Gratuities are included. On our cruise, Privee with the Odyssey menu was popular enough to be held on three different nights. At the one we attended, there were four people who were traveling together and three separate couples. Everybody had a great time. Since we had booked the cruise when the O Life onboard credit option was still available, we used some of our onboard credit towards the dinner. Sadly, this will no longer be possible with Simply More.