Tipping half for kids under 12 (in same cabin)?

[cawhite]

Hi everyone,

 

I was looking on the "Tipping Tips" page of the Cruise Critic website. It says:

 

While this isn't always explained, on most ships it's okay to tip half for kids under 12 sharing your cabin.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ftc/articles.cfm?ID=86

 

But I haven't read any posts saying that (a) CCL cruisers have done this, or that (b) CCL expects passengers to pay this amount for kids under 12 in the same cabin.

 

Any comments? We're leaving on a first cruise (Mom and 2 kids... one under 12 y.o.) in less than 2 weeks.

 

Thank you!

[GoinCruisin]

The only thing Carnival says is : Note: Guests under two years of age are not required to extend gratuities.

 

That being said... a child under 12 generally requires the same if not more work for the steward and dining team... I personally think that full tips should be extended for all guests... but that is my opinion. I guess it really depends on how much work is done to make your child happy and make sure he/she enjoys their cruise. If your child will be sleeping in a bed, using towels and the cabin, the steward is still doing the same amount of work he/she would be doing for an adult. Same goes for the dining staff, although they generally work harder for the children...

[sea_u_onboard]

According to CCL website - Guests under two years of age are not required to extend gratuities. Let the debate begin (as it always does when this question is posted).

[VentureMan_2000]

Lets be fair. The staff is still dealing with 3 people. It's not fair to ask on this board as a way to justify not fully tipping. I know Cruise Critic said, but it just isn't right.

 

Otherwise, you end up with Bald people complaining that they should only be paying half when getting their hair cut. :rolleyes:

 

Room stewards will have more to clean up when there are 3 people in a room, especially children. Its a childs job to be more messy than adults. I know. I have 3... about your children's ages. And your dinning room is still serving 3 people, no matter how you cut it.

 

Lets be fair to the staff, they work very hard.

[bphman]

Celebrity raised this issue in the past. It was published in their brochures that tipping for both cabin and wait staff for children was 50% adult rate. I always gave the same for everyone and always more than the posted rates since we always had great service except for one cruise where service was horrible so no bonus given. Just the posted rate. As a matter of fact, I think they should get double for cleaning up after the kids.

[Frankiesmom]

The tips should include children. We brought our the 18 month old DS on the Enchantment in Nov. 2003 and we tipped the full amt. for him-and some extra! All the staff went out of their way to make sure he was happy;which meant we were happy too!:) When we have cruised with our kids be it in the same cabin or in their own we tipped extra! Kids are a lot of work.;)

[marktac]

Celebrity raised this issue in the past. It was published in their brochures that tipping for both cabin and wait staff for children was 50% adult rate......

 

Carnival had that policy as well when our kids were young....many moons ago.

 

Mark T.

[cawhite]

Thanks for the info!!

 

I am sure we'll get exceptional service and therefore we will not only tip fully for all 3, but will add additional $$ as well. And I know they'll be doing a lot more work for my kids, than for me!. Therefore, and I certainly expect to give them more.

 

I just wondered why they have this info. listed in the first place. Seems pretty silly to me for them to get 1/2!!

[Knights on the Beach]

I just wondered why they have this info. listed in the first place. Seems pretty silly to me for them to get 1/2!!

I agree, it does seem silly. If they are going to post this info, they should specify which lines find this acceptable. We've always paid full tips for our kids on all our cruises -- they slept in a bed just like we did and were served meals in the dining room just as we were.

[jeremyh]

We've never changed our tipping amount, although we (and our young children) keep a tidy cabin. The only thing I would change, if I was going to, would be for the dining room staff. Fact of the matter is our kids only ate in the dining room about 4 times (and that's for all meals) the entire 8 day cruise. The rest of the time we either ate off the shipor on Lido deck, and most evenings they chose to eat with the kids club.

 

Now the kids club people we put cash in an envelope for, because they don't get anything automatically.

[GoinCruisin]

The dining room staff are the same people that work on the Lido deck... FYI...

[selucrey]

If the kids are half as tall as an adult, tip half as much.:D Gotta be some benefit to being short.;)

[GoinCruisin]

If the kids are half as tall as an adult, tip half as much.:D Gotta be some benefit to being short.;)

 

Hey Dan, can I get in on that logic??? LOL!!!!

[selucrey]

Hey Dan, can I get in on that logic??? LOL!!!!

 

Well, since I do know you and I have seen you in person, you should tip two-thirds.:D

[GoinCruisin]

Well, since I do know you and I have seen you in person, you should tip two-thirds.:D

 

WOOOHOOO!! Although I think I will continue to triple the tips... that Lucy tends to make a mess :eek:

[cawhite]

Jeremyh,

 

I didn't even think about tipping the Camp Carnival workers... but that makes sense too!

[jeremyh]

The dining room staff are the same people that work on the Lido deck... FYI...

 

Well, I suspect most people don't tip at serve-yourself restaurants or places like McDonald's, and that's what I'd liken the Lido deck buffets and Pizza/Hamburger grills to. As I mentioned before, we've never reduced the tip amount anyway, just thought about how the Camp Carnival people seemed more deserving.

 

As far as Camp Carnival goes, in my book, being in a small room with screaming 2-5 year old every day would rank up there with one of the worst jobs on the ship. I've noticed it seems like few people tip them, and it's a shame, really.. I care a lot more about how my children are treated than whether my waiter dances a good cha-cha. :D

[Hbasket1]

We slipped the Camp Carnival staff some cash on the last night. We, too, noticed nobody else really did (at least not in our presence)... everyone else just slipped in, got their kids, said thanks and left. They were great in there and were very well deserving of a tip from us. We didn't know how to go about it as we did have a few favorites. We were told they pool all tips together and split it amongst them.

[Runner Girl]

We and our 3 kids all shared a cabin on the Destiny years ago. We tipped extra. That steward kept that cabin really nice. What a job! As neat as we tried to be, with 5 people age 16+, it was a mess!

[disneylynn]

The only time I tipped half for my kids was on the Dawn.

NCL charges your S/S card everyday, $10 for adults and $5 for kids

[halos]

I know that a family vacation can be expensive...and tips may SEEM to be overwhelming, but in the 'big picture' they're really not a lot.

If you and your husband go out to a nice restaurant and tip 20% for a really nice dinner...it can be more than what you'll tip the dining staff for two people for the whole week on a cruise!!

I'm glad you have intention of tipping the full amount for your kids. I'm SURE the service you get will be worth every cent of it...PLUS some.

Have a great cruise! :D

[tef43]

This shouldn't even be an issue about how much to tip. Carnival's FAQ explains the policy pretty clearly.

 

What this *should* be about is the CC article with misleading and erroneous content. *That* is what needs to be fixed.

[halos]

 

What this *should* be about is the CC article with misleading and erroneous content. *That* is what needs to be fixed.

 

I agree with that Tef.....

I can't imagine any crew being too happy with that little tid bit of info in that article. :rolleyes:

[Tamhugh]

We have always tipped the full amount for our kids and probably should have tipped even more. The waiters we have encountered have gotten my picky 11 year old to try an amazing variety of food. And I have just assumed that if my kids weren't at that table, there might be adults there who would be tipping full price. When I was in Busch Gardens a few months ago, I found a great jar that is painted with tropical colors and says "cruise fund". I have started tossing all of my change in there and have designated it as tip money. My ds has been handing me change and saying, "This is for the tip jar!".

 

Tammy

[cawhite]

Now it's really bugging me about the Camp Carnival Staff not being included in the "automatic" tip structure. Does anyone know if they are under a different salary structure? Maybe they get more per hour, for example, since they're not in the automatic tipping?