for standard cabins and $20.50 for suites.

While relatively modest in percentage terms, the award fee increase at Royal Caribbean is the second in just under a year at the line and brings the cumulative one-year increase to nearly 14%. This time last year, Royal Caribbean only charged passengers a $16 service fee in most cabins.

With this increase, a family of four in a regular cabin would pay more than $500 in automatic gratuities for a seven-night cruise – one of the highest tariffs in the business. Among other major lines, Carnival Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises and Holland America charge a service fee of $13.50 to $16 per person per day on passenger bills for most cabins.

Celebrity Cruises in turn adds an $18 per person per day tax corresponding to such gratuities to passenger bills.

Related: TPG’s ultimate guide to gratuities and tipping on cruise ships

Royal Caribbean’s award fees have increased a significant 54% since the beginning of 2015, when they were just $12. The line has increased prices five times since then.

Royal Caribbean’s 54% increase in award fees since the beginning of 2015 is about 19 percentage points higher than the inflation rate in the US over the same period.

According to the US Department of Labor, inflation in the US since the beginning of 2015 has been at a cumulative level of about 35%, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers.

Most of the largest cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and MSC Cruises automatically add some type of service or award fee to passenger bills. Passengers usually have the option to prepay the service fee when booking or add the service fee to the onboard bill, payable at the end of each trip.

This shows that the total number of lines with service charges has gradually decreased over the years. Many smaller and more upscale cruise operators have included these fees in their base ticket prices.

Routes now include gratuities in the included fare AzamaraPonant, Cruises of Discovery, Crystal, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Luxury Cruises & Sightseeing Cruises, seaport, SeaDream Yacht Club, Silversea Cruise And Virgin trip.

For those lines that have them, service fees and gratuities are advertised as a convenient alternative to giving cash on board – something that was once common.

Travel agencies with such fees usually increase their prices every year or two.

Royal Caribbean has informed customers with existing cruise bookings that they can lock in their current, lower gratuity rate by prepaying their gratuity by November 1.

Note that, in some cases, passengers who are dissatisfied with the service they received on board a Royal Caribbean ship may be able to adjust the daily gratuity amount credited to their account while on board by visiting the gratuity desk. Customer Service, along this line.

Adjustments are only permitted when the gratuity is charged to the onboard account during the voyage. Passengers who prepay gratuities cannot adjust the amount they paid while on board.

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