ricka47 Posted April 11, 2018 #1 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I'm curious if automatic gratuities will be applied for an 18-month old. I found that Carnival does not charge for less than 2-years old. It's OK if they charge as I'm sure that she will get special treatment (it's my granddaughter and she's very cute). But, I was not able to find this for RCI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacMarauder Posted April 11, 2018 #2 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I'm 99% sure that our son was charged gratuities when he was 14 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare A&L_Ont Posted April 11, 2018 #3 Share Posted April 11, 2018 They are applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted April 11, 2018 #4 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I'm curious if automatic gratuities will be applied for an 18-month old. I found that Carnival does not charge for less than 2-years old. It's OK if they charge as I'm sure that she will get special treatment (it's my granddaughter and she's very cute). But, I was not able to find this for RCI. Full gratuities are charged, regardless of age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerif Posted April 11, 2018 #5 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Same for all ages. She will be treated like a princess for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricka47 Posted April 11, 2018 Author #6 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Same for all ages. She will be treated like a princess for sure. I think so and I'm OK with the gratuity charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG7703 Posted April 12, 2018 #7 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Our 1 year old and 3 year old where both charged for junior suite tips. We had the one year olds removed. Felt it was reasonable to only tip for one young child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matj2000 Posted April 12, 2018 #8 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Our 1 year old and 3 year old where both charged for junior suite tips. We had the one year olds removed. Felt it was reasonable to only tip for one young child. I think we did that when one of our kids was very little.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gliles Posted April 12, 2018 #9 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Our 1 year old and 3 year old where both charged for junior suite tips. We had the one year olds removed. Felt it was reasonable to only tip for one young child. I would never do that, my kids were slobs. More work to clean up after them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haply Posted April 12, 2018 #10 Share Posted April 12, 2018 (edited) Based on past posts regarding this issue, I will probably get slammed for my response, but I do not feel that it is fair to charge full gratuity for young children in the same cabin. Reasons are as follows: *I am already paying a full, extra fare for the third person in the cabin (as compared to two people in the cabin). The cost for the third person in our cabin (child) on my upcoming cruise was actually a bit more than the first and second person fare. There are no discounted fares for children (I know, children do not generate "revenue" as much as adults....). *The housekeeper still only needs to clean one bathroom, empty one trash can (so what if it is a bit more full), vacuum the same floor space, etc. *When I go out to eat at a restaurant on land, I pay the tip based on the percentage of the total price. I do not pay additional tip if the baby/toddler does not eat/order any food, or a much lower priced kids menu (i.e. no extra cost of the final bill). I feel that I should be able to tip the same way on the ship. The tip guidelines in our restaurants are clearly based on the percentage of the total bill (although I will tip a bit extra if my kids are extra messy). *I always tip extra on the ship anyway as I do not believe that the staff see any significant portion of the autograts. I would rather continue to take care of the staff this way vs. auto gratuities. OK, so let the flood gates open.......... Edited April 12, 2018 by haply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBear12 Posted April 12, 2018 #11 Share Posted April 12, 2018 I would just start the cruise with an open mind and do what you feel is reasonable. The kids always get more attention than us - 5 & almost 2, so we have left the auto tips on as we felt the staff went above and beyond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tapi Posted April 12, 2018 #12 Share Posted April 12, 2018 I found that Carnival does not charge for less than 2-years old. You’re correct. On a related anecdote, we took our son (who was under 2 at the time) on a Royal Caribbean cruise and a few months later on a Carnival cruise. After our Royal sailing, we were happy to learn that Carnival wouldn’t charge gratuities for our son. Long story short, after seeing how extra hard our cabin steward had to work to clean after our son all week long, we felt that the fair thing to do was to tip him in cash what we should’ve been charged if our son had been over 2 years old, plus a little more. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyjudyjudyS Posted April 12, 2018 #13 Share Posted April 12, 2018 We have always felt full tips were deserved for infants we have cruised with. Babies are messy with diapers and what not. I don't think it is fair RC charges full price for an infant given they aren't eating etc, but they do. I do think the cabin steward deserves a tip as there is extra work involved for an infant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorben-Hendrik Posted April 12, 2018 #14 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Auto-tipping is a money scam! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted April 12, 2018 #15 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Based on past posts regarding this issue, I will probably get slammed for my response, but I do not feel that it is fair to charge full gratuity for young children in the same cabin. Reasons are as follows:*I am already paying a full, extra fare for the third person in the cabin (as compared to two people in the cabin). The cost for the third person in our cabin (child) on my upcoming cruise was actually a bit more than the first and second person fare. There are no discounted fares for children (I know, children do not generate "revenue" as much as adults....). *The housekeeper still only needs to clean one bathroom, empty one trash can (so what if it is a bit more full), vacuum the same floor space, etc. *When I go out to eat at a restaurant on land, I pay the tip based on the percentage of the total price. I do not pay additional tip if the baby/toddler does not eat/order any food, or a much lower priced kids menu (i.e. no extra cost of the final bill). I feel that I should be able to tip the same way on the ship. The tip guidelines in our restaurants are clearly based on the percentage of the total bill (although I will tip a bit extra if my kids are extra messy). *I always tip extra on the ship anyway as I do not believe that the staff see any significant portion of the autograts. I would rather continue to take care of the staff this way vs. auto gratuities. OK, so let the flood gates open.......... The two comments do not agree. On RCI the crew gets all the auto grats. The breakdown is on their website and has been posted here MANY times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Expat Cruise Posted April 12, 2018 #16 Share Posted April 12, 2018 The daily Gratuities / Service charge is just a recommendation anyone is free to adjust or remove as they see fit. It is no different than going into the dinning room and being told the special today is surf and turf, you are under no obligation to take the special or explain why you want something else It is absolutely the same thing with the daily service fee, as long as it is only a suggestion everyone is free to do as they see fit. Not trying to start another tipping battle as it will be a few hundred post and nothing changes. Some guest, tip, some don't, so keep, some hide the amounts, some over tip, some under tip. Was the same when I first started cruising 30 years ago and will never change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookwife Posted April 12, 2018 #17 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Our 1 year old and 3 year old where both charged for junior suite tips. We had the one year olds removed. Felt it was reasonable to only tip for one young child. why? was the one year old not spoiled rotten by staff in the dining venues? were they not cleaned up after in the cabin? dirty diapers removed? sleeping arrangements made up daily? their ground up crackers and mushed pancakes not vacuumed up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerif Posted April 12, 2018 #18 Share Posted April 12, 2018 What business is it if yours? I don’t blame them. Well, I do. I feel it’s a despicable underhanded thing to do. And I’m as much entitled to my opinion as are you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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