In response to the person who cruised on the conquest in April 2003. The info about tips is in the papers prior to the trip--they should have known ahead of time that the tips are included. I have been on 6 Carnival ships and would only choose Carnival. I don't know how the tips were over $1,000. They only charge each passenger $10.00 per day which would be $40.00 per day for 4 people and on a 7 day cruise that is $280.00. That $10.00 per day goes to all who serve you. It is a crime how little the workers receive for all of their work. We took the Victory for 4 days for 4 of us and it was definitely not enough money for their efforts. We gave everyone extra(generously) for their hard work and attentiveness. I really would like to know how it was $1,000. for their cruise. No one should be going to the desk to have tips taken off.

Mike,
I don't understand how your tips, with no extras, totaled $1000.00. I and my sister are booked on the Carnival Inspiration sailing out of Tampa, on Dec. 6th. This will be our first cruise. I have learned from reading here, that you can request to prepay your daily gratuities, prior to sailing. Which averages out to $10.00 a day per person. We've added this on through our travel agent. This way, the only gratuity we will be incurring, will be the automatic 15% added to our bar bills.

[quote="ang"]My family went on the Carnival Conquest in April 2003. We had a wonderful time. I have a 9 year old and 13 year old. They did not care for the children's activities but I can see how many children would love them. We were not prepared for the cost of tipping on the cruise and it came as quite a shock. The tips go straight to your credit card daily for each member of your family. You must go to the office of the ship to have any tips removed at the end of the trip. The tips for the trip (no extras) was over $1,000. We only paid $399 per person for the cruise so you can see that not knowing about the costliness of the tips was a shock. The service and friendliness of all people we came in contact with was enjoyable. I recommend Carnival and we are planning to take another cruise in 2004. Possibly Carnival Glory.[/quote][color=blue][/color]