Gratuities for small children

[Josie201]

Travelling with a large family group (six cabins).  All bookings have the Drinks/Wi-fi/Prepaid Gratuities package.  I understand these amenities are for the first two people in the room.  We will have two little ones (three years and one year old) with us.  Obviously they don't need drinks and wi-fi (HaHa).  Will their parents be charged for the gratuities? (not a problem I just want to give them a heads up since I've never travelled with kids before, or three in the cabin).   Since this is a gift cruise, I may call to see if I can pre-pay these for them. 

[hrhdhd]

Yes, all passengers, regardless of age, are charged gratuities.

[Alakegirl]

Could you change the children to simply sail rate (if they arent already) and then just add back the gratuities?  And you should be able to prepay the gratuities regardless 

[mahdnc]

Years ago, Celebrity used to recommend just half the adult gratuity rate for each kid (defined as under 12 yrs old, I think) in a cabin as long as they were booked as the 3rd/4th passenger. This would invariably generate a lot of responses on this board on whether that was proportionally correct.

 

On top of that, infants (less than 2 yrs old) used to cruise for free on Celebrity but that was in the 90's.  You still had to pay taxes and fees.  Our son cruised that way on the brand new Century as a 7 month old.  That "free" cruise also counted towards his Captains Club Elite status.

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by mahdnc

[Josie201]

Thanks for all the input.  I've written to our TA to check on "cruise-only" fare (I think it likely already is as it is less than the other two passengers) and pre-paying the gratuities. 

[prmssk]

I did not realize that third and fourth passengers could opt out of a the AI rate on AI bookings.  The terms and conditions even state, "All guests in the same stateroom must choose the same rate."  

 

So if the booking is an AI booking, then gratuities are included for all (and wifi and a drink package will be included for all in the stateroom).  If it is a cruise only booking, gratuities will be charged for each passenger including young children.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

1 hour ago, Josie201 said:

Travelling with a large family group (six cabins).  All bookings have the Drinks/Wi-fi/Prepaid Gratuities package.  I understand these amenities are for the first two people in the room.  We will have two little ones (three years and one year old) with us.  Obviously they don't need drinks and wi-fi (HaHa).  Will their parents be charged for the gratuities? (not a problem I just want to give them a heads up since I've never travelled with kids before, or three in the cabin).   Since this is a gift cruise, I may call to see if I can pre-pay these for them. 

I don't know why no one who has responded has addressed the fact that all guests in a room with an AI rate receive the same benefits.

 All guests in an Eligible Booking will receive a Classic Drink Package, Gratuities (“Tips”) Included, and an unlimited Basic Wi-Fi Package.

 

You don't need to worry about the kids being charged gratuities because they're already included and you don't need to worry about modifying the booking.  Your TA should tell you the right answer.

 

I think there may be a situation where you book through a TA at a sail only rate and they offer these extras separately as a bonus for booking with them and they only apply towards the first two passengers.  However, I don't think that's the situation you have right here.

[Josie201]

Hmmmm well now I’m confused.  
 

my TA said that she could rebook at the sail only rate and add the grats back for the three guests but then the adults would also lose the drinks and the wifi.  Or I could pre pay the grats for the kids.  Which I did today.  She never indicated that they were already included …. 
 

sounds like I’ll need to look into this further.  

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

53 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

Hmmmm well now I’m confused.  
 

my TA said that she could rebook at the sail only rate and add the grats back for the three guests but then the adults would also lose the drinks and the wifi.  Or I could pre pay the grats for the kids.  Which I did today.  She never indicated that they were already included …. 
 

sounds like I’ll need to look into this further.  

That's frustrating.  I wish you luck in sorting this out.  Your TA didn't make this any easier by accepting payment for the included gratuities.

[zitsky]

I read this as there are children working on the ship and we have to tip them.

[kathynorth]

5 hours ago, Josie201 said:

Hmmmm well now I’m confused.  
 

my TA said that she could rebook at the sail only rate and add the grats back for the three guests but then the adults would also lose the drinks and the wifi.  Or I could pre pay the grats for the kids.  Which I did today.  She never indicated that they were already included …. 
 

sounds like I’ll need to look into this further.  

They are not already included with the adult fares. What your TA said is what we were told for a recent cruise we took with our 5yo grandson. All 3 of us needed to pay the AI rate or all 3 could opt out with sail only and pay 3x gratuities onboard. We elected to go sail only since our grandson wouldn’t be using any of the AI perks. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by kathynorth

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

9 hours ago, kathynorth said:

They are not already included with the adult fares. What your TA said is what we were told for a recent cruise we took with our 5yo grandson. All 3 of us needed to pay the AI rate or all 3 could opt out with sail only and pay 3x gratuities onboard. We elected to go sail only since our grandson wouldn’t be using any of the AI perks. 

Unfortunately, your post has likely made things more confusing for the OP. The OP has a booking with their TA at an All Included rate.

 

Bottom line is All guests in the AI stateroom receive a classic drink package (or zero proof if under drinking age), basic wifi, and prepaid gratuities. There's no way to pick and choose who in the room gets the AI rate.

 

The TA should not have accepted prepayment for gratuities for the 3rd and 4th guests as their gratuities are already included. The TA also shouldnt have given them info that the AI package only applies to the first two guests in the stateroom.

[Josie201]

I'm the OP back with an update.  NorthStarStateCruiser is right.  Our booking is for the AI rate, and all guests in the stateroom have the AI amenities (drinks/wifi/gratuities). 

 

When I asked yesterday to pre-pay the gratuities, my assumption was that the amenities only applied to the first two in the room (as I had enquired earlier about TA OBC and whether the third passenger was entitled to also receive OBC and was told no as the TA amenities only applied to the first two passengers).   So, my first assumption was wrong.

 

My TA then assumed that the gratuities were not included, she called Celebrity and I guess their rep assumed they were not included, so added them in.  All wrong assumptions.  Thanks to a poster earlier in this thread who posted the Celebrity verbiage, I went back to my TA, who was surprised and I would suggest even assumed the information was wrong.  I then sent her a screen shot from Celebrity's website.  She went back to Celebrity this morning, and they have now indicated they were wrong, the AI amenities do in fact apply to all guests in the stateroom, the children will benefit from the zero-proof package and have pre-paid gratuities, and if they were old enough would have their own internet access. 

 

To the poster above who indicated they were charged and paid gratuities for their grandchildren, you may wish to follow-up with Celebrity or your TA on this.  However, my TA did say this morning that Celebrity promotions can vary from time to time.... I didn't go back to say that this did not seem to be a promotion issue, as it is listed on their website.

 

Glad I checked here, as it encouraged me to push the issue further.  Saved me a couple hundred $$.

 

 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

37 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

I'm the OP back with an update.  NorthStarStateCruiser is right.  Our booking is for the AI rate, and all guests in the stateroom have the AI amenities (drinks/wifi/gratuities). 

 

When I asked yesterday to pre-pay the gratuities, my assumption was that the amenities only applied to the first two in the room (as I had enquired earlier about TA OBC and whether the third passenger was entitled to also receive OBC and was told no as the TA amenities only applied to the first two passengers).   So, my first assumption was wrong.

 

My TA then assumed that the gratuities were not included, she called Celebrity and I guess their rep assumed they were not included, so added them in.  All wrong assumptions.  Thanks to a poster earlier in this thread who posted the Celebrity verbiage, I went back to my TA, who was surprised and I would suggest even assumed the information was wrong.  I then sent her a screen shot from Celebrity's website.  She went back to Celebrity this morning, and they have now indicated they were wrong, the AI amenities do in fact apply to all guests in the stateroom, the children will benefit from the zero-proof package and have pre-paid gratuities, and if they were old enough would have their own internet access. 

 

To the poster above who indicated they were charged and paid gratuities for their grandchildren, you may wish to follow-up with Celebrity or your TA on this.  However, my TA did say this morning that Celebrity promotions can vary from time to time.... I didn't go back to say that this did not seem to be a promotion issue, as it is listed on their website.

 

Glad I checked here, as it encouraged me to push the issue further.  Saved me a couple hundred $$.

 

 

Huzzah!  Glad you got that all sorted out and I wasn't providing improper info. 😄  It's crazy that both the TA and the X agent who they called first didn't know what the correct answer was.  The promotions and policies change so much and differ from cruise line to cruise line so I can see where there may have been confusion on the TAs part.

 

In all likelihood, if someone made additional payments for gratuities while having an AI rate, those extra payments would have shown up on their onboard account as refundable onboard credit.  That's what I would hope at least.  Either way, I'm happy you got this sorted out and that you get paid back that extra payment quickly.

 

I hope you and everyone on your group have a fun and memorable cruise!

[Denny01]

My opinion is ‘little children’ are more work for the stewards. A bit more messy; dippers in the trash and other such things. Our kids with a little granddaughter sailed with us and it was a real joy, but also more work for the staff. The waitstaff had the highchair all set up for her; had a snack ready for her to dive into and focused on her. The steward worked the room more and so on. 

 

We had joined friends who had one woman who had invited others and felt she ‘ran’ the group. She went to the desk and asked that gratuities for our and other peoples’ kids be removed since they were ‘just kids’. Did this without asking. I was extremely upset. No 1, that wasnt her place; No 2 as stated above, babies, toddlers and such make more work for the staff. I immediately added our gratuities back and told the woman to mind her own business. 

 

Enough. 

 

Den

[bookitdanno]

I wish that Celebrity would just build the grats into the cruise fare. This would stop the removing of grats by some, and make them a part of the basic cruise fare.  Non refundable, non removeable.

[Cruise a holic]

You should leave the grats and if you have a great cabin steward- give additional at the end of your cruise. Regardless of the age of the passengers.

[Ipeeinthepools]

2 hours ago, Josie201 said:

I'm the OP back with an update.  NorthStarStateCruiser is right.  Our booking is for the AI rate, and all guests in the stateroom have the AI amenities (drinks/wifi/gratuities). 

 

When I asked yesterday to pre-pay the gratuities, my assumption was that the amenities only applied to the first two in the room (as I had enquired earlier about TA OBC and whether the third passenger was entitled to also receive OBC and was told no as the TA amenities only applied to the first two passengers).   So, my first assumption was wrong.

 

My TA then assumed that the gratuities were not included, she called Celebrity and I guess their rep assumed they were not included, so added them in.  All wrong assumptions.  Thanks to a poster earlier in this thread who posted the Celebrity verbiage, I went back to my TA, who was surprised and I would suggest even assumed the information was wrong.  I then sent her a screen shot from Celebrity's website.  She went back to Celebrity this morning, and they have now indicated they were wrong, the AI amenities do in fact apply to all guests in the stateroom, the children will benefit from the zero-proof package and have pre-paid gratuities, and if they were old enough would have their own internet access. 

 

To the poster above who indicated they were charged and paid gratuities for their grandchildren, you may wish to follow-up with Celebrity or your TA on this.  However, my TA did say this morning that Celebrity promotions can vary from time to time.... I didn't go back to say that this did not seem to be a promotion issue, as it is listed on their website.

 

Glad I checked here, as it encouraged me to push the issue further.  Saved me a couple hundred $$.

 

 

Glad you got it sorted out to your satisfaction.  Your friends on CC helped steer you in that direction, but I would have hoped that your TA would have suggested that approach.  Perhaps you should re-evaluate your TA for any future cruises.

[perakcruiser]

1 hour ago, bookitdanno said:

I wish that Celebrity would just build the grats into the cruise fare. This would stop the removing of grats by some, and make them a part of the basic cruise fare.  Non refundable, non removeable.

 

Actually Celebrity is doing this for some markets. But we prefer that is not built in so we can remove. Anyway, Celebrity is so much more expensive with kids compared to others, the grats are not making the big difference. 

[zitsky]

27 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

 

Actually Celebrity is doing this for some markets. But we prefer that is not built in so we can remove. Anyway, Celebrity is so much more expensive with kids compared to others, the grats are not making the big difference. 

 

Do you remove gratuities because you prefer to pay in cash?

[perakcruiser]

18 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Do you remove gratuities because you prefer to pay in cash?

This is a theoretical talk. I am talking about the gratuities for a 3 year old kid. Which I would certainly remove (if I can), because I think such young kids should not be charged gratuities, this sounds crazy to me. 

 

But we only are sailing Celebrity alone w/o kids, because if you are talking about a cruise with kids it would be a sensational waste of money to book them as so many others do "kids sail free". 

 

And to make things even more complicated we usually book our cruises in Europe. Where Celebrity only offers fare with all fees, taxes and gratuities included. Price is final. So there is anyway no option to cancel or adjust any gratuities, no matter if kids or adults. 

 

We only sail MSC with the kids, also here it is very simple, the gratuities cannot be removed or adjusted, adults pay $ 14.5 per night, kids from 2 to 12 pay $ 7.25 per night, kids under 2 are free. 

 

So I never had the chance to cancel the service charge for kids (which would have been possible in the old days), but if the cruise line would give me the option to do so I would happily do 🙂 

Edited March 8, 2023 by perakcruiser

[kathynorth]

4 hours ago, Josie201 said:

To the poster above who indicated they were charged and paid gratuities for their grandchildren, you may wish to follow-up with Celebrity or your TA on this.  However, my TA did say this morning that Celebrity promotions can vary from time to time.... I didn't go back to say that this did not seem to be a promotion issue, as it is listed on their website.

 

As pointed out by NorthStarStateCruiser my wording was a bit confusing . What I was trying to say is that we were told all 3 of us had to be booked with the AI rate and we'd all get the AI perks; or all 3 of us could be booked with the Sail Only rate and add in the gratuities for all 3 of us. Since my grandson wouldn't benefit from the AI perks we decided it would be more cost effective for us to book with Sail Only. I'm glad you sorted it all out and hope that you have a great cruise!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

am talking about the gratuities for a 3 year old kid. Which I would certainly remove (if I can), because I think such young kids should not be charged gratuities, this sounds crazy to me. 

 

It's almost a sure bet that that 3 year old generates more work for the cabin steward than the adults in the room. Especially if they're not toilet trained yet (trust me, I've met a lot of not-yet-trained 3 year olds) - or if they're wetting the bed at night. They absolutely should be charged full gratuities.

[perakcruiser]

13 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Especially if they're not toilet trained yet (trust me, I've met a lot of not-yet-trained 3 year olds) - or if they're wetting the bed at night.

If my (younger and 3 year old) kid would wet the bed I definitely would tip the room steward. But luckily (or unluckliy for the steward) she did not do this🙂 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

If my (younger and 3 year old) kid would wet the bed I definitely would tip the room steward. But luckily (or unluckliy for the steward) she did not do this🙂 

They are still having to make up the 3 year old's bed, change out their towels, and clean up after them. You should still be tipping for them.