Carnival Gratuities, Bottomless Bubbles Price Rise
Carnival Cruise Line is raising two of the most predictable line items in a typical onboard budget, recommended daily gratuities and the Bottomless Bubbles soda package, for sailings that begin on April 2, 2026. Guests in standard staterooms will see the recommended daily gratuity move from $16 to $17 per person, per day, and suite guests will see it move from $18 to $19 per person, per day. Adult pricing for Bottomless Bubbles is also increasing, from $9.50 to $11.99 per person, per day, while the child price remains $6.95 per day, and the usual 20% service charge still applies to drink packages.
For travelers, the practical meaning is simple, your onboard account will climb faster if you do not prepay. On a seven night sailing, the gratuity change alone adds $7 per guest in a standard stateroom and $7 per guest in a suite, before you factor in any additional bar or specialty dining service charges. The soda package shift is larger in percentage terms, and because it is priced per person per day, it compounds quickly for cabins with multiple adults who prefer package pricing over a la carte purchases.
Who Is Affected
The changes apply most directly to travelers sailing on Carnival departures on or after April 2, 2026, especially those who let gratuities post to their onboard Sail & Sign account instead of prepaying. Carnival's own FAQ language has long framed gratuities as a recommended guideline, and it explains that if you have not prepaid, the per person amount is posted to the onboard account late in the cruise, with any service issues meant to be handled while you are still onboard. It also states that adjustments can be made onboard, but not after you disembark.
Bottomless Bubbles affects a different slice of guests, families who want predictable non alcohol beverage costs, soda drinkers who do not want to think about per glass pricing, and groups where the package is simply the easiest way to keep spending friction low. The pricing change is not retroactive for guests who already purchased Bottomless Bubbles for sailings through April 1, 2026, so the main exposure is for people who plan to buy later, or who have later sail dates and have not purchased yet.
The second order effects show up in how onboard spend flows through the ship's service ecosystem. When daily gratuities increase, the baseline cost of every day at sea increases regardless of itinerary, which tends to tighten discretionary spending for some guests, especially on longer sailings. That can shift demand toward fewer specialty dining reservations, fewer paid classes, and fewer premium beverage purchases, which then changes congestion patterns at peak bars, coffee counters, and quick service venues as guests optimize around what is included versus what carries an extra charge. When a beverage package price rises, it can also change the break even calculus, pushing some guests back toward individual sodas, and that creates more point of sale transactions, more receipt disputes, and more end of cruise account reviews at Guest Services.
Carnival linked the soda package increase to its shift back to Coca Cola products, stating that supply costs rose with the transition. Carnival's beverage information confirms Coca Cola beverages are being served on ships departing North American homeports as of September 2025, and that Bottomless Bubbles is aligned to Coke products.
What Travelers Should Do
If you have a Carnival sailing already booked that departs on or after April 2, 2026, decide now whether you want to lock in today's pricing. Prepay gratuities if you prefer an all in budget, and if you plan to buy Bottomless Bubbles, purchase it before April 2 to avoid the higher adult rate. If you already purchased Bottomless Bubbles for a sailing through April 1, 2026, you should not be charged a difference, but you should still keep your receipt and confirmation in case your booking is re priced or re ticketed.
Use clear decision thresholds so you do not overthink it. For gratuities, the change is $1 per guest per day, so your exposure is simply the number of guests times the number of cruise days. For Bottomless Bubbles, remember the 20% service charge, because it changes the all in daily number meaningfully, and it is easy to forget when you are comparing to a la carte soda pricing. If you are traveling with multiple adults, do the math across the full voyage length, then compare that to your realistic daily soda and juice consumption, not your vacation aspirations.
Over the next 24 to 72 hours, monitor three things in your booking portal. First, confirm whether your cruise is coded as before or after April 2, 2026, if you are near the boundary. Second, verify whether prepaid gratuities are present as a line item, and if not, decide whether to add them. Third, if you plan to buy Bottomless Bubbles later, set a personal cutoff date well ahead of April 2 so you are not trying to handle it during travel days or while juggling final payment details.
Background
Carnival's public FAQ guidance has historically listed recommended gratuity guidelines by stateroom type, and it explains two payment paths, prepaying before sailing, or letting the amount post to the onboard account near the end of the cruise. That same guidance emphasizes resolving any service problems onboard, and it notes that gratuities can be adjusted onboard at the guest's discretion, but not after disembarkation.
For Bottomless Bubbles, Carnival sells the package as a per person, per day add on, with a 20% service charge applied to drink packages. Carnival's drink package page currently shows the longstanding $6.95 child rate and $9.50 adult rate, and it repeats the 20% service charge note, which is why the April 2, 2026 change matters, the sticker price is not the true all in cost you will see on your folio.
Carnival and multiple travel trade outlets reported that the new rates take effect on April 2, 2026, and that the line is framing the gratuity increase as support for onboard crew compensation and service standards. The Bottomless Bubbles increase is being attributed to higher supply costs tied to the Coke transition, after the brand moved away from Pepsi products on its North American fleet.