Bringing a Sitter On Board

[mymollysue]

We are traveling on the Breakaway with our two little ones (4 and 1). We have decided to bring a sitter with to help out. We will pay for her cruise and expenses on board but I was wondering if she should get an additional daily rate. For those of you who have done this, how did you arrange things? How many hours a day did your sitter watch the children? My DD, who is 4, will go to Splash Academy for a little bit of the time. We, of course, want family time with the kids so it isn't going to be all of the time. We have never done this before so I wasn't sure what people normally do.

[Kerry's Girls]

Since going with our family is not a vacation for the nanny, when ours travelled with us (land-based) I paid more than her daily rate on top of all expenses, since it's nights too. The most important thing is to have everything understood ahead of time - hours she'll be working, will she have meals with the kids, is she allowed to drink during off hours, does she get to see the ports on her own, curfew, etc. If you do a search of this board under "nanny" and "sitter" you should find a lot of information by others who have cruised with one.

 

Best

Mia

[CI66774]

Given that this is your vacation - not hers - you are required to pay her for her services - whatever that rate is - in addition to her work-related expenses related to your cruise.

[sailinglisa]

And if she is going to work more than her usual hours on land.......

 

If you expect her to watch both of them (or at least one of them) 24/7...you will not only need to pay her expenses but also her base wage plus overtime. If she is not expected to watch them more than 8 hours per day, then her travel expenses (flight, cruise fare) should be paid in addition to her scheduled 8 hours daily. I personally think anything over 8 hours per day is overtime.

 

I agree that EVERYTHIING needs to be agreed to before hand and put into writing...to protect both sides.

[Keith1010]

You should pay an additional rate.

 

How much you pay really depends on many factors but it is a job for the person.

 

Keith

[Wavesprite]

My mom used to nanny and travel. She received an hourly rate and then when the children were sleeping she received half wages. She had set times off during the day. She always talks about the trips she went on and never refers to them as vacations because they were actually harder on her then nannying at home.

[Kerry's Girls]

I forgot to mention that during one trip our nanny got really ill - fever, etc. to the point that she was in bed and unable to care for the kids for half of the trip, so I was paying her expenses and wages and still had the kids full time. You'll want to keep in mind what happens if the nanny gets seasick, norovirus, etc.

 

Best,

Mia

[luvsviola]

You got to figure---the nanny's rent doesn't go away just because she is on vacation. I would pay her the daily rate, plus a tip of spending money since it is difficult to go on vacation and not have some expenses for things (new swimsuit/cruise clothes, drinks, meals in port, etc) and (obviously) cover her cruise expenses/passport cost.

[moesyk4]

When we went cruising last year, we thought about taking my at the time just turned 2 year old DS and inviting my youngest sister (who was 16 at that time) to come with and babysit sometime. If we would've done it, we would've just paid for the cruise and expenses. But it probably would've just been in the evenings and a couple of hours a day and she's family and LOVES cruising, so a bonus cruise would've been big for her.

I agree with the others though, you would have to pay her regular weekly rate (if she's a regular babysitter) plus extra for any additional hours they may do.

[IttaBit]

We have a nanny and I've often thought about bringing her with us to watch our 3 kids in the evening. We never have, but I think paying the regular salary and a reasonable per diem would be acceptable. One thing you want to do in addition to her salary, if you expect her to be on the clock 24/7 while you're gone, you need to set that expectation. Sometimes the line between nanny and family/friend gets blurred and it can make for hard feelings. Nobody wants that.

[Jo-Bob]

Maybe I missed something, forgive me if I did....

 

But why would you expect to not pay her? Because it appears you may consider covering her expenses to be enough? And indeed it might be, if it's only an hour or 2 here and there. I fully agree with the other posters who recommend being very clear as to expectations up front.

[FOURunderFOUR]

I think it's a bit different if you are bringing a "babysitter" (as in a teenager that watches your kids on an occasional basis at home) versus a "nanny" (someone older whom you employee on a more regular basis). We have 7 kids, and have discussed bringing our very mature 16yo babysitter with us on a cruise. We would pay all her expenses, and maybe some spending money, but I don't foresee paying her a regular hourly wage. However, she is more like a family member, and is in fact our youngest's Godmother. I picture her helping out with getting the kids dressed, ready for bed, etc, perhaps doing some evening babysitting so we could go to a later show or late night drink/walk on the deck. We would spend most of the days together though, with her and the kids. When we are home and she is here (i.e. husband and I are not out on a date) she functions like a big sister. So by paying her way, I get the help of having her with me and she gets some time away from home. But I agree, you would really need to work out all the details ahead of time to make sure everyone is on the same page.

[mymollysue]

The girl we are bringing is a sitter for us and not a nanny. She is 25 years old. She watches my kids twice a month for me and she is fantastic and we love her. She was so excited when I asked her to come, and since I have never done this before, I wasn't sure what the protocol was. I spoke to her last week and we agreed to work everything out ahead of time so she knows what to expect. She said whatever I agreed the daily fee would be is fine because she is just so excited to get away.

[kandjrolls2]

The girl we are bringing is a sitter for us and not a nanny. She is 25 years old. She watches my kids twice a month for me and she is fantastic and we love her. She was so excited when I asked her to come, and since I have never done this before, I wasn't sure what the protocol was. I spoke to her last week and we agreed to work everything out ahead of time so she knows what to expect. She said whatever I agreed the daily fee would be is fine because she is just so excited to get away.

 

I am so glad you cleared that up. I was wondering the same thing. I was thinking of bringing a 17 friend to help with my child and pay her way but NOT a salary. For her, being an occasional sitter not a nanny, getting a free trip plus some spending money would be more than adequate.

[lrowe70]

I am so glad you cleared that up. I was wondering the same thing. I was thinking of bringing a 17 friend to help with my child and pay her way but NOT a salary. For her, being an occasional sitter not a nanny, getting a free trip plus some spending money would be more than adequate.

We've thought about bringing our sitter, but each time my mother decides to come instead.

We pay her cruise fare in exchange for her watching our child, which is more than enough considering how little time she is actually alone with our child. Most the stuff we do altogether anyway. She mostly will just watch him for 2 hours a day max while we eat in a speciality restaurant or go to a show. So she babysits for about 14 hours total and gets a free cruise, which works out to about $35 an hour.

 

If we do ever take our normal sitter we wold probably just pay her way and give a little extra. Not pay time and a half! That we would only do if we had no intention of seeing our child for the entire cruise. Considering he would go to Kids Club anyway, she would probably spend 2-5 hours with him a day-max. She'd have tons of time to sit at the pool and have a grand time on her own.

 

Glad to hear you sat down with your sitter. Be sure to be very specific with her on her hours and duties. Also what you will and won't pay for(hourly rate, cruise, taxes, tips, drinks...) You don't want to get the final bill and find she got a daily massage thinking you were going to cover that!