Teens and tipping

[dairyou]

I hope I don't get flamed here, but I have my suit on just in case.

One day my teen came running into the cabin telling me he needed 10.00 for tipping. I asked him why and he said a bunch of his friends ordered room service and nobody was going to tip. I asked why he needed so much money and he said they just didn't order one thing, but 8 trays of food. What disturbed me is he said the kids order room service all the time and never tip.

If you have teens, let them know they need to tip these hard working servers. I read a post where someone brought small bills for tipping, and though I did this I never thought to tell my kids. I guess I just assumed they knew to tip since we did.

Anyways, don't flame me too much!

Deb

 

[ncmvp]

No flames from me. We discussed tipping with our teens. They are pretty good about it. They probably would of done the same thing your son did.

By the way, what a great family picture!

Mary

 

[kplatt]

I kept a supply of small bills in the top drawer closest to the door. My kids knew it was there, what it was for, and given guidelines as to how much to tip.

 

[mmouse37]

Hey Deb....just curious as to why you would think you would get flamed.....just the opposite....you brought up a great point......and I am glad your son had the sense to come ask for tip money...it shows he respects the hard work the crew does!!!!

MJ

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

NO flames form me either!
You brought up a great subject for people to think about. I have to admit i wouldnt of thought about it myself. MY youngest is not a teen by any means, but I have grandkids that are and they will be cruising with us. I think this is a great topic to discuss with teens.
You should be proud of your son and praise him for doing the right thing. He may not of known how much to tip, but he knew enough to to do. That shows he is a responsible young man, and you can tell him I said so.
mom x4,grandma x4

 

[dairyou]

No flames from me. We discussed tipping with our teens. They are pretty good about it. They probably would of done the same thing your son did.

By the way, what a great family picture!

Mary

Thanks Mary! This is the first time we had the lifestyle photo's taken. It turned out to be a nice surprise. 2 Christmas presents done for grandmas

Deb

 

[dairyou]

Hey Deb....just curious as to why you would think you would get flamed.....just the opposite....you brought up a great point......and I am glad your son had the sense to come ask for tip money...it shows he respects the hard work the crew does!!!!

MJ

I guess I thought I might get flamed by those who don't agree with tipping. I try to stay away from debates on the boards, but I felt this was too important of an issue to stay quiet

Deb

 

[dairyou]

NO flames form me either!
You brought up a great subject for people to think about. I have to admit i wouldnt of thought about it myself. MY youngest is not a teen by any means, but I have grandkids that are and they will be cruising with us. I think this is a great topic to discuss with teens.
You should be proud of your son and praise him for doing the right thing. He may not of known how much to tip, but he knew enough to to do. That shows he is a responsible young man, and you can tell him I said so.
mom x4,grandma x4

At first my husband was mad. He felt like why should we pay for other's tips. Afterwards he came to his senses and realized our son did the right thing. When we had dinner that night we discussed it further and told him we were proud of him. I'll make sure to let him read your post. I'm sure it will make him feel good coming from someone else. You know, us parents don't know very much

Deb

 

[Favorite Auntie]

Very good point you brought up. I have never traveled with kids old enough to order room service themselves, but soon they will be able to! I will have to remember to let them know the "tipping rules" and where the stash is kept for said tips! Thanks!

 

[SchultzFamily]

Deb, I completely agree about educating kids about tipping. We told our kids they were welcome to order room service but they had to tip accordingly, then we discussed what accordingly was. When my son and his friends planned on ordering room service for a very large group he came to us and discussed how much they should tip. The other thing we do is make them help figure the tip when we go out to restaurants so they will know how to do this when they start going out with friends. Its definately a good lesson for them to know about tipping!

 

[marv]

how old should your children be before you allow them to ordwer room service i have 2 at 12 and 1 at 14
thanks marv

 

[Disney with Triplets]

how old should your children be before you allow them to ordwer room service i have 2 at 12 and 1 at 14
thanks marv

We're traveling with a couple of 13 year olds and they will have room service priviledges - with our guidance, of course. I think it is a matter of setting reasonable expectations beforehand and limiting the number of kids allowed to place an order together. In my experience, the 2 - 12 year olds would be a lot more reasonable/responsible than 6 - 16 year olds.

 

[marv]

Thanks for your reply just a ? wether DCL has an age limit. I will definatley set out some rules and what they should tip.

 

[jgalecpa]

My girls have their own "adjoining" room on Cruises.

Last time we did it they were 12 and 15.

We gave them the usual stack of $1's and $2's. and told them in no uncertain terms that these people work hard for their money and they rely on tips and to tip EVERY TIME, baed on how much they ordered.

There didn't seem to be and age limit at all.

If they're old enough to call, they're old enough to be served.

Learning how to tip servers is an important part of one's financial education, I believe. (That's the CPA in me talking).

I also tell my girls on a date to watch how their date treats the servers.

EVERYONE deserves to be treated well, not just the date!

Just my two cents.

Jim

 

[ohMom]

Learning how to tip servers is an important part of one's financial education, I believe. (That's the CPA in me talking).

I also tell my girls on a date to watch how their date treats the servers.

EVERYONE deserves to be treated well, not just the date!

Just my two cents.

Jim

very good points!! thanks for sharing that!

anyhoo -- our DD were 11 and 7 when we went on our first 4 day DCL; DH and I went to Triton's for a nice breakfast and they opted to sack in and order room service. They were thrilled. When we got back I casually said 'you remembered to tip them right?' the look of horror and shock on oldest DD! totally my fault for not properly reminding them b4 (i'm do remember mentioning it once, but you know )

anyhoo -- this cruise along with my magnetic door sign, i'm making a small mickey head sign for the inside of the door, reminding to tip the room service waiter!

 

[Cindi0511]

My girls have their own "adjoining" room on Cruises.

Last time we did it they were 12 and 15.

We gave them the usual stack of $1's and $2's. and told them in no uncertain terms that these people work hard for their money and they rely on tips and to tip EVERY TIME, baed on how much they ordered.

There didn't seem to be and age limit at all.

If they're old enough to call, they're old enough to be served.

Learning how to tip servers is an important part of one's financial education, I believe. (That's the CPA in me talking).

I also tell my girls on a date to watch how their date treats the servers.

EVERYONE deserves to be treated well, not just the date!

Just my two cents.

Jim

Very cool advice to your daughters. I so hope they take it to heart. They will thank you for the rest of your life.

Dairyou, it's thrilling to hear your son wanted to tip $10. He sounds like he really was thinking hard. Whatever you've been telling him for so many years is actually sinking in -- even though as you said, as parents you "don't know anything." Keep up the "ignorant" good work! It's working on him! Be proud of that.

 

[dairyou]

I also tell my girls on a date to watch how their date treats the servers.

EVERYONE deserves to be treated well, not just the date!

Just my two cents.

Jim

I like that! Everyone deserves to be treated well...I'll have to pass that on to my boys

Deb

 

[dairyou]

Dairyou, it's thrilling to hear your son wanted to tip $10. He sounds like he really was thinking hard. Whatever you've been telling him for so many years is actually sinking in -- even though as you said, as parents you "don't know anything." Keep up the "ignorant" good work! It's working on him! Be proud of that.

Thank you for your kinds words! At times you just need a little encouragement during these teenage years. You just never know how you're doing as a parent!

Deb

 

[aprilgail2]

There is no age limit for ordering room service...my 5 year old called for a mickey bar and fruit while I was in the shower one afternoon and they brought it up LOL...

 

[marv]

Here in Uk tipping doesn't seem too happen. When we came to Florida last year i was told that servers would be expecting a tip so i was prepared.

I couldn't believe the service we recieved, so happy too help and go out of there way, very freindly. Here in Uk you may be lucky too get a smile. The only time that service was bad was in the sizzler and we had gone with another family and the tip was added onto the bill as we had too pay upfront we didn't see a server then.
Ime happy too tip as i know there wages are poor and if they give you good service then they deserve a tip.

Marv