How much (and when) do you tip the Camp staff?

[asylum575]

As previously posted, I tip $10/day. I tip the same for sea days as well as port days, where DS may only be there for a couple of hours in the afternoon/evening. This allows us a quiet dinner after feeding him with room service in the room. $10 to allow us a romantic dinner is well worth it.

[amybeth601]

As previously posted, I tip $10/day. I tip the same for sea days as well as port days, where DS may only be there for a couple of hours in the afternoon/evening. This allows us a quiet dinner after feeding him with room service in the room. $10 to allow us a romantic dinner is well worth it.

Asylum575, I agree wholeheartedly with you! :D

 

Thanks all for the suggestions. I hate the thought that I would not have otherwise known about tipping the kid's club staff if I hadn't read everyone's posts! I know it seems like a no-brainer, but I usually follow the tipping recommendations that the cruise lines give to their guests. Maybe I've overlooked it in the past because I was cruising with just DH, but I don't ever remember seeing any suggested amounts for tipping the kid's room staff....:confused: Oh well, at least now I have an idea of what to tip! Thanks!

 

Amy

[mary_228]

Would you still recommend tipping for teenagers who don't really use a camp counselor, they are just using the camp space to hang out in. I sure tip my cabin steward and waiters etc, but what does the counselor do for the teen group? If so, how much?

I suppose it would be best to ask your child if the staff member did anything with them. On one cruise, there was a special dinner on formal night and everyone had to be gotten together, brought to the dining room, posed for a group photo on the staircase. There were so many kids who turned out for the program, I suppose there must have been something good going on. On other cruises the program was more disappointing and the activites were never happening as scheduled. I wouldn't feel obligated to tip in that situation.

[mary_228]

I would also like to mention that if you run into a great kids club staff member that went above and beyond with your child, please write a letter or mention them SPECIFICALLY on your cruise evaluation sheet. The cruise line puts all their individual kudos in their personell file. A kids club supervisor told me that this is the best way for GOOD staff to be rewarded.

This is absolutely the case. DD told me the cruise line takes passsenger comments very seriously. It's so much easier to get worked up about a bad experience and take the time to leave that feedback, but when things run well, we tend to take them for granted.

[cardbucfan]

Mary, thanks for the tip. I'll be sure to ask him how much interaction there was and make my decision based on that. He'll be with me on all excursions and all dinners but I probably won't see him much other than that!

[highbridge5]

Would you still recommend tipping for teenagers who don't really use a camp counselor, they are just using the camp space to hang out in. I sure tip my cabin steward and waiters etc, but what does the counselor do for the teen group? If so, how much?

 

I don't have teenagers but have been around a group of 10 or 12 pre-teens (7th and 8th graders) at a halloween party.

 

I, for one, think that anyone who has the patience, the volume and the authoritative presence to keep a group of teens from hurting themselves or others and damaging any property in the process (not on purpose but the play can get a bit rowdy) while still letting them be teenagers and have fun deserves as much of a tip as the person who helps my 4 year old use his scissors properly or helps put the straw in his juice box.

 

JMHO.

 

highbridge5

[Warmer Climes]

I tip between $70-100 for the week for my daughter. I also take the time to fill out comment cards and recognize the exceptional staff by name.

 

Barb

[MamaParrotHead]

I ended up tipping each kids' camp $20 per kid on the last night. We only had 2 sea days and they rarely went in the evenings for long.

[mary_228]

Asylum575, I agree wholeheartedly with you! :D

 

Thanks all for the suggestions. I hate the thought that I would not have otherwise known about tipping the kid's club staff if I hadn't read everyone's posts! I know it seems like a no-brainer, but I usually follow the tipping recommendations that the cruise lines give to their guests. Maybe I've overlooked it in the past because I was cruising with just DH, but I don't ever remember seeing any suggested amounts for tipping the kid's room staff....:confused: Oh well, at least now I have an idea of what to tip! Thanks!

 

Amy

Don't feel bad! You are completely right that there is no info or suggestions for tipping this department. I have read here on CC that some cruise lines, NCL, for one, actually keep tip envelopes at the kids program registration desk, so it's pretty obvious that people might consider tipping. However there has never been anything on the three lines I've sailed on and there unfortunately isn't one for HAL, either. I am happy to get the word out, even if my DD never works another sailing again. There is so much misinformation :( out there that makes me want to do what I can to correct it.

[highbridge5]

On our 7 day cruise:

 

My youngest used the camp for about 7 hours.

My middle child for about 9 hours and

my oldest for about 13 hours total.

 

6 of these hours were during the period where you pay for the service.

 

I'm pretty sure I left $20 for each age group - or $60.

 

hb5

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

I don't have teenagers but have been around a group of 10 or 12 pre-teens (7th and 8th graders) at a halloween party.

 

I, for one, think that anyone who has the patience, the volume and the authoritative presence to keep a group of teens from hurting themselves or others and damaging any property in the process (not on purpose but the play can get a bit rowdy) while still letting them be teenagers and have fun deserves as much of a tip as the person who helps my 4 year old use his scissors properly or helps put the straw in his juice box.

 

JMHO.

 

highbridge5

 

LOL!!! I totally agree!! :p

[BO HANSON]

Wow, I'm glad I ran across this post. This being our first cruise, with a family in tow, It never occured to me that tipping wasn't out of the "tipping pool" that I've come to know through past cruises. I would feel like a serious dunce knowing that the staff taking care of the ...now... most valuable part of my cruise experience (the happines of our kids), are not getting any of that tip as recommended by the cruise lines.

 

....In all the literature, you get the hint that there are extra tips to be expected, and should be budgeted for. It seems odd to me that there is no heads up that the kids counselors aren't on a different pay scale that it's not an issue....

 

Not complaining here at all, like I wrote earlier that I would have felt like an idiot for not recognizing that it "might" be expected.

[geegee1]

A few weeks ago on NCL GEM the last night of the cruise the Kids club had empty envelopes with "Thanks" written on them when you checked your child in. Which was great. Because neither my wife or I even thought about bringing envelopes with us. It was a nice reminder to make sure to tip them for the great job they did. We ended up tipping $70 for the 7 days. Glad to see that we were in the range of most other people.

[jam82]

I would like to know if you usually tip each day, expecially during babysitting hours. On our last cruise we only tipped at the end ($200 for the week.) However, I felt a little funny about not giving them a tip when we picked up our DS at the end of each day. In the past, I've given them a small tip if we pick him up at night and then a larger tip at the end of the cruise. However, my husband suggested we not do that this time because it might seem like that was all we were going to give them and it doesn't seem like that much money if they have to split the daily tip. What should we do next time?

[siciliankiss76]

I was actually a youth counsellor on the Carnival Destiny about 10 years ago. Most families just tipped at the end of the week. I know we charged for babysitting hours and the parents would have to sign the sail and sign reciept - and soimetimes i think they'd put something extra on there, like rounding it up. But in 90% of the cases, it would just be in an envelope at the end of the week. And yes, it was split among all the staff working that cruise regardless of what age group. Which is good, because the teen club families didn't tip as often, and the youth counsellors are not in charge of the scheduling..

 

And just for a point of reference, I earned $400 US per week (10 years ago) and tips would average anywhere from $30 a week to $150 a week per staff member...

 

I will be sailing with my 4 year old in April, and I'll be sure to bring some extra money for the staff at the kids club:)

[jam82]

That's good insider information. Thanks for responding.

[mary_228]

I thought a bump would be in order as families get ready to sail this summer.

[NicoLee]

Great thread,

 

We are going on Oasis of the seas in Sep. w/ my 12mo DD. we are so happy they have a program for infants, but It's at a cost of $8 per hour. How much should i tip? i have no problem w/ the cost as we are really excited about some adult time ( please hurry Sep. LOL!!) I also know how much extra time and effort it takes to care for infants.

 

Thanks!!!

[jam82]

When my son was under two I would tip about $5 per hour.

[mnmfischel]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my daughter works in the youth staff aboard a mid market cruise line. The staff are required to have college degrees and some relevant experience with caring for children, which in my DD's case, was indeed as a camp counselor, albeit at a multi-week sleepaway camp in the wilderness. So I suppose you can consider them "professionals", but when you consider that the pay is less than $400 per week, I think you might have another opinion. As many cruisers here have mentioned, the gratefulness that comes from having carefully screened individuals ensure your child's good time onboard while you relax on your own is most definitely appreciated in the form of a tip! Of course, if your child was unhappy there, or you were in some way disatisfied, that's another story. Pretty much all tips onboard at discretionary, except for the bar bill, and it took a lot less time to pour that beer or mix that cocktail than amuse your children.;)

 

 

For some reason, I forgot to add this into my budget. Amazing, the people who will be taking care of my two year old. How embarrasing! I tip the teachers yearly at my little one's school, and if my kid here is well taken care of, they deserve a tip even more than, well...everyone :) Thanks so much for the reminder!!