Tipping for Children?

[debs2028]

I disagree. I realise it is the policy and will therefore pay the tips as recommended. But traditionally children do pay less. They get reduced air fares, cinema tickets, meals which can be the same as an adult meal but charged less, bus tickets;etc etc

 

I agree that children can make more mess but I make mine tidy it up themselves

 

Cruise lines get a lot of extra revenue by tapping into the family market,from the children themselves and the adults that perhaps would not concider cruising in what was the old tradition

 

The concept of tipping such large amounts is not;the way British people normally do things. Therefore;they find it hard to understand

 

US citizens tip at least 15 to 20% for meal service while typically Brits leave a maximum of 10% in London it is a little higher

 

It is a different way of doing things and I abide by the traditions of the country but it doesn't make it right!!

[pcur]

I disagree. I realise it is the policy and will therefore pay the tips as recommended. But traditionally children do pay less. They get reduced air fares, cinema tickets, meals which can be the same as an adult meal but charged less, bus tickets;etc etc

 

I agree that children can make more mess but I make mine tidy it up themselves

 

Cruise lines get a lot of extra revenue by tapping into the family market,from the children themselves and the adults that perhaps would not concider cruising in what was the old tradition

 

The concept of tipping such large amounts is not;the way British people normally do things. Therefore;they find it hard to understand

 

US citizens tip at least 15 to 20% for meal service while typically Brits leave a maximum of 10% in London it is a little higher

 

It is a different way of doing things and I abide by the traditions of the country but it doesn't make it right!!

 

The problem is you are referring to services above for children that are not related to the children LIVING somewhere and getting nonstop service. Even if your children are tidying up after themselves they are still using towels, sheets, etc. that need to be changed and washed. Cruise ships should not be included in the same category as short-term or one-stop pricing. They don't "use" the facilities any less than an adult, except they don't eat as much. Food on a cruise ship is the CHEAPEST part for the cruise line to provide, so the more expensive services are what you are paying and tipping for.

 

I see that it IS right on a cruise ship to pay for children. I know that Europeans are not as accustomed to tipping, but it really is part of the cruise price. If you were to consider it as such it might not be such a burden.

[coordinator23]

My grandaughter will be a little over six months when she cruises with us (in a family group). We will be covering the "tips" for her. She will be using a pack n play, which the room steward will be setting up and taking down every day. While the dining room staff will not be "serving" her, there will be a high chair brought out and I'm sure baby food will get all over the tray, so there will be clean up. We will make sure everyone is tipped. We did the same thing on our last cruise with my son and his then 2 children. It lessened the expense for him and his wife. They appreciated it along with the crew.

Before anybody panics:eek:. Our cabins are Aft. The baby's room is between the hull of the ship and ours. No one should hear her if she starts teething.:) We planned it that way!!

I agree with other posts, everyone went out of their way for both of my grandaughters who were under 2 1/2 at the time. They looked forward to being fussed over at meal time and finding strange towel animals at night:)

[1st mate]

Yes, full amount. You may be inclined to up the amount when you see how they treat the kids.

 

 

I fully agree!!!!!!!!!

 

Kids are more work, mine included, except they are grown now, but always tipped for them. Full amount, the crew will earn it!!!!!!

[SamFritz]

Besides, the children typically sleep on fold-out sofas or pull-down type beds which are even more work for the cabin steward to make up every day than the regular beds for the parents.

 

Another way to look at it is that if you were all adults, nobody would even be questioning whether a short person should pay less than a tall one.

 

Anytime I use a fold out sofa, I close it up in the morning. This never occurred to me before, but what should we do on the ship when we wake up? Should I have my boys close up the sofa, or should it be left out so that sheets can be changed? And what about at night. Does the Cabin Steward open it up and make the bed while we are out at dinner and the show, or does it stay closed up until we come back and decide to pull it out?

[Happy ks]

TP Keller has shared this tip calculator with us for years now:

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

We started cruising when our kids were 6 and 9 years old and have never considered reducing the tips for servers or attendants.

[Kittycatwlv]

I agree entirely regarding dining room staff. They are absolute stars keeping the kids entertained etc. I was thinking more of the stateroom attendant. Seems a little excessive that you should pay more than twice the amount for what amounts to the same service.

 

I tend to agree, there's still only one cabin and bath to clean. There are extra beds so maybe half for the kids would be fair.

[unklez]

..........nobody would even be questioning whether a short person should pay less than a tall one.......

 

That made me laugh...

[unklez]

TP Keller has shared this tip calculator with us for years now:

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

 

We started cruising when our kids were 6 and 9 years old and have never considered reducing the tips for servers or attendants.

 

TP Keller's calculator offers two choices for kids. Full tips or 1/2 tips. In theory I agree that full tips should be paid for kids. I can also see why people expect to pay less than full for kids. I suggest you go in with an open mind and pay what you think is right.

[unklez]

I tend to agree, there's still only one cabin and bath to clean. There are extra beds so maybe half for the kids would be fair.

 

What if there were adults in those extra beds?

[MrPete]

I tend to agree, there's still only one cabin and bath to clean. There are extra beds so maybe half for the kids would be fair.

 

There's no such thing as a kid fare, and there's no such thing as a kid tip (over 2, but that's another story).

[SEASONEDCRUZER]

I disagree. I realise it is the policy and will therefore pay the tips as recommended. But traditionally children do pay less. They get reduced air fares, cinema tickets, meals which can be the same as an adult meal but charged less, bus tickets;etc etc

 

I agree that children can make more mess but I make mine tidy it up themselves

 

Cruise lines get a lot of extra revenue by tapping into the family market,from the children themselves and the adults that perhaps would not concider cruising in what was the old tradition

 

The concept of tipping such large amounts is not;the way British people normally do things. Therefore;they find it hard to understand

 

US citizens tip at least 15 to 20% for meal service while typically Brits leave a maximum of 10% in London it is a little higher

 

It is a different way of doing things and I abide by the traditions of the country but it doesn't make it right!!

 

REALLY?:rolleyes: If tipping is so hard to understand for Brits,then how come the waiters didn't try to give me back all the "extra" money we left at the tables when we were in the UK last time? I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ here but really, good service deserves reward no matter how old the recipient!

 

Kids, no matter whether they are tidy or not use the same amounts of bedding (more work though in most cases as their beds tend to be upper berths or pull out sofas) towels, and create as much garbage as an adult so full tips and then some for everyone who makes your cruise a memorable one. Budget the cost into the holiday, it's only fair to all the hard working staff who make us happy cruisers :D

[constantcruiser]

I totally agree that every passenger should pay the full tip--regardless of their age. On our recent 3-generation cruise, our grandchildren ate in the dining room only the first night. After that, they wanted to grab something quick in the WJ or order room service so they wouldn't miss any of the activities at Adventure Ocean. But our waiter didn't forget about them -- at the end of every dinner, he brought four boxes to our table with special desserts for the kids! Often it was something that was specially decorated to be kid-friendly and truly personal. When we picked the kids up from AO after the show, they couldn't wait to see what special treats were waiting for them.

[Happy ks]

TP Keller's calculator offers two choices for kids. Full tips or 1/2 tips. In theory I agree that full tips should be paid for kids. I can also see why people expect to pay less than full for kids. I suggest you go in with an open mind and pay what you think is right.

 

 

Yes, I know.

[Langley Cruisers]

I was thinking more of the stateroom attendant. Seems a little excessive that you should pay more than twice the amount for what amounts to the same service.

 

 

I tend to agree, there's still only one cabin and bath to clean. There are extra beds so maybe half for the kids would be fair.

 

 

Wow. Just... wow.

 

One cabin, one bath, but are you really saying that cleaning up after four people in a cabin would not be more difficult than one or two? :confused:

[amybeth4]

Anytime I use a fold out sofa, I close it up in the morning. This never occurred to me before, but what should we do on the ship when we wake up? Should I have my boys close up the sofa, or should it be left out so that sheets can be changed? And what about at night. Does the Cabin Steward open it up and make the bed while we are out at dinner and the show, or does it stay closed up until we come back and decide to pull it out?

 

You can close it up in the morning if you're gonna be in the cabin for a while and really need the room, but I'm not sure your sheets will be changed (then again, who changes their home shees every day???). Personally I do always tidy up my cabin but I wouldn't go as far as closing up the bed. And the steward will certainly reopen it for you when you're at dinner. You're on vacation! :)

[Vacation Boy]

I agree with most who have posted, tip in full even for the kiddo's, if not more. I have sailed with my son, who is just about to be 4, a total of 5 times. I think back to the days of the dirty diapers, full tip? you better believe it...... When on vacation he likes to sleep with Mommy and Daddy so there is no extra bed to make up, but there is always extra towel animals. The dinning room staff always seem to go out of their way for kids, bring food for them out quicker, bring extra stuff for them to snack on while we are working our way through our 2 or 3 appetizers, etc.

 

Now on a side note, but not to take away from the thread. Have you ever walked by a cabin and happened to see inside some cabins where clothes are thrown all around, on the floor, on the sofa, just a complete mess? I am not saying that it is cabins with just kids, some adults do that as well, but how in the world do the cabin stewards work around that? I would hope that if kids are "destroying" a cabin in that fashion their parents are paying more than the rest of us in tips for the cabin steward, but who knows. Cabins are fairly small as it is, so even the smallest amount of clutter seems worse than what it is.

 

We clean up at home, (border on neat freaks), and therefore our cabin on a cruise is always tidy as well.

[DNLs_mum]

I've booked at RCCL cruise for the whole family in Dec. My parents, my husband and I and our 3 kids (12, 10 and 3). I have prepaid all gratuity and its the same amount for all 7 including the 3 year old. ;)

[LuckiePuris]

Out of curiousity, how much is the recommended daily tipping amount for children?

 

I know that for adults, the amount is just under $10.00 US Dollars per passenger per day.

[DC2OC]

Out of curiousity, how much is the recommended daily tipping amount for children?

 

I know that for adults, the amount is just under $10.00 US Dollars per passenger per day.

 

 

The same as adults

[unklez]

Out of curiousity, how much is the recommended daily tipping amount for children?

 

I know that for adults, the amount is just under $10.00 US Dollars per passenger per day.

 

LOL. Nice try ....

[unklez]

Out of curiousity, how much is the recommended daily tipping amount for children?

 

I know that for adults, the amount is just under $10.00 US Dollars per passenger per day.

 

The charge is per __passenger__ - whether adult, kid, senior, student, retired, working, laid-off, fired, self-employed, american, british, aussie, ...., male, female, married, single, ...., straight, bi, gay, lesbian, etc ...... lol

[LuckiePuris]

Thanks for the replies.

 

We dont have any children in our group and have already prepaid our gratuities, so this doesnt affect us.

 

But was wondering what families with a few children do.

[MrPete]

But was wondering what families with a few children do.

 

They probably go to the shore, and mom cooks.

[unklez]

They probably go to the shore, and mom cooks.

 

And some others go for cruises and tip and some others go for cruises and stiff the staff.