What it means
A chit (sometimes spelled “chitty”) is a small paper voucher or receipt slip — historically used onboard cruise ships for almost every transaction. You’d order a drink at the bar; the bartender would write up a chit with the drink, the price, and the time; you’d sign it with your cabin number; that signed slip would be reconciled against your onboard account at the end of the cruise.
The word itself is older than modern cruising — it comes from British colonial India (“chitty” was a written note or order) and was carried into shipboard usage by the British merchant marine. In 2026 most cruise lines have replaced paper chits with electronic systems that read your cruise card or wristband, but the term has stuck around for any signed acknowledgment slip you’ll be asked to sign onboard.
Why this matters for new cruisers
You’re going to be asked to sign things on a cruise. A lot of things. Almost every purchase outside the basic dining room — every drink, every spa service, every shore excursion, every specialty restaurant cover charge, every art auction bid — comes with a slip to sign even if the charge is already on your account electronically. New cruisers sometimes assume the signature means they’re paying separately (it doesn’t — it’s just confirming the charge). Knowing the term “chit” helps you recognize what’s happening when a bartender slides a slip across the bar and asks for your signature.
Where you’ll still see actual paper chits in 2026
The major mainstream lines (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, Disney) are essentially paperless — the tap-the-card or scan-the-wristband transaction is logged digitally and you don’t sign anything for most purchases. Where you’ll still see paper:
- Bar tabs at busy venues during peak hours — bartenders fall back to handwritten chits when their POS is overwhelmed or down
- Specialty restaurant cover charges — many lines print a slip and ask you to sign for the upcharge even though it’s automatically billed
- Spa services — the spa almost always prints a paper receipt that lists optional gratuity choices for you to sign
- Shore excursions paid onboard — the excursion desk often prints a paper voucher you’ll need to bring to the meeting point
- Art auctions — bidding paddles, registration, and winning bids all involve paper slips
Cunard, Holland America, and most luxury lines (Silversea, Regent, Seabourn) still use more paper than the mass-market lines — partly because their older passenger base tends to prefer paper records, partly because their bar service is more table-side and a server with a notepad is part of the experience.
The two things actually worth knowing
1. The signature is not a separate charge.
Every signed chit onboard is being applied to the central onboard account associated with your cruise card. The signature is for confirmation and dispute prevention, not a separate transaction. You will not be billed twice.
2. Keep your chits if you might dispute something.
If you order a drink, sign for it, then notice the next day your account shows two drinks — that paper chit is your evidence. Most cabin desks will resolve obvious double-charges without the original chit, but it’s faster with one.
A note on tipping lines on chits
Most spa and specialty-restaurant chits print with a tip line and suggested tip percentages. Tipping on the chit is in addition to the daily auto-gratuity you’re already paying. This is the most common new-cruiser confusion: “I’m already paying gratuities — why is there a tip line?”
While the daily auto-gratuity typically does not cover spa and specialty restaurant crew members, an 18–20% service charge is almost always automatically added to your specific bill for these services (or built into the flat cover charge). Just like with bar drinks, writing an additional tip on the chit’s blank line usually means you are double-tipping. Always check your receipt to see if a gratuity is already included before adding more.