Tipping in Kids Club

[lumpkin8]

I have to put in my 2 Cents.....altho many kids club staff are deserving of recognition, I too was told that they are trained professionals, and paid as such. Their wages are not figured to be dependent on tips. I do not tip my children's school teachers, and my understanding was that the kids club staff are trained teachers. Yes, they are young, but they are advertised as having degrees and being professionals. They are not summer camp counselors (who are usually HS and college teens and who are usually paid below minimum wage).

This being said, of course a tip is allowed.....I just don't think it is an expectation for their salaries.

[SmokinActuary]

We took our daughter on the Zuiderdam during Easter Week 2007 and she was treated so well that we tipped the counselors $50 for the week.

 

HAL may not have the bells and whistles of other cruise lines for kids, but they did right by my 9 year old.

[asylum575]

I tipped $50 last month on the NCL Jewel. It was a 5 nighter and my DS loved it. I figured $10 a day sounded about right.

[calikak]

I figure, if the autotip is $10 a day and that's split between all the cabin stewards (more than one works on your room) and the wait staff (2 waiters per table, plus the wine steward and I think other people behind the scenes share in that pool), then $10 a day to the couple of kids' club staff who work with my kid each day is probably a little excessive, especially considering they get a real salary. I'll probably go with more like $5 per day.

 

I can attest from personal experience that the pay at summer camps is indeed lousy (and we were not allowed to accept tips). But it was still the best job I ever had--hiking in the woods, playing games, going boating...definitely made up for the occassional bed-wetter or puker, and the low pay.

[Ilivetogo]

the occassional bed-wetter or puker, and the low pay.

 

 

Eeewww ;)

[Warmer Climes]

I have to tell you my DD's (age 10) take on this subject- she wonders about the correlation between non-tippers and the obnoxiousness of their kids. Your thoughts?

[jam82]

My son has been on 3 crusies since he turned two. The counselors were great and gave him alot of attention. (And changed diapers for which I think they deserve extra) They always said he was well behaved and they enjoyed having him. True or not, I appreciated their service and thoughtfulness. We tipped $20-$25 per day. The first time I tipped each day, but after that we saved it all for the end and gave it to them the last night. One of the girls told me that they split all tips. I hope they really did.

 

I like to know if most people wait until the end or give it as you go along.

[VikkiGarcia]

I don't know if this would matter to anyone but I had a nice conversation with a councelor while on a transcanal cruise. He had the day off for the crossing (his first canal) so he was out on deck watching like everyone else. I tried not to ask too many questions but he seemed interested in a conversation. He said that they pool the tips each sailing and everyone was really good about splitting them out evenly. That he is trying not to spend his "sallary" money and make do with the pocket money weekly. He is using all his paycheck to pay off student loans. He said most kids club staff was trying to work on the ship long enough to pay off college loans. That once he is back in the "real" world it would be hard to pay off these debts and have a teaching job. He had heard that working on a ship after college was a way to do something different and he was enjoying it greatly.

[doctordi]

My kids have been on 4 cruises and I will admit that I have only tipped the camp staff once. They went above and beyond for my kids. The other cruises, the staff was professional and fun, but they did not do an outstanding job. I was considering tipping on my last NCL cruise, but I am really turned off by people begging for a tip - and putting the envelopes out on the sign in table seemed like begging to me. And so by essentially asking for a tip they lost theirs.

 

I hate being reminded to tip on excursions also and will reduce what I was going to tip by 20 to 50% if they ask for one.

[flsunnymommy]

On one cruise, the staff really made my son feel welcomed. He does have special needs and they were accommodating. He loved them and has pictures with the staff and still knows all of their names. One day in port we stayed on ship and he wanted to go to Adventure Ocean. He was the only kid there and he still stayed. They even paged me and asked if I wanted to have a picnic with them. They were amazing and on a 4 day cruise the two staff members he loved got a $50 tip each. They made his and my vacation.

 

The next cruise, I tipped nothing as he did not like the staff.

[Lady_Jag]

We just got off the Carnival Glory, and thanks to this post, I included the camp counsellors in my tips. I also wrote a thank you note from my 3-year-old and let her "sign" the card. Then she handed the note and tip to one of her counsellors when we returned our pager on the last night.

 

We didn't tip a whole lot since we weren't sure what would be considered "appropriate," - just a little over $7 per day, but we did want to extend a small gesture of appreciation to them at least.

 

My daughter had a great time at camp, and both my hubby and I noticed that her speech has improved in just the short time she was on the cruise. (She has Developmental Apraxia of Speech.) Camp Carnival did wonders for her!

[gracie65]

Our son is now 9 and has been on 3 Carnival cruises. The last two were 7 days. I don't remember the exact amount but I think I tipped about $80.00. I base the tip on how well the Counselors are & how much time he spends there, which is usually a lot. Where else can you take a family vacation & also know you're kids are so well taken care of.

[mary_228]

The child care folks are highly trained and paid professional employees--no tipping is necessary or expected!

 

I don't know where this poster is getting his (mis)information. My daughter is working as a youth staff member and her salary is $55 per day, hardly highly paid IMO. I am glad to read of so many generous families who give such generous tips.

[steamboats]

On the NCL Jade and Gem we were informed that the youth councellors are not included in the tip pool. There was a separate box in the kids club where you were able to drop your tip. It was pretty obvious that you should tip them.

 

On our recent RCI cruise we did not see any information or box in AO. We just handed over an envelope to one of the councellors. As she was German we chatted a while whith her and asked her about tipping. She answered that it is highly appreciated. But no signs, no box (and RCI doesn´t even hand out extra tipping envelopes. You have to use the ones out of your stationary). BTW the kids´ staff on the Serenade of the Seas was just great and on the first night we had two kids (including my 9 yo DD) who were crying because they didn´t want to leave (at 10 pm of course).

 

steamboats