Tipping for kids

[first-time-with-kids]

We're going on the same cruise as you "First Time With Kids" - 4th June for 2 weeks (Sea Princess)!! We're taking our kids too and was worried that there wouldn't be that many others on board because of the time of the year. We've got a 10 year old and a 7 year old - how old are your kids? And will they be using the kids club too?

 

Hi

 

Sam's 11 on Friday, Lucy's 8. What about yours? Princess told me there are 127 kids on board so it will be fine.

 

Are you on any excursions. I have megotiated a 4 hour taxi from staring rates of 240 euros to 140 for 4 hours for us to see Pompeii. The rest of the ports will be a walk and a drink, maybe a tourist train or something like that. This is a real one-off for us and had broken the bank so we need to be careful.

 

Re tipping we will see how it goes and are bidgeting for it but are taking dollars and will do it our way.

 

Look forward to hearing back from you.

 

Nick

 

nickhulme@dsl.pipex.com

[donna5]

I removed my daughter's tips from our account. I do not know how you paid for your child (adult or child fare), but I shared a cabin alone with her, so I paid the adult fare for her. More than enough for me considering she ate chicken fingers every night LOL I did leave my auto-tip on though. Our room steward was excellent, so I gave him extra. Our waiter was mediocre, so I only gave the auto-tip for him. It's really your own personal preference. The room steward went above and beyond, and he was compensated for it. The waiter brought my daughter a plate of chicken fingers every night ... nothing extra ... no talking, no playing, no joking around. It was a shame, really.

Unless the room steward never cleaned the room, or replaced towels, I think it kind of low class to not pay the stewards tips. Did your daughter not sleep in the room, not use the shower, sink, towels, ammenities, water glass, or towels? We don't get entertained at dinner either, should all of us remove the tips? (Maybe disney next time) When you add up the cost of all the food you ate, during the whole day, including snacking, trip to buffet etc. figure out what 15-20% would be. I'll bet for most, it would probably be more than the recommended tip.

If the service was real bad for a meal, or consistently bad, I could see you then taking off some tips, but also bringing to the attention of the maitre'd or pursers office, why and who the offender is. Unless that's the case, you are stiffing the crew and setting a very bad example for your daughter. With this kind of attitude I can see why some cruise lines are making tips mandatory as a service charge. Go ahead ruin it for the rest of us. :mad:

[Toto2Kansas]

I have been told from friends that there are some countries that make you pre-pay your tips in your cruise fare. This could end up happening to everyone if this sort of thing continues. :(

[bdjam]

I removed my daughter's tips from our account. I do not know how you paid for your child (adult or child fare), but I shared a cabin alone with her, so I paid the adult fare for her. More than enough for me considering she ate chicken fingers every night LOL

I think it’s already been pointed out, but just in case, the $10 per person gratuity covers more than just the dining room waiter’s share. It also takes care of those who are working in the kitchens, those working in Horizon Court, and those who take care of the stateroom. I realize that all the money paid to the cruise line comes out of one pocket, but the fare paid is not going to the same place as gratuities. This is one reason I never question them – in a way, it’s an advantage for the passenger in that they can directly pay those who offer them service without any middle-man meddling by management.

The room steward went above and beyond, and he was compensated for it.

One of the things that Princess does very poorly is to relate how the auto-tip works. It’s been rehashed here many times that if you remove the auto-tip from your account and tip in cash, that cash is put into the pool and split over all those who are eligible for part of that pool. In this case, the room steward was probably not compensated for his “above and beyond” because part of the auto-tip was removed. The additional cash given to him was more than likely put in the pool to make up for the removed auto-tip…not to mention the auto-tip is used as a way to rate performance…so the room steward possibly suffered in that area as well.

These jobs are a lifeline to a majority of these folks, and to watch how badly they get treated by a lot of people on board is terrible. You can boo-hoo all you want about not being able to afford to tip for the kids, but the bottom line is the fact you're able to go on a cruise AT ALL says you have more money than most of them will ever dream of. Have a good time on your cruise, enjoy your vacation but don't forget these are real people with real families who deserve our respect. That waiter who doesn't "do any tricks or entertain you" enough is probably missing his wife and/or children like crazy, and having to pretend like he lives to serve you.

Couldn’t have said it better myself, and when budgeting my cruise dollar, I take into consideration the auto-tip.

I have not seen any services on Princess deteriorating, room steward or wait staff - We have cruised before and after the auto tip and have seen no difference at all.

I totally agree – I have cruised with Princess pre-auto-tip and post-auto-tip and haven’t seen any difference in the service levels. If service on board is affected, it’s more than likely because of the way the ships have been filled with more passengers and children and the same number of staff members…entertaining waiters in today’s cruise industry might just be a thing of the past. That doesn’t mean they work any less or deserve any less compensation.

What I have noticed is a propensity for many passengers to take advantage of the anonymity that auto-tipping affords. Until that last accounting is complete at the end of the cruise, no one knows that auto-tips have been removed. Passengers can remove tips with little or no conscience.

My suggestion would be that if for some reason you feel you should remove an auto-tip, you should talk to a head waiter or hotel manager and explain to them why. They will more than likely be able to offer a solution to your dilemma and make you happy – which will probably encourage you to leave the auto-tip on…which will make those who gave you a brilliant week happy as well.

[spongerob]

My suggestion would be that if for some reason you feel you should remove an auto-tip, you should talk to a head waiter or hotel manager and explain to them why. They will more than likely be able to offer a solution to your dilemma and make you happy –

 

I don't think we stress this enough, so it's worth straying off topic momentarily. For anyone in a service-based industry, an unhappy client who does not provide any feedback will always remain a puzzle. Those in management with the power to change things will make efforts to do so if they know what the problem is and are given an opportunity to correct it. Whatever personal satisfaction might be gained from complaining publicly afterward would have to be far less satisfying than having the problem solved.

[Ethel5]

No disrespect to anyone, but IMHO, and remember it's only my opinion, it is comments such some of those on this thread, that will cause Princess to make the $10 pp, pd, mandatory. I for one, won't mind it a bit. Flame away.:D

 

No flame here! I wouldn't mind mandatory tipping if it would stop people from stiffing the crew. The thought of expecting a server to entertain me with jokes etc is appalling-these people have up to 20 passengers to care for at each sitting. The cabin stewards have up to 18 cabins to clean each day-have you walked by some of those open cabin doors and seen the pig sty left for them to clean? I would love to see some of the homes these passengers live in as I can't believe they act like that at home.

[LARGIN]

No flame here! I wouldn't mind mandatory tipping if it would stop people from stiffing the crew. The thought of expecting a server to entertain me with jokes etc is appalling-these people have up to 20 passengers to care for at each sitting. The cabin stewards have up to 18 cabins to clean each day-have you walked by some of those open cabin doors and seen the pig sty left for them to clean? I would love to see some of the homes these passengers live in as I can't believe they act like that at home.

 

Agree 100%

People would be surprised by how many passengers stiff the wait staft... Hmmmm, from what I have been reading lately.. maybe not..

[DrivesLikeMario]

I'm sure it's already been said, but just to reiterate, yes, you'll be charged tips for your kids and yes, I think it's fair. We've been bringing our kids on cruises for years and the few times they weren't charged was when we sailed with RCI years ago. In those 2-3 cases, we left the recommended adult tip, plus extra. It's just part of our cruising budget & we plan for it.

[JandD Mom]

Unless the room steward never cleaned the room, or replaced towels, I think it kind of low class to not pay the stewards tips. Did your daughter not sleep in the room, not use the shower, sink, towels, ammenities, water glass, or towels? We don't get entertained at dinner either, should all of us remove the tips? (Maybe disney next time) :mad:

 

 

Well Said.

[bdjam]

The cabin stewards have up to 18 cabins to clean each day-have you walked by some of those open cabin doors and seen the pig sty left for them to clean? I would love to see some of the homes these passengers live in as I can't believe they act like that at home.

Boy ain’t that the truth? On my last Regal Princess sailing, there was a family group traveling together and all were housed in one section of Baja deck. I kid you not that there were clothes, junk, food, dirty dishes, towels, souveniers, bags and anything else you can think of from these cabins strewn all over the floors and spilling out into the passageway. The poor room steward probably shot himself.

[mafig]

I believe I stated the service was not up to par. Quite frankly, if not for the room steward having to turn over the extra money I gave him, I would have removed mine as well simply because I do not feel the waiter deserved the tip to begin with. The staff members to do not deserve a gratuity if the service is not up to par. I have to laugh at this now, but the waiter actually forgot to take my father's order twice! LOL Doesn't sound like someone who is working for a tip .... regardless, the extra money on my daughter's account was definitely not worth it nor was it deserved. I am satisifed with my choice.

 

 

 

The waiter forgot to take your father's order twice? You mean he didn't eat?

Could it be he was taking the female's order first? Anyway, I'm sure his order was taken and he had his dinner. And you found the perfect reason to stiff him.:mad:

 

I'm glad you're satified with your choice. I personally couldn't live with myself.

[mii]

No disrespect to anyone, but IMHO, and remember it's only my opinion, it is comments such some of those on this thread, that will cause Princess to make the $10 pp, pd, mandatory. I for one, won't mind it a bit. Flame away.:D

 

No flame here either. I totally agree 100%.

 

Marilyn

[Cruisin' Chick]

Amen to those above. "My suggestion would be that if for some reason you feel you should remove an auto-tip, you should talk to a head waiter or hotel manager and explain to them why. They will more than likely be able to offer a solution to your dilemma and make you happy- bdjam"

Instead of stewing about a situation, why not nicely (remember honey rather than vinegar) approach customer service and explain the problem. If you are having a problem with the waitstaff, go to the head manager and talk to him about the problem. Sometimes you may have a valid complaint. But understand that maybe you really don't. They try to bend over backwards trying to please the passengers. But sometimes you could be asking for the moon or something unreasonable. So listen after you explain.

And remember that for most of the crew, their families back home are living on your tip money.