Sail & Sign Cards for Kids...Plus Tipping Question

[papa1952]

These days it seems EVERYONE wants a freakin' tip. Is it not enough that we just spent $7,000 on a cruise? Then they want a tip for doing their job, too!

:confused: It must be your first cruise....and maybe you should make it your last. Most of those hard working people get payed from the tips and get very little from the cruise lines. But, if you tip or not, you will still get the great service, as always:mad:

[capt jl nobody]

WOW! $210 to watch your kids at Camp Carnival while you and your husband don't have to worry about them. That's outragous :eek:

 

 

Camp Carnival staff is not included in the tipping pool. I save my kids tip for them in cash.

[capt jl nobody]

Our kids are ages 7, 5 and 22 months...will they get a sail & sign card? Not that they need one AT ALL, but if I understand correctly, don't they add all gratuties to the cards? Will Carnival assume that we will leave tips for serving our children? Isn't it $10/person per day for tipping? That's outrageous if they think I'm tipping $210 just from my kids! I don't mind leaving a tip from my husband and I, but not from the kids.

 

Anyone have any experience with this? Also, what do the kids need to wear in the dining room? Can they get by with khaki shorts and polo shirt?

 

 

I agree with you 100%.

 

I save my kids tipping for camp carnival staff because they are not included in the tipping pool.

[capt jl nobody]

These days it seems EVERYONE wants a freakin' tip. Is it not enough that we just spent $7,000 on a cruise? Then they want a tip for doing their job, too!

 

 

Again You are 100% right.

 

If the cruise industry wants $70 more a person let me know and I will decide if I will go.

[MrPete]

Perhaps you should do a land vacation, and stay at an efficiency apt.

 

If and when I go on a landvacation, and I eat three meals out a day, a $10 per person tip for those three meals is a bargain, and that's just for eating!

[ParrotRob]

Our kids are ages 7, 5 and 22 months...will they get a sail & sign card? Not that they need one AT ALL, but if I understand correctly, don't they add all gratuties to the cards? Will Carnival assume that we will leave tips for serving our children? Isn't it $10/person per day for tipping? That's outrageous if they think I'm tipping $210 just from my kids! I don't mind leaving a tip from my husband and I, but not from the kids.

 

Your kids get just as much, if not MORE, service than you do. How would you like it if your room steward or your waiter refused to serve your kids because they thought it was "outrageous"?

 

Anyone have any experience with this? Also, what do the kids need to wear in the dining room? Can they get by with khaki shorts and polo shirt?

 

The dress code applies to all. Your infant can probably wear whatever infants wear, but 5 and 7 are clearly old enough to wear slacks and not shorts.

[Knights on the Beach]

If the cruise industry wants $70 more a person let me know and I will decide if I will go.

They DO let you know up front. It is in the suggested tipping guidelines on the Carnival website and in their printed material. You CAN adjust it up or down as you see fit, but it's not like Carnival is keeping it a secret that they will put it on your S&S account.

[ParrotRob]

Whoever AZ TRAVEL is is a little scary to know who I am and what cabins I am in? What else does he/she know about me? This internet is a scary place! By the way, yes, we paid $7,000 for 2 6B cabins ($1019 for 7 people)...back in February!

 

Boy did YOU get ripped off. $1019 for the first two people in each cabin I can understand, but the other three shouldn't have paid anywhere CLOSE to that.

[msbr]

These days it seems EVERYONE wants a freakin' tip. Is it not enough that we just spent $7,000 on a cruise? Then they want a tip for doing their job, too!

 

If a cruiser paid $70 for a meal, he/she would anticipate a tip of $10-14 for the meal. A cruiser traveling at $7000 for seven days has superb service around the clock. (If apple juice is needed at 2 in the morning, someone will see that apple juice is served.) When we choose to cruise, we are choosing a vacation that is service oriented. As a standard, service employees get paid tips. You are not paying the standard 15-20% tip rate you would for maid service, bar service, meal service, turn down service, etc. Paying a flat rate of $280 for 4 people, for 7 days is only a 4% tip on $7000. To vacation in a hotel for 7 days and spend $200 per day on meals, a family is going to spend almost $280 on tips. (20%)

I guess I do not understand why there is so much griping about tipping. We all know it is requested when we book. Why book if the tips and service don't sit well with the individual that booked the cruise? It shouldn't be the cabin steward's problem if the traveler thinks they've paid enough for lodging, food, entertainment, fuel, safe travel, childcare, pool service, etc. He relies on honest customers paying an honest tip for an honest days work. The customer booked the cruise knowing what expenses... tipping, alcohol, shore excursions, spa services, bingo...were NOT covered at the time of booking.

[cali-croozer]

Boy did YOU get ripped off. $1019 for the first two people in each cabin I can understand, but the other three shouldn't have paid anywhere CLOSE to that.

 

She probably just averaged it out..............cruising during peak season can get expensive:eek:

[cali-croozer]

I guess I do not understand why there is so much griping about tipping. We all know it is requested when we book.

I think it might be because of all the on-line or over the phone bookings and some people don't look at all of the details, just the bottom line (price). I, personally, love looking at printed brochures and have always read the terms and conditions in the back so there have been no surpises on tips, dress codes, ship layout, location of cabin, etc. It's all there if you take the time to read it. ;)

[viciouslysh]

She probably just averaged it out..............cruising during peak season can get expensive:eek:

 

 

Yes it's way higher during peak season! Ours is close to 5k. Two adults and 2 kids. That's with tip. But I don't mind tipping more for the wonderful service they provide.

[truecruiser]

Our kids are ages 7, 5 and 22 months...will they get a sail & sign card? Not that they need one AT ALL, but if I understand correctly, don't they add all gratuties to the cards? Will Carnival assume that we will leave tips for serving our children? Isn't it $10/person per day for tipping? That's outrageous if they think I'm tipping $210 just from my kids! I don't mind leaving a tip from my husband and I, but not from the kids.

 

Anyone have any experience with this? Also, what do the kids need to wear in the dining room? Can they get by with khaki shorts and polo shirt?

 

what is it w/ you people and tipping tonight? oye. i'm staring at the screen in disbelief. :rolleyes:

 

you asked OP -- so here you go--

 

YES. i have dealt w/ this. my kids have been cruising since they were babies (as young as 7 months) and i have always tipped for the entire family; req'd or not. what is it w/ you? is it just the initial shock?

 

have you ever been on a cruise before? i ask b/c this "shocker" that you are experiencing now will seem like a mere pittance to you once you get on board and see how hard these people work -- until all hours of the morning-- polishing handrails; shampooing carpets; prepping food; the list goes on and on.

 

if you are not normally "super frugal" shall we say, this will be a non-issue for you once you board. and the fact that you don 't even have to pay for the baby shld give you some solace.

 

but, i'll give you something else to dread: if you use camp carnival you should absolutely tip them something. it is not required, but they receive no portion of our daily tips and they do an outstanding job. they really deserve it, though i think you will see that right away, first hand. so an extra couple of bucks to the head counselor at the end of the cruise (to be "div-ied" btwn the counselors) wld be a very nice gesture.;)

[rdytocruz]

We took our 17 year old granddaughter on cruises with us when she was 11 and again when she was 13. The waiters always paid special attention to her and ran to get anything special that she wanted including a banana split. He made her a doll from a napkin and we always had extra towel animals plus there was extra mess to clean up after her. Do you think we did not tip for her? No, we tipped the $10.00 a day and left extra. Children require much more attention than adults and she felt like a princess.

[truecruiser]

These days it seems EVERYONE wants a freakin' tip. Is it not enough that we just spent $7,000 on a cruise? Then they want a tip for doing their job, too!

 

uh hum...they're in a service industry...hello? not the same as the guy delivering my frig, which i paid a delivery charge for, lookin' for a tip. he is not getting a waitstaff wage where tips good or bad comprise the bulk of his income.

 

service industry...service industry.... just keep sayin' that to yourself, LOL.

[msbr]

We took our 17 year old granddaughter on cruises with us when she was 11 and again when she was 13. The waiters always paid special attention to her and ran to get anything special that she wanted including a banana split. He made her a doll from a napkin and we always had extra towel animals plus there was extra mess to clean up after her. Do you think we did not tip for her? No, we tipped the $10.00 a day and left extra. Children require much more attention than adults and she felt like a princess.

 

Ditto!!! Our girls started cruising early as well, our oldest was four months on her first voyage! Our last two cruises with preteens have seen the service attention go to the girls! Chocolate chip cookies on their pillows when the steward realized the little chocolate squares were not being eaten, steak on the side at dinner, just in case they did not like the item they were trying, chocolate milk waiting at the table, extra pillows and towels for the long hair, yada, yada...my girls also feel like princesses when they cruise.

[msbr]

We took our 17 year old granddaughter on cruises with us when she was 11 and again when she was 13. The waiters always paid special attention to her and ran to get anything special that she wanted including a banana split. He made her a doll from a napkin and we always had extra towel animals plus there was extra mess to clean up after her. Do you think we did not tip for her? No, we tipped the $10.00 a day and left extra. Children require much more attention than adults and she felt like a princess.

 

Ditto!!! Our girls started cruising early as well, our oldest was four months on her first voyage! Our last two cruises with preteens have seen the service attention go to the girls! Chocolate chip cookies on their pillows when the steward realized the little chocolate squares were not being eaten, steak on the side at dinner, just in case they did not like the item they were trying, chocolate milk waiting at the table, extra pillows and towels for the long hair, yada, yada...my girls also feel like princesses when they cruise.

[Manatee Mom]

My kids have been sailing since 6 months. I always try to clean up after them. Some ships they are treated like kings and on a couple we had really bad stewards. tip on the service they give to how much work you give them.

depending on their age would determine the dress in the dinning room. on "formal nights" they should not wear shorts or jeans. but on regular nights if they wear nice dress shorts and a collar shirt they are fine. we are talking about carnival here, other cruise lines have more formal dinning room dress codes.

Again tip the camp staff depending on the service. We have had great counslers and bad ones.

FYI - it works out to the same price or less to divide your family into 2 cabins, and much easier with 2 bathrooms. try it next time.

[hstrybuf]

Boy did YOU get ripped off. $1019 for the first two people in each cabin I can understand, but the other three shouldn't have paid anywhere CLOSE to that.

 

I was thinking the same thing! :eek: Granted, she did say there were 7 of them, but that's a huge amount if you have a third and fourth passenger in a cabin. Maybe that includes airfare?

[truecruiser]

I agree with you 100%.

 

I save my kids tipping for camp carnival staff because they are not included in the tipping pool.

 

are you saying that you remove your kids $10 pp/per day tips and give nothing in its place?

 

Again You are 100% right.

 

If the cruise industry wants $70 more a person let me know and I will decide if I will go.

 

okay. the cruise industry wld like $70 more per person for a 7 day cruise.

 

now that you know, you can decide if you'd like to go.

[hstrybuf]

My kids have been sailing since 6 months. I always try to clean up after them. Some ships they are treated like kings and on a couple we had really bad stewards. tip on the service they give to how much work you give them.

depending on their age would determine the dress in the dinning room. on "formal nights" they should not wear shorts or jeans. but on regular nights if they wear nice dress shorts and a collar shirt they are fine. we are talking about carnival here, other cruise lines have more formal dinning room dress codes.

Again tip the camp staff depending on the service. We have had great counslers and bad ones.

FYI - it works out to the same price or less to divide your family into 2 cabins, and much easier with 2 bathrooms. try it next time.

 

Carnival also requires that children follow the same dress code as adults. Besides, those little legs could freeze in the dining rooms I've been in on every cruise.

[Manatee Mom]

Carnival also requires that children follow the same dress code as adults. Besides, those little legs could freeze in the dining rooms I've been in on every cruise.

 

I bet you dress in your prom dress on formal night......

everybody comes from different places and has different styles they say resort casual. Living in florida my entire life, resort casual is not wearing a work suit to dinner. Anyways jeans are allowed in the dinning room my kids dress shorts are nicer and more comfortable. My 8 year old has been on 13 cruises depending on the cruise line is how we dress. carnival is the most casual of all! remember it's vacation for everyone including the kids and we should all be comfortable. (we have never been asked to leave a dinning room because of how we were dressed) Enjoy your cruise and be comfortable!:o

[deelovescruising]

With all this talk about tipping. Isn't it much easier to buy a soda card for your kids? One question though, when my teen buys a soda with this card, how is the tipping handled?

[skyscanr]

Damm only 1k a piece for a 7 day vaction room and board. The funny part is we are paying close to that for 4 folks ( we gave the kids thier own cabin so we could have some snuggle time ). We tip well when we are on vaction as we want to be taken acre of and tend to treat and tip people well who mke every thing nice for us .

 

Last year my youngest (7 then) loved camp carnival so well we paid for her to go some nights cause she begged and then tipped them very well.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I was thinking the same thing! :eek: Granted, she did say there were 7 of them, but that's a huge amount if you have a third and fourth passenger in a cabin. Maybe that includes airfare?

 

I don't think it includes air if she recently booked. Right now a 6B triple cabin cost $3036 and a quad 6A as 6B quads are sold out is costing $3828.

 

These are prime summer months and the 3rd and 4th are $749 each.

 

Whoever AZ TRAVEL is is a little scary to know who I am and what cabins I am in? What else does he/she know about me? This internet is a scary place! By the way, yes, we paid $7,000 for 2 6B cabins ($1019 for 7 people)...back in February!

Reply With Quote

 

What's scary? We also know you are booked on the June 17th sailing of the Conquest and what your cabin numbers are. Anything you put on this website stays there for the world to see, just as everything anybody else post is available to the world.

 

Just click on anybodies name on their post and you can view all their past post.

 

If there is something you don't want known you shouldn't post it here.:)

 

Bill