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We are sailing with a 5 year old. This will be his fifth cruise, but first on RCI. We have never had a problem with with Carnival or HAL, but each line has it's own policies for the MDR. I contacted my TA and they are trying to corrdinate. That said, I completely forgot about this beforehand, and we are sailing this coming Tuesday, so it is not at all a guarantee that this will happen.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Good Morning,

I hope someone can help me. Does Royal Caribbean offer smaller tables in the MDR? The last time I sailed RCI, we were still sans child, and set placed at a table for 10. On other cruise lines, especially since we have sailed with child, we have sat at tables for 4. Are most tables in MDR round tables for 10/12 or is it possible to get a smaller (not table for 2) table?

Thanks.

One of the issues which occurs with tipping/gratuities is the cultural differences between North Americans and Europeans/Australians etc. when it comes to tipping. In NA, tipping 15% is a given, and taxes are an extra on your bill. In Europe, Australia etc. the idea of tipping in a restaurant or having VAT being added to your bill is a very foreign concept. HAL is an American Company, however, and people need to realize that when it comes to this, American rules do apply, even if the servers, and other service staff are more likely to be Indonesian and Filipino.

Insofar as tipping in restaurants is concerned, in the US, servers are paid less than minimum wage, in part, because they are assumed to receive tips of at least 15%. This is the assumption made by the Internal Revenue Service and they tax that income accordingly, whether or not the income was actually accrued. If you receive bad service, filing a complaint with the line is the most effective way to have an impact. However, refusing to tip on principle is just wrong. If you don't want to tip, choose a different type of vacation.