NCL - Gratuity rate for Kids, Suite question

[revorednu]

I have younger kids (ages 12, 9, 7). Do they pay the adult gratuity rate of $12 per day, or is it lower? I can't find a straight answer, or any answer for that matter, anywhere?

 

Also, we are in a suite. Can I ask the Butler to bring us dinner from Cagney's etc (ie: restaurants with a fee at dinner) and not have to pay the fee, or would I still have to pay the fee even if we eat dinner in our suite?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Lostfan]

my travel agent told me i would be charged the FULL gratuity rate for my kids: 13, 8.....sucks, doesn't it?

[flyers1173]

I have younger kids (ages 12, 9, 7). Do they pay the adult gratuity rate of $12 per day, or is it lower? I can't find a straight answer, or any answer for that matter, anywhere?

 

Also, we are in a suite. Can I ask the Butler to bring us dinner from Cagney's etc (ie: restaurants with a fee at dinner) and not have to pay the fee, or would I still have to pay the fee even if we eat dinner in our suite?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

The ages of your children do require the same $12 fee. If you order room service from your butler for any of the specialty restaurants, you still have to pay the cover charges.

[fiftyguy]

I can't answer your first question, but you can have the butler bring you dinner from the specialty venues. You will pay the per person extra charge.

[cb at sea]

Each PERSON pays the same gratuity rate.....you'll find that it's well worth it....the staff really goes out of their way to make kids happy!

 

Can't help with room service from a specialty restaurant....never tried it....not so much fun eating in a cabin, IMO!

[mousemom]

The $12 is for everyone in the cabin. The normal tip for the butler is $10 a day in addition to the the $12 a day. You have to pay the dinner fee for Cagneys, no matter where you eat it. The butler can bring lunch or breakfast to your suite, which is a suite perk which no additional charge.

[spacepotatoes]

NCL's FAQs are pretty clear:

 

How much is the charge?

Onboard Service Charges are additional. A charge of $12 per person per day will automatically be added to your onboard account.

Are service charges across the board for all guests?

All guests 3 years or older.

 

http://www2.ncl.com/faq#n19261

 

Also keep in mind that if you are in a suite, the butler and concierge are traditionally tipped extra. If your kids use the kids' camp, the counsellors there also aren't covered by the service charge.

[spacepotatoes]

Each PERSON pays the same gratuity rate.....you'll find that it's well worth it....the staff really goes out of their way to make kids happy!

 

Can't help with room service from a specialty restaurant....never tried it....not so much fun eating in a cabin, IMO!

 

You can't order from the specialty restaurants through regular room service, unfortunately. It's only a suite perk. I'm sure if you're in a suite, eating in your cabin becomes a lot more fun :)

[Rileyz]

Ya know, I don't mind paying the gratuity but I would like if my daughter could at least get latitudes credit! When we sail we pay FULL fare for her in my mothers cabin :(

[revorednu]

Thanks for your responses. Man, 7 responses in about 10 mins. Impressive. I would agree. The $12 per day for a kid is worth it. They get more attention than any adult does. Good to hear that the crew will be so attentive.

 

My wife and I enjoyed the suite life on Norwegian Sky last year. Pisces Suite. I just never knew about ordering from the cover charge restaurants. Thanks for the advice.

[VideoTech]

The $12 is for everyone in the cabin. The normal tip for the butler is $10 a day in addition to the the $12 a day. You have to pay the dinner fee for Cagneys, no matter where you eat it. The butler can bring lunch or breakfast to your suite, which is a suite perk which no additional charge.

 

The tip for the butler (and for the concierge) is whatever you want it to be. There is no "normal" tip amount, but we agree that $10 per day is good place to start.

 

The Butlers and the Concierge do not participate in the $12 per day tip pool, so it's a little misleading to say that their tip is "in addition" to the $12 per day.

 

Your cabin steward in a suite does participate in the $12 per day pool, but we always provide an additional gratuity for that person.

[ClarkBHM]

The tip for the butler (and for the concierge) is whatever you want it to be. There is no "normal" tip amount, but we agree that $10 per day is good place to start.

 

Can you tip the butler/concierge using your onboard account, or do I need to bring enough cash to cover it?

[mpk218]

Can you tip the butler/concierge using your onboard account, or do I need to bring enough cash to cover it?

 

Yes you can , you will need to go to the front desk to do this And make sure you let your Butler know you are doing so. ;)

[peg013]

Yes you can , you will need to go to the front desk to do this And make sure you let your Butler know you are doing so. ;)

 

I've read on here that they give you a voucher/slip of paper that shows you actually gave the butler his/her tip thru your OBA for you to give your butler.

[sparks1093]

my travel agent told me i would be charged the FULL gratuity rate for my kids: 13, 8.....sucks, doesn't it?

 

Don't understand why you think it sucks, the kids receive the same amount and level of service as adults (and in many cases more).

 

Ya know, I don't mind paying the gratuity but I would like if my daughter could at least get latitudes credit! When we sail we pay FULL fare for her in my mothers cabin :(

 

It's my understanding that their credits are fully applied when they turn 18- from the website "For children under the age of 18, cruises will be counted but not recognized until they turn 18. "

[fiftyguy]

Can you tip the butler/concierge using your onboard account, or do I need to bring enough cash to cover it?

As others have said, yes you can. We usually bring note cards to thank them & to let them know about the tip.

On our last cruise the front desk crew member didn't know what I was talking about when I asked for the vouchers. With my persistence she asked another person on staff who knew about the forms.

Happy cruising - you'll love the suite life.

[keichman]

Don't understand why you think it sucks, the kids receive the same amount and level of service as adults (and in many cases more).

 

I'm not the OP, and actually the tip for kids doesn't bother me. But I DO understand why some might feel slighted by not having a "kids" rate. The DSC covers a variety of service providers, including restaurant staff, stewards, etc.

 

Typically, restaurant tips are based on cost of meals, and with most kids meals costing significantly less, waiters often get a lesser tip when serving a table of 2 adults/2 kids vs. a table of 4 adults.

 

And in the steward situation, a cabin of 4 yields a higher tip than a cabin of 2; and while I understand that a cabin of 4 likely yields more clean up than a cabin of 2, I would be hard pressed to justify that it takes double the amount of time and effort. These are just two examples of how I can see the OP's point.

[njhorseman]

 

I'm not the OP, and actually the tip for kids doesn't bother me. But I DO understand why some might feel slighted by not having a "kids" rate. The DSC covers a variety of service providers, including restaurant staff, stewards, etc.

 

Typically, restaurant tips are based on cost of meals, and with most kids meals costing significantly less, waiters often get a lesser tip when serving a table of 2 adults/2 kids vs. a table of 4 adults.

 

And in the steward situation, a cabin of 4 yields a higher tip than a cabin of 2; and while I understand that a cabin of 4 likely yields more clean up than a cabin. of 2, I would be hard pressed to justify that it takes double the amount of time and effort. These are just two examples of how I can see the OP's point

 

Except this is a cruise ship, not a restaurant,and the "tips" are not really tips, they are the crew's salary, and they have nothing to do with the cost of anyone's meal, adult or child. The children aren't restricted to ordering off a kids menu either...they could be ordering off the adult menu.

 

As far as the cabin clean up...if you've ever raised children you should know that two children could be much harder to clean up after than two adults. Ever walk into a child's bedroom?

[yoyocruiser]

LOL!! :D I have to agree that kids probably require more care and clean-up than adults!! Anyway, the point is, the crew do work very hard to make kids happy and most of them really make a special effort to connect to kids--whether it is making the towel animals, or finding a special pillow--our room steward was always doing funny things with the kids stuffed animals (brought from home)--putting them in scenes with the towels animals--a lot of funny stuff. Waitstaff in the MDR have always been very attentive. :)

 

That said, yes, I can indeed see why it is questioned--because people do ahve a sense of tips being related to the cost of the meal or whatever, and not really directly related to the level of service. Also, I certainly remember plannign vacations when the kdis were younger and the budgeting part could sometimes be quite challenging.

 

In regards to OP questions--if you do order from a sepcialty restaurant if the kdis order from the kids menu there is NOT a charge--or if they order appetizers and desert--at least that was the case in our situation.

[keichman]

Except this is a cruise ship, not a restaurant,and the "tips" are not really tips, they are the crew's salary, and they have nothing to do with the cost of anyone's meal, adult or child. The children aren't restricted to ordering off a kids menu either...they could be ordering off the adult menu.

 

No different than a restaurant, where waiters/servers receive a ridiculously low base hourly wage, well below minimum wage requirements, and depend on tips as part of their compensation. And of course, there is no restriction on ordering kids/adult menu...I'm just giving the most common example.

 

As far as the cabin clean up...if you've ever raised children you should know that two children could be much harder to clean up after than two adults. Ever walk into a child's bedroom?

 

Agreed...as I said, some aspects would take more time/effort, but (as a mother myself), general clean-up is not DOUBLE the time. Takes more to straighten up and more trash to dump, perhaps an extra bed to change/make up, but then the dusting, sweeping, bathroom cleansing is the same.

As I said, the tip amounts don't really bother me...I like to reward folks for their efforts, and usually do so over and above the assigned amount. I was just saying that I can see the perspective of the OP.

[keystoneboarder]

After working 20 years in the restaurant business, I can tell you that kids require no less effort to serve than adults. Sometimes they are MORE difficult. The age of the person does not diminish the service required. Pay the money and make sure to thank your server.

[crusinmama06]

Ya know, I don't mind paying the gratuity but I would like if my daughter could at least get latitudes credit! When we sail we pay FULL fare for her in my mothers cabin :(

 

It's my understanding that their credits are fully applied when they turn 18- from the website "For children under the age of 18, cruises will be counted but not recognized until they turn 18. "

 

They better get Latitudes credits. :eek: I was under the understanding that they did.

[sparks1093]

They better get Latitudes credits. :eek: I was under the understanding that they did.

 

I do know they receive their own Latitudes numbers, FWIW.

[DinaS]

Ya know, I don't mind paying the gratuity but I would like if my daughter could at least get latitudes credit! When we sail we pay FULL fare for her in my mothers cabin :(

 

If your mother and your daughter are sharing a room, or if your mother travels alone, it would cost the same amount for the cruise fare for that room.

 

Singles travel alone by paying full fare (times two) as if there were two people in the room.

[che5904]

If your mother and your daughter are sharing a room, or if your mother travels alone, it would cost the same amount for the cruise fare for that room.

 

Singles travel alone by paying full fare (times two) as if there were two people in the room.

 

Not quite the same but very close. The base price for one person is based on double occupancy, so it is double. But you only pay taxes and fees on one person, so you save a little there.