Gratuities for toddlers?

[JRT5000]

This is so true! The posters are probably trying to evoke sympathy by stating they pay full price for a child, when in reality, they pay the reduced rate of 3rd and 4th passenger. They are not paying the full adult fare.

 

I'm paying full fare for my two kids on the Regal this December. Do you want to see the invoice?

 

Now come on......a 1year old will be affixed to the mother the whole cruise....the cruise line won't do much if anything for the child. The baby will not take any resources from the ship......they should be on there for free in my opinion.

[Princess Patches]

I'm paying full fare for my two kids on the Regal this December. Do you want to see the invoice?

 

Now come on......a 1year old will be affixed to the mother the whole cruise....the cruise line won't do much if anything for the child. The baby will not take any resources from the ship......they should be on there for free in my opinion.

 

The only time you pay "full fare" for the third and fourth in a cabin on a Princess ship is when the fare for the first two passengers in the cabin is so cheap that you are essentially paying the 3rd and 4th fare rate for everyone in the cabin.

 

What you mean by "full fare" in this context is that your are paying the SAME rate for everyone in the cabin and everyone is getting the same greatly reduced rate (about 1/2 the normal rate). As other posters have stated, you never pay full fare in the true sense of that concept for the 3rd and 4th passengers.

 

If you want your child to sail free, check out NCL they have a lot of 3rd/4th sail free deals.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Princess Patches

[CI66774]

I'm paying full fare for my two kids on the Regal this December. Do you want to see the invoice?

 

Now come on......a 1year old will be affixed to the mother the whole cruise....the cruise line won't do much if anything for the child. The baby will not take any resources from the ship......they should be on there for free in my opinion.

 

Totally disagree. You bring the child, the child must pay. Go somewhere else where infants aren't charged.

[JRT5000]

Totally disagree. You bring the child, the child must pay. Go somewhere else where infants aren't charged.

 

Of course you do. It's this over charging of infant fares that subsidizes your cruise fare.

[shiner6]

:) I understand the rules are made because somebody, somewhere left a poop filled diaper in a pool. I am not talking about that. There will always be "Jerry Springer" type people in this world, I just hope to avoid them as much as possible while on vacation, so that is why I choose Disney and Princess (based on reviews on this site and others). I am however, speaking to the full charge applied along with gratuities, because it is only her and I in the room. Grandma and grandpa are in their own room. I expected more opportunities to be available for family interaction and now the reality of Sea days is almost here and I wanted some feedback to make my decision. She will not use the kids club, or any of the Adult features and I most probably will not use many of them either since I will be caring for her. Of course, we will make the best of it and are planning some family excursions on our own. Thanks to all of you for your support and feedback, I will take it under consideration. Oh, yeah, we sail on the Star to the Caribbean in December. We are a creative family, so I am confident we will think of something to make the best of our trip.

[more cruises]

Don't just stay in your room on sea days, there are always quiet spots to get out and let your child play. Most ships have a small alcove, deck 7 aft near the elevators with a sofa and a carpeted area. It looks like it would be pretty easy to block off the entrance to keep the little one corralled.

 

Often there are bars that aren't used during the day that make for a nice place for your little one to stretch their legs. How about using your stroller and walking laps around the deck, or find a nice deck chair in the shade so you both get some fresh air. I know from watching my grandson that the more he has to look at and be interested in the less fussy he is. My grandson loves musicians, try to find the band and sit nearby with your stroller.

 

Try checking out the kids club. Even though you would have to stay, at least there will be toys and places to play.

 

I know, it's a bummer that you have to pay full price for everything but you'll have a great cruise and grandma and grandpa will treasure the time with your little one.

[shiner6]

We have decided to pay the gratuities as ordained in order to not hurt any staff, however, since we cruise with our family, our choice for cruises in 2015 and onward will not be with Princess.

[Iamcruzin]

The only time you pay "full fare" for the third and fourth in a cabin on a Princess ship is when the fare for the first two passengers in the cabin is so cheap that you are essentially paying the 3rd and 4th fare rate for everyone in the cabin.

This happened to us on one sailing where it was actually cheaper to book 2 rooms than 4 in one room. My oldest was 16 at the time so it wasn't a problem. I have never paid the same for 3rd and 4th passenger in the same room and I book directly through Princess so I wasn't receiving a special TA rate.

[knbcruisers]

I am surprised that someone hasn't mentioned this, but check the CC thread on traveling with kids. You will likely find some good ideas there on how to make the most of out of the ship and your trip. We traveled with our DD and grandson when he was 1 and had a great time.

[RickEk]

We have decided to pay the gratuities as ordained in order to not hurt any staff, however, since we cruise with our family, our choice for cruises in 2015 and onward will not be with Princess.

 

First off, you're probably traveling out of Houston on Emerald Princess? Secondly, report back after the cruise and see if your mind has been changed concerning cruising with Princess with your children.

 

Contrary to what other people have said, my observations is that the crew does dote on the little ones.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Princess Patches]

:) I am however, speaking to the full charge applied along with gratuities, because it is only her and I in the room.

 

I was not aware there were any cruise lines that discounted the first or second fare based on the fact that one of the two passengers was a child. Are there any? Even cruise lines like NCL that cater to children do not offer that. They offer free or heavily discounted fares for children only if they are sailing as the third/fourth in the cabin along with two full fare passengers.

 

I am not sure you will find a cruise line that gives you a fare discount for your child if she is traveling as the first or second passenger in the cabin with you.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Princess Patches

[cruzsnooze]

Gratuity is suggested and not mandatory. If you want to remove just the toddlers $12 daily charge you can. Wait to see how you feel the service was before you make a decision.

[Paula_MacFan]

There was a toddler in the mini suite next to us on our last cruise. We started every morning listening to screaming toddler. Heard screaming toddler every time we tried to enjoy balcony. Went to sleep every night to sound of screaming toddler. Too bad it was just me and hubby trying to enjoy relaxing getaway:( I can't imagine what the poor child got out of the trip. One of the reasons we chose Princess years ago was their policy of limiting number of children. I am a mother and grandmother and enjoy family time, but would suggest Disney, Carnival, or RCL are more kid friendly.

 

I agree that babies are the same if not MORE work for cruise staff and gratuities should be paid accordingly.

[MarElz]

:) because it is only her and I in the room. Grandma and grandpa are in their own room.

 

If it is only you and your child in the room, you are paying the same rate as you would if you were cruising alone, as the solo supplement tends to be 100%, so maybe your child is free after all, other than tips. All depends on how you look at it! Is your issue the cost, or is it what there is to do? If it's what there is to do, perhaps you chose the incorrect cruise. If you're going because of your grandparents, which is very nice, it's hardly Princess' fault that they're not Disney. Traveling by yourself with a very young child is always difficult, no matter where you go. I hope you find ways to enjoy yourself!

[pablo222]

I'm paying full fare for my two kids on the Regal this December. Do you want to see the invoice?

 

Now come on......a 1year old will be affixed to the mother the whole cruise....the cruise line won't do much if anything for the child. The baby will not take any resources from the ship......they should be on there for free in my opinion.

 

Yes, I would like to see the invoice. Please post as attachment.

 

If you think the child should be on for free, isn't your issue with

the cruise line for the cruise pricing? Whether or not to tip is

rather incidental.

 

If you think the cruise line's policy of charging for children is wrong,

and you book anyway, why would they change their policy?

 

You should show them their policy is wrong by taking your dollars

somewhere else. Do not reward a bad policy!!!

Edited November 16, 2014 by pablo222

[shredie]

[quote name='shiner6']We have decided to pay the gratuities as ordained in order to not hurt any staff, however, since we cruise with our family, our choice for cruises in 2015 and onward will not be with Princess.[/QUOTE]

Probably the right decision. I hope you have a good time anyway on your upcoming one Princess cruise.

[Loonbeam]

I shall now repeat what I said earlier. The infant still counts as a passenger. The passenger count per section is fixed regardless of age. Thus, the infant is taking up a slot, so if he or she goes for free that's one less slot than can be sold..

Princess should give up that revenue why?

[quote name='JRT5000']I'm paying full fare for my two kids on the Regal this December. Do you want to see the invoice?

Now come on......a 1year old will be affixed to the mother the whole cruise....the cruise line won't do much if anything for the child. The baby will not take any resources from the ship......they should be on there for free in my opinion.[/quote]

[pablo222]

[quote name='Loonbeam']
Princess should give up that revenue why?[/QUOTE]

...only if they feel the need to compete with other lines
which offer discounts for 3rd / 4th / children.

If Princess can fill berths with no discounts, then that is
what they should do.

[minniem]

[quote name='Paula_MacFan']There was a toddler in the mini suite next to us on our last cruise. We started every morning listening to screaming toddler. Heard screaming toddler every time we tried to enjoy balcony. Went to sleep every night to sound of screaming toddler. Too bad it was just me and hubby trying to enjoy relaxing getaway:( I can't imagine what the poor child got out of the trip. One of the reasons we chose Princess years ago was their policy of limiting number of children. I am a mother and grandmother and enjoy family time, but would suggest Disney, Carnival, or RCL are more kid friendly.

I agree that babies are the same if not MORE work for cruise staff and gratuities should be paid accordingly.[/quote]

I wondered what happens in a case like yours. Did they move you to another cabin? I'm a grandmother and love little ones. I love to watch them laugh and enjoy their surroundings buy if I pay several thousand dollars to take a cruise I would be very upset if I was next door to a crying baby both day and night. That would not be fun.

[Paula_MacFan]

[quote name='minniem']I wondered what happens in a case like yours. Did they move you to another cabin? I'm a grandmother and love little ones. I love to watch them laugh and enjoy their surroundings buy if I pay several thousand dollars to take a cruise I would be very upset if I was next door to a crying baby both day and night. That would not be fun.[/QUOTE]

We had a carefully selected, fully covered mini suite on Emerald deck with the extended aft balcony. No way we were giving that up, screaming baby or not. At least we only had neighbors on one side, which helped. We slept with earplugs and turned the tv up loud when getting ready in the cabin. We planned this anniversary cruise for over a year and had a good time, but the constant screaming did impact our vacation. I will probably never book another mini suite knowing they have more families with the 3rd/4th passenger capacities:(

[Loonbeam]

Discounts i understand, but I've seen at least a couple posts saying infants should be free....

[quote name='pablo222']...only if they feel the need to compete with other lines
which offer discounts for 3rd / 4th / children.

If Princess can fill berths with no discounts, then that is
what they should do.[/quote]

[pablo222]

[quote name='JRT5000']Of course you do. It's this over charging of infant fares that subsidizes your cruise fare.[/QUOTE]

I thought it was people gambling in the casino who were
subsidizing my cruise fare. Or, people playing bingo.
Or people buying excursions on the ship.

...basically anything that ***I*** don't personally do / pay for!

If only there were some way for your child to be over charged
and gamble, I could cruise for free. Edited November 16, 2014 by pablo222

[pablo222]

[quote name='antsp']I do tip and never have removed them[/QUOTE]

Thank you. I think that is a fair way to treat people who are in
the tip pool.

[RDC1]

Ships are limited by a total number of lives on board. An infant counts against that total. Cruise ships are not full with two people per cabin. The cruise line plans on a number above 2 per cabin, up to the total number of lives on board. Taking an infant means that they cannot sell a spot to someone else. An infant also does not buy additional services such as excursions, shop in the stores, consume alcohol, etc. That means that as far as the economics of the cruise line is concerned an infant costs them money, with that in mind why would they not charge the same fare that they would charge someone else for the life on board slot that the infant is taking up.

Another cruise line, such as Disney, works it into their calculations, which is why their fares are higher. Edited November 17, 2014 by RDC1

[Cruisin' Chick]

[quote name='Lerin']Gratuities are always optional for everyone regardless of age.

Aside from personal family memories your 1 year old is going to get nothing out of the cruise.
We recently sailed with a 4 year old and though he went to the kid club for about an hour, he got virtually nothing that is allotted to others. Certainly not worth the $11.50 a day extra.
Typical picky preschooler: bowl of cereal in the am, fruit for lunch, and a slice of pizza for dinner. That's it, nothing in the MDR and some of what he ate was food we brought or bought in ports. The pools were freezing so he could not go in. The activities and shows were not appropriate for him in any way...

It is a silly cruise critic myth that they are working just as hard or harder to cater to a very young child. Our room steward didn't have to do anything extra at all, actually he did less considering my child shares our bath towels and doesn't leave any trash whatsoever. And the staff most certainly did not fawn over him or give him any extra attention-in fact they pretty much ignored him and looked at him like he was a disease in the MDR.

I am not ashamed to admit that on the last sea day I removed his auto tips.
We've been on a dozen cruises and this was the first time we've ever done this. This was also the only time we ever felt that the extra money was in no way justified.
Princess does not want children and families on their ships. This is obvious. We will not be back.[/quote]

[COLOR=Red]And many parents will disagree with you about their own experience bringing their little ones on a cruise. My hubby was very reluctant to take our girl anywhere but a day trip for the longest time. We finally took the plunge a month before her second birthday and despite not taking advantage of the kids' facilities, we still found plenty to do. It was a short cruise -- really to try out the girl's sea legs.

And I disagree when people suggest that just because a kid is young that an experience is wasted on them. Any positive experiences such as interesting sights and sounds stimulates the mind. Where you take your child is really based on your comfort level. Some people think you should just take your toddler to Disney. And that's it. Personally, some of us have found taking a small kid to Disneyland (I've never been to Orlando so can't speak to that) can be very taxing. And very expensive for one day if your toddler is going to be sleeping for much of the day and the rest of the time, you have to carry the kid onto a ride, keeping the stroller back in stroller parking.

But yes, we have found the crew to dote on our toddler on her first cruise and on future cruises too. Have seen little ones on our Princess cruises and I think if parents know to be considerate (being prepared to take your kid out of a dining room if fussing or out on deck if crying in the cabin -- the one time our kid was screaming on a vacation was when she was three and suffering from night terrors while we were in a Key West hotel so we took her outside and walked toward the beach til she stopped. Turned out we were more considerate than our spring-breaking neighbors who had been partying on the beach and then returned to their room at 3:30am, continuing the party there).

So just because you don't think your kid had a positive experience, it doesn't mean that the majority of 4-year-olds won't have a great time.
[/COLOR]
[quote name='shiner6']:) I understand the rules are made because somebody, somewhere left a poop filled diaper in a pool. I am not talking about that. There will always be "Jerry Springer" type people in this world, I just hope to avoid them as much as possible while on vacation, so that is why I choose Disney and Princess (based on reviews on this site and others). I am however, speaking to the full charge applied along with gratuities, because it is [COLOR=Red]only her and I in the room[/COLOR]. Grandma and grandpa are in their own room. I expected more opportunities to be available for family interaction and now the reality of Sea days is almost here and I wanted some feedback to make my decision. She will not use the kids club, or any of the Adult features and I most probably will not use many of them either since I will be caring for her. Of course, we will make the best of it and are planning some family excursions on our own. Thanks to all of you for your support and feedback, I will take it under consideration. Oh, yeah, we sail on the Star to the Caribbean in December. We are a creative family, so I am confident we will think of something to make the best of our trip.[/quote]

What I highlighted is the phrase that many of us needed to see a bit earlier. Cruise lines are going to charge your child the same as an adult since it's just two of you. Unless you find a true child sails free with one adult promotion. Personally we're not interested in those cruise lines (NCL, Costa, etc.) so I don't pay attention to the fine print on how these work.

I'm guessing this was the gran's idea to go on a cruise and they picked the cruise line. Rather than be negative about Princess (which does have a great kids' program for preschoolers on up), it seems the problem lies with a communication gap when it came to planning this vacation. But since you're going next month, why not make sure you bring the items your kid will need (extra diapers, favorite snacks, favorite toys and books, even some new ones that can be unveiled on the trip)? If you have a small DVD player, bring some movies to entertain the young one. But you may get some good ideas for other activities by doing a little reading (the family board here on CC, for example) or googling cruises/infants/activities. Maybe not going off the ship in every port.